• About Me
  • Books for Writers
  • Contact
  • Genealogy
  • Latest News
  • Novels
    • Mr Cavell’s Diamond
    • The Daughters of Red Hill Hall
    • The Drowned Village
    • The Emerald Comb
    • The Forgotten Secret
    • The Girl from Ballymor
    • The Pearl Locket
    • The Secret of the Château
    • The Stationmaster’s Daughter
  • Short Stories
    • Shortcut Through Time
  • The Forgotten Gift
  • The Girl from Bletchley Park
  • The Girl with the Emerald Flag
  • The Lost Sister
  • The Storm Girl
  • Work in Progress

Kathleen McGurl

~ Where past and present collide…

Kathleen McGurl

Tag Archives: recommendations

My top 3 best reads of 2015

03 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by kathmcgurl in Books

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

books, recommendations

I’d do a top 10 but am a little bit lazy so have decided to just pick 3 books from the many (50 ish) I read last year, to recommend. My preference is for historical or dual-timeline fiction but I read widely and don’t really care what the genre is (though I don’t read horror).

So in no particular order, if you are looking for a great read try these.

amy snow.jpgAmy Snow by Tracy Rees. 

This won the Richard & Judy Search for a Bestseller competition and I can completely see why. I thought it was brilliant. Mum bought it from the little WHSmith in the hospital, at a point when it looked like she was getting better. Actually I may have persuaded her to buy it, knowing I’d borrow it from her later. She never had the chance to read it in the end. It’s a historical mystery, with lots of twists and turns and a very satisfying ending. Looking forward to more from this author.

Something only we know by Kate Longsowk.jpg

Kate’s been a friend of mine for many years now, and I always read her books soon after they’re published. So I may be a little biased, but I can honestly say this is her best one yet. It’s raw and honest and an in-depth exploration of what an eating disorder can do to a family. Beautifully written with some wonderful characters.

skye.jpgLetters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole

An epistolary novel set during the first and second world wars. A story of love growing out of a correspondence between a reclusive island-dwelling poet and her young American fan. Such a beautiful book – just wish I could write something as good as this myself.

So, those are the three I’d pick out. But I’ve read plenty of other great books this year as well – eg The Lie by Cally Taylor, Girl Number One by Jane Holland (both fab reads if you like thrillers), Timestorm by Steve Harrison (18th century convict ship bound for Australia slips through time and ends up in modern day Sydney harbour…), and all of Carol Hedges‘ Victorian murder mysteries which are simply amazing and I can’t wait for the next one. Oh and can I add fellow Carina author AL Michael’s Driving Home for Christmas for a lovely, emotional Christmas read.

Which brings me up to 8 recommendations. So I could have tried a tiny bit harder and come up with 10, I suppose! What was your best read of 2015?

Advertisement

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 245 other subscribers

Blog post categories

  • Blogging (14)
  • Books (70)
  • Campervan (6)
  • Challenges (2)
  • Competition (1)
  • Free Download (1)
  • Goals (7)
  • Holiday (4)
  • News (1)
  • Running (2)
  • Uncategorized (40)
  • Writing (39)

Tags

Alps book book deal books bournemouth Carina characters charity Christmas cock-up Competition covers CreateSpace Daughters of Red Hill Hall editing Emerald Comb endings English language free Genealogy Gertie Ghost Stories Girl from Ballymor goals good news grammar Hengistbury Head how to inspiration Lake District Melvyn Bragg middle third Morgen Bailey motivation mountains Mr Cavell's Diamond Mum nanowrimo New Years Resolution novel Pearl Locket pier to pier planning podcast poll pretty things projects Promotion recommendations review RNA Running Sales self-publishing short stories Simon Armitage skiing storm swimming The Drowned Village The Forgotten Gift The Forgotten Secret The Girl from Ballymor The Girl from Bletchley Park The Lost Sister The Secret of the Chateau The Stationmasters Daughter Tignes time time management weekend work-in-progress writers block Writing writing advice

Archives

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Pages

  • About Me
  • Books for Writers
  • Contact
  • Genealogy
  • Latest News
  • Novels
    • Mr Cavell’s Diamond
    • The Daughters of Red Hill Hall
    • The Drowned Village
    • The Emerald Comb
    • The Forgotten Secret
    • The Girl from Ballymor
    • The Pearl Locket
    • The Secret of the Château
    • The Stationmaster’s Daughter
  • Short Stories
    • Shortcut Through Time
  • The Forgotten Gift
  • The Girl from Bletchley Park
  • The Girl with the Emerald Flag
  • The Lost Sister
  • The Storm Girl
  • Work in Progress

Blog Stats

  • 33,641 hits

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Kathleen McGurl
    • Join 245 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Kathleen McGurl
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...