Just For The Summer by Abby Jimenez

Started: 28.5.26

Finished: 30.5.26

Paperback

When I was in my early teens I read about a gazillion Mills and Boon and Silhouette Special Editions. I didn't have Microsoft Excel back then, but I kept a list on paper of every book I had. They had symbols on the spine, like squares, triangles, circles, diamonds - I didn't know what they meant, but I logged them too, just in case I ever figured out the system. 

So it's safe to say that I've read my fair share of romance novels. I'm not really into that genre any more, but I'd seen so many good reviews about this book that I wanted to try it, and to be honest, I really enjoyed it. Really cute story with likeable characters, but some quite heavy themes running through it, which I think were dealt with respectfully. It even made me well up a bit in places! I didn't realise till I'd finished it that it's book 3 of 3, but I don't think I missed anything having not read the first two in the series, so presumably they can all be read as stand-alones. I did really enjoy the writing style, so I've added the authors other books to my wish list.

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

Started: 28.5.26

DNF: 28.5.26

Paperback

I'm not having much luck with Stephen King so far. Another DNF. I think it's just the amount of detail that he goes into about every little thing; it's just too much, I feel kind of bogged down in it all. This is what has put me off in the past, why I haven't read many of his books.

I didn't really know what the story was about - I knew it featured a cat - but I read a few reviews and quickly realised that the plot wasn't going to be one that appealed to me. I skimmed through it and read the last few pages, but I don't regret not finishing it.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Started: 26.5.26

Finished: 27.5.26

Paperback

Well. What can I say about this book? Very little really, because it's a genre-less, fever dream of a story, and most of the time I had no idea what was happening, but not in a bad way! If it ever gets made into a film, Guillermo Del Toro will probably be the director.

A man answering to the name of Piranesi lives in a labyrinthine House of infinite Halls, Staircases and Statues. He doesn't really question why he's there, he just is, and he makes the best of his situation, keeps his routines, and enjoys the beauty of the place. And then he receives a message from someone new, and The House begins to feel strange to him...

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

Started: 26.5.26

Finished: 26.5.26

Paperback

I've already had to abandon my plan to read all the Stephen King novels, in publication date order. I read Carrie, that was the first, and then DNF'd the second, Salem's Lot. The third is The Shining, which I bought on Kindle, but I'm trying to whittle down my physical books at the moment, so I've decided to just read the Stephen King books that I have, in any order, and try to get a hold of the remaining ones from the library.

This one is about Trisha, a nine year old girl who is on a hike with her family, when she veers from the path and gets lost in the woods. And that's basically all it's about. She's a big baseball fan (Tom Gordon is her favourite player) and luckily she has her Walkman with her, so to keep her spirits up she keeps tuning into the radio broadcasts of the Red Sox games. She hallucinates / daydreams that Tom is with her in the woods, talking to her about baseball; this is a kind of metaphor throughout the book - how to win a game, how to survive in the woods. Unfortunately, I neither understand or care about baseball, so I kept skimming over these parts.

Trisha was remarkably resilient for a nine year old girl, to the point that I found it quite hard to believe that she would have the sense to do some of the things she does. She was a very likeable character though, and I was really rooting for her.

Abandon by Blake Crouch

Started: 24.5.26

Finished: 25.5.26

Paperback

We've just had a really hot (for the UK) late May Bank Holiday (around 30 degrees celsius), and I've just read two books back to back set in freezing cold locations - I think that may have been a subconscious reaction, as I'm not a big fan of the hot weather.

Abandon was a remote mining town in the American West, where all the inhabitants vanished without a trace on Christmas Day in 1893. In the present day, a group including a historian and two paranormal investigators set out to try to uncover the mystery of what happened. Miles from civilization, and in the middle of a harsh blizzard, the group realise that they are not alone in the town.

I couldn't imagine what had happened to the residents of Abandon back in 1893; I was hoping for some kind of supernatural occurrence, but the reality was actually far scarier than I'd thought. I enjoyed the dual timelines, especially when they began to kind of mirror each other towards the end. Although I don't think this is based on a true story, it's certainly inspired by the history of ghost towns in the American West, and I would definitely recommend this to fans of The Hunger by Alma Katsu, and The Terror by Dan Simmons. 

The White Road by Sarah Lotz

Started: 23.5.26

Finished: 24.5.26

Paperback

I've tried to keep my star ratings* simple by not using half and quarter stars, but if I did, this would definitely be either a 4.5 or 4.75. It was almost a 5, until it just dragged a little bit in part three. To be honest, I could forgive that and still round it up to a five. This is all to say that I loved this book! 

It follows Simon who, along with flatmate and colleague Thierry, runs a website where they capture footage of dead bodies. Simon is the adrenaline junkie of the two, with some climbing experience from his youth, so he's the one 'out in the field'. After a caving trip goes badly wrong, Thierry convinces him to join an Everest climbing party, so that he can record some of the deceased climbers who remain on the mountain. Again, this does not end well.

Although Simon is a bit of a jerk, he's a jerk with something of a conscience, haunted by his mistakes. Realising that what he's doing is morally and ethically wrong, he tries to make amends, but is it all too late?

The beginning of the book, with the spelunking trip, brought to mind the real life horrors of Nutty Putty (IYKYK). The Everest part reminded me of Thin Air by Michelle Paver, and even, in parts, of Dark Matter, my favourite ghost story, so that's high praise from me!

*I don't use them on this blog, but I do on Pagebound, Storygraph and Goodreads.

'Salem's Lot by Stephen King

Started: 23.5.26

DNF: 23.5.26

Paperback

When I told my other half that the next SK book that I was going to read was Salem's Lot, he said something like "ooh, you can't beat a good vampire story". My heart sank. I really don't like vampire stories... So I'm not going to force myself to read over 700 pages of something that I'm not really interested in...

We Used To Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

Started: 22.5.26

Finished: 23.5.26

Paperback

At last, a finished book! I really enjoyed this, the story was gripping, and I loved the little 'reader participation' bits, with working out the Morse Code and the capitalised letters. The psychological thriller aspect was so creepy, a (mostly) normal family coming into your house and then just not leaving. Towards the end it started to get very weird, almost a bit 'cosmic horror' (or cosmic thriller, if that's a genre), and is it too much of a spoiler to say I got a few Shutter Island vibes? Definitely left me with more questions than answers, but it was a good read, nonetheless. 

Breaking From The TBR... Kind Of

I've got three books left from my May TBR choices, but they're all on my kindle. My book buying has got a bit out of hand lately, and the shelves are overflowing, so I think I really need to focus on reading physical books that I can put on Vinted when I've finished them, so that I can start whittling them down. 

My last few choices have unfortunately been DNFs; I might have a break from the TBR prompts and just choose a book that I really want to read, and hopefully lift myself out of this slump...

Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio

Started: 20.5.26

DNF: 22.5.26

Paperback

TBR Prompt: Under 300 pages

Well, I seem to be in a bit of a reading slump at the moment, because I couldn't even finish a book that's only 108 pages! It's a silly reason for not continuing, I suppose, but I didn't like the way the characters were speaking to each other, or some of the nicknames they used - I was confused just a few pages in. And things being referred to as The Lump, and The Hole... I don't know, it was just bugging me. Fungi and a rat on the cover are a clue, and I think I'm done with botanical horror for now...