Recent Reads

Happy Friday, all! Another thing that I love about summer (aside from gardening!) is that there seems to be more time to read. With all these storms we've had, I've especially enjoyed reading on the porch, curled up with a light blanket and listening to the rain patter on the roof. Or if it's a sunny day, reading in the shade of a tree.

In today's post, I'm going to chat about the books I've read recently, and what I'm reading now and next. :)

Reviews

The Chilbury Ladies' Choir

As I've discussed before, I have a thing for WWII-era historical fiction. (More about my favorites of that genre in this post.) I've been hoping to find a novel I adore as much as Guernsey Literary Society, and this book by Jennifer Ryan was recommended. It's written in a similar epistolary style, with a combination of letters, journal entries and announcements from the town message board. While it's not quite up there with Guernsey, I still enjoyed it very much. There were a few parts that seemed laughably far-fetched, but what I loved most was how they described the choir. With most of the men away at war, it was up to the women to hold the church choir together. Some of the stodgier ladies were very opposed to the idea. "A choir without men... Unthinkable!" But they came to realize that music was just what everyone needed in that dark time. Ryan did a wonderful job illustrating the rehearsal and concert scenes, beautifully describing some of the very special feelings that one experiences in a choir.

After You

The sequel to one of my all-time favorites, Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. I confess, it was a bit harder to get into this book, taking me two tries to make it past the first few chapters. Once you do hit your reading stride, so to speak, it is a pretty engaging story. After You describes Louisa's struggle to recover from the death of Will, her love and confidante from the first book. She suffers guilt, anger and feelings of failure after losing him, but gradually tries to rebuild her life in a way that would make him proud.

Currently Reading

Still Me

The last novel in the trilogy, this one has a different flavor to it, being set in New York instead of England. There are quite a few laugh-out-loud moments, as Louisa acclimates to life in NYC and her new, high-profile job as personal assistant to a billionaire's wife. Of course, it's not all glitz and glamour, as there are still problems cropping up back home, and her lingering memories of Will. I'm about halfway through this book and anxious to see how it ends!

To Be Read

Warleggan

The fourth of twelve in the Poldark series (Honestly rather intimidated by that number! These are not small books either. We're talkin' like 480 pages here.)

I'm also rewatching the PBS series right now and the books seem to be matching up quite closely. I even recognize a quote here and there. Always fun to do a comparison!

What have you been reading lately? I'd love to hear in the comments!

Thank you for stopping by,

Eva