More books this month, and I was lucky enough that these were all gifted from friends and family!

Unlost - Gail Muller

This is one book that I would never choose to buy myself, but my mum bought it for me instead. This is based on the true story of Gail and her time hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Gail is pushing her physical and mental abilities to the absolute limit. She came to a time in her life when she needed to make a change. She did some research, got training and headed out to America with a friend in tow. They begin the 2,200 mile trek and it becomes clear this is going to be HARD WORK. Not just the physical side of it, but managing what to carry in a backpack, how to set up camp for the night, managing pacing between groups etc. Her friend hikes for a few weeks but has to get home to her family, so Gail is left alone, although she makes trail friends and family along the way. All people on the trail get given a nickname - some weird and wonderful ones! Cue Dozer, Moose, Wag, Granola...

Gail begins a sort of relationship with a guy called Buckshot; initially he lets Gail be herself and helps her out physically and emotionally. However, I soon thought he was a bit of an arsehole. He is clearly incredibly fit and can cover 30 miles in a day and often strides out on his own. He gets drunk and stoned regularly and is quite rude to others. To top it off, we learn that he has a girlfriend (not hiking on the trail).

As the reader, you learn more about Gail's past, including that she was raped. She has to contend with her emotional demons and recognise that she was never at fault for this traumatic event. Gail also has to deal with significant physical pain. Doctors have bene trying for years to manage her pain, and Gail has tried every medicinal and holistic therapy possible. On the trail, she has to cope with not only the physical pain, but running out of pain meds that she has been so reliant on for years. What is clear is that Gail learns to be herself and let it all out when she needs to. There are a lot of up and downs in this book (and I'm not just talking about the mountains!), but as Muller finishes:

The lesson has ended, and now the living would begin.

The Cottage - Lisa Stone

This one was gifted to me by a colleague who reads even quicker than I do! I've never seen anyone get through so many books!

This book blends two storylines together, and it turns out it is based on a true story.

Jan has just been dumped and been made redundant - not the best combination. She takes herself off to a cottage for six months to clear her head and figure out what she wants. The cottage is incredibly isolated, and Jan soon begins to spook herself by hearing noises at night. Whatever it is, it seems to get into the garden and come close to the window. She calls on Chris, a friend of the lady who's cottage she's renting. Chris downplays the noises and seems to be quite patronising, but Jan is determined to find out what is going on. As well as hearing noises, she starts seeing shadows of what she thinks are 'small people'.

In the other storyline, Ian and Emma have tragically just had a second still birth. Ian starts doing some research to learn if there is any genetic cause for these difficulties. It turns out that both he and Emma were born via donor sperm. Coincidentally, their mothers both used the same clinic. It doesn't take too much to figure out that Ian and Emma share the same biological father, making them half brother and sister. And this may explain the deformities of the babies. Ian does more digging because surely the same sperm donor shouldn't be used so regularly?

Spoiler alert - the owner of the fertility clinic doesn't use donor sperm - only his own. The babies fathered by him grew up and end up unknowingly coupling up together, leading to high rates of birth deformities.

I didn't find it too difficult to put the two storylines together. The people that Jan is hearing outside the cottage are children who have genetic deformities and are only "let out" at night so no one sees them. I read this book quickly, but like I said, I wasn't particularly surprised by it and I don't think it takes a genius to figure out where the book is going. However, the fact that this is based on a true story is just a bit creepy?!

Such a Fun Age - Kiley Reid

Emira is in her late twenties and celebrating at night for a friend's birthday when the family she babysits for calls her and asks her to come over urgently. They had a smashed window and wanted Emira to take the little girl out of the house. Emira happily obliges as she needs the money. She takes little Briar to the local supermarket to kill time. However, she is soon questioned. Why is a black woman, all dressed up for a night out, with a little white girl? It leads to awkward racist comments and actions. Luckily, Emira's employer comes down to sort it out and no further action is taken. The entire thing was caught on camera by a white guy called Kelley.

Emira and Kelley soon start dating; this highlights the massive differences of race, identity and finances. Meanwhile, Emira's boss, Alix, wants to get to know her better and tackle the issue of race. I have to admit I think I saw the little twist coming: - spoiler alert - Kelley and Alix used to date. Their past comes to light, which also includes an incident to do with race. Is Emira working for a racist family?

Whilst I enjoyed this book, I didn't get much of a feeling for Emira. I struggled to know who she was, but equally Emira didn't know who she was. There was more description of Alix's feelings. I can't tell if this is deliberate by the author, of softening the black voice and amplifying the white voice. An interesting read that navigates race and dynamics associated with privilege.

The Dinner Guest - B. P. Walter

This book has had lots of hype from my friends. The blurb sounded much like the novels by Lucy Foley so I was more than happy to read it!

The book starts off with the murder of Matthew, and with Rachel admitting to the murder. However, within the first few pages, the reader learns that Rachel has made a false confession. Why? It turns out more than one person had a reason to hate Matthew. His husband, Charlie, his adopted son, Titus, and Rachel, a relative stranger. Who killed him and why? And why would Rachel confess to a crime she didn't commit?

This book is full of privilege; Charlie was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His family were friends with Lord and Lady Ashton and were on friendly terms with former prime ministers. They had lavish parties where more than just alcohol was consumed. Titus is Matthew's nephew and Matthew adopted him when he was a baby. Charlie came on the scene and the three formed a loving family. However, I found Titus' character quite jarring; sometimes seeming incredibly nerdy and older than his years, to flipping to a violent maniac. I have to admit, I found it hard to like any of the characters.

Whilst I did enjoy this book, I wouldn't rate it as highly as other similar books, such as those by Lucy Foley. I thought the writing was quite poor; there were plenty of grammatical errors and the sentence structure was limited to those short, punchy sentences that these new thrillers seem to enjoy. It was okay, but not my favourite read of the year.

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