Right, so welcome to my new feature! This is exciting! Instead of voting which books go, you are now voting which books on my NetGalley shelf should I read this month! So we have 6 books and you can vote as many times as you like but basically I will read these books in the order of the vote and each month I will do a wrap up of how I got on. Sounds good yeah?
Right, so what books on my NetGalley shelf shall we tackle first. I am not sure how this feature will look whether it be a carryover of the books I didn’t manage or if it is a brand new 6 each month, so let’s see how we go. If you are like me and want to clear your shelves, join in this feature…or better yet do some buddy reading with me! My NetGalley shelf is shocking but I am in a safe space and I will be honest my percentage is 17% – I know I know what the hell! This is why I need help and focus! I would like to think if I keep this up I can at least get to 30% by the end of the year! Got to have goals ah!
So without further ado, the first 6 to try and clear my shelves and up that ratio.
Well, what do I have for you this week? It is getting tough as I am chucking stuff before I get you guys to vote!
Bitter by Francesca Jakobi
Pages: 352
Goodreads
Also by this author: Bitter
It's 1969, and while the summer of love lingers in London, Gilda is consumed by the mistakes of her past. She walked out on her beloved son Reuben when he was just a boy and fears he'll never forgive her.
When Reuben marries a petite blonde gentile, Gilda takes it as the ultimate rejection. Her cold, distant son seems transformed by love - a love she's craved his entire adult life. What does his new wife have that she doesn't? And how far will she go to find out?
It's an obsession that will bring shocking truths about the past to light . . .
Bitter is a beautiful and devastating novel about the decisions that define our lives, the fragility of love and the bond between mother and son.
Girl With Dove: A Life Built By Books by Sally Bayley
Pages: 289
Goodreads
‘The word “mesmerising” is frequently applied to memoirs, but seldom as deservedly as in the case of Girl With Dove’ Financial Times
Growing up in a dilapidated house by the sea where men were forbidden, Sally’s childhood world was filled with mystery and intrigue. Hippies trailed through the kitchen looking for God – their leader was Aunt Di, who ruled the house with charismatic force.
When Sally’s baby brother vanishes from his pram, she becomes suspicious of the activities going on around her. What happened to Baby David and the woman called Poor Sue? And where did all the people singing and wailing prayers in the front room suddenly go?
Disappearing into a world of books and reading, Sally adopts the tried and tested methods of Miss Marple. Taking books for hints and clues, she turns herself into a reading detective.
Her discovery of Jane Eyre marks the beginning of a vivid journey through Victorian literature where she also finds the kind, eccentric figure of Charles Dickens’ Betsey Trotwood. These characters soon become her heroines, acting as a part of an alternative family, offering humour and guidance during many difficult moments in Sally’s life.
Combining the voices of literary characters with those of her real-life counterparts, Girl With Dove reads as a magical series of strange encounters, climaxing with a comic performance of Shakespeare in the children’s home where Sally is eventually sent.
Weaving literary classics with a young girl’s coming of age story, this is a book that testifies to the transformative power of reading and the literary imagination. Mixing fairy tale, literary classics, nursery rhymes and folklore, it is the story of a child’s adventure in wonderland and search for truth in an adult world often cast in deep shadow.
Lying To You by Amanda Reynolds
Pages: 271
Goodreads
'THIS DIZZYING NOVEL KEEPS YOU ON YOUR TOES' - THE SUN
You think you know the truth about that night, but what if your husband is LYING TO YOU?
When Jess Tidy was Mark Winter's student, she made a shocking accusation.
Mark maintained his innocence, but the damage was done.
Karen Winter stood by her husband through everything, determined to protect her family.
Now, ten years later, Jess is back. And the truth about that night is finally going to come out . . .
A gripping drama with dark twists and turns, perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and the BBC series Doctor Foster.
Never Go There by Rebecca Tinnelly
Pages: 368
Goodreads
What if you found out that you'd been married to a stranger?
'Never go there, Nuala. Please, never go there.'
Nuala knows nothing of her husband James's past.
He made her swear that she would never contact his family and never, EVER visit the place he was from.
But now James is dead, and Nuala is alone. Grieving and desperate, she decides to ignore his warning.
Nuala is about to find out that some secrets are better left buried - and that uncovering the truth about the man she married will have terrible consequences...
Sticks and Stones by Jo Jakeman
Pages: 384
Goodreads
Also by this author: Sticks and Stones
How far would you go for revenge on your ex?
Imogen’s husband is a bad man.
His ex-wife and his new mistress might have different perspectives but Imogen thinks she knows the truth. And now he’s given her an ultimatum: get out of the family home in the next fortnight or I’ll fight you for custody of our son.
In a moment of madness, Imogen does something unthinkable. Something that puts her in control.
But how far will she go to protect her son and punish her husband?
And what will happen when his ex and his girlfriend get tangled up in her plans?
The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya, Elizabeth Weil
Pages: 288
Goodreads
Clemantine Wamariya was six years old when her mother and father began to speak in whispers, when neighbours began to disappear, and when she heard the loud, ugly sounds her brother said were thunder.
In 1994, she and her fifteen-year-old sister, Clare, fled the Rwandan massacre and spent the next six years wandering through seven African countries, searching for safety—perpetually hungry, imprisoned and abused, enduring and escaping refugee camps, finding unexpected kindness, witnessing inhuman cruelty.
They did not know whether their parents were dead or alive.
When Clemantine was twelve, she and her sister were granted refugee status in the United States, where she embarked on another journey, ultimately graduating from Yale.
Yet the years of being treated as less than human, of going hungry and seeing death, could not be erased.
She felt at the same time six years old and one hundred years old.
Ok, so what order will I be reading these books in??? Remember vote to read, not to get rid of!
[socialpoll id=”2610648″]
Until next time xxx
nickimags @ The Secret Library Book Blog says
You’re so brave doing this feature as I’m such a control freak when it comes to reading. I love the idea off asking for suggestions but I know as soon as one is made I won’t want to read the book. I voted for Bitter as it’s one of the books I recognised. xx
Zoé says
I think I like the idea of someone choosing my backlog for me and then that way I will read it, otherwise I will keep ignore them lol xx
noveldeelights says
This isn’t nearly as much fun as chucking the lot ??♀️.
Kelly says
You have a mean streak, Eva ? I was just popping over to say that although I LOVE telling Zoé to chuck the lot, this is fun too! And I don’t feel as guilty ?
noveldeelights says
I like how after all this time you manage to sound surprised about that ??
Kelly says
I’d love to tell you it’s because I only see the good in people but you’d never believe me ?
noveldeelights says
??
Zoé says
I know. I know. But it means I get help with my reading choices, and you then don’t get obscure list ?
Karen says
I have 3 of these on my TBR so voting for one of those.
Zoé says
You can vote for as many as you like, I will read them in the order of the vote and they all have to be read ?