December Reads!

Happy 1st December! The festive season is already well and truly underway at our house. Tree and lights are up, advent calendars are opened, and the naughty little elf has already made its appearance! I'm usually one to stick to tradition and start decorating around 12 days before the big event, but (and as I've heard so many say already) it's 2020! Why not? I think we all need a little Christmas joy right now.

As you may know, I've been rereading the David Raker series by the incredible Tim Weaver. I'm currently up to book number 4: Never Coming Back. As always, I am thoroughly enjoying it and can't wait to get to the remaining 6 books in the series.

I'm hoping to squeeze all of them in before the Christmas madness really gets going! I have a few others on my 'TBR' pile that I'm really looking forward to reading, so let's hope I stay organised and on track to get around to them before 2020 is out!

What are you reading? Share with us in the comments below!

Until next time, Rachael. x

Goodreads Review - The Dead Tracks by Tim Weaver

The Dead Tracks by Tim Weaver
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Read this for the second time four years later. Increased my rating from 4 to 5 stars. Fantastic book and I love the series. David Raker is an incredible character - a bit like a Smartie; hard as nails on the outside but incredibly soft on the inside, driven by emotion and the events of his past.

The Dead Tracks is gripping, thrilling and creepy. Weaver has transformed modern London into a Victorian dystopia here, in a Jack the Ripper style mystery, meshed with more contemporary crimes. The Dead Tracks setting really gives you a feeling of wanting to satisfy curiosity, but also stay away from the danger. You can almost feel the tension through the pages, and I was genuinely both saddened and impressed to discover that the location described as The Dead Tracks, doesn't exist in real life. Tim has expertly brought it to life and created the perfect setting for the grisly storyline.

5 stars and on to the next in the series. 😊

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2020 - Life update!

I can't believe it's been over two years since my last post. I feel like I'm sitting at a Confessional right now! Lol. Do people even say "lol" on blogs now? Who knows? Anyway, what a crazy two years it has been. Life has taken some pretty unexpected turns since my last post, and some pretty unexpected turns for most of the developed world in 2020 with the arrival of COVID-19. Yes, I said the c-word. Let's face it, it's pretty inevitable right now that any form of life update or even regular conversation will include at least one reference to coronavirus.

April 2018 was the last time I posted. I left you on the cusp of a new business venture, which, although short-lived, I very much enjoyed. I had endured a health scare at the beginning of that year and had begun to make some changes to my lifestyle, mainly diet-related, and had already started to lose some of the weight that I had gained over the previous 18 months or so. Thankfully this weight loss and lifestyle modification really helped me manage my fibromyalgia and life became more 'normal' again.

Around May 2018 I decided to return to a business that I had made a success of back in 2012/13. Part of my weight loss was down to using Herbalife Nutrition again, and after reconnecting with some old friends, and getting in touch with a few of my old clients, my business took off again. As a busy single Mum of 3, trying to manage a house, a social life and a business, I found myself not having very much time to read for pleasure any more. I like to read non-fiction too, mainly for self-help but had little time to review them and so, sadly the blog was left to rot.

2019 went by in a blur. When I look back at my Goodreads account I can see that I hardly picked up a book. A few in January, but only 7 in total. The list makes for pretty dismal reading. The business was keeping me busy, as were the children and having a pretty active dating life, although the less said about that particular individual now, the better. Towards the end of the year, I realised that, although the business was doing ok, I needed a more stable source of income while the business was still building, so I decided to start looking for a job. The thought of working for someone else after being self-employed for so long was as daunting as it was reassuring. In December 2019 I attended an interview with a local company and the job was mine. It was perfect - part-time, during school hours so no need to worry about being there to drop off and collect the children and only a few minutes away from both the school and home. 

2020 started pretty well. It seemed like the start of a brand new chapter, starting my job on 6th January and the children going back to school after a lovely Christmas break. It took a little while to settle into my new routine juggling work, the children, the business and social life, but by the end of February things were looking great. I don't think I need to tell you what came next. By the middle of March, the schools were closed, I was working from home and life as we knew it had changed dramatically overnight. 

Lots of events took place between then and now. Thankfully I was able to keep my job and I am currently working from home, possibly permanently, which I quite like. 😊 I got to spend an incredible 6 months with the children, albeit stressful at times when trying to help them with school work and I missed them terribly when they returned to school, but saw such a difference in them when they went back. I hadn't realised the true impact that the lack of socialisation had had on them. My Herbalife Nutrition business thrived initially as more people were concerned about their nutrition and being as healthy as they could be, but things started to decline for me. I experienced the worst prolonged period of anxiety and panic attacks that I've ever had. I went from being someone who thrived on alone time, (what reader doesn't?🤣) to dreading being alone on the weekends when the children stayed with their Dad. My relationship (and I use that term very loosely) broke down and I felt thoroughly lost. I'm grateful that I managed to pull myself through a very tough few months and come out the other side better for it. 

As I write this I have now been taking "self-care" pretty seriously for the past few months. I realise that I burned myself out, physically and emotionally, trying to do everything and do it now! As a consequence of the severe stress, my fibromyalgia symptoms returned with an absolute bang. I'm taking things day by day right now and focusing on myself and the children. Mental health has been highlighted more than ever this year and is a struggle for so many. It's important to talk. I feel like this post is so much longer than I intended it to be, and a little more personal, but the point of it was to tell you how I've arrived back here today, and let you in a little bit more. Apparently, I'm a bit of a closed book. I'm sure there's a pun in there somewhere. 🤓

I'm here today because the blog is back for good! Reading has been a big part of my recovery this past few months. It started with non-fiction, personal development has been instrumental in helping me stay focused in the past and it was no different this time around. Alongside a few true-crime Netflix binges came some more non-fiction, this time on the subject of serial killers! Finally, I came back to fiction and my favourite genre - thrillers. I saw a post on Twitter that one of my favourite authors of that genre, Robert Bryndza was about to release a brand new book, so I decided to go back to the beginning and read the first book of his in a series I really enjoyed - The Girl In The Ice. I raced through that, and the rest of the series in a little over a week. I wrote short reviews on Goodreads and shared them on Twitter but the idea of getting back to my blog was growing stronger by the day. A few days ago I made the decision to bring back What Rachael Read Next. It's given me a new focus and it's something I'm excited about. During some of the downtime we had in lockdown, I started some learn-from-home courses so I'm genuinely excited to be able to put some of my new-found knowledge and skills into action!

If you've read this far, thank you. It means a lot. Over the next few months, the blog itself is going to be changed a lot. It's pretty basic in its current form and I learned some coding over the summer, among other things, so fingers crossed that 2021 will see the blog looking pretty sleek and with regular, relevant, engaging and (hopefully) enjoyable content! 

Until next time.

Rachael. x

Book Review: The Child by Fiona Barton

The Child by Fiona Barton

When a paragraph in an evening newspaper reveals a decades-old tragedy, most readers barely give it a glance. But for three strangers it’s impossible to ignore.

For one woman, it’s a reminder of the worst thing that ever happened to her.

For another, it reveals the dangerous possibility that her darkest secret is about to be discovered.

And for the third, a journalist, it’s the first clue in a hunt to uncover the truth.

The Child’s story will be told.


The Child by Fiona Barton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Absolutely fantastic. 5 star read. If you liked Fiona's previous novel, The Widow you will love this. The Child brings the return of heroine reporter Kate Waters, investigating the discovery of a newborn skeleton found on a building site. We are told the story of the baby through various narratives, but mainly focusing on Kate and two other characters, Angela and Emma. Who does the baby belong to, and how did it end up being buried decades ago?
A gripping thriller, expertly written. Unpredictable and un-put-down-able!

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Book Review: Western Fringes by Amer Anwar

Western Fringes: Winner of the CWA Debut Dagger by Amer Anwar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Deserves every one of those stars! This is the Punjabi answer to Guy Ritchie's hit movie Snatch. Fast paced, violently thrilling with hints of humour throughout; a cracking read and more than worthy of its Dagger Award.

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Summer Life!

I'm back! (Again!)

We all have that time of year that is super busy and it seems like nothing gets done; now is that time for us! The past few weeks have been a blur of revision, exams, school trips, children's parties and more! It's a wonder that I have managed to do any reading, but as any book lover knows, you fit it in somewhere!

For those of you who follow me on Goodreads, you already know what I've been reading! For those of you that don't, see my list below! I have varied my choices quite significantly this year and I am really enjoying reading novels that I would normally avoid. Most of what I have read has been phenomenal, with the exception of just a few. Take a look below and let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

The Stranger in the Woods - Michael Finkel
Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green and David Levithan
Butter - Erin Lange
The Perks of being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
The Circle - Dave Eggers
Fat Chance - Nick Spalding (hilarious!)
Last Breath - Robert Bryndza
The Caller - Chris Carter
Everything Everything - Nicola Yoon
The Dive from Clausen's Pier - Ann Packer
The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint Exupery
Medical Medium - Anthony William (not a believer in psychic/medium stuff but this book makes a lot of sense!)
Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer
Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela (really long book, lots of political references (obviously) but fascinating nonetheless)
Her Husband's Lover - Julia Crouch
Into the Water - Paula Hawkins

Some time has passed since reading a lot of these, hence the no reviews, but one that stuck out for me, surprisingly, was The Dive from Clausen's Pier. A simple tale of young love and small town life and tragedy, it drew me in more than I ever thought possible.

I am looking forward to seeing the movie adaptation (gasp!) of The Circle, mainly because I adore Emma Watson but also because I really enjoyed the book. Into the Wild was another one that surprised me. I often enjoy the tales of free spirited individuals and the story of Chris McCandless is as enthralling as it is tragic. Her Husband's Lover was an enjoyable psychological thriller in the vein of Gone Girl et al. Into the Water, the second novel from the writer of bestseller The Girl on the Train was unfortunately hugely disappointing. It had the bones of a good plot, but was somewhat drowned out by the curious mix of different narratives.

That's all from me today. Keep an eye out for my upcoming 'Must-read books for Summer 2017' post. :-)

Review: All Fall Down by Tom Bale

All Fall Down by Tom Bale
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After reading See How They Run I was very much looking forward to more from Tom. All Fall Down did not disappoint. Initially, for reasons unknown, I struggled to really connect with the novel. Eventually, however, the Turner family and their hidden pasts hooked me. Tom has a seemingly effortless ability to create an aura of fear and anticipation somewhat akin to Paula Hawkins and Gillian Flynn. All Fall Down is a gripping thriller and one to watch out for this year.

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Review: The Bone Field by Simon Kernick

The Bone Field by Simon Kernick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think Simon is definitely on my favourite author list after reading this. I couldn't put it down. Something about cold cases always piques my interest so I had a feeling I would enjoy this. After reading a guest blog post by Simon I was in equal parts horrified and excited to discover that The Bone Field is just the start of the story with the remainder split over several books to come.
I was unsure how this would end and whether I would be left bereft waiting for the rest of the tale. Simon wrapped it up satisfyingly enough but with a humdinger of a cliff hanger! The Bone Field was the first of Simon's novels for me but definitely won't be the last. I loved his style and flow and found this book unpredictable which was a refreshing change from predicting the ending. One to watch out for in 2017 and eagerly anticipating the next installment.

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Goodreads Review: A Year and a Day by Isabelle Broom

A Year and a Day by Isabelle Broom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, my heart is bursting after reading this! It's not my usual choice of genre, but in the spirit of widening my reading choices I gave it a go. I am so pleased that I did. The book is set in the beautiful city of Prague during the winter time. Having visited Prague many years ago myself, and with a little help from Google Earth (don't judge me!) I felt myself reminiscing the sights and sounds which made the reading experience even deeper for me. I loved the trilogy of tales woven intricately together to create one single saga. I have never read anything from Isabelle before, but I can truthfully say that next time I won't hesitate. I fell in love with the characters in the book so much so that it almost felt like my emotions were tied to theirs. A tale of love, expression, wonderment and loss, a beautiful release from reality. Da Iawn Isabelle Broom.

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Goodreads Review: Rattle by Fiona Cummins

Rattle by Fiona Cummins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow! Just, wow! The first novel I have read by Fiona and I just loved it! I knew from the first few chapters that it was going to be a good one! I love her style, the ease of reading and attention to detail. The pace of the story was perfect and the character depth was just enough to get to know them, without all the extra baggage. Overall it was much better than I had expected. The synopsis didn't scream at me to make me want to read it, but having done so, I would highly recommend it and I am looking forward to more from Fiona.

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Goodreads Review The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What can I say about this book, other than beautiful? It just confirmed everything I love about literature. The author really drew me in and allowed me to be a part of the story. I read it as if it were my own adventure, and what an adventure it was! Heart-warming and awe-inspiring, I want to read it all over again.

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Goodreads Review of Watch Me by Angela Clarke

Watch Me by Angela Clarke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Angela Clarke is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. Having devoured her debut Follow Me last year I couldn't wait to read more from her. The ultra-modern take on the serial killer thriller is fantastic and bang up to date. Watch Me is another cool, crisp thriller that's right at home in 2017.

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Happy Sunday!

Sunday mornings are my favourite time of the week, especially during late Autumn when it's all dressing gowns and fluffy socks! In fact, I have cosied up that much the last week or so that I forgot to blog. Oops!

I have read a fair few books in that period. All of which I have enjoyed immensely and will include a short review and links below. 

It seems my 'to be read' pile (TBR for short) is getting longer by the day! I have discovered a fair few new authors in 2016 including Alex Lake and K.L. Slater and I cannot wait to read their next installments!

Speaking of K.L. Slater, I read the brilliant Safe With Me last week. A gripping psychological thriller.

Thirteen years ago someone did something very bad to Anna. Now it’s her turn to get even …

Anna lives a solitary existence, taking solace in order and routine. Her only friend is the lonely old lady next door. She doesn’t like to let people to get too close – she knows how much damage they can do.

Then one ordinary day Anna witnesses a devastating road accident and recognises the driver as Carla, the woman who ruined her life all those years ago. Now it’s Anna’s chance to set things straight but her revenge needs to be executed carefully …

First she needs to get to know Liam, the man injured in the accident. She needs to follow the police investigation. She needs to watch Carla from the shadows…

But as Anna’s obsession with Carla escalates, her own secrets start to unravel. Is Carla really dangerous or does Anna need to worry about someone far closer to home?

I devoured this in one day and sort of worked out what was happening before it happened, but don't let this dissuade you from reading it; I seem to have that uncanny ability sometimes and often think that I should be writing, not reading! But I digress, this was a brilliant thriller and the Kindle edition is currently only 99p on Amazon!

Next on my list was Claire Seeber's The Stepmother. Another great psychological thriller with plenty of twists. An enthralling read and perfect for those who like books such as Behind Closed Doors (which I highly recommend if you haven't read it!) and Between Me and You (also another fantastic plot twister!).

The perfect wife. A fairytale family. Don’t believe your eyes…

Jeanie and Matthew are a happily married couple who both have teenage children from previous relationships.

No one said it would be easy to raise a blended family under one roof but Jeanie and Matthew are strong. They will make it work.

And whilst Jeanie’s step-daughter Scarlett rejects her, Jeanie will just have to try harder to win her over.

But Jeanie has a past. A terrible secret she thought she’d buried a long time ago. And now, it’s coming to the surface, threatening to destroy her new marriage.

Someone is playing a terrifying game on Jeanie and she must put a stop to it once and for all. After all, a fairytale needs a happy ending…doesn’t it?

I have read a further 5 books this week (yes 5!) including the amazing My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout. I devoured it in a matter of hours and savoured every turn of the page! It's not often I read physical books anymore, so when I do I can't get enough of the smell!



Next up was The Child's Secret by Amanda Brooke. This was the first I had read from this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. An eight-year-old girl goes missing which, as a parent myself, makes the novel seem that much more fast-paced, perhaps knowing what is at stake if they fail to find her. Great storyline.



Following this was one of the classics. I decided to Google what were the top selling books of all time. I recognised many and had read a few, but there were others that I did not recognise and others that I suddenly had an urge to read. Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird was one and I decided to dive right in. I found it a little slow to start, set in 1930s southern America it was far from the modern British thrillers I have indulged in lately. I persevered and I am extremely glad that I did. A bittersweet coming-of-age tale that made me truly appreciate how different today's society is. Rape and racism rife throughout, as well as class differences show a stark contrast to modern life. It is one that I would recommend to anyone, and will be passing on to my children to help them understand that no matter what your background, we are all human beings. I was pleased to learn that the book is widely used in schools throughout America, a humble tale for young minds to absorb before heading out into the big wide world as adults.



Finally, over the last two days I have read two offerings from another new author, Alex Lake. First up was After Anna, another British psychological thriller centred around the disappearance of a five year old girl. Even though I (again) guessed what the outcome would be, it did not spoil my enjoyment of reading it. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I immediately dived in to Lake's next offering, Killing Kate. Very similar structure, which I enjoyed as it felt familiar and felt like I really knew the author and the style. Another gripping storyline with plenty of twists and turns. Highly recommend Alex Lake and looking forward to the next novel.



So a busy two weeks, but thoroughly enjoyed every one of them. Now to decide what to read next...

I'm still alive!

Wow, can't believe how long it has been since my last post! What a year it has been too. 2015 finished amazingly as always with a beautiful family Christmas and New Year. 2016 has been incredibly bittersweet so far with some amazing things and some not so good. My lovely Dad was diagnosed with bowel cancer, but thankfully he made a full recovery quite swiftly. I don't know what I would do without him.

The little ones are not so little anymore. The smallest started nursery and we had a visit to the 'big school' for the eldest. Cannot believe this time next year she will be in Year 7! We had a new addition to the family of the canine variety. A beautiful Cavalier King Charles Spaniel called Cooper! He keeps me busy and we are enjoying going out for walks and snuggling up on the sofa together.

I have had a difficult year personally, and was recently diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. It's a daily struggle with the energy required to raise 3 children and keep house, but I am so blessed to be able to do it and not worry about an employer. I have also really began to understand myself a lot better this year including doing lots of research on the Myers-Briggs Personality Types. I'm the rarest type which, coupled with the Fibromyalgia, means I can be pretty difficult to live with! I have a super supportive partner and I couldn't ask for more.

I have also read some incredible books this last year, some of which I will be posting reviews on. I set a huge goal of 100 books to read in 2016, which I think may have been a little overzealous considering I struggle to keep my eyes open now past 9pm!

I am hoping to start to blog very regularly, and widen the topics to include more about Fibromyalgia and the day to day life of a Fibro Mum.

Rachael x

The Husband's Secret

I would like to say that I am disappointed with this offering from Liane Moriarty, but I can't. Towards the end of the book I felt let down, wanting more from the story, feeling that it should be... better somehow. Big Little Lies was explosive with plenty of twists and turns and I had, maybe wrongly, expected the same here. It was predictable and I guessed what was about to happen for almost the entire story. Until the epilogue.

The epilogue was a game changer and a welcome surprise. It changed the story entirely and made the book worthy of the brilliant reviews I had read beforehand. It cemented Liane Moriarty as one of my new favourite authors despite only having read two of her books so far. I find her style very easy to read and I am looking forward to reading the rest of her collection.

This afternoon I start What Alice Forgot and I have already loaded the rest of Moriarty's collection onto my Kindle.

Until next time!

Rachael x

Goodreads Review

My recent obsession: Goodreads

Earlier this year I discovered something called Goodreads and I have recently started to use it A LOT so I thought I would dedicate a blog post to it, so that I could give it a full review and the credit it deserves.

For those of you who don't know what it is, it is basically THE social media site for books and book lovers. According to their own 'About Us' page it is the "largest site for readers and book recommendations in the World" with over 40 million members and more than 1 billion books. From 2013 on it became a part of the Amazon family and has since gone from strength to strength. It is a great place to connect with like-minded readers all over the world, to discover what's 'hot' right now, to find your next read and much more.

Whenever I purchase a book online, which is usually through Amazon anyway because I have a Kindle, I like to browse through some reviews and maybe look at it's star rating. This just gives me reassurance that I should enjoy it and that it would be worth the price. Goodreads is a step up from that. It gives me access not only to reviews but to groups and like-minded people who I can engage with to talk about a potential read or a previously read book. You feel like you are part of the largest book club in the world whilst still retaining a sense of small town community spirit. There are literally thousands of groups to join so you are almost guaranteed to find something to your taste.

The social media integration is more than adequate. It is very simple to link your Facebook and Twitter accounts, plus invite contacts from your email address book and with just a few clicks in the settings you can automatically share your books and your current reading status with your friends and followers. Some users in the US and Canada I believe also have the rather useful functionality of linking Goodreads to their Kindle which makes the integration between the two even more seamless. No more manually adding books to your library or manually updating your reading progress on the website or app, it is automatic. My only gripe here is that, to date, this function is currently unavailable in Europe which is disappointing, although the Goodreads team have tweeted me to reassure me that it is a work in progress. As you can see to the right of this post there are also various widgets available to share on your own websites including the one that I am currently working very hard on, the 2015 Reading Challenge!

There are plenty of activities to partake in on the site itself including quizzes, polls and group discussions. Of course there is the ability to rate and review books and recommendations for you based on your current 'bookshelves' which are created by you and categorised into shelves such as 'read', 'to-read' and 'currently reading'.

For the organisers like myself who like to keep things in order, Goodreads is a must for your virtual library sorting needs. I have come across various helpful articles online such as this one which helps you to keep your Goodreads super organised.

If you are a book lover, just head over to the link above and create your account. It's completely free to use and a great tool to have at your disposal. Obviously since this is 2015 you can also download the free Goodreads app from iTunes or GooglePlay although in my opinion the apps are fairly limited in their functionality and the full desktop site is the better choice for now.

Don't forget to add me as a friend! You can find my link under the 'Follow Me' heading at the top right of this page.

Enjoy!

Rachael x

Big Little Lies

Well, it's been a crazy few days since my last post. It's the Summer Holidays here in the UK and so my three little darlings are at home taking up what precious little time I have for blogging and other such activities! Although we have had heaps of fun so far in between the outbreaks of rain! (Another perk of living in Wales!)

Today I finished Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. I loved it! To begin with I was a little apprehensive about my choice as it is not the usual genre that I enjoy reading. I am very much a True Crime / Thriller girl at heart. I chose this particular book because I am currently participating in a Reading Challenge that I stumbled across on Goodreads. The challenge is comprised of 52 books, one per week, with a different topic for each book. This week's topic was a book with antonyms in the title and Big Little Liars was one of the more popular choices with the other challengers in the group. 

The first few chapters were a little slow, introducing the characters and setting the scene, but it was sufficiently interesting to keep me reading and I am so glad I did. After those initial doubts I could barely put it down. It is very well written and has a format that I have not encountered before. There is a sort of dialogue / narrative running alongside throughout the whole story which at first was a little off-putting and distracting but it grew on me as the book progressed. Once the purpose of it was clear it suddenly occurred to me how brilliant it was.

The rest of the story did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed drawing on the similarities between my own life as a school run Mum and those of the characters in the book. At times it almost felt that I was reading about our own group of friends and it definitely raised a laugh or two, (and some heartaches). I had read some reviews before starting it and a few mentioned about it being the funniest book they had ever read about the subject of domestic violence. My initial thoughts were 'how could a book about domestic violence possibly be funny?' but it just works. Most of the main characters have a great depth to them and by the end, as is true for all great books, you feel that you really know them inside out.

I admit that it seems like a strange mix of genres to include elements of comedy, mystery, romance, parenting and violence in one book but I think that's what makes it seem all the more like real life. As a parent especially, many of the above are experienced on a daily basis without the need for a novel! 

I absolutely recommend Big Little Lies and I am looking forward to reading more from Liane Moriarty. In fact I have already started The Husband's Secret for this week's book. The theme this week is to read a book from a place you have always wanted to visit. It is set in Australia and I am definitely planning to visit there before I'm much older!

Until next time!

Rachael x