Blurb

It’s 2096. Scientists work to protect a baking planet. What a drought-stricken Europe needs is rain. What it gets is a messiah.

Eli is born in a suburb of Prague. A rainstorm heralds the birth. Perhaps this messiah is for real. Eli’s father abandons the family to become the dictator’s right-hand man. Eli’s elder brother Marek guides Eli through his short and powerful life.

Can tales of a messiah be enough to heal a ravaged planet in which few babies are born? If so, Marek works with the zeal of a prophet. Aged 72, he’s still going strong. A new follower joins Marek’s community, young Natalia. She awakens the old man to the joys of the body. But what’s the worth of a human love when the environment is collapsing? Marek sets out to find his answer.

My Brother the Messiah is a story about daring to seed the future of our planet.

Translated from the Czech by Anna Bryson Gustova.

Review

Thank you to (the other) Martin at Barbican Press for reaching out and offering me a copy of My Brother The Messiah in exchange for an honest review. I am always delighted to discover a new-to-me indie press, and Barbican has some excellent titles. Do check them out.

My Brother the Messiah would have made a great addition to my long-ago uni dissertation on dystopian fiction, in which I discussed 1984, Brave New World, and Atwood’s Oryx and Crake and The Handmaid’s Tale, if I remember rightly (like I say, it was a long time ago!). It is terrifyingly believable to see the planet’s climate ravaged by global warming and the ill-advised attempt to reverse it that follows, and the way society breaks down in pockets, the migration from uninhabitable areas, the collapse of democracy – it all rings scarily true.

And yet, in this novel, the dystopia is a backdrop rather than the main focus. This is, at its heart, a story about the relationship between Marek and Eli, his brother, whom Marek absolutely believes is the Messiah. What I found fascinating is that as I read Marek’s third person narrative, I absolutely believed it, too. For the purposes of this story, yes, Eli is the Messiah. His followers are the only ones who are unaffected by the declining birth rate. Even as an atheist, I didn’t feel that this was a story about figuring out the truth or otherwise of this claim (which isn’t even one that Eli himself makes) – it is about what it means for Marek to be the brother of such a man. And that is SUCH an interesting premise.

The narrative moves back and forth in time, so that Eli’s life story is intercut with ‘present day’ Marek’s struggles to stay true to his brother’s legacy. Natalia, the woman who becomes Marek’s lover, is a wonderful character, and I liked both the past and ‘present’ narratives just as much. The writing is beautiful – taut and spare and at times appropriately biblical. Indeed, despite the future setting of the book, there is a kind of historical feel to it, as if we are being gifted the story of Eli in a similar way to how the story of the previous Messiah was passed on. It is interesting to consider this in the light of the appearance of a note-taking student later on in the book, but I’ll leave that for you to discover if you read this brilliant book (which you should!)

The ending of My Brother the Messiah is perfect – I had no idea how it was all going to wrap up, and I was genuinely surprised and elated by the final pages. This is such an interesting, different novel – it is intelligent without being pretentious or difficult, unnerving yet also enormously tender, a story that will stay with me. I urge you to check this one out. It is a hugely thought-provoking read with love and warmth at its centre.

My Brother the Messiah by Martin Vopenka translated by Anna Bryson Gustova is published by Barbican Press and is available to purchase here.

Blurb

Dreamers, singers, heroes and killers, they can dazzle with their beauty, their talent or their unmitigated evil, yet inside themselves they are as frail and desperate as the rest of us. But can you see them? Can you unravel the truth?

These are people you know, but not as you know them.

Peel back the mask and see.

Review

Okay, so here is a rundown, in order, of who the famous people are in these stories: 1)…NO, I’m just kidding, I wouldn’t do that to you!

Thanks so much to the author for reaching out and for sending me a copy of Backstories in exchange for an honest review. I am really enjoying seeing how many of my blogger friends are also reading this book – I like the thought that we’re all trying to puzzle out the identities of the protagonists!

The game element of this collection is tremendous fun. Each story withholds just enough of the key details to make it a true guessing game. I got an inkling of about half of them before the ‘reveal’ but there were plenty of cool surprises. It is addictive as well – I read all fourteen stories in one sitting because I wanted to keep playing! The author handles the reveals skilfully, and they never come at the expense of the realism of the story. This interactive element makes for a really engaging, highly original reading experience, and I loved it.

What is also great about Backstories is that it is so much more than just a gimmick. These are also well-written, intelligent, varied short stories that stand up to repeated reading even once the jig is up and the identities are known. I read them through quickly for the fun of figuring out who each protagonist was, and then reread them as a more ‘conventional’ short story collection. There is a fantastic mixture of voices and styles, and it is impressive how well the author manages to convey different places and eras so effectively across a short span of pages. The stories are punchy, powerful, with beautifully written dialogue and a strongly visual quality. Van der Velde is a chameleon author, inhabiting different characters and voices subtly and skilfully. It all adds together to create a kind of ‘anthology’ feel to the collection, as if these really are written by different people, and it works very well.

I’m very keen to read more by this talented author, and I am delighted to hear that there is going to be a Backstories II. If you want a preview of one of the stories, head to the author’s website. I think this is a great collection for everyone, including people who maybe don’t ‘do’ short stories, or don’t read them often – I guarantee this collection will change your mind!

About the Author

Simon Van der Velde has worked variously as a barman, labourer, teacher, caterer and lawyer, as well as travelling throughout Europe and South America collecting characters and insights for his award-winning stories. Since completing a creative writing M.A. (with distinction) in 2010, Simon’s work has won and been shortlisted for numerous awards including; The Yeovil Literary Prize, (twice), The Wasafiri
New Writing Prize, The Luke Bitmead Bursary, The Frome Shortstory Prize, The Harry Bowling Prize, The Henshaw Press Short Story Competition and The National Association of Writers’ Groups Open Competition – establishing him as one of the UK’s foremost short-story writers. Simon now lives in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with his wife, Nicola, their labradoodle, Barney and two tyrannical children.

Links

http://bit.ly/Goodreads-Backstories

http://bit.ly/Amazon-Backstories

http://bit.ly/BookBub-Backstories

 AUDIBLE

https://adbl.co/3rw4boT

www.simonvandervelde.com

Blurb

Being Tommy’s mother is too much for Sonya.

Too much love, too much fear, too much longing for the cool wine she gulps from the bottle each night. Because Sonya is burning the fish fingers, and driving too fast, and swimming too far from the shore, and Tommy’s life is in her hands.

Once there was the thrill of a London stage, a glowing acting career, fast cars, handsome men. But now there are blackouts and bare cupboards, and her estranged father showing up uninvited. There is Mrs O’Malley spying from across the road. There is the risk of losing Tommy – forever.

Review

I am very grateful to Laura Meyer at Bloomsbury for sending me a proof copy of this book. In a month in which I’d already read The Push, Call Me Mummy and Little Bandaged Days, Bright Burning Things could not have been more thematically appropriate, and like those books, it gripped me tight in its twisted claws.

I am not going to be able to write a long review of this book, for two reasons. The first is that I don’t want to give away too much of the plot. In itself, the story is quite straightforward – an alcoholic mother goes into rehab and returns home – but there is so much more to this book. Every page is stuffed full of tension and small, horrifying moments. It is the sort of book where you reach the end of a chapter and realise you’ve been holding your breath. The structure is surprising, in that the ‘rock bottom’ moment seems to occur earlier than you might expect, but Harding is doing something more with this book than just a ‘road to recovery’ story, and the narrative arc never plays out in a predictable way.

The second reason for keeping this review short is that I haven’t sorted through my feelings properly yet. I have a personal connection with this book, knowing and loving someone who is in recovery, and parts of this book felt so raw that I am not sure I want to share my full emotions here. It is a testament to Harding’s skill that it resonated so deeply. Sonya is such a complex, fascinating character – even though the story is told in the first person, I still felt as if I couldn’t quite get to the core of her, and I wonder if this is because she doesn’t even know herself fully. Her impulsive, reckless instincts take over often and sometimes in quite terrifying ways, and it was an oddly unnerving experience to be inside the mind of a protagonist I didn’t trust. And Tommy – oh Tommy! The depth of emotion I felt for him as I read was almost too real. There are hints and lines within this book that suggest that in some ways this is more his story than his mother’s. My heart broke for him so many times.

As for the end of the book – all I will say is that is one of those stories where you immediately have to find someone else who has read it so that you can compare notes (thanks Tilly!) – I am offering now to be on hand for anyone who needs an Oh My God moment upon finishing this fiercely uncompromising novel. If you follow my blog with any regularity (thank you, both of you) you’ll know that I love an unsettling read, and this book delivers that feeling in spades. I was physically uncomfortable at points, wanting to look away but unable to put it down. Bright Burning Things had a massive impact on me, and I will be thinking about it for a long time.

Bright Burning Things by Lisa Harding is published by Bloomsbury and is available to purchase here.

Blurb

Five compelling true-to-life stories each highlighting a narcissist’s manipulative mind games

Narcissists are everywhere.

They can be witty, charming and highly charismatic.

Anyone can be their target.

At first their devious, calculating mind games can be hard to spot because they are masters of disguise, but then they revert to their true self of being controlling and angry in private. Their main aim: to dominate and use others to satisfy their needs, with a complete lack of compassion and empathy for their victim.

All stories highlight to what extent narcissistic abuse can distort lives and threaten our self-worth yet ultimately, also send a positive message that once the narcissist is unmasked, the victims can at last break free.

Review

Firstly, huge thanks to the author and to Emma at Damp Pebbles for my spot on the blog tour, and for sending me a digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. I love a good short story collection, and I was very intrigued by the premise of five stories each dealing with the same theme.

From a psychological perspective, this book is very illuminating. I didn’t know a lot about narcissistic personality disorder before I started reading, and I felt like the five ‘cases’ in this book gave me a greater insight into how manipulators work. The book also covers different stages of life in order to show how many people can be affected by the behaviour of narcissists. In ‘Tess and Tattoos’, we meet an older woman in a residential home; ‘The Runaway Girl’ presents a teenager faced with a manipulator, and the final story, ‘The Perfect Child’ takes us back to childhood to examine the early signs of this disorder.

The stand-out story for me was ‘The Spell’ – the narrator meets a young boy and his father and becomes a part of their lives. I really liked the way in which the story twists and turns, so that I wasn’t sure who was the manipulator until quite near the end. It is almost novella-length, allowing the story to stretch out and breathe, and I think this was the most engrossing tale for me. The Narcissist presented some nice variation of form, switching between points of view and allowing for a more medically-based explanation of narcissism, which was useful at that point.

It is an interesting concept to take a particular type of person and explore different manifestations of the effects they can have on others, and I think it works well. There is a lot of psychological insight behind these stories, and they feel, appropriately, like case studies. I would recommend this collection to anyone with an interest in psychology, or in understanding more about how manipulators operate.

About the Author

Helene Andrea Leuschel gained a Master in Journalism & Communication, which led to a career in radio and television in Brussels, London and Edinburgh. She later acquired a Master in Philosophy, specializing in the study of the mind. Helene has a particular interest in emotional, psychological and social well-being and this led her to write her first novel, Manipulated Lives, a fictional collection of five novellas, each highlighting the dangers of interacting with narcissists. She lives with her husband and two children in Portugal.

Social Media

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HALeuschel

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HALeuschel/

Website: https://www.heleneleuschel.com/

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/haleuschel/

Purchase Links

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2NJqNDI

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3bHPLLC

Manipulated Lives by H.A. Leuschel was first published in paperback and digital formats on 28th June 2016

Blurb

After years spent in the city, working with his business partner Randy on Bränd media, Ethan finds himself in the quiet, closed-off town of Starkfield. His wife Zenobia is perpetually distracted by the swirling #MeToo politics, the Kavanaugh hearings, and her duties to the feminist activism group she formed: All Them Witches. Ethan finds himself caught between their regular meetings at his home and the battle to get his livewire daughter Alex to sleep.

But the new, stilted rhythm of his life is interrupted when he receives a panicked message. Accusations. Against Randy. A slew of them. And Ethan is abruptly forced to question everything: his past, his future, his marriage, and what he values most.

Unrelenting in its satire, The Smash-up jolts you into the twisted psyche of successful brand advertising, where historic exploitation is only ever a panicked phone-call away. With magnetic energy and doses of comic wit, Benjamin creates a world of social media algorithms, extreme polarization, the collapsing of identity into tweet-sized spaces, and the spectre of violence that can be found even in the quietest places.

Review

I have really enjoyed reading this book as part of a buddy read organised by the wonderful riverrun books. Thanks so much to Ana and all of the team at riverrun/Quercus for running what I think are the best book chats on Twitter, and for my beautiful hardback copy of this book.

The Smash-Up is a hyper-modern book, sharp and spiky and utterly uncompromising in its refusal to take the easy road. Everything is complicated and messy and dusted with layers of ambiguity, from Zo’s activism to Ethan’s ‘good guy’ status. It reminded me a lot of Natasha Randall’s Love Orange (another riverrun delight, and my first buddy read experience), which I said in my review seemed to represent a new way of writing fiction. I think The Smash-Up, though different in many ways to Randall’s book, is part of that same movement towards something exciting and new, an ultra-modern mode of fiction that acknowledges the interconnectedness of family life, politics, social media, violence – everything crashing together and overloading our systems. The ‘domestic space’ no longer exists outside of politics, if it ever really did, and our lives are played out in a kind of public performance that makes the idea of a ‘private life’ seem anachronistic.

Strange to think that if I was writing this review a week ago, I would still be saying how timely it is, how it captures our era of misinformation and disillusionment perfectly, but I would probably be able to write it without tears in my eyes and anger in my heart. It is a very odd experience when the book you are reading, which is already highly relevant and absolutely on point about the issues of modern society and its mad, messy, confusing chaos, becomes more and more impactful by the hour as the news of the past week rolls in. By the end of this book, I was so deeply immersed in the truth of what Benjamin shows us that I was crying both with sadness and with relief that my feelings could have found such a corollary in fiction. If ever there was a book to read RIGHT NOW, this is it.

It is quite hard for me to articulate my thoughts on this book as I have only just finished it, and I know that the final buddy read tonight will help me corral my scattered ideas. I also think this is definitely a book that warrants re-reading – in fact, the geek in me would love to write an essay on The Smash-Up and Love Orange, so perhaps, lucky blog readers, there will be further ramblings from me in the future! For now, let me say that if you want to read a novel that just about sums up what it is to live in the world today, that probes the difficult questions and makes your brain whirr, that is more than just thought-provoking but rather thought-agitating, The Smash-Up will not disappoint. I’m already looking forward to rereading it.

The Smash-Up by Ali Benjamin is out now from riverrun books and is available to purchase here.

Blurb

A mother moves to Geneva with her husband and their two young children. In their beautiful new rented apartment, surrounded by their rented furniture, and several Swiss instructions to maintain quiet, she finds herself totally isolated. Her husband’s job means he is almost never present, and her entire world is caring for her children – making sure they are happy, and fed and comfortable, and that they can be seen as the happy, well-fed, comfortable family they should be. Everything is perfect.

But, of course, it’s not. The isolation, the sleeplessness, the demands of two people under two, are getting to Erika. She has never been so alone, and once the children are asleep, there are just too many hours to fill until morning . . .

Kyra Wilder’s Little Bandaged Days is a beautifully written, painfully claustrophobic story about a woman’s descent into madness. Unpredictable, frighteningly compelling and brutally honest, it grapples with the harsh conditions of motherhood and this mother’s own identity, and as the novel continues, we begin to wonder just what exactly Erika might be driven to do.

Review

Huge thanks to Alice Dewing at Picador Books for sending me a paperback copy in exchange for an honest review. I missed this book when it came out in hardback, so I’m delighted to have had the chance to read it now that it has been released in paperback. Little Bandaged Days is another dark, intense story about motherhood, which seems to be the theme I am running with this month, and I absolutely loved it.

The plot is straightforward enough: a woman moves to Switzerland with her husband and their two young children. With M out at work all day (and most nights), Erika is left alone with the children in their new apartment. What follows, however, is anything but simple: a gradual but terrifying slide into a strange unreality, the shapeless days unravelling, time stretching itself out and looping around in a thoroughly disconcerting way.

Wilder brings us so deeply into the mind of her protagonist that we see ‘reality’ through her eyes – and as she loses her grip, the reader is thrown headlong into the same sense of confusion and doubt. This is one of the most vivid, immersive portrayals of mental instability I have ever read. Everything that Erika sees and feels is real to her, and so, it becomes real to the reader. We are not allowed to adopt a rational, objective position – we are inside the mind that is coming undone, and it is an all-consuming experience. Terrible things happen in this book, but we rarely see the ‘truth’ until it is too late. Instead we are carried along on Erika’s bright, bubbling stream of enthusiasm that she keeps up with the kids, making everything into a game, constructing a perfect image of her family and willing herself to believe it. The cracks creep in so slowly, hairline fractures that trace their way across the book like veins of mould, so that the true extent of the damage comes as a shock.

The language in this novel is exquisite. The prose is so evocative and sensory, it is like being inside a poem as well as a psyche: the descriptions of food, of the games Erika plays with her children, and above all of the apartment, are so detailed and tactile and tangible – I felt as if I was there alongside them, tasting, feeling, smelling the rotting lemons and peering into the half-light of the darkened flat. It is hard to describe just how clever this book is – it not only pulls you right into Erika’s world, it holds you tightly, floods your senses, refuses to let you go – it is at times uncomfortably like being trapped. And this works SO well for the themes the novel explores – both motherhood and madness feel inescapable here. The only times I was able to pull myself out were in order to huff and puff at M’s behaviour, which Erika is far too accepting of, but my god, if ever there was a partner who misses the signs that all is not well, it is that man!

This is an extremely powerful, really quite harrowing book that left me horrified, but also in awe of Kyra Wilder’s talent as a writer. I don’t think I have read anything quite like this before. I loved the way this book is written: the prose is just so beautiful, sharp and clear and prismatic as cut glass, and I am excited to read more of this author’s work in the future.

Little Bandaged Days by Kyra Wilder is out now in paperback and is available to purchase here.

Blurb

Canceled Plans? –Check! Panic and Fear? – Check! Self- Isolation? – Check! Missing Friends? – Check! Gaining Weight? – Check! Binge-Watching TV? – Check! Lengthy Self – diggings? – Check! Hope? – Check, check, check! Who would have thought that Global Pandemic, Self-Isolation, Cluster, and a Lockdown were to become the trendiest words in 2020? Who would have imagined the world would freeze and people would stay home shattered with fear, panic, uncertainty towards their future? How do we adjust to this changing reality, when none of our questions have answers when plans turn upside down, and things get totally out of control?

In her new book: “From My Balcony to Yours,” author Nino Gugunishvili shares her personal account during the first several months of the COVID -19 global pandemic in the form of short stories and observations.

Nino Gugunishvili’s writing biography includes a collection of short stories “ You Will Have a Black Labrador” and a women’s fiction novel “ Friday Evening, Eight O’Clock.”

Review

Last year, I read Nino’s book You Will Have a Black Labrador and thought it was such a lovely, charming collection – so I was delighted when Nino kindly offered to send me another of her books in exchange for an honest review. From My Balcony to Yours is, I think, just about the first ‘pandemic lit’ I have read (I mean, we’re living it, and reading is my escape, so why would I…) – but somehow I knew that with Nino at the helm, it wouldn’t bring me down.

This is another very slim book, the perfect accompaniment to a lazy Sunday morning or a rainy afternoon. In similarly vignette-like chapters to Black Labrador, Nino shares her thoughts and musings on last year’s lockdown, in a way that actually made me nostalgic for Lockdown 1! It brought back a lot of the feelings I had first time round – the sense of time slowing, of the busyness of the outside world subsiding, of the shrinking of horizons to the four walls of home and a few local walks. There is Nino’s signature mix of humour, poignancy and eccentricity here, all written in a chatty, quirky style that I just so happen to adore. She skips through topics, dips in and out of memories, comments on the strangeness that so quickly became our norm, mentions both the boredom and the novelty, makes jokes, shares secrets, and always ends on a hopeful note.

I don’t know quite what it is about her writing, but Nino gives of herself and her thoughts so merrily, so openly, that it creates a real sense of intimacy. I’ve never met her, but I can imagine sitting outside a café in the sunshine with her, whiling away an entire afternoon chatting, laughing and being totally honest, in that way that sometimes you only can be with strangers, and just having the best time. Get this book, and Black Labrador, stick them in your bag, and when we start going places again, you’ll have a little slice of entertaining loveliness wherever you go.

From My Balcony to Yours by Nino Gugunishvili is out now and is available to purchase here.

Blurb

THIS MOTHER’S DAY YOU WILL CALL HER MUMMY

Glamorous, beautiful Mummy has everything a woman could want. Except for a daughter of her very own. So when she sees Kim – heavily pregnant, glued to her phone and ignoring her eldest child in a busy shop – she does what anyone would do. She takes her. But foul-mouthed little Tonya is not the daughter that Mummy was hoping for. As Tonya fiercely resists Mummy’s attempts to make her into the perfect child, Kim is demonised by the media as a ‘scummy mummy’, who deserves to have her other children taken too. Haunted by memories of her own childhood and refusing to play by the media’s rules, Kim begins to spiral, turning on those who love her. Though they are worlds apart, Mummy and Kim have more in common than they could possibly imagine. But it is five-year-old Tonya who is caught in the middle…

CALL ME MUMMY. IT’LL BE BETTER IF YOU DO.

Review

Having just read Ashley Audrain’s brilliantly dark novel The Push, I decided to continue with the theme of twisted motherhood and dive into this debut from Tina Baker. I have absolutely loved Tina’s wondeful promotion efforts on Twitter and Instagram (this seems like a good time to send massive kudos to all the wonderful debut authors launching in lockdown!) and have seen loads of positive – if slightly traumatised – comments from reviewers I admire, so I was excited to read this.

Call Me Mummy is another very dark book, and Mummy is a terrifying creation, not least because she is so convinced of her own righteousness. The style of the novel – short chapters made up not only of straightforward prose but also of Twitter feeds and other points of view, sometimes only a page or less, works really well – we get to see the drama unfold from different angles, and it is very astute on the gap between perception and reality. Kim is a great character – she is flawed, and even at times, dangerous as a parent, but her portrayal by the media is far removed from her internal journey.

The parallels between Kim and Mummy are very cleverly done, and add another layer to the story. The star of the book for me, though, has to be Tonya. In so few lines, so much is conveyed about this fierce, brilliant little girl – and it makes what she goes through all the more heartbreaking. Mummy chilled me to the bone, but Tonya brings a warm light all of her own to the story.

I shouldn’t have been surprised, having seen Tina’s hilarious posts on social media, but it did come as a pleasant shock to discover that this is also a very funny book. The humour is, of course, seriously dark – but I absolutely love that! When the fastidiously tidy Mummy realises that – would you believe it – kids are messy; when she goes from “all I ever wanted was a child” to “all I want is sleep” – I had to laugh. Even the gradual realisation of just how much of a monster Mummy is becomes deliciously tinted with irony as we are presented with her hideously warped view of reality. It’s a real skill to enter into the mind of a character so twisted and compel the reader to want follow you there – Baker achieves this wonderfully.

Parts of this novel are really distressing; others are bleakly funny, but there was never a moment where I wasn’t desperate to find out what happened next. It taps into every parent’s worst nightmare and plays the whole scenario through in technicolour, making for a shocking, all-consuming reading experience which left me feeling breathless. I think Call Me Mummy is a really original book, a fresh and dangerous story that cuts deep and leaves a lasting impression. I would love to read more books by this author.

Call Me Mummy by Tina Baker is out now from Viper Books and is available to purchase here.

Blurb

What if your experience of motherhood was nothing like what you hoped for – but everything you always feared?

‘The women in this family, we’re different . . .’

The arrival of baby Violet was meant to be the happiest day of my life. A fresh start.

But as soon as I held her in my arms, I knew something wasn’t right.

I have always known that the women in my family weren’t meant to be mothers.

My husband Fox says I’m imagining it, but she’s different with me. Something feels very wrong.

Is it her? Or is it me?

Is she the monster? Or am I?

The Push is an addictive, gripping and compulsive read asking what happens when women are not believed – and challenging everything we think we know about motherhood.

Review

I’d heard great things about this book, from book bloggers who have never let me down yet with their recommendations, so I treated myself to the gorgeous Waterstones special edition – yep, the one with the PURPLE sprayed edges. I actually wasn’t intending to read it this month, but it called out to me, and I couldn’t resist.

This book is astounding. It is so dark and powerful and so cleverly written. The structure builds towards the central incident with agonising tension, and then spirals out from it in a tangled web of consequences and possible causes, reaching back into the past and surging forwards into the present. I can’t talk about the plot too much for fear of spoiling anything, but Audrain’s narrative skill is breathtaking – the way the novel carefully controls the tension, turning up the dial in increments, makes it impossible to put this book down. I loved the progression of uncertainty, menace, doubt and terror – cycling between these point is an emotionally exhausting, utterly captivating journey for the reader.

The characters in The Push are fascinating. Blythe, the narrator, feels the weight of her history crushing her as she struggles to forge a new path, and the flashbacks of her mother and grandmother, Cecily and Etta, create a terrifying sense of the cyclical pattern she is so afraid of repeating. There is real darkness in this book, and at times it is a difficult read. These are characters who have suffered, are suffering, who are driven to desperate acts by sheer desperation. And Violet, who stains the pages (literally in my beautiful purple copy!) and haunts her mother’s nightmares – she is all the more disturbing for being unknowable. We never see her point of view, fully allied as we are with Blythe’s confessional-style narrative, written for her partner, Fox. The ‘you’ that Fox mostly exists as in the novel is another stylish feature of this intelligent novel – it adds another level of intimacy, as if we are spying on their relationship. I have to admit, I got very angry with him at several points, and was frustrated with Blythe’s acceptance of his treatment of her, his lack of understanding.

The Push could not be more aptly named. Rarely have I read a book with such surging momentum, such narrative force and drive. I read late into the night, and could hardly bear to pause to attend to my own motherly duties. I have been intentionally vague with regards to the plot, because it is just so shocking and brilliantly done, and it is best to go in without too much prior knowledge. If you like compelling, disturbing reads that will keep you up, The Push is absolutely the book for you. I will be thinking about it for a long time.

The Push by Ashley Audrain is published by Penguin Michael Joseph and is available to purchase here.

Somehow, I have managed to read eleven books this month, probably helped by the fact that I’ve not been sleeping all that well. I have read some brilliant new books, revisited some old friends, and discovered authors I can’t read more of. I’ve also been cracking on with Ducks, Newburyport – I am really enjoying it, and if I wasn’t a book blogger (perish the thought!) I’d be very tempted to just devote a couple of months to it and let it take me over! BUT there are many other literary delights awaiting, and I do enjoy the spice of variety!

Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal (2021)

I was so excited to receive an advanced copy of Elizabeth Macneal’s second novel, having loved her debut The Doll Factory. It isn’t out until May, but I just couldn’t resist diving straight in. It was just what I needed to kick off the reading month – a fabulous novel that ticked every box for me. I adored it. You can read my full thoughts here. This is one to get pre-ordered for sure!

The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien (1937)

I reread this as a precursor to a marathon Lord of the Rings readalong I’m doing with some of my crew from The Write Reads. I haven’t read it in years, and it was an unexpected joy to return to Bilbo’s story. I had such a lovely, nostalgic time rereading The Hobbit – I’d forgotten enough of the details to keep me interested, and the parts I remembered felt like visiting old friends. I’m really glad I decided to join in with this readalong. I’ve started rereading LOTR and I am absolutely loving it, too.

Kololo Hill by Neema Shah (2021)

Sometimes I get a really strong feeling about a book before I even read it. I just knew that I was going to love this debut novel by Neema Shah, and it did not disappoint for a moment. This is a powerful story beautifully told, and I can’t stop shouting about how wonderful it is! For more, see my full review here.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie (1920)

I do love a debut novel, even if it’s one from over a hundred years ago! Along with some of my crew from The Write Reads, I’ve embarked on a Poirot readalong, so I’ve gone back to the start. I enjoyed this one, though not quite as much as the two I read last month. It was good to meet Hastings, though, and I love the dynamic between him and Poirot.

The Last Words of Madeleine Anderson by Helen Kitson (2019)

I am a big fan of indie publisher Louise Walters Books, and since I managed to get a spot on the blog tour for Helen’s second novel, Old Bones, this month, I decided to read her first novel, too. I have to admit, it took me a while to get into this book, as the story is really quite peculiar, but once I abandoned myself to the quirks of the narrative, I really enjoyed it. It serves as a good introduction to the village of Morevale, too.

The Strays of Paris by Jane Smiley (2021)

I am a big fan of Jane Smiley, and I was really excited to discover that she has a new novel out. The Strays of Paris is a lovely slice of escapism, beautifully written, the perfect distraction from all the chaos going on in the world right now. You can read my full review here.

Nightshift by Kiare Ladner (2021)

I was completely sucked into the half-lit, nocturnal world of this gripping debut novel. I read the whole book in one go, unable to stop reading the story of Meggie’s obsession with the mysterious Sabine. Highly recommended – check out my full review here.

The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie (1923)

More Poirot, and more Hastings, in this France-set adventure. It took me a bit longer to read this one, possibly because it gets even more complicated than usual towards the end, with red herrings leaping about all over the place, and rather a lot of mistaken identity. I enjoyed it, though, and I liked seeing Hastings get more involved in the action.

Old Bones by Helen Kitson (2021)

My second Helen Kitson book of the month returns to the village of Morevale, this time centring on three women in their sixties. Past disappointments cast a shadow over their present, and secrets come to light in surprising ways. You can read my full review here.

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas (2020)

This was another Write Reads crew readalong, and I am so glad I read it. I don’t read much YA at all, and I really don’t know why! This story of the brujx in LA ,who have access to the spirit world, and Yadriel’s quest for acceptance by them, is fresh, funny, occasionally terrifying, and often very moving. I loved it, and it has made me want to read more in this genre. Luckily I know a few readers who might have one or two further suggestions for me!

Fortune’s Hand by R.N. Morris

My final read of the month was perhaps the biggest surprise. A historical novel based on the life of Walter Raleigh may not sound like it is going to be a particularly wild ride, but that is exactly what this bold, experimental, thrilling book is. The writing is astounding – R.N. Morris is a fiercely talented author – and the originality of this book absolutely blew me away. You can read my full review here. If you are at all tempted, do check this one out, it is something very special indeed.

All in all, it’s been another fab reading month. I have also launched my new business, providing creative writing feedback, which is off to a good start, and of course juggled the joys of lockdown life with two smalls. I have masses of exciting books to look forward to in March, and I am holding out hope for a little more sleep, too!

Happy reading!

Ellie x