It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

Today I am reading In A Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware - I think it is her debut book. Have read lots of great reviews and so far so good.

Nora hasn't seen Clare for ten years. Not since the day Nora walked out of her old life and never looked back. 

Until, out of the blue, an invitation to Clare’s hen party arrives. A weekend in a remote cottage - the perfect opportunity for Nora to reconnect with her best friend, to put the past behind her. 

But something goes wrong. 

Very wrong.

And as secrets and lies unravel, out in the dark, dark wood the past will finally catch up with Nora.

Please pop over to the Book Date to see what everyone else is reading today.

It's Monday. What Are You Reading.

I am still reading Local Girl Missing by Claire Douglas and enjoying it.

But then I picked up  The Secrets of Happiness by Lucy Diamond and I can't put it down.

The best things in life . . . can be just around the corner

Rachel and Becca aren't real sisters, or so they say. They are stepsisters, living far apart, with little in common. Rachel is the successful one: happily married with three children and a big house, plus an impressive career. Artistic Becca, meanwhile, lurches from one dead-end job to another, shares a titchy flat, and has given up on love.

The two of them have lost touch, but when Rachel doesn't come home one night, Becca is called in to help. 

Once there, she quickly realizes that her stepsister's life is not so perfect after all: Rachel's handsome husband

has moved out, her children are rebelling, and her glamorous career has taken a nosedive. Worst of all, 

nobody seems to have a clue where she might be.

As Becca begins to untangle Rachel's secrets, she is forced to confront some uncomfortable truths about 

her own life, and the future seems uncertain.

But sometimes happiness can be found in the most unexpected places . . .

Please pop over to The Book Date to see what everyone else is reading today.

Skywatch Friday

I have lived up in the North East of Scotland for almost 16 years and had never visited Inverness Castle - till recently.

The statue is of Flora Macdonald at the castle.

The Flora McDonald Statue is situated in front of Inverness Castle and is dedicated to Flora MacDonald, the daughter of Ranald MacDonald of Milton and his wife Marion. Flora was a Jacobite heroine who helped Prince Charles Edward Stewart flee from the Hanovarian forces after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Erected in the early 1900s, the statue depicts Flora looking southwest with her dog.

Please pop over to the Skywatch blog to see more skies from around the world.

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

Have 2 books on the go as usual - one I am really but the other one is a bit of a struggle.

I am reading This Must Be The Place by Maggie O'Farrell. I read some great reviews for this book and I will it is beautifully written. But I am finding the different characters and timescales confusing - and many of the main characters need a good slap. I would give up on it but I am now half way through so I keep thinking I might as well keep on going.

Meet Daniel Sullivan, a man with a complicated life. A New Yorker living in the wilds of Ireland, he has children he never sees in California, a father he loathes in Brooklyn and a wife, Claudette, who is a reclusive ex-film star given to shooting at anyone who ventures up their driveway.

He is also about to find out something about a woman he lost touch with twenty years ago, and this discovery will send him off-course, far away from wife and home. Will his love for Claudette be enough to bring him back?

I am also reading Local Girl Missing by Claire Douglas. This is another book that has got some great reviews and I am glad to say they are living up to my expectations.

Twenty years ago

21-year-old Sophie Collier vanishes one night.

She leaves nothing behind but a trainer on the old pier - 

and a hole in the heart of her best friend Francesca.

Now

A body's been found.

And Francesca's drawn back to the seaside town she's tried to forget.

Perhaps the truth of what happened to Sophie will finally come out.

Yet Francesca is beginning to wish she hadn't returned.

Everywhere she turns are ghosts from her past.

The same old faces and familiar haunts of her youth.

But if someone knows what really happened to Sophie that night then now's the time to find out - isn't it?

Except sometimes discovering the truth can cost you everything you hold dear - your family, your sanity and even your life . . .

Please pop over to the Book Date to see what everyone else is reading today.

Skywatch Friday

I am off work this week.

So instead of getting up and going out to work in the morning I can get up and head out for a run.

And see beautiful skies like this.

Please pop over to the Skywatch blog to see more skies from around the world.

Oor Wullie

Having been born in england and spending a large part of my childhood in Wales I hadn't heard of The Broons or Oor Wullie till I moved North of the border almost 16 years ago.

They are an institution in Scotland.

A Broons or Oor Wullie was a staple stocking present at Christmas and appearded in the Sunday Post (which I have never read either!)

There were over 50 statues dotted around the streets of Dundee on the Oor Wullie's Bucket Trail.

11 of the statues are in Inverness for a short while. So whilst on a school uniform shopping trip (yay - they are back to school next week) I persuaded Callum to search Inverness Museum and train station - and we found 3.

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

Last night I started Conditional Love by Cathy Bramley. I think this her very first book and I am already halfway through it.

A takeaway, TV and tea with two sugars is about as exciting as it gets for thirty-something Sophie Stone. Sophie’s life is safe and predictable, which is just the way she likes it, thank you very much.

But when a mysterious benefactor leaves her an inheritance, Sophie has to accept that change is afoot. There is one big catch: in order to inherit, Sophie must agree to meet the father she has never seen.

Saying ‘yes’ means the chance to build her own dream home, but she’ll also have to face the past and hear some uncomfortable truths…

With interference from an evil boss, warring parents, an unreliable boyfriend and an architect who puts his foot in it every time he opens his mouth, will Sophie be able to build a future on her own terms - and maybe even find love along the way?

For those of you who haven't heard of this author then I would recommend her other titles - Ivy Lane, Appleby Farm, Wickham Hall and Plumberry School of Comfort Food.

And I am excited to see that there are 2 more titles in the pipeline - White Lies an Wishes and a new serialisation The Lemon Tree Cafe does a happy dance!

Please pop over to The Book Date to see what everyone else is reading today.

Skywatch Friday

We spent last weekend in Inverness.

We went to a wedding party in the most beautiful hotel on the banks of Loch Ness.

I went Pokemon hunting.

(Infirmary Bridge)

Did a spot of parkrun tourism (and met another RMR at the finish line)

A good weekend.

Please pop over to the Skywatch blog to see more skies from around the world.

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

It's been a while since I read a Nora Roberts book but after reading several recommendations I have started Obsession. Only 2 chapters in but an explosive start!

Naomi Carson is a survivor. As a child, her family was torn apart by a shocking crime. It could have destroyed her, but Naomi has grown up strong, with a passion for photography that has taken her all around the world.

Now, at last, she has decided to put down roots. The beautiful old house on Point Bluff needs work, but Naomi has new friends in town who are willing to help, including Xander Keaton - gorgeous, infuriating and determined to win her heart.

But as Naomi plans for the future, her past is catching up with her. Someone in town knows her terrifying secret - and won't let her forget it. As her new home is rocked by violence, Naomi must discover her persecutor's identity, before it's too late.

Please pop over to the Book Date to see what everyone else is reading today.