Published July 23rd, 2020 by Picador Historical Fiction, Medical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Historical Romance, Lesbian Literature
Welcome to my review for this powerful and unforgettable story. Thanks to Picador for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
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ABOUT THE BOOK:
Three days in a maternity ward at the height of the Great Flu. The Pull of the Stars is the Sunday Times Bestseller from the acclaimed author of The Wonder and Room.
‘An immersive, unforgettable fever-dream of a novel’ – The Times
The old world dying on its feet, a new one struggling to be born . . .
Dublin, 1918. In a country doubly ravaged by war and disease, Nurse Julia Power works at an understaffed hospital in the city centre, where expectant mothers who have come down with an unfamiliar flu are quarantined together. Into Julia’s regimented world step two outsiders: Doctor Kathleen Lynn, on the run from the police, and a young volunteer helper, Bridie Sweeney.
In the darkness and intensity of this tiny ward, over the course of three days, these women change each other’s lives in unexpected ways. They lose patients to this baffling pandemic, but they also shepherd new life into a fearful world. With tireless tenderness and humanity, carers and mothers alike somehow do their impossible work.
In The Pull of the Stars, Emma Donoghue tells an unforgettable and deeply moving story of love and loss.
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MY REVIEW:
Dublin, 1918. Ireland is a country ravaged by war and in the grip of a pandemic. At an understaffed hospital in the city centre, we follow Nurse Julia Power as she cares for expectant mothers who have contracted the flu. She is helped by Birdie Sweeney, an inexperienced volunteer helper, and Doctor Kathleen Lynn, an Irish Nationalist on the run from the police. Over the course of three days, we see them battle to give patients the best care, bring new life into the world, and tragically lose lives to this mysterious disease.
Beautiful, moving, harrowing and immersive, The Pull of the Stars is an unforgettable piece of historical fiction. Exquisitely written and meticulously researched, Emma Donoghue had me hooked from the first pages, transporting me into Julia’s world and making me feel like I was in the room with her. Likeable and easy to root for, Julia was a great protagonist. I loved the care she had for all of her patients, her passion for nursing and that she was refusing to conform to society by staying unmarried as she turned 30. The other characters are equally as compelling. Birdie was naive but enthusiastic and willing to learn. And my heart broke as we learned more about what she’d been through growing up in religious institutions. Dr Kathleen Lynn, who is based on a real person, was modern, visionary and unafraid to do whatever it takes to further her cause. Each of the women are strong in their own ways and I loved seeing the effect they had on Julia’s life in just three short days.
1918 was a dangerous time to be a woman, especially in a country like Ireland where religious beliefs meant there was an expectation to marry young, an aversion to contraception and a societal expectation to churn out babies back to back regardless of whether or not you wanted to or could afford them. Donoghue explores these issues along with others such as the horrific realities of the Magdalene laundries and religious institutions, and the terrible infant mortality rate, especially amongst poorer families. The characters represent different social groups and offer us an example of many different lives. There are victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence, impoverished and malnourished women struggling to give birth for a twelfth time and terrified teenage first-time mothers. Each of these women are fighting to survive at a time when the mortality rate was 15% and we see successful births and tragic losses of both mothers and babies.
One of the things I love about historical fiction is getting a glimpse of life at the time the book is set and as someone who has always been fascinated by medical history, I enjoyed learning about how different treatments and knowledge were at the start of the twentieth century, while also seeing how knowledge about hygiene and medicine were growing at the time and helped to save lives. I appreciated that Donoghue didn’t shy away from the more shocking and gruesome aspects of nursing and the complications that can arise in obstetrics, although it may be too intense for some readers.
Highly recommended.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Born in Dublin in 1969, Emma Donoghue is a writer of contemporary and historical fiction whose novels include the international bestseller “Room” (her screen adaptation was nominated for four Oscars), “Frog Music”, “Slammerkin,” “The Sealed Letter,” “Landing,” “Life Mask,” “Hood,” and “Stirfry.” Her story collections are “Astray”, “The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits,” “Kissing the Witch,” and “Touchy Subjects.” She also writes literary history, and plays for stage and radio. She lives in London, Ontario, with her partner and their two children.
May is here in just a few hours, so it’s a late anticipated treasures this month. But May is packed with exciting new releases from authors I love such as M. J. Arlidge, Kate Foster, Emma Stonex, Natasha Solomons, Sarah Penner, Alex North, Matt Wesolowski, Katie Allen and Freya Sampson. And there are lots of debut authors I can’t wait to read, especially Emma Cowing, Daria Lavelle and Florence Knapp.
Here are the May releases I’m most anticipating:
The Sunshine Man by Emma Stonex
Published May 1st by Picador Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Coming-of-Age Story
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘The week I shot a man clean through the head began like any other . . .’
From Emma Stonex, the bestselling author of The Lamplighters, comes The Sunshine Man, a gripping revenge thriller that will leave you breathless.
‘A compelling tight thriller with heart’ ***** ‘Hits you right between the eyes’ ***** ‘Brilliantly written with twists and turns’ *****
In January 1989, Birdie wakes to the news she’s been waiting eighteen years to hear. Jimmy Maguire, the man who killed her sister, has been freed from jail. Birdie sends her kids to school and then leaves for London with a gun and a plan: to find Jimmy and make him pay.
But there’s another side to the story, and Birdie is about to enter a world of family lies, worn-out loyalties and long-buried betrayals . . .
A heart-stopping novel of shared pasts and a fury-fuelled present, The Sunshine Man is an addictive page-turner set against the sweeping hills of rural Devon, from bestselling author Emma Stonex.
Published May 1st by Legend Press Historical Ficiton, Supernatural Ficiton, Nautical Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: THE BEWITCHING NEW NOVEL FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE LOST APOTHECARY – OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD
Powerful witchcraft. A hunt for sunken treasure. Forbidden love on the high seas. Beware the Amalfi Curse…
Haven Ambrose, a trailblazing nautical archaeologist, has come to the sun-soaked village of Positano to investigate the mysterious shipwrecks along the Amalfi Coast. But Haven is hoping to find more than old artefacts beneath the azure waters; she is secretly on a quest to locate a trove of priceless gemstones her late father spotted on his final dive. Upon Haven’s arrival, strange maelstroms and misfortunes start plaguing the town. Is it nature or something more sinister at work?
As Haven searches for her father’s sunken treasure, she begins to unearth a centuries-old tale of ancient sorcery and one woman’s quest to save her lover and her village by using the legendary art of stregheria, a magical ability to harness the ocean. Could this magic be behind Positano’s latest calamities? Haven must unravel the Amalfi Curse before the region is destroyed forever…
Against the dazzling backdrop of the Amalfi Coast, this bewitching novel shimmers with mystery, romance and the untamed magic of the sea.
Published May 1st by Hodder & Stoughton Historical Fiction, Romance Novel, Saga, Historical Romance, Domestic Ficiton, Coming-of-Age Story
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘Gorgeously written, with twists and turns worthy of a circus trapeze’ JENNIE GODFREY THE SHOW MUST GO ON …
1910. With the disappearance of her mother and the sudden death of her father, Lena instantly loses any security she has within the circus she has known all her life. She is advised to sell the carousel her father cared for like a child and look for a husband, or a job in a factory.
Until flame-haired Violet, known to all in the fairgrounds as ‘the greatest trapeze artist that ever lived’, suggests they go it alone with their own, all-female act. With her outspoken ways and her refusal to marry, Violet is as much an outcast as Lena. What do they have to lose? Recruiting new performers including bareback horse-rider Rosie, on the run from her abusive father, and Carmen whose rainbow ribbons hide the darkness in her past, the four women form an unbreakable bond.
Thrust into a harsh and dangerous world that treats them with suspicion, disdain and even violence, they must forge their own path in search of freedom, security, and love.
Deeply rooted in the Edwardian era, THE SHOW WOMAN is brilliantly realised and expertly interlaces strong female characters, deeply-woven family secrets and heartfelt love stories.
Published May 1st by Head of Zeus Thriller, Crime Ficiton, Suspense, Dark Academia, Mystery, Fairy Tale
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘Saltburn meets The Secret History in this gripping tale of alchemy and academia’ IAN RANKIN Five friends. One deadly obsession.
The salt-scented quadrangles of St Andrews University greet misfit first-year student Finn Nethercott with indifference. This is a place where only privilege counts, and those from the right backgrounds can get away with murder.
Finn is quickly seduced into a new circle of friends. Four history scholars obsessed with the deepest roots of ancient Scotland. They sweep him away on wild adventures to forgotten castles and faerie lochs.
But he soon discovers the darker sides of his new friendships: deadly rivalries, midnight rituals, and a desperate search for a long-lost hallucinogen.
Then, as Finn is pulled into a world where he can’t always trust what he’s seen each night, the group’s obsession turns deadly.
A shocking fever-dream of a thriller perfect for fans of M.L. Rio’s If We Were Villains, Ashley Winstead’s In My Dreams I Hold a Knife and Ellie Keel’s The Four.
Published May 1st by Orion Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Domestic Ficiton, Crime Series
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘Well hot dang!!!!… Absolutely Exquisite. Just gripping!!!… I seriously could not put it down… GET THIS ON YOUR LIST, YESTERDAY.’ Reader Review, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
From the multi-million-copy bestselling author and global sensation, Jeneva Rose.
Till death do us part. Yours. Not Mine.
It’s been eleven years since high-powered attorney Sarah Morgan defended her husband, Adam, against the charge of murdering his mistress. Sarah haslong since moved on, starting a family with her new husband, Bob Miller, and changing careers. Her life is back to being exactly how she always wanted … or is it?
After discovering Bob engaged in a one-night stand, Sarah wastes no time filing for divorce. However, amid their ugly separation, new DNA evidence is uncovered in the case against Adam, forcing the police to reopen the investigation and putting Sarah right back in the spotlight. Everyone wants to know what really happened, most of all former Deputy Hudson, who is hell-bent on finding the truth.
But when the woman Bob slept with is reported missing, he and Sarah start to fight dirty, and a high-stakes game of cat and mouse ensues. Filled with page-turning suspense and Jeneva Rose’s signature twists and turns, this sequel will have readers wondering: Can Bob and Sarah achieve the perfect divorce? Or will it be “’til death do us part”?
The Perfect Divorce is a thrilling read that can be enjoyed as a standalone, but a note for those intending to read The Perfect Marriage that this story reveals twists from that book.
Published May 1st by Hodder & Stoughton Crime Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘A twist you’ll never guess’ ALEX MICHAELIDES ‘Thrilling, thought-provoking, suspenseful’ S.A. COSBY THE WORLD KNOWS HER AS THE GIRL IN CELL A.
Convicted of murder at seventeen, infamous killer and true crime celebrity Orianna Negi has always maintained her innocence.
BUT IF SHE DIDN’T KILL GIDEON WYCLERC…
Orianna has a blind spot over that fateful day: she can’t remember what happened. Forensic psychologist Annie Ledet is tasked with unlocking the truth.
….THEN WHO DID?
Orianna grew up in Eden Falls, ruled by the insular Wyclerc dynasty and its ruthless patriarch , Amos. As their sessions progress, Annie reaches into Orianna’s past to a shattering realisation….
Scandal. Sex. Power. Race. And murder. Between guilt and innocence lies a fallen Eden.
Published May 1st by Viking Domestic Fiction, Literary Fiction, Humorous Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘This book is so stunningly fresh and darkly funny that every page surprised me. Dick writes brilliantly about grief and addiction and inheritance and, yes, redemption.’ CATHERINE NEWMAN, AUTHOR OF SANDWICH
‘He left you some money.’
Mickey felt her mouth drop open. The first half of that sentence had rung clear and true. The second half had not. Her father was one to take, not give.
After he left them for his new family, Mickey resolved never to think of her father again. She’s fine without him; yes, she drinks, but only sometimes and, really, she can’t not.
But with only $181 to her name, she’s not above attending some mandated therapy to access her inheritance. She’ll kneel at the Kleenex alter and soon be bingeing Bridgerton with a bottle of Russian Standard, five million dollars richer.
Arlo has more issues than most of her clients. Being a therapist has not prepared her for grief. She adored her father – his laughter, his charm, the smell of his cologne. She thought he adored her, too, but now he’s given his inheritance to a daughter no one knows, and Arlo is at a loss.
Two sisters are unknowingly thrown together for the first time.
Published May 6th by Phoenix Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A once-in-a-generation debut from a major new talent, The Names is the story of three names, three versions of a life, and the infinite possibilities that a single decision can spark.
CHOSEN AS A SUNDAY TIMES, DAILY MAIL, RED, PRIMA, STYLIST and EVENING STANDARD BOOK OF 2025
Tomorrow – if morning comes, if the storm stops raging – Cora will register the name of her son. Or perhaps, and this is her real concern, she’ll formalise who he will become.
It is 1987, and in the aftermath of a great storm, Cora sets out with her nine-year-old daughter to register the birth of her son. Her husband intends for her to follow a long-standing family tradition and call the baby after him. But when faced with the decision, Cora hesitates. Going against his wishes is a risk that will have consequences, but is it right for her child to inherit his name from generations of domineering men? The choice she makes in this moment will shape the course of their lives.
Seven years later, her son is Bear, a name chosen by his sister, and one that will prove as cataclysmic as the storm from which it emerged. Or he is Julian, the name his mother set her heart on, believing it will enable him to become his own person. Or he is Gordon, named after his father and raised in his cruel image – but is there still a chance to break the mould?
Powerfully moving and full of hope, this is the story of three names, three versions of a life, and the infinite possibilities that a single decision can spark. It is the story of one family, and love’s endless capacity to endure, no matter what fate has in store.
Published May 8th by Manilla Press Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Ancient World, Literary Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: From the international bestselling author comes an unmissable new retelling of the life of one of the most captivating and misrepresented female figures in history.
Cleopatra, Egyptian Princess, grows up the favoured daughter of the Pharoah, hiding amongst the scrolls in the great library of Alexandria with her beloved slave Charmian, longing for the chance one day to write her own story.
Then when her father dies, willing that Cleopatra rule with her selfish brother Ptolemy, danger stirs. As the young Egyptian Queen sails the Nile to greet her people, he plots to destroy her and take the throne for himself.
But while Ptolemy has the power of Egypt behind him, Cleopatra has her wits. And when the great Caesar arrives from Rome, she realises he could be the key to her salvation – though courting this powerful man could cost her everything.
Can Cleopatra save her life, her throne, her beloved Egypt and finally command her own history?
A powerful, unmissable new retelling, this is a captivating story of female power and vulnerability, of love and loss, fierce friendship and terrible betrayal.
Published May 8th by Manilla Press Historical Fiction, Gaslamp Fantasy, Contemporary Horror
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Two women. An extraordinary power. An explosive bond. In a time of revolution, their fates will lie in the turn of a card . . .
It is the early days of the French Revolution and, on the streets of Paris, terror reigns.
Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand is a young woman with an extraordinary power – through her tarot cards, she can commune with the dead, revolutionaries and the aristocracy alike seeking her out to divine their fortunes. Lenormand is loyal to Marie Antoinette and the dauphin of France, but she has seen the queen’s fate in the cards and must take care that it doesn’t become her own.
Then, one fateful day, she comes across Cait, a scullery maid from Ireland who has travelled to Paris for love. Cait has powers too – she can read people’s pasts as Lenormand reads their futures. The two young women share an electrifying connection, drawn to each other’s abilities. But Cait is hiding something. What will she do – and who will she betray – to bring revolution to the shores of her beloved Ireland too?
Inspired by the astonishing true story of Marie-Anne Adelaide Lenormand, The Tarot Reader of Versailles is a sweeping, powerful novel where allegiances, betrayals and even fate itself can be forged or broken by the turn of a card . . .
Published May 8th by Head of Zeus Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: PLAY THEIR GAME Hollywood, 1953. Young actress Ginny Watkins is turning heads. Even the legendary – and married – actor Max Whitman can’t resist the allure of the hottest new starlet. He promises Ginny the world, in return for the right favour.
DO WHAT THEY SAY London, 1954. Stella Hope, once the most famous actress in Hollywood, has been ousted to Ealing Studios after her divorce from the powerful Max. Just as she accepts her fate, she receives a letter, blackmailing her for a mistake she made many years ago.
OR THEY’LL BURY YOU Two women on either side of stardom find themselves in the orbit of the same beguiling man. And one night, in the shadows of a glamorous Oscars afterparty, their lives are changed forever.
A Beautiful Way to Die delves into the decadence and depravity of the early film industry from Hollywood to London. Perfect for fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and films like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Babylon.
Published May 8th by Michael Joseph Thriller, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction, Suspense, Horror Fiction, Police Procedural
BOOK DESCRIPTION: You never forget the day you meet a serial killer. Dan was just a teenager when he had a chance encounter with the elusive killer known only as “the man made of smoke”. Nobody could blame him for being too scared to intervene, for being too scared to save the latest victim, for letting the killer vanish again. Nobody except Dan himself. Years later, Dan has a successful career as a criminal psychiatrist, unpicking the very darkest of human behaviour. Because, despite what he saw that day, Dan knows there’s no such thing as a monster. But now his father, John, has gone missing. And, when Dan returns to the small island where he grew up, he finds out that not long before his disappearance, John had stumbled across a body. As Dan begins to dig, he finds unsettling links, stretching all the way back to the man made of smoke. Which means this might just be a chance to not only save his dad, but to finally find redemption. But what if he’s been wrong about that day for all these years. What if he was right to be scared?
Published May 8th by Wild Hunt Books Horror Fiction, Mystery, Supernatural Fiction, Contemporary Horror, Occult Horror,
BOOK DESCRIPTION: PART OF THE NORTHERN WEIRD PROJECT
HE ALWAYS COMES FOR YOU…
Leo is just trying to catch his train back home to the village of Malacstone in North East England. But there’s disorder at the station, and when a loud young man heading for London boards the train accidentally, a usually easy journey descends into darkness and chaos. The train soon breaks down in the middle of nowhere, and as night falls, something…or someone steps out of the distance. Is it a man or something far more sinister?
When one of the passengers goes missing, Leo fears that a folkloric tale whispered to him in childhood might be the culprit.
(Don’t) Call Mum blends Matt Wesolowski’s trademark voice of mystery, folklore and humour in this heart-racing tale.
Published May 8th by Hutchinson Heinmann Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance, Domestic Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: What happens when you find love, but life keeps getting in the way?
When she first meets Adam, Coralie is new to London and feeling adrift. But Adam is clever, witty, and – he insists – half an inch taller than the average British male. His charming four-year-old daughter, Zora, only adds to his appeal.
And yet ten years on, something important is missing from the life Coralie and Adam (though let’s face it, mostly Coralie) have built. Or maybe, having gained everything she dreamed of, Coralie has lost something she once had: herself.
Set against an eventful decade that included the soap opera of five Prime Ministers plus Brexit and Covid, Consider Yourself Kissed puts the subjects of love and family on a grand stage, bringing to life how the intimate drama in our homes inescapably competes for energy and attention with the shared drama of our times.
Consider Yourself Kissed is a captivating portrait of a woman in love which effortlessly balances sweetness with bite, the public with the personal, and humour with heart.
Published May 8th by Avon Coming-of-Age Story, LGBT Literature
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Eleanor Pilcher is electric in her witty, funny, and heartfelt women’s fiction debut, following polar opposite best friends Beth and Serena. When demisexual Beth decides she’s done with being a virgin and enlists Serena’s help, her new personal journey just might be the thing to end their friendship for good.
Serena and Beth are best friends who couldn’t be more different—Beth is an avowed demisexual, who lacks confidence in her career and in her chances at a happy relationship due to her sexual orientation. Serena is a free spirit who oozes with confidence, both in her job and her sexual proclivities. And yet, since the moment they met, they knew they were platonic soulmates.
So, when Beth decides that she officially wants to take charge of her sex life and explore the things that scare her the most, Serena is more than happy to help. Speed-dating, sex therapy, tantra, a perplexed but ultimately very nice escort—it’s all on Beth’s Sexual Odyssey List.
But when Beth’s crush from her old job comes back and Serena’s favorite friend-with-benefits pushes for more than just sex, it throws their whole world into a tailspin. And suddenly, this sexual odyssey is more than a fun gag. It’ll set them down a course that’ll make them so much closer—or end their friendship for good.
Published May 8th by Fourth Estate Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Literary Fiction, Humorous Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A hilarious and utterly original debut novel following a woman trying to make sense of her life and herself as she falls in love with her therapist.
Sylvie is only happy when she is at therapy. This is because Sylvie is in love with her therapist. She wants to kiss her and roll around on the floor with her. She thinks about her every second they’re not together (roughly 167 hours and 10 minutes per week). She’s aware she has an obsession, but whether it is – as her therapist suggests – a case of extreme ‘erotic transference’, or a lost person’s need to connect, Sylvie isn’t sure.
Beyond therapy, Sylvie has what she considers to be a small life: a job as a veterinary nurse, her little brain-damaged dog, Curtains, and a new friend Chloe who she met on the beach. When the therapist delivers some devastating news, Sylvie has to imagine new and lasting ways of coping (that don’t include being adopted by the therapist). Her world has begun to open up, inching beyond the fear that has confined her until now, and she must decide whether she’s ready for a bravery of feeling.
In this stunning debut novel, Adelaide Faith encapsulates the great vulnerability, difficulty and joy of being alive.
Published May 13th by Tinder Press Suspense, Thriller, Saga, Literary Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘Why hadn’t she said to her daughter I love you beyond reason and none of this matters at all and every day that you breathe is a gift?’
Rafaela remembers everything that matters: her beautiful childhood in San Juan, her marriage to Peter, uprooting their children, Ruth and Benny, to the American Midwest, and losing all sense of her place in the world. So she tells no one when her memory begins to slip.
Her daughter, in New York with a family of her own, wishes she could forget her muddy feelings about where she comes from – the same feelings which motivated her 22-year-old daughter Daisy to reconnect with their past.
Daisy, who has momentarily forgotten everything, hears the word critical in a hospital room in San Juan and remembers, all at once, the car that hurtled towards her, the terrible storm, and something else. What was it?
Now Ruth and Rafaela must return to the city where it all began, to gather by Daisy’s bedside and confront the twists of fate that have caused a growing rift in their family and led them to this moment.
Published May 15th by Bantam Press Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Crime Fiction, Domestic Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: When the peace shatters in suburbia, the claws come out . . .
Coralie King, Emma Brooks and Twig Dorsett are friends. Sort of. They’re neighbours on an exclusive Sevenoaks estate who get along. It’s convenient.
But one May bank holiday, Coralie’s husband insists he saw a panther on the bonnet of his car. And cracks between the elite of the Briar Heart Estate begin to emerge.
As the summer wears on and there are more sightings, the big cat frenzy reaches a fever pitch. Tensions between neighbours threaten to boil over. Everyone is watching their back. But is the real predator a seventy-kilo cat with razor-sharp claws? Or is the actual danger of a much more domestic variety?
Published May 15th by Aria Historical Fiction, Mystery, Humorous Fiction, Literary Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Maggie Flynn isn’t your typical 1960s mum.
She’s a spy, an unsuspecting operative for MI5, stalking London’s streets in myriad disguises.
Widowed and balancing her clandestine career with raising a Beatles-mad teenage daughter, Maggie finds comfort and purpose in her profession – providing a connection to her late husband, whose own covert past only surfaced after his death.
But Maggie’s world spins out of control when a chance encounter with a mysterious Russian agent triggers a chilling revelation: he knew her husband. And what’s worse, the agent suspects someone on home soil betrayed him.
As Maggie searches for answers, she’ll question everyone – and everything – she thought she could trust. In the murky and perilous world of espionage, can she outsmart those determined to keep her silenced?
Published May 15th by John Murray Literary Fiction, Dystopian Fiction, Science-Fiction, Alternative History
BOOK DESCRIPTION: MORNING, AFTERNOON, NIGHT. THE MOTHERS ARE ALWAYS WATCHING . . .
‘This is a compelling and terrifying novel whose alternative history engages chillingly with current possibilities. No one writes children better than Chidgey. She exactly gets their experimental cruelty and related innocence as they attempt to piece their world together’ Elizabeth Cook, author of Lux
England, 1979. Vincent, Lawrence and William are the last remaining residents of a secluded New Forest home, part of the government’s Sycamore Scheme. Every day, the triplets do their chores, play their games and take their medicine, under the watchful eyes of three mothers: Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon and Mother Night.
Their nightmares are recorded in The Book of Dreams. Their lessons are taken from The Book of Knowledge. And their sins are reported in The Book of Guilt.
All the boys want is to be sent to the Big House in Margate, where they imagine a life of sun, sea and fairground rides. But, as the government looks to shut down the Sycamore Homes, the triplets begin to question everything they have been told.
Gradually surrendering its dark secrets, The Book of Guilt is a profoundly unnerving exploration of belonging in a world where some lives are valued less than others.
Published May 15th by Pan Macmillan Suspense, Science Fiction, Thriller
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A mother’s love can be deafening . . .
Isaac is Hannah’s entire world. She knows that her son is gifted, and that those gifts make him vulnerable. To keep him safe, she spends every waking moment by his side. If she lets her guard down, lets him out of her sight, lets him show what he’s capable of, he will be taken from her.
When the Soundfield arrived twenty years ago, the world changed with it. Now, people are forced to live at night due to the deadly heat of the day, food and water are scarce, and everyday life is punctuated by the constant and disconcerting hum from the Field. A brilliant scientist, Hannah spent her early career working on the enigma of the Soundfield, looking for answers; now, resigned, she has focussed all her energies on keeping Isaac living, not just alive.
To do so, she will have to lie to the people she knows and hope she can trust the ones she doesn’t. Because the only thing more dangerous than her lies, is the truth of what she has done.
Published May 15th by Merky Books Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story, LGBT Literature
BOOK DESCRIPTION: AN OBSERVER BEST NEW NOVELIST 2025
WINNER OF THE #MERKY BOOKS 2022 NEW WRITERS’ PRIZE
It’s summer and a young man walks through the gates of a luxurious mansion in the South of France. At the dinner table, the Blake siblings await him: Lily, his carefree friend from university; Dot, the rebellious younger sister; and Felix – handsome, charismatic and guarded.
Between sun-drenched days spent lounging by the pool and nights blurring into endless, opulent parties, the man is captivated by Felix’s restless allure. As his desire grows, the chance to become part of the family and their world of money and power starts to feel within reach.
But the idyllic haze of summer fades as they return to London and the cracks in the Blakes’ careful façade begin to show. With the two men tormented by demons of their own, their bond is increasingly tested and pulled apart at the seams. Their secrets and the choices they make will change not only their lives, but the future of those around them.
Sunstruck is a dazzling and poignant exploration of race, status and the parts of ourselves we risk losing when we fall in love.
Published May 22nd by Penguin UK Suspense, Thriller
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Escape to Bali in this gripping new sunlounger thriller, for fans of Lucy Clarke and Ruth Ware.
‘THE NEW QUEEN OF THE GLAMOROUS DESTINATION THRILLER’ ELLERY LLOYD
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer . . .
Nate and Layla, Jude and Sophie. They’ve been a four for as long as they can remember: fancy dinners, dancing ’til dawn . . . Even living and working together.
So when Nate and Layla suddenly quit their lives and move to Bali, with its white sands and exotic beach clubs, Jude and Sophie are their first visitors. Anything to escape their life in London.
But as the two couples reunite, cracks begin to show.
Which is hardly surprising; they’ve been lying to each other for years.
Published May 22nd by Bloomsbury Literary Fiction, Humorous Fiction, Contemporary Horror
BOOK DESCRIPTION: A food story to binge. A ghost story to devour. A love story to savour.
When dead-end dishwasher Kostya discovers the ability to summon spirits through the food he cooks, he embarks on a journey to open a New York City restaurant that serves closure – something he’s craved for as long as he can remember.
There are just three problems:
1. Kostya has some ghosts of his own.
2. His advancing menu of spirit cuisine is threatening the stability of the Afterlife itself.
3. He’s falling in love with Maura, a party psychic with her own secret connection to the Afterlife – who also happens to be the one person who knows he must be stopped.
A bittersweet cocktail of humour and heart, Aftertaste is an imaginative odyssey through food and love, life and death: the things that sustain us, connect us, transport us, and remind us who we are.
Published May 22nd by Orenda Romance, Humorous Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: The carefully ordered life of a middle-aged man falls apart when he is forced to return to his hometown to care for his elderly father, and meets a woman who has as many secrets as he does … A warmly funny, poignant, life-affirming novel about coming home and letting go.
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What if halfway through your life was just the beginning?
Robin Edmund Blake is halfway through his life.
Born in 1986, when Halley’s Comet crossed the sky, he is destined to go out with it, when it returns in 2061. Until that day, he can’t die. He has proof.
With his future mapped out in minute detail, a lucrative but increasingly dull job in the City of London, and Gemma to share his life with, Robin has a plan to be remembered forever.
But when Robin’s sick father has one accident too many, the plan starts to unravel. Robin must return home to the tiny seaside town of Eastgate, learn to care for the man who never really cared for him, and face the childhood ghosts he fled decades ago.
Desperate to get his life back on schedule, he connects with fellow outsider Astrid. Brutally direct, sharp-witted and a professor at a nearby university, she’s unlike anyone he’s ever met. But Astrid is hiding something and someone from Robin. And he’s hiding even more from her…
For fans of Hazel Prior, Rachel Joyce and Jonas Jonasson
Published May 22nd by Avon Books Thriller, Mystery, Crime Fiction, Suspense, Psychological Thriller
BOOK DESCRIPTION: The mind is a dangerous place to hide…
Dr Eleanor Spencer is a well-respected psychologist with a seemingly perfect life. But when a series of women start to vanish, it dredges up memories of her sister’s unsolved disappearance and she finds herself drawn into the investigation.
Desperate, she turns to Lucas Hayne, a convicted serial murderer who revels in mind games. But when Lucas cryptically hints the answers lie buried in her past, Ellie’s carefully constructed world begins to splinter.
Because now she faces a terrifying possibility: the real monster might just be closer than she ever imagined.
Ellie has spent her career deciphering the minds of killers―but now, one of them is inside hers.
A gripping psychological suspense about betrayal, courage, and the darkness that can hide behind a seemingly trustworthy façade. Perfect for fans of K.L. Slater and B.A. Paris.
Published May 22nd by One More Chapter Magical Realism, Fantasy Fiction, Contemporary Fantasy, Saga
BOOK DESCRIPTION: You don’t choose the book. The book chooses you…
Long ago, a bookshop was born – the beating heart of all those who find hope within the pages of a book. With the words penned upon the echo of old forests, new worlds are created.
It’s ready and waiting to welcome all those who know where to find it…
Strangers Jo, Adelaide and Kye are the least likely people to find themselves across the threshold of a bookshop.
But as their midnight book club shows them that a single book can change everything, all three realise that their own stories can be rewritten.
Published May 22nd by Orion Myths, Fairy Tales, Magical Realism, Coming-of-Age Story
BOOK DESCRIPTION: MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR JOANNE HARRIS SENSATIONALLY RETURNS TO THE WORLD OF CHOCOLAT!
Secrets. Chocolate. A touch of magic…
On a warm July evening, Sylviane Rochas scatters her mother’s ashes in New York and lets the changing wind blow her to the French seaside town of Marseille.
For the first time in her life, Vianne holds the future in her own hands. Charming her way into a job as a waitress in a local bistrot, she knows that she is not here to stay – when her child is born in a few months, she must be gone.
As she discovers the joy of cooking, making recipes her own with the addition of bittersweet chocolate spices, she realises that it possesses its own magic in this town full of secrets.
Yet Vianne will never forget her mother’s warning: that there is danger in revealing the true desires of those around her – and she must flee these cobbled streets before it’s too late…
Million-copy bestselling author Joanne Harris returns to the world of Chocolat with the long-awaited story of Vianne, which begins six years before she opens her scandalous chocolaterie in the small French village of Lansquenet.
Published May 22nd by Picodor Literary Fiction, Political Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Moving from 60s Italy to contemporary Ireland, Ripeness is a breathtaking story of love and the search for belonging from Sarah Moss, bestselling author of Summerwater.
‘The achievement of a lifetime, written by one of the best writers alive’ – Jessie Burton
On the brink of adulthood and just out of school, Edith finds herself travelling to rural Italy. She has been sent by her mother with strict instructions: to see her sister, ballet dancer Lydia, through the final weeks of her pregnancy, help at the birth and then make a phone call which will change all of their lives.
Decades later, happily divorced and newly energized, Edith is living in contentment and comfort in Ireland. When her best friend Méabh receives a call from an American man claiming to be her brother, Méabh must decide if she will meet him, and Edith finds herself plunged back into her own past and the story of the baby she once knew and loved.
Published May 22nd by Baskerville Historical Fiction, Ghost Story, Supernatural Ficiton, Horror Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: ‘A fever dream of a novel. Fuelled by sapphic femgore, it’s sick and sultry, and a deeply beguiling masterclass in the perverse; I couldn’t put it down!’ Lucy Rose, author of The Lamb
‘Devilishly addictive and delightfully gory from an exciting new voice in literary horror. Northanger Abbey meets Saltburn‘ Christine Anne Foley, author of Bodies
Scullery drudge Ann longs to become a lady’s maid. Ann can’t quite remember how or when she arrived at the grand Ropner Hall, but she loathes spending her days toiling in the dank kitchen.
When a chance meeting with Ropner’s Lady Charlotte leads to the opportunity to become her personal maid, Ann is convinced she has finally escaped her own version of hell. But has she? As Ann’s new life above stairs takes a sinister twist, will it turn out that the terrors lurking up there are worse than the devils she knows below?
Jessie Elland’s deeply visceral debut is a dark and twisted tale of ambition and desire. Are you brave enough to enter Ropner Hall?
The Mourning Necklace by Kate Foster
Published May 29th by Mantle Historical Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: Inspired by an infamous real-life case, The Mourning Necklace is the unforgettable feminist historical novel from the Women’s Prize-longlisted author of The Maiden, Kate Foster.
They said I would swing for the crime, and I did . . .
1724. In a tavern just outside Edinburgh, Maggie Dickson’s family drown their sorrows, mourning her death yet relieved she is gone. Shame haunts them. Hanged for the murder of her newborn child, passers-by avert their eyes from her cheap coffin on its rickety cart.
But as her family pray her soul rests in peace, a figure appears at the door.
It is Maggie. She is alive.
Bruised and dazed, Maggie has little time for her family’s questions.
Published May 29th by Renegade Books Mystery, Cosy Mystery, Crime Fiction, Humorous Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: They can’t even agree on what to read, so how are they going to solve a murder?
St. Tredock Book Club disagree on everything, from the books they read to the biscuits they eat. For book club organiser Nova Davies, who’s new to the Cornish seaside village, the digestive vs shortbread debate is just the start of her problems…
Under Nova’s watch, £10,000 is stolen from the much-loved community centre. When book club member Michael disappears and a dead body turns up at his house, it seems clear who the perpetrator is. But the book club has their own theories. Agatha Christie superfan Phyllis is determined to prove Michael’s been framed, while romance fanatic Arthur believes there’s a mystery woman involved, and teenage sci-fi reader Ash thinks dark forces are at play. Meanwhile, Nova’s just trying to keep them out of trouble.
Soon the book club becomes very busy indeed. Full-time book lovers, part-time sleuths, they put their differences aside to find Michael, solve the murder and recover the stolen money – all while trying to hide their own secrets…
Can they crack the case? And with a killer on the loose, what will it take until they’re safe back home, curled up with book?
An utterly unputdownable cosy crime novel and a love letter to books and the power of reading, The Busybody Book Club is perfect for fans of Richard Osman, Janice Hallett and Agatha Raisin.
Published May 29th by Orion Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Crime Ficiton, Hardboiled
BOOK DESCRIPTION: In this family, everyone is telling lies.
Pete never wanted another child. Before baby Erin was born, they were happy. If Natalie hadn’t got pregnant, he would never have done what he did.
Natalie knows things have been difficult since the surprise arrival of Erin. Life with Pete and their two other children – Emily and Zadie – has been balancing on a knife-edge.
Now their home is full of guests at a party Natalie didn’t want to throw – and she’s about to reach breaking point.
But so is her family.
Because everyone has a secret that they’ve been hiding and when Erin suddenly disappears everyone becomes a suspect.
Surely no one here would want to harm their baby? But after the events of the party there are plenty of people who would want to hurt Natalie.
Published May 29th by Viking Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Medical Fiction, Literary Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION: From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Things We Do To Our Friends, comes a timely, gripping novel about the dark underbelly of wellness culture
‘DARWENT HAS A GREAT CAREER AS A THRILLER WRITER AHEAD OF HER’ SUNDAY TIMES
We can fix you.
It’s a promise that Betsy has heard far too many times. From the child psychologist, from her husband, and from the wellness trends that scream at her from her screen.
So far, it’s been a lie.
But this time, she believes it. Because Betsy has been offered a place at Carn – a luxurious, unorthodox retreat, where healing really is possible. At Carn, she discovers that her imperfections make her unique, not weak. She isn’t broken, just special.
Published April 3rd, 2025 by Tor Fantasy Fiction, Contemporary Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Thriller, Adventure Fiction, Urban Fiction
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this spellbiding family saga. Thank you to Bookbreak and Tor for the invitation to take part and for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
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ABOUT THE BOOK:
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six, Succession meets magic in Gifted & Talented by Olivie Blake. This is the story of three siblings who, upon the death of their father, are forced to reckon with their long-festering rivalries, dangerous abilities and the crushing weight of all their unrealized adolescent potential.
Where there’s a will, there’s a war.
Thayer Wren, brilliant CEO of Wrenfare Magitech, is dead. As the ‘father of modern technology,’ he leaves an incredible legacy. But which of his three telepathically and electrokinetically gifted children could inherit the Wrenfare throne?
Meredith, head of her own profitable company, has recently cured mental illness. If only her journalist ex-boyfriend wasn’t set on exposing what she really is: a total fraud. Arthur, second-youngest congressman ever, wants to do everything right. Except his wife might be leaving, and he’s losing his re-election campaign. Heading Wrenfare could relaunch his sinking ship. Eilidh was a world-famous ballerina, until a life-altering injury. Gaining the company might finally validate her worth.
On the pipeline of gifted kid to clinically depressed adult, nobody wins. Yet as they gather to read his final words, which Wren will come out on top?
This is a compulsive contemporary fantasy of family, twisted love and dangerous secrets from a writer at the height of her powers.
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MY REVIEW:
Thayer Wren, CEO of Wrenfare Magitech, is dead and he has left behind an incredible legacy. But which of his three uniquely gifted children will inherit his throne? That’s the question at the heart of this original story of complex dysfunctional family, sibling rivalry, mysterious curses and magic.
I’ve read a few of Olivie Blake’s books now and love how each one is immediately identifiable as hers thanks to her singular writing style. You know when you pick up an Olivie Blake book that you’re getting an intriguing, original and entertaining story filled with fascinating characters, witty banter and magic. Gifted & Talented is all of that and more. The writing is poetic and enthralling but also sharp, snarky and feisty, keeping the reader entertained from beginning to end.
There is a large cast of richly drawn, quirky and morally grey characters, but the ones at the heart of it all are the three Wren siblings: Meredith, Arthur and Eildih. Each of this spoiled sibset have magical abilities that are both a blessing and a curse. Told in the first person, we spend a lot of our time in the heads of these characters, and boy are they a mess. Money sure didn’t buy happiness for the Wren family. They are a cauldron of catastrophe, depression and woe. As the siblings come all together for the first time, all of their past bitterness, rivalry and insecurities come to the surface and create a battleground. It’s intense and emotional, Blake expertly putting us in their shoes but avoiding it feeling heavy thanks to the moments of humour that pepper the narrative.
Spellbinding, twisty and totally riveting, I think this is Ms. Blake’s best book yet.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Alexene Farol Follmuth, also known under the pen name Olivie Blake, is a lover and writer of stories, many of which involve the fantastic, the paranormal, or the supernatural, but not always. More often, her works revolve around the collective experience, what it means to be human (or not), and the endlessly interesting complexities of life and love.
Alexene tripped and fell into writing after abandoning her long-premeditated track for Optimum Life Achievement while attending law school, and now focuses primarily on the craft and occasional headache of creating fiction. Under her Olivie byline, New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling The Atlas Six released 2022 from Tor Books, followed by its sequel The Atlas Paradox and the re-release of her viral literary romance Alone With You in the Ether. She has also been published as well as the writer for the graphic series Clara and the Devil and a variety of other books. As Alexene, her debut YA novel My Mechanical Romance released May 2022 from Holiday House (US) and Macmillan Children’s (UK).
Alexene lives and works in Los Angeles with her husband and goblin prince/toddler, where she is generally tolerated by her rescue pit bull.
Published February 13th, 2025 by Century Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance, Urban Fiction
Welcome to my review for this delightful romcom. Thank you to Century for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
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ABOUT THE BOOK:
A beautiful Chelsea town house. A chance to fulfil her dreams. A life adventure awaits…
‘The queen of uplifting, feel good romance.’ AJ Pearce ‘A force to be reckoned with for her uplifting tales of romance’ Daily Express ‘Top-drawer romantic escapism.’ Daily Mail ‘Warm, brilliant and full of love.’ Heat ‘Warm, wise, witty and with a wonderful retro flavour, From London With Love is a trip to the city you won’t want to miss!’ Lancashire Telegraph __________
It’s 1968 and it’s cold when Felicity arrives in London to stay with her mother, improve her English, do a secretarial course – and meet a suitable man.
She is already missing her home in Provence and her father and his new wife and their extended family. But it’s only for a year she tells herself – and then she can go back to France and do what she really wants and become a painter.
And then she bumps into Oliver who is quite the most interesting young man she has ever met. He lives on a barge for one thing and has a collection of jobs, but his passion is looking for hidden treasures along the shores of the river Thames.
In a word, he’s a mudlarker – and before long Felicity is mudlarking too. She is also pursuing her dreams and painting scenery for Oliver’s actor friends.
But is Oliver a Suitable Man of whom her mother will approve? Felicity knows she will not …
Love, tangled relationships, and a real life adventure lie at the heart of Katie Fforde’s heart-warming new novel.
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MY REVIEW:
London, 1968. Felicity has moved from Provence to London to live with her estranged mother for a year before she goes to Paris to study art. While here she plans to improve her English, take a secretarial course and meet a suitable man. She’s feeling homesick but things start to look up when she meets Violet, who has recently moved from the countryside, works in a bookshop and is living in her godmother’s flat, which happens to be in the old servants quarters of the house that Felicity’s mother rents. The pair quickly become friends and help each other as they adjust to life in the city. And when Felicity meets Oliver, a man like no-one she’s ever met before who lives on a barge, works a number of jobs and enjoys mudlarking as his hobby, Violet is there for her to talk to. But is Oliver the suitable man that Felicity is searching for?
Katie Fforde can always be relied upon to deliver a heartwarming and uplifting romance and her latest novel, From London with Love, has all of that and more. Charming, witty, romantic and nostalgic, this is a story about family, friendship and falling in love that will take you back to when you were young and finally discovering the world for yourself.
Well-written and enthralling, it is filled with compelling characters who I loved reading. Felicity and Violet were fantastic central characters and I adored their friendship. Fforde also explored the complicated relationship that can exist in our families but also the great relationships, such as the sweet relationship that Felicity shared with her stepmother which proves not all of them are wicked. The romantic interests were superb and Fforde perfectly captured the pain, uncertainty and misunderstandings that can come with the joy of falling in love, which is made all the more complicated by the class element that surrounds these characters. But my favourite character was Mrs. Wynter, who was delightful comic relief and I loved reading.
A gorgeous escapist romcom that will make you smile, add this to your TBR now.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
From Amazon: Dear readers, thank you for visiting my Amazon Page.
I live in the beautiful Cotswold countryside with my family, and I’m a country girl at heart.
I first started writing when my mother gave me a writing kit for Christmas, and once I started I just couldn’t stop. Living Dangerously was my first novel and since then, I haven’t looked back.
Ideas for books are everywhere, and I’m constantly inspired by the people and places around me. From watching TV (yes, it is research) to overhearing conversations, I love how my writing gives me the chance to taste other people’s lives and try all the jobs I’ve never had.
Each of my books explores a different profession or background and my research has helped me bring these to life. I’ve been a porter in an auction house, tried my hand at pottery, refurbished furniture, delved behind the scenes of a dating website, and I’ve even been on a Ray Mears survival course.
I love being a writer; to me there isn’t a more satisfying and pleasing thing to do. I particularly enjoy writing love stories. I believe falling in love is the best thing in the world, and I want all my characters to experience it, and my readers to share their stories.
Published April 10th, 2025 by Orenda Books Speculative Thriller, Medical Thriller, Dystopian Fiction
Today I’m finally sharing my review for this magnificent but terrifying thriller. Thank you Orenda Books for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
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ABOUT THE BOOK:
The discovery of an injection that wards off ageing is hijacked by ruthless men who hunger for immortality, with catastrophic consequences. Two women race against time to stop them, before it’s too late … a chilling, prescient, high-stakes speculative thriller by the bestselling author of One.
‘Another triumph of speculative fiction by Eve Smith … a brilliant concept, skilfully executed and disturbingly believable’ Guy Morpuss
‘Had me hooked from the opening chapter, right through to the brilliantly shocking ending … We should all be reading Eve’s cautionary tales’ Philippa East
‘Eve Smith has done it again! Thrilling, provocative and downright scary, The Cure is a powerfully clever novel, and Smith an author at the top of her game’ Russ Thomas
‘With compulsive plotting, crackling dialogue and a third-act twist that took my breath away, it cements Smith’s position as the queen of the speculative crime thriller’ David Goodman
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Living forever can be lethal…
Ruth is a law-abiding elder, working out her national service, but she has secrets.
Her tireless research into the disease that killed her young daughter had an unexpected outcome: the discovery of a vaccine against old age. Just one jab a year reverses your biological clock, guaranteeing a long, healthy life.
But Ruth’s cure was hijacked by her colleague, Erik Grundleger, who hungers for immortality, and the SuperJuve – a premium upgrade – was created, driving human lifespan to a new high. The wealthy elite who take it are dubbed Supers, and the population begins to skyrocket.
Then, a perilous side-effect of the SuperJuve emerges, with catastrophic consequences, and as the planet is threatened, the population rebels, and laws are passed to restore order: life ends at 120. Supers are tracked down by Omnicide investigators like Mara, and executed…
Mara has her own reasons for hunting Supers, and she forms an unlikely alliance with Ruth to find Grundleger.
But Grundleger has been working on something even more radical and is one step ahead, with a deadly surprise in store for them both…
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MY REVIEW:
Imagine a world where we all live a long, healthy life free from the complications of ageing. No more dementia, heart diseases, chronic pain or other ageing related conditions. Just a long life in our prime. It sounds like paradise. But would it be?
An incredible discovery means that people now live to 120 thanks to an annual anti-ageing injection. In this dystopian future, 115-year-old Ruth is an elder quietly working her mandatory national service and anticipating her transition day. But behind the unassuming facade are dark secrets she has hidden for decades. Years ago while she was trying to find a cure for the devastating illness that killed her young daughter, Ruth made a discovery that changed the world and led to the creation of ReJuve, the annual anti-ageing injection now widely used. But Ruth’s research was hijacked by her partner Erik Grundleger, a ruthless man on a quest for immortality who used it to create SuperJuve, a once in a lifetime injection for the wealthy elite, nicknamed Supers, who want to live forever. But that injection was outlawed when it was discovered that it led to psychosis.
Mara is an investigator with Omnicide, a team who track down Supers and try to contain the catastrophic consequences of the side-effects. Known as The Blade, Mara has her own reasons for hunting Supers. And when an arrest leads to discovery that Grundleger, who has long been believed dead, may be alive, Mara forms an unlikely alliance with Ruth that leads the pair on a dangerous race against the clock to try and track down the man who started it all.
Eve Smith has done it again. It’s been two weeks since I finished this book and I’m still reeling. Outstanding, original, though-provoking and terrifying, The Cure, is a riveting thriller that also serves as a cautionary tale, showing how in the wrong hands, something wonderful can be turned into a nightmare. I’ve been a huge fan of Eve’s books ever since her fantastic debut and this is her best yet. Masterfully written, meticulously researched, fast-paced, and full of surprising twists, Eve spins a chillingly believable tale that wrenched me out of my own reality and into the one she created. She also makes you think, forcing me to ponder important questions that I’d never considered before as she examines the problems of an ageing population, dwindling resources, the dilemma of lifespan versus healthspan, social healthcare and privilege.
The two women at the centre of this story are fascinating characters and I loved reading them. They are very different but also quite similar, both of them being fierce and strong in their own way. Moving between narrators and timelines, we see their heart-rending backstories unfold and I was inspired by the way they have taken their pain and turned it into what motivates them in their chosen field. I enjoyed watching them learn to work together and get to know each other and would love to see them reprise their investigative duo in another book. And we can’t talk about the characters without talking about the villain, Erik Grundleger. Brilliantly written, this odious and reprehensible man made my skin crawl and made me angry every time he was on the page.
Addictive, clever, suspenseful and unsettling, Eve had me hooked from start to finish with this magnificent thriller. It’s one not to be missed and I can’t wait for whatever she writes next.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Eve Smith writes speculative thrillers, mainly about the things that scare her. She attributes her love of all things dark and dystopian to a childhood watching Tales of the Unexpected and Edgar Allen Poe double bills.
Longlisted for the Not the Booker Prize and described by Waterstones as ‘an exciting new voice in crime fiction’, Eve’s debut novel, The Waiting Rooms, set in the aftermath of an antibiotic resistance crisis, was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize First Novel Award and was selected as a Book of the Month by Eric Brown in the Guardian, who compared her writing to Michael Crichton’s. It was followed by Off-Target, about a world where genetic engineering of children is routine, which was a Book of the Month in The Times. Her last thriller, One, set in a UK where a one-child policy is enforced, was a New Scientist pick and was longlisted for the British Science Fiction Association’s Best Novel Award.
Eve’s previous job at an environmental charity took her to research projects across Asia, Africa and the Americas, and she has an ongoing passion for wild creatures, wild science and far-flung places.
Published April 24th, 2025 by Orenda Gothic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Historical Mystery
Welcome to my stopy on the blog tour for this mesmerising gothic tale. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and to Orenda for sending me a proof copy in exchange for my honest review.
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ABOUT THE BOOK:
When the disgraced Lord Byron is associated with the deaths of women in Venice, he turns detective to unveil the killer and clear his name. A dazzling, riveting historical mystery by the author of the Sunday Times bestseller, The Fascination.
‘Brooding and brilliant’ A.J. West
‘What could so easily have been a risible premise for a novel becomes, in Fox’s expert hands, the starting point for an atmospheric thriller’ Sunday Times
‘As mesmerising and charismatic as Byron himself can ever have been … a magnificent gothic tale of scandal, secrets and murder’ Janice Hallett
‘Evokes all the grimy charisma of eighteenth-century Venice … a mystery as sinuous as the city’s alleys and canals. I was enthralled’ Elizabeth Fremantle
‘A dark treat … splendidly gothic and impressively researched’ Andrew Taylor
‘Essie Fox breathes new life into the “mad, bad and dangerous to know” Lord Byron as the notorious poet turns detective … Rich with decadent imagery and dark, gothic atmosphere, Dangerous intricately blends historical fact and fiction’ Culturefly
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Fiction can be fatal…
Living in exile in Venice, the disgraced Lord Byron revels in the freedoms of the city.
SCANDAL
But when he is associated with the deaths of local women, found with wounds to their throats, and then a novel called The Vampyre is published under his name, rumours begin to spread that Byron may be the murderer…
MURDER
As events escalate and tensions rise – and his own life is endangered, as well as those he holds most dear – Byron is forced to play detective, to discover who is really behind these heinous crimes. Meanwhile, the scandals of his own infamous past come back to haunt him…
MYSTERY
Rich in gothic atmosphere and drawing on real events and characters from Byron’s life, Dangerous is a riveting, dazzling historical thriller, as decadent, dark and seductive as the poet himself…
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MY REVIEW:
“Oh, the power found in words! How the smallest drop of ink may fall like few upon a thought, which may reach the minds of thousands.”
Lord Byron is living in exile in Venice and enjoying all the delights the city has to offer. But his Venetian refuge is threatened when he becomes embroiled in a scandal, associated with the brutal deaths of two local women who had wounds to their throats. When a novel called The Vampyre is then published under his name, rumours quickly spread that Byron is the killer. Determined to clear his name, Byron begins his own investigation which soon puts his own life at risk. Can he find and expose the killer before they get to him?
Darkly atmospheric, decadent, eerie, and alluring, Dangerous is a seductive slice of gothic Victoriana. Seamlessly weaving a rich tapestry of meticulously researched historical detail with evocative imagery and lyrical prose, Essie Fox has created a labyrinthine mystery that is drenched with horror yet so compelling that you can’t turn away. A story of dark deeds, depravity and murder, Fox explores the dark underbelly of Victorian Venice and its literary scene, exposing the horrors lurking beneath the glamorous facade.
Many of the story’s characters are real people from history, including Lord Byron himself, though Ms. Fox has fictionalised aspects of their lives and characters. Complicated, unreliable, unlikeable and libertine, but also charismatic, beguiling and magnetic, Byron is a fascinating protagonist. It’s easy to understand his charm yet also easy to believe he could be the murderer. I loved how that ambiguity ramped up the tension and kept me guessing. There is also a large cast of richly drawn background characters, many of whom are also possible suspects.
Haunting, sinister and tantalising, I highly recommend this mesmerisinggothic masterpiece.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Essie Fox was born and raised in rural Herefordshire, which inspires much of her writing.
After studying English Literature at Sheffield University, she moved to London where she worked for the Telegraph Sunday Magazine, then the book publishers George Allen & Unwin – before becoming self-employed in the world of art and design.
Always an avid reader, Essie now spends her time writing historical gothic novels. Her debut, The Somnambulist, was shortlisted for the National Book Awards, and featured on Channel 4’s TV Book Club. The Last Days of Leda Grey, set in the early years of silent film, was selected as The Times Historical Book of the Month. Her latest novel, The Fascination is based in Victorian country fairgrounds, the glamour of the London theatres, and an Oxford Street museum full of morbid curiosities.
Essie is also the creator of the popular blog: The Virtual Victorian. She has lectured on this era at the V&A, and the National Gallery in London.
Published April 10th, 2025 by Century Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Crime Ficiton, Humorous Fiction
Welcome to my review for this compelling cosy crime debut. Thank you to Century for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
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ABOUT THE BOOK:
Prepare to be hooked by this deliciously smart locked-room mystery featuring an irresistible grandmother and granddaughter sleuthing duo.
‘Miss Marple meets Only Murders in the Building. Entertaining from start to finish‘ Jennie Godfrey
‘Agatha Christie brought bang up to date‘ Clare Mackintosh
‘Wickedly sharp‘ Lucy Clarke
‘So gripping and atmospheric, I barely made it out alive‘ Steve Jones
‘Slick and witty‘ Daily Mail _____________________________________
Two unlikely detectives. A killer cocktail of suspects.
A Gibson martini garnished with three silverskin onions is 77-year-old Mimi’s favourite cocktail. It is best served with a crossword puzzle, not as an apéritif at Jane Ireland’s extravagant auction party.
But given Mimi has been blackmailed into attending Jane’s event, at a grand old mansion on Mackinac Island (Michigan’s answer to The Hamptons), there are worse drinks she could spend an evening sinking.
Thankfully for her, she’s roped her granddaughter, Addie – who is escaping the heartache caused by her manipulative ex-fiancé – into accompanying her. While Addie spots celebrities and socialites in the manor’s labyrinth of dark rooms and Mimi wonders how to confess the real reason for her presence at the soiree, a scream pierces the air.
Jane is dead.
And when a second body turns up, Mimi and Addie soon become the unlikeliest of sleuths in a race to narrow down the suspects.
In a house that contains as many secrets as the people within it, it’s going to take more than a Gibson to survive the night…
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MY REVIEW:
Witty, whip-smart, glamorous and claustrophobic, This Is Not A Game is a dazzling locked-room whodunit. The story is set in a luxury mansion on Michigan’s Mackinac Island, where 77-year-old Mim has been blackmailed into attending a charity auction. She has taken her granddaughter Addie – who is trying to escape her own heartache – along for moral support. But everyone gets more than they bargained for when the host, Jane, is murdered. And Mim is the prime suspect. Then, as another person turns up dead, the mansion’s drawbridge door is stuck raised, and a storm prevents help from reaching them, Mim and Addie decide to try and find the killer. But as they search the house’s labyrinthine halls, all they seem to find is secrets. Can they unravel the clues and find the killer and clear Mim’s name?
This was a treat from beginning to end. Skillfully written, cunningly crafted, and steeped in the trademark twists and turns we expect from the genre, Kelly Mullen has created a sensational debut that feels both nostalgic and totally modern. Atmospheric and wonderfully descriptive, the story came alive around me and I felt totally immersed in its pages. It feels ideal for the big screen and that finale was one that Ms. Christie herself would have been proud of.
In protagonists Mim and Addie, Mullen introduces us to a brilliant new crime-fighting duo that I absolutely adored. Mim is a sassy and sarcastic septuagenarian who loves a Gibson martini and crossword puzzle, while Addie is a feisty and savvy game creator who draws on her game plotting know-how to help her solve the murders. The background characters are the perfect mix of likeable and loathsome, helping to create a number of plausible suspects. As in any good locked-room mystery, the house is like a character in its own right, and this one is an eerie, claustrophobic and oppressive place with a maze of rooms.
Suspenseful, slick, classy and funny, this compelling cosy crime is not to be missed. I’m hoping that this isn’t the last we’ve seen of these delightful amateur sleuths as I need more from this entertaining duo.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kelly Mullen has worked as a producer in Hollywood and as a marketing executive in New York and London. During the pandemic she took online writing courses through Curtis Brown Creative and The Novelry, which reignited her childhood passion for writing. Her debut novel, This Is Not A Game, publishes in April 2025.
As an executive producer, her credits include Academy Award-nominated Trumbo starring Bryan Cranston and Helen Mirren, and AppleTV+’s Dads produced with Ron Howard. Her creative work for brands has won over 50 awards, including Cannes Lions and Clios.
Born and raised in Iowa, Kelly is now a dual citizen of the UK and US. She lives in London with her husband and their rescue cats.
Published February 13th, 2025 by Aria Historical Fiction
Welcome to my review for this heart-wrenching and moving story. Thanks to Aria for sending me a copy in exchange for my honest review.
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ABOUT THE BOOK:
‘A sumptuous and gripping read… [Nicola] writes with humour, heart and humanity’ – Kate Thompson
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A heart-wrenching and unforgettable story of courage, friendship and resistance, inspired by the incredible true story of a Jewish ballroom dancer in Paris during WWII, perfect for fans of The Paris Library.
Paris, 1938. Annie Mayer arrives in France with dreams of becoming a ballerina. But when the war reaches Paris, she’s forced to keep her Jewish heritage a secret. Then a fellow dancer offers her a lifeline: a ballroom partnership that gives her a new identity. Together, Annie and her partner captivate audiences across occupied Europe, using her newfound fame and alias to aid the Resistance.
New York, 2012. Miriam, haunted by her past, travels from London to New York to settle her great-aunt Esther’s estate. Among Esther’s belongings, she discovers notebooks detailing a secret family history and the story of a brave dancer who risked everything to help Jewish families during the war.
As Miriam uncovers Esther’s life in Europe, she realises the story has been left for her to finish. Grappling with loss and the possibility of new love, Miriam must find the strength to reconcile her past and embrace her future.
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MY REVIEW:
Historical Fiction is my favourite genre, and I have always been drawn to stories about World War II, so when the SquadPod were offered the chance to read The Paris Dancer I didn’t hesitate to sign up. The story follows Mim, who has flown to New York to sort through her late Aunt Esther’s belongings, including notebooks that tell the long-hidden story of what happened to their family during World War II and of Annie, a brave Jewish dancer who risked everything to help other Jews during the war. Moving between timelines, we follow their stories as Esther navigates the brutality while Mim tries to come to terms with not only the heartbreaking revelations in the diaries, but also her own trauma. And when a Swing Dancer named Lucky offers her the chance at a new beginning, Mim must decide if she’s brave enough to take it.
Beautiful, moving, heart-wrenching and hopeful, Nicola Rayner brought history to life with her skillful storytelling, meticulous research and evocative imagery. A story of love, loss, courage and resistance, Rayner also explored the importance of family and friendship, especially when we are at our lowest ebb. Trauma and grief are themes throughout the story, with Rayner examining how they can affect us differently and how trauma can sometimes impact those around us for generations.
The characters were fascinating, likeable and easy to root for. Esther and Mim were great narrators who pulled you into their stories, making you invested in their lives and what happened to them. I loved the friendship between Esther and Annie and her sweet relationship with her youngest sister. In Mim’s timeline, my heart broke for her over the loss of her best friend and found her fear of what she’d possibly found with Lucky very relatable. I was rooting for her to heal and to take a chance at happiness. One of my favourite characters was Bibi, Esther’s neighbour, who was so wise and entertaining. I loved her story arc, which showed that the small background characters can often be some of the most interesting ones you will read.
Powerful, tender and immersive, I highly recommend this book.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮✰
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nicola Rayner is the author of The Girl Before You, which was described as “the new Girl on the Train” by the Observer, picked by the same newspaper as a debut to look out for in 2019 and translated into multiple languages. Her second novel, You and Me, another psychological thriller, was published by Avon, HarperCollins in October 2020. A work of historical fiction, The Paris Dancer, will be published by Aria, Head of Zeus in February 2025. In her day job as a journalist, Nicola writes about dance and travel and her articles have appeared in a number of publications including the Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, The Stage, Dancing Times and easyJet Traveller.
Nicola is active on social media, where you can find her pondering important issues such as Strictly Come Dancing, musical theatre and her new favourite books. She promises she won’t talk about herself in the third person there.
Published April 10th, 2025 by Simon & Schuster UK Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Pscyhological Thriller
Welcome to my review for this riveting locked-room mystery. Thank you to Black Crow PR and Simon and Schuster UK for sending me a proof copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
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ABOUT THE BOOK:
And Then There Were None meets The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.
Ten strangers. An old dark house. A killer picking them off one by one. And a missing girl who’s running out of time. . .
Ten strangers wake up inside an old, locked house. They have no recollection of how they got there. In order to escape, they have to solve the disappearance of a young woman. But a killer also stalks the halls of the house, and soon the body count starts to rise. Who are these strangers? Why were they chosen? Why would someone want to kill them? And who – or what – is the Beast in the Cellar?
Forget what you think you know.
Because while you can trust yourself, can you really trust THE OTHER PEOPLE?
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MY REVIEW:
Ten strangers wake up locked inside an old house with no recollection of how they got there. To escape, they must solve the disappearance of a young woman in the next 12 hours. And that’s not all. Someone wants them dead and soon they are picking them off one by one…
Dark, mysterious, funny and heart-poundingly tense, The Other People is a captivating locked-room murder mystery filled with comedy. C. B. Everett showcases himself as an author to watch with this sensational debut. It jumps straight into the action and then barely pauses to catch a breath, keeping me guessing as I read on tenterhooks. Masterfully written, fast-paced, cleverly plotted, complex and intricately interwoven, Everett had me in his thrall from the first page, totally pulling me in and making me fall for his red herrings. I loved how it addresses the reader throughout, making me feel part of the story and pulling me in so deep that I felt as trapped as one of the characters and unable to leave until all my questions had been answered.
The story is narrated by a large cast of compelling, flawed and unreliable characters, giving the reader a glimpse inside their minds but leaving us unsure who or what we can trust. While all of them are well written, I have to say that, for me, it was the Beast in the Cellar who stole the show. Witty, sarcastic and candid, this cryptic character talks to the reader, taking us through the mystery, mocking familiar thriller tropes, philosophising, and warning us to be careful who and what we trust. I lived for their scenes and often found myself laughing out loud during them.
Another thing I loved about this book is how unashamedly it is itself. It is proud of being a murder mystery and Everett reveled in using the familiar murder mystery tropes. I also liked how he explored some of the deeper questions surrounding the genre, such as whether or not we mourn unlikeable victims, and how we want more than ‘just a killer’, preferring someone with motives and inner turmoil to someone who simply wants to kill.
Darkly funny, claustrophobic and suspenseful, this is a first-class thriller that is not to be missed.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
C.B. Everett is the pen name for author Martyn Waites. He trained at the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama and worked as an actor for many years before becoming a writer. His novels include the critically acclaimed Joe Donovan series, The Old Religion, and The White Room. In 2013, he was chosen to write Angel of Death, the official sequel to Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black, and in 2014 won the Grand Prix Roman Etranger for Born Under Punches. He has been nominated for every major British and French crime fiction award and has also enjoyed international commercial success with eight novels written under the name Tania Carver.
Published August 3rd, 2023 by Manilla Press Historical Ficiton, Romance Novel, Retelling
Welcome to my review for this dark and irresistable retelling. Thank you to Manilla Press for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
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ABOUT THE BOOK:
One of the most anticipated novels of the year – the captivating and powerful untelling of Romeo & Juliet . . .
The first time Romeo Montague sees young Rosaline Capulet he falls instantly in love. Rosaline, headstrong and independent, is unsure of Romeo’s attentions but with her father determined that she join a convent, this handsome and charming stranger offers her the chance of a different life.
Soon though, Rosaline begins to doubt all that Romeo has told her. She breaks off the match, only for Romeo’s gaze to turn towards her cousin, thirteen-year-old Juliet. Gradually Rosaline realises that it is not only Juliet’s reputation at stake, but her life.
With only hours remaining before she will be banished behind the nunnery walls, will Rosaline save Juliet from her Romeo? Or can this story only ever end one way?
A subversive, powerful untelling of Shakespeare’s best-known tale, narrated by a fierce, forgotten voice: this is Rosaline’s story.
Hamnet meets My Dark Vanessa in this fierce, feminist, intensely gripping novel; captivating and chillingly relevant, FAIR ROSALINE takes everything you thought you knew about Romeo and Juliet and turns it on its head . . .
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MY REVIEW:
We all know the story of Romeo and Juliet. Or, at least we think we do.
Spellbinding, poignant, dark and irresistible, Fair Rosaline is a feminist ‘untelling’ of the famous love story. And once you’ve read it you will never look at the much-loved classic the same way again. Told from the perspective of Rosaline, Juliet’s cousin and the girl who Romeo romanced before her, this version is a story of love, sex and coercion.
Beautifully written, Natasha Solomon’s poetic prose is filled with emotion whilst also setting the scene vividly. The streets of Italy come alive, the characters leap from the pages and you can feel the heartache of forbidden love on every page. Rosaline isn’t a character I’d given a lot of thought to before this book, but I loved hearing what Solomons imagined to be her story and connected with her quickly. Meanwhile, we meet a very different Romeo in this book to the one we’ve seen before. This Romeo is not a hero, but a predator, who love-bombs, gaslights and controls, while Rosaline and Juliet are his naive prey. It’s powerful and thought-provoking, making me question everything I thought I knew about a story I’d long loved.
Fierce, bold, complex and compelling, this powerful retelling is a must-read.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰
*I listened to this on Bookbeat. Click here to listen for 60 days free using my affiliate link*
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
From Natasha’s Amazon Author Page: I’ve always worked as a writer more or less. After University I completed an MPhil in Eighteenth century literature at the University of Glasgow and then began a doctorate researching Women’s Romantic Poetry and the Domestic Muse.
Unfortunately, I became un-stuck on a chapter on Verse Letters and so began writing my first novel as way of avoiding correcting the footnotes. My entire career to date has been an extremely elaborate form of avoiding that tricky chapter…
I still love research and writing immersive fiction and hate footnotes. I live in Dorset, in a thatched cottage with my husband — the award winning children’s writer David Solomons – and our children and Labrador, Mr Bingley. Sometimes David and I write screenplays together. Then we argue about them.
Emma's Biblio Treasures 