This is my top ten of the books I've read (or listened to) in the last three months. As before, I have not included any re-reads of old favourites, or more than one by the same author, though will mention the others if I've read any this quarter.
I've listed the ten not by preference (too hard!) but in the order I read them. I've added a note to say how I came across each one; it's useful for both writers and readers to take note of how books were discovered. Please click the title to see my full review (with buy links) ~ and read my note at the bottom!
1. A DIVIDED INHERITANCE by Deborah Swift. 17th century historical fiction about an orphaned girl trying to retain her inheritance. I discovered Deborah Swift via Twitter, because I came across her (history) blog. Published by Pan (Trad pub).
2. ULTRA VIOLENCE by Mark Barry. Violent drama about football hooligans. I met Mark via Twitter, when he asked me to appear on his blog about two years ago. Self-published.
3. SURVIVING THE EVACUATION: Book 1 - London by Frank Tayell. Zombie Apocalypse set in England. I came across this series during an Amazon browse of books in a similar genre. It's a series of 5; I've read 4 of them and they're all worth reading, though I've liked this one and number 4 best. Links to reviews for the others can be found on this review. Self-published.
4. CONCEALMENT by Rose Edmunds. Cracking financial and psychological thriller about a high achiever who grew up in terrible circumstances. I review books for Rosie Amber's Book Review Team; this was one of my choices. Self-published.
5. CHANGING PATTERNS by Judith Barrow. 1950s family saga, the sequel to the first which was set during WW2. I got to know Judith on Twitter. Published by Honno (Indie press).
6. FUTURE PERFECT by Katrina Mountfort. Futuristic post apocalyptic drama/thriller. Rosie Amber invited me to review this for her blog. Published by Elsewhen (Indie press).
7. BOARDWALK EMPIRE by Nelson Johnson. The history of Atlantic City, and the inspiration behind the television series. I listened to the audio book; husband looked it up after we'd watched the series. The Kindle version is published by Ebury Digital (Trad pub).
8. THIEF'S GAMBIT by Scott Marlowe. Novelette length, third in a fantasy series about an assassin. Another one I chose to review from Rosie Amber's review team list. Published by Umblerland (Indie press).
9. THE BASTARD PRINCESS by G Lawrence. The story of Elizabeth 1st's early years, told in first person fiction. I got to know the author via Twitter through our mutual interest in the Tudors. Self-published.
10. THE KINDNESS OF NEIGHBOURS by Matthew Iden. Long short story about a tragedy striking a surburban community. I read a review of the audio version on Between the Lines book blog (link in review) that interested me enough to buy it. Published by StoryFront (Indie press).
Aside from my Rosie Amber review team choices, the others have originated from interactions on Twitter (a good reason to actually click on links, talk to people, read blog posts, not just use RTing apps, for readers and writers), from Amazon browsing and a book blog, as before. Unlike on Amazon, on which you have to read reviews with a discerning eye because some are from well-meaning friends, or authors doing 5* review swaps, you can rely on book bloggers to give a fair assessment.
It gets harder and harder every month for writers to be discovered by readers; if everyone reading this went to one book blog and bought one book via a recommendation... all of these ten are worth reading; if there's one that sparks your interest, just click on the review!
Nice to see the review blog still going strong, Terry, and thank you for the support you show to my work! I look forward to catching up with some of the other novels you highlight and review! Thx again. Marky xx
ReplyDeleteMerely bringing an underrated writer to people's notice as much as possible, MB! :)
DeleteNice choices, Terry. I missed Future Perfect on the team reads so bought it on Kindle.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cathy - actually, I think it was one that Rosie was asked to review personally but thought it was not her sort of thing but so up my street it was begging to be read by me!! Hope you love it :)
DeleteAh, I see. I thought it disappeared quickly! I’m trying to fit in some of the books in my TBR so hopefully I’ll get to it in the near future.
ReplyDeleteYes, me too - hard when you're writing the buggers as well!!!! Handy but disappointing when you come across two 'abandons' running, like I've just done - one of them was probably quite good but just didn't work for me, which was a shame because I wanted to give the author a nice review :(
DeleteThanks Terry, for highlighting A Divided Inheritance. I've just bought Judith Barrow's Changing Patterns. It sounds like a great read, thank you.
ReplyDeleteOh, that's nice! And I'm sure I shall be highlighting more of yours as the months go on - The Lady's Slipper and Past Encounters are queuing up impatiently :)
DeleteOooh this has just popped into my inbox! Great choices here Terry - out of those not already read I'm particularly drawn to Changing Patterns as I loved the first of this series and Scott Marlowe's books. I think I'll start at the beginning with those.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading, G! x
DeleteThanks for the great shout out Terry, we've only been running the review team for a year, but I know we've found some great books to help promote.
ReplyDeleteWe have indeed! :)
DeleteLovely mention of mu book among so many other brilliant novels.
ReplyDeletesome fab books there Terry x
ReplyDeleteOh, thanks for looking, Tracy! x
DeleteReally enjoyed this round-up. Great to see Judith Barrow included...
ReplyDeleteThank you, GG! :)
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