100 best summer reads for 2024 — chosen by our critics
The Royal Palaces (Kate Williams)
#TheRoyalPalaces #NetGalley
Those who are Anglophiles, those who enjoy history and those who think it is fascinating to know more about palaces will all enjoy this title. Included are 30 British locations including Buckingham Palace, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Sandringham House, the Tower of London, Edinburgh Castle, Kew Palace, Lochleven Castle and many others.
I loved the illustrations that are throughout this book. They were very inviting. The text that accompanied these offered much of interest. The facts are numerous and in addition there are many wonderful stories about each locale. For example, the first entry of Buckingham Palace opens with the king’s abdication while the one on Holyrood House opens with a story about Mary, queen of Scots. As for facts, who knew that BP has 775 rooms and 78 bathrooms along with a post office, cashpoint and much else? I did not. There are many other facts scattered throughout these pages.
This book would make an excellent gift for a fan of Great Britain’s great palaces. It is a real treat.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 20 August 2024
What To Do When You Worry Too Much (Dawn Huebner)
#WhattoDoWhenYouWorryTooMuchSecondEdition #NetGalley
This title offers a valuable resource for children and those who care about them including family, caregivers, teachers and mental health professionals. It is an updated edition of a book about helping kids who worry.
This book is very readable and relatable. It offers helpful text and activities to help children to manage their anxieties. Huebner notes that adults often tell kids not to worry or push them forward or shield them while none of these tactics work very well. Instead, this book helps kids to understand what worry is, how it is triggered and ways to manage their fears.
This title is meant, I think, to be read with a trusted adult. Going through this book multiple times may indeed be useful. In fact even some adults may find some help in these pages.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the American Psychological Association-Magination Press for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 06 August 2024
A blog tour for The Hollywood Governess
Thanks to Boldwood Books and Rachels Random Resources for this opportunity.
About the book:
The Hollywood Governess
A governess bound by her own strict rules, a movie-star tormented by grief, a forbidden love story you won’t forget.
Hollywood, 1937
Hester Carlye has no wish to look after the pampered offspring of the rich anymore, in spite of being a highly sought-after governess. But with her elderly father frail, and the roof of their rundown cottage falling in, she has no choice but to accept a dazzling new placement.
Movie star Aidan Neil is box office gold, but after the tragic death of his wife Dinah Doyle, he needs Hester’s help to raise their young daughter Erin. Aidan and Dinah were once the perfect Hollywood couple, but stars don’t shine forever…
At Aidan’s glittering Hollywood mansion, Hester finds a family struggling with their grief. Hester knows she can help little Erin, but Aidan’s torment is palpable. Brooding and reclusive, he is far from the picture-perfect hero Hester’s seen in films. There’s an edge to him that makes Hester wonder if he’s hiding a dark secret of his own….
Was the marriage between Aidan and Dinah as perfect as it appeared to be? Was Dinah’s death really a tragic accident?
When it finally comes, the truth is more shocking than Hester could ever have imagined. And she knows that if revealed, it will destroy the family she has grown to love and ruin Aidan’s Hollywood dream forever…
The author:
Alex Weston is a debut historical fiction writer whose novels are inspired by forbidden love in 1930s Hollywood. She lives in East Yorkshire and her first book for Boldwood, The Hollywood Governess, will be published in June 2024.
My thoughts:
The Governess is experienced and competent if not still wanting to do this job. Still, her financial obligations lead her to take on the role. So, off she travels to 1930s Hollywood and her new position.
The Hollywood star is a widower whose marriage may not have been all that it appeared to be. How did he and Dinah get along? What was the cause of her death? What will happen to their young daughter?
Governess, Hester, meets young Erin and believes that she can help her. She is less sure about what is behind the grief of star Aiden.
As Hester gets to know the family, readers will be drawn in. This is a novel with good characters, a vibrant setting and a good plot. A good choice for a summer read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this title. All opinions are my own.
Links:
Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/thehollywoodsocial
Social Media Links –
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556666098594
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlexWeston46
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alex_l_weston/
Book suggestions
I’m reading August’s BOOK CLUB on Everand. Check it out: https://www.everand.com/article/746051830
Let’s Count NYC (Adina Oberman)
#FamiliusBooks #NetGalley
Count to ten in this adorable, rhyming counting book featuring New York City. It is so cute! The illustrations include everything from the Empire State Building to bagels.
This book will probably be loved as much by adults as by the kids for whom it is intended. It offers a fun (and sometimes funny) glimpse of the city.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Familius Books for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 06 August 2024
Now out: Untold Paris
When I visited Paris for the first time I cried when I left. That is how hard it was to leave a place that I had so long wanted to visit. The streets, the museums, the cafes, the Seince-I truly could not believe that I was there.
We may be hearing a lot about Paris this year because of the Olympics. Much will be highlighted. However, to learn intimately about the City of Light, readers would do well to pick up a copy of Untold Paris. It is written by someone with a deep insider’s knowledge of the city.
The title is divided into sections on Art and Culture, Food and Drink, History, In the Shadows and Ways of Life. Just some of the subheadings include Cafes and Literature, Eiffel and His Monument, The Art of French Pastry, The German Occupation, The Girl in the Champagne Bath, French vs English and so much more.
This eclectic guide is illustrated with some lovely drawings. They enhance the pleasure of the book.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
Four stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
What happens when: Peg and Rose Play the Ponies (Laurien Berenson)
#PegandRosePlaythePonies #NetGalley
Sisters-in-law Peg and Rose are at it again in this third story about them. The two, as always, play off of one another as they become entangled in events.
Anyone who enjoyed the first two books or who has read the Melanie Travis series will want to give this one a look as will those who enjoy mysteries with animals in them. Here, there are both horses and dogs here.
Peg and Rose are in Kentucky so thoroughbreds are involved along with dog shows. When a difficult stable manager is murdered, it will be up to Peg and Rose to see that the correct criminal is identified and caught.
Readers will enjoy watching events unfold. They will then wait for the author to write the next book.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 25 June 2024
Death in the Air (Ram Murali)
About the book:
Death in the Air by Ram Murali
“Glamorous, gripping, absolutely heaps of fun. I loved this.”—Lucy Foley, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Guest List and The Paris Apartment
“Unexpected delights await on every page of Ram Murali’s impressive and captivating debut. Crisp as a gin and tonic and delightfully wicked, this smart, smart novel delivers a sophisticated, subversive murder mystery set in the highest stratosphere of the international idle rich. I had to force myself not to binge it in one night so I could savor it like the rare and exquisite meal that it is.” —Kevin Kwan, New York Times bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians
The White Lotus meets Knives Out meets Crazy Rich Asians in this devilishly entertaining debut novel: both a sophisticated locked-room mystery in the tradition of Agatha Christie, and a provocative literary whodunit for the twenty-first century.
Ro Krishna is the American son of Indian parents, educated at the finest institutions, equally at home in London’s poshest clubs and on the squash court, but unmoored after he is dramatically forced to leave a high-profile job under mysterious circumstances. He decides it’s time to check in for some much-needed R&R at Samsara, a world-class spa for the global cosmopolitan elite nestled in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas. A person could be spiritually reborn in a place like this. Even a very rich person.
But a person—or several—could also die there. Samsara is the Sanskrit word for the karmic cycle of death and rebirth, after all. And as it turns out, the colorful cast of characters Ro meets—including a misanthropic politician; an American movie star preparing for his Bollywood crossover debut; a beautiful heiress to a family jewel fortune that barely survived Partition; and a bumbling white yogi inexplicably there to teach meditation—harbors a murderer among them. Maybe more than one.
As the death toll rises, Ro, a lawyer by training and a sleuth by circumstance, becomes embroiled in a vicious world under a gilded surface, where nothing is quite what it seems . . . including Ro himself. Death in the Air is a brilliant, teasing mystery from a remarkable new talent.
My thoughts:
I was drawn to this book by the cover and description. It did not disappoint.
This is a very clever and fun debut. With a take on a locked room mystery, the author introduces characters, murder and mayhem. Will Ro Krishna figure out what is going on and why? As is often the case, the fun is in witnessing the unfolding events.
Mystery fans, this should be one of your books of the summer!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 18 June 2024
#DeathintheAir #NetGalley
The author:
Praise:
Death in the Air by Ram Murali Praise
- ‘A fascinating genre mashup for the discerning—and reflective—mystery reader.’ — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
- ‘Glamorous, gripping, absolutely heaps of fun. I loved this.’ — Lucy Foley, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Guest List and The Paris Apartment
- ‘A stunning, sophisticated, scalpel-sharp murder mystery. Powerful, fun, and hugely rewarding. Immensely impressive.’ — Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of We Begin at the End and All the Colors of the Dark
- ‘Unexpected delights await on every page of Ram Murali’s impressive and captivating debut. Crisp as a gin and tonic and delightfully wicked, this smart, smart novel delivers a sophisticated, subversive murder mystery set in the highest stratosphere of the international idle rich. I had to force myself not to binge it in one night so I could savor it like the rare and exquisite meal that it is.’ — Kevin Kwan, New York Times bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians
- ‘A warm broth of Golden Age mystery (both Agatha Christie and Richard Osman would be proud), contemporary comedy (think Crazy Rich Asians), and some nameless secret ingredient all Ram Murali’s own. Evocative, provocative, and very, very fun.’ — A.J. Finn
- “Twisty and absorbing, Death in the Air is a knockout mystery with a dry, dark humor all its own. It has endless glamor in the old sense of the word: as a sinister enchantment, casting a spell.” — Flynn Berry, New York Times bestselling author of Under the Harrow and Northern Spy
- “Murder most rich. International and humorous at just the right times, Death in the Air will set you soaring, drinking, and guessing all the way to the last page.” — Ridley Pearson
- ‘A romp of a whodunit, poking fun at the über wealthy whilst calmly meditating on both the horror of Partition and identity in a globalized world. I rattled through it. Ro is a very charming lead character indeed!’ — Charlotte Vassell, author of The Other Half
- ‘Littered with designer jewellery, accessories and activewear, Death in the Air fizzes with ambition, managing to be both showy and subversive, operating as it does around the axis of Partition . . . . Although it carries many of the hallmarks of an Agatha Christie-style murder mystery, what sets Death in the Air apart, leading to its unique conclusion, is its rejection of Western norms of justice and spirituality. The result is a fun, thought-provoking book—a commentary on greed, cultural appropriation and the peculiar malaise of the wealthy—a daring début.’ — Nii Ayikwei Parkes, author of Azúcar and Tail of the Blue Bird
Buy it:
Death in the Air by Ram Murali Retailer Links
Why We Read
An e book bargain today
Shannon Reed offers readers her idiosyncratic answers (and they are many) as to why we read and why she does. Early on Reed shares that, as someone with a hearing impairment, reading books was a comfortable place to be as there was no need to struggle or answer based on imperfect understanding of what was being said. Reed read everywhere and everything, even a car manual when she forgot (never again!) to have a book with her. Bibliophiles will relate to not ever leaving home without something to read; I know that I did.
This is not an academic treatise but more a series of wide ranging personal thoughts and reflections. Throughout it is clear that Reed loves reading and wants her students and everyone, really, to find joy in a book.
Reed begins by talking about getting her first library card and the many libraries that have played a role in her life. I know two of these personally which made the pages come to life for me.
Whether it is about reading (or not reading) series, signs you may be a character in a popular children’s book, reading to see ourselves across time, for comfort, fun or shock, or more, it is intriguing to see what the author has to say on a variety of topics.
This book would make a fun gift for a reader…even if that reader means giving a gift to one’s self. Take a look at the back of the book for an exhaustive reading list based on the books mentioned in the text. This will give a bibliophile many ideas for what to try next or to fondly remember books that they have read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 