Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher

Started: 30.7.26

Finished: 2.8.26

Kindle

Bit disappointed with this one, it wasn't really what I was expecting. Felt a bit too clever and highbrow for me!

They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

Started: 16.7.26

Finished: 23.7.26

Paperback

Buddy read with my son!!

This wasn't part of the reading plan for this month, but when I found out that my son had chosen this from his school library for his next read, I couldn't resist joining in! His friend has already read it, and is working her way through the others in the series, so I think that's why he picked it for himself.

It's the story of Mateo and Rufus, who both receive a call telling them that they are going to die within the next 24 hours. They are strangers who become friends through a Last Friend app, and they meet up and help each other through their last day alive. Although this sounds (and is) very traumatic, people are getting 'the call' from Death-Cast every day, so it's just kind of accepted. Once you get the call, that's it, your time's up.

Despite the quite sombre theme, this was actually mostly a tender and uplifting tale. Mateo and Rufus were both so sweet in the way they helped each other to really live life to the fullest in the short time they had left, and make peace with their past. And as the story progressed, we met other characters whose lives intertwined in some way with the two friends.

A really thought-provoking story.

Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang

Started: 14.6.26

Finished: 15.6.26

Paperback

TBR Prompt: Yellow book

With themes of racism, cultural appropriation, dishonesty and ambition at any cost, this is a heavy book, but also a really fun one, told from the POV of a cringeworthy, 'love-to-hate' character who goes to great lengths to justify her actions. If you've ever had even the tiniest yearning to be a published author, this story may make you reconsider, and it also shines a light on the horrors of social media, whether you're everyone's darling or public enemy No. 1.

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Started: 25.4.26

Finished: 30.4.26

Paperback

TBR Prompt: From the bookshelves / free pick

Well. This book has just broken me. Gorgeous, five stars. Beautifully written, I really liked the short chapters from different POVs. The island setting, so wild and atmospheric, was a character in itself. I loved the Salt family, and Rowan too, though I took a little longer to warm to her. The whales, seals, penguins, albatrosses - I was willing them all to survive. I thought the thriller aspect was believable, and the evidence of climate change was very real and frightening. I did not expect the ending. 

The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom

Started: 24.3.26

Finished: 26.3.26

Paperback

TBR Prompt: Book from the middle shelf

Thought-provoking book where a lonely war veteran dies and then learns lessons about his life from five people he meets in Heaven.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Started: 14.3.26

Finished: 20.3.26

Paperback

Book Club Read

It seemed to take me a while to get through this book. I didn't really know what to make of Eleanor. She seemed a bit socially awkward, a bit repressed, 'buttoned-up', a germophobe. But at the same time she seemed confident, or at least unaware of the social cues and etiquette so that she would speak and do things without a worry or awareness of what other people would think of her. It made me wonder, does she not care that she's being rude, or does she not know? Early on in the book she goes for a bikini wax which, for me, jarred with the kind of person that I thought she was. So then I thought I'd got her wrong, and spent a lot of time trying to figure her out. 

Aside from that, there was a lovely blossoming friendship with a man called Raymond, who should definitely be on the top of the 'book boyfriend' list, and a slow coming to terms with horrific events from her past. 

Overall I'd say that I enjoyed this book, though it was a bit of a slog at first, and really only picked up towards the final third.

A Short Stay In Hell by Steven L. Peck

Started: 12.3.26

Finished: 13.3.36

Paperback

TBR Prompt: Five words in the title

This is a short (104 pages) novella about a man who finds himself in a version of Hell which is a library of unfathomable size. He can only escape if he finds a book of the story of his life, but the library contains every book that has ever been written, and that ever could be written, so it becomes clear that this is an impossible task. The novella certainly raises a lot of philosophical and existential questions, but the answers are probably too far beyond the reach of my little brain though.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Started: 28.2.26

Finished: 6.3.26

Paperback

TBR Prompt: Yellow book

I feel like this has taken me a long time to get through. I wasn't really feeling a strong urge to pick it up, and yet when I did, I really enjoyed it. The plot was fairly obvious early on, but this was always more of a character-driven story. Who couldn't love Marcellus?! I definitely shed a few tears at the end. Apparently the film version is being released on Netflix on May 8th 2026.

The Story Tellers by Sue Heath

Started: 17.2.26

DNF: 19.2.26

Kindle

Chosen by RNG

This was an Amazon First Reads that has been on my Kindle since July 2025. I read the first few chapters, and whilst I'm sure it's a perfectly lovely story of found friendships and moving onwards and upwards in life, it just wasn't holding my attention. While I'm reading this I've got FOMO about all the other books I could be reading instead! So I've decided not to finish it.

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

Started: 5.1.26

Finished: 8.1.26

Kindle

Whew! It's hard to know what to say about this book. It's sad, but uplifting too. It's about friendship and love. It deals with resilience and loneliness. There's a certain lack of meaning to the plot, yet it's so meaningful too. It's heartbreakingly beautiful.

The Keeper Of Stories by Sally Page

Started: 20.12.25

Finished: 24.12.25

Paperback

This was a very pleasant surprise! The MC was a lovely woman called Janice, a cleaner who liked to collect stories, though she believed she could never tell anyone about her own.

It was a very character-driven plot, and most of them were very likeable and I was really rooting for everyone to get their happy endings. And there was a 'talking' dog called Decius who was very funny.

Really lovely story.

In An Instant by Suzanne Redfearn

Started: 1.8.25

Finished: 2.8.25

Kindle

Kind of sad, but really enjoyed it.

Starling by Kirsten Cram

Started: 10.5.25

Finished: 12.5.25

Kindle

The Secret Collector by Abigail Johnson

Started: 16.4.25

Finished: 17.4.25

Kindle

Amazon First Reads - March

Really enjoyable quick read with likeable characters, reminded me a bit of A Man Called Ove.