I managed to read ten books during August 2022 which I’m quite pleased with.
I had a nice mix of different genres and a mixture of three, four and five star reads.
My favourite books of the month were The Island of Missing Trees and Isaac and the Egg.
This is the full list of all the books I read in August 2022.
Yours Cheerfully by AJ Pearce
London, September, 1941.
Things are looking up for Emmy and her career at Woman’s Friend magazine. Now the formidable Henrietta Bird has departed, Emmy feels much happier in her role.
Therefore when the Ministry of Information requires help, Emmy is thrilled to be put forward. They are asking women’s magazines to help recruit female workers for the war effort and Emmy is keen to help.
However, when she meets a young woman who shows them the real challenges for women war workers, Emmy is torn. She is horrified by the way these women are treated and dismissed purely for not having childcare options available.
Emmy now faces a dilemma. Should she carry out her duty and encourage women to work in munitions factories? Or does she stand by her friends and fight for their rights?
I really enjoyed this book. It’s a celebration of the power of female friendship and I’m looking forward to the next in the series.
Click here to read my full review of Yours Cheerfully by AJ Pearce.
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
Whatever happened to Marion Graves?
In the 1950s, female aviator Marion Graves crashes in during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe from pole to pole. Her body is never recovered.
The book takes us back to Marion’s childhood and various points throughout her life, all leading up to her final daring adventure.
In the present day, over 50 years later, troubled actor Hadley Baxter is tasked with portraying Marion on screen. Hadley is instantly drawn to the role, and is led to an unexpected discovery, throwing fresh light on the story of the mysterious Marian Graves.
It’s beautifully written and I loved the feminist angle. I just wanted a story that ultimately was about adventure to be a bit more exciting. I did, however, really enjoy the ending.
Click here to read my full review of Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
Elle Bishop seems to have a perfect life. A husband who adores her, two children and a holiday home in Cape Cod.
This holiday home, affectionately named The Paper Palace, is the scene of Elle’s greatest betrayal. As her mother and husband chat inside, Elle enjoys a passionate encounter with her oldest friend.
Despite outward appearances, Elle’s life has been far from perfect. Devastating past experiences have led her to this point and the decision she now has to make.
The story unfolds over twenty-four hours with flashbacks over fifty years, as Elle finally has to decide what, and who, she truly wants.
The story is an exploration of the choices we make, and the paths we choose to go down. It highlights the impact secrets and lies can have on a family and how these repercussions can be felt by those around us.
Despite my misgivings and finding Elle an irritating character, I couldn’t help but be captivated by the story which is a testament to the author’s skill.
Click here to read my full review of Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller.
Isaac and the Egg by Bobby Palmer
Isaac stands alone on a bridge and screams.
Something screams back.
Isaac is grieving and feeling alone and vulnerable. So when he finds a mysterious egg in the woods at dawn, he does the only thing he could do – take it home.
In this story about love, friendship and baked beans, Egg teaches Isaac, step by step, to live again.
Considering it’s a story about grief, the focus is on hope, friendship and love. It’s a gentle, tender story with a hint of magic.
It’s hard to believe this story is a debut and I’ll definitely be looking out for more books by Bobby Palmer.
Click here to read my full review of Issac and the Egg by Bobby Palmer.
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
The Trojan war was never the story of just one woman. It was the story of them all.
Told from an all-female perspective, A Thousand Ships tells the story of the women who were involved in the war. From the three goddesses whose feud started it all, to the Trojan women whose fates now lie in the hands of the Greeks. From the Amazon princess who fought Achilles to Penelope awaiting the return of Odysseus.
These are the stories of the women embroiled in the legendary war.
I really enjoyed this book. I really liked reading from so many different perspectives and finding out about lesser-known stories.
Click here to read my full review of A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes.
The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
The Paris Library is based on the true story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris during World War 2.
In Paris, 1939, Odile is loving her new job at the American Library, with its thriving community of students, writers and book lovers. However, when war is declared and the Nazis invade Paris, everything Odile holds dear is threatened.
In Montana, 1983, Lily is a lonely teenager, desperate to escape her small town. She has dreams of travel and adventure. When Lily befriends her neighbour Odile, they share a love of languages and books. However Lily soon discovers that Odile has secrets and a very mysterious past.
As Odile tries to help Lily navigate her difficult teenage years, she’s forced to face the decisions she made over forty years ago.
There are many great things about the story. The bravery and tenacity of the residents of occupied Paris never ceases to amaze me. The characters in the Paris Library were no exception.
However, I found the book just didn’t move me the way it should have. It just didn’t have the emotional impact compared to books such as The Nightingale and The Book of Lost Names.
Click here to read my full review of The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles.
The Night Ship by Jess Kidd
In 1628, Mayken, a motherless young girl, steps aboard The Batavia with her nursemaid. This journey should lead Mayken to her father, a man she knows very little about. Mayken is fascinated by the ship, especially the goings on below deck. She is resourceful and curious and soon finds out secrets about both her fellow passengers and the workers aboard the ship. Tensions start to fray and the fate of the ship and all on board are put in jeopardy.
In 1989, Gil, mourning the death of his mother, is sent to stay with his grandfather, a man he has never met. His grandfather lives on a tiny, remote fishing island off the coast of Western Australia, known only for its reefs and shipwrecks. Gil struggles to find his place on the island and his behaviour starts to catch the attention of the wrong people.
This story highlights the extremes of human nature, the kindness and compassion shown by some, contrasted against the brutality and cruelty of others. It makes it even more shocking when you remember these were real events.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was a haunting tale and the author expertly weaved the facts into the story to make it a gripping and fascinating retelling.
Click here to read my full review of The Night Ship by Jess Kidd.
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
In Cyrpus, 1974, teenagers Defne and Kostas are in love. However, Cyprus is divided and it’s a dangerous time to fall for someone on the opposite side.
Defne is Turkish and Muslim while Kostas is Greek and Christian.
The only place they can meet in secret and feel safe is a taverna named The Happy Fig. The taverna has a fig tree growing through a cavity in the roof, and it witnesses everything. From the young couple’s happy meetings to the devastation of the war.
In the aftermath of the war, Kostas and Defne are separated.
Decades later, a cutting of the original fig tree is smuggled to England by Kostas, who now works as a botanist. The fig tree lives in his London garden where Kostas lives with his sixteen-year-old daughter, Ada.
Ada is unaware of the fig tree’s origins and as she discovers more about the tree’s past, she starts to find out more about her own family’s history.
Click here to read my full review of The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak.
The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
In 1930s colonial Malaya, 11-year-old Ren has been given an unusual mission. He is tasked by his master, who is now deceased, to find his severed finger and reunite it with his body.
Ren has forty-nine days to complete this task, or his master’s soul will roam the earth forever.
Meanwhile, Ji Lin is an apprentice dressmaker who moonlights as a dancehall girl to help her mother pay her debts. During one dance, her partner leaves her with a gruesome souvenir – a severed finger.
As time starts to run out for Ren’s mission, a series of unexplained deaths occur. There are rumours of tigers who turn into men. Is there a logical explanation or is something more mysterious to blame?
In their journey to keep a promise and discover the truth, Ren and Ji Lin’s paths will cross in ways they will never forget.
There’s quite a mix of genres so it’s hard to know where to place this book. It was historical fiction but also featured romance, mystery and a large dose of magic realism.
I think this mix of topics may be why I wasn’t as gripped by the story as I had hoped. There just felt like there were too many different themes.
The mystery itself was good and I didn’t predict the outcome. It was full of twists and turns and this was the part of the story that I enjoyed the most.
Click here to read my full review of The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo.
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
Briseis, Queen of Lyrnessus, is caught in the middle of a war.
After conquering her city and slaying all the men, including Briseis’ husband and brothers, the mighty Achilles claims Briseis as yet another prize.
Briseis, despite her former status as a queen, joins the other captive women inside the Greek compound and endures everything her master expects of his slave.
However, nobody realises the impact Briseis’ presence will later have on the war, as Achilles and Agamemnon’s fragile alliance reaches breaking point.
I really enjoyed reading from Briseis’ perspective. She’s a character that is so important to the outcome of the Trojan War, and yet is so often overlooked.
I do feel, considering this was supposed to be about Briseis, that this still felt like Achilles’ story. The story ends upon his death, not Briseis’. I would have preferred to have read more about what happened to her after the war.
Click here to read my full review of The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker.
You may also be interested in:
The Books I Read in July 2022: A Wrap Up and my other previous monthly reads.
