Review: Ravenglass by Carolyn Kirby (2025)

Blurb

In 18th century Whitehaven, Kit Ravenglass grows up in a house of secrets. A shameful mystery surrounds his mother’s death, and his formidable, newly rich father is gambling everything on shipping ventures. Kit takes solace in his beloved sister Fliss, and her sumptuous silks, although he knows better than to reveal his delight in feminine fashion. As the family’s debts mount, Kit’s father turns to the transatlantic slave trade – a ruthless and bloody traffic to which more than a fortune might be lost.
 
Adventures will see Kit turn fugitive and begin living as ‘Stella,’ before being swept into the heady violence of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s rebellion. Driven by love, revenge and a desire to live truly and freely, Kit must find a way to survive these turbulent times – and to unravel the tragic secrets of the Ravenglass family.

Review

Historical fiction is my absolute favourite genre, and I was thrilled to get the chance to read and review Ravenglass thanks to my lovely Squadpod. I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review – apologies for the delay!

This is such a rich and rewarding read, covering a really meaty historical period with a deftness and nuance that shows the skill of the author. The setting is beautifully immersive – we start in the port town of Whitehaven, where transatlantic trade has lead to a boom that the protagonist’s father is taking full advantage of. There’s a visceral sense of the chaos and excitement of a harbour town on the rise, with all the associated sights, sounds and smells, and as Kit heads off to sea for the first time, we get a taste of the sweeping, epic adventure this novel has in store for us.

The plot covers so much ground, both literally and metaphorically, and as we journey through the north to Edinburgh and back again, we feel the reverberations of huge historical events such as the slave trade and Bonnie Prince Charlie’s rebellion. So much of the period is distilled into this gorgeous novel, and yet the research never overwhelms the story, and it is the characters who create the beating heart of the book. Kit/Stella is a revelation: an incredibly sensitive, complex portrayal of a character who is searching for the truth of their own identity in a world that is full of danger. I was so moved by Kit as a character, and without giving any spoilers, the resolution just worked so beautifully well for me as a reader. I know this story will stay with me for a long time.

As well as a fascinating historical setting, a wonderfully original protagonist, and a writing style that complements the genre perfectly, Ravenglass also has a fantastic set of supporting characters, with a good balance of antagonists and friends for Kit. The family backstory is dark and full of secrets, adding another layer to the narrative. There’s so much going on here, but it’s all held in perfect balance, which is the sign of an author working at the peak of her powers. I definitely want to read more by Carolyn Kirby, and I highly recommend getting hold of Ravenglass if you’re a fan of immersive historical fiction that delves into social issues in a character-driven, nuanced way.

Ravenglass by Carolyn Kirby is published by Northodox Press and is available to purchase here.

Review: LA Women by Ella Berman (2025)

Blurb

An electrifying novel about the complicated friendship between two ambitious writers and the ultimate artistic betrayal: one writes a book based upon the other’s life, revealing everything…from the author of Reese’s Book Club Pick Before We Were Innocent.

After a steady descent from literary stardom, Lane Warren is back. She’s secured a new book deal based off the life of her sometime friend and, more often, rival Gala Margolis. Lane’s only problem is that notorious free spirit Gala has been missing for months.

Ten years earlier, Gala was a charming socialite and Lane was a Hollywood outsider amidst the glittering 1960s L.A. party scene. Though they were never best friends, Lane found Gala sharp and compelling. Gala liked that Lane took her seriously. They were both writers. They were drawn to each other.

That was until Gala’s star began to rise, and Lane grew envious. Then Lane did something that she wouldn’t ever be able to take back…changing the trajectories of both their lives.

Bold, dazzling, and crackling with tension, L.A. Women plunges readers into the legendary parties and unparalleled creativity of iconic Laurel Canyon, while exploring the impossible choices women face when ambition collides with intimacy. At what cost does great art emerge? And who pays the price?

Review

Many thanks to the publisher and to the lovely Squadpod for providing me with a proof copy of LA Women in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading this novel so much – right from the start, I was captivated by the setting and the two female characters at the centre of the story. The legendary status of Laurel Canyon in the sixties and seventies makes for an immediately engaging and intriguing atmosphere, with all the glamour and excess you could wish for, but the novel’s real draw is its focus on these two complicated, spiky, fiercely intelligent women, and their often uncategorizable relationship. This is by no means a paean to female friendship, but it is a unique and powerful look at the influence women have on each others’ lives, even overshadowing that of their partners at times. There is a strange link between Lane and Gala, even though months go by without them crossing paths, and you can almost feel their awareness of each other’s presence when they re-enter the same orbit. It’s a palpable, undefinable bond that skirts the edges of both love and hate, and it’s absolutely fascinating to read about.

There are a lot of really important themes in this book, but the exploration is never heavy-handed or overbearing. The spectre of addiction hovers over the characters, as we see Gala’s boyfriend’s struggles and hear about Lane’s parents. There is also a probing and nuanced examination of the maternal instinct, or lack of it, a topic which is still somewhat taboo – it reminded me of Claire Vaye Watkins’ brilliant book I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness (both novels also make mention of the Manson family, incidentally, though it’s not a main feature of either) – it’s a brave, challenging, and necessary theme to dive into, and Berman tackles it with real skill and intelligence. Lane is a flawed character is a lot of ways, and readers may find her unsympathetic, but it’s never as simple as it seems on the surface, and I think we do get a strong enough psychological insight into her feelings and behaviour that we come to an understanding of why she is the way she is.

Gala gleams and dazzles far more Lane, and I think readers will be more instantly drawn to her – the humour and audacity she brings to the scenes are a joy to watch (I say ‘watch’ deliberately, as there’s a cinematic feel to the novel, particularly Gala’s sections, which is highly appropriate for a novel set in Hollywood!) but it’s the contrasts and the connections between these two women that drive the book forward. There’s also a beautiful, tragic arc for Charlie, Lane’s best friend, and a razor-sharp dissection of the marriage between Lane and Scotty.

There’s so much going on in this book, and it all comes together in such an elegant and satisfying way. If you like intelligent, witty, female-led books that immerse you in a bygone era while posing questions that remain deeply relevant to our current lives, I can’t recommend LA Women highly enough.

LA Women by Ella Berman is published by Head of Zeus and is available to purchase here.

Review: The Mourning Necklace by Kate Foster (2025)

Blurb

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. All that matters to her is answering this one: will they hang her twice?

Review

Many thanks to the publisher and the lovely Squadpod for providing me with a beautiful finished copy of The Mourning Necklace in exchange for an honest review.

Regular readers of my blog (hi, you two) will know that I am a massive fan of historical fiction, and one of my favourite types of historical novel is when an author takes a real-life story and reimagines it, filling out the often scant details and using the power of imagination to create something that does justice to the idea while making it their own. And that’s exactly what Kate Foster does here: the case of Maggie Dickson, accused of murdering her own baby, sentenced to hang, and somehow surviving the gallows, is the kind of juicy, sensationalist story that is ripe for fiction – but Foster takes the bones of the story and fleshes it out into something far more than the sum of its parts, creating a nuanced, moving novel that deals with some pretty compelling moral issues, some of which are sadly as relevant today as they were in the 1720s.

I loved the way this novel is structured, with sections for Hanging Day, Before the Hang, and After the Hang – it is incredibly satisfying as a reader to start with the day Maggie escapes her fate and then back up to how she got there in the first place, and the final section gives a real sense of resolution. It’s a perfectly constructed book, with a compelling hook and a wonderful narrative drive. Historical fiction can sometimes feel ‘heavy,’ weighed down by research and detail at the expense of plot, but the action takes centre stage here, and the pace is almost thriller-ish. I raced through it, desperate to follow every twist and turn.

Maggie is a great character – she’s by no means perfect, and while we can fully understand her desire to escape her dreary life in Fisherrow, we might flinch at her naivety and her eagerness to run off to London with Spencer. Her family life is complex, and it’s actually quite refreshing to see a sisterly relationship as flawed and difficult as the one between Maggie and Joan – I feel as if this genre often presents the ‘beloved sister’ trope, or if there is an estrangement, it is permanent and not integral to the story. Here, the sisters’ ups and downs are central – they are together at key moments, and there is no easy reconciliation or irreversible ‘split’. This feels very real.

One of the aspects of this story that I found most impactful is Maggie’s ignorance of the laws she will eventually fall foul of – I won’t give too much away, but as the opening statement mentions the crime of ‘Concealment of a Pregnancy,’ it’s clear that this novel is dealing with issues of reproductive rights that are all too relevant today, with the state holding authority over women’s bodies and individuals unsure and terrified as to what constitutes a crime in a fluctuating political environment. The overtones here are dark and menacing, and Foster explores them with subtlety, never overpowering the character-driven elements of the story, but opening it out to wider themes in an intelligent and thought-provoking way.

This is the first novel I’ve read by Kate Foster, but I know my Squadpod pals are big fans of her previous books, and I will definitely be checking out The Maiden and The King’s Witches – this is just the sort of historical fiction I enjoy, and I’m really glad I had the chance to read The Mourning Necklace. I highly recommend it.

The Mourning Necklace by Kate Foster is published by Mantle and is available to purchase here.

Review: Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko (2025)

Blurb

TWO UNFORGETTABLE STORIES. TWO FAMILIES. TWO HUNDRED YEARS OF HISTORY.

1854: When Mulanyin meets the beautiful Nita in Brisbane – or Edenglassie, as it was once briefly known – his community still outnumbers the British settlers. Tensions are simmering just beneath the surface of a fragile peace, but hopes for independence are running high. Yet when colonial unrest tears through the region, Mulanyin’s passion for his new bride clashes with his loyalty to a homeland in danger.

Two centuries later, fiery activist Winona meets Dr Johnny when her grandmother Eddie has a serious fall. Winona just wants the obstinate centenarian back on her feet, but a shrewd journalist has other ideas. Eddie becomes a local celebrity, dominating the headlines as ‘Queensland’s Oldest Aboriginal’. 

Her time in the spotlight brings past and present crashing together, the legacy of Nita and Mulanyin’s tragic past reaching into Winona and Eddie’s lives with consequences they couldn’t have predicted. 

Review

Many thanks to the publisher and the lovely Squadpod for providing me with a copy of Edenglassie in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a big fan of a dual timeline novel, and this is one of the best examples of the form that I have read in a while. There’s a cracking ‘present’ storyline set in 2024, full of characters I’d happily follow for a whole book, particularly the fierce, uncompromising Winona, who is an absolutely brilliant creation – I loved her. There is a lot of humour in this section, as well as piercing political commentary, and an insight into modern Australian society that I found fascinating.

As well as all this, the book is also a treat for historical fiction fans, with Mulanyin’s story playing out in a historical context I knew little about. I learned a lot and uncovered even more gaps in my knowledge – Australia isn’t a country whose history I’m particularly familiar with, and this book sent me down a lot of research rabbit holes, which, for me, is part of the joy of this genre. I think the main thing I hadn’t fully grasped before I read Edenglassie was just how thin the line between coexistence and violence can be in a colonial situation, and how an uncertain peace can be just as psychologically damaging as open hostility. The emotional heft of Mulanyin’s story really left an impression on me as a reader, and he’s yet another character from this powerful book who will stay with me. His romance with Nita is portrayed with just the right blend of idealism and practicality – and I defy any reader of their love story not to root for them throughout.

There’s such a skillful balance between all the many threads of this novel – it was no surprise for me to learn that this is Melissa Lucashenko’s seventh novel, such is the deftness of the writing and the elegance of the complex structure – but I’m delighted to find out that there’s so much more by this author for me to enjoy. This is novel writing at its finest: raw, intelligent, real, bringing the secrets of the past into the light of the present – it’s a book that really speaks to the reader, with urgency and eloquence and a sense of challenge.

I thought the way everything came together at the end was so clever – for me, it worked beautifully, and it felt tragic, literary, angry, hopeful, and a bit magical all at once. There’s some serious heft to the writing in this novel, and its one that I will be thinking about for a long time to come. I can’t recommend Edenglassie highly enough – this is an important, urgent, stunning novel.

Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko is published by Oneworld and is available to purchase here.

Review: Seascraper by Benjamin Wood (2025)

Blurb

Thomas lives a slow, deliberate life with his mother in Longferry, working his grandpa’s trade as a shanker. He rises early to take his horse and cart to the grey, gloomy beach to scrape for shrimp; spending the rest of the day selling his wares, trying to wash away the salt and scum, pining for Joan Wyeth down the street and rehearsing songs on his guitar. At heart, he is a folk musician, but it remains a private dream.

When a striking visitor turns up, bringing the promise of Hollywood glamour, Thomas is shaken from the drudgery of his days and begins to see a different future. But how much of what the American claims is true, and how far can his inspiration carry Thomas?

Haunting and timeless, this is the story of a young man hemmed in by his circumstances, striving to achieve fulfilment far beyond the world he knows.

Review

Many thanks to the publisher and the lovely Squadpod for the opportunity to read a proof copy of Seascraper in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a beautifully written, atmospheric book – the coastal setting and carefully wrought descriptions of the sea put me in mind of Garrett Carr’s The Boy From the Sea, which I also read recently and loved. Unlike Carr’s book, however, the focus is less on community and more on the individual character of the protagonist, Thomas, to whose perspective the story cleaves throughout. The present tense makes for a very close link between reader and protagonist, and, appropriately enough, reading the book feels a little like watching a film, due to the vivid descriptions and real-time unfolding of events.

Thomas is a fascinating character – there is something ancient about the way he slips into the rhythms of his job, at one with the sands and the tides. And yet he is a young man, with hopes and dreams that he keeps hidden, a yearning for more from life than his current hard, stoic existence. His relationship with his mother is a complex web of duty, guilt and affection that keeps him trapped in Longferry, and it is only the unlikely appearance of film director Edgar Acheson that allows his dreams to grow bigger in his imagination. I also really enjoyed Thomas’ interactions with his unnamed and equally hard-working horse, who plays a vital role in the book!

The compressed timeframe of the novel, set over a couple of days, adds to its intensity – we are utterly immersed in this small slice of Thomas’ life, in a way that makes us as readers prepared to follow the unexpected turns the story takes. I liked that the book went beyond stark realism into another mode – but I won’t say too much for, because the surprises are best discovered fresh. The prose is similarly restrained and elegant, reminding me, as Carr’s novel did too, of Claire Keegan’s writing. If you like your novels tightly packed with meaning, substantial in matter if not in page length, then this is the book for you.

I am surprised I haven’t come across Benjamin Wood’s work before, and I suspect he ought to be much better known. I’m pleased to discover he has a backlist of four more novels, which I am definitely going to be checking out. This is a skilful exploration of a very specific life that nevertheless opens out to bigger questions of how to live, a book that is utterly entrenched in its setting but with wider applications of its hefty themes. Seascraper is a very fine novel indeed, and I highly recommend it.

Seascraper by Benjamin Wood is published by Viking and is available to purchase here.


Review: Ghost Wedding by David Park (2025)

Blurb

For fans of Sebastian Faulks, Donal Ryan and Anne Tyler comes this beautiful novel following two troubled men, separated by nearly a century, bound by the ghosts of their past

When George Allenby is put in charge of building a lake in the grounds of an imposing Irish manor house, he intends to do the job as swiftly as possible and return to Belfast. Allenby is still wrestling with his time as an officer during the First World War, burdened by the many things he could have done differently.

Almost a century later, Alex and Ellie are preparing for their wedding, sparing no expense to hire a venue overlooking the very lake Allenby built all those years ago.

Like Allenby before him, Alex is haunted by decisions he made in the past. Now, with the wedding drawing ever closer, he is at a crossroads. Telling the truth might free him from his guilt; it might also take away everything he cares about, including Ellie. 

In this masterful portrait of love and betrayal, David Park reveals the many ways the past seeps into the present: destructive, formidable, but also hopeful, in the moments of fragile beauty that remain.

Review

Many thanks to the publisher and the lovely Squadpod for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review – once again, my apologies for the delay!

Somehow, I have never read any of David Park’s books before now. But I was intrigued by this book just from the title, and when I read the blurb, I knew it was right up my street. Historical fiction with a dash of magical realism is my bag, both as a reader and a writer, and the way the ghosts of the past slip into the present in this novel has given me food for thought for my own work-in-progress, which is always a thrill.

The story centres around a dual timeline narrative: George Allenby constructing a lake at Manor House in the early twentieth century, and Alex and Ellie planning their wedding on the same site nearly a hundred years later. However, there are many other hints and teasers of further stories, as the ghosts teeming around the various settings jostle for position. The theme of buildings, with both Allenby and Alex working in roles related to construction and properties, and the echoes of the lives that have walked through them, is powerfully explored, and there is an atmospheric hum to the narrative that suggests layers of existence piling up on top of each other in an almost archaeological formation.

I really felt for the characters, in all their complex, messy, human knottiness, particularly George, Cora, Alex and Ellie – there is a realism to the portrayal of the two couples at the centre of the book that offsets the more experimental, lyrical ‘ghost’ scenes. And yet in every case it is the past that creeps in: George is haunted by his experiences in the First World War; Alex by a secret he can’t escape from. There’s an ache to the griefs and memories carried by all of the characters, a bruised realness to their secrets and traumas. And yet it is a hopeful novel, too, exploring the power of love and connection.

The story is so carefully constructed, showing incredible skill and poise from the author. In the main narratives, the two love stories that play out across time are brought together in a way that is stunningly beautiful and clever. The prose throughout the book is elegant, precise, melancholic: this is a moving, intelligent, careful exploration of the liminal spaces between human existence. It’s a book that lingers – I will be thinking about it for a long time. I am looking forward to exploring more of David Park’s work now I have finally discovered him, and I highly recommend Ghost Wedding as a great place to start if you’re also new to his books.

Ghost Wedding by David Park is published by Oneworld and is available to purchase here.

Review: Cat Fight by Kit Conway (2025)

Blurb

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?

Review

I am very grateful to the publishers and the lovely Squadpod for my ARC of Cat Fight, which I received in exchange for an honest review. Apologies for the delay in posting this – at least it means this glorious book is already out and you can get your paws (sorry) on it straightaway!

I was sold right from the start by the premise – I’m a Big Cat geek myself, having spent part of my childhood in southern Africa (one of the best days of my life involved watching a leopard fall out of a tree and then stalk sheepishly away as if to say ‘I MEANT to do that;’ another involved cuddling a rescued cheetah named Gigi) – and since moving back to the UK, I’ve always been fascinated by wild cat sighting stories in this country. The book does a brilliant job of playing up the unverified, wafting rumour element – we don’t know who to believe, and there are so many delicious twists in the story, and yet of course, as readers, we find ourselves willing the stories of the Sevenoaks Panther to be true.

The twists and turns of the plot are such an integral part of the fun of this novel, so it’s hard to say too much about the story itself, except that there are plenty of surprises to be had. Come for the excellent premise, stay for the brilliantly observed character dynamics of the Briar Heart Estate set – the ensemble cast is populated with complex, varied characters who interact with all the veracity of the weight of shared history and too much knowledge of each other – these are neighbours whose lives have become intertwined, whose relationships teeter on the edge of dysfunctional right from the start, and then plunge headlong over the cliff. It’s enormously entertaining, in a voyeuristic, almost guilty pleasure way, which feels apt for the dynamics of the Estate itself.

If ever there was a book that’s perfect for summer reading, it’s Kit Conway’s debut novel. Set over one long, hot summer in a privileged Kent community, the story simmers with tension, the aforementioned character dynamics, and a wonderful sense of everything building to an explosive conclusion. This book really pulls you along; there’s an energy to it that’s sexy, dangerous and addictive, and it becomes more and more intriguing and shocking – set aside a proper chunk of time to devour the final chapters, as you won’t want to stop once you’ve started! This is an elegantly constructed, tautly written story that more than delivers on its excellent premise, and I absolutely loved it. I can’t wait to see what comes next from Kit Conway.

Cat Fight by Kit Conway is published by Bantam and is available to purchase here.

Review: Where Snowbirds Play by Gina Goldhammer (2025)

Blurb

Was it pure chance that he had run into her so soon? Philip had never believed in destiny, and his father had believed in nothing but his own genius. And yet…

From the moment recent Oxford graduate Philip takes the helm of a new marine life institute in Palm Beach, his presence revives old feuds and sparks rivalries among the wealthy resident snowbirds, many of whom have invested heavily in a biotech company soon to be exposed for insider trading. It quickly becomes clear that Philip’s quest for atonement on the behalf of his father will embroil many of the community’s most prominent members.

Interwoven with snippets of real-life drama from an insider-trading scandal, Where Snowbirds Play paints a compelling portrait of the lives of the privileged, and what happens when their world is turned upside down.

Review

I am always intrigued by the new offerings from Renard Press and its imprint Hay Press – they’re an independent publisher that never fails to disappoint, pushing the boundaries and offering readers something out of the ordinary. I was delighted to be offered a chance to read and review this book, receiving an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion. I apologise for the lateness of this review – life has been life-ing recently, as indeed it does for the characters in Gina Goldhammer’s brilliant novel!

The novel follows a group of wealthy residents in Palm Beach, with the new arrival, Philip, providing an outsider’s perspective that helps the reader orientate themselves amongst this extraordinary cast of characters. It is a world of luxury and privilege, but there is so much more going on beneath the surface, and one of the things I loved about this book is how many different aspects are at play. We’ve got the voyeuristic thrill of seeing how the very rich spend their days, with elaborate parties and eccentric pursuits, but also the secrets and griefs of the inhabitants, from Hannah Caulfield’s struggle to improve the life of her terminally ill son, to Sunny Sloan’s tragic past, and against these personal trials and tribulations, we also get a sense of the environmental crises lurching ever closer. Philip’s role at the Marine Institute and the ominously worsening weather both provide opportunities to reflect on wider issues that go beyond the tightly-knit lives of the characters. It takes a very talented writer to weave all of these elements together, and Gina Goldhammer pulls it off with panache.

This really is an original book, with a flavour all of its own. There’s a dash of The Great Gatsby in the luxurious setting and Philip’s admiration for Hannah; a concern with the natural world that reminded me of some of Barbara Kingsolver’s work; and some wonderfully nineteenth century melodrama from the lovesick Philip, particularly when combined with the incoming storms – he’s like a 1990s Heathcliff brooding among the palm trees! It’s a heady mix, and Goldhammer’s skill with natural description and character development make this a very rewarding book to spend time with. I highly recommend Where Snowbirds Play to anyone looking for a book that’ll push them outside their usual comfort zone and provide a rich, fascinating reading experience.

Where Snowbirds Play by Gina Goldhammer is published by Renard Press and is available to purchase here.

Review: Hail Mary by Funmi Fetto (2025)

Blurb

* A Harper’s Bazaar ‘Best New Short-Story Collection’ for 2025 *

A stunning collection of short stories capturing the lives of nine Nigerian women, each very different, each determined to fight for themselves.

Meet Ifeoma. She’s been ready to leave her violent husband for some time, but her plans for a quiet departure take an unexpectedly gruesome turn…

Nkechi, a housemaid for a rich Lagos family, bears the weight of her Madam’s wrath when she discovers her husband’s dark secret.

In London, Riliwa meets Mary, a guardian angel full of advice, wisdom and practical support as she navigates her unfamiliar new home. But it soon becomes clear that Mary’s kindness comes at a price.

Passionate, raw, full of heart and humour, these are stories about women who will not be broken by the challenges life puts in their way.

Review

I have been falling back in love with short stories this year, so I was thrilled to get the chance to read this debut collection from Vogue Style Editor Funmi Fetto. Huge thanks to the publisher and the Squadpod for my beautiful finished copy, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

This collection of stories presents a series of portraits of Nigerian women, taking us back and forth between Nigeria and the UK. From Ifeoma in 2 Samuel 6:14, planning her escape from her abusive, religiously zealous husband, to young Lara arriving in London for the first time in Trip, from Nkechi negotiating the perilous whims of her Madam and master in House Girl, to Riliwa in the eponymous story Hail Mary seeking advice from a ‘fixer’ for immigrants like herself, there is such a wide range of experiences in these raw, emotionally charged stories, and it’s impossible not to be as captivated by them as the narrator of Wait is to the irresistible magnetism of Ngozi.

I loved all of the nine tales in Hail Mary, but my standout favourites are: Unspoken, an incredibly powerful story of trauma and how it is buried; Dodo is Yoruba for Fried Plantain, in which a widow rediscovers her love of Nigerian food and cooks up a storm (mouth-watering descriptions that will make you hungry as you read!); and Underneath the Mango Tree, Kemi’s story of her battle with infertility. These are brave, resilient, complex characters making their way through a world that throws obstacles at them at every turn, and there is such a tender mix of fierceness and vulnerability in these women – it’s both moving and inspiring to read their stories, to hear their voices lifting off the page.

Funmi Fetto excels at one of the trickiest aspects of the short story form: the sting in the (lizard’s!) tail. One of the signs of an excellent short story for me is when I do a sharp intake of breath after reading the last lines, and with this collection, that happened several times. It never feels contrived or forced, but it lends such an elegant shape to the carefully wrought, emotionally rich stories that are woven across the pages of this outstanding debut collection. I will be eagerly looking out for more from this author in the future, and I highly recommend getting your hands on this wonderful book.

Hail Mary by Funmi Fetto is published by Oneworld and is available to purchase here.

Review: The Man She Married by Alison Stockham (2025)

Blurb

The BRAND NEW thriller from the top ten bestselling author of The Cuckoo Sister

How can you fight for a life you can’t remember?

One moment I was just living my life, finding my way in the world. The next I woke up in a hospital bed with years of my life missing.

The man by my side – Rob, my husband – looks familiar, but I can’t remember marrying him. I can’t remember our life together. Most haunting of all: I can’t remember anything about the last five years.

Rob keeps telling me that everything will be fine, that my memories will return, but something feels… wrong. Why does our flat feel so unfamiliar? Why does he flinch when I ask questions? Why are none of my friends and family in touch?

The more I try to piece my life back together, the more I question everything – even myself. Who is Rob, really? And can I trust him? More importantly, can I trust myself?

A compulsive and obsessive read that will have you saying ‘just one more chapter!’ Perfect for fans of Before I Go To Sleep and Alice Feeney

Review

Huge thanks to the author and the Squadpod for my copy of the book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a big fan of Alison Stockham’s writing – I loved her bestselling debut novel The Cuckoo Sister and last year’s The New Girl. As I’ve said before, her books aren’t straightforward thrillers; they’re incredibly psychologically complex, and they always offer a fresh take on what you might expect from the blurb. I’m pleased to report that The Man She Married is no exception – in fact, I think it’s her best book yet.

It is so hard to write amnesiac characters well – we rely so much on characters’ memories and backstories to build them up as developed personalities with the weight of history behind them – which makes what the author manages with Beth in this novel all the more impressive. It’s impossible not to sympathise with the position she finds herself in, waking up after a car crash with no memory of the last five years, and a man looming over her who claims to be her husband. The grief of loss of memory is so specific and difficult to express, but it’s done brilliantly here, as is the vulnerable position Beth finds herself in – alone in the world except for this one man who feels like a stranger to her.

As the story progresses, the twists and turns become more and more delicious, with the narrative ramping up the tension in a way that feels almost cinematic. There’s a visual quality to the writing that’s stronger here than in her previous books – this is crying out for a screen adaptation! The characters who come into the story as Beth tries to work out what on earth is going on are never straightforward, and we share her doubts as to where the truth really lies. It’s a tense, gripping, sometimes outright terrifying read, and one of the biggest reveals (which of course I won’t mention here!) is hinted at so subtly that it really does feel like a gut punch when it occurs.

No spoilers, but the finale of this book is absolutely brilliant, such a brave and dramatic ending. I loved it, and I think it shows what a skilled writer Alison Stockham is that she pulls it off with such aplomb. I’m in awe of the way it implicates the reader – I won’t go into detail, but you’ll see – you finish this book so thoroughly caught up in the dilemmas faced by the characters that it’s almost as if you’ve lived through it with them, which is the sign of a writer at the height of her powers! If you’re a thriller fan and you haven’t yet got onto this author’s books, I urge you to do so, and this latest offering is one hell of a place to start.

The Man She Married by Alison Stockham is published by Boldwood Books and is available to purchase here.