Tag: Literary Fiction

Categories
book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures Squadpod Squadpod Featured Books

SQUADPOD FEATURED BOOKS: The Unfinished Life of Eadie Browne by Freya North

Published September 12th, 2024 by Mountain Leopard Press
Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story

Welcome to my review for this magnificent and unforgettable story, which was one of our recent SquadPod Featured Books. Thanks to Mountain Leopard Press for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

********

ABOUT THE BOOK:

‘You really must read this book. A rare and phenomenal life affirming read’ DINAH JEFFERIES

‘Get ready to fall in love with Eadie Browne, the eponymous and eccentric heroine of this tender-hearted, steeped-in-nostalgia story about chosen family’ RED

When your present meets your past, what do you take with you – and what do you leave behind?

Eadie Browne is a quirky kid living in a small town where nothing much happens. Bullied at school, she muddles her way through the teenage years with best friends Celeste and Josh until University takes them their separate ways.

Arriving in Manchester as a student in the late 1980s, Eadie experiences a novel freedom and it’s intoxicating. As the city embraces the dizzying euphoria of Rave counterculture, Eadie is swept along, ignoring danger and reality. Until, one night, her past comes hurtling at her with consequences she could never have imagined.

Now, as the new millennium approaches, Eadie is thirty with a marriage in tatters, travelling back to the town of her birth for a funeral she can’t quite comprehend. As she journeys from the North to the South, from the present to the past, Eadie contemplates all that was then and all that is now – and the loose ends that must be tied before her future can unfold.

‘A delightful dose of nostalgia’ HEAT

‘A beautifully written tale about growing up, letting go and moving on’ SUN

‘A gorgeous, heartfelt, atmospheric novel by a wonderful storyteller’ LUCY ATKINS

‘A beautifully moving portrait of youth, friendship and love . . . I loved it’ MIKE GAYLE

‘Beautifully written, funny and wise . . . heart-breaking and heart-warming’ ALEXANDRA POTTER

********

MY REVIEW:

Heartfelt, enthralling and unforgettable, The Unfinished Business of Eadie Browne is a gorgeous slice-of-life story that packs a strong emotional punch. Brimming with kindness, joy, friendship and self-discovery, it explores the defining moments in one young girl’s life and how they echo in her adult years, as well as the many ways we leave indelible imprints on each other’s lives. 

Some books arrive in your life at exactly the right time and change you forever. That is what this book did for me. Freya North had me in the palm of her hand from start to finish, immediately enthralling me with her beautiful, descriptive prose of this exquisitely written and insightful story. It resonated with me on a visceral level and in a way few books have done before. I make notes in my phone as I read to help me write my reviews and I found myself so lost in this story that I barely made any. I couldn’t put it down and devoured it in two sittings, staying up until the early hours until I’d finished and left me with one hell of a book hangover. 

I fell totally in love with the eponymous Eadie Browne, a quirky and eccentric child who seemed quite sad when we first met her. Eadie lives in a small town and spends her time with her only friends, who just happen to be the residents of the cemetery neighbouring her home. She’s teased mercilessly for this and other things at school and it was impossible not to feel for her. But Eadie also radiates an undeniable charm that makes you like her from the start. I felt like I really connected with young Eadie and I loved that the author has filled this book with not only a heroine who is recognisable, relatable and real, but a whole varied cast of characters who are too. I loved Eadie’s friendships with her best friends, Josh and Celeste. I loved watching them grow together, help each other, and how they were inseparable during their tumultuous teenage years. Other friendships I really enjoyed were Eadie’s friendships with the people who worked in the cemetery. These men were a real source of wisdom and comfort to her when she really needed them and I’m a sucker for a multi-generational friendship. 

The story takes a shift in tone when Eadie moves to Manchester for university. This part felt very emotional to me as my eldest and his girlfriend made the same move to the same city 14 months ago. When Eadie moves to Manchester it is overwhelming and she is back to being all alone and needing to make new connections, but she does settle and make new friends. And with those friends comes her introduction to the Rave scene that was sweeping the city in the late 1980s and they spend their nights dancing in an Ecstasy-induced haze. It is a time of euphoria, brightness and discovery. While it feels innocent to them, we know the danger they are in. A danger that Eadie becomes aware of when her past and present collide in a terrifying way one night, leading to a new exploration of trauma and PTSD, subjects that the author handles with both honesty and sensitivity. She brings that same talent to her writing in the ‘present’ part of the story, which takes place in 1999. Eadie is now thirty and married. But her marriage is strained and as she and her husband  make a pilgrimage back to her home town for a funeral. As she travels home, Eadie reflects on the past, how the events in her life have impacted her over the years and in the present, and asks herself if her marriage can be saved. 

Consuming, funny, heartwarming, moving and uplifting, this magnificent story is one that I will never forget. One of my favourite books this year, I can’t recommend it highly enough. 

 Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

********

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I am the author of 16 bestselling novels including my debut Sally (1996), Pillow Talk (2008 – winner of the RNA award) The Turning Point (2016), Richard & Judy Bookclub selection Little Wing (2022) and my newest, The Unfinished Business of Eadie Browne (2024) – my love letter to youth, to friendship, to growing up in the 1980s… and to Manchester!

A sense of place is central to my writing and previous novels have featured Derbyshire, Teesside, North Norfolk, the Scottish Highlands and Islands, Vermont, France and British Columbia. A passionate reader, I founded and ran the Hertford Children’s Book Festival, have judged the Costa Book Awards and am a patron of the Society of Women Writers & Journalists. I’m proud to be an Ambassador for Bowel Cancer UK and patron of Pointers In Need. I have degrees in Art History from the University of Manchester and the Courtauld Institute, London and love teaching at writing workshops. Currently, I’m trying to work out which novel to write next… as there are quite a few vying for my attention!

I love books. Books have defined and shaped all the key stages of my life. A A Milne taught me about rhyme – and reason; Barbara Sleigh fired my imagination and my playtimes with the Carbonel stories. Black Beauty was the first book that made me cry, while Ruby Ferguson’s Jill books transported the pony-mad girl in me away from the city.

In my teenage years, I found solace in Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and Judy Blume’s novels, while To Kill A Mockingbird and Flowers for Algernon opened my eyes to justice, humanity and judging people. At University, I turned to Jilly Cooper for respite during exams and books by Jane Gardam and Barbara Trapido introduced me to characters whose shoes I wanted to step in to. I now host a series on Instagram called Wednesday Writers – a half-hour slot at lunchtime where I chat candidly with another author about how we write, why we write, where we write…and how we cope when we fear we can’t bloody write!

I grew up surrounded by books and loved weekly visits to the library to choose something new – or an outing to the bookshop to spend a book voucher! Whether my childhood home or student digs in Manchester or various flat-shares and then my own home, books have always filled my space. I don’t own an ebook reader – I’m happy to continue to decorate my home with my book collection. Every book I own is a treasured possession of mine, an essential part of my history. Every book I own, quite literally, tells a story.

Since 2009 I have lived on a small farm in East Hertfordshire with my family – my offspring Felix and Georgia, my dogs Milo and Bee, my horses Nathan and Jack and my sheeps Brontë, Emily, Eliza and Lovely. In my spare time, I enjoy ceramics classes (I’ve been going for years and basically make the same bowl over and over again, plus little porcelain sheep) or invariably I can be found in one saddle or other. I’ve ridden horses since I was little but I took up road biking after my back surgery in 2017 – and have become somewhat obsessed…

********

BUY THE BOOK:

Bookshop.org* | Waterstones* | Amazon*
*These are affiliate links

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxx

Categories
Audio Books book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures Most Anticipated 2024

BOOK REVIEW: The Mystery Guest (Molly the Maid, 2) by Nita Prose

Published January 18th, 2024 by Harper Fiction
Mystery, Thriller, Literary Fiction, Women Sleuths

Welcome to my review for this gorgeous cosy mystery. Thank you to Harper Fiction for sending me a proof copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

********

ABOUT THE BOOK:

*The sparkling new novel from the million-copy bestselling author of THE MAID*

‘Utterly delightful’ DAILY MAIL

‘Captivates from page one’ JANICE HALLETT

_________________________________________________________________

DO NOT DISTURB. WHODUNNIT IN PROGRESS …

Molly Gray wears her Head Maid badge proudly for every shift at the Regency Grand Hotel: plumping pillows, sweeping up secrets, silently restoring rooms to a state of perfection. But the hotel’s reputation is sullied when a guest – a famous mystery writer – drops very dead on the tearoom floor.

As suspicion swirls in the hotel corridors, it’s clear there’s grime lurking beneath the gilt. And Molly knows that she alone holds the key to the mystery. But unlocking it means thinking about the past, about a dusty old house, and everything else she’s tidied away in her memory.

Because Molly knew the dead guest once upon a time – and she knows his secrets too …

********

MY REVIEW:

“Every fairytale teaches a lesson. The monster is always real. Just not the way you thought. No secret stays buried forever.”

When renowned author J. D. Grimthorpe drops dead during an event at the Regency Grand Hotel; our favourite cleaning lady-turned amateur sleuth, Molly Gray, is drawn into another investigation. Suspicion fills the hotel’s halls and the list of suspects seems to grow daily: could it be Lily, the new Maid-in-Training or Serena, Mr. Grimthorpe’s Secretary? Maybe it could even be one of his devoted fans. But this victim is no stranger to Molly and she quickly realises that long-buried memories from her past and a secret the author has long kept hidden could hold the answers to his death. 


Molly the Maid is back! The Maid was one of my favourite books of 2022 so I was excited to step back into the Regency Grand Hotel For another mystery. Nita Prose has once again written a captivating mystery that also feels like a warm hug. I devoured this book, enjoying every moment of being back with Molly and the other characters. 

This book has solidified Molly’s place as one of my favourite amateur sleuths. She is such a warm, endearing and quirky character who I think it would be impossible not to love. Since the last book Molly has been promoted to Head Maid and it is clear she relishes her new role. I loved seeing how she has grown since the first book and delving into her past to solve this mystery. The flashback scenes were some of my favourite and I loved getting to know her late Grandmother better and seeing their dynamic. It helped me understand Molly even more and you can see the seeds for who she is in the present being sown in her past. Also back are other favourite characters such as Anglea, the feisty barmaid and Molly’s best friend, Preston, the loveable Doorman, Hotel Manager Mr Snow, and Molly’s old foe, Detective Stark. I loved being back with these characters, feeling like I was back amongst old friends. 

Cosy, comforting and compelling, this is the perfect book for anyone wanting their mystery with a side of uplit. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

*I listened to this on Bookbeat. Click here to listen with 60 days free.*

********

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nita Prose is the author of The Mystery Guest and The Maid, which has sold over 2 million copies worldwide and was published in more than forty countries. A #1 New York Times bestseller and a Good Morning America Book Club pick, The Maid won the Ned Kelly Award for In­ternational Crime Fiction, the Fingerprint Award for Debut Novel of the Year, the Anthony Award for Best First Novel, and the Barry Award for Best First Mys­tery, and was an Edgar Award finalist for Best Novel. 

********

BUY THE BOOK:

Bookshop* | Waterstones* | Amazon*
*These are affiliate links

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

Categories
Blog Tours book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures

BLOG TOUR: The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins

Published October 10th, 2024 by Doubleday UK
Crime Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this atmospheric and suspenseful thriller. Thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and to Doubleday UK for the gifted proof in exchange for my honest review.

********

ABOUT THE BOOK:

AS FEATURED ON BBC RADIO 4 FRONT ROW

‘Utterly compelling. Could not put it down.’ LIZ NUGENT

‘Really, really, REALLY good. Highly recommended!’ MARIAN KEYES

‘I LOVED this art-world-set thriller with its stately-home Saltburn vibe.’ DAILY MAIL

THE CHILLING AND ADDICTIVE NEW THRILLER FROM THE MULTI-MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR.

**************
WELCOME TO ERIS – A SCOTTISH TIDAL ISLAND WITH ONLY ONE HOUSE, ONE INHABITANT,
ONE WAY OUT. . .

A place that is unreachable from the Scottish mainland for twelve hours each day. Once the hideaway of Vanessa, a famous artist whose notoriously unfaithful husband disappeared twenty years ago.

Now home to Grace. A solitary creature of the tides, content in her own isolation.

But when a shocking discovery is made in an art gallery far away in London, Grace receives an unexpected visitor.

And the secrets of Eris threaten to emerge . . .

‘A gripping, ambitious, big-skied novel about women who refuse to surrender to the tide.’ ERIN KELLY

‘Extremely hard to put down.’ MICK HERRON

‘A masterpiece! Gorgeous and chilling.’ SHARI LAPENA

********

MY REVIEW:

Eris Island is a secluded island off the coast of Scotland that has just one house, one inhabitant, and is cut off from the mainland for twelve hours each day. This made it the ideal sanctuary for Vanessa Chapman, an eccentric and reclusive artist, who lived and created much of her work there until her death five years ago. Upon her death Vanessa bequeathed her home to her companion, Grace, but her work to gallery owner, Doug Lennox. But there are works rumoured to be missing, and when a human bone is discovered in one of her sculptures, Janes Becker is sent to Eris Island by the Lennox family to investigate. Will he finally reveal the secrets Eris has kept hidden for decades…

It’s been a while since I’ve read anything by Paula Hawkins, but I loved The Girl on the Train and knew I needed to read this one as soon as I read the synopsis. It started strong: the beautiful and compelling prologue pulling me in and telling me that this was going to live up to the hype. And it did. Atmospheric, claustrophobic, tense and alluring, The Blue Hour is a story about dark secrets, fractured people, male violence, and women who refuse to conform. Skillfully written, tightly plotted and twisty, there’s a dark, haunting and mysterious atmosphere that permeates the pages from start to finish. It’s a darkness that feels seductive, luring you to Eris Island and its long-held secrets and holding you in its thrall. The island’s harsh, unforgiving and isolated landscape only heightened these feelings. Eris seems like the perfect place when you want peace or solitude, but it’s frightening when things go wrong. And while I had my theories about what had gone wrong, I didn’t predict even a slither of the many twists and turns. Hawkins steadily builds the tension to its heart-pounding crescendo, leaving me breathless when all was finally unveiled.

The story is told by dual narrators: Vanessa’s companion, Grace, and James, who works for the Lennox family. While James seems reliable, steadfast and someone who is what he appears – a fanboy of Vanessa’s who now works for the family who sold her artwork – Grace is more of an enigma. We know Grace is keeping secrets and are never sure if we can trust her. Is she just protective of her dear friend and her legacy or is there something darker to what she’s hiding? This mystery added to the tension and kept me on tenterhooks. Meanwhile, Vanessa may have passed five years before, but she is kept very much alive by the inclusion of extracts from her diary before each chapter. These were often my favourite parts; the author dropping breadcrumbs of clues for us to piece together as we try to unravel the mystery of what really happened on Eris Island.

Eerie, suspenseful and totally riveting, The Blue Hour is a thriller not to be missed.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

********

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

PAULA HAWKINS worked as a journalist for fifteen years before writing her first novel. Born and brought up in Zimbabwe, she moved to London in 1989. Her first thriller The Girl on the Train became a global phenomenon, selling over 23 million copies. Published in over fifty languages, it was a No.1 bestseller around the world and a box-office-hit film starring Emily Blunt. Paula’s most recent thrillers, Into the Water and A Slow Fire Burning, were also instant No.1 bestsellers. In 2021 A Slow Fire Burning was nominated for Thriller of the Year at the British Book Awards. Her upcoming thriller, The Blue Hour, will be published around the world in October 2024.

********

BUY THE BOOK:

Bookshop.org* | Waterstones* | Amazon*
*These are affiliate links

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliopihles xxxxx

Please check out the reviews from the other bloggers taking part in the blog tour.

Categories
book reviews

HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK CLUB: Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

Published August 30th, 2001 by Viking
Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Historical Romance

********

ABOUT THE BOOK:

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of ‘March’ and ‘People of the Book’.

A young woman’s struggle to save her family and her soul during the extraordinary year of 1666, when plague suddenly struck a small Derbyshire village.

In 1666, plague swept through London, driving the King and his court to Oxford, and Samuel Pepys to Greenwich, in an attempt to escape contagion. The north of England remained untouched until, in a small community of leadminers and hill farmers, a bolt of cloth arrived from the capital. The tailor who cut the cloth had no way of knowing that the damp fabric carried with it bubonic infection.

So begins the Year of Wonders, in which a Pennine village of 350 souls confronts a scourge beyond remedy or understanding. Desperate, the villagers turn to sorcery, herb lore, and murderous witch-hunting. Then, led by a young and charismatic preacher, they elect to isolate themselves in a fatal quarantine. The story is told through the eyes of Anna Frith who, at only 18, must contend with the death of her family, the disintegration of her society, and the lure of a dangerous and illicit attraction.

Geraldine Brooks’s novel explores love and learning, fear and fanaticism, and the struggle of 17th century science and religion to deal with a seemingly diabolical pestilence. ‘Year of Wonders’ is also an eloquent memorial to the real-life Derbyshire villagers who chose to suffer alone during England’s last great plague.

********

MY REVIEW:

“This plague will make heroes of us all, whether we will or no.”

I first read Year of Wonders about twenty years ago and it has stayed with me. It instantly became one of my all-time favourite books and I have recommended it to other readers many times over the years. So when the Historical Fiction Book Club picked it as their July read, I was excited to revisit this story. But would I love it as much this time around?

Spring, 1966. A bolt of infected fabric carries the plague from London to the quiet Derbyshire village of Eyam. As the plague starts to spread among them, the villagers isolate themselves to avoid spreading the infection further. A fateful decision that will see most of their small village wiped out by the disease. Year of Wonders tells the story of that fateful quarantine through the eyes of Anna, a young widowed mother, as she tries to save herself and her family. But, as the sickness skulks from household to household and the death tally rises and her community crumbles around her, Anna must confront loss, suspicion, and the temptation of an illicit attraction. 

“The plague had come upon us like a thief in the night, stealing our breath, our strength, our loves and lives.”

I’ve been fascinated with the history of Eyam ever since studying it and taking a trip there in primary school. I was fascinated by the idea that these people willingly quarantined themselves knowing it was a death sentence in order to save others. Living close to Eyam helped it feel more personal, too. So as soon as I saw the synopsis for this book I knew I had to read it. And going into this second time around it held the heavy expectations of being one of my favourite books. Did it live up to them? It certainly did! Atmospheric, haunting and alluring, it was every bit as mesmerising the second time around and I was lost for words when it was over.

“I fear the line between myself and madness is as fine these days as a cobweb, and I have seen what it means when a soul crosses over into that dim and wretched place.”

A few years ago, a Collins Modern Classic version of the book was released, and it certainly deserves that status. Exquisitely written, meticulously researched, and evocatively told, Geraldine Brooks transported me back to 17th Century Derbyshire threading gossamer layers of storylines together with a chorus of detailed characters to immerse me in the lives of these villagers. Their fierce resolve is palpable and I am in awe at their bravery and sacrifice. There is something so potent and intimately tragic about the characters going about their everyday lives or worrying about whether a love affair is appropriate juxtaposed with the extraordinary circumstances of a village quickly being wiped out by a deadly plague. A sense of creeping dread and unfolding horror that lingers on these pages and it’s a powerful and emotional read, filled with awful anticipation as we know their terrible fate but desperately hope that a different ending might await them. 

Harrowing, dark, disquieting, affecting and deeply human, Year of Wonders is an absolute masterpiece. Add this to your TBR now. And if you’ve already read it, then read it again because it is every bit as enthralling when re-read. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

********

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Australian-born Geraldine Brooks is an author and journalist who grew up in the Western suburbs of Sydney, attending Bethlehem College Ashfield and the University of Sydney. She worked as a reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald for three years as a feature writer with a special interest in environmental issues.

In 1982 she won the Greg Shackleton Australian News Correspondents scholarship to the journalism master’s program at Columbia University in New York City. Later she worked forThe Wall Street Journal, where she covered crises in the the Middle East, Africa, and the Balkans. In 1990, with her husband Tony Horwitz, she won the Overseas Press Club Award for best coverage of the Gulf War. The following year they received a citation for excellence for their series, “War and Peace.”  In 2006 she was a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies at Harvard University. She returned to Harvard as a Visiting Lecturer in 2021.

She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in fiction in 2006 for her novel March. Her novels People of the Book, Caleb’s Crossing and The Secret Chord all were New York Times Bestsellers. Her first novel, Year of Wonders is an an international bestseller, translated into more than 25 languages and currently optioned for a limited series by Olivia Coleman’s production company. She is also the author of the nonfiction works Nine Parts of Desire, Foreign Correspondence and The Idea of Home.

Brooks married fellow journalist and author Tony Horwitz in Tourette-sur-Loup France in 1984 and were together until his sudden death in 2019.  They have two sons, Nathaniel and Bizu, She now lives with a dog named Bear and a mare named Valentine by an old mill pond on Martha’s Vineyard and spends as much time as she can in Australia.  In 2016, she was named an Officer in the Order of Australia.

********

BUY THE BOOK:

Bookshop.org* | Waterstones* | Amazon*
*These are affiliate links

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

Categories
Blog Tours book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures

BLOG TOUR: Eddie Winston is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin

Published August 15th, 2024 by Doubleday
Romance Novel, Literary Ficiton, Humorous Ficiton

Today is my stop on the blog tour for this heartwarming and unforgettable novel. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and to Doubleday for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

********

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Funny, feelgood, heartlifting story about the power of intergenerational friendship and finding love in unexpected places – perfect for fans of The One Hundred Year-Old Man Who Climbed Through the Windowand The Rosie Project

‘Marianne Cronin creates such complete and lovable characters. Brimming over with kindness and hope. Sublimely enjoyable’ Hazel Prior, author of Away with the Penguins

‘Lives up to the brilliance of The One Hundred Years of Lenni & Margot and, dare I say it… surpasses it. Funny, captivating, faultless‘ Julietta Henderson
______________

Eddie Winston is ninety years old. He has lived and he has loved, but he has never been kissed.

A true gentleman and incurable romantic, Eddie spends his days volunteering at a charity shop, where he sorts through the donations of the living and the dead, preserving letters and tokens of love along the way. It is here that he meets Bella, a troubled young woman who, aged twenty-four, has just lost the love of her life.

When Bella learns that Eddie is yet to have his first kiss, she resolves to help him finally find love, sparking an adventure that will take them to unexpected places and, they hope, bring Eddie to the moment he has waited for all his life.

As Bella helps Eddie and Eddie helps, well, everyone, a soul-stirring story of friendship and kindness unfolds as we see how those we love are never forgotten and it is never too late to try again.

********

MY REVIEW:

“Love is really just two people who can’t keep away from each other.”

Heartwarming, poignant, vibrant and uplifting, Eddie Winston is Looking For Love is sunshine in book form. It follows the eponymous Eddie Winston, a nonagenarian who spends his days volunteering at a charity shop where he sorts through donations. Sometimes Eddie will find an item that is valuable only to the heart, so he puts it  aside and preserves it in his collection of treasures, just in case the owner misses it and comes looking for it. And it is his collection that leads him to Bella, a troubled young woman who is grieving the love of her life. Bella donates some of her late boyfriend’s things only to return later hoping to get some of them back. Thankfully, they are in Eddie’s collection and the two begin an unlikely friendship. When Eddie reveals that he has loved but he has never been kissed, Bella resolves to help him find love, taking them on a journey where they meet new friends and, hopefully, the love Eddie has long waited for. 

Oh, my heart. A charming story of friendship, kindness, love and hope, this book is a balm for the soul. I adored Marianne Cronin’s debut novel, The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot, so I was eagerly anticipating this follow-up. And she shows us that her debut was no fluke. She is a masterful storyteller who creates beautifully written stories and wonderful characters.  I enjoyed how the flashbacks slowly revealed the story of Eddie’s first and only love while he was searching for his last love in the present and was rooting for him at every step.  The joy radiates from the pages of this book and I spent most of my time reading it with a smile on my face. And that ending! It nearly broke me before warming me from the inside once again and I hugged it close when I was finished. 

“It is so fragile, the notion that there might be someone out there for everyone.”

What makes this book so exceptional is the unforgettable characters. I adored Eddie. He’s one of those characters everyone will love and wins you over from the first pages. Kindhearted, compassionate, vibrant and witty, he’s the consummate gentleman, a hopeless romantic and impossible not to like. I loved his eye for snazzy clothing how he saw the value in seemingly mundane items that others would have thrown away.  I love a multi-generational friendship, and the bond between Eddie and Bella was one of the most wholesome I’ve ever read. I loved the ways they helped and encouraged one another, bringing out the best in each other. I loved joining them on their adventures and meeting all the different characters along the way, with Bridie and Emmeline standing out as two of my favourites. 

Warm, heartfelt, funny and irresistible, Eddie Winston is Looking For Love reminds us it is never too late to start again and that no matter our age, some of our greatest moments are still to come. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

********

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Hello, I’m Marianne Cronin, author of ‘The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot’.

My second novel, ‘Eddie Winston is Looking for Love’ will be released in 2024 and I can’t wait to share Eddie’s story with you.

When I’m not writing, I can be found trying to be funny in various improv groups and taking way too many photos of my cat, Puffin.

********

BUY THE BOOK:

Bookshop.org* | Waterstones* | Amazon*
*These are affiliate links

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

Please check out the reviews from the other bloggers taking part in the blog tour.

Categories
book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures Most Anticipated 2024

BOOK REVIEW: Spoilt Creatures by Amy Twigg

Published June 6th, 2024 by Tinder Press
Literary Fiction, Humorous Fiction

Welcome to my review for this fierce, unflinching and mesmerising debut. Thank you to Tinder Press for the sending me a proof copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

********

ABOUT THE BOOK:

An Observer top ten best new novelist for 2024


‘A simmering debut, heady with the possibilities of language and the righteousness of female rage’
Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies

‘Lush and dreamlike – a sweltering novel, where the sunlight pulses with nightmarish dread’
Colin Walsh, author of Kala

‘A modern-day Dionysian cult of women in the woods – haunting and exhilarating’
Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne

‘Emma Cline’s The Girls meets Lord of the Flies . . . compelling, cultish and utterly feral’
Alice Slater, author of Death of a Bookseller
______

They thought they knew everything about us. The kind of women we were.

It was a place for women. A remote farm tucked away in the Kent Downs. A safe space.

When Iris – newly single and living at home with her mother – meets the mysterious and beguiling Hazel, who lives in a women’s commune, she finds herself drawn into the possibility of a new start away from the world of men who have only let her down. Here, at Breach House, the women can be loud and dirty, live and eat abundantly, all while under the leadership of their gargantuan matriarch, Blythe.

But even among the women, there are power struggles, cruelty and transgressions that threaten their precarious way of life. When a group of men arrives on the farm, the commune’s existence is thrown into question, hurtling Iris and the other women towards an act of devastating violence.

Fierce and unapologetic, Spoilt Creatures is an intoxicating debut about transgression, sisterhood and the seductive nature of obsession. It pulls back the skin of patriarchal violence and examines the female rage that lurks beneath.

********

MY REVIEW:

“We cannot get the outside world in. Women are treated like dogs in the outside world. Like we’re a different species altogether, something dangerous…But here, here we can control our circumstances, live without that kind of judgement. I know it’s not perfect… But it’s ours. It’s worth preserving.”

Dreamlike, mesmerising, sultry, ferocious and unsettling, Spoilt Creatures is a breathtaking debut. Amy Twigg was named an Observer top ten new novelist for 2024, and from the opening lines of this beautifully written, evocative and bold story, it is easy to see why. This is a story of patriarchal violence, female rage, self-discovery, and the desire to fit in. Where the brutal, fierce and untamed violence lived alongside an idyllic peacefulness and calm. It is a heady and intoxicating mix, and I was enrapt,  trying to savour every word as it soaked into my soul.

“And now I began to realise. That I had stumbled into something I didn’t quite know the shape of, had misjudged my circumstances. That I was part of something that would mark me for the rest of my life, even if no one knew who I was. That I was in trouble.”

The story is told by Iris, a thirty-something woman living back at home with her mother after her relationship ended. She’s looking for a new start when she meets Hazel, a mysterious woman who lives in an equally mysterious place called Breach House, a remote farm that is a sanctuary for women; a safe space where men are not allowed that is away from the judgement and violence of the rest of the world. Led by their matriarch, Blythe, the women all pitch in to live independently, feeling wild and untamed as they dig their bare hands in dirt to pull up roots wearing only underwear in the baking sun, dance around fires in the moonlight and swim almost naked in the river. It is a place of contrasts, feeling picturesque and idyllic but also giving eerie, cult-like vibes. There’s also a darkly voyeuristic feel, as if we’re spying on these women and seeing things that should be private and almost sacred. 

“I could see now it took a certain type of woman to live at Breach House, and I wanted to believe I could be one of them, loud and strong and capable.”

The characters feel like women we might know, making it easy to relate to them and feel a part of their world. I felt a kinship with Iris that helped me to feel invested in her story. Like her my life fell apart in 2008 and I had to start again, so I could relate to how she was feeling. When you’re lost like that you’re desperate to be rescued and to find a sanctuary. While we slowly get to know Iris, Hazel remains a mystery, giving up very little information about herself while being hungry to know everything about Iris. Her personality feels like a representation of Breach House itself with all of its cryptic intrigue. But one thing we know for sure about Hazel is that she offers Iris everything she’s been searching for and there is a strong bond between them that fizzes with electricity. It felt reminiscent of the days of intense teenage friendships and crushes where people were your whole world and it would feel like the world had ended if you lost them. We know very little about the other women at Breech House, meeting them at  face value like Iris does. But one things we do learn about them is that even at Breach House there are those who can be cruel and vindictive, especially when their way of life is threatened. 

“People looked at the photographs and decided they knew everything about us. Believing in the oil spill of newspaper ink, how it clung to every shadow, conspiring grit and gloom.”

From the start of the book we know something violent happened at Breach House. Something that the place is now infamous for. But the mystery of what happened is revealed slowly, moving between timelines as Iris narrates events that lead up to that terrible event and the aftermath of it all as she tries to come to terms with the trauma she’s experienced. There is a dark undercurrent of dread that runs through the story and I spent the whole book trying to predict what could have happened. But when the truth was revealed I was unprepared as the rage these women had buried inside them  rose to the surface, culminating in a shocking act of brutality and blood. 

“But they continued to talk about us, our story passing from one mouth into another until it changed shape, was chewed into legend.“

Fierce, menacing, atmospheric and beguiling, this mesmerising debut is one of my top reads of the year. Ms. Twigg is a talent to watch and I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

********

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Amy Twigg was born and raised in Kent, where her obsession with remote landscapes and gypsy tarts began. After studying Creative Writing at university, she moved to Surrey where she works as a freelance copywriter. Her debut novel Spoilt Creatures won the BPA Pitch Prize and was longlisted for the Mslexia Novel Competition and Blue Pencil Agency First Novel Award. She is also an alumnus of the Curtis Brown Creative novel writing course. Spoilt Creatures is a lead title for Tinder Press (June 2024), and Amy was selected as an Observer Best New Novelist of the year.

********

BUY THE BOOK:

Waterstones* | Bookshop.org* | Amazon*
*These are affiliate links

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

Categories
Blog Tours book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures

BLOG TOUR: Toxic by Helga Flatland

Published May 23rd, 2024 by Orenda
Literary Fiction, Mystery, Humour, Translated Fiction

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Toxic, the atmsohperic and unsettling new novel from Helga Flatland. Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to take part and to Orenda for the gifted proof in exchange for an honest review.

********

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Shamed schoolteacher, Mathilde, moves to a dairy farm in the Norwegian countryside for an ‘easier life’, but she’s soon up to her old tricks … upending and unsettling the lives of two reclusive farmers.  Exquisitely written, razor-sharp and simmering with an unexpected tension, Toxic marks the return of one of Norway’s finest writers…
 
‘Flatland has the gift that I most often covet in the work of other writers: the ability to make everyday events compelling … how the quietest existence can brim with urgency and drama’ Ann Morgan
 
‘Helga Flatland writes with elegance and subtle humour’ Daily Express
 
‘The author has been dubbed the Norwegian Anne Tyler and for good reason’ Good Housekeeping
 
––––––––––––––
 
When Mathilde is forced to leave her teaching job in Oslo after her relationship with eighteen-year-old Jacob is exposed, she flees to the countryside for a more authentic life.
 
Her new home is a quiet cottage on the outskirts of a dairy farm run by Andres and Johs, whose hobbies include playing the fiddle and telling folktales – many of them about female rebellion and disobedience, and seeking justice, whatever it takes.
 
But beneath the apparently friendly and peaceful pastoral surface of life on the farm, something darker and more sinister starts to vibrate and, with Mathilde’s arrival, cracks start appearing … everywhere.

********

MY REVIEW:

Atmospheric, intense, surprising and seductive, I flew through this book in just a few hours. Exquisitely and elegantly told, Helga Flatland merges folklore of female rebellion and defiance with a story of obsession and toxic love to create a novel that feels both relatable and original. Set at the start of Covid, Flatland transports us to that time of uncertainty and fear. A time where we cleaned packages, scrubbed surfaces, and saw every other person as a potential threat from the invisible peril that loomed. It was the ideal setting for this story, adding to its surreal and dreamlike vibe that drifted alongside the fizzing tension and frenzied longing. 

The story is told by Mathilde and Johs, two very different people who are strangers when the story begins. Both are emotionally scarred, flawed and compelling, but it is Mathilde whose story gripped me most to start with. Mathilde is a secondary school teacher in Oslo when she begins a passionate relationship with 18-year-old Jakub, who is one of her students. It is never clear if she is a reliable narrator and there are signs she may live in a fantasy world from the start as she tells us Jakub was the one to pursue her and she was powerless to resist. We soon see signs of obsession as she is consumed by him then refuses to let go after he abruptly ends their affair. She’s so far gone that she sees nothing wrong with the power imbalance between them even after her boss points it out and is filled with  indignation when she’s dismissed from her job.  

 I wanted to shake her! But, we’ve all had relationships where the other person is like heroin to us and we can’t get enough, so, inappropriate as it was, I wondered if maybe that is what this was. 

Now in disgrace, Mathilde decides she needs a fresh start and rents a cottage on a dairy farm run by Johs and his brother, Andres. At first, it was the flashbacks to Johs family history that gripped me most in his thread, slowly unveiling how their strange and damaged dynamic was created by restrictive traditions and tales of folklore. But, we soon discover how troubled Johs really is as he develops his own unhealthy fixation. Meanwhile, Mathilde has her sights set on another inappropriate paramour. A noxious storm was brewing and I was transfixed as I tried to predict how this would end. But you could have bet me millions of pounds and I would have never guessed. Ms. Flatland plays a blinder, ending with an unexpected, strange, and ambiguous twist that left me with a deep sense of unease. 

A beautiful but unsettling novel that lingers long after reading, Toxic has put Helga Flatland firmly on my autobuy list. Highly recommended. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

********

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Helga Flatland is one of Norway’s most awarded and widely read authors. Born in Telemark, Norway, in 1984, she made her literary debut in 2010 with the novel Stay If You Can, Leave If You Must, for which she was awarded the Tarjei Vesaas’ First Book Prize. She has written four novels and a children’s book and has won several other literary awards. Her fifth novel, A Modern Family, was published to wide acclaim in Norway in August 2017, and was a number-one bestseller. The rights have subsequently been sold across Europe and the novel has sold more than 100,000 copies. A Modern Family marked Helga’s first English publication when it was released in 2019, achieving exceptional critical acclaim and sales, and leading to Helga being dubbed the ‘Norwegian Anne Tyler’. One Last Time is her second book to be translated into English (by Rosie Hedger), and published in 2021.

********

MEET THE TRANSLATOR:

Matt Bagguley grew up in the UK Midlands before moving to Oslo in 2001. Originally a musician and designer, he now works as a full-time translator of Norwegian to English and has translated a range of titles within publishing and film, including Joachim Trier’s Oscar-nominated comedy-drama The Worst Person in the World, Simon Stranger’s historical novel Keep Saying Their Names, and Nora Dåsnes’s graphic novel Cross My Heart and Never Lie, which recently won the Stonewall Book Award.

********

BUY THE BOOK:

Orenda Books | Amazon* | Waterstones* |Bookshop.org*
*These links are affiliate links

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

Please check out these reviews from the other bloggers taking part in the blog tour.
 

Categories
book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures Most Anticipated 2024 Squadpod Squadpod Featured Books Squadpod Reviews

SQUADPOD FEATURED BOOK: Hera by Jennifer Saint

Published May 23rd, 2024 by Wildfire
Greek Mythology, Historical Fiction, Fairy Tale, Literary Fiction

Thank you Wildfire Books for sending me a proof copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

********

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The enthralling tale of a powerful Greek goddess maligned in both myth and ancient history, as told by Sunday Times bestselling author Jennifer Saint.

‘An exceptional achievement’ ELODIE HARPER
‘A very special novel’ COSTANZA CASATI
‘The essential mythological book of the decade’ NIKITA GILL

When Hera, immortal goddess and daughter of the ancient Titan Cronus, helps her brother Zeus to overthrow their tyrannical father, she dreams of ruling at his side.

As they establish their reign on Mount Olympus, Hera suspects that Zeus might be just as ruthless and cruel as the father they betrayed.

She was always born to rule, but must she lose herself in perpetuating this cycle of violence and cruelty? Or can she find a way to forge a better world?

Often portrayed as the jealous wife or the wicked stepmother, this retelling captures the many sides of Hera, vengeful when she needs to be but also compassionate and most importantly, an all-powerful queen to the gods.

********

MY REVIEW:

“Zeus thinks he has the upper hand. He’s made her the goddess of marriage, thinking she’s nothing more than a dutiful wife.
But he never imagines the mistake he’s made in making her his enemy and inviting her so close.”

Jennifer Saint’s latest novel sees her tackle the myth of Hera, Queen of Heaven and the Goddess of Marriage. Beautifully written and evocative, I was immediately drawn into the world of this complex immortal goddess.

Hera. Daughter of the  tyrannical Titan ruler, Cronus, she helps her brother, Zeus, overthrow their father and establish a new reign on Mount Olympus ruling by his side. But Zeus quickly betrays her, offering thrones to their brothers. She faces further humiliation when he forces her to become his bride and makes her the patron of women, marriage and childbirth. Hera swears vengeance, plotting quietly while playing the dutiful wife and queen. But she can’t stay quiet for long, and soon she and Zeus are caught in a perpetual cycle of violence, betrayal and revenge that has far-reaching repercussions. 

Hera is a complicated goddess who isn’t easy to like. She’s beautiful, regal, formidable and fierce, but also vengeful, scheming, vindictive, vicious and cruel. But interwoven with all of that is a traumatised, broken woman who is deeply unhappy. There is a caring side of her, and I liked seeing those glimmers of compassion that she had at times. But I could understand that it was hard for her to be that way as a woman who had never been shown how to be caring, maternal or loving; someone trapped in a toxic marriage; and someone who has faced a battle for survival and power from the day she was conceived. 

One of the things I liked about this book is that Ms. Saint never shied away from Hera’s flaws, excuse her abhorrent behaviour, or tried to make her likeable and sympathetic. She faces her faults head-on, instead giving us an anti-hero who we can understand on a deeper level by the end of the book, even if we don’t like her. I’ll admit, I struggled with the idea that Hera’s actions had a feminist motivation as I found her to be self-focused and motivated by power, wrath and revenge. And she often took out her rage at Zeus’ behaviour out on the women he often forced himself on. But I could understand that Hera is a product of trauma who has never developed a sisterhood with other women or been taught how to be caring and maternal. This is a woman who has known only fighting to survive from the time she was born and is trapped in a toxic marriage that she can’t find her way out of. I had sympathy for that even if I didn’t like her actions. 

One of my favourite aspects of this book is how Ms. Saint humanised the monsters of Greek mythology. I found myself grieving alongside Hera as Typhon and his children were slain and saw so-called heroes such as Hercules in a different light. The monsters were simply existing and yet they were hunted down and brutally killed in the name of glory. I shared Hera’s revulsion at this, and will definitely see those usually demonised in these myths through another lens from now on.

A feisty and glorious novel, this is a must-read for fans of Greek mythology. 

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

********

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Jennifer Saint grew up reading Greek mythology and was always drawn to the untold stories hidden within the myths. She read Classical Studies at King’s College, London where she is now a Visiting Research Fellow in the Classics Department. After thirteen years as a high school English teacher, she wrote Ariadne which was an instant Sunday Times bestseller. It was shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year in 2021 and was  a Waterstones Book of the Month. Her second novel, Elektra, and third novel Atalanta, were number one Sunday Times bestsellers. Her latest mesmerising mythological retelling, Hera, will be published in the UK on 23rd May and in the US on 23rd July.

********

BUY THE BOOK:

Waterstones* | Bookshop.org* | Amazon* |
*These are affiliate links

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

Categories
book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures Squadpod Squadpod Featured Books Squadpod Reviews

SQUADPOD FEATURED BOOKS: The Comeback by Ella Berman

Published April 11th, 2024 by Aria
Psychological Fiction, Thriller, Literary Fiction, Legal Thriller, Political Thriller

Welcome to my review for this courageous and compelling thriller. This was one of our recent SquadPod Featured Books. Thank you to Aria for the gifted proof in exchange for an honest review.

********

ABOUT THE BOOK:

They say she owes him everything.
Now she wants to burn it all to the ground.

Grace Turner was one movie away from Hollywood’s A-List. So no one understood why, at the height of her career and on the eve of her first Golden Globe nomination, she disappeared.

Now, one year later, Grace is back in Los Angeles and ready to reclaim her life on her own terms.

When Grace is asked to present a lifetime achievement award to director Able Yorke – the man who controlled her every move for eight years – she knows there’s only one way she’ll be free of the secret that’s already taken so much from her.

The Comeback is a moving and provocative story of justice – a true page-turner about a young woman finding the strength and power of her voice, from the author of Reese’s Book Club pick Before We Were Innocent.

‘Beautifully written and compulsively readable.At its core, this book is about redemption, grace, and pain.’ – Jenna Bush Hager

********

MY REVIEW:

“Maybe their turn for winning is over, Grace. Maybe it’s our turn now.”

An empowering, courageous and thought-provoking story that reveals the darkness that lurks beneath the glamour and glitz of Hollywood, The Comeback is a story that demands to be read. The story is told by Grace, a young Hollywood starlet who was on the cusp of making the A-List when she suddenly disappeared. Now, after a year of isolation at her parents’ home in Anaheim, Grace has returned to L.A. and is slowly rebuilding her life on her own terms.  From the start there’s a sense of a secret hidden under the surface. A secret she doesn’t want to face. But she may not have a choice because just as she’s getting her life back on track she is asked to present a lifetime achievement award to her director Able Yorke. It seems perfect: the young actress honouring the man who discovered her and then mentored her for eight years. Suddenly Grace’s past demons are refusing to stay hidden and she must finally confront the things she’s been running from for so long. 

The #MeToo movement highlighting Hollywood’s culture of sexual abuse and rape is now well known, but this story was originally conceived a few months before it in early 2017 and published in the US in 2020. Since then we have heard countless stories of the horrendous abuse actors and actresses were subjected to by those in authority, including the recent documentary ‘Quiet on Set’ which focused on the terrible treatment of Hollywood’s child stars. Grace’s story of coercive control, isolation, fear, and abuse, parallels many of the stories we are now familiar with. But that doesn’t make it any less potent or heartrending. With beautiful, bleak and bold writing, Ella Berman has crafted an achingly authentic story that gets under your skin, exposing the steep price many have had to pay for fame and fortune while making us look at Hollywood and celebrity gossip through a new lens.

“The most vicious demons have always been my own, and I’ve never learned how to protect myself from them. I have tried to move quietly through the world, figuring that if I could just forget what happened, then I could move on, but maybe it doesn’t work like that.”

This story wouldn’t work without a well written central character and Bermann has got the ‘everyday girl plucked from obscurity’ down to a tee.  Fractured, flawed, vulnerable, and real, she is haunted by the trauma she’s been subjected to for eight years while everyone has told her how lucky she is. Her actions aren’t always right, but they are understandable, particularly as she confronts what she’s been through after burying it deep inside for so long. The other characters are equally as well-written and compelling and I liked how Berman illustrates the dysfunctional and transactional nature of the relationships in Grace’s life, highlighting the difficulty of maintaining healthy relationships when you work in Hollywood, and the problems that arise when trying to support someone through hardships such as addiction, trauma, and mental health issues. 

The other character who is vital to get right is the villain of the story and I felt like Berman skillfully captured Able York. Able is charismatic, charming, seductive, shrewd, and cunning. This man gave me chills. He cleverly calculates his moves and is a total slimeball underneath the ‘nice guy’ persona he portrays. He knows just how to isolate and intimidate his victims and you can understand how Grace fell for his act, especially when so young and naive. 

Melancholy, consuming, brutal and vivid, The Comeback is a timely story of bravery, strength, and the power of finding your voice. Highly recommended.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

********

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Ella Berman grew up in both London and Los Angeles and worked at Sony Music before starting the clothing brand London Loves LA. She lives in London with her husband, James, and their dog, Rocky. The Comeback is her first novel.

********

BUY THE BOOK:

Waterstones* | Bookshop.org* | Amazon*
*These are affiliate links

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

Categories
book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures Most Anticipated 2024 Squadpod Squadpod Featured Books

SQUADPOD FEATURED BOOK: The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr

Published May 9th, 2024 by Orion
Cozy Mystery, Literary Fiction, Puzzles, Coming-of-Age Story, Domestic Fiction, Gay Fiction

Today I’m my review for this charming and uplifting debut that was one of our SquadPod Featured Books this month. Thank you to Orion for the gifted proof copy in exchange for an honest review.

Tune in on the SquadPod Instagram account tonight at 7.30pm to here me chat with Samuel about the book.

********

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

‘Utterly beautiful. I adored it’ JOANNA CANNON

‘Hugely uplifting and wonderful’AJ PEARCE

‘A ripping yarn full of warmth and wonder’BETH MORREY

Sometimes finding your place in the world is the greatest puzzle of all…

Clayton Stumper is an enigma.

He might be twenty-five years old, but he dresses like your grandad and drinks sherry like your aunt.

Abandoned at birth on the steps of the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers, he was raised by the sharpest minds in the British Isles and finds himself amongst the last survivors of a fading institution.

When the esteemed crossword compiler, Pippa Allsbrook, passes away, she bestows her final puzzle to him: a promise to reveal the mystery of his parentage and prepare him for his future.

Yet as Clay begins to unpick the clues, he uncovers something even the Fellowship have never been able to solve – and it’s a secret that will change everything…

********

MY REVIEW:

Sometimes, finding your place in the world is the greatest puzzle of all.

Sometimes you only have to look at a book and know you’re going to love it. The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers was everything I’d hoped for and more. Cryptic, quirky and uplifting, this magnificent debut is an absolute gem. An ode to friendship, community, love and finding your place in the world, this hit the sweet spot where you want to devour it whole but also never want it to end. 

Clayton Stumper is not your average 25-year-old. He was abandoned at birth and found in a hatbox on the steps of The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers by its founder, Pippa, and has been raised there ever since. But when Pippa passes away she leaves behind one final puzzle to be solved: the mystery of Clayton’s parentage. Can Clayton follow the clues to finally solve the puzzle that has eluded even the brightest minds of the country?

Debut novelist Samuel Burr has set the bar sky-high with this phenomenal debut and I will be buying anything he writes from now on. It is cleverly written, shrewdly plotted and steadily paced, keeping the reader guessing with misdirection and surprising revelations. The story moves smoothly between dual timelines and narrators, following Clayton on his journey of self-discovery in the present, while the past details the Fellowship’s conception and events leading up to the day Clayton was discovered on their doorstep. But what I loved most about this book was how Burr intricately weaves puzzles into every aspect of the story, including making it so the reader can play along and try to solve the clues alongside the characters. But, don’t worry if you don’t like puzzles, because you can also flip to the answers at the back. I’m a puzzle fan and enjoyed trying to solve the clues, but I did use the answer sheet for some of them, too. 

Burr has created an eclectic cast of wonderful and fascinating characters who fit together like puzzle pieces despite coming from different boxes. I enjoyed their friendships that slowly blossomed into a found family. Clayton and Pippa were excellent protagonists who were both likeable, relatable, easy to root for, and had compelling backstories. I loved seeing Clayton slowly emerge from his self-imposed cocoon like a butterfly as he followed Pippa’s clues and enjoyed looking for ones that might be hidden in the flashbacks. Pippa was a nurturing, caring and supportive character, and I loved how she brought everybody together by creating a place where they could do what they love without judgement. It reminded me of finding my people in the book community, and when Pippa and the Puzzlers spoke about how puzzling makes them feel, it was as if I was speaking about my love of reading.

Charming, warm, joyful, and addictive, The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers is feel-good fiction at its finest. Add this to your TBR now!

Rating: 🧩🧩🧩🧩🧩

********

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Samuel studied at Westminster Film School and now works as an author and freelance TV executive. He has developed and produced popular-factual shows including Channel 4’s Genderquake and The Greatest Shows on Earth, BBC Two’s Eight Go Rallying and The Secret Life of Cleaners, and the BAFTA-nominated Secret Life of 4-Year-Olds.

A documentary he shot inside a retirement village when he was eighteen years old launched his career in television and inspired his debut novel, The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers. Samuel’s writing was shortlisted for Penguin’s WriteNow scheme and in 2021 he graduated from the Faber Academy.

In his spare time, Samuel volunteers for the elderly charity Age UK. He lives in London with his partner Tom and their cat Muriel.

He has always been old at heart.

********

BUY THE BOOK:

Waterstones* | Bookshop.org* | Amazon*
*These are affiliate links

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxx