My Book Recommendations of 2021
Beth O’leary
“The Flat Share”
Where do I even start on summarising this book! It is 100% a top recommend from me, The Flat Share is like watching (only reading) one of those real feel good movies and when it ends you feel sad it’s over and want to know more about the characters… what are they doing now, where are they, are they ok, how can I find out what happens next?! (I know you know the ones I am talking about). The Flat Share is the book you’re missing on your shelf, trust me. Beth O’Leary’s debut couldn’t have been a better one, the uplifting and quirkiness makes this a real page turner!
Following Leon’s advert on the internet that Tiffy responded to, they now find themselves sharing the same one-bedroom London flat. They even share the same bed – but they have never met. Tiffy works as an editorial assistant in a small publishing house and needs to escape an abusive relationship and Leon is a night nurse at a hospice and is trying to raise funds for an appeal to get his little brother out of prison. Their friends are wary about the arrangement, but to Tiffy and Leon it’s the perfect solution…
But how does it end for Tiffy and Leon? You’re dying to know aren’t you?
(Eeeek, writing this makes me want to read it all over again, just for the thrill of it).
Get your copy or download now: The Flat Share
“The Switch”
Another soul filling and heart warming read from Beth O’Leary in The Switch. I love reading before bed with a cup of tea and during The Switch, I was so eager to get in bed to be able to read, I would go to bed around 8pm just so I could get a good solid couple of hours in! Beth O’Leary has a real talent for writing bubbly characters into her storylines, characters you feel like you’ve known for years, almost as if they are your forever friend and characters you’ll wish were your friends in real life.
Young professional and living in London, Leena Cotton swaps lives with her (almost) eighty year old grandma, Eileen Cotton from her rural Yorkshire town. Leena needs a break and after the passing of her younger sister her mother has lost the plot and her plans to start her own business are going nowhere. If her disastrous work presentation that ended in a panic attack is anything to go by, things are starting to catch up to her and with that comes the two month forced leave, and when The Switch with her granny takes place…
Eileen Cotton, is the heart and soul of her Yorkshire town, she is newly single and is eager for a change. What’s a gran to do? Swap lives with her out-of-work granddaughter and join up to an online dating service? Yes, that’s exactly what happens!
Told in alternating perspectives, Eileen and Leena learn to navigate each others lives, the dating scene online and offline, meddling with the other’s friends and enemies and trying to figure themselves out in the process. I can’t say who I love more, Eileen or Leena, I loved both characters and found myself getting to the end of a Leena chapter and wanting more, but then finishing an Eileen chapter and wanting more then too. The drama and humour in The Switch is the best, I loved it!
Download your audiobook, kindle edition or paperback here: The Switch
Rachel DeLoache Williams
“My Friend Anna: The true story of the fake heiress of New York City”
Gripping from the get go! I was eager to learn more and more about Anna with every page I read. I couldn’t quite believe what I was reading at some points. Part of me was questioning Rachel, how did she let it get that bad? Why did she say yes? Why didn’t she just walk away from the friendship? But the more I found out about Anna, who she was (or claimed to be), the more I realised how and why Rachel got into the trouble she did. I was fascinated with what Rachel was describing in this true story that I found myself searching some of the things she mentions on social media accounts, which made this true story even more real (if that makes sense). Reading it, then seeing it online, exactly as described made this true story even better!
An astonishing true story of Anna Delvey, a young con artist posing as a German heiress in New York City, the story is told by the former Vanity Fair photo editor, Rachel, who got seduced by Anna, into a twisted friendship, scamming Rachel out of more than $62,000. This behind the scenes account of Anna is unbelievable and even more so, unforgettable!
Get stuck in: My Friend Anna: The true story of fake heiress of NYC
Dolly Alderton
“Everything I know About Love”
I think every young lady needs to read this book. I felt like I was reading my own diary, it was as if I had picked up my diary (if I ever wrote one) of a time when I went a little wild and off the rails in my early twenties! Dolly Alderton takes you through her highs and lows in this book, it’s beautifully raw and by the end of it you’ll realise it truly is OK not to be OK. This incredible account of her life from start to the present day will have moments that resonate with all of you I am sure of it and that in itself is why this is a must read. There is a BUT though, although I loved it, I wouldn’t say it helps you know what “love” is nor does it really explain what Dolly herself knows about it… but that aside great and rather easy read.
In her intimate memoir, Dolly Alderton, now a journalist with a column in The Sunday Times, vividly recounts falling in love, wrestling with self-sabotage, finding a job, throwing a socially disastrous Rod-Stewart themed house party, getting drunk, getting dumped, realising that Ivan from the corner shop is the only man she has ever been able to rely on, and finding that that her mates are always there at the end of every messy night out. It's a book about bad dates, good friends and - above all else - about recognising that you and you alone are enough.
Grab yours now: Everything I Know About Love
Jill Mansell
“Meet Me At Beachcomber Bay”
One of my all time favourite authors since I can remember and I am pretty sure I have read ALL of her books, twice! Jill Mansell brings love, laughter and life to all her story lines. Meet Me At Beachcomber Bay is a warm and witty novel, the perfect read on a Spring day whilst self-isolating, a sure mood lifter. I find Jill’s writing style comforting, the characters drawing you in and bringing nothing but joy and maybe even a chuckle as you read.
Set in the dreamy town of St Carys in Cornwall, Clemency Price is working as an estate agent she has a lovely set of friends. She can’t, however, forget the man she met three years ago. A man she couldn’t be with (uh oh). She is therefore surprised to see him in St Carys, and broken-hearted to realise he is still unavailable (grr). Trying to hide her feelings she ropes her friend and boss Ronan in to help. But Ronan is hiding heartache of his own and soon wires become very crossed…
Take a read here: Meet Me At Beachcomber Bay
Hope you are all keeping safe in the current climate we face and I hope the books above can provide you with some escapism at least during this difficult time. Take care!
Alex x