Here’s a guide to our favourite books that we have read this year…
The Cardinal by Alison Weir:
I feel like this is the strongest book that Alison Weir has written – I loved the way in which it effortlessly covers the many different aspects of Thomas Wolsey’s life. It humanises him – showcasing his ambition and how it overtook his life that adds a sense of tragedy. But equally it shows his humanity and intelligence which makes it a really compelling read.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria: Free Spirit, Beauty Queen, Imperial Legend by Regine Neuhauser
This year saw us paying a visit to Vienna and visiting many of the famous sites there and having read Daisy Goodwin’s The Fortune Hunter which features the famous Empress, I wanted to find out more and this biography of her life doesn’t disappoint. Intelligently written in a way that is accessible for those who don’t know a lot about the period of history that she lived through, it is informative without being heavy going. Recommended if you are looking to expand your knowledge of European history.
The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith:
This perhaps the most intriguing book in the Strike series to date. With complications in both the case and their changing relationship and unspoken feelings, it really does set up the next book in the series well. Perhaps the number of characters, backgrounds and how they fit in can be a bit overwhelming but it is extremely well structured to keep the reader engaged right until the very end.
This fourth book in Stephen Fry’s Greek Mythology series is as entertaining as the others, written with great insight and humour – ensuring the story is accessible no matter how knowledgeable of the story you are. What Fry highlights in his retelling is as much as it is a story of Gods and monsters, it is also at its heart a story about a longing for home and family.
The Serpent Under by Bonnie MacBird :
This latest Sherlock Holmes adventure from the author has plenty of twists and turns in it to keep the reader enthralled – certainly enough to make it one of the best in the series that Bonnie Macbird has written to date – particularly when it involves the death of a woman who works at Queen Victoria’s court….
Think Again by Jacqueline Wilson:
It is wonderful to have revisited the characters who I grew up with as a teenager – who are around a similar age to me – it was a really comforting read and shows in many way the comfort of normal everyday characters with relatable problems. As funny and relatable as ever with a few surprises thrown in it is a really great comfort read!
Athena’s Child by Hannah Lynn:
This was a really fascinating and heartbreaking take on the classic Greek mythology stories of Medusa and Perseus that offers a wonderful contemporary take, yet without diminishing its power. There is a real rawness emotionally as well as a beautiful way in which Lynn sets the scene with such vividness, keeping the reader thoroughly engaged from start to finish.