Some people just haven’t got the hang of British summer holidays yet. We went down to Hengistbury Head and walked into Boscombe at the weekend, and huge swathes of beach were just deserted. Granted, there was an ominous cloud on the horizon but we didn’t get rained on at all. I remember going to the beach in middling weather as a kid, it was just what you did, otherwise you might be waiting your whole holiday for decent weather!

Anyway, we appreciated the empty beaches and Scully had a good run round.

Last week I reviewed Hamnet and shared the August new releases on my radar.

I had another five star read last week, that makes a total of FIVE for July. Must be a record! I had no idea what House of Hollow was about when I picked it up, so I had zero expectations. Its creepiness blew me away! Honestly, I don’t usually find YA horror all that disturbing but this is definitely at the older end of the spectrum. It is stylishly dark and I still can’t get over what they did.

I also finished listening to Pumpkin by Julie Murphy on audio. This was charming as usual.

I’m nearly done with the reading part of 20 Books of Summer but I need to pull my finger out and catch up with the reviews. Expect a glut of them over the next few weeks.

A new month means a new batch of ebook bargains to be had, and I went a little overboard.

New books acquired:

Afterlove by Tanya Byrne
[gifted] The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik (Del Rey)
The Windsor Knot by S.J. Bennet
All the Fun of the Fair by Caroline Hulse
After the Rain by Natalia Gomes
Last One to Die by Cynthia Murphy
We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker
Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener
Dear Reader by Cathy Rentzenbrink
The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird
The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Bone China by Laura Purcell
Unnatural Causes by Richard Shepherd
The Forevers by Chris Whitaker
Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal