Hello bookish pals and welcome to damppebbles.

After a mini hiatus last year, and on the back of my somewhat shocking success in 2020, I’m excited to be joining Cathy’s #20BooksofSummer challenge again this year (check out Cathy’s BRILLIANT blog at 746 Books)!

Now, you may say that in 2020 we were in the middle of a lockdown and therefore finding the time to read was perhaps a little easier. You may also say that we’re now NOT in a lockdown, life seems to be returning to some sort of semblance of normality and the time period we’re talking about covers a whole six weeks where two young children (my children) will expect me to entertain them during their waking hours. You may say that and yes, you would be very sensible to point that out! Using a pinch of common sense I should, in theory, drop the target from twenty books to say, perhaps, fifteen? That would be sensible, right? I laugh in your face ‘sensible’. I’m going for the big TWO OH again this year, which I’m sure to regret.

Our lovely host as always is the fabulous Cathy. If you would like to take part yourself then you’re very welcome to join in – the more, the merrier. More information about #20BooksofSummer can be found HERE where you can also sign up yourself if you fancy it. Cathy is very relaxed about the rules, which is lucky for me. I think I may need a spot of leniency this year 😰. You can choose to read 10, 15 or 20 books during the challenge which starts on 1st June and runs until 1st September. Want to change your choices part way through? That’s fine. Want to drop from 20 to 10 books. Also fine. Check out Cathy’s sign up post for all the information you need.

Selecting my twenty books this year was tough. Seventy-five percent of my choices in 2020 came from my NetGalley shelf which made a hefty dent in my TBR and increased my NG percentage a heck of a lot. This year, the three books I still have to read on my NetGalley shelf are all included in my list. The rest is made up of review copies from publishers – past and present – and my own books. I’ve also made sure that I’ve included three books from my ’12 books in 12 months’ challenge, otherwise I’m going to fall even further behind with that one. I think it’s a cracking list and I’d be interested to hear what you think!

The Trial by S.R. Masters (One More Chapter)
Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi (Titan Books)
A Sliver of Darkness by C.J. Tudor (Penguin Michael Joseph)
True Crime Story by Joseph Knox (Penguin Books)
Follow Me to the Edge by Tariq Ashkanani (Thomas & Mercer)

What Lies Between Us by John Marrs (Thomas & Mercer)
The Watchers by A.M. Shine (Aries)
Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi (Penguin Books)
Black Widows by Cate Quinn (Orion)
Tall Oaks by Chris Whitaker (Bonnier Zaffre)

No Country for Girls by Emma Styles (Sphere)
The It Girl by Ruth Ware (Simon & Schuster)
The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh (Sphere)
Then She Vanishes by Claire Douglas (Penguin Books)
The Sound of Her Voice by Nathan Blackwell (Orion)

The Collective by Alison Gaylin (Orion)
Hunting Evil by Chris Carter (Simon & Schuster)
The Jigsaw Man by Nadine Matheson (HQ)
Until the Debt is Paid by Alexander Hartung translated by Steve Anderson (Amazon Crossing)
Damage by Caitlin Wahrer (Penguin Books)

What a good looking bunch they are, even if I do say so myself! Have you read any of them? Any you’re really looking forward to reading? Are you taking part in the challenge this year? I’d love to see your books so please feel free to leave a link to your challenge post in the comments!

If you would like to join in then there’s still plenty of time as we don’t kick off until 1st June. Go on, give it a try. How hard can it be, right…? 😉