Reading Round-Up: May/June 2025

Halfway through the year, and you know what that means - it's time for another reading round-up post!

Book Review: Skipshock by Caroline O'Donoghue

AD* | Margo is on a train to a new boarding school when she slips into another dimension, passing from the height of Irish summer into the chill of an alien winter, from a 24-hour day to one that begins and ends in just six hours. From a stranger on the train – a travelling salesman by the name of Moon – she learns that New Davia is part of a world scarred by uprisings, travel bans and world sealings. Power is determined by time – who has it, who doesn’t, and who has the freedom to travel between time zones.

Can Margo find a way to get back home – or will she choose to stay in a world where her teenagehood is slipping away faster than ever before, but where she may have found the only person with whom she would choose to spend eternity?

Reading Round-Up: March/April 2025

Spring is in the air and it's time for another reading round-up! I've been diligently recording all the bookish goings-on here at The Writing Greyhound over the last few months, and now the time has come to share my latest update with you all. 

Book Review: This Song Is About Us by Sara Barnard

AD* | The Kerbs are a four-piece pop-rock band on the verge of breaking big the moment that frontman, Drew, turns 18. But Drew and his long-term girlfriend Ruby have a decision to make: go public right from the start or keep their relationship private, away from the intrusive lens of the tabloids and the scrutiny of the Kerbs’ fanbase. The choice seems easy. Ruby wants her life to remain her own – she's seen how fame can devour the lives of those who stand in the periphery.

But staying secret comes with a price. As Drew's star rises and rumours begin to stir, Ruby starts to wonder if love is strong enough to keep them together when Drew's fame seems destined to drive them apart.

Reading Round-Up: January/February 2025

Welcome to my first reading round-up of 2025!

Reading Round-Up: November/December 2024

It's the end of another year and time for my last reading round-up post of 2024!

Book Review: Unfixed by Amy L. Sauder

* AD | Julia Trencher has died. Twice. But Geppetto’s Circus of Strange Marvels offers hope of others like her - a place she could be welcomed, celebrated even. She didn’t know it would lead to herself and the circus vanishing amidst a mysterious fire.

Now, all that remains are the historical circus wagons at the edge of town and a darkness that a young man Max can’t seem to shake. As Max investigates the enchanted circus claims and the Trenchers abandoned mansion, the line between villains and sidekicks blurs, and revealing the circus’ secrets may come at the cost of confronting his own.

Book Review: That Night in New York by Laura Wilkinson

AD* | Steph, an advice columnist, is stuck in a stagnant life, while lonely architect Harry dreams of rediscovering his passion. Despite a chance encounter in New York sparking a magical connection between them, fear and past wounds keep them apart. But when Steph's daughter, Lola, enters the picture, their paths intertwine in unexpected ways. As Steph fights to save her community's beloved park and confronts her past, she must choose between safety and taking a leap of faith.

Reading Round-Up: September/October 2024

Happy Halloween! I can't believe it's time for my penultimate reading round-up of the year already. Where has this year gone? Spending my days looking after my little one has meant lots of time for books, and I've been making the most of my downtime to catch up on my reading target. I'm determined to reach my goal of reading 50 books this year! 

You can catch up here if you missed my last reading round-up post.

Book Review: The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong

AD* | After the Great War, American heiress Ruby Vaughn made a life for herself running a rare bookstore alongside her octogenarian employer and housemate in Exeter. She’s always avoided dwelling on the past, even before the war, but it always has a way of finding her. When Ruby is forced to deliver a box of books to a folk healer living deep in the Cornish countryside, she is brought back to the one place she swore she’d never return. A more sensible soul would have delivered the package and left without rehashing old wounds. But no one has ever accused Ruby of being sensible. Thus begins her visit to Penryth Hall.

A foreboding fortress, Penryth Hall is home to Ruby’s once dearest friend, Tamsyn, and her husband, Sir Edward Chenowyth. It’s an unsettling place, and after a more unsettling evening, Ruby is eager to depart. But her plans change when Penryth’s bells ring for the first time in thirty years. Edward is dead; he met a gruesome end in the orchard, and with his death brings whispers of a returned curse. It also brings Ruan Kivell, the person whose books brought her to Cornwall, the one the locals call a Pellar, the man they believe can break the curse. Ruby doesn’t believe in curses—or Pellars—but this is Cornwall and to these villagers the curse is anything but lore, and they believe it will soon claim its next victim: Tamsyn.

To protect her friend, Ruby must work alongside the Pellar to find out what really happened in the orchard that night.

Reading Round-Up: July/August 2024

Welcome back to another reading round-up post here on The Writing Greyhound! This summer has been filled with all things baby for me, so my free time for books has been limited. However, those sleepless nights and 3am wake-ups have been used to catch up on reading while enjoying cuddles with my newborn, which is definitely the best of both worlds.

Book Review: Last Seen Online by Lauren James

AD* | When Delilah meets Sawyer Saffitz (son of Anya Saffitz, aka Hollywood royalty), she becomes hooked on a decade-old scandal. In her quest for the truth, Delilah uncovers blog posts written by the mysterious “gottiewrites” and is soon caught up in a world of greed, fandom conspiracy theories … and murder. And the deeper Delilah digs, the more dangerous it becomes – because someone is willing to kill to hide the truth.

Reading Round-Up: May/June 2024

Summer is finally here, and it's been lovely to enjoy reading in the garden on the warmer days again. These last few months have also been quite busy for me outside of my bookish world, as the real world has been filled with plenty of last-minute preparations for a certain new arrival. That has meant time to read has been a little on the limited side, but luckily, needing to rest more often has also meant more time to delve into whichever book I've had on the go. Swings and roundabouts! 

Reading Round-Up: March/April 2024

Spring is in the air, and it's been wonderful to sit and read in the natural light for longer now that the evenings are getting lighter once again. This is the time of year for new beginnings and making fresh starts, and spring 2024 has certainly been a good one for my reading, too.

Read on to catch up with everything that's been going on lately in my bookish world!

Reading Round-Up: January/February 2024

It's time for my first reading round-up post of the year! With plenty of books on my shelves, I've been busy reading away to get 2024 off to a strong start for my annual reading challenge. Read on to check out everything that's been going on lately in my bookish world!

Reading Round-Up: November/December 2023

It's the end of another year, and time to say goodbye to 2023. However, that also means it's time for my last reading round-up of the year! 

In this post, I'll share the details of all the books that I've been reading, acquiring, and wishing for during November and December. Be warned, though - not only has Christmas fallen in this month's post, but also the delayed YALC (Young Adult Literature Convention) was in November this year, so there's been plenty of bookish activity going on over these last few months.

Read on to find out more!

Book Review: The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond by Louise Davidson

Last Updated: 01 August 2024

AD* | After a terrible tragedy, governess Julia Pearlie finds herself with no job, home, or references. When she’s offered a position as companion to Miss Olivia Richmond, her luck appears to be turning. But Mistcoate House is full of secrets.

Olivia has a sinister reputation. The locals call her the Mistcoate Witch, thanks to her tarot readings, and her insistence that she can speak to the dead. Her father, Dr Richmond, believes this to be girlish fantasy and is looking to Julia to put a stop to it.

Determined to prove herself and shake off her own murky history, Julia sets to work trying to help Olivia become a proper young lady. However, as she becomes a fixture at Mistcoate, it is soon clear that there may be more to Olivia’s stories than Dr Richmond would have Julia believe – not least because somehow, Olivia seems to know something of the darkness that Julia desperately hoped she had left behind.

As the danger grows, and the winter chill wraps around the dark woods surrounding Mistcoate, Julia will have to fight to uncover the truth, escape her past – and save herself.

Book Review: A Body in the Library by Jan Jones

AD* | An ordinary Monday morning in an ordinary Cambridgeshire village. What isn’t ordinary is the dead body in Calli Nelson’s village library. It is no one she knows, but her friend Gideon Frost has lived in Fencross Parva all his life and views any unpleasant goings-on within its boundaries as a personal challenge. Perhaps together they can solve the mystery of who killed the man, and why?

Book Review: The Trees Grew Because I Bled There by Eric LaRocca

AD* | Eight stories of literary dark fiction from a master storyteller. Exploring the shadow side of love, these are tales of grief, obsession, control. Intricate examinations of trauma and tragedy in raw, poetic prose. In these narratives, a woman imagines horrific scenarios whilst caring for her infant niece; on-line posts chronicle a cancer diagnosis; a couple in the park with their small child encounter a stranger with horrific consequences; a toxic relationship reaches a terrifying resolution...

Reading Round-Up: September/October 2023

For the past two months (and, in fact, the majority of my life!) I've been exploring the world of books. I've had the joy of stumbling upon some real treasures, adding a few more volumes to my ever-growing collection, and making progress on my 2023 reading goals.

In this post, I'll share everything that's happened in my bookish world during September and October, from the books that truly captivated me to the ones I simply couldn't resist adding to my shelves. So, let's dive into the pages of my latest bookish adventure!