This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page

Happy publication day, the book is available to buy NOW, from Amazon hardback, ebook and audio I think.

This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days (in and out as able)

Pages - 416

Publisher - Penguin Viking

Source - ARC

Blurb from Goodreads

Twelve stories. Twelve months. Once chance to heal her heart...

When Tilly Nightingale receives a call telling her there’s a birthday gift from her fiancé waiting for her at her local bookshop, it couldn’t come as more of a shock. Partly because she can’t remember the last time she read a book for pleasure. Mainly because Joe died five months ago…
The gift is simple – twelve carefully-chosen books from Joe, one for each month, to help her turn the page on her first year without him.
Tilly sets out on a series of reading-inspired adventures that take her around the world. But as she begins to vlog her journey, her story becomes more than her own. With help from Alfie, the bookshop owner, her budding new following and her friends and family, can Tilly’s year of books show her how to love again?


My Review

Tilly is navigating life without her husband Joe, after a sudden illness robbed their future Tilly is doing what she needs to to get through an hour, a day, a week. Very much still in the throes of grief she gets a call from a small local book shop owner, a book for her. She naturally says there must be a mistake, she hasn't ordered anything then her world turns on its axis, it is from Joe. Once she gets over the shock, Tilly discovers that Joe has left her the most thoughtful gift, a book every month with a note from him. Each book is chosen by Joe to challenge her, make her take new adventures, push herself and start living again. When she thought her life and new memories with Joe was over he had planned ahead and every month (for 12 months) she gets a little gift in the form of a book and love to help her in the hardest time of her life.

AHHHHHHHH you guys! This very much gave me echoes of P.S I Love You, offt. Losing a loved one is one of the hardest things but losing your husband before you really get a chance to do the things you planned. And we are all book lovers so this is just *chef's kiss* of an idea. The book store owner, Alfie, is a wee bit awkward but so so nice and I love his work colleagues, guys there is a cat in the shop like WHAAAAAAAT, love love love it.

So without giving spoilers cos we don't do that here, Joe spent a lot of time and thought into the books and gifts. Picking things that would push Tilly out her comfort zone, challenge her, make her enjoy new experiences and of course all whilst dealing with raw grief.

We learn about their relationship, how they met, Tilly being a total bookworm and a wee bit unique and the slow building friendship between her and Alfie. Whilst we mostly follow Tilly and her months leading up to and following the new book surprise we also get to met Alfie, his history, work colleagues and why the shop means so much and what he is hiding and trying to protect his workies from.

Emotive, sweet, navigating grief, work and Tilly's journey of personal growth and healing as she tries to get through every day of life without Joe. The book idea is just so lovely because well hello books, you know I LOVE LOVE LOVE books but picking out of her comfort zone, why, the accompanying letters and how he is helping her heal from beyond the grave. This was my first book of Page's it won't be my last, 4/5.

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The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards Happy Publication Day

Happy publication day, out to buy NOW, here is my review, I was lucky enought to get an arc but kept my review til today.


The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over a few days

Pages - 336

Publisher - Michael Joseph books

Source - ARC

Blurb from Goodreads

A dinner party in a beautiful Notting Hill townhouse turns into a sinister game, as six old friends are forced to spill their darkest secrets…or else.

Six friends reunite in London to celebrate the life of their recently deceased ex-employer, a professor that brought them together in 1999 to help build a dating website based on psychological testing.

But what is meant to be a night of bittersweet nostalgia soon becomes a twisted and deadly game when the old friends find themselves held at gunpoint. They are given an ultimatum: reveal their darkest secrets to the group or pick each other off one-by-one.

It soon becomes clear that their current predicament is related to their shared past. The love questionnaire they helped develop in 1999 for the dating site was also turned into a tool for weeding out The Wasp Trap. This and the other tragic events of that summer long ago may help reveal the truth behind a killer hiding in plain sight.

Alternating between the past and present with a colorful ensemble of characters, The Wasp Trap is a fast-paced and twisty thrill ride that is perfect for fans of Lucy Foley and Alice Feeney.#


My Review

It has been over 20 years since everyone was together, getting together to celebrate the man who had once brought them all together, all those years ago. Six friends who live very different lives coming to their affluent pals, the duo of the group who have done the best and now having a posh meal at their fancy gaff. No expense spared, all the stops are pulled out however the night takes a turn and the six are forced to face the past and come clean about secrets they would rather stayed buried.

The first part of the book they are all kind of feeling each other out, catching up with the missed past twenty odd years. Then a turn of events, violence and shocking admissions as they try to get to the bottom of what is wanted. We then go back to when they were all pulled together on a project as we try to figure out, along with the character, what exactly the secret is.

Tense, shocking, violent, a forced game of cat and mouse almost with people being put on the spot to choose and try and figure "the secret". Psychological thriller, the guests/friends are clueless just like the reader so we are all figuring out, or trying to figure out what is going on. The threat of violence is constant and looming and as moments tick by (we are very much clock watching) tempers fray and fear climbs making everyone volatile in an already tense and dangerous situation, 4/5.

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