3 Perfect Books to Read in an Afternoon

While I typically have three to five books on the go at any given time (yes, I’m that person), one or two days a month, I find myself lost for an afternoon in a book. There is something absolutely lovely about disappearing into a book and resurfacing with a plot complete. There are many books that I’ve read in one go (I’m thinking of many books that I’ve read on planes…). However, these are 3 perfect books to read in an afternoon, they lend themselves to one continuous read. Here is to the perfect read-in-one-sitting books!

I must admit, I can’t say that there is a genre that is guaranteed to grab my attention. In fact, the books that do end up holding me for an entire afternoon are usually unexpected. However, I think that it makes them all the more enjoyable when it does happen. I have shared books from different genres and entirely different topics, so I’m hoping there is something for everyone here.

The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes From a Small Island, Bill Bryson

Over twenty years ago, Bill Bryson went on a trip around Britain to celebrate the green and kindly island that had become his home. The hilarious book he wrote about that journey, Notes from a Small Island, became one of the most loved books of recent decades, and was voted in a BBC poll as the book that best represents Britain. Now, for his first travel book in fifteen years, Bryson sets out again, on a long-awaited, brand-new journey around the UK.

I am not a huge travel memoir person. I either like to read about the place itself (typically the history of it) or plan a trip of my own, but not read about someone else’s trip. However, Bryson’s work is the one exception to that rule for me. The Road to Little Dribbling is an easy to read memoir that isn’t a chronological recounting, but rather a collection of memories. Bryson certainly comes off as a grumpy old man in this book, but it is a refreshing change to the influencers that we see everywhere in 2019 that just really really looooooooove everything. Although he moved to the UK several decades ago, many of his observations will hit home for any North Americans who have spent some time over the pond. And no, you may not necessarily agree with everything he writes, but it is an entertaining read from start to finish. This would be the book for anyone who has spent more than a few days in UK, and knows that like anywhere else, it isn’t perfect but it is still lovely.

The Royal Secret, Lucinda Riley

Note to readers: In the UK, this book is published under the title The Love Letter.

In this suspenseful and heart-pounding novel from New York Times bestselling author Lucinda Riley, an ambitious young journalist unravels a dangerous mystery that threatens to devastate the British monarchy.

Keeping secrets is a dangerous game.

When Sir James Harrison, one the greatest actors of his generation, passes away at the age of ninety-five, he leaves behind not just a heartbroken family but also a secret so shocking, it could rock the English establishment to its core.

Joanna Haslam, an up-and-coming reporter, is assigned to cover the legendary actor’s funeral, attended by glitzy celebrities of every background. But Joanna stumbles on something dark beneath the glamour: the mention of a letter James Harrison has left behind—the contents of which many have been desperate to keep concealed for over seventy years. As she peels back the veil of lies that has shrouded the secret, she realizes that she’s close to uncovering something deadly serious—and the royal family may be implicated. Before long, someone is on her tracks, attempting to prevent her from discovering the truth. And they’ll stop at nothing to reach the letter before she does.

Full of salacious scandal, shocking twists, and captivating romance, and written in Lucinda Riley’s signature “vividly drawn and lushly atmospheric” (RT Book Reviews) prose, The Royal Secret is “a full-throttle escapist adventure” (Lancashire Evening Post).

A big thank you to Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is one of my favourite finds on Netgalley- while I enjoy most books that I find there, this has been one of my favourites. I’m sure that everyone knows that royal history is one of my areas of study. However, I don’t enjoy reading wild speculation about them (they are real people!). This book caught my eye because you do get a royal mystery without throwing any actual people under the bus.

It is quite a winding mystery. You would never be able to read the first third, or even two thirds, and be able to guess the whodunnit. It is a complicated mystery, but not so complicated  that you will be lost trying to follow it. And although the characters really take centre stage in this novel, the settings are also minor characters that you will not be able to ignore. I also thoroughly enjoyed that I didn’t feel drawn to one character or another; I was entirely free to focus on the actual mystery. Overall, this is the perfect whodunnit to read on a rainy afternoon.

The Finishing Touches, Hester Browne

In “New York Times” bestselling author Hester Browne’s delightful new novel, a fading English finishing school is about to get a twenty-first-century makeover. Out with white gloves and flower arranging, in with managing mortgagesand do-it-yourself manicures! Behind this remarkable transformation is business-savvy Betsy Phillimore, with her own unique connection to London’s esteemed Phillimore Academy for Young Ladies….Twenty-seven years ago, an infant turned up on the Academy’s doorstep, with a note tacked to her blanket by an elegant golden brooch — “Please take care of my baby. I want her to grow up to be a proper lady.” Loved by Lady Frances Phillimore and her kindhearted staff, Betsy grew up aspiring to be an Academy girl. But when Franny and her husband, Lord Phillimore, advise Betsy to instead hone her considerable math skills at college, she brokenheartedly leaves behind the only family she’s known.

Now, on the sad occasion of Lady Frances’s memorial service, Betsy comes back to find the school in disrepair, the enrollment down, and Lord P. desperate to save his legacy. Enter Betsy, the numbers genius, and her business plan — to replace dusty protocol with the essentials girls need today: “cell phone etiquette, eating sushi properly, handling credit cards, choosing the perfect little black dress, negotiating a pre-nup, ” and other lessons in independent living.

But Betsy may have bitten off more than she can chew. Can she win over the school’s snobby headmistress and its handsome but risk-averse treasurer? Returning to London also means facing her own unfinished business, as she crosses paths with her sexy girlhood crush…and blowing the dust off clues to a lifelong mystery: who were her parents, and why did they abandon her? If knowledge is power, Betsy is on the brink of truly becoming her own woman, and embracing the one thing she’s wanted all along: a place to call home.

A bittersweet journey of laughter and tears, “The Finishing Touches” will have you gleefully turning pages through dinner with elbows on the table — bad manners, perhaps, but excusable for one utterly irresistible read.

I have spoken about my love of Hester Browne’s books here and here. She is a brilliant author of chick lit, and truly lets you disappear into the story. Chick lit gets an unfair reputation; sometimes you don’t want to have to take notes and continually research things to make proper sense of a book. Sometimes you just want to follow a fun (albeit slightly dramatic) story for a few hours, and forget about everything in your head. And Browne does this perfectly! I find that quite often when I am looking for a book to read in one afternoon or evening, it is often because everything else is already stressful and overwhelming. Browne’s books will never overwhelm you, but rather envelope you for a few hours.

Finishing Touches is particularly enjoyable novel because it really highlights how well she does with British chick lit. (I prefer British chick lit- long story short, it doesn’t involve as much sex and gossip as a lot of American chick lit.) She took a fairly English topic- the finishing school- and updates it for the modern. It’s enough of what we know and love to pull you in, and enough of a modernisation to leave you satisfied. If you are only going to read one piece of chick lit, I would start with Hester Browne’s The Finishing Touches.

Now, here is the difficult question- what is your can’t put down, devour in one sitting book? 

Cheers,
The Historian
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