Book Club #2

[nbt]

Thanks @ordinaryjelly, it’s nice to look back over the last year!

Here’s to another year of fun reading!

I’ll kick start March suggestions with The Housemaid by Freida McFadden


“Welcome to the family,” Nina Winchester says as I shake her elegant, manicured hand. I smile politely, gazing around the marble hallway. Working here is my last chance to start fresh. I can pretend to be whoever I like. But I’ll soon learn that the Winchesters’ secrets are far more dangerous than my own…

Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.

I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.

I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.

They don’t know what I’m capable of…

An unbelievably twisty read that will have you glued to the pages late into the night. Anyone who loves The Woman in the Window, The Wife Between Us and The Girl on the Train won’t be able to put this down!

 

[ordinaryjelly]

Daisy Darker, by Alice Feeney.

Isolated on their private island in Cornwall, the Darker family have come together for the first time in over a decade. When the tide comes in, they'll be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours. When the tide goes back out, nothing will ever be the same again. Nothing – because one of the family is a killer . . .

As the leaves of autumn fall, Daisy Darker arrives at her grandmother’s house for her eightieth birthday celebrations. Seaglass, the Darker’s ancestral home, is a crumbling Cornish house perched upon its own tiny private island.

Every member of the family has their secrets. Nana, alone for so long. Daisy's absent father, Frank. Her cold-hearted mother, Nancy. Her siblings, Rose and Lily, and her niece, Trixie, full of questions and without a father of her own. Daisy has never had an easy relationship with her family, but some secrets are much darker than others. This will be a gathering that some of them won't remember.

Amazon product

 

[Carapop]

I vote Vladimir for March as so many of us seem to have it aaaaaand it’s still on a deal.
Amazon product

When I was a child, I loved old men, and I could tell that they also loved me.

And so we meet our deliciously incisive narrator: a popular English professor whose husband, a charismatic professor at the same small liberal arts college, is under investigation for his inappropriate relationships with his former students. The couple have long had a mutual understanding when it comes to their extramarital pursuits, but with these new allegations, life has become far less comfortable for them both.

And when our unnamed narrator becomes increasingly infatuated with Vladimir, a celebrated, married young novelist who’s just arrived on campus, their tinder-box world comes dangerously close to exploding.

Julia May Jonas takes us into charged territory, where the restrictions of morality bump up against the impulses of the human heart. Darkly funny and moving, Vladimir maps the personal and political minefield of our current moment, exposing the messy contradictions of power and desire.

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

I'm going to nominate The Virgin Suicides. Ive never read it, its currently free on Prime and also only 99p.

This is the story of the five Lisbon sisters – beautiful, eccentric, and obsessively watched by the entire neighbourhood.

The boys that once loved them from afar are now grown men, determined to understand a tragedy that has always defied explanation. For still, the question remains – why did all five of the Lisbon girls take their own lives?

This hypnotic and unforgettable novel treats adolescent love and death with haunting sensitivity and dark humour, and creates a coming-of-age story unlike any of our time.

The Virgin Suicides: TikTok made me buy it! https://amzn.eu/d/97N6lRC

 

[ordinaryjelly]

Book of the Year

18 people voted which I feel like is our core little group of Book Clubbers, some of us are here every month, some of us dip in and out.

Blood Sugar 5
The Herd 3
Pachinko 3
Lessons in Chemistry 2
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow 2
Every Summer After 1
Reminders of Him 1
Betty 1

Which means August 2022's choice Blood Sugar, suggested by @Caffeine Fiend is our Book of the Year!

Thank you all for being part of our Book Club. I'll admit that when I started the first thread I did wonder if it would flop and there would be just me over here reading books. I've enjoyed this year, I have read books that I would never have picked up, books that pushed me to my limit, hurt my brain and I just willed to end and books that were delightful and like a holiday in my head, I savoured every page.

Here's to another year!

Please start suggesting March's book now. I'll tally up the suggestions at lunchtime on the 26th to leave time for everyone to grab a 99p read if needed.

 

[ordinaryjelly]

I wish we could private message each other on this site, so zi am sorry for doing this publicly. But @nbt would you like to take over running the book club? I am only asking you because you so often ask for nominations and count up at the end of the month when I am unable. My health means I'm not as reliable as I would like to be and I apologise for that.

Feel free to say no, again I am sorry to have put you on the spot in public like this.

 

[ordinaryjelly]

Sorry everyone it had been A. Day.

I have tallied up the votes for May's book and....

Daisy Darker - 18 votes

Before the coffee gets cold - 10 votes

Negative Feedback - 5 votes

Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption and Hollywood - 3 votes

So my suggestion of Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney is our book.

The regular version is a half yellow/half black cover. Those is just the indie book shop special edition that is stunning.

This book is currently 99p on Kindle until the end of the month....so go, go, go.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B09JP5JT4N/

 

[ordinaryjelly]

Hey everyone,

I have gone through and tallied up the votes for thr book for March.

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden - 19 likes.

Vladimir by Julia May Jones - 17 likes.

Abide With Me by Elizabeth Strout - 7 likes.

The House at the End of the World by Dean Kootz - 4 likes.

Godmersham Park by Gill Hornby - 4 likes.

--

Which means March's book is @nbt's suggestion The Housemaid by Freida McFadden. This book is included in Kindle Unlimited otherwise it is £1.99 on Kindle.

Happy reading!

BTW This is our most voted for book in a whole year.

 

[nbt]

I’ve tallied up the votes so people don’t miss out on any offers and they are as follows…

Murder on the Christmas Express
@nbt - 12 votes

The Christmas Murder Game
@Marylou - 4 votes

From Me to You
@OH.FFS - 3 votes

The Summer House
@Frau_guru - 2 votes

So our December read is Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict. It’s currently 99p on kindle and I’ve seen it in shops and online for £5/£6.

Happy festive reading!

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

Im going for this for my nomination. Hot Springs Drive.

Seven years ago, Theresa and Jackie meet in a maternity ward. Sleep-deprived new mothers; instant friends.

Then they become neighbours on Hot Springs Drive - a nice street in a nice neighbourhood, filled with flower boxes and emerald lawns.

The story ends like this: in the depths of a sweltering heatwave, Theresa discovers that her husband and Jackie are having an affair. The next day, Theresa's body is found.

The truth lies somewhere between the picket fences and pink blossoms, where friendships twist into tragic jealousies and barbecues hide bed hopping and bloodshed. By summer's end, the residents of Hot Springs Drive will never be the same...

An unputdownable, unmissable, vicious blade of a novel that peels back the fragile veneer of two suburban families and the deadly secrets roiling between them.

Deal: Hot Springs Drive: Absolutely unputdownable, pulse-pounding domestic noir https://amzn.eu/d/57cImXm

 

[ordinaryjelly]

I've tallied up the votes for our July 2023 book and they are -

The Choice by S J Ford - 10 votes

Happy Place by Emily Henry - 9 votes

Impossible by Sarah Loltz - 6 votes

The Saturday Morning Park Run by Jules Wake - 6 votes

The Villa by Ruth Kelly - 6 votes

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart - 6 votes

What The Neighbours Saw by Melissa Adelman - 6 votes

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros - 4 votes

(Never seen so many books with the same number of votes - 6)

So our book for July is The Choice by S J Ford as suggested by @Tit4Tattle

Which is free if you have Amazon Prime under Prime Reading, otherwise it is 99p to buy until the end of the month.

This book sounds like a good'un so I am excited to start it.

Happy reading!

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

Took me all of February and some of March to read Betty. Finished the Housemaid in 2 days.

Spoiler: The Housemaid

I finished the Housemaid last night and didnt come to talk about it right away because I wasnt sure if my feelings were harsh or not. I read it very quickly and I will always give an author credit for that. For me though I dont think it was very good. I just found it very unbelievable and far fetched. Nina was far too over written to truly suspect she was the bad guy so of course it had to be Andrew. There was no other explanation or red herring. I cant say I'll be rushing to read the second one, I dare say Id sprint through it also but quantity isnt always better over quality. I did actually rate Betty and The Housemaid the same stars and obviously its like comparing apples and oranges however I finish both within days of each other and both were our picks of the month. All of that being said though, I did have The Housemaid on my TBR list and Id have read it at some point even without it being our pick.

 

[OnlyHereForTheLolz]

Or another one that looks good and is more my style.

Psychopaths Anonymous - Will Carver
Welcome to the Club…

Maeve has everything. A high-powered job, a beautiful home, a string of uncomplicated one-night encounters. She’s also an addict: A functioning alcoholic with a dependence on sex and an insatiable appetite for killing men.

When she can’t find a support group to share her obsession, she creates her own. And Psychopaths Anonymous is born. Friends of Maeve.

Now in a serious relationship, Maeve wants to keep the group a secret. But not everyone in the group adheres to the rules, and when a reckless member raises suspicions with the police, Maeve’s drinking spirals out of control.

She needs to stop killing. She needs to close the group.

But Maeve can’t seem to quit the things that are bad for her, including her new man…

Check this out!
https://amzn.eu/d/1bx52KE

 

[OH.FFS]

I’d like to nominate : A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum

It’s 0.99p but might only for a day though.

Amazon product

Three generations of Palestinian-American women living in Brooklyn are torn between individual desire and the strict mores of Arab culture in this heart-wrenching story of love, intrigue and courage.

Palestine, 1990. Seventeen-year-old Isra prefers reading books to entertaining the suitors her father has chosen for her. Over the course of a week, the naïve and dreamy girl finds herself quickly betrothed and married, and is soon living in Brooklyn. There Isra struggles to adapt to the expectations of her oppressive mother-in-law Fareeda and strange new husband Adam, a pressure that intensifies as she begins to have children – four daughters instead of the sons Fareeda tells Isra she must bear.

Brooklyn, 2008. Eighteen-year-old Deya, Isra’s oldest daughter, must meet with potential husbands at her grandmother Fareeda’s insistence, though her only desire is to go to college. But her grandmother is firm on the matter: the only way to secure a worthy future for Deya is through marriage to the right man.

But fate has a will of its own, and soon Deya will find herself on an unexpected path that leads her to shocking truths about her family…

Set in an America at once foreign to many and staggeringly close at hand, A Woman Is No Man is a story of culture and honour, secrets and betrayals, love and violence. It is an intimate glimpse into a controlling and closed cultural world, and a universal tale about family and the ways silence and shame can destroy those we have sworn to protect.

 

[Carapop]

I’m going to make a nomination for next month

Odd Hours by Anita Bas
Amazon product

 

[Marylou]

I don't think we've had a Book Club choice so popular in a while. It's only March 8th and lots are starting the sequel already, love how reading brings us all together.

I've read The Maid and gave it 4* and may start the sequel after I finish my current book.

 

[ordinaryjelly]

Hey everyone, I have tallied up the votes for the September book and we had two joint winners. I did the random pie chart generator and it gave as follows. It won't let me add the video so you will just have to believe me....

September 2023 book

Odd Hours by Ania Bas - 12 votes carapop
A Woman is No Man by Etam - 12 votes
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham - 8 votes
Belladonna by Adalyn Grace - 4 votes

So our book is @Carapop's suggestion of Odd Hours by Ania Bas. This book is currently 99p on Kindle.

Happy Reading!

 

[nbt]

I’m nominating First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston.

Everything she is about to tell them is a lie...

Evie Porter has everything a girl could want: a doting boyfriend, a house with a picket fence, a fun group of friends.

The only catch: Evie Porter doesn't exist.

First comes the identity. Once she's given a name and location by her employer, she learns everything there is to know about the town and the people in it.

Then the mark: Ryan Sumner.

The last piece of the puzzle is the job. For Evie, this job feels different. Ryan has gotten under her skin and she's started to picture another kind of life for herself - one where her boss doesn't pull the strings. But Evie can't make any mistakes. Because the one thing she's worked her entire life to keep clean, the one identity she could always go back to - her real identity - just walked right into this town. A woman, who looks just like her, has stolen her name - and she wants more. As Evie's past begins to catch up with her, can she stay one step ahead to save her future?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0BYWYXPSM/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1706166650&sr=8-1

 

[ordinaryjelly]

Why am I always like this? It is so pretty though. And I supported an indie bookshop and not Jeff Bezos. But.....

 

[ordinaryjelly]

Hi everyone,

I have tallied up the votes for our April book:

Motherwell by Deborah Orr - 11 likes

How to Murder Your Life by Cat Marnell - 11 likes

The Girls by Emma Kline - 8 likes

I'm Sorry You Feel That Way by Rebecca Wait - 5 likes

So I put the top two into a random wheel generator that you can see below. It came out with Motherwell by Deborah Orr, suggested by the ever reliable @Caffeine Fiend. This book is currently 99p for our Kindle readers, so go, go, go before the end of the month.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07VHRK9KL/

Happy reading!