Janet Gordon is married, retired, obsessed with her Westlake Terrier, Rollo – and books are her passion. She reads multiple books a week across all genres and reviews them for Rest Less.
This month’s round-up features The Novel Life of Jane Austen: A Graphic Biography, Sun Trap, The Sister Switch, The Trad Wife’s Secret, Bonjour, Sophie, and One Cornish Summer With You.
Note: Prices can change often, so you may notice some variations on the providers’ websites. Prices and availability are accurate as of the 22nd of July, 2025.
The Novel Life of Jane Austen: A Graphic Biography by Janine Barchas (Hachette £20, Kindle £11.99, Amazon £13.24)
I keep banging on about this year being the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, and there’s an event almost everywhere she visited.
Of course, I’ve been sent a Jane Austen publication, too. This graphic novel illustrates Jane and Cassy exploring Bath, visiting the circulating library, their move southwards as their finances deteriorated, and Jane’s endeavours to be published.
I’ve never read a graphic novel before, but I loved it. It’s such a great way to retell the Austen story. Ideal for anyone, particularly teenagers, who’d love a potted Jane Austen history!
Sun Trap by Rachel Wolf (Bloomsbury £9.99, Kindle £0.99, Amazon £6.00)
I wouldn’t be me if I hadn’t found a chiller thriller to recommend. Sun Trap is Rachel Wolf’s second novel, the first being Five Nights.
The story opens with Ellie vomiting copiously into a bag on a private jet en route to Abu Dhabi. This is Ellie’s big break, landing a role in a blockbuster film with world-famous actors. But, crawling back to the bathroom to freshen up, she overhears what she thinks are two people plotting to murder somebody…but who?
Expect plenty of flashbacks, desert antics, dozens of chilling moments and – of course – dead bodies!
I loved this one. Hopefully, there are more Rachel Wolf chiller thrillers to come.
The Sister Switch by Charlotte Butterfield (HarperCollins £9.99, Kindle £0.99, Amazon £9.75)
Alice and Edie are identical twins who appear once a week on the sofa as agony aunts. Both married with husbands and children, they couldn’t live more different lives, and the same goes for their agony aunt opinions.
Alice is a very traditional wife who earns a fortune as an influencer. Edie, however, believes in letting both husband and children do their thing while she, as a qualified therapist, works all hours.
After yet another fiery outburst live on air, ‘management’ tells them to get their act together. Remembering how their late mother dealt with their tantrums, they decide to swap lives. I have no idea how their husbands didn’t realise, but this is a hilarious and thought-provoking read.
Before this, I hadn’t read anything by this author, but I’m going to remedy that right now and download all her previous novels.
The Trad Wife’s Secret by Liane Child (HarperCollins: £9.99, Kindle £2.99, Amazon £5.50, Hachette £22.00)
Another influencer main character, Madison March, is the definition of a ‘trad’ wife. She has the perfect husband, Michael March, and four children, Mason, Myron, Molly and Matilda.
With days spent baking sourdough, growing vegetables, and taking Instagram pics for her account @TrulyMadison, her life appears perfect. However, all is not well. @TrulyMadison is not getting the likes it previously was. Is Madison losing her touch?
A terrific read.
Bonjour, Sophie by Elizabeth Buchan (Hachette £22.00, Kindle £3.99, Amazon £9.19)
I’ve read most of Elizabeth Buchan’s novels. My particular favourite is Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman, but they’re all excellent, dealing with the problems many of us face on our way to marriage and old age.
Her latest is Bonjour, Sophie. While living the most horrendous life with her foster family, the Reverand Osbert Knox and his frustrated wife Alice, Sophie yearns to live life. She knows full well that if she’s ever to escape the life that the Reverand has planned for her, she needs to escape – and soon.
When she befriends a librarian who allows her to choose a book detailing everything she needs to know, she uses all her courage to escape. Sophie then travels to post-war Paris – the city where she was born.
I love Elizabeth Buchan’s novels. She vividly captures the essence of middle-aged, middle-class angst.
One Cornish Summer With You by Phillipa Ashley (Penguin £9.99, Kindle £0.99, Amazon £5.48)
Cornwall features in many beach reads, and anything written by Phillipa Ashley has to be on my list. Here, we have a wonderfully romantic read, tinged with heartbreak, hope, and secrets.
Tammy is a sand artist, spending her days designing and drawing sand pictures for all kinds of events.
Living in the harbour town of Porthmellow, she’s busy drawing a special design to commemorate her father’s passing. Whilst she’s bent over the sand, she spots a booted and suited young man, and her heart skips a beat. He comes over for a chat, and his heart begins to flutter, too. Is this the beginning of a beautiful relationship?
We follow the fortunes of these two would-be lovebirds – uncovering Tammy’s traumas and Ruan’s secrets in such a heart-warming and heart-breaking manner that makes this a wonderful summer read.
For more inspiration, head over to our books, literature, and writing section. Or, for further book and literature discussions, you might be interested in joining the thriving book club over on Rest Less Events.
Have you read any of these books? Or have you added any of them to your reading list? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.