Well as we draw to the end of another year, I am sharing with you all the books that I have read this year. I must admit that this year. I didn’t manage to read anywhere near as many books as I would of liked to. Life gets kinda busy sometimes which means I don’t always have time to read much. Hopefully next year I will manage to have a bit more time to read. I already have a huge stack of books waiting to be read so I am aiming to get them all read in the 2025. Hope you chose to read some of the books I read in 2024.
For now though, these are the books that I managed to read this year and what I thought of them.
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Take A Moment by Nina Kaye
This is the first book that I have read by Nina Kaye and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story of Alex had me hooked right from the start. Alex had everything she could wish for a fantastic job, a fiancé, a fabulous best friend. Then the unexpected happened and Alex receives a shock diagnosis that makes her evaluate her whole life.
Taking matters into her own hands she has a total fresh start and starts a new life in a new location. This is a really heartwarming story and a book you really must read
The Art of Focus by Dan Koe
The art of focus was a great book to read and makes you think differently. It puts a different perspective on how to look at life. Once I got into the book I found it really made me re-evaluate all the lessons I have been taught through school and start to question everything.
It also Shows that if you can focus on what you really want, then anything is possible. I would highly recommend this book as its great for making you feeling motivated.
A Village Affair by Julie Houston
I picked this book up from our local Morrisons store. There is a book shelf where you can donate books and if there is a book you like you take the book and leave a donation in the charity bucket. I think it’s a great way to raise money for charity and for people to get rid of or find new books. It certainly works as the book case is almost always full.
I saw this book, read the back and thought it would be a good read. I have never read a book by the Author Julie Houston before but I thoroughly enjoyed this book and her style of writing. The story centre’s around Cassie, who lands her dream job in the local primary school as the deputy head. The day before she starts her job she finds out her husband has been having an affair with her best friend. Life suddenly changed for Cassie. Following a holiday to Mexico on her own, she finds a new romance.
The end of the story has so many twists that I honestly did not see coming. It was a truly heart-warming read that was beautifully written.
Promise Me by Jill Mansell
I am a big fan of Jill Mansell so was really looking forwards to reading this book and it did not disappoint. The story of Lou and her unlucky in love life is really heartwarming. Going from having a lovely job and her own flat Lou seemed to have it all. A chance meeting with Edgar was about to change it all. His persistence won her over in the end, especially after realising that she needed to find a new job.
This story has so many lovely characters along with many twists and turns and I found that I was hooked right from the start. You could never predict what was going to happen next. It was so hard to put the book down at times. I would highly recommend reading this book.
The Moment I Met You by Debbie Johnson
From the first page of reading the moment I met you I was hooked. I soon fell in love with the character Elena. She is a down to earth girl that is so relatable. Her relationship with Harry seemed normal to the outside world but to her all was not going well. She thought a holiday to Mexico might be the answer but that is where their lives changed forever.
Meeting Alex, under very unusual circumstances made her realise that her relationship with Harry was over and it was time for her to move on. Guilt towards Harry and his injuries meant that she could not leave him, but knew that it was Alex that she wanted to be with.
This is the first book that I have read by Debbie Johnson and it won’t be the last. I loved everything about the story. The characters were really relatable and Debbie has an amazing style of writing that captured the emotion and reality of events perfectly. I would highly recommend that this book is added to your reading list.
The Fiancee Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur
I obtained this book for free and right from the start I was unsure as to whether I was going to read it or not. I did start off reading 11 pages but then put the book down again and read a different book. As I am not one to start reading a book and stop so I did pick the book back up. If I am totally honest I didn’t enjoy this book. As much as I thought it had a good story line and great characters, I found it a bit too far fetched and unbelievable for me.
Gemma and Tansy were great characters and made the perfect couple despite all the troubles that stood in their way. A chance meeting at a wedding threw the couple together despite them not previously knowing each other. With Gemma’s deadline to get married in order to inherit the family business and Tansy being besotted with Gemma it made perfect sense for them to get married. Other family members had different ideas and tried all they could to stop the wedding to stop Gemma getting her hands on the family business. Their love for each other shone through in the end.
It was a shame as I wanted to enjoy the book and I did enjoy Alexandria’s style of writing but unfortunately this book was not for me.
Cat Lady by Dawn O’Porter
I loved Cat lady right from the start. Mia is a great character that I could really relate to. Everyone in life has a story and not everyone’s life goes to plan. Cat lady was a perfect example of this. Mia faced so many issues in her personal life being in an unhappy marriage. Her work life was hard with a boss that didn’t seem to like her. Luckily Mia found comfort in the strangest place, which was a local bereavement group for people who had lost their pets. Cat Lady was funny, lighthearted and a really enjoyable read with an ending that proves that women do always land on their feet.
I would highly recommend reading Cat Lady.
The Cake shop in the Garden by Carole Matthews
I think I can honestly say that this has been one of the best books that I have read so far this year. I have read Carole Matthews books before and have always really enjoyed them. So I did kind of know that I would really enjoy this book as well.
Fay Merryweather runs a very busy little cake shop from her home. Making the most amazing cakes, with the help of her assistant Lija. Fay is kept busy with the cafe, whilst also looking after her mum and dealing with all her sisters drama’s. All the local’s love Fay and Fay equally loves life alongside the canal. Fays cake shop serves all the passing canal boats. Danny, a young canal boat owner stops at the cafe and soon lands himself a job helping out doing odd jobs.
With Fay’s relationship with Anthony not going so well, Fay soon finds herself falling in love with Danny. In a sudden turn of events, Fay’s world is turned upside down. Her mum becomes really ill and her sister returns home from New York. She also finds out that Anthony is in love with someone else. The house Fay loves and has grown up in is suddenly sold from under her. Leaving her with no home and no business. Fay is left shocked when she realises who has bought the house. But it’s not enough to keep her there and she embraces life and freedom.
I loved this book from start to finish and I could not wait to keep reading it to find out what happened next. I would highly recommend this book to everyone to read. It was full of twists and surprises you just don’t see coming.
The Bad Mother’s Handbook by Kate Long
The Bad Mother’s Handbook was the first book that I have read by Kate Long and I really enjoyed it. It was a different style of writing as it was written in the perspective of 3 people. Karen, Charlotte and Nan and switches between them all.
This book is a great read right from the start and covers everything from teen pregnancy, adoption, child neglect and dementia.
Charlotte discovers that she is pregnant at seventeen and is dumped by her boyfriend Paul. A new friend at school, Daniel (who everyone thinks is a bit weird) becomes her new best friend and supports her throughout her pregnancy and becomes a great confidante.
Karen, who is Charlotte’s mum finds out that she is adopted. Karen is left reeling when she finds out she’s adopted and decides to try and find out more about her past. Secretly hoping that it will bring her a fairytale reunion with her birth parents.
And finally there is Nan, who is Karen’s mum. Nan gets a bit confused at times and has a lot to deal with including a colostomy bag and a bad habit for toasting letters. At the end of the day all she wants is for everyone to be happy.
I really enjoyed this book and seeing how the relationship unfolds between Nan, Karen and Charlotte and how they navigate through life. I really like how the narrative switches between them all. This book is funny, sad, witty and uplifting as well as being relatable to real life.
This is a great story about family, relationships, and about pulling together to get through everything life throws at you. I would recommend The Bad Mothers Handbook as a good book to read.
Andrew Ridgeley, Wham, George and Me.
Wow what can I say, this book was really fantastic right from the first page. Andrew Ridgeley shares a very honest opinion as to what life in Wham was really like. I found it quite an eye opener to read his perspective rather than only seeing it though a fans eyes. It highlights that things are not always as they seem and life back then for young artists were difficult.
Andrew shares fond memories of growing up, meeting George and embarking on their music career together. I would highly recommend giving this book a read, even if you were not a wham fan.
I really hope you enjoyed this blog, if you did then please check out my other blog posts on books I have read in previous years:
