Hi!

Are you looking forward to bringing in the new year? What will you be doing to celebrate? What book will you be reading into the new year?

At the beginning of the month I realised I was still ten books away from achieving my Goodreads challenge and there was no way I could read ten full length novels in December so I resigned myself to not meeting my target this year. However, I mentioned this on my Facebook blog page and the general advice I received from fellow book lovers was to read a few short stories, so I took their advice and achieved my target this evening! 🙂 I do feel like I’ve cheated, but I have been assured that they still count.

Do I reduce my target for 2019 or go for 60 again??

Anyway, I thought I’d do just one blog post for the last few short stories I’ve read, as they only have very short reviews.

This is a compelling short story which had me gripped from the very first page. If you’re a fan of crime thrillers and fancy a quick read then I highly recommend this one.

What seems like a stalking case quickly turns out to be a lot more sinister (as if being stalked isn’t bad enough). DS ‘Heck’ Heckenburg and his team find themselves in a dangerous race against time to catch a killer. A very tense and suspenseful story. Brilliant!

 

 

A Wasted Hour is a clever little tale which was nothing like I was expecting it to be when I read the first sentence. A student hitch hiker is offered a lift by an old man and we join them on their journey as they share a very interesting conversation. I was as fascinated as the student and the ending really did make me smile. Intelligently written with a surprising conclusion. I Loved it!

 

 

A Very Country Christmas was a lovely little festive read featuring Lottie, the love of her life, Rory and their family and friends. Lottie’s plans for a quiet, romantic Christmas Day, just the two of them soon turns in to them hosting a houseful which makes for an amusing tale, but one which is also quite heart-warming. There is a quite a lot of focus on horses within the story, which I think will appeal to anyone who keeps horses and/or lives on a country estate. I can’t say I related to that side of things but I still found this to be entertaining read and I have to say that Elizabeth was by far my favourite character!

 

 

I absolutely loved Valentine’s Day at the Cafe at the End of the Pier. It is such a heart-warming read which is so easy to lose yourself in for half an hour or so. If you want a feel-good short story for your coffee break at work, or just whenever you fancy, then I definitely recommend you download this one. It’s easy to see why Jo jumped at the chance to move back to the coast to help her grandparents run their cafe at the end of the pier, it sounds like such a lovely place to live and run a business. Jo is a very likeable character, as are her grandparents which makes this a very pleasant read indeed.

 

 

We meet three Mums and three sons, all connected by one tragedy. Sad, but very heart-warming.

 

 

Norris is obviously quite fond of his neighbour, who he refers to as the Goddess. He is desperate to talk to her, but his anxieties hold him back. Seeing her every morning as they make their way to work is the highlight of his day though and he doesn’t dare imagine ever having anything more, until one day she falls down a hole and he is compelled to help her.

I thought this was a very cleverly written little story which I found quite sweet.

 

Have you read any of the above?

Are there any that take your fancy?

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy your New Year’s Eve, whatever you do to celebrate! Xx