Review: Nesting by Roisin O’Donnell (2025)

Blurb

An extraordinary and urgent debut by a prize-winning Irish writer, Nesting introduces an unforgettable new voice in fiction.

On a bright spring afternoon in Dublin, Ciara Fay makes a split-second decision that will change everything. Grabbing an armful of clothes from the washing line, Ciara straps her two young daughters into her car and drives away. Head spinning, all she knows for certain is that home is no longer safe.

This was meant to be an escape. But with dwindling savings, no job, and her family across the sea, Ciara finds herself adrift, facing a broken housing system and the voice of her own demons. As summer passes and winter closes in, she must navigate raising her children in a hotel room, searching for a new home and dealing with her husband Ryan’s relentless campaign to get her to come back. Because leaving is one thing, but staying away is another.

What will it take for Ciara to reinvent her life? Can she ever truly break away from Ryan’s control – and what will be the cost?

Tense, beautiful, and underpinned by an unassailable love, hope and resilience, this is the story of one woman’s bid to start over.

Review

Many thanks to the author for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a stunning, urgent, important book, and it resonated with me in ways that left me feeling seen, as well as drawing my attention to issues I didn’t know much about, such as the dire housing situation that Ciara faces when she finally leaves Ryan. The tension runs through this book, a taut thread that pulls the reader along with the kind of momentum that makes it a quicker read than a book on such weighty topics might be in less skillful hands. The close, close, CLOSE third person that we experience Ciara’s point of view from is absolutely brilliantly done – it’s that kind of voice that makes you remember the book as a first person narrative even though it’s not – this is a rare and beautiful thing in fiction.

One of the many things the author does so well in this book is to capture the mundanity of motherhood without making it dull to read – I remember reading The Golden State by Lydia Kiesling a few years ago (another excellent novel about a single mother) and being struck by how rare it was to read the sorts of descriptions she provides about the practicalities of parenting – the snacks that need procuring, the noses that need wiping, the putting on of shoes and the endless laundry.

There is something about mothering young children which keeps you urgently anchored in the present moment, and it makes it incredibly hard to think Big Thoughts about the future, or make sensible plans, and I think O’Donnell really captures the struggle that Ciara faces here – ‘starting a new life’ is all very well, but those immediate, pressing needs of her children won’t wait patiently in the wings while she does that. The absolute requirement to hold it all together, to be a rock for the small people when you feel like falling apart, to keep some semblance of normality going for their sake, because they still need snacks, and clean clothes, and entertainment – these moments provided the most poignant scenes of the book for me.

There is a lot here that is bleak, yes, but there is also hope, and it is to be found in the small kindnesses of others. The characters Ciara meets as she seeks shelter for herself and her children are not all benevolent, because life isn’t like that, but there are shining moments that restore our faith in humanity – not in a sentimental way, but in the very real sense of connection that is the touchstone of human experience.

Hope is also found in Ciara’s own strength, which she discovers within herself in a way which resonated beautifully and almost painfully in my chest. It has been a little while since I read this book, and writing this review is bringing the tears back to my eyes – that’s how powerful Roisin O’Donnell’s debut novel is. I think this is a must-read book for many, many reasons, and I defy anyone not to be moved by its beauty and intensity. I can’t wait to see what comes next from this incredibly talented author.

Nesting by Roisin O’Donnell is published by Scribner and is available to purchase here.

Review: Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeny (2025)

Blurb

Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.

Grady calls his wife as she’s driving home to share some exciting news. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by a cliff edge, the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there . . . but his wife has disappeared.

A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible: a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.

Wives think their husbands will change, but they don’t.
Husbands think their wives won’t change, but they do.

Review

Many thanks to the publisher and to the lovely Squadpod for my beautiful copy of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first novel by Alice Feeney, but I had obviously heard a lot of good things, so I went in with high expectations for a twisty, gripping thriller – and wow, does this book deliver! It keeps you guessing the whole time, and gives the reader that deliciously ‘on edge’ feeling that the best examples of this genre provide. The set-up is classic – wife disappears, husband is left unable to find closure because he doesn’t know what really happened – but the way it all plays out feels extremely fresh and original.

I always think it takes a particular confidence on the part of an author to make their protagonist a writer, but with Grady, Feeney shows how well-earned that confidence is, and his narration reflects his profession in his keen eye for detail and his imaginative flights of fancy, which are compounded by his insomnia and his drinking (both alcohol and, later, the mysterious tea the islanders press on him). The point of view doesn’t stay with him all the time, however – we get flashbacks to Alice which provide an alternative perspective on their marriage, and although I can’t go into details of the plot for fear of spoilers, suffice it to say that it thickens up very nicely indeed!

The real star of this book for me, though, is the setting. The island that Grady takes himself off to in his self-imposed exile, the remote Isle of Amberly, is the most glorious place to set a thriller, fulfilling the promise of the brilliant title in its mixture of beauty and danger, idyll and prison. The landscape, climate and buildings are all described so vividly that it feels as if we’re actually there (and I loved the map at the front of the book – I am a sucker for a book with a map!), and the inhabitants who gradually make themselves known are as intriguing, secretive, and, at times, sinister, as one could wish for in a ‘locked room’ (well, isolated island) mystery. By the time the novel hurtles towards its conclusion, every page seems to give up a new secret, and the twists come as thick and fast as you could wish.

If you enjoy a thriller with fine writing, a rich setting, engrossing characters and a plethora of unexpected twists, you’ll love Beautiful Ugly.

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney is published by Macmillan and is available to purchase here.

Review: The Quick and the Dead by Emma Hinds (2025)

Blurb

It matters not who you are born to but where you are made.

It is 1597 and Kit Skevy and Mariner Elgin have just robbed the wrong grave.

The two are unusual criminals in the pocket of a gang Lord named Will Twentyman, the Grave Eorl of Southwark. Mariner is the best cutpurse around, a strange Calvinist girl who dresses like a boy and is partner in crime to Kit Skevy, Southwark’s best brawler who carries a secret: he cannot feel pain.

When caught out in their unfortunate larceny, Kit is kidnapped by the threatening alchemist Lord Isherwood (a man who will stop at nothing to achieve his hopes for the Red Lion elixir) and his studious son, Lazarus Isherwood, with whom Kit develops a complicated intrigue. When Mariner enlists the help of a competing French alchemist, Lady Elody Blackwater, Mariner and Kit are thrust into the shadowed, political world of Tudor alchemy.

Review

Many thanks to the publisher and to my lovely Squadpod for arranging a proof copy of this book to make its way to me in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first read of 2025, and what a way to kick off the year with a bang! This is exactly the sort of immersive historical fiction I love best, flirting with magical realism and dark fantasy but also full of historical detail and context that makes the storyworld feel so rich and real. There’s such a potent mix of elements, if you’ll excuse the alchemical pun, in this novel: from the poverty-stricken streets of Southwark to the political wranglings at court; from the laboratories of renowned alchemists to the stagecraft of the Rose theatre – there’s so much to enjoy, so many moving parts that make up the explosive, dramatic story.

The real strength of this book lies in the two protagonists, Kit and Mariner. Each of them is such an engaging character that they could sustain an entire novel as the point of view character – to have both of them feels like an extra special treat. With a lightness of touch and a real sense of respect for the characters, the author explores themes of identity, gender, sexuality, belonging in a way that complements the plot and adds a depth to the writing. I utterly believed in both characters, despite Kit, in particular, having some fantastical traits. The fact that he can’t feel pain (it’s in the blurb, so I don’t think I’m spoiling anything!) is presented in such a clever way – it makes him both less and more vulnerable to those around him. Both characters embark on queer love affairs, and again, rather than diluting the story, this doubling up makes it feel all the more rich.

The climax of the novel, which I WILL keep to myself, is brilliantly done – I certainly couldn’t have predicted the events that unfold towards the end of the novel, and I was absolutely gripped. I think this book has everything – drama, humour, a decent splash of gore and violence, sexual tension, and of course, a dollop of magic and alchemy. What’s not to love?! I haven’t read Emma Hinds’ debut novel, The Knowing, yet, but after reading The Quick and the Dead, you’d best believe it’s going on my TBR, as is anything else she writes in the future. I’m a fan!

The Quick and the Dead by Emma Hinds is published by Bedford Square and is available to purchase here.

Review: The Last Princess by Ellen Alpsten (2024)

Blurb

Young and beautiful Gytha Godwinson is the envy of England when her father Harold seizes the country’s crown in early 1066. However, treachery tears her house, her family and everything she holds dear apart. Soon triumph turns to terror as an evil star appears, heralding the end of an era and a new beginning for Britain. Her family and the realm seem cursed, but even as she suffers loss, betrayal and humiliation, Gytha is determined to regain what is rightfully hers. She survives the walk through the furnace that is the conquest and goes so much further.

In a stunning re-telling of 1066, international bestselling author Ellen Alpsten has created a captivating new heroine in Gytha Godwinson. Witness the demise of a cursed kingdom and the emergence of a new empire. The Last Princess bridges myth and modernity.

Review

Many thanks to the author and to the Squadpod for sorting me out with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited by the premise of this book – going behind the scenes on the key year of 1066 and crafting something entirely new out of a story we think we know is EXACTLY the sort of thing the best historical fiction does. I couldn’t wait to meet Gytha Godwinson, the heroine of the story. Both Gytha and the novel as a whole exceeded all my expectations – this is a BRILLIANT book.

There is so much here to enjoy: the impeccably researched setting, in which everything from the food to the landscape to the dynamics between household members feels absolutely authentic; the hints of myth and magic that swoop in and out of the novel, present but never overpowering the human element of the story; the meaty, visceral, sometimes shocking prose that doesn’t shy away from the gruesome descriptions of a violent age; and at the centre of it all, a heroine you can’t help but root for. There are some clever narrative sleights of hand that work so well. The book does a particularly fine job of making sure we’re not just confined to the domestic sphere by dint of following a female main character during the key events of 1066 – but I won’t give anything away here!

Gytha is everything you want in a protagonist: she’s witty and clever and brave; she has so many sides to her, so much depth, and she’s not without flaws, which makes her all the more interesting to follow as she negotiates the treacherous path laid out for her by the actions of her father. She takes her destiny into her own hands, leads her brothers across the sea, and the scenes we get in the second half of the novel in the court of her Danish kinsmen are even more compelling and vividly drawn than the drama of the battles that come before. And to top it all off, there’s a pretty steamy (this is a pun – read the book and you’ll see!) romance with a ‘book boyfriend’ readers will be swooning over!

I found the whole novel utterly compelling – it’s by turns shocking, funny, tender, gruesome – and it explores fascinating themes such as the clash between the old faiths and ways and the introduction of Christianity; marriage and duty versus love; family bonds and how they can be broken. There’s so much going on here, and it makes for a brilliantly satisfying, heady mix that ticks all my historical fiction mega fan boxes! And best of all, it is the first in a trilogy, so there’s more Gytha to come, which makes my heart sing with delight. I can’t wait to find out what she does next!

The Last Princess by Ellen Alpsten is available to purchase here. You can find out more about the author on her website www.ellenalpsten.com

Review: Fledging by Rose Diell (2024)

Blurb

“It starts as bloating, a hard curvature in my gut that won’t go away. I wonder if it’s my period, but it isn’t the right time. The cramps come slowly at first, like a slowly rising tide, and then grow shorter and sharper, a racing heartbeat.”

When Lia lays an egg she doesn’t know what to do. At her age, it’s impossible to escape the baby question, and all her friends seem to be having children. She feels her heart’s not in it – but all the same, there’s the egg, impossible to ignore, lying in a nest of towels in the living room.

Her partner on tour on the other side of the world and her mother diagnosed with a terminal illness, Lia finds herself torn, unsure whether she’s ready to give up on her songwriting dreams; but time is running out, and she must make one of the biggest decisions of her life.

FLEDGING is for every woman who’s felt weighed down by the baby decision – and paralysed by the fear that She’ll Regret Not Having Them One Day. It’s a call for women to make their own choices, whether that means embracing motherhood or living child-free.

Review

When I first heard about the premise of Rose Diell’s novel, I knew I had to read it. I was delighted to be offered a spot on the blog tour and an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review – many thanks to the wonderful Will at Renard Press.

I’m fascinated by ‘the motherhood question’ – ever since I read Sheila Heti’s autofictional novel, Motherhood, I’ve become increasingly aware of just how casually I tumbled into the state of motherhood, assuming it to be the next logical step but not interrogating my decision (barely registering it as a decision at all, in fact). Luckily for me, it was the right decision, but what a strange step to take so lightly, especially for someone like me, who is usually such an overthinker. I have a lot of respect for women who wrestle properly with this question, and I love seeing different explorations in fiction. All this to say, even though I’m a done deal motherhood-wise, this is a topic that really interests me, and this novel had me from the tagline.

Apart from being a fantastic hook, the premise of Lia laying an egg also creates a wonderfully dramatic opening scene. It’s the perfect showcase for the author’s lithe, spare prose, drawing us into the present tense narration and creating an immediate sense of trust in the writing – yes, the situation is outlandish, but we’re in good hands here, we can suspend our disbelief and go with the flow of Lia’s story.

There’s a lovely rhythm to this book, partly created by the natural stages each section describes (Brooding, Hatching, Fledging), but also by the different threads that the author weaves together. As well as her current dilemma, we get snatches of Lia’s past, we learn a little about her long distance relationship with David, her attempts to carve out a career as a songwriter, and, most significantly, her own mother’s illness. There is also a deep focus on Lia’s physical awareness of her body, and the strange pains she suffers – at times, this reminded me slightly of Maddie Mortimer’s excellent novel Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies. Both books share a precision of language and a way of exploring physical and emotional sensation in a way that feels careful, exacting, an unpeeling of thoughts and feelings to get to what is underneath. It’s really clever writing: understated, but beautiful – the sort of writing I trust to dig out the truth.

What I also really admire about Fledging is that it’s exactly as long as it needs to be. That may sound like faint praise, but it isn’t, I promise – it’s got more weight and heft than a short story, (though it reminds me a little of shorter works by Angela Carter and Margaret Atwood, two of my favourite writers) and the three acts create a satisfying narrative arc. It never feels stretched, despite the potential constraints of its allegorical centrepiece, and we get to know Lia in a way that feels nuanced and real. I love that we don’t get offered neat conclusions wrapped up in a bow – life is more complex than that, and individuals need to sift through the mess and the beauty and the chaos of who they are in order to make their own decisions.

This short but powerful book has a kind of mesmerising quality – Lia’s world becomes so vivid that the hook of the ‘wacky’ premise fades into accepted reality, and the beautiful writing takes over. I’d read anything else this author writes, and I highly recommend getting your hands on this wonderful story.

Fledging by Rose Diell is published by Renard Press and is available to purchase here.

Review: Second Self by Chloe Ashby (2023)

Blurb

When Cathy and Noah first got together neither saw children in their future. Eight years later, they’re happily married – and Cathy isn’t so sure. With Noah’s tolerance for his wife’s ambivalence waning, her widowed mother in a world of her own and her best friend yearning for a second baby, Cathy feels increasingly adrift.

Escaping into her work in the conservation studios of the National Gallery, she chips away at the layers of overpaint on a canvas from the collection. Will the discovery of an unexpected truth help her find the clarity she craves?

Second Self is a novel about confronting expectations, and learning to cope with the nagging, complex questions that shape a life. It’s about minds and bodies at the mercy of natural forces and social pressure. Above all, it’s an ode to big decisions, small, tender moments, and how we choose to be.

This poignant second novel from the author of Wet Paint is perfect for fans of Expectation and Sorrow and Bliss.

Review

Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a finished copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. I read this last year – apologies for the delay in sharing my thoughts! It is now out in paperback (I know, I know – I’ve been all over the place with blogging, but I’m back!)

I really enjoyed the author’s debut novel Wet Paint, so I was looking forward to reading Second Self. Chloe Ashby’s prose style is gorgeous and understated. She writes with a painterly eye, and the descriptions are always so vivid and evocative. In her first novel, I really admired the way she captured that 20-something hazy stage of life – here, with 35-year-old Cathy as the narrator, we’re onto a new set of questions and decisions, as Cathy reckons with her and her partner’s choice not to have children.

The story itself is subtle and delicate, fine brushwork rather than broad strokes, and it’s always absorbing to read. Cathy’s job as an art conservationist provides opportunities for some beautiful, meditative writing, and there’s a kind of excitement as she cleans away the layers on the canvas she’s restoring that’s very cleverly done, matching the inner work the character is doing, but without laying on the symbolism too thickly.

The writing carries you along, and while the story unfurls rather than hurtles towards a dramatic conclusion, somehow it’s as compelling as a thriller, as we get so deeply enmeshed in Cathy’s thoughts and life. Ashby is a writer who really understands human nature, and who isn’t afraid to delve into the psyche of her characters, illuminating all the parts of ourselves that we might shy away from. For me, that’s what the novel form is all about, and Second Self is a second novel that shows how skilled this author is in her chosen medium. If you like your books on the literary side, and your characters nuanced and deeply felt, her novels are definitely for you. I’m a big fan, and Chloe Ashby is firmly on my go-to author list now.

Second Self by Chloe Ashby is published by Trapeze Books and is available to purchase here.

Review: The New Girl by Alison Stockham (2024)

Blurb

The letterbox clatters and sitting on the mat is a piece of paper, in black and white, with everything needed to blow Anna’s perfect life apart.

A baby scan photo.

Anna and Jon have been trying for a baby with no success, so after years of disappointment, this feels like a kick in the teeth.

Who sent it? And why?

Anna’s thoughts fall on Grace – the keen young woman Jon hired at their printing business. Something about Grace isn’t quite right. She asks too many questions and makes Anna nervous but she can’t work out why.

And she can’t deny she sees the way her husband looks at her.

All she knows is this baby scan might tear her marriage apart…

Review

I loved Alison Stockham’s debut novel The Cuckoo Sister, which I reviewed when it came out last year, and although she’s writing them faster than I can read them and this is in fact her third book (I need to catch up with The Silent Friend, which also sounds fabulous!), I jumped at the chance to read The New Girl. Many thanks to the author for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

As I found with her first novel, this book is much more than a straightforward thriller – it’s all about the psychological aspect, and we delve deep inside the protagonist, Anna’s, complex mind. She’s a fascinating character to spend time with as she’s full of flaws – she longs for the stability and love that she was denied in childhood, but that same childhood has left her suspicious and distrustful, easily led to the wrong conclusion – all traits which make for some twisty garden paths as we follow her attempts to make sense of the strange appearance of a baby scan on her doormat. I really liked the way the scan, usually something to be celebrated, here becomes almost threatening – it is very clever.

I can’t go into details about the plot, of course, because it’s a thriller of twists and turns, but I will say there are a lot of aspects that feel very fresh. I think having a religious background for the characters adds a new dimension – there’s a whole series of dilemmas that become heightened by the church’s involvement. It adds that aspect of the whole community watching, which pours pressure onto an already tense situation.

For me, Anna is the main draw of this plot – she borders on unlikeable, and I am a big believer in the unlikeable female protagonist! And yet, as the story unfolds, we come to know and understand her so much better, and our sympathy for her transcends her sometimes erratic, often self-destructive, behaviour. She’ll annoy you frequently, surprise you sometimes, and, occasionally, endear herself to you with her more vulnerable moments. It is a real experience getting to know her as a character.

As a writer, Alison Stockham never goes for the easy answer – she truly understands the messiness of being human, and this keeps her books full of tension and surprises. If you enjoyed her other work, this will continue to delight, and if you’re new to her writing, well, then, like me, you’ve got some catching up to do! Book Four will be out soon, and I expect it will be another deliciously twisty dive into the glorious complexities of life!

The New Girl by Alison Stockham is published by Boldwood and is available to purchase here.

Review: The Switch by Lily Samson (2024)

Blurb

TWO COUPLES

Elena and Adam are housesitting in Wimbledon and are instantly seduced by their new upscale surroundings.

Sophia and Finn are their beautiful, enigmatic neighbours who invite them into their world.

ONE TWISTED GAME

When Sophia proposes a wicked game to Elena whereby they will swap partners in secret, it’s not long before Elena starts to experience a sexual awakening that blossoms into an illicit love affair.

But Sophia’s plans are far more complex and dangerous than Elena could ever have imagined…

WHO WILL SURVIVE?

Review

I don’t read that many thrillers, but every now and then, I do like to remind myself what I’m missing out on with this genre, and I always enjoy dipping my toe in. I was delighted to be sent a copy of The Switch in exchange for an honest review – many thanks to the author.

The premise of this book does require an initial suspension of disbelief, as it’s based on the Roald Dahl short story (for adults!) in which two men devise a plan to sleep with each others’ wives without the women knowing. In Samson’s novel, the gender roles are ‘switched’ and it’s the women who decide to deceive their husbands, with an elaborate plan that relies on the proximity of their houses and the strategic removal of lightbulbs from bedside lamps. As far-fetched as this might sound, Lily Samson pulls it off, and more, in this deeply compelling novel that I absolutely raced through.

The switch itself is only the beginning of a gorgeously tangled web of deceit, whose silky strands come undone one by one in intelligent, sharp, beautiful prose. It’s utterly addictive, with all four of the main characters offering a nuanced and tantalising selection of secrets and desire, and there’s a delicious sense of glamour and luxury that infuses the text like a perfume. This is a sexy book, and it’s one to be devoured in a gleeful reading spree.

The many twists and turns are handled with consummate skill, and I think readers will be surprised that this is the author’s debut. As I mentioned above, I’m not an expert on this genre, but it certainly seems as if Lily Samson is! The withholding and revealing of information is meted out perfectly, designed to keep you turning the pages while also forming your own wild theories – it really keeps you guessing, but when all the pieces finally slot into place, it works brilliantly. The pace doesn’t let up throughout – it’s fabulously relentless in maintaining the tension, and very, very hard to put down once you’ve started!

I think this will appeal to fans of writers such as Laure Van Rensburg, whose books Nobody But Us and The Good Daughter share Samson’s mix of dark psychological insight and stunning prose, but anyone who is looking for a cracking read this summer should check The Switch out. I will be waiting excitedly to see what’s next from this author!

The Switch by Lily Samson is published by Century and is available to purchase here.

Review: Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons (2023)

Blurb

Was the greatest ever love story a lie? The first time Romeo Montague sees young Rosaline Capulet he falls instantly in love.

Rosaline, headstrong and independent, is unsure of Romeo’s attentions but with her father determined that she join a convent, this handsome and charming stranger offers her the chance of a different life. Soon though, Rosaline begins to doubt all that Romeo has told her.

She breaks off the match, only for Romeo’s gaze to turn towards her cousin, thirteen-year-old Juliet. Gradually Rosaline realises that it is not only Juliet’s reputation at stake, but her life.

With only hours remaining before she will be banished behind the nunnery walls, will Rosaline save Juliet from her Romeo? Or can this story only ever end one way?

A subversive, powerful untelling of Shakespeare’s best-known tale, narrated by a fierce, forgotten voice: this is Rosaline’s story.

Review

I won a copy of this book in a giveaway run by the lovely Emma’s Bibliotreasures – huge thanks for my prize! Like all my reviews at the moment, I read it a while ago, but am catching up with sharing my thoughts now.

I was a massive fan of Natasha Solomons’ last novel, I, Mona Lisa, and the premise of Fair Rosaline sounded just as intriguing, so I couldn’t wait to dive in. I was not disappointed! Described as an ‘untelling’ rather than a retelling, this novel takes the familiar and makes it new, flips the classic romance tropes of a story we know so well, and produces something fresh, profound, and, perhaps surprisingly, a whole lot of fun.

The writing is so skillful – the characters sound authentic without being overdone or pretentious; it is redolent with the Bard’s beautiful prose and witty asides, but doesn’t tip into parody. Scenes and lines from the play are incorporated – and often subverted – and there is a lot of literary fun to be had as a Shakespeare geek in spotting the references and the changes. But it stands on its own, too, as a damn good story, and what I really loved was characters I knew a little from the play became fully rounded individuals – Tybalt in particular is a wonderful character, as is Rosaline herself.

There is an apt and absorbing sense of the theatrical, befitting of its source material, yet Fair Rosaline also uses a novel’s capacity to widen out the scene and go ‘beyond the script.’ The setting is so vividly described – as we move from city to countryside, all the details of the heat and the smells and the food and the houses add a kind of thickening powder to the stew, and it feels rich and rounded and real.

The ending is deeply satisfying, too, but I’ll stop here before I give too much away. There is so much to enjoy in this novel – I can’t recommend it enough. You’ll never think of Romeo the same way again!

Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons is published by Manilla Press and is available to buy here.

Review: Limelight by Daisy Buchanan (2023)

Blurb


Frankie has a love-hate relationship with the spotlight.

She secretly craves attention, but she is ashamed of that craving. And after a lifetime of comparison to her perfect sister Bean, she has never felt more invisible. She only ever feels seen when she uploads risque photos to her small community of online fans. She creates a new her: confident, sexy and utterly unrecognisable from the real Frankie.

Then the worst happens. Bean is diagnosed with cancer. While Frankie wants to fill the freezer with home cooked food, her mother decides she knows better and somehow launches a nationwide cancer fundraiser, with Frankie as the supportive-sister-spokesmodel. Inevitability, her account is found. Now everyone has their eyes on Frankie.

With her family no longer speaking to her, Frankie flounders in her newfound notoriety. Feminists and misogynists rage at her online, while she attracts hundreds of new subscribers. Whether they’re demanding apologies or expecting an empowering call to arms, everyone wants Frankie to explain herself. But how can she explain what she barely understands?

Limelight is a story about sisterhood, sexuality, and self-esteem. It’s about how we cope with living in a world which constantly tells us who we are. What happens when we stop listening and start paying attention to who we need to become?

Review

Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a gorgeous finished copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. Huge apologies for the massive delay – I did read this last year, but reviews got put on hold due to ‘life’.

This was my first novel by Daisy Buchanan, and I definitely want to seek out her previous books after reading Limelight. The style feels fresh and original, with a biting sense of humour and a satirical eye that nevertheless tips over into moments of tenderness at times. I don’t think I have read anything that tackles the themes of sensuality, sexuality, attention-seeking and the 15-minutes-of-fame phenomenon in quite the same way – and I do love it when a book doesn’t remind me of anything else!

There are some brilliant side characters in the book – Maz Clarke stands out as a memorable ‘cameo’ – but it is the relationship between Frankie and her sister that forms the heart of the book. Their complex sibling dynamic is realistic and nuanced, and adds a layer of poignancy over the top of the humour and the almost farcical situations Frankie finds herself in.

Some of the scenes have stayed with me, which is testament to the author’s skill in painting a picture with words, and the quirky, idiosyncratic details that make this story come to life. I really enjoyed this book – it’s quite different to anything else I read last year, and I found it an engaging, engrossing (I gobbled it up in a couple of sittings) story that I would highly recommend.

Limelight by Daisy Buchanan is published by Sphere Books and is available to purchase here in hardback, or in its lovely new paperback outfit here.