November Wrap Up
I read 10 brilliant books in November: 1 5⭐ (which means I loved it), 6 4⭐ (which means I liked it), and 3 3⭐ (which means it didn't quite work for me).
The first book I read in November was Wahala by Nikki May, which I'd heard great things about. Also, who could resist that cover?
Wahala is a deliciously twisted tale of three mixed-race women living in London, whose lives are changed forever when a fourth woman joins their circle of friends. I devoured this book in one sitting. Its high-stakes drama, page-turning plot, and heart-rending writing were exactly what I was in the mood for. And I loved the way Nikki May writes about race, body image, and the gap between your life and your dreams.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Up next was The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty, Waterstones' Debut Fiction Prize winner for 2022.
The Rabbit Hutch is a strange book, which tells snippets of stories from various characters, most of whom live in “The Rabbit Hutch”, a housing complex in the dying industrial town of Vacca Vale, Indiana. I liked the setting, especially the way Tess Gunty writes about the town, and I liked the concept of setting a book in a housing complex. But I wasn’t fully convinced by how the different characters’ stories fit together, or by all the stories’ resolutions. I also found the writing style a little tiresome at times.
⭐⭐⭐
Craving a seasonal read, I turned to Hex Appeal by Kate Johnson.
Hex Appeal is a charming supernatural romance, about a coven of witches living in an English village. When Josh moves to the village, looking for a fresh start, he finds himself drawn to Essie, and so into a world of magic, chaos, and danger. The romance storyline ticks all the right boxes, while the supernatural storyline gives it a welcome twist. Hex Appeal fell a little short of being a five-star read for me, but it was exactly what I wanted it to be.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Since I enjoyed The Chateau by Catherine Cooper so much, I decided to pick up her latest book, The Cruise.
The Cruise is a page-turning thriller, packed with dubious characters, and set aboard a luxury cruise ship whose staff start going missing. The story shifts between multiple timelines and characters’ perspectives, to reveal several gasp-worthy twists. You might have to suspend your disbelief a little, but the plot never gets too complicated, and the characters keep it all feeling real.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
I felt a little conflicted about reading a Christmas book in November, but I couldn't resist the newly-published Snowed In for Christmas by Sarah Morgan.
Snowed in for Christmas is pure festive fantasy. When Lucy turns up at a prospective client’s house, with a pitch her company desperately needs to win, a case of mistaken identity coupled with terrible weather means she ends up stuck in the middle of a family Christmas, and more than a few family conflicts. This feel-good romance is filled with delightfully implausible, yet comfortably predictable, twists. I loved the set-up, and the pay-off didn’t disappoint.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Up next was the brilliantly-titled How to Kill Men and Get Away With It by Katy Brent.
How To Kill Men and Get Away With It is the deliciously dark comedy its title promises. Kitty Collins is a rich influencer living in London, who accidentally kills a man in self-defence, and finds that she has a taste for it. I love the way Katy Brent writes about violence against women, and I always enjoy reading about luxury lifestyles.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Looking for another seasonal read, I turned to one I'd seen people talking about on Instagram: The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston.
The Dead Romantics is a supernatural romance that pulls on your heartstrings. Florence Day is a ghostwriter for a famous romance novelist, struggling to meet her deadline after having her heart broken. The last thing she needs is a family crisis to summon her home, and the ghost of her new editor to show up on her doorstep. There's a lot to like about this one, but I found it a little slow, and a little sad, and I wasn't convinced by the way everything was explained and resolved.
⭐⭐⭐
After so many light reads, I decided to give my first Ernest Hemingway a try, and I picked A Farewell to Arms mainly because I love these little editions (especially for travelling with).
A Farewell to Arms is the story of an American lieutenant, serving in the ambulance corps of the Italian Army during WWI. I was surprised to find that I enjoyed the story more than the writing style (when I expected it to be the other way around). The story is interesting, as it is told from a slightly unusual perspective, and it deals with wartime experiences beyond those you usually read about. But between the overly descriptive writing and the episodic structure, I found this book easy to put down. I liked the characterisation a lot though.
⭐⭐⭐
Will Carver is an auto-read author for me, but I am a book behind, starting The Daves Next Door on the day Suicide Thursday was published.
The Daves Next Door alternates between a cast of characters whose stories eventually overlap, and culminate in a terror attack on London. Will Carver’s writing is dark but playful, and he poses some very powerful questions as he tells this story of infinite possibilities. This was almost a five-star read for me. I found the first half dragged a little, but the ending blew me away (pun intended). Will Carver’s books are unlike anything else I’ve read, and I will definitely be reading Suicide Thursday.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
The last book I read in November was Daisy Darker, the latest book from Alice Feeney, which I had been looking forward to for a while.
Daisy Darker's family gather at Seaglass, a house that gets cut off when the tide comes in, to celebrate Nana's eightieth birthday. As the tide comes in, the secrets come out, and the bodies start to pile up. I can't resist a story about a dysfunctional family, or a murder mystery set in an isolated location, and Alice Feeney's writing is as engaging as her plots. Four stars rather than five, because I didn't love the way the story relies on flashbacks, and I think I would have preferred the big twist (as much as I loved it) halfway through, rather than at the end.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
What did you read in November?
The first book I read in November was Wahala by Nikki May, which I'd heard great things about. Also, who could resist that cover?
Wahala is a deliciously twisted tale of three mixed-race women living in London, whose lives are changed forever when a fourth woman joins their circle of friends. I devoured this book in one sitting. Its high-stakes drama, page-turning plot, and heart-rending writing were exactly what I was in the mood for. And I loved the way Nikki May writes about race, body image, and the gap between your life and your dreams.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Up next was The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty, Waterstones' Debut Fiction Prize winner for 2022.
The Rabbit Hutch is a strange book, which tells snippets of stories from various characters, most of whom live in “The Rabbit Hutch”, a housing complex in the dying industrial town of Vacca Vale, Indiana. I liked the setting, especially the way Tess Gunty writes about the town, and I liked the concept of setting a book in a housing complex. But I wasn’t fully convinced by how the different characters’ stories fit together, or by all the stories’ resolutions. I also found the writing style a little tiresome at times.
⭐⭐⭐
Craving a seasonal read, I turned to Hex Appeal by Kate Johnson.
Hex Appeal is a charming supernatural romance, about a coven of witches living in an English village. When Josh moves to the village, looking for a fresh start, he finds himself drawn to Essie, and so into a world of magic, chaos, and danger. The romance storyline ticks all the right boxes, while the supernatural storyline gives it a welcome twist. Hex Appeal fell a little short of being a five-star read for me, but it was exactly what I wanted it to be.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Since I enjoyed The Chateau by Catherine Cooper so much, I decided to pick up her latest book, The Cruise.
The Cruise is a page-turning thriller, packed with dubious characters, and set aboard a luxury cruise ship whose staff start going missing. The story shifts between multiple timelines and characters’ perspectives, to reveal several gasp-worthy twists. You might have to suspend your disbelief a little, but the plot never gets too complicated, and the characters keep it all feeling real.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
I felt a little conflicted about reading a Christmas book in November, but I couldn't resist the newly-published Snowed In for Christmas by Sarah Morgan.
Snowed in for Christmas is pure festive fantasy. When Lucy turns up at a prospective client’s house, with a pitch her company desperately needs to win, a case of mistaken identity coupled with terrible weather means she ends up stuck in the middle of a family Christmas, and more than a few family conflicts. This feel-good romance is filled with delightfully implausible, yet comfortably predictable, twists. I loved the set-up, and the pay-off didn’t disappoint.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Up next was the brilliantly-titled How to Kill Men and Get Away With It by Katy Brent.
How To Kill Men and Get Away With It is the deliciously dark comedy its title promises. Kitty Collins is a rich influencer living in London, who accidentally kills a man in self-defence, and finds that she has a taste for it. I love the way Katy Brent writes about violence against women, and I always enjoy reading about luxury lifestyles.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Looking for another seasonal read, I turned to one I'd seen people talking about on Instagram: The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston.
The Dead Romantics is a supernatural romance that pulls on your heartstrings. Florence Day is a ghostwriter for a famous romance novelist, struggling to meet her deadline after having her heart broken. The last thing she needs is a family crisis to summon her home, and the ghost of her new editor to show up on her doorstep. There's a lot to like about this one, but I found it a little slow, and a little sad, and I wasn't convinced by the way everything was explained and resolved.
⭐⭐⭐
After so many light reads, I decided to give my first Ernest Hemingway a try, and I picked A Farewell to Arms mainly because I love these little editions (especially for travelling with).
A Farewell to Arms is the story of an American lieutenant, serving in the ambulance corps of the Italian Army during WWI. I was surprised to find that I enjoyed the story more than the writing style (when I expected it to be the other way around). The story is interesting, as it is told from a slightly unusual perspective, and it deals with wartime experiences beyond those you usually read about. But between the overly descriptive writing and the episodic structure, I found this book easy to put down. I liked the characterisation a lot though.
⭐⭐⭐
Will Carver is an auto-read author for me, but I am a book behind, starting The Daves Next Door on the day Suicide Thursday was published.
The Daves Next Door alternates between a cast of characters whose stories eventually overlap, and culminate in a terror attack on London. Will Carver’s writing is dark but playful, and he poses some very powerful questions as he tells this story of infinite possibilities. This was almost a five-star read for me. I found the first half dragged a little, but the ending blew me away (pun intended). Will Carver’s books are unlike anything else I’ve read, and I will definitely be reading Suicide Thursday.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
The last book I read in November was Daisy Darker, the latest book from Alice Feeney, which I had been looking forward to for a while.
Daisy Darker's family gather at Seaglass, a house that gets cut off when the tide comes in, to celebrate Nana's eightieth birthday. As the tide comes in, the secrets come out, and the bodies start to pile up. I can't resist a story about a dysfunctional family, or a murder mystery set in an isolated location, and Alice Feeney's writing is as engaging as her plots. Four stars rather than five, because I didn't love the way the story relies on flashbacks, and I think I would have preferred the big twist (as much as I loved it) halfway through, rather than at the end.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
What did you read in November?
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