I always love this first Bout of Books of the year I think it's just a bit of a shame that it landed on the first of January this year. We're always so busy and then I had to go back to schoool so I didn't read as much as I would've liked but still managed a decent chunk of reading to see in the new year with. Let me know in the comments what your first reads/reads of 2024 are!
I've made this list for the last couple of years now and I think they're a lot of fun! This list is in no particular order and any release dates I list will of course be UK unless otherwise stated and are subject to change. Keep your eyes peeled on the blog and the channel for more news about upcoming books and author events when they get released!
Well, December felt like a good reading month but then I ended up not really reading what was on my TBR and struggling to read anything during the last couple of weeks of term. I enjoyed some nice cosy reading on Christmas eve but then nothing again really until new years eve!
Here's everthing I read:
Rosie feels like there's something missing in her life.
She loves her job as the manager of Willowdale Hall Riding Stables, caring for the horses and teaching children to ride, and she loves the home she shares with her mother in the beautiful Lake District. But she can't help wondering how her life might look if things had been different. What if her father had been around to help care for her mother? And what if she'd found someone special herself?
When Hubert Cranleigh - the owner of Willowdale Hall - is taken ill, his son Oliver steps into the breach. Brooding and distant, Rosie is furious when he claims not to know who she is. Especially when they have a history.
Rosie's life is about to be turned upside down, but with the New Year comes new opportunities. What Rosie feels is missing from her life might be closer than she thinks, and with more significant consequences than she could ever have imagined...
The story this time brings to the fore Rosie, a character who featured in the last book She lives and works on the Willowdale Hall estate, where she looks after the horses and runs the riding school. She has lived all her life with her mother in a cottage on the estate, but has never known the identity of her father. When Hubert Cranleigh, who lives in the hall, has a riding accident near to Christmas, his son, Oliver, returns home. Rosie and Oliver grew up together and had a relationship in the past, but he now pretends not to know her and keeps his distance. When his father dies and the future of the hall and its riding school is in doubt, many surprises come to light for both Rosie and Oliver.
I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it, especially to lovers of the Lake District. I must mention, though, that the book ends on a cliffhanger, which I was not expecting; I will be keenly waiting for the next book in the series to solve the mystery and hope it won’t be too long a wait. I loved the characters in this story, with the exception of Hubert Cranleigh, a very unlikeable character. Oliver was a bit of a contradiction - quite unlikeable to start with but the opposite by the end. I was quite prepared to dislike him but then he began to show another side to his character. Rosie and her mum were just as lovely as in the last book; I loved their relationship, and the way in which Rosie looked after her mum in particular. I liked the way in which Rosie and Oliver’s history was revealed in a series of flashbacks dotted throughout the book; I think that worked well to explain their current relationship. I am very much looking forward to the next story in this series, not only because of the cliffhanger but also because I am enjoying following the events in this village and the lives of the characters who live there.
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Wow a new year and a new TBR to be had. January is a bit of a funny one isn't it? We're full of motivation to achieve all our goals but it's dark and cold and there's a long time until the next holidays. I've got some carry overs from December as well as some 2024 releases I would like to get to. It is Bout of Books this month which is always an amazing way to kick of the new year althought Thursday, Friday and Saturday of Bout of Books week are very busy for me.
I'd also like to try and include at least 1 nonfiction on my TBR each month this year so I'll list one of those here too.
I'm also going to try and do the reading challenge from Books and The City so I'll let you know which of the challenges I hit off this as well...
