On My Bookshelf in November

25th November 2018 Books

It’s been another great month for books for me, though I only managed to get through 3 of them in total. They were luckily 3 great ones!

THE BROKEN GIRLS BY SIMONE ST. JAMES

This book is an eARC I was granted access to review through NetGalley and I LOVED IT!

It’s 2014 and Fiona Sheridan is still reeling from the murder of her sister twenty years earlier. Found dumped in the grounds of Idlewild, she is drawn to the old school now in ruins time and time again. News comes to her that Idlewild is being renovated and reopened as a girls boarding school, much to Fiona’s horror. Unable to stay away, Fiona covers the story for a local magazine and is at Idlewild when a body is discovered…..

Told from the present in 2014 as well as the past in 1950, The Broken Girls sends Fiona on a journey of discovery into the past. In doing so she not only uncovers long buried secrets from the 50’s, but also a few more from a more recent past. Secrets about what really happened to her sister 20 years ago.

I loved The Broken Girls. St. James did an amazing job of winding the past into the present and making what happened then relevant to now. Although a novel that jumps between timelines in this manner wouldn’t be my usual choice of story, I could not put this one down. Dark and captivating with a little touch of the supernatural. The Broken Girls unfurls slowing, drawing you in and keeping you turning page after page.

The Broken Girls is currently available on Amazon for 99p for the Kindle edition (affiliate link) and is soooo cheap for such a great book.

THIS IS GOING TO HURT BY ADAM KAY

I’m in an online book club through Facebook and this was our November book choice which is a non-fiction book. I’ve never read a non-fiction book based in the medical world before so was initially very unsure about this one. However, wow. What an incredible book. I laughed, I cried and was utterly horrified by the conditions our hospital staff are asked to work under. This Is Going To Hurt follows Adam Kay in the six years he works as a junior doctor in the NHS. Told from the journal entries he made during that time, it shows the toll working on the front line of the UK health service takes on it’s staff.

This Is Going To Hurt is an insight into the epic highs and the devastating lows these people face on the front line every day. Funny and touching. Upsetting and terrifying. It packs and punch will leave you looking at your local hospital staff in a whole different light. Told with humour throughout, Adam’s story will have you laughing while getting angry at the obstacles they need to overcome when all most people who work in the NHS want to do is help people. After all, they certainly don’t do it for the money or family friendly working hours.

This Is Going To Hurt is currently available on Amazon for £3.99 for the Kindle edition (affiliate link).

MY NAME IS ANNA by LIZZY BARBER

This was another eARC from NetGalley – can you tell I’ve been trying to catch up a little this month?! This was an easy review for them though as I absolutely loved this book. As in LOVED it. Told from two different perspectives, this is a gripping read about loss and the impact of child abduction. I was absolutely captivated right from the very first page and managed to read this in two days. Something that is not an easy thing to do for someone with 2 children and 2 jobs!

My Name is Anna does not shy away from the fact that life is not black and white. Usually I would shy away from giving away spoilers, but for me Barber has been clear in her blurb as to what the premise of the book is. So, feel free to click away now.

It is clear both in the synopsis as well as in the initial few chapters that Anna is in fact Emily; a child abducted at 3 years of age. Raised in a strictly religious home with a ‘Mamma’ she both loves and fears, My Name Is Anna follows her story as her whole world falls apart and she comes to realise the truth as to who she really is. On the other side of the Atlantic is her sister Rosie. Rosie is dealing with life as ‘the child who is left’. With overprotective parents, the burden of expectation on her, and the mystery surrounding her sister’s disappearance overhanging her life. Things are hard for Rosie and she vows to confront it head on to find out what really happened to Emily.

There are a few odd moments in the book. Such as Rosie’s younger brother Rob who was born after Emily disappearance. I have no idea what he adds to the book and don’t really know why he is there. Also, there seems to be so much that was easily unravelled by a teenager in a matter of weeks, when it’s something the police, the trust and everyone else involved never managed in 15 years. However, My Name is Anna is a great autumn read that will leave you turning page after page. Waiting to see how it’s all resolved.

My Name Is Anna is currently available on Amazon for 99p (affiliate link) and is an absolute bargain for that price!

That’s it! I may have only gotten through 3 books this month but they are 3 that I really enjoyed and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to anyone.

What about you? Have you read anything that you would recommend this month?