Hello and welcome to my latest round-up of books I have read. Before I show you those let me show you what I have been up to this week.

I have been baking and gardening, and I was delighted to be able to get a bag of compost in with my delivery from our local wholesale suppliers. So as well as a big sack of flour, yeast, various other dried goods and veg I also got my compost. The delivery guy was great and said that during this outbreak “everyone has turned into either a home baker or farmer!”If you are in here in Cornwall or Devon then Westcountry Fruit Sales have a Bulk Buy site and you can them HERE

So baking wise, I have some chives growing in the garden so they got chopped up and went into Cheese and Chive Bread as well as making a Basic White loaf.

Also made some cakes, well you have to have a balanced diet after all… So coconut and cherry rock buns, traditional rock buns and ginger cake was the order of the day… The cakes I make are always a nice yellow as I use our own goose eggs.

The garden is coming on well, flowers and veg are slowly getting there. Now I may not have the prettiest garden garden fencing but it is essential for keeping the geese out, but also the dogs. They are little buggers for eating veg when it starts growing! And I love my garden by the way 😍

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So lets get down to the books. Once again it has been an excellent week for reading, it also helped that I had a week off work, though i am now back. I quite enjoyed being home.

The Wave by Virginia Moffatt was a cracking read and when I saw the synopsis for it for the Blog Tour I immediately jumped on it. It is set in Cornwall and centres around a handful of individual people who have met by coincidence. Most of Cornwall is trying to evacuate, this group decide they are not going to make it to safety before a tsunami hit land. It is told from the perspective of each person and frequently changes person in the telling. I got completely wrapped up in this and my review is due shortly.

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Wow! This was full of suspense and drama and had me hooked. The House on Rectory Lane by Staurt James was a great read and was another book I took on as part of the Blog Tour. It is about a family who move from the noise, hustle and bustle of London to a village. The house is old but seems perfect, but things start happening, odd comments from villagers and then… well I didn’t see that coming!

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Jo Thomas has a new book coming out so of course I am going to read it. Escape to the French Farmhouse is a gorgeous book and I loved it. The story is of a couple who move to rural France, things go pear shaped and he leaves. Del, well she decides to stay, a hard decision to make as she is alone in a strange country but it is the best decision she makes. This is a stunning read and the focus, as well as the characters, is also on Lavender and its uses in cooking. Well as I already bake and I do have various lavender plants in the garden this hit the right notes for me and I will be experimenting with some lavender themed cakes soon. Fabulous book and review is due in a couple of weeks.

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What an amazing book When All Is Said by Anne Griffin is. 84 year old Maurice Hannigan is sat at a bar, he will order 5 different drinks in a toast to the 5 people who have made a difference in his life. Each of these drinks represents a milestone or important landmark. With each drink the story of the person is told. This was such an amazing read and I loved it, a historical fiction as such as he remembers his life through the years. It is a poignant read and quite emotional. I will share my review over the next couple of weeks when I have a space between my Blog Tour posts.

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Now Ross Greenwood is an author who definitely delivers, his new book The Soul Killer is dark and is deliciously devious and twisted. If you like twisted crime and suspense books then check this one out. This is a story that starts as two different threads that gradually merge. One thread is from the perspective of the investigators, the other thread from the killer. This is such a great way of getting into the head of a psychopath and makes for exciting reading. This is the 2nd book in DI Barton series, and somehow I missed that one, so I can say that The Soul Killer works well as a stand-alone.

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What I listened to…

I finished listening to Gulliver’s Travels, while the narrator was good and I enjoyed it, I have to say I did prefer the book. It is one I have read a couple of times over the years. I think the book works better because a lot of the story is more Gulliver’s thoughts and observations and it is something I like as a reader. As a listener I think I prefer more drama, action and dramatic productions. This leads me nicely on to the next Audio I listened to…

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling is a free download for Audible members and as I have recently listened to the first Harry Potter book this seemed to be a good choice. It is a collection of stories and has a few narrators such as Jude Law and Warwick Davies, and this is where I like the mix of narrators and the dramatised versions as it helps to bring a story to life.

Well, that is me done for another week and so I will wish you all a Happy and Safe week ahead.

Yvonne xx