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Greetings, slightly late post this month (apologies, work and life have been CHAOS), but here we are. These are the books I managed to read in June and July. Some I loved, some I liked, some I didn't get. The usual really. 

1. Where I Was From - Joan Didion

I love Joan Didion's writing - her book The Year of Magical Thinking (review here) was so amazing - so I was excited to read this book (advertised as a memoir) but I just could not finish it. I got about half way through and gave up. 

It is essentially a book about the history of the Californian water system, not a memoir. If anyone has read it through and it gets better let me know, but I couldn't continue... SORRY

2. The Wife - Meg Wolitzer

I am a big fan of Meg Wolitzer, I have always liked anything I've read by her and this was no different.

This story is about Joan Castleman (the wife) and her husband Joseph, one of America's accomplished novelists. When Joan decides she wants to leave Joseph after 40 years of sacrificing her literary dreams for his, they are on a flight to Helsinki to attend an awards ceremony where is he about to receive a prestigious international award for his accomplishments as a novelist.

The book then flashes back 50 years to where their relationship began, and follows each step of the marriage that has brought them to this point, secrets and all, and the challenging position of being an ambitious woman in a man's world.

This is an easy read, enjoyable - a great summer holiday read.

3. The Kind Worth Killing - Peter Swanson

At the complete other end of the spectrum - although oddly enough along the same topic of a marriage destined for failure - we have this book, which is definitely a thriller, which I loved.

Good Reads describe this as "a devious tale of psychological suspense involving sex, deception and an accidental encounter that leads to murder," which pretty much sums it up!

This book tells the story of Ted Severson, who meets the mysterious Lily on a flight from London to Boston, seemingly by chance, and they hit it off, revealing intimate details about their lives to one another. Ted tells Lily about his marital problems, saying that he could kill his wife for what she has done. This sets Lily's plan in motion, who has a dark history of murder and mystery that nobody knows about.

So good, a page turner with twists right up to the end. Very Girl on the Train-esque.

4. Fleishman is in Trouble - Taffy Brodesser-Akner

Now this was the book I just did not get, or like. I had heard so much hype about it - and maybe I missed the point - but I didn't think it was great at all.

It tells the story of Toby Fleishman, who is recently separated from his wife (strange theme going on here in these last 3 books), and suddenly, at forty-one, surround by women who want him like never before. This is all going well for him, until his wife suddenly vanishes, dropping the children at his door and seemingly disappearing into thin air.

What sounded like it was going to be a thriller essentially just turned out to be pages upon pages of the protagonist speaking about all the women he's sleeping with from the apps and the photos they send him, while he makes a poor attempt at looking after his children in between, and also trying to figure out where his wife - the mother of his children - has gone, with seemingly very little urgency. Very strange, didn't get it.

Let me know if you read this and I totally missed something, I may have!

5. The Light Between Oceans - M.L. Stedman

I absolutely adored this book and am now dying to watch the movie, if anyone has watched it can you let me know which you preferred, the book or the movie? I don't want to watch it if it's going to ruin the story for me..

This book tells the heartbreaking tale of husband and wife Tom and Isabel Sherbourne, set in Australia in 1926 - Tom is the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, and Isabel marries and joins him to live out there. During their time there they struggle terribly to have a baby, enduring two miscarriages and one stillbirth, which completely destroys them and causes unimaginable grief. So, when one morning a boat washes up on the shore with a newborn baby inside - alive and well - along with the dead body of her father, it is almost as though the baby was sent to them to heal their pain.

Against his better judgement, Tom gives in to Isabel's pleas and they claim the baby as their own, naming her Lucy. When Lucy turns two and they return to the mainland, however, things begin to unravel.

It is an emotional read anyway, and I recently lost my grandfather (a lighthouse keeper for 40 years), who has the same name as one of the main characters in the book, so I found it particularly emotional! (Fair warning).

Et voila. Didn't get as much read as I would have liked but as I mentioned, the last two months have been slightly HECTIC to say the least, so I didn't have the time. BUT, I am going on holidays this Friday for two weeks, and have no less than 10 books packed, so hold on to your hats for that whopper post when I'm back. 

Stay safe, lots of love & thank you for reading!

S ✗