I don’t get to review all the books I read. So I thought I’d do a brief overview of my reading just so I don’t forget what I’ve read and some of my thoughts.

I took a bit of a break from reading and hadn’t read anything more interesting than the back of a cereal box for over six months.

But now I’m back into the swing of things and I’m reading like a machine. That is if I were a machine that read. Do those exist?

1922: “The Fiske Reading Machine will make books obsolete!”

This past week I went down to Melbourne for a shopping trip, went to visit my sister in Wagga Wagga and then swung by Canberra on the way back home to stay with my brother and sister in law for a few days. It was a lot of fun visiting family who I only get to see once or twice every few years.

And whilst the best part was seeing my loved ones, I’m glad to get an awful lot of reading done too. (Five hours of driving from Melbourne to Wagga. Three and a bit hours from Wagga to Canberra and then almost an entire day haunting airports to come back to Queensland.)

Books I read and my brief thoughts. Full reviews for these books will be up in the next few weeks:

It is easy to see why Nacho Figueras’ High Season is pick of the month!

High Season by Nacho Figueras (with Jessica Whitman): I was in a terrible mood when I started reading this book. And the authors note at the beginning didn’t help things any (I looked at her and she looked at me, and we looked at each other). I didn’t have high hopes for High Season. But it didn’t take long for me to become absorbed in the story. This is a romance novel which reminded me a little of the Mills and Boon books I used to love. You know the type – wealthy yet slightly broken meets small town woman with a good heart.

Happy People Read and Drink Coffee by Agnes Martin-Lugand: This book was a little like PS I Love You meets Under the Tuscan Sun. Heartbroken Parisian woman moves to Ireland and finds a lot more than she was ready for. It’s one of those books which does tugs on the heartstrings a little. I wasn’t as fond of the romance in this story. I like there was be a bit more of a buildup rather than characters just deciding they are in love. But despite that – really enjoyable. Can’t wait for the sequel.

Sun Kissed and Star Struck – both by Jenny McLachlan: These are the last two novels in the Ladybird series which is aimed at lower YA end of things (I would say target audience is girls aged around 12-15). I really like this series and these final two books were favourites of mine. Sun Kissed is Kat’s story set on a secluded Swedish island as Kat deals with trying to find herself without knowing she wanted to. Star Struck is all about the rebel of the group, Pearl, as she navigates her feelings towards her friends and family. They are both great additions to the series and I had a great time reading them. Sun Kissed really made me eager for some Summer sun in the way the best vacation reads do. And the relationships in Star Struck made a great conclusion to the series.

Started reading:

The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes – Started this one last night. This is one of those books I started having known a lot of people loved it but I had no idea at all what it was about. It’s not what I was expecting yet I can understand why all the praise.

Wicked Heart by Leisa Rayven – I have a soft spot for this series. And because of how clueless I am I didn’t realize until chapter two that this is a book about Ethan from Bad Romeo’s sister rather than a continuation of the first two books. So far, I’m loving this one more than the first two.

Marathon Man by Rob Young – This is a memoir from a man who ran over 370 marathons in a year. I’m just getting into running and thought the idea of running that many marathons ever let alone in 365 days was insane. Now I’ve read most of the book I can tell you that yes – it’s even more insane than I ever thought! Despite the fact that I’ve found this journey to be more insanity than inspirational, it’s an interesting read and Rob’s style is easy to read. I found that as crazy as the idea is to me, Rob has managed to explain his processes in such a way that I understand why and how everything came about.

So that’s my week of reading related things. 

Have you read any of these?

What have you been reading this week? 

I always love to hear from you so feel free to leave me a comment 🙂