Looking for a summer read?
Here are some of my recommendations
If you’re looking for reading recommendations for your summer holiday, here are some novels I’ve read and enjoyed on various beach holidays.
I’ve recently returned from a week’s holiday in Cyprus, where I spent my days reading by the pool. It was a great way to relax and recharge. I read some great books, including Marian Keyes’s latest novel, Victoria Hislop’s sequel to The Island, and a book that reminded me of David Nicholl’s One Day.
My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes
In her latest novel, Marian Keyes returns to the Walsh sisters who she first wrote about in her 1995 debut, Watermelon. Since then, each of the five sisters has been the focus of a novel each and now the sequels are underway. Two years ago, Marian returned to the story of Rachel, star of Rachel’s Holiday, with a follow-up, Again, Rachel. This year, it’s the turn of Anna Walsh.
We first met Anna in Anybody Out There in 2007 while she was recovering from a car crash that killed her husband. This time, she leaves her PR job in New York and returns to Dublin and falls for an old flame.
Marian’s writing is warm and wonderful, and there were so many laugh-out-loud moments. Loved it!
Here’s the blurb…
Anna has just lost her taste for the Big Apple…
She has a life to envy. An apartment in New York. A well-meaning (too well-meaning?) partner. And a high-flying job in beauty PR. Who wouldn’t want all that?
Anna, it turns out.
Trading a minor midlife crisis for a major life event, she switches the skyscrapers of Manhattan for the tiny Irish town of Maumtully (population 1,217), helping old friends Brigit and Colm set up a luxury coastal retreat.
Tougher than it sounds. Newflash: the locals hate the idea. So much so, there have been threats – and violence.
Anna, however, worked in the beauty industry. There’s no ugliness she hasn’t seen. No wrinkle she can’t smooth over.
There’s just one fly in the ointment – old flame Joey Armstrong.
He’s going to be her wingman.
Never mind their chequered history. Never mind what might have been.
Because no matter how far you go, your mistakes will still be waiting for you . .
Talking at Night by Claire Daverley
I’d seen this book in all the bookshops for ages before I bought it. I’m not sure what stopped me. It might have been all the references to it being like David Nicholl’s One Day, and perhaps I just didn’t believe the hype.
Anyway, I finally bought it on the recommendation of one of the Waterstones Meadowhall booksellers. And I’m so glad I did. It’s a beautiful read.
Here's the blurb…
Will and Rosie meet as teenagers.
They're opposites in every way. She overthinks everything; he is her twin brother's wild and unpredictable friend. But over secret walks home and late-night phone calls, they become closer - destined to be one another's great love story.
Until, one day, tragedy strikes, and their future together is shattered.
But as the years roll on, Will and Rosie can't help but find their way back to each other. Time and again, they come close to rekindling what might have been.
What do you do when the one person you should forget is the one you just can't let go?
One August Night by Victoria Hislop
I always love reading Victoria Hislop novels when I’m on holiday. I enjoyed her first novel, The Island, so much when it came out in 2005, that for my fortieth birthday I visited Spinalonga, the former leper colony in Crete, which inspired her to write the book.
This year, I was excited to read the sequel to The Island.
Here’s the blurb…
25th August 1957. The island of Spinalonga closes its leper colony. And a moment of violence has devastating consequences.
When time stops dead for Maria Petrakis and her sister, Anna, two families splinter apart and, for the people of Plaka, the closure of Spinalonga is forever coloured with tragedy.
In the aftermath, the question of how to resume life looms large. Stigma and scandal need to be confronted and somehow, for those impacted, a future built from the ruins of the past.
Number one bestselling author Victoria Hislop returns to the world and characters she created in The Island - the award-winning novel that remains one of the biggest selling reading group novels of the century. It is finally time to be reunited with Anna, Maria, Manolis and Andreas in the weeks leading up to the evacuation of the island... and beyond.
My (extra)Ordinary Life by Rebecca Ryan
I discovered Rebecca Ryan’s book at a Waterstones book launch in Leeds. She’s a local author and was interviewing Beth O’Leary and Mike Gayle. She was witty and good fun, and so was her book.
Here’s the blurb…
Have you ever wondered how normal you are?
What if you were perfectly average?
More than anyone else.
For Emily – it's true. When she watches a documentary on the average human she sees her life. Her job, her hair, her favourite food. All of her – plainly, horrifically average. Even her blood group. Right there and then, she decides she wants more.
She'll travel the world (i.e. venture out of her hometown)
She'll become a vegan (it's interesting to hate cheese, right?)
She'll do something daring (As long as it's safety tested)
Nothing will stand in the way of Emily living her best life. Not even Josh and his dimples. Because she absolutely can't fall in love... that would be too ordinary.
And from now on, Emily is going to be extraordinary.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
I read this one on my holiday last year. It was delightful and I’m looking forward to reading more by Emily.
Here’s the blurb
One holiday. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn't see coming...
Nora is a cut-throat literary agent at the top of her game. Her whole life is books.
Charlie is an editor with a gift for creating bestsellers. And he's Nora's work nemesis.
Nora has been through enough break-ups to know she's the one men date before finding their happy-ever-after. To prevent another dating dud, Nora's sister has persuaded her to swap her city desk for a month's holiday in Sunshine Falls.
It's a small town straight out of a romance novel, but instead of meeting sexy lumberjacks, handsome doctors or cute bartenders, Nora keeps bumping into...Charlie.
She's no heroine. He's no hero. So can they take a page out of an entirely different book?