Portobello Book Blog

When I started my blog in April 2015, I never imagined that here I would be 7 years later writing up my 2000th blogpost! Thank you to everyone who pops by to read my ramblings, to the publishers, publicists and blogtour organisers for letting me read so many fabulous books, to the authors who have taken part in my special author features and, of course, the biggest thanks go to all the authors whose books provide me with so many hours of reading pleasure.

I thought I’d do something a bit different for my 2000th post. It’s been a very hot week here in the UK as we all know. To be honest I’m not really one for the sun and have been lurking in the shade reading. So I’ve decided to do the Summer Vibes Book Tag, which I found over on Zee Zee with Books. The tag was created by Deanna, the Comfy Reader. I’ve chosen mostly books I’ve reviewed on the blog or GoodReads and if you’d like to read my reviews, click on the title of each book.

The Getaway by Isabelle Broom is a fabulous read set in Croatia. If you want transported to fabulous locations, you should definitely check out her books. In my review I’ve described the book as gorgeously romantic, beautifully written, full of passion and intrigue and the perfect escapist read for summer.

Dances and Dreams on Diamond Street by Craig Revel Horwood features dance, music and theatre as it follows the lives of the would-be performers who share a large house in London. I expect a lot of it is drawn from his own experience. Well known as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing, I was curious as to how well he could write and I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed this fun and exuberant book.

The Idea of You by Robinne Lee features a secret relationship between a young pop star and an older woman. At least, it’s secret to begin with. And there are most certainly some juicy scenes in the book… Appropriate that this comes into the ‘Watermelon’ category since the pop star character is rumoured to be based on Harry Styles and of course he had a hit with ‘Watermelon Sugar High’.

It’s got to be Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens for this category. With the story taking place on and by the North Carolina marshes, it definitely fits the category. I absolutely adored the resilient and resourceful character of Kya and can’t wait for the film to come out soon. I really hope it does the book justice. I listened to this on audiobook and the narrator was wonderful, really brought the characters to life.

I don’t believe in guilty pleasures when it comes to reading. If a book gives you pleasure, then there’s nothing to feel guilty about! So what I’m going to choose for this is a book which gave me pleasure, my favourite of the Bridgerton novels which I’ve been working my way through this year. I’ve not quite finished the series – I’m currently listening to the last one on audiobook – but so far my favourite has been Benedict and Sophie’s story, a bit of a Cinderella tale. So for this category, my choice is An Offer from a Gentleman by Julia Quinn

I could have picked almost any book by Milly Johnson here as she writes so well about female friendship. But the book that immediately springs to mind is Here Come The Girls. This is about four women who had been close friends since school but who had drifted apart for various reasons. On a cruise for their 40th birthdays, they rediscover their friendship in this joyous book. Again this was one I listened to on audiobook and Coleen Prendergast who narrates loads of Milly Johnson’s books is absolutely brilliant.

The Summer Seekers by Sarah Morgan is yet another audiobook choice – I do actually read real books I promise! This book features a road trip across Route 66 with an unlikely but fabulous friendship across the generations. Octogenarian Kathleen is fulfilling a dream to do this ultimate roadtrip with the help of Martha, who she hires to drive her. Meanwhile Kathleen’s daughter Liza has an adventure of her own at home. It’s my favourite Sarah Morgan book to date and proper feel-good fiction.

I don’t think there are any books I regret reading. If I really hated a book, I wouldn’t bother finishing it. But there are of course books I’ve read that I haven’t enjoyed and one of those this year was for my book group – The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter. I have no review for this one but I found it all a bit surreal and weird. Quite disturbing in places and just really not my kind of thing.

Kirsty Ferry’s books are always fun to read. They make me laugh, are romantic and always have a happy ending. I like the way she often weaves some mystical elements into her stories. I particularly enjoy the books featuring Schubert the black cat, which is saying something as I’m not a cat person! They are set in Edinburgh where I live which adds to my enjoyment. I’m going to choose It Started With a Pirate as I helped Kirsty with some of the local research for that one!

My goodness, there are so many books with annoying characters, how to choose? Of course, an annoying character is always there for a purpose: someone we love to hate, someone for the main characters to triumph over, or someone who sees the error of their ways and redeems themselves by the end. I’m not going to say the name of the character in the book I have chosen in case it gives any spoilers but this character was someone really awful who truly got their comeuppance by the end! I’m choosing Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane.

Have you read any of my choices? What did you think of them?
What books would you choose for each category?
If you fancy taking part, please tag me so I can have a look at your Summer Vibes selections!