I didn’t bother setting myself any unrealistic new years resolutions this year and instead set myself a reading challenge. Between working, writing, housework and looking after three kids, I found myself not reading as much as I’d like. This is something I have remedied over the past couple of months and so I’ve set myself a challenge of reading 52 books in 2021, which basically equates to one book a week. I’m quite a quick reader but due to working and blogging commitments, plus the homeschooling of the kids, I set a realistic target.
During January I managed to read five books, which was above my target of one a week. Here’s my January roundup.
My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie
My first read of 2021 was My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. It was actually a Christmas present from my best friend as she knows I’m a massive fan of Hamilton The Musical. My Dear Hamilton focuses on the life of Eliza Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton’s wife, and while it is a work of fiction, it’s based on true events. I loved this book and learning more about the woman Eliza was, both before and after meeting Alexander. She was an incredible woman and I loved reading more about her.
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Click here to find my full review of My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie
America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie
After loving My Dear Hamilton, I was keen to read more about the key figures of the American Revolution and the years that followed. America’s First Daughter is also written by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie and focuses on the life of Patsy Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson’s daughter. Again, it is a work of fiction but it’s based on the almost 20,000 letters Jefferson wrote over his lifetime. I found it to be another fascinating read about yet another woman who seems to have been overlooked throughout history.
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Click here to find my full review of America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie
The Familiars by Stacey Hall
The Pendle Witch Trials serve as the backdrop to The Familiars as it centres around Fleetwood Shuttleworth, the young mistress of Gawthorpe Hall. After losing three babies, we join Fleetwood as she is pregnant for the fourth time and hires Alice Gray to be her midwife, after reading a letter that leads her to believe she won’t survive childbirth. Alice is later accused of witchcraft and faces death if she’s found guilty. After hiring Alice to try and save her and her baby’s life, Fleetwood has to risk everything to try and save her new friend. This is a powerful story of female friendship and loyalty that perfectly displays the strength of women.
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Click here to find my full review of The Familiars by Stacey Hall
The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena tells the story of Anne and Marco, a seemingly respectable couple who attend a dinner party at their neighbour’s house and leave their six-month-old baby, Cora, at home alone. When returning home the baby has gone. As we start to see through the “perfect family” facade, the family’s secrets and deceptions soon start to unravel. Who has taken Cora? And why? The Couple Next Door is a fast-paced story and with a small cast of suspects, you become distrusting of almost everyone. It’s a real page-turner, full of twists and turns and it kept me guessing until the end.
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Click here to find my full review of The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
This Is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay
This Is Going to Hurt is an insight into life as a junior doctor. Adam’s Kay’s diaries, scribbled after endless days and sleepless nights, provide a hilarious yet heartbreaking account of his time on the NHS front line. He holds nothing back as he details trying to balance his life on and off the hospital ward. It’s easy to fly through this book, with short chapters/diary entries and I found myself telling myself “just one more page”. It made me laugh and it made me cry. A must-read.
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