Hello July (almost)! We have just passed the middle point of the year and I have read lots of lovely books already. This month I intend to dive into some exciting new ones.
Do you have any reading plans for July? I would love to know what you are thinking of reading. Here are just ten that I hope to read.
Chalk Dust and New Chapters by Gervase Phinn
Summer term, 1956. For boys and girls, primary school days mean blackboards and chalk dust, pinafores and short trousers, satchels and skipping ropes.
For talented teacher Helen Mercer, returning to her home county of Yorkshire and working in a supply role, it’s a term of being sent wherever there’s a gap to fill, and getting to grips with idiosyncratic head teachers, eccentric colleagues and new classes of young children.
To each school, Helen brings warmth, creativity and a stubborn conviction that every child matters. But among the endearing, funny youngsters she meets, defiant Terry Smith tests her more than most. Can she reach the vulnerable boy she spies beneath the unruly behaviour?
As Helen settles back into Yorkshire life and even considers a new romance, she must decide which school needs her most, and where she can truly belong.
An evocative, entertaining and feel-good novel that celebrates those memorable early schooldays, from one of the UK’s most beloved storytellers.
Wedded to her Enemy Knight by Lissa Morgan
An enemies to lovers, convenient marriage Medieval romance
A house divided…
A passion ignited!
Outraged when Yorkist knight Edmund Deverell stakes his centuries-old claim on her beloved home, Lancastrian maiden Isobel Calvert won’t leave without a fight! But her best defense against destitution is to propose marriage—to her enemy!
After the pain of his first union, Edmund had never planned to wed again, his only allegiance now is to the House of York. Still, he can’t deny a practical marriage will secure his legacy and leave his emotions intact. But days of verbal sparring with his new wife lead to nights of unforgettable passion, until Edmund finds his loyalties wavering dangerously…
Tell Tale by Claire Parkin
How do you catch a serial killer when no-one believes you’re telling the truth?
Wales, 1984.
Llanfair's most notorious busybody, Debbie-Marie Tunstall, has really gone and done it this time. Her snooping and merciless announcements of observations written in her Kajagoogoo notebook have gotten her into so much trouble that even her mum can't defend her. She has no choice but to run away.
And then finds herself the sole witness to a murder.
From a decades-old tragedy to the immediate danger of a potential serial killer on the loose, Debbie takes it upon herself to piece together the mysteries. But even if she uncovers the truth, will anyone believe the village’s biggest tell-tale?
Because in Llanfair, secrets are buried just beneath the surface, and what Debbie has inadvertently stumbled upon could unravel the very fabric of her community . . .
We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes
Single mum Lila:
Has got her hands full with two unruly daughters.
Is the author of an unexpectedly successful self-help book.
Is the impulsive owner of a flashy sportscar.
She also:
Has a stepdad who quietly moved in after her mother died.
Has a deadline looming on a book that just won’t write itself.
Is exchanging school-gate daggers with her ex’s pregnant girlfriend.
It feels like she alone is holding up the sky.
So the last thing she needs is a stranger at the door.
Not even when he’s a Hollywood star.
Needing a place to stay.
With a million-dollar smile she doesn’t trust for a second.
Because this is Gene – the father she hasn’t seen in 16 years . . .
Really Rubie: A Diary by Maddie Frost
Rubie can’t wait to go to summer camp for the very first time. She and her best friend, Riley, are going to have an ENTIRE MONTH TOGETHER!
Then Riley drops the bombshell that she can’t go. Now Rubie has to go all by herself and stay in a cabin full of girls she doesn’t know. EEK!
But going solo, Rubie might just make a new BFF, break out of her shell, and even meet a boy… What’s for sure is that camp will be more eventful than Rubie ever thought it could be - with more drama than she ever imagined!
Kitten by Stacey Yu
A magnetic novel about a young woman who falls in love with her boyfriend's cat.
Katie hasn't spoken to her mother in a year when her boyfriend James introduces her to his cat Silver. A small, vulnerable, incorrigible ball of need, Silver's acceptance of Katie cracks open something inside of her: an unravelling begins.
Fresh out of college and far from home, Katie is desperate to skirt the demands of adult life - especially because, as she promised her mother, the plan was to never grow up in the first place. Luckily, she has James: self-assured, generous, and seemingly happy to make decisions for them both.
When they go on holiday to James's family's seaside home, Katie's attachment to Silver grows. Silver doesn't mind that Katie can't seem to get a job, hold her own at dinner parties, or make amends with her mother. Silver, who gets to misbehave spectacularly, be childish, be gross, and still get fed, seems to have the life Katie increasingly longs for. But as their bond intensifies, Katie's other relationships reach tipping points. Soon, Katie must come to terms with what she really wants, and what she might have to risk to get it.
Delicately playful and unexpectedly heartfelt, Kitten is a sensitive reckoning with the allure of helplessness and the uncertainty of becoming yourself in a world that is as disorienting as it is full of hope and connection.
Fiona and the Forgotten Piano by Kate Demaio
Eleven-year-old Fiona isn't allowed in the Fermata woods. And though its unique trees are fascinating, Fiona has no problem following her mother's rules. That is until the trees begin to sing.
Suddenly, it feels as though long forgotten memories are being unlocked in Fiona's mind. As she nears the woods edge, the trees fall silent, so silent even the leaves stop rustling. Fiona will finally break the rules and venture into the woods. She'll soon find herself traveling through portals to undiscovered worlds. And she'll have to trust her instincts and her quirky new friends to bring back the music or she may get lost within its notes.
A Glastonbury Romance by John Cowper Powys
One of the great cult novels, a book that can be read and re-read throughout a lifetime, A Glastonbury Romance is John Cowper Powys' masterpiece. Set in a beautifully imagined fictional version of the West Country, the novel inhabits a twentieth century under siege from older and stranger forces.
An epic work of terrific force and lyrical intensity, interweaving the ancient with the modern, the novel probes the mystical and spiritual ethos of Glastonbury and its association with the legend of the Grail. At the heart of the book is the vision of one man, who wishes to make Glastonbury again the great pilgrimage centre it once was. But what really lies in this powerful landscape and why did so many men and women once come to it seeking redemption?
The Strange Lives of Eleanor Teague by M K Hill
SAFE.
Eleanor Teague has a new life: a grand house in the country, a husband who adores her, and a place to recover from everything that came before. London is far away now. So are the whispers about the terrible thing she did.
PROTECTED.
The rules are simple. Stay inside. Stay calm. Stay quiet. Her husband says it’s for her own safety. The staff watch her closely. Because if she doesn’t follow the rules... people start to talk.
TRAPPED.
But something isn’t right at Haddon Hall. Eleanor starts seeing and hearing things she can’t explain. She starts to question what’s real. And the more she tries to understand her life, the less it makes sense...
Is Eleanor losing her mind? Or is everyone around her lying?
The Freshman Parents by Ko Porteous
THEY'RE OFF FOR THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES. BUT ARE YOU?
Single parent Heather isn't neurotic (honest!) — she's simply dreading the day her only child leaves for university — so her meticulous checklists grow longer by the hour. When she seeks advice from a parents' forum, she clashes with Scott, a single dad, whose "helpful" statistics and assertions about "helicopter parenting" leave her fuming.
Move-in day delivers the ultimate surprise: their daughters aren't just room-mates — they're self-declared best friends for life.
Despite their intentions to avoid relationships at all costs, unpredictable events keep throwing Heather and Scott together, making it increasingly difficult to ignore each other...
(all opinions are my own)
