by emmalfield -

My Month in Reviews: June 2018

Month in review

I might have to start calling this post my month in three-monthly reviews as I haven’t posted an update on what I’ve been reading since April but life keeps getting in the way.  I am – hopefully – back now though, with life being a bit calmer and a bit more sorted so, here goes, back in monthly update posts – and what a month.  I got a new contract for work – making me feel like an official freelancer – and I got to read some great books, mostly review books I was behind on. Plus the sun has shone and England has been doing well in the football – could life get much better?

Anyway, without further review, here’s what I read….

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My month in reviews: April, 2018

Month in review

April has been an odd month for me.  It started out with me not being well thanks to a throat and ear infection.  The whole thing knocked me sideways and I’ve struggled to get back in the groove ever since.  I have no reading mojo it seems and blogging has felt blah.  I am finally starting to feel myself again now (thankfully!) and recently have found myself wanting to pick up books again and write some posts.  So, here’s hoping May will be brighter than April for me.  In the meantime, here’s a look at the books I read (it won’t take long…)

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Weekly update: 4th February, 2018

Morning all and welcome to my first February update, another month that has started with rain – when will we get some better weather?  For a short month, February is apparently the one that feels like the longest.  I think it’s because we are now all desperate for spring to arrive.  Fingers crossed it does soon.  On other notes, it was another busy week for me with projects to do (but I’m not complaining) but also not as stressful because I didn’t feel as panic-y … I even said no to a job when the timeframes were too tight (it felt good).  It did mean I didn’t get as much blog hopping and commenting done as I would like but I did spend some time this weekend catching up and am hopefully about there now.

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Month in review: January, 2018

Month in review

Bye-bye January, hello February and – hopefully – warmer weather and longer days.  I long to see the sun after five in the evening!  For the first time in a while, I feel like saying a month didn’t fly by.  It was nice.  With school starting late after the holidays and a bit of a leisurely start to the month as a result, it hasn’t felt rushed for once.  Reading wise, it was pretty good too, with some great books (clicking on the links will take you to the reviews)…

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Monthly update: November, 2017

Month in review

So this is it, the final countdown to Christmas is one day away – time to dig out the advent calendars and start shopping earnest!  I am officially getting excited (it helps that it has snowed here today, and I love snow).  I’m not sure what the season will do to my reading and blogging but I imagine for a lot of us it will start to slow down as we focus on other things.  November, though was a good reading month (bar a mini-slump half way through).  Here’s what I liked, loved and just weren’t for me this month…

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Monthly Update: October, 2017

Month in review

So it’s bye, bye, October and hello November, with the dark nights now fully here and the cold weather making itself known, it’s the perfect time of year to snuggle down with a good book – well, at least it is in my part of the world!  Thankfully, I’ve had some good books this month and have the promise of more to come (yay!).  Here’s what I liked, loved and just weren’t for me this month…

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Month in review: August, 2017

Month in reviewSo it’s here – September – the time of year in my neck of the woods where the weather turns (or not, the last couple of years we’ve had indian summers), the nights draw in, and the sweaters come out of hiding.  I quite like it to be honest.  It makes the world a little snugglier (if that’s a word) and I’m sure I get more reading done as I’m not taking time off to enjoy the sun (well, when there is sun!).

Saying that, I didn’t do too bad in August with some great reads.  In fact, there wasn’t one duff book amongst them.  Here’s what I read, and how I felt about it…

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Month in review: June, 2017

Hi All – and welcome to the end of June.  I’m hoping you had a good month.  Mine has been a bit up and down in that I’ve been feeling more than a bit grumpy – I think I’ve been waiting for my holidays and then leaving work so I can start my new adventures.  That I started off with a few so-so books didn’t help I have to say – though it has ended with a bit of a bang with two brilliant books, making me just a little bit happier.

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Forgotten by Nicole Trope, and a frantic search for a stolen baby which left me on the edge of my seat and staying up late into the night to finish.  Can’t recommend this one enough and it’s my book of the month!

Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica, another corker from one of my favourite authors who has crafted a twisty, turny, thriller that left me guessing until the end.

Black Hornet by James Sallis, with it’s wonderful noir tale of a sniper on the lose in 1960’s New Orleons.

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Buried Secrets by Lisa Cutts, where I return to the rather seedy East Rise and the death of  high ranking police officer and his wife and the secrets they were hiding.

Guiltless by Viveca Sten, my third visit to Sandhamn island with it’s small population and high murder rate.

Cold Kill by P. J. Tracy, an enjoyable crime novel with conspiracy at it’s heart and a cold Minnesota winter to keep the tension high.

Roots, Radicals, and Rockers: How Skiffle Changed the World by Billy Bragg, a fascinating walk through a musical genre that rocked Britain for two years and was responsible for bringing us the Beatles.  Now no one has heard of it – well, hardly anyone!

liked-it-a-little

My Sister by Michelle Adams, a good debut with plenty of twists and turns but – unfortunately – I just couldn’t get away with characters that were too unreliable, even for me.

The People at Number Nine by Felicity Everett, another book where the characters let it down for, or at least one – whose story it was I was reading.  Plus, I felt I had been promised more suspense than I actually got.

Again, there were not books I really disliked this month, so overall a good month which has ended with quite a bang with my favourite read of the month.  Here’s hoping July is as good!

How has your month in reading been?  Good, I hope.

Emma x

This month, I’m linking with Kathryn at Book Date and Nicole at Feed Your Fiction Addiction with their monthly round-up posts (clicking on the images will take you to the posts to check out what others have been reading).

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Monthly update: May, 2017

Hello June, goodbye May…yes, it’s monthly update time again.  I have to say, for me, May has been a long month but a good one.  I mentioned last month I have been making some decisions and these are all now falling into place.  I hope to start writing more about how things are going over the next few months (if I’m brave enough to share that much) but in a nutshell, I have quit my job and am setting out on my own.

It’s not immediate as I have to give three months notice but I have a plan for what to do next with my life and it feels exciting.  I’ll be staying in my comfort zone at first (I do project management and write funding requests) but I am hoping to go beyond that with the help of a little (maybe a lot) of retraining.  Wish me luck!

Now, onto the important bit…the books I have loved, liked and just weren’t for me this month…I have to say it was a good reading month…

loved-it

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Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley, which put a human face on a writer who has written some of my favourite books but whom I knew very little about…and that little turns out to not be true.

As this is the only book I loved this month, it’s no competition for book of the month!

liked-it-a-lot

Viral by Helen Fitzgerald, which looks at the nastier side of the internet with a young woman’s sexual exploits becoming a viral video and the fallout for her and her family.

Dead Calm by Inge Löhnig, my first foray into german crime / mystery and a good one with the murder of a well known doctor and suspects who are all in the family.

Mercy Killing by Lisa Cutts, an involving police procedural but with the not so nice subject matter of child abuse.

New Boy by Tracy Chevalier , a modern day retelling of Othello which is small and perfectly formed.

Tarot Court Cards for Beginners by Leeza Robertson, a bit of a different read for me but also a hobby I wish I was better at…this book will definitely help!

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The Dinosaur Feather by Sissel-Jo Gazan, which was one of those books that wasn’t just long (over 500 pages) but felt long.  At the heart was (I think) an interesting mystery but there was so much else I got lost.

And that’s it for me…how has your reading month been?

Emma x

 

This month, I’m linking with Kathryn at Book Date and Nicole at Feed Your Fiction Addiction with their monthly round-up posts (clicking on the images will take you to the posts to check out what others have been reading).

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