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This update is coming to you a little late – apologies! I got to enjoy a couple of much needed weeks off work, I was certainly ready for that break. I have been back at school a week now and it has been lovely seeing all the kids again!
And so to the challenge update. Me and Mum are cracking on with our list, so have decided to add ten more prompts. We have added some that definitely take us out of our comfort zone, but that’s the whole idea of a challenge!
Books read this month will be shown in b old and the ten new prompts are at the bottom of the list.
The Prompts
- A book with a pink/yellow cover Q by Christine Dalcher (Natalie)
- Autobiography The Wheel of Fortune – Edith Piaf (Mum)
- Number in the title
- Made me laugh Anxious People by Fredrick Backman (Natalie) Why Mummy Drinks by Gill Sims (Mum)
- Re-read
- A book by one of your favourite authors The Pelican Brief by John Grisham (Mum)
- Book has a dog/cat in A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen (Mum) Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney (Natalie)
- Dystopian 1984 by George Orwell (Mum) Vox by Christina Dalcher (Natalie)
- Family drama Message Deleted by K.L. Slater (Natalie) The Last Days of Joy by Anne Tiernan (Mum)
- Debut novel
- YA Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher (Mum)
- Serial killer
- Non-fiction
- A book in a series The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley (Mum)
- Recommended by Happy Place Book Club Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne (Mum)
- Recommended by Reese Witherspoon
- TikTok made me read it Verity by Colleen Hoover (Natalie) Know My Name by Chanel Miller (Mum)
- Historical FictionThe Marriage Season by Jane Dunn (Mum) The Hidden Girl by Lucinda Riley (Natalie)
- Has a character called the same name as a family member Mavis and Dot by Angela Petch (Mum) Other People’s Houses by Claire Mackintosh (Natalie)
- Christmas
- Classic
- From/about a different culture
- Fantasy
- A book recommended to us
- From GoodReads The 144 Most Read Books of the 2024 Reading Challenge
- A book with a name in the title
- Self help or improvement book
- A book written by a celebrity
- A book that was turned into a film
- Love story or romance
My mum has given her reads a rating out of 5 –
The Pelican Brief – 4.5*
Sociopath – A Memoir – 4*
Mavis and Dot – 3.5*
Ketchup Clouds – 4*
Know My Name – 5*
Want to try one of these? Head over to my Amazon store
The Hidden Girl
by Lucinda Riley
The Blurb
The Hidden Girl is a lost treasure from the author of The Seven Sisters series, Lucinda Riley. Discover this sweeping and evocative reimagined novel from an author loved by millions of readers worldwide.
You can’t alter destiny . . .
Born and raised in a small village on the Yorkshire moors, Leah Thompson grows more beautiful with each passing day. When she catches the attention of the influential, troubled Delancey family, she knows her life will never be the same again.
Years later, Leah takes the modelling world by storm, travelling from Milan to London and New York and living life in the lap of luxury. But her past follows her like a dark shadow, mysteriously intertwined with the tragic tale of two young siblings in Poland during the Second World War.
As two generations of secrets threaten to explode, Leah is haunted by a fatal, forgotten prophecy from her past, and must fight to challenge the destiny that has been mapped out for her in the stars . .
What I Thought
Well, there isn’t a Lucinda Riley book I haven’t enjoyed and this is another one to add to the amazing reads!
The story follows Leah, who we first meet as a school girl, helping her Mum out in her spare time with her work at a large house owned by Rose Delaney. Leah is soon scouted by a model agency and jets off for a new life full of glitz and glamour. However, her past isn’t left in the past and hers and the Delaney families stories remain intertwined, with some huge repercussions.
The book tells the stories of the characters involved over multiple timelines and this is one of the things I love about Lucinda Riley’s stories. There is always a historical angle and this time, we go back to Poland during the Second World War.
One of my favourite authors providing another gem of a book – if you haven’t red anything by her yet,,, why not?!?
Where To Buy
Other People’s Houses*
by Claire Mackintosh
The Blurb
The stunning new thriller from the author who brought you the jaw-dropping twist of I Let You Go, the gasp-out-loud ending of Let Me Lie, and the loveable, unpredictable Ffion Morgan in The Last Party and A Game of Lies.
‘Witty and ingeniously plotted with twist after brilliant twist. I loved it!’ CLAIRE DOUGLAS
Even on the most desirable street, there’s a dark side . . .
The Hill is the kind of place everyone wants to live: luxurious, exclusive and safe. But now someone is breaking and entering these Cheshire homes one by one, and DS Leo Brady suspects the burglar is looking for something, or someone, in particular.
Over the border in Wales, DC Ffion Morgan recovers the body of an estate agent from the lake. There’s no love lost between Ffion and estate agents, but who hated this one enough to want her dead – and why?
As their cases collide, Ffion and Leo discover people will pay a high price to keep their secrets behind closed doors .
What I Thought
Wow – what a page turner! This was the second Claire Mackintosh book I have read and she does not disappoint. I didn’t realise until I finished reading that this is the third book starring Ffion but as I realised, you do not need to have read the others to read this one – although I will be definitely going back to those at some point!
So Ffion and Leo are a couple both working for the police force, but across the English/Welsh border. It begins with the murder of an estate agent on a work weekend away in Wales with colleagues, but turns into a whole lot more than that!
With Ffion investigating the murder in Wales, Leo is working on ‘The Hill’, trying to solve a number of break ins. These break ins soon turn into something worse, when a teenager is badly injured. While at first appearing to be very different cases, there are lots of potential links between the two and Leo and Ffion have to start working together to unravel the mysteries. Just to throw a spanner in the works, Leo’s ex wife lives at the bottom of the hill but has high aspirations of buying a property there and joining this glamorous community. The writing is so good when it comes to this part of the story, I was literally squirming with embarrassment at what goes on!
This was a fab thriller in every way – interesting and well written characters, unpredictably twists and fast-paced. I read a lot of thrillers and pride myself on sometimes predicting at least some of the plot twists – but this one just kept me guessing!
Where To Buy
Q
by Christine Dalcher
The Blurb
IN THIS WORLD, PERFECTION IS EVERYTHING.
It begins as a way to make things fairer. An education system that will benefit everyone. It’s all in the name of progress.
This is what Elena Fairchild believes. As a teacher in one of the government’s elite schools for children with high ‘Q’ scores, she witnesses the advantages first-hand.
But when Elena’s own daughter scores lower than expected, she is taken away. Elena follows her to her new home. A government institute.
What she finds there makes Elena question everything. Because this world is about perfection – and that comes at a terrible price.
What I Thought
Fast becoming one of my new favourite authors! This one really got to me as a teacher. The new education system is bought about due to the fact that schools are no longer able to cope with the difficulty in teaching such a broad spectrum of children. And I get it – the difference in ability and interest levels in my class are so large – then throw in a number of different SEND needs and an hour lesson can be a minefield to plan for!
However, this dystopian tale sees the idea going much too far – as it often does! I love a dystopian tale that I can see becoming reality – The Handmaid’s Tale, Vox… with the current situation in America these types of new world are looking more and more possible.
I think the blurb tells you all you need to know going into this story and I don’t want to give any spoilers. It is really well done and the character of Elena is written perfectly. As a mother I feel every inch of what she is going through. One of my favourite reads of the year so far.
Where To Buy
So that’s March wrapped up! I hope you are enjoying your reads so far – anything you would recommend to us? Let me know in the comments below!
Take care and happy reading!
The Spoonie Mummy 
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