November Book Haul – 2020

Hello, you beautiful people!
My November Book Haul was HUGE! And by huge – I mean 30 books. It was my birthday last month, so I have received a lot of books from my family, friends, as well as my followers. There were also many giveaways that I won as well. I can’t express how grateful I am to be able to read books I love. I decided to only feature 8 books in this post, but all the other books can be found on my Instagram profile, under the highlights section.

Without further delays, let’s get into the books I’ve received in November:

1. The Coffinmaker’s Garden by Stuart MacBride

Huge thanks to the team at HarperCollins as well as the team at LoveReading UK, for sending me a copy of this book. This book is coming out on 7th January 2021, so keep an eye for it!

Synopsis:

A village on the edge…
As a massive storm batters the Scottish coast, Gordon Smith’s home is falling into the North Sea. But the crumbling headland has revealed what he’s got buried in his garden: human remains.

A house full of secrets…
With the storm still raging, it’s too dangerous to retrieve the bodies and waves are devouring the evidence. Which means no one knows how many people Smith’s already killed and how many more he’ll kill if he can’t be found and stopped.

An investigator with nothing to lose…
The media are baying for blood, the top brass are after a scapegoat, and ex-Detective Inspector Ash Henderson is done playing nice. He’s got a killer to catch, and God help anyone who gets in his way.

Purchase Links:
| Amazon UK | Amazon US |

2. This Is Not A Ghost Story by Andrea Portes

Thanks to the Harper360 team, I was able to get an uncorrected proof of this amazing book and add it to my November Book Haul list. I am so excited for this one, and hope to read it very soon!

Synopsis:

I am not welcome. Somehow I know that. Something doesn’t want me here.

Daffodil Franklin has plans for a quiet summer before her freshman year at college, and luckily, she’s found the job that can give her just that: housesitting a mansionfor a wealthy couple.

But as the summer progresses and shadows lengthen, Daffodil comes to realize the house is more than it appears. The spacious home seems to close in on her, and as she takes the long road into town, she feels eyes on her the entire way, and something tugging her back.

What Daffodil doesn’t yet realize is that her job comes with a steep price. The house has a long-ago grudge it needs to settle . . . and Daffodil is the key to settling it.

Purchase Links:
| Amazon UK | Amazon US |

3. Together By Christmas by Karen Swan

In the summer, I participated in a blog tour for The Hidden Beach by Karen Swan, and that was the first ever book I read by her. And I fell in love. Then, I read The Greek Escape, and it was amazing too. So when I had the chance on a blog tour for Together By Christmas, of course I did it. And guess what? I loved it! Read my review HERE!

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Synopsis:

When Lee first came to Amsterdam, it was with a newborn baby and a secret. Five years later, her life is approaching normal: her career as a celebrity photographer is flourishing, her son Jasper is growing up, and they are enjoying the run-up to Christmas with their tight circle of close friends.

But all this changes one morning when Lee finds a book in the basket of her bicycle – and scrawled inside it, a desperate message. Who left it for her, and why? Lee feels compelled to help and tracks down the book’s author, Sam. With an instant, undeniable connection it seems they might have a shot at a real future together.

Until her past comes calling. As the snow falls and ice thickens on the city’s canals, the secret Lee has never told resurfaces. Suddenly everything she holds dear hangs in the balance. Christmas is a time for being together – but what if the truth means she ends up alone?

Escape to the snow-covered streets of Amsterdam in this deeply romantic read, featuring twists, turns and characters you’ll fall in love with.

Purchase Links:
| Amazon UK | Amazon US |

4. Return to Virgin River by Robyn Carr

After reading Virgin River back in January, the team at Mills and Boon asked me if I want to Return To Virgin River, just in time for the start of Season 2 of the Netflix TV Show as well, and I just couldn’t say no. I already read this book, and loved it! You can find my review HERE.

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Synopsis:

Kaylee Sloan’s home in Southern California is full of wonderful memories of the woman who raised her. But the memories are prolonging her grief over her mother’s recent death. A successful author, Kaylee hoped she could pour herself into her work. Instead she has terrible writer’s block and a looming deadline.

Determined to escape distractions and avoid the holiday season, Kaylee borrows a cabin in Virgin River. She knows the isolation will help her writing, and as she drives north through the mountains and the majestic redwoods, she immediately feels inspired. Until she arrives at a building that has just gone up in flames. Devastated, she heads to Jack’s Bar to plan her next steps. The local watering hole is the heart of the town, and once she crosses the threshold, she’s surprised to be embraced by people who are more than willing to help a friend–or a stranger–in need.

Kaylee’s world is expanding in ways she never dreamed possible. And when she rescues a kitten followed by a dog with a litter of puppies, she finds her heart opening up to the animals who need her. And then there’s the dog trainer who knows exactly how to help her. As the holidays approach, Kaylee’s dread turns to wonder. Because there’s no better place to spend Christmas than Virgin River.

Purchase Links:
| Amazon UK | Amazon US |

5. Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

This is a book I received from one of my followers, Tom. Tom – thank you so much! You have no idea how much this gift means to me, and I hope that you continue to enjoy my blog posts and reviews! I am really looking forward to reading Queenie!

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Synopsis:

Queenie Jenkins is a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman living in London, straddling two cultures and slotting neatly into neither. She works at a national newspaper, where she’s constantly forced to compare herself to her white middle class peers. After a messy break up from her long-term white boyfriend, Queenie seeks comfort in all the wrong places…including several hazardous men who do a good job of occupying brain space and a bad job of affirming self-worth.

As Queenie careens from one questionable decision to another, she finds herself wondering, “What are you doing? Why are you doing it? Who do you want to be?”—all of the questions today’s woman must face in a world trying to answer them for her.

With “fresh and honest” (Jojo Moyes) prose, Queenie is a remarkably relatable exploration of what it means to be a modern woman searching for meaning in today’s world.

Purchase Links:
| Amazon UK | Amazon US |

6. Quite by Claudia Winkleman

The amazing HQ Stories team reached out to me and sent me this book. I don’t usually watch the telly, but I have heard of Claudia Winkleman before, and I do love her personality! I am QUITE excited to see what this book brings!

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Synopsis:

Funny, moving and truthful… Quite

Claudia Winkleman’s warmth, humour, no-holds-barred attitude and smoky eye have made her the favourite broadcaster of millions and a much-loved household name.

In this, her first ever book, Claudia invites us all into her world. She shares her observations on topics such as the importance of melted cheese, why black coats are vital, how it’s never okay to have sex with someone who has an opinion on your date outfit, how nurses are our most precious national treasure, and why colourful clothing is only for the under 10s (if you’re reading this sporting a bright red jumper and you’re 9, great! If you’re older, sorry).

This is a love letter to life – the real, sometimes messy kind. Quite celebrates friendship, the power of art, the highs and lows of parenting, and of course, how a good eyeliner can really save your life.

Heartfelt, wry and unmistakably Claudia, this book gets to the heart of what really matters.

Purchase Links:
| Amazon UK | Amazon US |

7. The Elephant In The Room by Holly Goldberg Sloan

The team at Piccadilly Press were so kind to send me a copy of The Elephant in the Room. It comes out in March 2021, and it tells a story about a girl called Sila and her mum. It also features travels to Turkey. And honestly, I am so excited to dive into it! A lovely addition to my November Book Haul.

Synopsis:

It’s been almost a year since Sila’s mother traveled halfway around the world to Turkey, hoping to secure the immigration paperwork that would allow her to return to her family in the United States.

The long separation is almost impossible for Sila to withstand. But things change when Sila accompanies her father (who is a mechanic) outside their Oregon town to fix a truck. There, behind an enormous stone wall, she meets a grandfatherly man who only months before won the state lottery. Their new alliance leads to the rescue of a circus elephant named Veda, and then to a friendship with an unusual boy named Mateo, proving that comfort and hope come in the most unlikely of places.

A moving story of family separation and the importance of the connection between animals and humans, this novel has the enormous heart and uplifting humor that readers have come to expect from the beloved author of Counting by 7s.

Purchase Links:
| Amazon UK | Amazon US |

8. Our Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent

This is a book I received by the team at Penguin Random House, Penguin Ireland in particular, in preparation for the blog tour I’ll be joining in January. This is a mystery thriller, and I am so excited to start the new year with an intense read. Keep your eyes peeled for this one – it will be a gem.

Synopsis:

This story begins with a funeral. One of three brothers is dead, mourned by his siblings. But which one? And how? And, most importantly: why?

William, Brian, and Luke are each born a year apart in a lower middle class Catholic family in 1960s Dublin. William, the eldest, rises to the top of the heap in the film industry as a successful movie producer. Luke, the baby of the family, surprises everyone by morphing into a worldwide pop star. Brian, the compliant middle son, is the eternal adult in the room: the helpful, steady one, the manager of finances and careers.

But none of them is actually quite what he seems. Wounded by childhood, they have betrayed one another in myriad ways, hiding behind little lies that have developed into full blown treachery. With an unnerving eye for the complexities of families, Nugent delves into the secret life of a deeply troubled household and provides stunning insights into the many forces that shape us from childhood.

Purchase Links:
| Amazon UK | Amazon US |

9. The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak

This is actually one of the books my boyfriend gifted me for my birthday. But the reason it’s special is because this book was recommended to me by my dear friend from Macedonia, who also used to be my teacher in high-school. As soon as she told me about it, I couldn’t stop talking about it as well. And that’s how my boyfriend ended up buying it. So it holds a special place in my heart, and I am sure I will love it, because my teacher never fails to recommend gems to me that touch my heart and mind.

Synopsis:

Discover the forty rules of love…

Ella Rubinstein has a husband, three teenage children, and a pleasant home. Everything that should make her confident and fulfilled. Yet there is an emptiness at the heart of Ella’s life – an emptiness once filled by love.

So when Ella reads a manuscript about the thirteenth-century Sufi poet Rumi and Shams of Tabriz, and his forty rules of life and love, her world is turned upside down. She embarks on a journey to meet the mysterious author of this work.

It is a quest infused with Sufi mysticism and verse, taking Ella and us into an exotic world where faith and love are heartbreakingly explored. . .

Purchase Links:
| Amazon UK | Amazon US |

10. Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline

I loved Ready Player One and I can’t wait to read the second book as well. I will actually be reading it this month too. In all honesty, I am a little afraid that it might not deliver, because the first book finished quite well. I didn’t expect a sequel, and I was surprised when it was announced. I just hope that the quality is as good as it was in the first book.

Synopsis:

Days after winning OASIS founder James Halliday’s contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything. Hidden within Halliday’s vaults, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will once again change the world and make the OASIS a thousand times more wondrous – and addictive – than even Wade dreamed possible.

With it comes a new riddle, and a new quest – a last Easter egg from Halliday, hinting at a mysterious prize. And an unexpected, impossibly powerful, and dangerous new rival awaits, one who’ll kill millions to get what he wants. Wade’s life and the future of the OASIS are again at stake, but this time the fate of humanity also hangs in the balance.

Purchase Links:
| Amazon UK | Amazon US |

And that’s a wrap up for my November Book Haul. I can’t wait to dive into all of these books! What’s your November Book Haul? I would love to know what books you acquired last month! Let me know in the comments.

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