As the new week approaches, I'm getting ready again to fly off back to my second home, Malta. With all these travels I'm doing recently I've been needing to keep myself occupied and what best way to do that than to read the sizzling summer books, currently getting everyone hooked.
I'm going to recommend two that I've read recently, that, in all honesty, I could not put down! I would be at a coffee shop and still have my kindle in one hand and my Earl Grey tea cup in the other!
The first BIG read that I urge you to get your hands on this summer is
The Girl on the Train. Now, at first, I was a bit sceptical. I usually like to read 'off the radar' books to find unknown writers that produce great novels (look at Rosamund Lupton, she's a star writer that not enough people praise her on). But I continued on, even my mum wanted to read the book, so I bought it so we could compare opinions after.
I am SO glad I picked the booked up. It is full of mystery and suspense. It is gripping and Paula Hawkins lets you into Rachel's life, as her story unfolds. As the blurb says to the letter. She is the girl on the train who one day sees something that changes everything. She becomes involved in something so complex and becomes a major witness (if it weren't for her major drinking problem). I give this book five stars and would love to see what happens next for Rachel once the book ends, although, whether there will be a sequel, we have yet to see.
The next book I delved into, as I finished The Girl on the Train so quickly, was The Ocean at the end of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.
Originally, Gaiman wanted to to make this a novella but soon turned it into a story as he began adding more and more to the plot line.
The story is focused and told from a seven year old's point of view. This definitely did not mean that the book was angled at seven year old's! With a many allegorical meanings, Gaiman moves to the fantasy world when the narrator meets the Hempstocks'. Something about them brings a sense of mystery as he lingers back, something which the reader would like to find out too. He is wrapped up in a dangerous world that isn't quite human and is superficial.
An interesting read for someone with an open mind. I would definitely put this on your to read list this summer.
Are there any other books you could recommend?
Kirsty
xx