One book a month - my 2019 goal & January Book Review - The Girl Before

One of my 'resolutions' for this year is to read more, and so I thought: What better way to do that than to set myself the challenge to read (at least) one book per month this year? It's only twelve books, it can't be that difficult, right? Whilst I was thinking that I also thought - why not write about them here too?

I personally always feel like starting a new book is something of a commitment; my worst nightmare is starting a book that I struggle to fully immerse myself into and feeling compelled to still make it to the end, and yet I know full well that should it engage me straight away, it will be surgically attached to my hand until I finish it in a couple of weeks. And then there's time. The biggest excuse that we use when it comes to sitting down to read: "I just don't have enough time to read right now!". I can guarantee that I too am guilty of this, and I have been saying it for years. I decided that since one of my goals this year is to make more time for me, that I will in turn find the time to read, and I will share my experiences with you through my blog.

For January's book I chose The Girl Before by JP Delaney. This, like so many books I own, was bought from a charity shop and I never got around to reading it, and so I thought this one would be a good start.

Some of the books I am excited to try and read/re-read this year!

January book review:

Book Title: The Girl Before

Author: JP Delaney

Genre: Thriller, suspense, psychological thriller

Published: 2016

Read if you like: * A good psychological thriller

Blurb:

Enter the world of One Folgate Street and discover perfection... but can you pay the price?

Jane stumbles on the rental opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to live in an ultra-minimalist house designed by an enigmatic architect, on condition she abides by a list of exacting rules. But when she discovers the previous tenant, Emma, met a mysterious death there, Jane starts to wonder if her own story will be a re-run of the girl before.

What I thought:

This book had a very clever way of manipulating the reader to believe what it wanted it to when it wanted to, and making you feel as though you are being watched. I often found myself feeling as though my own actions were being watched even after I had put the book down, and I would lie in bed trying to figure out the next part of the mystery ahead of reading the next chapters the following evening.

Without giving too much away, the book itself took the reader through two narratives, the retelling of Emma's story in the past and the run up to her death, and Jane's current story in the present. As she hears more stories and rumors, Jane becomes immensely curious about Emma's death and tries to investigate it. Alongside the two narratives, the reader is left themselves to decide what they think is true out of all the clues they are given.

It was chilling and gripping, and not too far a stretch to believing it could be reality too, which made it all the more exciting. All in all, it was an easy read, the chapters were very short as it continuously switched between the past and the present, and it gave just the right amount of information away each time.

Saying that, I would say that it wasn't the most terrifying book out there, so if you want to get your heart pumping and the adrenaline going, give this book a go.

Find it here! > https://www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-Before-JP-Delaney/dp/1786480298

The Girl Before by JP Delaney

I hope you enjoyed this little review! It's not necessarily what I was originally planning on writing about on here, but I did really enjoy sharing my thoughts with you! I will be doing another review next month as well as other exciting things, so keep your eyes peeled for that. In the mean time please let me know what you thought, and any recommendations for books you loved, I would love to hear them down in the comments!

Best wishes,

Abby x