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 Golden Hours, The Siren’s Daughter, The Holiday Home, Peck & Peck, and Eyes on You.
Note: Prices can often change, so you may notice some variations on the providers’ websites. Prices and availability are accurate as of the 2nd of October, 2026.
My husband and I were going to take a short trip to France for my birthday, but our dog, Rollo, begged us not to put him into kennels but instead take him to the seaside. And because he’s (obviously) the boss in our house, we went to Devon instead. On the bright side, this meant we could chuck everything in the car, and there was no limit on how many books I could bring. Here are some of my highlights.
The Golden Hours by Louisa Young (Amazon £14.19, Kindle £9.99)
Elizabeth Jane Howard has been feted for her Cazalet Chronicles: a five-volume semi-autobiographical saga following the upper-middle-class Cazalet family from 1937 through the post-war 1950s, all set between London and Sussex.
Louisa Young, whose Aunt is Elizabeth Jane Howard, adored these books, and so she’s taken up the cudgel and written the next instalment: The Golden Hours. Here’s what it’s about…
At Christmas 1962, the close-knit Cazalet family gathers at Fakenham Hall, a sprawling country house in Norfolk, to celebrate Christmas. The older generation watches the world they knew fade away, while three cousins approaching 40 juggle midlife pressures with their goals and ambitions.
Meanwhile, the youngest family members couldn’t be more different as they grow up in a society on the cusp of real change: the Swinging Sixties.
What a lovely read this is. This book lends itself so well to sitting down over afternoon tea and whiling away the hours reading about this family.
The publishers have also re-released the original five novels, all with shiny new covers (although, being perfectly honest, I prefer the older ones!). But whichever copies you read, you’ll be in for a treat with the Cazalet Chronicles.
The Siren’s Daughter by Claire Fuge (Amazon £9.99, Kindle £4.99)
Set in 1126, The Siren’s Daughter follows 19-year-old Angharad as she travels to Aberteifi Castle in Wales. Here, her mother Nesta, a Welsh princess and a victim of several wars and rebellions, is set to have an arranged marriage.
Angharad’s new stepfather, the castle’s cruel Norman commander, demands that she expose Nesta as a secret rebel or be cast out to die.
Wanting answers herself, Angharad presses her mother for answers, discovering not only the turbulent past she survived – but a dangerous family legacy. And as the pressure builds, she must face a choice: protect her mother or herself.
The Holiday Home by Jess Ryder (Amazon £9.49, Kindle £3.99)
As we were going to a holiday home in Devon, it seemed appropriate to take this psychological thriller with me and – spoiler alert – I’m glad I did!
The Holiday Home follows Luna as she travels with her partner to her late father’s farmhouse in Tuscany to check on the property and hopefully close it up. But they’re surprised when another family arrives, insisting they’ve booked the same house for a week’s holiday.
When the visitors refuse to leave, Luna reluctantly allows them to stay. But it soon becomes clear that the strangers know far more about the farmhouse and Luna’s family than they should, and as the tension builds, so do the accidents.
Wow, I love this author’s novels, and I just love destination thrillers like this.
Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus (Amazon £11.00, Kindle £10.45)
In April 2022, American author Bonnie Garmus published her debut novel Lessons in Chemistry, which topped bestseller lists almost everywhere. It’s always difficult to follow up such a successful debut, but Bonnie Garmus has done it.
Batter Gray is a poet and a dreamer, so he can hardly believe his luck when, after a baffling interview, he lands a job at Peck & Peck, the most prestigious quarterly poetry journal in the world.
But all isn’t what it seems, and Gray is thrust knee-deep into a secret war between the famous Peck brothers – twins, rivals, and Editors in Chief. He must also learn to work alongside 39 eccentric editors who operate under one rule: find true originality, reward creativity, and literally incinerate the rest.
For Batter, who was folding T-shirts at Gap not long before, this major change of pace isn’t exactly the blessing he imagined.
Peck & Peck is another original and wonderful novel from Bonnie Garmus, who has now left the US and moved to my home town of Bishops Stortford. I’m hoping our wonderful local library can persuade her to give a talk, as I’d love to meet such an original talent.
Eyes on You by Adele Parks (Amazon £8.49, Kindle £9.99)
Amy is just a young girl when she witnesses her father brutally kill his lover. She bravely testifies in court, and her evidence sends him to prison for life.
Years later, while she’s working in a restaurant, she meets Oliver, and the two connect instantly over their traumatic pasts. But their bond becomes an obsession that pulls Amy into a frightening place, and leaves her wondering whether she really saw what she always said she did…
I’m a huge fan of Adele Parks’ twisty-turny thrillers. Each one delivers with suspense, intrigue, and tension. I’m pleased to say Eyes on You follows suit.
For more reading inspiration, head over to our books, literature, and writing section.
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.