Books read and reviewed in July 2024

July was a busy reading month. I’ve had the last week off work on leave so that’s meant more time, and I’ve done less blogging so more reading in the evenings. It means more books read and reviewed as well over on my Goodreads.

• Books read in July – 14
• Books read to date – 100 (I’ve hit my target)

Here’s some of the books I’ve read and reviewed in July 2024.

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The Happy Couple by Samantha Hayes

Jo’s husband and love of her life actor/school teacher Will disappears. After a year Jo’s still struggling to accept the lack of closure, but takes on board friends’ advice and ends up going to house sit while she decides what her next moves are at home.

But when she notices photos of Will in the house on the website, she’s determined to find out what’s going on and where he is.

I enjoyed this book, although I wasn’t keen on either Jo or the other main characters. It didn’t turn out quite the way I’d anticipated it would.

One Year Gone by Avery Bishop

When Jessica’s teenage daughter Wyn goes missing, she can’t give up trying to find her and find out what happened. A year on, and she still can’t let it go despite others encouraging her to, then she gets a text from her daughter asking for help, saying she’s being kept captive by a cop. So the search begins again for Jessica to find the truth without putting her daughter (or herself) in danger.

With complex and numerous characters, flashbacks from Wyn and others, I didn’t really take to the main characters and it felt a bit all over the place trying to place all the people and timelines. It didn’t feel totally finished at the end either although there was some explanation of what went on.

The Happy Family by Jacky Kabler

When Beth was 10 her mother disappeared. With her father now in a home with Alzeimers, one day her mother Alice turns up at the door. All should be rosy again with Alice helping out with the children, and making Beth’s life more easy. But then friendships start to close down and Beth wonders what’s wrong when everything else seems to be going well. And Beth starts to hope that her secret from the past won’t be brought to light.

I enjoyed this read, but it was fairly obviously what was going on from early on in the book, and I guessed the ending early. It could be triggering with gaslighting featuring heavily.

Her Husband’s Mistake by Sheila O’Flanagan

After a traumatising time looking after her dying dad, Roxy finds her husband in bed with their neighbour. Torn between trying again for the sake of their children, or making the most of the new stronger independent person she’s become, this book’s about new opportunities, finding yourself and doing what’s right not what you think might be right.

A good read for any woman who might not be sure, it certainly makes you think about the decisions that you’ve made, and you hope Roxy will make the right ones for herself. As the reader it seems pretty obvious.

The Accidental Honeymoon by Portia MacIntosh

Fun romcom where Georgie heads on off on a solo trip to what should have been a romantic trip with cheating ex in Vegas, and ends up accidentally married to gorgeous Jack. Instead of immediately annulling the marriage, they end up going to her cousin’s mammoth pre-wedding events with Jack pretending to be her fiance.

Cue lots of fun, and Georgie’s discovery about what she actually wants for herself and her relationships.

Another classic Portia MacIntosh read, great for holidays, a bit of laughter, and romance.

The Time of our Lives by Portia MacIntosh

When a group of former uni friends ad housemates come together for one of their weddings, Luca is the only single one and wondering what to do with her life. Being roped in as a stand in bridesmaid, there are plenty of funny moments, and a potential chance to meet up with Pete, the man she met at the bar the night before.

But how will she cope seeing gorgeous Tom again, the almost-boyfriend from uni who appears to be at the wedding with now pregnant girlfriend he ended up with instead of Luca.

As the friendships are tested, along with love, hope, and the ups and downs of their relationships, we see flashbacks to explain the happenings and endings of their uni days. Does everyone end up with who they should?

The Marriage Season by Jane Dunn

Lovely Regency romance involving country sisters, young widow Sybella, and her younger sister Lucie. Ready for Lucie’s first season and looking for love, the sisters head to London to stay with Lucie’s godmother to look for love and a husband.

In a whirlwind of meeting and saving wild Freddie before they leave, and his guardian, they’ve since found him, his friend Valentine and guardian Mr Brabazon, along with others in the ton, along with adventures and misadventures to find their way through.

I enjoyed this book. A longer book than many other romances, and 2 in 1, with the correct Regency rules being pushed by 2 strong women and an amusing 2 year old son and nephew!.

The Chateau by Catherine Cooper

Not one of my favourite books, a take it or leave it one. Twists and turns, double ending which wasn’t expected.

Aura and Nick have moved to France for a new start, taking on renovation of a chateau to turn into a hotel with their 2 young sons. A tv crew are following them for a tv show on houses, but life in France isn’t going as expected.

None of the characters are really that likeable whether the main ones, or those ensemble characters. Everyone seems to be acting a bit suspciously, and it takes a while for things to get going after mysterious things are happening in the chateau to unnever Aura. The book includes flashbacks to the reasons why they moved to fill in the blanks, but it was still surprising at the end.

The Anniversary by Laura Marshall

The 25 year anniversary is approaching of the day Travis Green rampaged through a town shooting 11 of his neighbours. Cassie’s father was one of those, and she’s back in town, single with a new baby, to look after her mum who’s got dementia.

Lonely, Cassie ends up making friends and getting caught up with journalist Alison to find out the trust of what happened. But potentially putting herself at risk.

In the UK you never really think of situations like this happening, so you can only imagine what Cassie and others in the town went through with family members or neighbours killed.

An interesting book, looking into not only the families involved directly, those in and around the town, how years later it’s still trying to emerge from its history, and how social media can bring everything to the surface again for good or bad. But it’s also about new motherhood, changing personal lives and friendships, that many people can relate to.

Safe at Home by Lauren North

With husband Rob away on oil rigs, mum of 3 Anna is struggling to cope on a budget, bring up tween twins and a younger daughter, while growing her business and trying to settle in to village life. She has a past life she wants to keep hidden, but also doesn’t feel comfortable fitting in with everyone else’s close knit mum groups.

After letting one of the twins stay home alone for the first time, Anna gets stuck in traffic with the other 2 girls, and can’t get hold of anyone to check in on Harrie. After that night everything’s changed. Harrie’s no longer the chatty happy go lucky girl, but what went on that night, and how can she get through to her daughter without pushing her away.

While we don’t know until the end everything that went on, what Harrie’s going through that we do know about is traumatising for her, and subsequently makes you worry in particular if you’re at the same age of parenting, needing to increase the independence for your tweens and teens.

Is their village as close as it seems, why is Anna being excluded from information at the Parish Council where she’s taken on an admin role, and where’s her husband when he misses the weekly call to the girls?

A book I couldn’t put down, and the mind was running wild wondering what had gone on, with snippets trailed, but then turning out not to be as expected. I’ll be looking out for more books by Lauren North if they’re as good as this one.

The Couple at Number 9 by Claire Douglas

Saffy and her husband are extending their cottage ahead of their baby’s arrival. But when 2 bodies are found in the garden, the questions start. The cottage had been Saffy’s grandmother Rose’s house for years, first lived in then rented out. So who were the bodies, why were they there, and surely Rose can’t have had anything to do with it?

Saffy’s wayward mother Lorna returns from Spain to help out. Rose is in a home, with alzeimers and unable to recall those years she lived there. But Saffy and Lorna try and find out the truth, uncovering further complexities.

Alongside their story, we also hear about Theo’s who’s trying to find out more about what his father’s up to. He never really trusted him, and now more questions and concerns are being uncovered.

Told from various different character’s views, I was hooked on this book. The awful thought of finding bodies in your own garden, then having to still live there afterwards. Finding out your family isn’t always who you thought they were. Everything is brought together in the end, with some horrendous crimes.

Definitely a book to try.

The Sum of all Kisses by Julia Quinn

Book 3 from the Smythe-Smith quartet, this time Lady Sarah’s story and how she and Lord Hugh start with hating each other, to changing their minds. All alongside each of their stories interwoven with the previous book in the series and their families.

You can read it as a standalone, but reading them in order works better. Considering the Regency period setting, you’ll still find modern themes of LGBTQ+ mentioned, and and a core theme of acceptance of those who might be different to society’s expectations.

You can find all these books on Amazon*.

Let me know what you’ve been reading recently.