Better Reading Top 100 Books of 2023

Posted on May 27, 2023 by Jennifer Jones

Better Reading is a Facebook page that I follow. I always enjoy their discussions about books and authors. A few weeks ago, they listed their list of Top 100 Books for 2023. I do love a book list and the best books of 2023 immediately called to me. The 100 books on this list were voted for by readers.

Image: betterreading.com.au

Following is a list of the 100 books on the list. Those in bold, are the books from this list that I’ve read. When I look at the list and think about all those 100 stories, I am amazed at how many different stories writers are able to come up with. I am in awe of writers and am grateful for the joy their books bring to my life.

Honey Bee by Craig Silvey
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Tilt by Chris Hammer
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
The Lost Man by Jane Harper
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
Still Life by Sarah Winman
The Soul Mate by Sally Hepworth
The Dry by Jane Harper
Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
The Godmothers by Monica McInerney
The Orphans by Fiona McIntosh
All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
How To Mend A Broken Heart by Rachel Johns
Seven Skins of Esther Wilding by Holly Ringland
A Court of Thorns and Roses by S.J. Mass
The Couple Upstairs by H. Wainwright
The Butterfly Collector by Tea Cooper
A Man Called ove by Fredrik Backman
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
You Need To Know by Nicola Moriarty
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
The Good Wife of Bath by Karen Brooks
Horse by Geraldine Brooks
The Rook by Daniel O’Malley
Before the Storm by Di Morrissey
Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult
The Lost Flowers of Alice Heart by Holly Ringland
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Verity by Colleen Hoover
Devotion by Hannah Kent
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
The Angry Women’s Choir by Meg Bignell
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
The Otherside of Beautiful by Kim Lock
Broad River Station by Fleur McDonald
Ice Station by Matthew Reilly
Scrublands by Chris Hammer
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Nurses War by Victoria Purman
The Dressmakers of Yarrandarrah Prison by Meredith Jaffe
Everyone in My Family Halled Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
The Husbands Secret by Liane Moriarty
The Torrent by Dinuka McKenzie
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Keeping Up Appearances by Tricia Stringer
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Hearts Invisible Furies by John Boyne
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Prodigal Sister by Darry Fraser
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
The Liars by Petronella McGovern
The Night Circus by Erin Morgernstern
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Tomorrow & Tomorrow & Tomorow by Gabrielle Zevin
The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth
The Last Station by Nicole Alexander
Fairy Tale by Stephen King
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Wife & the Widow by Christian White
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
No Plan B by Lee Child
Paperbark Hill by Maya Linnell
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
1984 by George Orwell
The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
The Unbelieved by Vikki Petraitis
Exiles by Jane Harper
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Normal People by Sally Rooney
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan
Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor
This Has Been Absolutely Lovely by Jessica Dettman
Killing Floor by Lee Child
Dune by Frank Herbert
All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton
Lying Beside You by Michael Robotham
Again, Rachel by Marian Keyes
All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien
It by Stephen King
Khaki Town by Judy Nunn
The Good Mother by Rae Cairns
The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth

I was surprised to realise that I have read only forty seven books from this list.. After giving it some thought, I realise that the good thing about that, is that there are 53 great books on the list left to be read.

How many books from the Better Reads Top 100 list have you read? I’d be very interested to hear and promise to reply to all comments left. f you decide to make your own list, please leave a link to it in the comments as I’d love to read it.

This post is linked to Natalie’s Weekend Coffee Share Check out the other bloggers who have also linked

Book Review: The Boy From The Woods by Harlan Coben

Posted on May 21, 2023 by Jennifer Jones

Summary

“Thirty years ago, Wilde was found as a boy, after having lived alone in the woods, for many years, with no memory of his past. Now an adult, he still doesn’t know where he comes from, and another child has gone missing.

No one seems to take Naomi Pine’s disappearance seriously, not even her father-with one exception. Hester Crimstein, a television criminal attorney, knows through her grandson that Naomi was relentlessly bullied at school. Hester asks Wilde-with whom she shares a tragic connection-to use his unique skills to help find Naomi.

Wilde can’t ignore an outcast in trouble, but in order to find Naomi he must venture back into the community where he has never fit in, a place where the powerful are protected even when they harbor secrets that could destroy the lives of millions . . . secrets that Wilde must uncover before it’s too late”. – Goodreads

Published in March 2020, 371 Pages

My Thoughts

I’ve only recently come to Harlan Coben, having read a few of his books in the past few months and falling in love with his writing style and characters. From reading about Harlan Coben, I found out that Hester Crimstein is a character that turns up in a small way in a few of his stories. In this book she has a major part, and I can understand why readers have fallen in love with her. Hester is a sassy, bright, strong willed lawyer who has a major role in this story. I really can’t wait to read more about her in his other books.

The Boy From The Woods has a plot that gripped me immediately, and characters who had a very strong base and who kept my interest. For that matter, each of the Harlan Coben books that I’ve read, have been based on a strong storyline with great characters.

Reading this book felt like I was on a roller coaster. There was so much happening, and so much that was unexpected. Along with the story of a boy who was found in the woods years earlier, there was political scandal and intrigue, along with a teenager who had disappeared, and much, much more. I’m looking forward to reading more Harlan Coben books.

About The Author

Harlan Coben is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of the world’s leading storytellers. His suspense novels are published in forty-five languages and have been number one bestsellers in more than a dozen countries with seventy-five million books in print worldwide.- Goodreads

Star Rating

Please note that my star rating system isn’t at all based on literary merit, but is based on my enjoyment for the book.
For me a book that gets five stars, is a book that I really enjoyed, and found difficult to put down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Unputdownable. Would read it again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fantastic read. Not to be missed

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Enjoyable. Would recommend it.

⭐️⭐️ Wouldn’t read it again.

⭐️ Don’t recommend this book at all.

The books mentioned in this post are of my own choice and have not been sent to me to review. My opinions are my own and I receive no renumeration at all for them.

Have you read this book? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts. I promise to always reply to comments made in the section below.

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Find me here: Facebook and Instagram and Goodreads

52 Week Bookclub Challenge May 2023 #whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge May 2023

Posted on May 17, 2023 by Jennifer Jones

This year, for the second time, I have been participating in the 52 Bookclub Challenge. The Challenge is to read one book each week to a particular prompt. The thing I most enjoy about this challenge, apart from reading the books, is matching books to the prompts. Its a fun thing to do, and I often end up choosing a book that I may not have otherwise read. That is always a positive.

Until now, I have been posting about these books, and other books that I’ve been reading, on my other blog Next Phase In Fitness. Now that this blog has been revived, I will be posting here about the books that I’m reading, along with the challenge books.

At the bottom of this post, I have included links to the challenge books that I’ve read so far in 2023. I have decided not to read the challenge books in order of 1-52. I am reading whatever seems right at the time, depending on my mood and also on the books that I have available to me.

I also have been linking my monthly challenge book posts to the #whatsonyourbookshelf linkup, and will continue to do so.

Challenge books

Prompt 30: Author With the Same Name as Yours
Daughter of the Home Front by Jennie Jones

I didn’t expect to find a book who’s author has the same name as me, so was quite surprised when I stumbled across Daughter of the Home Front on Borrowbox, the library platform, where I access my audio books. I was also surprised to find that it was historical fiction, which always draws me.

Set in Townsville in 1942, during WW2, Emma arrives at Townsville as a 16 year old keen to join the war effort, and escape the life of poverty she had been living with her family in their beachside village.

In Townsville, Emma finds a busy bustling city, with American soldiers and glamorous women. Emma’s life is about to change and she is forced to make very courageous decisions which will alter her life in ways she would never have dreamed about.

Emma was left to look after herself and after making one mistake, was forced to decide which way her life would go, with no family support. I felt a very strong connection to Emma who was a very strong and inspirational woman.

I enjoyed reading about life in Australia at this time, with all it’s prejudices and complications. I would recommend Daughter of the Home Front as a book that will stay with you after you have finished reading it. I felt anger and sadness, but also laughed many times with Emma and her friends.

Published October 2022

Prompt 18: Set During a War Other Than WW1 or 2
Zambezi by Tony Park

I was looking for a book for the letter Z, when I came across Zambesi. A trip to an African animal safari is on my bucket list, so this book looked like the perfect choice. I reviewed Zambesi for the Blogging April A to Z challenge and gave it 5 stars. Following is a link to my review if you are interested to read more about this book.
Zambesi by Tony Park #bookreview

Published January 2005

Prompt 52: Published in 2023
Immortality,. A Love Story

After reading Anatomy A Love Story and giving it 5 stars, I was looking forward to the next book in the series, Immortality: A Love Story. After reading it, I gave it 4 stars. This was another book that I reviewed for the Blogging April A to Z Challenge. Following is a link to my review if you are interested to read more about this wonderful book.
Immortality: A Love Story #bookreview

Published February 2023

Prompt: A Fashionable Character
Becoming Mrs. Mulberry by Jackie French

Jackie French has become one of my favourite authors, over recent years. I’ve read many of her books and there hasn’t been one that I haven’t enjoyed, so when I saw her latest book on Amazon, I couldn’t resist purchasing it and downloading it right away.

Summary

The once impoverished medical student Agnes Glock is now the fabulously wealthy Mrs Mulberry. Her estate in the mountains is magnificent, a haven for those too ravaged by the Great War to cope with the society that first condemned them to battle and which now shuns them.

The War has, however, stolen Agnes’s chance to graduate as a doctor, as well as the fiance she adored. Her husband, Douglas Mulberry, remains shellshocked and unable to speak. Their scandalous marriage is a farce, an act of kindness to keep Douglas’s fortune from his uncle’s grasp.

A chance visit to a circus brings about a mystery in the form of a fairylike child whose guardians claim was brought up by dingoes. The child cannot speak and seems deformed. But Agnes is inexplicably drawn to her and believes she can be cured.

The decision to save the child will bring Agnes’s lost fiance into her life again, as well as awaken the love of her husband who finds his voice as the three try to solve the mystery of the ‘dingo girl’.

Agnes has put aside her own life and the dreams she once had. But now she has choices, with the main question the hardest: Who is Mrs Agnes Mulberry?

My Thoughts

Becoming Mrs. Mulberry was an absolute pleasure and a joy to read. Other than the characters which I felt became my friends, this book has a very strong sense of place, that permeates every part of the story. Add to that the often quirky goings on and the animals, and you have a book that is just wonderful. Set in the Australian bush at the fictional Wombat Hills, this book is both very sad and very very funny at times. I would recommend Becoming Mrs. Mulberry as a great read.

Published January 2023

Links to challenge books read this year

#whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge January
#whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge February
#whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge March

Star Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Unputdownable. Would read it again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fantastic read. Not to be missed

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Enjoyable. Would recommend it.

⭐️⭐️ Wouldn’t read it again.

⭐️ Don’t recommend this book at all.

The books mentioned in this post are of my own choice and have not been sent to me to review. My opinions are my own and I receive no renumeration at all for them.

This post is linked to the monthly #whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge linkup hosted by bloggers Deb, Sue, Donna, and Jo. Also linking to Natalie’s Weekend Coffee Share

A to Z Challenge Reflection Post #atozchallenge

Posted on May 7, 2023 by Jennifer Jones

The Blogging April A to Z Challenge has now ended. As 2023 is my eighth year of participating in this challenge, I’ve become quite used to April being a very busy month. For me, the key to completing the challenge successfully is planning and organisation. My theme this year was book reviews, so there were books to read, and reviews to write. I read all books that were reviewed. Some, in the past couple of years, but most of them in more recent months. I love the planning and choosing of books, according to a letter of the alphabet. This often has me choosing books that I wouldn’t usually read, just to be able to write a review on a particular letter. This often brings up some lovely surprises.

This year, because I knew I would be time poor, I was quite organised, and this meant that I was able to read and comment on more blogs than I ever have in previous years. I’ve given a bit of thought to the 2023 challenge and have come up a few things that I am happy about and a few challenges that I had.

What I Am Happy About

By the time 2022 had become 2023, I had written a plan of the books that I was going to review, and still needed to read.

On the day that the challenge website opened, I had written rough drafts for most posts.

Almost all posts were written, and ready to be published before the challenge started.

I visited many great blogs on a huge variety of topics and themes during the challenge.

There were many comments made on my blog, with some of those comments being made by bloggers other than book bloggers.

I loved that bloggers often commented about their favourite books.

A relationship has developed with a few bloggers that I hope will continue into the future.

Challenge

A few posts that were not completed by the start of the challenge, were left until the last minute. Those posts were for W X Y Z. Because of this procrastination, the final week was quite hectic, which is what I was trying to avoid. This was the only challenge that I had with the AtoZ this year.

Fun Facts

5 star books: Two
4 star books: Thirteen
4.5 star books: Four
3.5 star books: Six
3 star books: one book

Australian authors: Ten books
Female authors: Fifteen books
Male authors: Eleven books

My favourite book was the very last book reviewed, Zambesi by Tony Park.

Challenge Future

All being well in my life, I will be back for A to Z in 2024. I have decided that next year I will participate in the challenge on my family history blog,Tracking Down The Family. I don’t need to spend all year trying to come up with a theme for 2024, as I am fairly certain that I have settled on one.

Links to my A to Z Posts

A: Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz

B: Between Sisters by Kristin Hannah

C: Crows Nest by Nikki Motram

D: A Distant Hope by Ellin Carsta

E: Elevation by Stephen King

F: Flesh Wounds by Richard Glover

G: The Games by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan

H: A History of the World in 21 Women by Jenni Murray

I: Immortality-a-love-story-by-dana-schwartz

J: Just An Ordinary Family by Fiona Lowe

K: Kin: A Real Person’s History Of Our Nation by Nick Brodie

L: Lawson by Grantlee Kieza

M:The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan

N: Nightwork by Nora Roberts

O: Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout

P: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

Q: The Queen’s Colonial by Peter Watt

R: The Resemblance by Lauren Nossett

S: The Smuggler’s Wife Series by Deborah Challinor

T: Tell No One by Harlan Coben

U: Unsolved by James Patterson and David Ellis

V: Verity by Colleen Hoover

W: Wellmania by Brigid Delaney

X: X by Sue Grafton

Y: Yellowcake by Margo Lanagan

Z: Zambesi by Tony Park

Z: Zambesi by Tony Park #atozchallenge #audiobook

Posted on April 30, 2023 by Jennifer Jones

The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is for bloggers who wish to participate by publishing a blog post every day in April except for Sundays. Each blog post will focus on a letter of the alphabet. For example April 1 will be A, April 2 will be B and on it goes. By the end of April, a blog post for every letter of the alphabet will have been posted. My theme for 2023 is Book Reviews.

You can read my reviews without worrying about spoilers. My reviews are quite brief and I give away nothing more than you would read on the back cover or on Goodreads.

Zambesi
by
Tony Park

Summary

“When a young American research assistant is killed by a man-eating lion, three people are devastated – Jed Banks, an American Special Forces soldier serving in Afghanistan; Professor Christine Wallis, a wildlife researcher in South Africa; and Hassan bin Zayid, a hotel magnate in Zambia. The victim, Miranda Banks-Lewis, was their daughter, protegee and lover respectively.

Desperate to find out what happened to Miranda, Jed and Christine, with the help of a determined Australian journalist, set out on a perilous journey of discovery in Africa. Forced to pit themselves against the continent’s dangers, they will also learn shocking truths about the woman they thought they knew.

A superb successor to the bestselling Far Horizon, Zambezi is an unputdownable novel of love, loyalty, betrayal and revenge set against the magnificence and terror of Africa” – Goodreads

Published 2005
Audiobook 16 hours 50 minutes

My Thoughts

I chose to use the Goodreads summary as they were the words that convinced me to read this book. When I came across Zambesi, I was just casually browsing and looking for a Z book. There isn’t much choice for the letter Z so when I came across the words in the summary I was very excited and I couldn’t wait to start listening to the audio book. At almost 17 hours, it is quite a long time commitment, but I have almost two hours in the car every day, going to and from work, and I listen to audio books on my walks, so it didn’t take too long.

Zambesi could be classed as a boys own adventure. It had everything that you would expect from an action thriller – mystery, adventure, suspense, terrorism, intrigue, danger and even gung ho characters. I found myself occasionally gripping the steering wheel so tightly, and felt I had to turn the book off, as I wasn’t concentrating on my driving. At times the danger and intruigue are very intense, heart stopping, and at times quite gruesome.

Other than the action in the book, I absolutely loved reading descriptions of Africa and it’s safari parks and of course the animals. Some of the animals are anthropomorphised, which did confused me the first time I came across it, until I worked out just what was going on. I came to love those parts of the story.

The characters were relatable and mostly likeable. The few that were not likeable were meant to be that way. There are many pages to this book, which has given space for the author to develop the characters realistically and fully.

My only issue with this story is that I really wish that I had read the actual book and not listened to the audio book. The story is so great that I would love to have read the words on the page.

“……Zambesi is an unputdownable novel of love, loyalty, betrayal and revenge, set against the magnificence and terror of Africa.

Action/adventure is not a genre that I would usually read, but I loved everything about Zambesi. I will definitely be reading more of Tony Park’s books. My last book for the April AtoZ Challenge definitely was a highlight read.

All books that I review have been purchased by me or borrowed from the library, unless otherwise stated.

About the Author

Tony Park was born in 1964 and grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney. He has worked as a newspaper reporter in Australia and England, a government press secretary, a public relations consultant, and a freelance writer.

He served 34 years in the Australian Army Reserve, including six months in Afghanistan in 2002. Tony and his wife, Nicola, split their time between Australia and Africa, where they own a house on the edge of the Kruger National Park. – Goodreads

Star Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Unputdownable. Would definitely read again
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Fantastic read. Not to be missed.
⭐️⭐️⭐️Enjoyable read. Would recommend.
⭐️⭐️Wouldn’t read again
⭐️Don’t recommend this book again

Find me here: Facebook and Instagram and Goodreads

Images and author information: Goodreads

You can find my other blogs here:
Next Phase In Fitness & Life and Tracking Down The Family

Y: Yellowcake by Margo Lanagan #atozchallenge

Posted on April 29, 2023 by Jennifer Jones

You can read my reviews without worrying about spoilers. My reviews are quite brief and I give away nothing more than you would read on the back cover or on Goodreads.

YELLOWCAKE
BY
MARGO LANAGAN

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Summary

This is a book of ten short stories written by Australian novelist Margo Lanagan. Yellowcake is classified as young adult fantasy, but to me that isn’t really a correct classification, as not all stories in this book are fantasy. The stories range from fantasy to horror and much in between. The stories are all different from each other, and some I found absolutely heart breaking. There is a strong sense of family and the need to belong, that runs through many of the stories.

The author has written an afterword about where she found her inspiration for these stories, which I found very interesting and really did add to the stories.

My Thoughts

I’m not generally a short story fan but do occasionally like to read a short story. Usually, I would just read one story now and then in a short story book, but I read each story in Yellow Cake, one after the other. For this review, I felt that I needed to experience the entire book, as I would a longer novel. I picked this up only because I was looking for a book to read for the letter ‘Y’. I didn’t realise until I’d finished reading the book that it is classified as young adult. I would say that the stories in this book are suitable for both young adult and adults, as I have found is often the case with young adult in recent times.

The author has an unusual view of the world, and of people, and why they do what they do. I found most of the stories to be compelling. A couple of the stories are the author’s version of classic fairy tales.

My favourite story is Shroud of Gold, a vague rewrite of he classic fairy tale, Rapunzel. It begins when Rapunzel has had her hair cut off, and is the story of the Prince’s rescue of her, and his love for her. Parts of the original Rapunzel can be recognised during the story, as they appear in the new version. This is my favourite of the short stories in Yellowcake. That could perhaps be because I have loved the story of Rapunzel since I was a child.

I’d recommend this book as a way of dipping into fantasy, if it’s not a regularly read genre, but remembering that this book is about much more than fantasy.

All books that I review have been purchased by me or borrowed from the library, unless otherwise stated.

Star Rating

Find me here: Facebook and Instagram and Goodreads

Images and author information: Goodreads

You can find my other blogs here:
Next Phase In Fitness & Life and Tracking Down The Family

X: X by Sue Grafton

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Jennifer Jones

You can read my reviews without worrying about spoilers. My reviews are quite brief and I give away nothing more than you would read on the back cover or on Goodreads.

Unfortunately, I haven’t read a book recently starting with X, so I have decided to repost a previous book review for this challenge, that was posted, a few years ago.

X
by
Sue Grafton

SUMMARY

A Kinsey Milhone mystery

This is the 24th novel in Sue Grafton’s series of novels that are named after each letter of the alphabet. Investigator Kinsey Milhone, known by regular readers of this author, is based in a fictional city in Los Angeles and ready to solve the latest mystery.

A glamorous redhead hires Milhone to find her long lost adopted son. This should have been a quick easy job for an investigator but the mystery quickly builds when Milhone finds that she was paid with notes that were marked. It becomes clear very quickly that this client has something to hide.

My Thoughts

I’m not a regular reader of crime, but I did enjoy this suspenseful mystery, with it’s very well rounded characters. As this is the 24th book in this ‘alphabet’ series, I can help but wonder if Grafton’s books are written to an obvious winning formula. I will definitely be reading another of her books, and expect to be able to form an opinion after that reading.

Recommendation
Kinsey Milhorne is up there with the giants of the private-eye genre, as magnetic as Marlowe, as insouciant as Spenser…….Exhilarating” – Times Library Supplement

About the Author

Sue Grafton was a Number One International Bestselling and very prolific author of mystery and detective novels. Her books have been published in many languages and have appeared on The New York Times Bestseller lists many times and for many weeks each time. She passed away in 2017 before Z for Zero was published and so the alphabet series ends at Y.

All books that I review have been purchased by me or borrowed from the library, unless otherwise stated.

Star Rating

Find me here: Facebook and Instagram and Goodreads

Images and author information: Goodreads

You can find my other blogs here:
Next Phase In Fitness & Life and Tracking Down The Family

W:Wellmania by Brigid Delaney #atozchallenge #throwbackthursday

Posted on April 27, 2023 by Jennifer Jones

You can read my reviews without worrying about spoilers. My reviews are quite brief and I give away nothing more than you would read on the back cover or on Goodreads.

Many book bloggers re-post a book review that they have written in the past, under the #throwbackthursday hashtag. I will be joining them in this each Thursday.

The following book review was first published here in December 2018. This is a book that I enjoyed very much, and I feel warrants highlighting again.

WELLMANIA
Misadventures in the Search for Wellness
by
Brigid Delaney

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Summary:
Feeling overweight, unhealthy and anxious, Brigid Delaney decides to use herself as a guinea pig and try out some of the health fads, both mainstream and more alternative, that we are constantly told will transform our lives and make us happy and healthy. Some of those tried were the horrifying 101 day fast, colonics, many types of yoga, silent retreats and meditation, group psychotherapy and much more.

Brigid travelled the world to participate and gather information about these methods that are meant to improve our health and wellbeing and are touted to help us to lose weight and keep calm. It seems that everyone is trying to sell the ‘Wellness Dream’. Brigid’s experiences took her to monasteries and health farms and hiking trails, just to pick out a few.

There is also a serious side to the book, as the author presents the facts and outcomes of many of these fads. The questions asked in the book are:

Why do so many of us swing from indulgence to detox and back again?
Is it possible to integrate good habits into your daily life
What does our obsession with wellness say about us?
Why do you smell so bad when you haven’t eaten in seven days?

Published in 2017. Softcover, 308 pages

My Thoughts:
I experienced many emotions as I read this book. I laughed and cried, sometimes both at the same time. I felt horrifed at the thought of the 101 day fast. I wanted to shout to the author “don’t do it!” Brigid is very honest as she describes her experiences. Her honesty were the cause of my laughter and tears.

Recommendation:
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in health and fitness, or anyone who has ever tried dieting. If you have ever tried any of the modern, crazy health fads, you will love this book.

Star Rating

Find me here: Facebook and Instagram and Goodreads

Images and author information: Goodreads

You can find my other blogs here:
Next Phase In Fitness & Life and Tracking Down The Family

V: Verity by Colleen Hoover #atozchallenge

Posted on April 26, 2023 by Jennifer Jones

You can read my reviews without worrying about spoilers. My reviews are quite brief and I give away nothing more than you would read on the back cover or on Goodreads.

Verity
by
Colleen Hoover

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Summary

Lowen is a struggling writer who is not earning enough money for her everyday needs, when she is offered a job, that any writer would think was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Best selling author Verity, is very ill and unable to finish the remaining books of her best selling series. Her husband offers Lowen the job of completing these books.

Lowen moves into the house with Verity and her husband so that she can read Verity’s work, and study her research papers. She very quickly finds, Verity’s autobiography with very surprising and shocking information about Verity’s life. Lowen is very distracted from the research and, as she gets deeper into the autobiography, has a feeling that all isn’t as it seems.

My Thoughts

Before reading Verity, I had read a book by this author that seemed to be very popular, but it was a book that I didn’t really enjoy. I had Verity on my list to read next, and wasn’t really expecting much from it, however, I did enjoy most of it. The story line is very unusual, which I really liked. I found characters hard to work out, and couldn’t make up my mind if they were ‘good or bad’. However, even that didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the book. The suspense was at times stomach churning and anxiety producing which, really, is what you want in a thriller

I was completely mystified by what was happening, and at times confused about what was going on, but I was ok with that too. I was waiting until all would be revealed, but when it was, it was unexpected. I found the ending very annoying and disappointing which is why I have given Verity a low star rating. In fact, I felt ripped off, that I had invested so many hours reading for such an ending.

I realise that somebody else might read this book and love the ending. I noticed on Goodreads that Verity received stars from 1 to 5, so obviously the ending was loved by some. It wasn’t for me.

I’d be interested to hear what you thought, if you have read this book.

Star Rating

Please note that my star rating system isn’t at all based on literary merit, but is based on my enjoyment for the book. For me a book that gets five stars, is a book that I really enjoyed, and found difficult to put down.

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Next Phase In Fitness & Life and Tracking Down The Family

U: Unsolved by James Patterson and David Ellis #atozchallenge #audiobook

Posted on April 25, 2023 by Jennifer Jones

You can read my reviews without worrying about spoilers. My reviews are quite brief and I give away nothing more than you would read on the back cover or on Goodreads.

Unsolved
Invisible $2
by
James Patterson and David Ellis

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Summary

“For Dr. David Beck, the loss was shattering. And every day for the past eight years, he has relived the horror of what happened. The gleaming lake. The pale moonlight. The piercing screams. The night his wife was taken. The last night he saw her alive.

Everyone tells him it’s time to move on, to forget the past once and for all. But for David Beck, there can be no closure. A message has appeared on his computer, a phrase only he and his dead wife know. Suddenly Beck is taunted with the impossible- that somewhere, somehow, Elizabeth is alive.

Beck has been warned to tell no one. And he doesn’t. Instead, he runs from the people he trusts the most, plunging headlong into a search for the shadowy figure whose messages hold out a desperate hope.

But already Beck is being hunted down. He’s headed straight into the heart of a dark and deadly secret- and someone intends to stop him before he gets there”. – Goodreads

Published in 2019. Audiobook from Borrowbox

My Thoughts

I didn’t read Invisible #1, but Unsolved works well as a stand alone novel. In fact, I didn’t realise this was a second book in a series, until after I’d finished reading it. I have enjoyed the James Patterson collaborations that I’ve read so far, and this novel was no different. A fast paced, detective mystery with a great story line and a few unexpected twists along the way. There were also a few chills and shivers as I was reading.

Of course, as with most James Patterson books, it’s obviously written to a formula which is quite cliche – the FBI agent who goes against protocol, but because she has great results, she gets away with it.

I enjoyed this novel very much. It was a quick read with an interesting plot and unexpected twists and turns. However, there is one thing that I didn’t like about this story, and that was the ending. It just didn’t feel right to me, and left me disappointed. Another reader could very well have a different opinion. The three and a half star rating was due to the ending. Without that ending, I probably would have given it four stars.

Star Rating

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Next Phase In Fitness & Life and Tracking Down The Family

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