BOOK CLUB #5

Hello hellooooo, it’s time for another book club post, these are the final four books I read last year that brought my total reads of 2019 to 13 wahooo! I set a target of 12 in 12 months so I’m buzzing to have surpassed this even if just by one.
Be sure to check out the other posts here, here, here & here if you’re after some good books to get stuck into this year. I'd love to hear of any books you think I'd love, if you loved them, chances are I will too, so please do leave your recommendations in the comments below.

This year I'm setting the goal of reading 15 books which I'm hopeful (kind of) that I can meet, even with planning a wedding, work and the rest that life throws at me... Famous last words eh?
I'm half way book number three currently so not a terrible start to the year and hopefully I'll be back in a month or so with my next five reads. But until then, enjoy book club no5.

x M

The Only Story By Julian Barnes

First up we have The Only Story by Julian Barnes a beautiful story of love and reflection.
The book is written from the perspective of Paul as he looks back on his one true love from when he was just 19 years old. Paul falls for an older lady hook line and sinker and as they both grow older the demands of love become achingly difficult.

“Would you rather love the more, and suffer the more; or love the less, and suffer the less? That is, I think, finally, the only real question"

This is a really easy book to fly through and one I truly enjoyed for the most part. It is tender, profound and really rather beautiful throughout. It was only as I finished that I couldn’t help but think that the ending was a bit of a let down which was such a shame.

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo, a book that was seriously, seriously hyped throughout 2019. It seemed that everyone was reading this book and raving about it so I picked it up at the airport en route to St Lucia in October.
A true story about the sex lives of three real American women that was based on around 10 years of research, interviews and reporting.
Taddeo spent time with three women to explore their past love and sex lives and cleverly morphed each story into what felt like a fiction story.
I really did enjoy this book and thought it was an extremely clever, emotional and raw read, however I don’t think it deserves the hype it received. I think it was extremely over hyped actually. It wasn’t a book I was itching to pick up and it took me an awful long time to finish it as I only “found” the time to read when I was away both in St Lucia and finally in Val D’Isere when I finished it.
This is one I wouldn’t urge you to go out and read personally, however, each to their own and I know a lot of people loved this book. For me it’s a 3 star rating which is what I gave it over on my new Good Reads profile.

Sirens by Joseph Knox

Next up we have Sirens by Joseph Knox a thriller set in Manchester which was heavily hyped by my very own bookworm, Faye Ellaby.
The first in a three part series that explores the inner circle of criminal Zain Carver from the eyes of police officer Aidan Waits.

“Zain is a mesmerizing, Gatsby-esque figure who lures young women into his orbit--women who have a bad habit of turning up dead”

A really great and gripping read that I truly enjoyed, especially as it is set in Manchester and it was awesome to be able to visualise exactly where Knox was writing about. I do love myself a thriller when it comes to books and whilst this wasn’t my all time fave, I’ll definitely be giving the other books in the series a read.

In At The Deep End by Kate Davies

In At The Deep End by Kate Davies is a really great and easy read that had me laughing out loud an awful lot whilst reading this back in St Lucia.
In At The Deep End is a novel featuring Julia a twenty-something who has been notoriously unlucky in love. Desperate to be love and to be loved it seems Julia has been looking in all the wrong places, namely from men.
This book explores Julia’s sexual awakening as she begins “her new lesbian life” with new lover Sam.
This book is incredibly frank and terribly funny and a truly great read. I completely flew through it and feel it’s a great one to kick start any 2020 reading goals you’re thinking of setting. Loved it!