5 recent reads | September 2023

I've had a fairly decent reading month so far in September, and I'm just about on track to read 100 books this year! Here are my 6 recent reads with quickfire, spoiler-free book reviews in case you're looking for some good ones. All of these were NetGalley ARCs, so if they're not available to buy yet they'll be coming out soon...

Suddenly, A Murder by Lauren Muñoz

I LOVE a YA thriller and this didn't disappoint - it centres around Izzy, who is a working class girl in a school full of rich kids where her mum teaches. She heads off to a stunning island with a manor in the middle of it, straight from a 1920s movie, with her friends to celebrate their graduation ...and typically, one of them ends up dead. Stranded on the island in a storm with a dead body and a pair of police officers, Izzy tries to uncover the truth about what happened and why. I thought there was maybe one too many characters in the friendship group, to the point where at times I was a bit confused about who was who, but other than that I thoroughly enjoyed this and did not see the twist coming at all. Be warned, it's fairly dark...

Mayhem in Circulation by Leak Dobrinska

If you like cosy crime, you'll love this - it's the second in a series, which I didn't realise, but that didn't matter too much. It follows a librarian who has a bit of an interest in detective work (and in a particular detective...) as a spate of crimes takes place in her local area. This is a really lovely small town mystery, not too dark or scary but with a decent enough twist. There are some great characters in this one!

Small Secrets by Lucy Goacher

If you're a podcast kinda person, like me, then this will be an interesting one for you - it follows Nate and Stevie, two best friends with their own true crime podcast. They started off focusing on a case local to them, and years on they've done nearly 200 episodes. After a brief hiatus, they notice a case that very closely resembles the first one they ever covered; this snowballs into a new season of the podcast, with some very dangerous consequences for the pair. I somewhat guessed the twist, and I didn't love the way the podcasts themselves were written, but otherwise this is a great thriller.

The Soulmate by Iain Maitland

This seemed right up my street in terms of being a classic of the thriller genre; it follows a woman who has lived an incredibly miserable life, as she falls in love with her new soulmate - a woman (Pippa) from her bookclub. She becomes obsessed, and the story documents her attempts to become close to Pippa. I found the narrator to be incredibly unlikeable, which was probably the point but she just made me feel sick, and the storyline was quite farfetched. The writing style wasn't great either so as you can probably imagine, this isn't one I'd personally recommend.

Roommates by Ola Tundun

If you're looking for a contemporary romance set in the UK, you could do far worse than this one; it follows well-off corporate girly Ariella, engaged to the love of her life and living the dream - or so it seems. Then she does a 180 and moves in with self-confessed player Caleb, and it throws everything up in the air. If you're into authors like Beth O'Leary and Emily Henry you'll definitely enjoy this fun friends-to-lovers slow burn!

I head off to Copenhagen in the next couple of days, so there'll be plenty of reading time in the airport and on the plane etc - I went very hard on Stuff Your Kindle Day, so expect plenty more book reviews coming your way soon...