Hello dear book friends and welcome to damppebbles. It’s Wednesday – we’re one step closer to the elusive weekend, hoorah! It’s also day eight of #R3COMM3ND3D2023 and what a cracking year it’s turning out to be! So far we’ve had twenty-one books recommended and a good number of those have been added to my TBR. Have you added any books to your TBR or wish list?

I am delighted to welcome a brilliant blogger to damppebbles today, it’s the fabulous Gill of A Good Book ‘n a Brew blog (best blog name EVER! I can confirm I’m a fan of both a good book and a brew 😂). If you don’t already follow Gill, then why not? You know what to do, go and click the blue subscribe button!

So, what is #R3COMM3ND3D2023? It’s about sharing the book love. It’s a chance for authors, book bloggers, reviewers and bookstagrammers to shout about three (yes, *only* three) books they love. They can be written by any author, in any genre and published in any way (traditionally, indie press or self-published). But there is a catch. All three books must have been published in 2023. To make things interesting there are a couple of teeny, tiny rules; 1) the book must have FIRST been published in 2023 and 2) special editions and reissues do not count. See, it wasn’t too painful. I just like to keep you lovely people on your toes 😉

Let’s find out the three books Gill has chosen to share with us today…

The Island of Longing by Anne Griffin
This is Anne Griffin’s third book. I’ve read them all. Each very different, but all set in Ireland and with community and family themes running through them. This tells the story of Rosie’s 8 year search for her missing teenage daughter, and its telling effects on her family life. A memorable book.
Gill’s Review of The Island of Longing

The Daughters of Madurai by Rajasree Variyar
This was a beautifully told story, set in one of the poor villages of India in 1992. An incredibly sad story. It was difficult to believe when reading about Janani’s life that it wasn’t set in a much earlier time. An amazing story for a debut novel and I think this is a book I will always remember.
Gill’s Review of The Daughters of Madurai

The Good Liars by Anita Frank
This again is the latest of the author’s 3 novels. I’ve read them all and she is proving to be one of my favourite historical fiction authors. This one set in 1920 is part mystery and tells the poignant story of a family struggling with their demons following on from The Great War. I absolutely loved this book and I think it helped to understand just how damaged First World war survivors were and the injuries they suffered (both physical and mental scarring) as I’d read the non-fiction book The Facemaker by Lindsey Fitzharris.
Gill’s Review of The Good Liars

Thank you so much, Gill. I love the sound of all three books and those covers really stand out!

About Gill R:
I’ve had my book review blog since September 2018. I always have a book or two on the go and especially enjoy both historical fiction and contemporary fiction. I read non fiction from time to time too, especially if it has a medical or social theme going on. A Netgalley member, I end up struggling to actually get to the books I’ve bought.

Gill’s Blog and Social Media Links:
| A Good Book ‘n a Brew | X (formerly Twitter) @NatterBlog | Bluesky @natterblog.bsky.social |

#R3COMM3ND3D will only run for the month of November this year so places are very limited. If you would like to take part in #R3C this year (and I would LOVE you to!) then please get your three choices in ASAP. If I’m unable to fill all 30 dates then any posts scheduled for the end of November will be brought forward and I will close the series early (but I don’t want to do that, it sounds miserable! 😂). Here are two different versions of the form if you fancy taking part.

If you’re a book blogger, bookstagrammer, reviewer or an author and you have three books published this year which you want to shout about then please complete the following form (or click this link: https://forms.gle/d6HbMLZJjEtUSm8FA)