Good Grief - I cleaned out the linen cupboard.

I started November with some fun Australia reading and finished the month reading about sad  memories, grief, loss and families.

Early in November my granddaughter helped me clean out the linen cupboard. I finally got rid of 20 Country Style magazines that were over 20 years old. Also got rid of old children's books and tossed out old course booklets and old assignments from university studies.

The girl in between by Anna Daniels had lots of humor, it is set in the present time, mostly in Australia in Rockhampton, a large Queensland town and also in the UK in London. Lucy lives at home while she is writing a novel and looking for a new job. Lucy has a best friend, Rosie and together they share crazy nights and holidays.

I enjoyed reading Grief Cottage by Gail Godwin a young boy is sent to live with his great aunt after his mother is killed in a car accident. Marcus's aunt is an artist and lives on a small South Carolina Island. His aunt is haunted by her past and soon Marcus is haunted when he discovers a ghost lurking in an old derelict cottage not far from his aunt's house.

This was a book about families, friendships and a haunted cottage. I loved the ending.

Another book about grief was On Second Thought by Kristan Higgins. This is a novel  about families and grief. Ainsley and her step sister Kate comfort each other following the death of Kate's husband and the end of Ainsley's long term relationship. The novel is set in the present time in New York and Brooklyn.

I really enjoyed The Elizas by Sara Shepard. I loved the way it kept switching between Eliza’s life and the novel called Dot’s that she has just finished.

Eliza is recovering from brain surgery and goes to Palm Springs and is found almost drowned in a swimming pool. Eliza has a history of throwing herself into swimming pools, but she is convinced that someone pushed her at Palm Springs, no one believes her, so she sets out to find the truth of what really happened.  Her memory loss prevents her from remembering big chunks of her life. She struggles with false memories and lies told by her friends and family. She is very afraid of the person who is stalking her and needs to find out who was with her just before she almost drowned at Palm Springs.This novel will keep you guessing all the way to the end with all its twists and turns. 

The next book that I enjoyed, also an e-book was Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer. This was a novel about two sisters, drug addiction, grief and family relationships I found this novel very emotional. Lexie tries to help her sister Annie to get medical assistance to prevent her going into premature labour but can not save Annie from being charged with chemically endangering a child. Annie has to go into rehabilitation and Lexie struggles to care for her new born niece.

This novel is set in  Alabama in the present time. Lexie remembers when she was a child trying to make Annie happy when their father died and her mother remarried. Annie writes in her journal about memories of her early life and events that led to her drug addiction. 

Be prepared to think differently about people who use drugs of addiction after reading this novel and have a box of tissues ready.

Another sad book that I enjoyed was The Flower Arrangement by Ella Griffin. This was about Lara and her flower shop and her family and the people who buy flowers from Lara. I loved this book, there were some really funny bits, some funny one line sayings and also a lot of really sad tear jerking sections. I needed to keep the tissues handy. I loved the part where Mia received a strange gift on Valentine's Day. Lat month I finished reading The Memory Shop by Ella Griffin, both books were much the same, nice feel good stories. 

Family and Friends

Did not do as much reading in December, spent time with friends and relations and Christmas shopping. On New Years Eve we went out with some old friends.

My bike. I bought it 35 years ago. It was old when I bought it and it had a baby seat on the back. Lots of happy family memories of ridding with my sons and grandchildren on the back and also our Sydney Silky. Now my Granddaughters ride it when they come to visit.

Early in December I finished reading Meet me at Beachcomber Bay  by Jill Mansell. Another feel good novel. I loved the characters and the twists in the story line. This was a romance novel about step sisters and their rivalry, families and friendship.

Also finished reading an E-Book from Netgalley - The Summer List by Amy Mason Doan. This novel was set in 2016 but with flashbacks to the 1990's and earlier. It is about friendships, identity and families.

Laura and Casey were best friends through their school years. They drifted apart and then get to have a reunion after 17 years.

I finished December reading a book about a stalker. Darkest Place by Jaye Ford. A strange creepy novel about a person who stalks residents of a warehouse residential block of units. Carly moves into an apartment in an old warehouse. She is getting over a tragedy and an attempted suicide. She resists taking sleeping tablets but keeps being woken by a man in her room.

The doors are locked and there is no evidence of a break in. The police think she is making it up and her psychologist tells her it could be a dream. Carly is not the only person in the block of apartments who has trouble with interrupted sleep. Carly sets out to uncover the mystery.