First Book Haul Of 2017

Hello everyone, and welcome back to The Bookworm’s Fantasy! I hope you’re all doing well. Today I’m going to be posting about the books that I’ve picked up recently, over the last month or so. These are all books I’ve bought myself, all from charity shops, and it’s my first book haul of 2017! So, here goes…

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Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult.

Jenna Metcalf was with her mother the night she disappeared, but she remembers nothing.

In the wake of those tragic events, she has lost not one parent, but two: her father is in an asylum, and now she lives with her grandmother – who finds it too painful to talk about what happened.

Ten years on, Jenna is the only one who still seems to care. And she is determined to seek the truth, no matter how shocking and life-changing it might be . . .

Why?

I recently read Jodi Picoult’s ‘Handle With Care’ (I reviewed it here) and absolutely loved it, so since then I’ve been keeping my eye out for any of Picoult’s other novels in charity shops. The blurb to this sounds really good and intriguing. It sounds like it’s going to address the topic of mental illness, so I’m interested in how Picoult is going to tackle that in her writing. I can’t wait to get to this one!

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 The Sisters by Claire Douglas.

One lied. One died.

When one sister dies, the other must go to desperate lengths to survive

After a tragic accident, still haunted by her twin sister’s death, Abi is making a fresh start in Bath. But when she meets siblings Bea and Ben, she is quickly drawn into their privileged and unsettling circle.

When one sister lies, she must protect her secret at all costs

As Abi tries to keep up with the demands of her fickle friends, strange things start to happen – precious letters go missing and threatening messages are left in her room. Is this the work of the beautiful and capricious Bea? Or is Abi willing to go to any lengths to get attention?

When the truth outs, will either sister survive?

Why?

I saw this book recommended on Pinterest quite a while ago now, but in all honesty I’d totally forgotten about it. But when I saw it in my local Oxfam, I just had to pick it up! As most of you probably know, I’m really into my thrillers at the moment – and this onw sounds really good. I’m always intrigued by twin characters in novels, so I hope this one is good.

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The War Of The Wives by Tamar Cohen.

Imagine: You’ve been happily married for 28 years. You have three children, a lovely house and a husband who travels a lot. Even after all this time, you still love each other.

One day you get a call that turns your world upside down: your husband is dead. You are devastated. You go to the funeral… And come face to face with his other widow.

Another wife, another family. It can’t be true. You are his only wife. She is just an upstart. She can’t be his widow, too. Or can she?

Why?

I’ve heard a lot of good things about Tamar/Tammy Cohen’s novels, and I thought this one would be a good place to start. I think the premise to this sounds highly original and really intriguing, and I already have a million questions. This is another thriller (there’s a lot of them in this haul), and I’m really excited to get to this one. I hope it doesn’t disappoint!

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Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider.

When he’s sent to Latham House, a boarding school for sick teens, Lane thinks his life may as well be over.
But when he meets Sadie and her friends – a group of eccentric troublemakers – he realises that maybe getting sick is just the beginning. That illness doesn’t have to define you, and that falling in love is its own cure.
Extraordinary Means is a darkly funny story about true friendships, ill-fated love and the rare miracle of second chances.

Why?

My lovely friend Katie over at recommended this book to me ages ago, and I’m so glad I finally found it in Oxfam! This is a YA novel which is apparently similar to John Green’s ‘The Fault In Our Stars’. I haven’t read any YA for a while now, and I feel like I should definitely read more. This one is going to be a real tear-jerker by the sounds of it – I need to prepare myself mentally before reading this one!

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The Girls In The Garden by Lisa Jewell.

You live on a picturesque communal garden square, an oasis in urban London where your children run free, in and out of other people’s houses.

You’ve known your neighbours for years and you trust them. Implicitly.

You think your children are safe.

But are they really?

Midsummer night: a thirteen-year-old girl is found unconscious in a dark corner of the garden square. What really happened to her? And who is responsible?

Why?

Since reading Lisa Jewell’s ‘The House We Grew Up In’ (which I loved), I’ve been wanting to read more of her novels. I thought the blurb to this sounded really interesting, and went into this with high hopes. I’ve already read this, and my god I was extremely disappointed. I only read 100 pages of this before becoming extremely frustrated and having to put it down. You can read all about the issues I had with this novel in my February Monthly Reads.

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In A Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware.

Nora hasn’t seen Clare for ten years. Not since the day Nora walked out of her old life and never looked back.

Until, out of the blue, an invitation to Clare’s hen party arrives. A weekend in a remote cottage – the perfect opportunity for Nora to reconnect with her best friend, to put the past behind her.

But something goes wrong.

Very wrong.

And as secrets and lies unravel, out in the dark, dark wood the past will finally catch up with Nora.

Why?

I saw this book being raved about quite a lot a while ago, but again I kind of forgot this existed. I’ve heard some really great things about this novel, and am really excited to give it a go. This is a thriller which sounds a bit Cabin In The Woods-esque to me, and I love the use of woods/forests as settings in crime novels. I have high hopes for this one, so I really hope it lives up to my expectations!

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Just What Kind Of Mother Are You by Paula Daly.

Your friend’s child is missing. It’s your fault.

No family is perfect.

A husband, three children and a full-time job, so many plates to keep spinning.

No wonder you forgot you were supposed to be looking after your friend’s daughter.

But no one has seen her since yesterday.

And she’s not the first to go missing from your small town.

So who’s hiding something?

Why?

I read Paula Daly’s ‘The Mistake I Made’ a while ago and enjoyed it, and I’m interested to see if her other books are as good or not. I feel like there’s a lot of thriller novels out there now about missing children, so I’m hoping that this brings something new to the table that I haven’t seen before. I’m not expecting too much from this – but who knows, I might be pleasantly surprised!

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THE MISSING by C.L. Taylor.

When fifteen-year-old Billy Wilkinson goes missing in the middle of the night, his mother, Claire, blames herself. She’s not the only one. There isn’t a single member of Billy’s family that doesn’t feel guilty. But the Wilkinsons are so used to keeping secrets from one another that it isn’t until six months later, after an appeal for information goes horribly wrong, that the truth begins to surface.

Claire is sure of two things – that Billy is still alive and that her friends and family had nothing to do with his disappearance.

A mother’s instinct is never wrong. Or is it?

Sometimes those closest to us are the ones with the most to hide…

Why?

Finally, I’ve picked up C.L. Taylor’s third novel – the only one I haven’t read yet. Those of you who have been following my blog for a while will know that I LOVE Taylor’s novels. You can find my review of ‘THE LIE’ here and my review of ‘THE ACCIDENT’ here. So, as you can imagine, I’ve been on the hunt for this for a while now, and am chuffed that I finally found it in Oxfam! Can’t wait to read this!

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Asking For It by Louise O’Neill.

In a small town where everyone knows everyone, Emma O’Donovan is different. She is the special one – beautiful, popular, powerful. And she works hard to keep it that way.

Until that night . . .

Now, she’s an embarrassment. Now, she’s just a slut. Now, she is nothing.

And those pictures – those pictures that everyone has seen – mean she can never forget.

Why?

A number of things compelled me to pick up this novel. 1) I’ve seen a lot of bloggers rave about this book. 2) It’s YA. 3) It discusses an issue which is not discussed enough in today’s society. I have already read this and reviewed it here so won’t say too much about it now, but I will tell you that it’s an incredible, important read. I would highly recommend it to pretty much anyone. Be sure to check out my full review!

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In Her Wake by Amanda Jennings.

A tragic family event reveals devastating news that rips apart Bella’s comfortable existence.

Embarking on a personal journey to uncover the truth, she faces a series of traumatic discoveries that take her to the ruggedly beautiful Cornish coast, where hidden truths, past betrayals and a 25-year-old mystery threaten not just her identity, but her life.

Chilling, complex and profoundly moving, In Her Wake is a gripping psychological thriller that questions the nature of family – and reminds us that sometimes the most shocking crimes are committed closest to home.

Why?

Again, this is a book that I saw recommended on Pinterest ages ago, but since then have kind of forgotten about it. But when I saw it sitting on the shelf in Oxfam, I remembered all the good things I’d heard about it, and I just had to pick it up. I think the blurb to this sounds really good, and I’m intrigued to find out more. I’m really excited to get to this one!

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The Pact by Jodi Picoult.

When Chris wakes up in hospital, Emily is the first person he asks for. She is the love of his life. But Emily is dead, and Chris is the sole witness to what happened in the park that night.

He claims it was a suicide pact: they were both meant to die.

Then the investigation turns up motive for murder, and there is only one suspect . . .

Why?

As stated previously, I really want to read more novels by Picoult. I was drawn to this simply because of the premise – it really intrigued me, and I’ve never read anything of this kind of subject matter before. I’ve already read this, and reviewed it here. Overall, I absolutely loved this novel, and highly recommend it to pretty much everybody!

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The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson.

‘Hello there.’
I looked at the pale, freckled hand on the back of the empty bar seat next to me in the business class lounge of Heathrow airport, then up into the stranger’s face.
‘Do I know you?’

Delayed in London, Ted Severson meets a woman at the airport bar. Over cocktails they tell each other rather more than they should, and a dark plan is hatched – but are either of them being serious, could they actually go through with it and, if they did, what would be their chances of getting away with it?

Back in Boston, Ted’s wife Miranda is busy site managing the construction of their dream home, a beautiful house out on the Maine coastline. But what secrets is she carrying and to what lengths might she go to protect the vision she has of her deserved future?

Why?

After reading and absolutely loving ‘Her Every Fear’ (which I reviewed here), I vowed to pick up Swanson’s other novels. This one is considered by many to be high best work, and it has rave reviews on Goodreads! I’ve actually already read this and I thought it was exceptional – I’ll have a full review coming soon on my blog, so keep your eyes out for that!

Happy reading 🙂