Richard & Judy Spring Collection 2021

WHSmith sell this wonderful book bundle for just over £30, or you can get them all individually. I went into this a bit apprehensive, there was one on my wish list already and one that I'd seen over hyped a lot over the book world online. I'm going to review them in order of my favourites.  

Playing Nice -  JP Delaney.
A first read of mine for JP Delaney and oh lord, it did not disappoint. This book kept me hooked from start to finish. It's narrated by the two main characters, a man and woman - a couple living together with their child. One morning, Pete has a knock at the door and his whole world is turned upside by hiding out his son, isn't actually his son; and the man at the door has been bringing up their child while Pete and Maddie have been raising theirs. The babies were switched, the suspense is amazing in this book and I could not put it down. That's why, it's at the top of my list, I look forward to buying more by JP Delaney - there was not even a tiny bit of disappointment with this. 

The Sight of You - Holly Miller
The only book on this list that physically made me cry, while I love a book romance - I tend to sway on the side of authors who I know and love with the genre. Again an author I have never read but will definitely keep reading; this book keeps you on your toes and takes you on a emotional roller-coaster.

The basic storyline is that Joel, a former vet is living in his own world not falling in love with anyone until he meets Callie - a girl who ticks all his boxes until one day he awakes from a dream that turns his world upside down and he knows he will be the one to end her if she doesn't move on with her life. Joel's dreams are not what they seem, and he knows this all too well. 

The Recovery of Rose Gold - Stephanie Wrobel  

I've read a few books a long time ago about accounts of survivors of Munchausen syndrome by Proxy and this is the first fiction novel I have read on the disease. I think there was a lot of influence on the story of Gypsy Rose in America and her story as there are a lot of elements to this one that are very similar. Rose Gold is ready to make amends with her mother, so she goes to pick her up from prison, however as the story unravels it's obvious that Rose Gold hasn't quite forgiven her mother for all the wicked things that happened in her childhood and she knows that her mother is still unloved and untrusted by all the community. This is the ultimate revenge story and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I think this one has a different title in the US of Darling Rose Gold.

The Midnight Library - Matt Haig 

A lovely surprise, I was a bit hesitant on buying into the hype of this one due it how many people had loved it, I just wasn't sure. However, it was a pleasant surprise, while it wasn't my favourite it definitely ticked a lot of my boxes in terms of what I want out of a fiction novel. Nora is a woman who is sick of her life, after feeling worthless she decides it's time she attempts to take her own life, during the process she is transported into the midnight library, a kind of limbo if you will where she can see all of the ways her life could have turned out if she had made different decisions.

Happy Families - Julie Ma

This was just a nice in between read for me, for myself there was nothing terribly exciting that happened. It was more of a filler read for myself, a book I'd read that could fill a void while deciding on another read. Amy came home to help her family with her the Chinese restaurant they run, however when her grandfather becomes sick she learns a few things about her family along the way. 

The Holdout - Graham Moore 

This one was.. meh for me. Like, I liked the premise of the story and I think it would make a really good adaptation on the television but it just wasn't gripping enough for me. 

Maya was on the jury which let a man go innocent who was suspected of killing a young girl, however she works in law now and was approached to be part of a documentary about the trial of the killing that happened years ago. When one of the jurors is found dead, Maya is suspected of doing the killing. 

American Dirt - Jeanine Cummins

I wanted to like this one so badly but.. I didn't. I understand the point of the story and the highlights about the struggles families go through with the cartel and narco's in that part of the world but.. I didn't like the writing style - So I am finishing it on audiobook. 

Thankyou.