I loved your detailed reviews!! I'm going to jump onto the bandwagon here to say I thought Lessons In Chemistry was terrific. I'd love to hear what you think if you end up checking it out!
You've also convinced me to try Book Lovers! I read People We Meet On Vacation a while ago and I thought it was good, but not 100% my thing because I'm also not much of a romance reader. I've heard a lot of hype about Book Lovers, but your review really brought it to life!
On an unrelated note - I also like to have one fiction and one non-fiction on the go at a given time 😊 What non-fiction are you reading right now? Reading your description of working in publishing as an "insight into an alternative life" also made me smile. I also really love reading and writing, so whenever I daydream about alternative life paths it often involves working with books in some way too!
I’ve started Lessons in Chemistry and loving it so far!
What a lovely comment about bringing Book Lovers to life, I really hope you enjoy it now! I’d love to know!
I haven’t started a non-fiction yet but I might go with Stolen Focus by Johann Hari or Conversations on Love by Natasha Lunn. What are you reading at the moment?
Love to hear which bit made you smile too. Thank you for the lovely comment Sofia :)
I'm glad you're enjoying Lessons in Chemistry! I started Book Lovers over the weekend and I'm hooked already - thank you for the recommendation! It's exactly what I was looking for, a fun, super engaging read :)
For my non-fiction, I just finished White Feminism by Koa Beck! I've been going for books about politics/econ/social movements lately - I feel like I learn so much from them, but they can also be quite heavy, so balancing it out with some fiction is quite nice. I've heard great things about Conversations on Love too!
Love your writing and all your recommendations and can't wait to read more!!
I'm so happy I came across your reviews, I've been debating giving Emily Henry and Lucy Foley a try, even going as far as to get them from the library. But then I'd let the time lapse and not commit. It's hard to suss out the good from the viral these days so having your perspective has encouraged me to actually commit to reading both!
I love your in-depth reviews with quotes - so thoughtful!! Love the recommendations, I liked The Guest List so I’ll definitely check out The Paris Apartment too :)
I love poetry! It's my "tuning fork" for writing fiction. And my idea of heaven is the poetry section of Foyles Charing Cross Road. Utter heaven.
If you like "Helium" then I'd highly recommend "Citizen: An American Lyric" by Claudia Rankine, "Honorifics" by Cynthia Miller, "Throat" by Ellen Van Neerven and "Blue Laws" by Kevin Young.
Thanks for the recommendations, Jess! Putting some of these on my list. I'm really only able to finish about one book a month. Do you have any tips for cramming more in? Do you refrain from watching TV? Please share your secrets. :)
I hope you find something good if you end up picking any up!
Four was a little stretch, seen as the month isn't over yet, but nothing quite like a deadline to get me working even faster! And short poetry collections are often a quick read :)
I don't really swap out TV for reading much. If I find something I really like I just can't put it down, so it helps that a few of these books were in that category, and if I have a quiet weekend then I tend to just spend hours in the morning with a book! ...I'll read a little before bed sometimes too but that isn't that frequent :)
I really enjoyed this post, Jess! I haven't come across any of the books you've reviewed here, but I loved reading about them. Setting out each review in sections in the way that you have is brilliant! I'm definitely going to have a closer look at 'Before the Coffee Gets Cold'. 😊
That's so nice to hear, thank you Rebecca! It was quite the labour of love in the end - I wasn't sure how I wanted to do reviews when I started putting this one together.
Glad I've inspired you to look into that one - I hope you enjoy it if you end up going for the read!
Such a pleasure! I can tell it was a labour of love - your passion certainly shines through! And I published my very first book review just yesterday, so reviews are massively on my radar right now!
Your post has also reminded me how much I enjoy thrillers, actually. Apart from the fabulous book I wrote about yesterday, all of my recent reading has been in the name of research for a project I'm working on, but I'd love to dive into something mysterious sometime soon...
It has been nice to dive into various genres but I think I'm missing a bit of non-fiction at the moment... but we'll see what mood I'm in on any given day! :)
There's a lot to be said for going where the mood takes you, isn't it?! I really enjoy non-fiction, often to the exclusion of fiction... but then as soon as I pick up an Agatha Christie from the shelf to reread it seems that all bets are off in that department! 🤣
Such a great way of structuring the book recommendations! I really got a feel for the books and I love the quotes. I’ve had Book Lovers on my Kindle for ages and you’ve just inspired me to charge it up and get reading. I also love books that talk about the theme of time so I’m popping Before the coffee gets cold: takes from the cafe on my list too. Thanks for including poetry here too. I find there’s not enough recommendations on poetry. You’ve got great taste in books I wonder if you’ve considered starting a bookclub on Substack?
I’d love to know if you enjoy Book Lovers once you get going :)
I have considered it, in fact I’ve always felt like a book club would be something I’d love to do even before Substack! Perhaps, one day here! Thank you for the vote of confidence.
I don’t typically read thrillers either but when I do I usually don’t regret it! I’ll give this one here a read. And Lessons in Chemistry is a treat ahead of you!
I loved your detailed reviews!! I'm going to jump onto the bandwagon here to say I thought Lessons In Chemistry was terrific. I'd love to hear what you think if you end up checking it out!
You've also convinced me to try Book Lovers! I read People We Meet On Vacation a while ago and I thought it was good, but not 100% my thing because I'm also not much of a romance reader. I've heard a lot of hype about Book Lovers, but your review really brought it to life!
On an unrelated note - I also like to have one fiction and one non-fiction on the go at a given time 😊 What non-fiction are you reading right now? Reading your description of working in publishing as an "insight into an alternative life" also made me smile. I also really love reading and writing, so whenever I daydream about alternative life paths it often involves working with books in some way too!
Thank you so much Sofia!
I’ve started Lessons in Chemistry and loving it so far!
What a lovely comment about bringing Book Lovers to life, I really hope you enjoy it now! I’d love to know!
I haven’t started a non-fiction yet but I might go with Stolen Focus by Johann Hari or Conversations on Love by Natasha Lunn. What are you reading at the moment?
Love to hear which bit made you smile too. Thank you for the lovely comment Sofia :)
I'm glad you're enjoying Lessons in Chemistry! I started Book Lovers over the weekend and I'm hooked already - thank you for the recommendation! It's exactly what I was looking for, a fun, super engaging read :)
For my non-fiction, I just finished White Feminism by Koa Beck! I've been going for books about politics/econ/social movements lately - I feel like I learn so much from them, but they can also be quite heavy, so balancing it out with some fiction is quite nice. I've heard great things about Conversations on Love too!
Love your writing and all your recommendations and can't wait to read more!!
I'm so happy you like it!
Another non-fiction to add to my TBR.
Thank you Sofia - writing a few things at the moment and trying not to get the publishing fear! :)
Ohh Lessons in Chemistry is so good, Jess! I hope you enjoy it. Love your reviews too, thank you! I'm going to add them to my reading list :)
Started and enjoying it so far!
Thank you so much Lyndsay! Hope you find a new gem from the list :)
I'm so happy I came across your reviews, I've been debating giving Emily Henry and Lucy Foley a try, even going as far as to get them from the library. But then I'd let the time lapse and not commit. It's hard to suss out the good from the viral these days so having your perspective has encouraged me to actually commit to reading both!
That’s so kind of you to say!
I really hope you end up enjoying them both :)
I love your in-depth reviews with quotes - so thoughtful!! Love the recommendations, I liked The Guest List so I’ll definitely check out The Paris Apartment too :)
Thanks Rithana!
Hope you enjoy it! :)
I love poetry! It's my "tuning fork" for writing fiction. And my idea of heaven is the poetry section of Foyles Charing Cross Road. Utter heaven.
If you like "Helium" then I'd highly recommend "Citizen: An American Lyric" by Claudia Rankine, "Honorifics" by Cynthia Miller, "Throat" by Ellen Van Neerven and "Blue Laws" by Kevin Young.
:) not much like a solo book shop browse!
Oh, thank you for the recommendations, I'll have a look!
Thanks for the recommendations, Jess! Putting some of these on my list. I'm really only able to finish about one book a month. Do you have any tips for cramming more in? Do you refrain from watching TV? Please share your secrets. :)
I hope you find something good if you end up picking any up!
Four was a little stretch, seen as the month isn't over yet, but nothing quite like a deadline to get me working even faster! And short poetry collections are often a quick read :)
I don't really swap out TV for reading much. If I find something I really like I just can't put it down, so it helps that a few of these books were in that category, and if I have a quiet weekend then I tend to just spend hours in the morning with a book! ...I'll read a little before bed sometimes too but that isn't that frequent :)
I really enjoyed this post, Jess! I haven't come across any of the books you've reviewed here, but I loved reading about them. Setting out each review in sections in the way that you have is brilliant! I'm definitely going to have a closer look at 'Before the Coffee Gets Cold'. 😊
That's so nice to hear, thank you Rebecca! It was quite the labour of love in the end - I wasn't sure how I wanted to do reviews when I started putting this one together.
Glad I've inspired you to look into that one - I hope you enjoy it if you end up going for the read!
Such a pleasure! I can tell it was a labour of love - your passion certainly shines through! And I published my very first book review just yesterday, so reviews are massively on my radar right now!
Your post has also reminded me how much I enjoy thrillers, actually. Apart from the fabulous book I wrote about yesterday, all of my recent reading has been in the name of research for a project I'm working on, but I'd love to dive into something mysterious sometime soon...
Thank you!
I enjoyed the review you posted!
It has been nice to dive into various genres but I think I'm missing a bit of non-fiction at the moment... but we'll see what mood I'm in on any given day! :)
Awww, thanks, Jess!
There's a lot to be said for going where the mood takes you, isn't it?! I really enjoy non-fiction, often to the exclusion of fiction... but then as soon as I pick up an Agatha Christie from the shelf to reread it seems that all bets are off in that department! 🤣
Such a great way of structuring the book recommendations! I really got a feel for the books and I love the quotes. I’ve had Book Lovers on my Kindle for ages and you’ve just inspired me to charge it up and get reading. I also love books that talk about the theme of time so I’m popping Before the coffee gets cold: takes from the cafe on my list too. Thanks for including poetry here too. I find there’s not enough recommendations on poetry. You’ve got great taste in books I wonder if you’ve considered starting a bookclub on Substack?
Thank you so much Rebecca!
Such a thoughtful response.
I’d love to know if you enjoy Book Lovers once you get going :)
I have considered it, in fact I’ve always felt like a book club would be something I’d love to do even before Substack! Perhaps, one day here! Thank you for the vote of confidence.
I don’t typically read thrillers either but when I do I usually don’t regret it! I’ll give this one here a read. And Lessons in Chemistry is a treat ahead of you!
I really hope it's a good one for you!
I'm definitely glad that I picked up Lessons in Chemistry from all the good things I'm hearing! :)
Great post and would definitely recommend Lessons in Chemistry! I’ve read all of Foley’s books and the hunting party was my favourite
Thanks Sian!
Ooo, then I've got two good reads on my TBR :)