Magical realism
Headline Publishing Group The FrameUp
Book Synopsis''Romantic, clever, and makes grand larceny more fun than ever'' HOLLY BLACK''A twisty, riveting and fantastically original story'' ELLE COSIMANO''Gwenda Bond at her absolute best: magical romantic and fun as hell'' ALIX E. HARROWDani Poissant is the daughter and former accomplice of the world''s most famous art thief. There was no job too big for Maria and her loyal crew. The secret to their success? A little thing called magic, kept rigorously secret from the non-magical world. They seemed unstoppable . . . until a teenage Dani turned her mother over to the FBI.Ten years later, with Maria still in prison, Dani finds herself approached for a job that only Maria and her crew could pull off . . . if any of them were still speaking to her. But it''s the job of a lifetime and might just be the lure Dani needs to reconcile with her mother and be reunited with her mother''s old gang-including both the love of her life and her former best frienTrade ReviewThe Frame-Up is Gwenda Bond at her absolute best: magical, romantic, and fun as hell. Dani and her crew will leave your pockets empty and your heart full. -- ALIX E. HARROW, New York Times bestselling author of STARLING HOUSEA clever art heist, a smoldering old flame, an irresistible found family tied together through magic . . . Gwenda Bond's The Frame-Up is a twisty, riveting, and fantastically original story. -- ELLE COSIMANO, New York Times bestselling author of Finlay Donovan Is Killing ItMagic, mystery, and a daring art heist set the stage for Gwenda Bond's twisty, delightful read! Brimming with secrets, danger, and intrigue, The Frame Up explores the lure of power, the bonds of friendship, and the legacy of family. Clever, suspenseful, and impossible to put down. -- MEGAN MIRANDA, New York Times bestselling author of The Only SurvivorsOcean's Eleven meets The Picture of Dorian Grey in this delightful magical heist novel. A quirky cast, a charming protagonist, and a fantastic dog. Plus art history, monsters, and family secrets-who can ask for more? -- T. KINGFISHER, bestselling author of NETTLE & BONEA thrilling, twisty, deliciously fun portrait of a magical art heist. Gwenda Bond has crafted a clever Knives Out-but-with-magic book to keep readers guessing where the con will take them next. -- MEGAN SHEPHERD, New York Times bestselling author of MALICE HOUSEI love a good heist novel, and I love a good magical heist novel even more. Gwenda Bond's The Frame-Up is fun and moving and full of delicious surprises and twists. I enjoyed it immensely. -- KAT HOWARD, author of the Unseen World duologyWho knew magic and art heists would go together like chocolate and peanut butter? The Frame-Up is a thoroughly delightful whirlwind of a read. -- ALMA KATSU, author of THE FERVOUR
£10.44
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar
Book SynopsisWinner of the 1991 Commonwealth Writers'' Prize. Syl Cheney-Coker''s acclaimed debut novel, The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar traces the history of a nation''s rise and fall, as prophesied by an ancient sorcerer.A military general sits in one of Malagueta''s prison cells, awaiting his execution. He has just failed to overthrow the government. In the same land, over two centuries ago, the wife of a formerly enslaved man takes her first steps towards freedom.From the creation of Malagueta to its devastating fall, Alusine Dunbar, the wizened old diviner, has prophesied it all. And what he sees, he calls a tragedy.One of Sierra Leone's most renowned novelists and poets, Sly Cheney-Coker creates a world teeming with magical realism as he paints the journey from precolonial Africa to its shaky independence.Trade Review[A] passionate epic history of the small town of Malagueta on the Atlantic coast of Africa. * Publishers Weekly *
£17.09
Blackstone Publishing Trinity Sight
Book Synopsis
£15.19
Random House USA Inc The Girl in the Tower
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£22.40
Random House USA Inc The Winter of the Witch
Book Synopsis
£22.80
Random House USA Inc The Winter of the Witch
Book SynopsisNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ? Following their adventures in The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower, Vasya and Morozko return in this stunning conclusion to the bestselling Winternight Trilogy, battling enemies mortal and magical to save both Russias, the seen and the unseen.?A tale both intimate and epic, featuring a heroine whose harrowing and wondrous journey culminates in an emotionally resonant finale.??Publishers Weekly(starred review)NAMED ONE OF PASTE?S BEST FANTASY BOOKS OF THE DECADE Vasilisa Petrovna is an unforgettable heroine determined to forge her own path. Her gifts and her courage have drawn the attention of Morozko, the winter-king, but it is too soon to know if this connection will prove a blessing or a curse.Now Moscow has been struck by disaster. Its people are searching for answers?and for someone to blame. Vasya finds herself alone, beset on all sides. The Grand Prince is in a rage, choosing allies that will lead him on a path to war and ruin. A wicked demon returns, determined to spread chaos. Caught at the center of the conflict is Vasya, who finds the fate of two worlds resting on her shoulders. Her destiny uncertain, Vasya will uncover surprising truths about herself as she desperately tries to save Russia, Morozko, and the magical world she treasures. But she may not be able to save them all.Praise for TheWinter of the Witch?Katherine Arden?s Winternight Trilogy isn?t just good?it?s hug-to-your-chest, straight-to-the-favorites-shelf, reread-immediately good, and each book just gets better. The Winter of the Witch plunges us back to fourteenth-century Moscow, where old gods and new vie for the soul of Russia and fate rests on a witch girl?s slender shoulders. Prepare to have your heart ripped out, loaned back to you full of snow and magic, and ripped out some more.??Laini Taylor ?Luxuriously detailed yet briskly suspenseful . . . a striking literary fantasy informed by Arden?s deep knowledge.??Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
£15.30
Random House USA Inc The Bloody Chamber Wise Children Fireworks
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£21.60
Flatiron Books Oona Out of Order
Book SynopsisNATIONAL BESTSELLERA GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICKWith its countless epiphanies and surprises, Oona proves difficult to put down. USA TodayBy turns tragic and triumphant, heartbreakingly poignant and joyful, this is ultimately an uplifting and redemptive read. The GuardianA remarkably inventive novel that explores what it means to live a life fully in the moment, even if those moments are out of order.It's New Year's Eve 1982, and Oona Lockhart has her whole life before her. At the stroke of midnight she will turn nineteen, and the year ahead promises to be one of consequence. Should she go to London to study economics, or remain at home in Brooklyn to pursue her passion for music and be with her boyfriend? As the countdown to the New Year begins, Oona faints and awakens thirty-two years in the future in her fifty-one-year-old body. Greeted by a friendly stranger in a beautiful house she's told is her own, Oon
£15.29
St Martin's Press Siren Queen
Book Synopsis
£20.24
St Martin's Press The Last Dreamwalker
Book SynopsisFrom Hurston/Wright Legacy Award-winning author Rita Woods, The Last Dreamwalker tells the story of two women, separated by nearly two centuries yet inextricably linked by the Gullah-Geechee Islands off the coast of South Carolinaand their connection to a mysterious and extraordinary gift passed from generation to generation.In the wake of her mother''s passing, Layla Hurley unexpectedly reconnects with her mother''s sisters, women she hasn''t been allowed to speak to, or of, in years.Her aunts reveal to Layla that a Gullah-Geechee island off the shore of South Carolina now belongs to her. As Layla digs deeper into her mother's past and the mysterious island's history, she discovers that the terrifying nightmares that have plagued her throughout her life and tainted her relationship with her mother and all of her family, is actually a power passed down through generations of her Gullah ancestors. She is a Dreamwalker, able to inhabit the dreams of other
£14.99
Picador USA Popisho
Book SynopsisBold, iridescent . . . Dazzling and shocking . . . Ross's lyrical, rhythmic writing is something to be savored . . . [Her] voice sings out loud and pure. Eowyn Ivey, The New York Times Book ReviewAn uproarious, sensual novel, Leone Ross's Popisho conjures a world where magic is everywhere, food is fate, politics are broken, and love awaits.Everyone in Popisho was born with a little something-something, boy, a little something extra. The local name was cors. Magic, but more than magic. A gift, nah? Yes. From the gods: a thing so inexpressibly your own. Somewhere far awayor maybe right nearbylies an archipelago called Popisho. A place of stunning beauty and incorrigible mischief, destiny and mystery, it is also a place in need of change. Xavier Redchoose is the macaenus of his generation, anointed by the gods to make each resident one perfect meal when the time is right. Anise, his long-lost love, is on a
£15.30
St Martin's Press Present Tense Machine
Book SynopsisAn ingenious pocket universe. Caitlin Horrocks, The New York Times Book Review Gunnhild Øyehaug is a magician of the highest rank. Catherine LaceyOn an ordinary day in Bergen, Norway, in the late 1990s, Anna is reading in the garden while her two-year-old daughter, Laura, plays on her tricycle. Then, in one startling moment, Anna misreads a word, an alternate universe opens up, and Laura disappears. Twenty years or so later, life has gone on as if nothing happened. In each of the women's lives, however, something is not quite right.Both Anna and Laura continue to exist, but they are invisible to each other and forgotten in each other's worlds. Both are writers and amateur pianists. Both are married; Anna had two more children after Laura disappeared, and Laura is expecting a child of her own. They worry about their families, their jobs, the climateand whether this reality is all there is.In the exquisite, wistful, slyly profoun
£12.80
St Martin's Press Bliss Montage
Book SynopsisA National Indie BestsellerWinner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Story Prize, and a Windham-Campbell Literature PrizeA Best Book of the Year at The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vogue, Houston Chronicle, Roxane Gay's The Audacity, Mashable, Polygon, Kirkus Reviews, and Library JournalA New York Times Book Review Editor's ChoiceUncanny and haunting . . . Genius. Michele Filgate, The Washington PostDazzling. Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh AirWhat happens when fantasy tears the screen of the everyday to wake us up? Could that waking be our end?In Bliss Montage, Ling Ma brings us eight wildly different tales of people making their way through the madness and reality of our collective delusions: love and loneliness, connection and possession, friendship, motherhood, the idea of ho
£14.45
WW Norton & Co Wild and Distant Seas
Book SynopsisA gorgeous debut, laced through with magic, following four generations of women as they seek to chart their own futuresTrade Review"With language richer than the matriarch’s famed chowder and nautical descriptions so vivid you can taste the salt spray, Roberts offers a new and refreshingly feminine perspective on one of American literature’s most masculine classics." -- Oprah Daily
£16.14
WW Norton & Co Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas
Book SynopsisMachado de Assis’s iconic novel, now considered a progenitor of twentieth-century South American fiction, is finally rendered as a stunningly modern work.Trade Review"The most modern, most startlingly avant-garde novel I read this year was originally published in 1881. Jull Costa and Patterson offer a peerless translation of this comic masterpiece, narrated from beyond the grave by a feckless, pretentious, impossibly winning aristocrat. The Brazilian novelist Machado was besotted with the license afforded by fiction and the social critique permitted only by comedy. Read this witty, wildly inventive work and how conservative, how painfully corseted so much modern fiction will suddenly seem." -- Parul Sehgal, 'Times Critics' Top Books of 2020' - The New York Times"One of the wittiest, most playful, and therefore most alive and ageless books ever written." -- Dave Eggers"The book’s invigorating style, as much as its backdrop of racial and social injustice, makes it ideal reading for this morbid, insurgent summer... Sprinkled with epigrams, dreams, gags and asides, the story teases, dances and delights... [Machado']s worldly, bruised voice reaches out to touch readers today with its rueful comedy and wry sensuality." -- The Economist"A great ironist, a tragic comedian... In [De Assis] books, in their most comic moments, he underlines the suffering by making us laugh." -- Philip Roth"The greatest writer ever produced in Latin America." -- Susan Sontag
£13.29
Simon & Schuster Ltd Gold Diggers
Book Synopsis* SOON TO BE A MINDY KALING TV SERIES ** A Book of the Month pick by CNN, Bustle, PopSugar, Entertainment Weekly and Vox ** One of The Washington Post's 10 Best Books of 2021 ** Longlisted for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize *‘Achingly familiar and marvellously inventive… a dizzyingly original, fiercely funny, deeply wise novel’ Celeste Ng‘Completely original, utterly absorbing, complex and confident’ Karen Joy Fowler‘Truly funny, insightful, smart and filled with wonderful characters… unmissable’ Ann NapolitanoANYONE CAN BE EXTRAORDINARY. BUT IT COMES AT A PRICE… Neil Narayan’s parents moved to America for a better life, and his perfect older sister is now headed to an elite university. Neil is funny and smart, but he is not living up to his parents’ dream. While he tries to want their versiTrade Review'In a perfect alchemical blend of familiar and un-, Gold Diggers takes a wincingly hilarious coming-of-age story, laces it with magical realism and a trace of satire, and creates a world that's both achingly familiar and marvelously inventive. Written with such assurance it's hard to believe it's Sanjena Sathian's debut, this is a dizzyingly original, fiercely funny, deeply wise novel about the seductive powers – and dangers – of borrowed ambition' Celeste Ng, author of Little Fires Everywhere 'In an alchemic blend of modern American ambition and ancient myth, this sometimes fiercely funny caper, sometimes heart-breaking coming of age story, is a truly immersive read. In the end, Gold Diggers is a beautifully crafted, strange, and deeply touching story about the search for national and personal identity. A gorgeous and gripping read' Nydia Hetherington, author of A Girl Made of Air 'Is the American dream about hard work and sacrifice or is it about the lure of the Gold Rush, of quick riches there for the taking? Greed, regret and love are all at work here in Sathian’s completely original, utterly absorbing, complex and confident debut novel. A bravura performance from an exciting new voice' Karen Joy Fowler, author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves 'A work of 24-karat genius… Sathian has created a funny, compassionate, tragic novel of astonishing cultural richness… The result is a novel of Indian magic and modern technology, a parody of New World ambition and an elegy of assimilation' Washington Post 'In some ways, Gold Diggers is a delightful concoction of the best of South Asia’s literary offerings, reminiscent of Hanif Kureishi’s irreverent humour in The Buddha of Suburbia and the magic realism of Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West. But Sathian has forged a narrative path entirely her own... she tackles issues of mental health, the "model minority" trap and the generation gap with a fresh literary toolkit and voice' Guardian '[A]chingly real reminders of what it was like to be an adolescent in post-9/11 America, feeling the weight of your parents’ dreams on your shoulders... The tension Sathian builds is one of teenage insecurity swelling into adulthood, until disillusion overthrows the tyranny of American perfectionism... exquisite prose humming with contagious anxiety' New York Times Book Review 'This terrific debut novel uses heists and alchemy to deconstruct immigrant ambition, striving and sin... what makes the novel so compelling is the playfulness with which Sathian deconstructs it. You feel for the characters and the ways they have been warped by their pursuit of greatness and the ways they are haunted by their sins – but also, there are heists and alchemy. It’s a blast' Vox 'The coming-of-age genre meets magical realism meets heist caper… Funny and exciting, it’s an entertaining new twist on the immigrant experience' CNN 'Deftly weaves together magic and history to produce a compelling coming-of-age story' New Yorker 'Upends our ideas of what it takes to make it in America. Smart, funny and completely engrossing' Andrew Ridker, author of The Altruists 'Gold Diggers is so many things – truly funny, insightful, smart and filled with wonderful characters. I loved reading this novel, and loved watching Neil Narayan grow up and grapple with the America his immigrant parents believed in. Neil's journey to figuring out what he believes, which includes a multi-layered exploration into the properties of gold, and his strange and wonderful friendship with his next door neighbor, Anita, make this story unmissable' Ann Napolitano, bestselling author of Dear Edward 'Rollicking, at times painful and ultimately intensely satisfying... twines historical fictions and truths and family histories into the main narrative, exemplifying how time both does and does not make a linear kind of sense, how past, present and future's paths collide at times in unexpected ways' NPR 'A dazzling and delightful work of fiction by an exciting new literary talent... Sathian has produced a beguiling elixir with Gold Diggers, skilfully stirring myth into a playful yet powerful modern-day examination of the American dream and the second-generation citizens who pursue it. A fabulist amalgam of The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye, it’s an engrossing cautionary tale as well as a shrewd appraisal of what we consider success – and the moral sacrifices we make to achieve it. Imaginative and intoxicating, Gold Diggers richly rewards its readers' BookPage 'Filled with pathos, humor, slices of American history and an adrenaline-pumping heist, Sathian's spectacular debut also highlights the steep costs of the all-American dream... Pure gold' Booklist ‘A sprawling tale of magical realism, gold heists and the quest to attain the American dream’ PopSugar ‘A feast of a story… breaks apart the mythology of monolithic culture with the perfect alchemy of humour, magic and irresistible albeit flawed people. Let it sweep you off your feet’ BuzzFeed 'A sweeping tale that combines the classic coming-of-age and teenage rebellion genre with magic realism and social satire... a riveting read... Sathian's prose potently captures the weight of the model minority myth and the constraints it places on a certain subset of Asian Americans' Huffington Post 'Sathian’s satire is pitch perfect… She captures not only the melancholia of the immigrant’s social estrangement, but also the painful expectation that this melancholia should be worth it somehow, that one should achieve and then achieve some more… The heist is magnificent – canny and moving and just plain fun… Her prose lifts off: there’s a delight she takes in writing humorously about magic that shows off the scope of her immense talent.' LA Review of Books
£8.54
Orion Publishing Co Hell of a Book
Book SynopsisWINNER - NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION 2021AN ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY ''MUST READ''A TODAY SHOW BOOK CLUB PICK* * * * *Discover this astonishing work of fiction from award-winning, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Jason Mott.''Powerful, timely and provocative'' ABI DARÉ, author of GIRL WITH A LOUDING VOICE''Jason Mott truly has written one hell of a book.'' CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS, author of QUEENIEThis is a true story.An author goes on a book tour for his new bestseller which, as people keep telling him, is one hell of a book.This is a coming-of-age story. One morning, he meets The Kid: a young Black boy who looks just like the one he keeps seeing on the news. And The Kid wants him to tell his story.This is a sad story. It''s the story of a boy who spent most of his life trying to hide. And it may not be that different fTrade ReviewBrilliant and inventive ... You'll cry tears of laughter. * The Sunday Times *Beautiful and deeply moving . . . I'd go as far as to say it's an important book and everyone should read it. * Imran Mahmood *For all its moments of levity, Mott has written a deadly serious story ... Hell of a Book offers a disturbing portrait of a nation that's been lying to itself all its years. In this way, the novel feels like a plea - intense, moving, urgent, and vital. * Washington Independent Review of Books *In a structurally and conceptually daring examination of art, fame, family and being black in America, Mott somehow manages the impossible trick of being playful, insightful and deeply moving, all at the same time. A highly original, inspired work that breaks new ground * National Book Award Judges *How to possibly describe Mott's fourth novel without simply borrowing from its moniker? It is, after all, a hell of a book. * Entertainment Weekly *Hell of a Book more than lives up to its title. Playful, searching, raw and necessary, this writing, this voice, this novel twisted me up and turned me inside out, dazzled me, surprised me and moved me * Charles Yu, author of Interior Chinatown *A black author embarks on a cross-country book tour to promote his new book, but he's followed by a (possibly imaginary) child. The author's story is intertwined with the narrative of Soot, a young black boy living in a rural town. Mott has written a clever meditation on race and violence in America. * New York Post *Maddening, disorienting and illuminating * Booklist *Powerful, timely and provocative * Abi Daré *Hell of a Book consistently proves itself to be more than the sum of its parts: a farce that provokes contemplation, a publishing parody that rings true; an honest and emotive meditation on systematic racial injustice and the myriad ways in which it breaks the human soul. Sharp, funny, evocative and never anything less than utterly poignant, Mott's novel chronicles the experience and cost of racism for black Americans with a clarity that is justifiably unsettling. Hell of a Book is distinctly American tale of racial trauma told with a dry, almost painful humour that scrapes at the reader's heart. * Irish Times *A twisty and startling narrative about the blurry lines between reality and fiction * TIME Magazine *Hilarious and moving, thoughtful and madcap . . . a hell of an accomplishment. * Jonathan Evison, author of West of Here and Small World *A dizzying yet dazzling exploration of exploration itself. * Kiese Laymon, author of How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America *A profound exploration of love, friendship, and racial violence . . . A story that is at once a paean to familial love and friendship and a reckoning with racism and police violence. By turns playful and surprising and intimate, a moving meditation on being Black in America. * Kirkus Reviews *Stunning . . . Mott's poetic, cinematic novel tackles what it means to live in a country where Black people perpetually "live lives under the hanging sword of fear." Absurdist metafiction doesn't get much better. * Publisher’s Weekly *
£9.49
Hodder & Stoughton Remember Mr Sharma
Book Synopsis''Charming and endearing . . . a moving story about the past and the shadow it forever leaves on the present''Huma Qureshi, author of Things We Do Not Tell the People We Love''Sublime . . . A fantastic debut from a promising new literary voice''Nick Bradley, author of Four Seasons in JapanDelhi, 1997: It is India''s fiftieth year of independence, the year of Hindu nationalists and atomic bombs. But twelve-year-old Adi has a bigger problem: his Ma has gone missing - again. Left with an ailing grandmother, a raging father and no answers, he finds an unlikely ally: a talking vulture who reveals itself to be a bureaucrat from the ''Department of Historical Adjustment''. The Department holds Adi''s family files, which will take him on a journey through time and memory, through fifty years of India''s history, uncovering the darkest secrets of his Ma''s past. But first, he must unlock them by facing his greatest fearTrade ReviewCharming and endearing . . . There's a lyricism to A.P. Firdaus's writing, and I admire how he blends a touch of lightness with the book's heavier exploration of partition, loss and family tragedy to create a moving story about the past and the shadow it forever leaves on the present -- Huma Qureshi, author of Things We Do Not Tell the People We LoveSublime. A wonderful book that employs playful and magical elements in order to explore the past's hold over the present. A fantastic debut from a promising new literary voice. -- Nick Bradley, author of Four Seasons in Japan
£14.24
HarperCollins Focus The Other Year
Book Synopsis2023 Target Book of the Year FinalistPerfect for fans of Rebecca Serle''s One Italian Summer and Josie Silver''s The Two Lives of Lydia Bird.Can the entire course of a life be traced back to a single instant? And can hope be found in every moment after?On a coveted two-week beach vacation, working mom Kate Baker''s nine-year-old daughter, Olivia, vanishes suddenly among the waves--a heart-dropping incident that threatens to uproot her entire reality. But in the next moment, Olivia resurfaces, joyously splashing.What would I do if she didn''t come up? Kate wonders. How would I live without her?In another set of circumstances that hold a different fate, Kate doesn''t have to wonder. Because in that other world, in the pulse-pounding seconds after Olivia goes under, she doesn''t come back up.Told in parallel timelines, Kate begins to live two lives--one in whTrade ReviewIntriguing, thought-provoking . . . Rea Frey breathes life into universal themes concerning love, family, parenthood, forgiveness, grief, and second chances. * The New York Journal of Books *
£10.44
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Bricks that Built the Houses
Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERWINNER OF THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG BREAKTHROUGH AUTHOR AWARDKae Tempest's critically acclaimed debut novel, the literary companion to their Mercury-Prize nominated album Everybody Down, takes us into the beating heart of the capital in this multi-generational tale of drugs, desire and belonging''Soaring Tempest's flair for language is tempered by their sense of rhythm and pace Deeply affecting: cinematic in scope; touching in its empathic humanity Tempest's voice by turns raging and tender never falters'' New York TimesYoung Londoners Becky, Harry and Leon are leaving town in a fourth-hand Ford Cortina with a suitcase full of money. They are running from jealous boyfriends, dead-end jobs, violent maniacs and disgruntled drug dealers, in the hope of escaping the restless tedium of life in south-east London the place they have always called home.______________Trade ReviewWonderful * Lauren Laverne *Soaring … Tempest’s flair for language is tempered by [their] sense of rhythm and pace … Deeply affecting: cinematic in scope; touching in its empathic humanity … Tempest’s voice – by turns raging and tender – never falters * New York Times *This is a bold, bright, beguiling novel; a lustrous pageant that dazzles and grips … An irresistible, immersive snapshot of a changing world, delivered in woozy, staccato sentences … There’s great pleasure to be taken from Tempest’s debut … [They] may well be unstoppable * Sunday Telegraph *One of the leading wordsmiths of our time … [They] turn [their] raw, observational skills in book form to the urban young growing up poor – sex, drugs and increasing poverty amid the looming threat of gentrification * Jon Snow *It’s hard not to be blown away by Tempest … A stirring, post-Dickensian lens trained on London’s lonely underbelly * Evening Standard *This book is almost everything I hoped it would be. That is praise indeed, as I had high hopes ... As lyrical as it is gritty, and as devoted to (south-east) London as it is to humanity, with all its foibles * New Statesman *Tempest has a knack for the devastating throwaway line – a skill-honed, no doubt, from years of rapping and spoken-word performances. [Their] work is rich with underlinable lines … Captivating * New Yorker *Everything Tempest does comes from the same gnawing desire to tell stories and change the world ... The book covers come-ups, comedowns, gender identity, parents torn apart by activism and the brutal, beautiful face of survival against the odds ... Blistering **** * NME *Explosive … Fresh and vivid visions of a familiar world … It recalls two other great, recent, experimental novels about being young: Jon McGregor’s If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things and Eimear McBride’s A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing. There’s the same sense of daring and linguistic inventiveness, the same feeling of language pushed to its limits … It fairly flies off the page * Observer *A story of accidental adventure and loss in what feels like London’s boiling crucible of race, class and sexuality … This novel requires giving oneself over to its linguistic world … It seems not just to describe a contemporary world but chart the migratory and class movements that has led it to its current state * Andrew McMillan, Independent *Angst-ridden lyricism captures the energy and loneliness of London life in this dizzying, genre-busting debut ... A remarkable piece of writing, filled with verbal echoes and half-rhymes ... [One reads] for the pinpoint evocation of a milieu, its texture and contours, all delivered with an intensely gathered and focused energy ... Transformative * Guardian *The passion, pace and pulsing narrative of [their] novel is like an extended Arctic Monkeys track … London emerges as the beating heart, a melting pot of race, class, sexuality and drugs. Tempest is a clearly talented writer with a distinctive and engaging voice … Passionate and political * Irish Times *Tempest is a worthy champion for a generation of disillusioned youth … [Their] lyrical talent comes through * Sunday Times *Tempest’s words really soar from the grime of London … Smart, lyrical observations of city life won me over … Tempest proves [their] witty, unique take on the world **** * Stylist *Tempest is brilliant at capturing a distinctly contemporary state of mind, one hollowed out by drugs, ennui and too many late nights, but also one bursting with frustrated feeling and desire. [They] have a poetic sensibility that feels physically hewn from London's unloved corners ... [Their] writing has a startling, unmediated freshness reminiscent of Jack Kerouac ... Full of beauty * Metro *[Their] characters sing … This is yet another impressive achievement for Tempest, and one which leaves this Generation Xer understanding the woes of millennials much better * Scotland on Sunday *A novel of discontentment, rage and good intentions … Tempest sharpens [their] tongue to good effect * The Times *A startling debut novel … The call-to-arms urgency with which Tempest writes about the issues affecting [their] generation – from social prejudice and unemployment to modern love and selfies – has earned [their] comparisons to the Beat poets * Vogue *A whirlwind journey through modern city life ... You'll be gripped from start to finish * Elle *There’s plenty of inspiration and perspiration in the literary world, but Tempest’s sense of urgency is rare ... Tempest does come across as an enemy of beige prose … [They] depict their interior worlds as roiling; the intensity of their inner lives explodes on the page * National Post *Tempest portrays the lives of generations of Londoners with an unflinching but sympathetic eye * Big Issue *A lager-stained, rain-soaked love letter to London … Flows like a prose poem about drugs, dual carriageways and desire * Red *A novel about youth and drugs and desire and dancers … It’s also about the changing face of the capital city. About gentrification and its costs * Herald *Tempest has a gift for making you feel you’re walking on the edge of something: between text and sound, or between a great night and the worst one … Many bursts of lyrical prose, heavy and kaleidoscopic * Saturday Paper *Tempest gets at foundations: If families are houses, then each family member is a cracked brick … This might be Tempest’s first novel, but it’s also poetry … By artfully intertwining the stories of people who are broken by the city they love, The Bricks That Built the Houses creates a complex narrative that rarely falters and eventually coheres into a strong and lyrical whole * The Millions *
£10.44
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Folk
Book SynopsisA captivating, magical and haunting debut novel of breathtaking imagination, from the winner of the 2014 Costa Short Story AwardLONGLISTED FOR THE 2019 INTERNATIONAL DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE''That rare thing: genuinely unique'' OBSERVER''Will win you over ... Magical'' THE TIMES''Absolutely stunning. I loved it'' MADELINE MILLER, AUTHOR OF CIRCEOn the remote island of Neverness, the villagers'' lives are entwined with nature: its enchantments, seductions and dangers. There is May, the young fiddler who seeks her musical spirit; Madden Lightfoot, who flies with red kites; and Verlyn Webbe, born with a wing for an arm. Over the course of a generation, their desires, gossip and heartbreak interweave to create a staggeringly original world, crackling with echoes of ancient folklore.Trade ReviewAn extraordinary debut novel … It feels both ancient – drawing on deep seams of myth and folklore – and strikingly contemporary, pushing at the edges of what we mean when we call a book a novel. In Folk, Zoe Gilbert has made a thing of strange and enduring beauty -- Alex Preston * Financial Times *Folk is a special book: immersive and dripping with life, each story a spell, an allegory, a dark, smoky poem divined from the landscape of our ancient kingdom … It reads like a dream that, once visited, is difficult to leave behind -- Ben Myers * Guardian *Genuinely original, disturbing, beautiful and gripping ... Folk can be read as a map of the British mythic imagination: of the river under the river. Starkly original and expertly written, it draws you, like a faerie song, into a kingdom from which you may never escape, and may not want to * New Statesman *Dazzling and unsettling, much like the best and darkest of fairy tales * Times Literary Supplement *A dark, often discomforting debut … Gilbert’s sensuous prose conjures fantastical figures including a man born with a wing for an arm, and a girl who’s abducted by a water bull … Bewitching -- The Best New Fiction * Mail on Sunday *Folk is absolutely stunning. I loved it. With gorgeous, incantatory prose, it submerges you in a mysterious and utterly compelling world. Its illumination lingers long after you close the book * Madeline Miller, Orange Prize-winning author of The Song of Achilles *I was thoroughly absorbed. Zoe Gilbert’s invented folk-world is sensuous and dangerous and thick with magic * Tessa Hadley, author of The Past *That rare thing: genuinely unique. It’s part-myth, part-allegory, wholly wonderful -- The Best Fiction of 2018 * Observer *A captivating mythical, magical and haunting debut which draws on fascinating folklore -- Ten Debut Novels to Watch Out For * i *Wild, domestic, powered by elements both natural and weird, Folk hauls us into a past where there’s room for magic and for mystery. Give in and go there * Margo Lanagan, author of Tender Morsels *An utterly tantalising new voice. With Folk, Gilbert casts a powerful spell, creating a world on the page that feels as old as the hills and yet exquisitely alive ... To read Folk is to find oneself rapt * Alison MacLeod, author of All the Beloved Ghosts *There are themes of desire and longing, loss and mourning, and the rites of passage that must be undertaken to reach adulthood ... Folk has a powerful sense of mythology, reminiscent of Angela Carter -- Hannah Beckerman * Observer *With gorgeous, incantatory prose, Folk submerges you in a mysterious and utterly compelling world. It stayed with me long after I turned the last page -- Madeline Miller * Cosmopolitan *As delightful and as dark as the collected Brothers Grimm. The village of Neverness is misted with secrets and sticky with magic. But as mystical as their circumstances might be the villagers are neither Cinderellas nor wicked-witches ... These tender portraits are, perhaps, Zoe Gilbert’s greatest act of conjuring * Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, author of Harmless Like You *Brilliant. It’s visceral and savage, but the savagery always comes with a light touch ... The stories all have a beautiful fairytale quality that makes them look like they were spun out of one of Neverness’s half-magic mists. It’s a gorgeous, uneasy siren of a book * Natasha Pulley, bestselling author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street *The tales in Folk by Zoe Gilbert could have been ripped straight from the darkest pages of the Brothers Grimm. These intertwined fairy-tale-inspired stories are heavy with symbolism, lyrical and hypnotic * Good Housekeeping *A haunting portrait of a community steeped in folklore. Gilbert is a fine storyteller, and this is skilful, potent writing * K J Orr, author of Light Box *
£9.49
Canongate Books Island of Time
Book SynopsisA mind-bending time heist novel that will appeal to fans of V.E. Schwab''s ''Shades of Magic'' series.There was no murder . . . Because they never existed.The Geneva branch of Interpol - the international agency tasked with policing magic and the arcane arts - is where careers go to die. Action is rare as Switzerland banned magic seven hundred years ago. That''s how Agent Jackson Burnett likes it. But then reports of an explosion lead Jackson to the home of businessman Bernard Bouchon. What''s there is unfathomable: The family and their possessions have vanished into ash.Jackson''s enigmatic new partner Luca Tami, a blind Talent able to perform magic, suspects powerful supernatural forces are at play. The family weren''t killed . . . they''ve been erased from time. With all traces of the family disappearing, the case is hours away from being forgotten. How can Jackson solve a crime no one remembers happening? He must find
£18.89
Canongate Books Island of Time
Book SynopsisA mind-bending time heist novel that will appeal to fans of V.E. Schwab''s ''Shades of Magic'' series.The Geneva branch of Interpol - the international agency tasked with policing magic and the arcane arts - is where careers go to die. Action is rare as Switzerland banned magic seven hundred years ago. That''s how Agent Jackson Burnett likes it. But then reports of an explosion lead Jackson to the home of businessman Bernard Bouchon. What''s there is unfathomable: The family and their possessions have vanished into ash.Jackson''s enigmatic new partner Luca Tami, a blind Talent able to perform magic, suspects powerful supernatural forces are at play. The family weren''t killed . . . they''ve been erased from time. With all traces of the family disappearing, the case is hours away from being forgotten. How can Jackson solve a crime no one remembers happening? He must find a way to remember. He must discover who is behind the spell and why.
£12.34
Headline Publishing Group Catherine House
Book Synopsis''A delicious, diverse, genre-bending gothic, as smart as it is spooky'' Chloe Benjamin During your three years at Catherine House you will have no contact with those in the outside world.Each of our students has been selected as someone who belongs here. You will give to Catherine and Catherine will give to you.We will not let each other down.Catherine House is a university like no other. Into its celebrated world steps Ines, a young woman who welcomes the school''s isolation rather than its illustrious past. As the gates close and Ines finds herself start to be inevitably seduced by its magnetic power, she begins to realise the question isn''t why she chose to come to Catherine House; but why Catherine House chose her.''A brilliantly observed tale brimming with subtle malevolence'' Irenosen Okojie''Echoes of The Secret History and Never Let Me Go''Trade ReviewA delicious, diverse, genre-bending gothic, as smart as it is spooky -- Chloe BenjaminCatherine House is a deliciously sinister novel that bristles with an unsettling glamour. It's almost impossible not to be seduced by Elisabeth Thomas's beautiful writing and the intoxicating world she has created * Louise O'Neill *[A] delicious literary gothic debut * New York Times *Echoes of Donna Tartt's The Secret History and Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go contribute an intriguing undercurrent to this unsettling gothic concoction * Daily Mail *This has to be one of the most gripping books I've read this year... The read feels claustrophobic, decadent, extreme and sad in equal measure, and I was amazed by the plot * Woman's Way *This suspenseful read is a terrific debut * Woman's Weekly *Gothic horror provides the architecture for an arrestingly strange melange of speculative fiction and teen trauma in this atmospheric debut novel . . . nibbling menace spurs the plot onwards * Observer *A brilliantly observed tale brimming with subtle malevolence. An atmospheric, hypnotic delight * Irenosen Okojie *Thomas's debut novel is a dark, delicious gothic read that hits all the right spots in the best way. If you want a book you can't put down for even a second, this is it * Forbes, 10 most anticipated books of 2020 *Spellbinding... Surreal imagery, spare characterization, and artful, hypnotic prose lend Thomas's tale a delirious air, but at the book's core lies a profound portrait of depression and adolescent turmoil. Fans of Donna Tartt's The Secret History will devour this philosophical fever dream * Publisher's Weekly *Moody and evocative as a fever dream, CATHERINE HOUSE is the sort of book that wraps itself around your brain, drawing you closer with each hypnotic step * Washington Post *Catherine House is a haunting, atmospheric reflection on the discovery of self and others. At times terrifying, always gorgeously captivating, Thomas' debut is one not to be missed, and perhaps to be revisited frequently * Booklist *
£10.44
Headline Publishing Group The Nothing Girl
Book SynopsisGetting a life isn''t always easy. And hanging on to it is even harder . . . Discover this funny, heart-warming tale of self-discovery from Jodi Taylor, author of the internationally bestselling Chronicles of St Mary''s series.Nobody ever notices little Jenny Dove. Even her family call her the Nothing Girl. Isolated and alone, Jenny is about to end it all when she is rescued by Thomas, a giant golden horse only she can see.Under his mischievous guidance, Jenny begins to think she might one day become someone. And when the charmingly chaotic Russell Checkland erupts into her life - together with his tumbledown farmhouse - and proposes a marriage that will save them both, Jenny is ready to take a chance.Sadly, her new life at Frogmorton Farm doesn''t exactly sweep Jenny off her feet. There are leaking roofs, unpaid bills and so many buckets. And then, as a series of apparent ''accidents'' unfolds, Jenny begins to worry this might noTrade ReviewTakes readers on a carnival ride through laughter and tears with a bit of time travel thrown in for spice * Publishers Weekly Starred Review *A true page-turner * SF Revu *I've never seen time travel handled this way. I like it * Wethenerdy.com *[An] appealing cast of characters... [with] with plenty of humour, lots of action, and even a touch of romance * Library Journal *
£10.44
Headline Publishing Group The Secrets of Hawthorn Place
Book Synopsis''This is definitely up there as one of the best books that I have read. It''s got a special place in my heart. Just amazing!'' 5* reader review''Gorgeous! Exuberant writing, convincing, adorable characters, romance and a little whimsy'' TRACY REESLove will always find a way . . .Discover the intriguing secrets of Hawthorn Place in this heartfelt dual-time novel, filled with warmth and charm, perfect for fans of Lucinda Riley and Cecelia Ahern.''An intriguing dual timeline tale that weaves together interesting characters and history, with an added touch of magic'' BELLA OSBORNE''An exquisitely detailed and enchanting love story'' HEIDI SWAIN''An epic love story, mixed with gorgeous settings, a great deal of mystery and intrigue, lots of laughs, a few tears and fabulouscharacters, made this an absolute delight to read'' KIM NASH''An absolutely wonderful dual time story that captivated me . . . and kept me spellbound'' CHRISTINA COURTENAY''A beautifully intriguing love story, that . . . stays with you long after the last page'' ROSIE HENDRY''Unforgettable and unique, the twists and turns of this enchanting book are woven together with threads of love and magic. I loved it!'' CLARE MARCHANT........................................................................Two houses, hundreds of miles apart . . . yet connected always.When life throws Molly Butterfield a curveball, she decides to spend some time with her recently widowed granddad, Wally, at Hawthorn Place, his quirky Victorian house on the Dorset coast. But cosseted Molly struggles to look after herself, never mind her grieving granddad, until the accidental discovery of an identical Arts and Crafts house on the Norfolk coast offers her an unexpected purpose, as well as revealing a bewildering mystery. Discovering that both Hawthorn Place and Acacia House were designed by architect Percy Gladwell, Molly uncovers the secret of a love which linked them, so powerful it defied reason. What follows is a summer which will change Molly for ever . . .........................................................................''One of those wonderful, magical stories that appear rarely and stay in your heart forever'' CELIA ANDERSON''A marvellous dual-time novel filled with mystery, fabulous detail and an enduring love story'' MADDIE PLEASE''A wonderful, page-turning story full of intrigue and romance'' VICTORIA CONNELLY''I found the book enchanting'' SUZANNE SNOW''An enchanting storyline and engaging characters make this book a delight to read'' LYNNE SHELBY''A beautifully written timeslip . . . Highly recommended. Five stars'' ERIN GREEN''The perfect mix of mystery, magic, and romance'' KATE G. SMITHReaders are captivated by The Secrets of Hawthorn Place:''A sweeping five stars from me for this novel that defies time but trusts in love''''A sheer delight to read and can highly recommend''''Utterly brilliant. The storyline is riveting, you never quite know what could be about to happen as it''s constantly twisting and turning . . . such a beautiful book''
£10.44
Headline Publishing Group Dazzling
Book Synopsis''I am truly dazzled'' TRACY CHEVALIER''A rich tapestry of African mythology and magic'' CHERIE JONES''Bursting with magic, bright and visceral'' JENNIFER SAINT''One of the brightest stars in the literary world'' KIRSTY LOGAN''A feast of shimmering, beautiful prose'' CHIKA UNIGWESoon you will become the thing all other beasts fear.Treasure and her mother lost everything when Treasure''s daddy died. Haggling for scraps in the market, Treasure meets a spirit who promises to bring her father back - but she has to do something for him first. Ozoemena has an itch in the middle of her back that can''t be scratched. An itch that speaks to her patrilineal destiny, to defend her people by becoming a leopard. Her father impressed upon her what an honour this was before he vanished, but it''s one she couldn''t want less. But as the two girls reckon with their burgeoniTrade ReviewI am truly dazzled. Emelumadu has revealed surprising layers of our world and given me the eyes to see them. -- Tracy Chevalier, author of GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING and A SINGLE THREADAn otherworldly vision of Nigeria . . . lit up by wisecracks, folk wisdom, the idiosyncrasies of boarding-school life, and those quirky turns of phrase Nigerians have given to the rest of humanity. * Guardian *Rich in Nigerian mythology and treading into the sphere of magical realism, Dazzling is a deeply immersive, feminist read about heritage, girlhood, and justice. With a strong narrative and vivid prose, this new release is sure to keep you entranced from start to finish. * Bookstr *On starting Chikodili Emelumadu's Dazzling, I was immediately impressed by her virtuosic facility with language and fierce imagination. Enchanted by both Ozoemena and Treasure, I wondered how their parallel stories would come together. As the novel progressed, I became increasingly intrigued with its magical realism and folklore. The storylines converge in an unexpected, explosive, and deeply satisfying conclusion that had me turning right back to the beginning to appreciate all that I missed the first time round. Bravo! I envy other readers their first and subsequent reads. -- Melissa Fu, author of PEACH BLOSSOM SPRINGDazzling is a feast of shimmering , beautiful prose. Dark and humorous in places, it is an incessantly pleasurable read. Emelumadu has gifted us a thing of beauty. -- Chika Unigwe, author of ON BLACK SISTER STREET and NIGHT DANCERI struggled to come up with a line that captures the magic within. Emelumadu's singular debut is uncanny and affecting in equal measure. -- T. L. Huchu, author THE HAIRDRESSER OF HARARE and THE LIBRARY OF THE DEADA vibrant, immersive read that takes the reader on a dizzying journey through Nigerian mythology - Emelumadu does what I love best in this novel: she lays bare human weaknesses and celebrates female strength; she builds a world bursting with magic, bright and visceral; she has created two immensely memorable protagonists and woven a story that will linger in my mind for a long time. -- Jennifer Saint, author of ARIADNE, ELEKTRA and ATALANTAChikodili Emelumadu has written one hell of a book. Dazzling is bold, funny, louche, smart, shocking and very, very addictive. It seizes you by the scruff of the neck & plunges you into a world packed with juicy characters, macabre magic and plotting to die for. I loved it. -- Meg Clothier, author of THE BOOK OF EVEThis book is a masterful storm. The voices are so precise and clear they cut you. Reading through the pages took me deep into the dappled world of Ozoemena and her leopard, and I will never be able to leave. -- Doreen Cunningham, author of SOUNDINGSDazzling is an erudite, original and beautifully written first novel. Chikodili Emelumadu is a writer to watch. -- Christie Watson, author of THE COURAGE TO CARE: A Call for CompassionEmelumadu's novel is a magnificent coming of age story, empathetic in its exploration of character and culture within a rich tapestry of African mythology and magic. -- Cheries jones, author of HOW THE ONE-ARMED SISTER SWEEPS HER HOUSEI've just turned the final page of Dazzling and my heart is still thumping. This is an absolute tour de force: rich and tender, tinged with fire. The characters are alive, every page is pulsing with magic, and it has a python-like plot, so coiled and clever. Prepare to be moved and gripped and utterly invested in the story of Treasure and Ozoemena. I'm desperate to see what Chikodili Emelumadu writes next... -- Alex Hay, author of THE HOUSEKEEPERSThis book deserves its title; an extraordinary debut packed with supernatural wonders, human emotion and fiercely drawn, visceral characters. . . Gripping, otherworldly and unforgettable, this excellent novel means Emelumadu is definitely one to watch. * Cambridge Edition *An incredible debut novel about two girls on the cusp of womanhood in Nigeria. . . Vivid, compelling and original. * Big Issue *Chikodili Emelumadu is one of the brightest stars in the literary world right now. I loved Dazzling and can't wait to see her continue to ascend. -- Kirsty Logan, author of NOW SHE IS WITCHEvocative and a little mysterious, this literary fantasy is immersive and full of Nigerian mythology. Recommend this lustrous coming-of-age story to those who like to read across genres. * Library Journal *I was bewitched... I would not have guessed this was first novel; Emelumadu seems to have writing naturally in the blood -- Tracy Chevalier, author of THE GIRL WITH THE PEARL EARRING
£18.04
Headline Publishing Group The Magic
Book SynopsisDan Rhodes is one of the most successful and beloved YouTubers in the world. Here, in his debut book, Dan brings together the love and joy he has continually derived from magic - from the very first moment he received a magic kit from his parents when he was six years old, to trying out his own early illusions, through to his journey from amateur magician to global TikTok star - and shows you how you can become a social media inspiration too.With striking illustrations throughout and clear 'trick guides' to help young magicians get started - along with some really impressive sleights of hand for the more experienced illusionist - Dan's book also contains a fascinating history of the craft of the magician, highlighting the skill and dedication it takes to become a true master of magic.Part memoir, part how-to, this is the perfect gift for any budding social media star.
£18.00
Orion Publishing Co The Maker of Swans
Book Synopsis''Compulsive reading . . . rich, strange, beautiful'' Helen Macdonald, author of H is for Hawk''A strange, new and captivating look at a magical realm . . . Lavishly entertaining'' Independent''Enthralling . . . a literary feast'' StylistThe world had forgotten Mr Crowe and his mysterious gifts. Until he killed the poet. He lived a secluded life in the fading grandeur of his country estate. His companions were his faithful manservant and his ward, Clara, a silent, bookish girl who has gifts of her own. Now Dr Chastern, the leader of a secret society, arrives at the estate to call Crowe to account and keep his powers in check. But it is Clara''s even greater gifts that he comes to covet most. She must learn to use them quickly, if she is to save them all.Trade Review[With much] in common with Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell ... a tale about magic and art, power and responsibility ... [that will] keep the reader enfolded * DAILY MAIL *It would not be surprising if the public clamours for a second instalment of this vividly imagined and deeply pleasurable gothic fantasy - not to mention a film. * FINANCIAL TIMES *The prose in O'Donnell's first novel is glorious, combining an ear for deep cadences of language with a phenomenal acuity of vision ... O'Donnell is clearly a major talent * THE GUARDIAN *Poetic and strange, this Gothic novel is a dark, elegant celebration of the power and beauty of words and the spells they weave. * SUNDAY EXPRESS *Strange and new and captivating * THE INDEPENDENT *A charming, lyrical read even when tension is high. I admired the depth of O'Donnell's imagination, which allowed him to conjure up this enthralling tale . . . A literary feast * STYLIST *A powerful thriller * VOGUE *Wonderfully dark, magical * ELLE *Strange and beautiful - one of Stylist's Essential Reads for 2016 * STYLIST *A fabulously assured, elegant Gothic-flavoured tale * WOMAN AND HOME *A peculiar and beautiful tale of art and magic * STYLIST.CO.UK *An oddly beautiful tale of magic and art, this reminded me of Alain-Fournier's Le Grand Meaulnes * Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of THE LAST ACT OF LOVE *Compulsive reading . . . rich, strange, beautiful * Helen Macdonald, author of H IS FOR HAWK *I devoured this book and it kept me guessing right to the very end . . . Line by line, Paraic's writing contains some of the most beautifully turned phrasing I've read in a long while * Laura Barnett, author of THE VERSIONS OF US *Dazzlingly inventive, compelling * Jane Casey, author of THE BURNING *Exquisite * Liz Nugent, author of LYING IN WAIT *The Maker of Swans combines through-the-looking-glass enchantment with Nabokovian dexterity. O'Donnell has written a mesmerizing book whose prose absolutely soars * Sandra Newman, author of THE COUNTRY OF ICE CREAM STAR *Sonorous, beautifully made, disquieting * THE SPECTATOR *
£9.49
Liferich Magic on a Dime
Book Synopsis
£8.99
Amazon Publishing All That's Left of Me: A Novel
Book SynopsisFrom the author of What Remains True comes an emotionally captivating novel about a woman who wishes away her troubles but doesn’t anticipate the cost. I wish… It starts with a simple wish, and Emma Davies hardly notices when it comes true. She’s too preoccupied with a life she isn’t happy in—the spark in her marriage has fizzled, her career is headed nowhere and her boss is a misogynist. Her teenage daughter has grown distant, and her heart breaks daily for her teenage son with cerebral palsy. But soon Emma discovers her wishes are coming true, and she realizes that she has been given the power to change her life. Either that, or she’s going insane. Emma begins testing her newfound gift, making calculated wishes and learning one important rule—once granted, they cannot be undone. Over time, she grows bolder as she builds up to the one wish she both fears and desperately longs to make. But when Emma finally gets everything she’s asked for, will it be worth the price?Trade Review“‘Be careful what you wish for’ has never rang truer than in Janis Thomas’s latest. Shocking, disturbing, and heart-wrenching, All That’s Left of Me is as real as it is magical. Thomas deftly weaves a tale of one woman desperate for a better life that made me laugh, and made me cry. It made me think: What would I wish for? All That’s Left of Me will captivate readers from page one and keep them guessing until the end.” —Kerry Lonsdale, Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author “All That’s Left of Me draws the reader in via the author’s hypnotic prose, and when ‘what-if’ becomes ‘I wish,’ the reader is left stunned and breathless by the consequences. This is a novel about love, regret, heartache, and appreciation for a perfectly imperfect life.” —Grace Greene, bestselling author of The Memory of Butterflies “A compelling and poignant family drama, All That’s Left of Me is the story of a woman who feels trapped by circumstance in what she views as an unhappy life. And then one day, she makes a wish. No one could be more shocked than she when it comes true. And then—she makes several more wishes, until, magically, she has altered the very fabric of her existence beyond recognition. But there is a price that must be paid—and consequences she could never have anticipated. You know what they say…be careful what you wish for. All That’s Left of Me is a cautionary tale, one that will make you think and keep you guessing to the final page.” —Barbara Taylor Sissel, bestselling author of The Truth We Bury
£11.58
Amazon Publishing Lights on the Sea
Book Synopsis“Miquel Reina’s Lights on the Sea is an absolutely lovely, beautiful debut novel with a dreamy, fable-like quality that will appeal to readers. Fans of Life of Pi will love this novel.” —Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone On the highest point of an island, in a house clinging to the edge of a cliff, live Mary Rose and Harold Grapes, a retired couple still mourning the death of their son thirty-five years before. Weighed down by decades of grief and memories, the Grapeses have never moved past the tragedy. Then, on the eve of eviction from the most beautiful and dangerously unstable perch in the area, they’re uprooted by a violent storm. The disbelieving Grapeses and their home take a free-fall slide into the white-capped sea and float away. As the past that once moored them recedes and disappears, Mary Rose and Harold are delivered from decades of sorrow by the ebb and flow of the waves. Ahead of them, a light shimmers on the horizon, guiding them toward a revelatory and cathartic new engagement with life, and all its wonder. Wildly imaginative, deeply poignant, and entirely unexpected, Lights on the Sea sweeps readers away on a journey of fate, acceptance, redemption, and survival against the most rewarding of odds.Trade Review“This beautiful, unusual tale explores the healing power of love and the magic that exists in our everyday lives, even when we don’t know how to find it.” —Jill Santopolo, New York Times bestselling author of The Light We Lost “Miquel Reina’s Lights on the Sea is an absolutely lovely, beautiful debut novel with a dreamy, fable-like quality that will appeal to readers. Fans of Life of Pi will love this novel.” —Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone
£11.91
Simon & Schuster Audio Faithful
Book Synopsis
£22.49
Simon & Schuster Audio Sing, Unburied, Sing
Book Synopsis
£12.74
Pan Macmillan Past Perfect: A Spellbinding Story Of An
Book SynopsisPast Perfect is a heartwarming, magical story of an unexpected friendship spanning a century, from the world's favourite storyteller, Danielle Steel.Sybil and Blake Gregory live a well-ordered, predictable Manhattan life, she as a cutting-edge design authority and museum consultant, he in high-tech investments, raising their children. But when Blake is offered a dream job as CEO of a start-up in San Francisco, he accepts it, without consulting his wife, and buys a magnificent, historic mansion as their new home in Pacific Heights.Past and present collide at their elegant mansion, when they meet the large and lively family who lived there a century ago. All long dead but very much alive in spirit – visible to the Gregorys and no one else. Within these enchanted rooms, it is at once 1917 and a century later.The Gregorys been given a perfect gift; but does living in the past prevent them from embracing their future?
£7.59
Graydon House The Last Heir to Blackwood Library
Book Synopsis
£12.59
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Liberation Day: From ‘the world’s best short
Book Synopsis'One of the best science fiction short stories to be published in the 21st century so far' SFX Review ‘Saunders is funny and kind as ever, and his narrative virtuosity puts him up there with the best’ Anne Enright, Guardian ‘A triumph of storytelling’ i paper ‘A joy. 'Effortlessly stylish, funny and smart’ Daily Mail ____________ The first short story collection in ten years from the Man Booker Prize-winning, New York Times-bestselling author of Lincoln in the Bardo MacArthur genius and Booker Prize-winner George Saunders returns with a collection of short stories that make sense of our increasingly troubled world, his first since the New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist Tenth of December The 'best short story writer in English' (Time) is back with a masterful collection that explores ideas of power, ethics, and justice, and cuts to the very heart of what it means to live in community with our fellow humans. With his trademark prose - wickedly funny, unsentimental, and perfectly tuned - Saunders continues to challenge and surprise: here is a collection of prismatic, deeply resonant stories that encompass joy and despair, oppression and revolution, bizarre fantasy and brutal reality. 'Love Letter' is a tender missive from grandfather to grandson, in the midst of a dystopian political situation in the not-too-distant future, that reminds us of our obligations to our ideals, ourselves, and each other. 'Ghoul' is set in a Hell-themed section of an underground amusement park in Colorado, and follows the exploits of a lonely, morally complex character named Brian, who comes to question everything he takes for granted about his 'reality.' In 'Mother’s Day', two women who loved the same man come to an existential reckoning in the middle of a hailstorm. And in 'Elliott Spencer', our eighty-nine-year-old protagonist finds himself brainwashed - his memory 'scraped' - a victim of a scheme in which poor, vulnerable people are reprogrammed and deployed as political protesters. Together, these nine subversive, profound, and essential stories coalesce into a case for viewing the world with the same generosity and clear-eyed attention as Saunders does, even in the most absurd of circumstances. ____________ 'The only way to experience Saunders’s oblique, farcical, tragic world is to dive right in. It will take the top of your head off, but it’s worth it’ The Times 'The world’s best short story writer … Liberation Day is great art' Daily TelegraphTrade ReviewThe world’s best short story writer … Liberation Day is great art * DAILY TELEGRAPH *This is the joy of Saunders: he encapsulates human experience, while always hitting the punchline * FINANCIAL TIMES *Saunders is funny and kind as ever, and his narrative virtuosity puts him up there with the best -- ANNE ENRIGHT * GUARDIAN *The Alan Bennett of small-town America … These stories are not only perfectly pitched; they come with enough comedy to have you grinning and enough empathy to suddenly stop you in your tracks * OBSERVER *A joy. Effortlessly stylish, funny and smart, they come spangled with sadness and a melancholic malaise as Saunders casts an eye over a country teetering towards wreckage * DAILY MAIL *A triumph of storytelling * I PAPER *The Tom Hanks of American letters … A master of the short story … His art speaks to the dreadful present; his open-handed style, his skill as an educator, offer hope by encouraging each individual voice to find courage to speak * NEW STATESMAN *A writer known as much for his formal inventiveness as the sharpness of his satirical wit * INDEPENDENT.CO.UK *A compelling satire of modern America * PROSPECT *In describing the stories, even quoting them, we lose something valuable. That in itself is a measure of great writing. The only way to experience Saunders’s oblique, farcical, tragic world is to dive right in. It will take the top of your head off, but it’s worth it * THE TIMES *George Saunders is that rare contemporary author who is as original as he is beloved … Readers can be assured that all the hallmarks of Saunders’ writing that electrified them from the beginning are present in his new collection, Liberation Day: bold original humor, the blurred view of American life, and the sweet humanity that pierces through it all * TIME *Virtuosic ... The nine stories in Liberation Day are by turn exhilarating, sad, mind-bendingly bizarre and wickedly funny … Perfect * SUNDAY TIMES *Leaves you in awe of his craft * FOYLES *The titan of the modern story returns with a collection of wickedly funny, perceptive and subversive miniatures * WATERSTONES *An exquisite work from a writer whose reach is galactic * OPRAH QUARTERLY *Masterful * I PAPER *Triumphant * BUZZ MAGAZINE *So good it makes you wonder why anyone else bothers * VOGUE *Saunders’ words smell like Hunter S. Thompson, Stephen King, Raymond Carver and David Lynch sharing a spliff in Joni Mitchell’s parking lot * THE WORD FACTORY *A morally passionate, serious writer ... He will be read long after these times have passed -- ZADIE SMITHSaunders has revealed himself to be nothing less than an American Gogol: funny, pointed, full of nuance, and always writing with a moral heart. This, his first book of short fiction in nearly a decade, only cements the validity of such a point of view. The nine pieces here are smart and funny, speculative yet at the same time written on a human scale, narratives full of love and loss and longing and the necessity of trying to connect … A tour de force collection that showcases all of Saunders’ many skills * KIRKUS *George Saunders makes you feel as though you are reading fiction for the first time -- KHALED HOSSEINIWhat warm, kindhearted and radical writing. Such delicacy, such serious wit. I love it -- MAX PORTERHe makes the all-but-impossible look effortless. We're lucky to have him -- JONATHAN FRANZENA luminous feat of generosity and humanism -- COLSON WHITEHEADSaunders is a true original - restlessly inventive, yet deeply humane -- JENNIFER EGANFunny, poignant – in flashes, deeply moving – light as a feather and consistently weird -- HARI KUNZRU
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Mischief Acts: 'Joyous' THE TIMES, Best summer
Book SynopsisA SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR _______________ 'A work of extraordinary ambition, brilliantly realised’ OBSERVER 'A mesmerising journey down the byways of English folklore' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Verbally dextrous, inventive, and hugely entertaining’ THE TIMES _______________ Herne the hunter, mischief-maker, spirit of the forest, leader of the wild hunt, hurtles through the centuries pursued by his creator. A shapeshifter, Herne dons many guises as he slips and ripples through time – at candlelit Twelfth Night revels, at the spectacular burning of the Crystal Palace, at an acid-laced Sixties party. Wherever he goes, transgression, debauch and enchantment always follow in his wake. But as the forest is increasingly encroached upon by urban sprawl and gentrification, and the world slides into crisis, Herne must find a way to survive – or exact his revenge.Trade ReviewWeaving together prose and poetry, myth and history, the past, present and future, it’s a work of extraordinary ambition, brilliantly realised * OBSERVER *A dark-dazzling archive of enchantments, pursuit, and desire -- ELEY WILLIAMSInventive and subversive ... A mesmerising journey down the byways of English folklore * MAIL ON SUNDAY *Verbally dextrous, inventive, and hugely entertaining * THE TIMES *This is the most adventurous, stylistically magnificent thing I’ve read for years. Nobody does fantasy like Zoe Gilbert -- NATASHA PULLEYMischief Acts is a deeply lyrical, century-spanning polyphony of voices; a dazzling new take on an ancient myth, reminding us of the wildness within. I adored it -- KERRY ANDREWMischief Acts is brimming with magic - full of wild hunts, river spirits and revelry. The story of Herne, like the forest itself, transforms, entangles and enchants -- LUCY WOODSuperb. A work of shimmering allure. By turns beguiling and mercurial, Gilbert takes British folklore to new heights -- IRENOSEN OKOJIEPraise for Folk: 'An extraordinary debut novel … It feels both ancient – drawing on deep seams of myth and folklore – and strikingly contemporary, pushing at the edges of what we mean when we call a book a novel. In Folk, Zoe Gilbert has made a thing of strange and enduring beauty -- ALEX PRESTON * FINANCIAL TIMES *Folk is a special book: immersive and dripping with life, each story a spell, an allegory, a dark, smoky poem divined from the landscape of our ancient kingdom … It reads like a dream that, once visited, is difficult to leave behind -- BEN MYERS * GUARDIAN *Genuinely original, disturbing, beautiful and gripping ... Folk can be read as a map of the British mythic imagination: of the river under the river. Starkly original and expertly written, it draws you, like a faerie song, into a kingdom from which you may never escape, and may not want to * NEW STATESMAN *Dazzling and unsettling, much like the best and darkest of fairy tales * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *A dark, often discomforting debut … Gilbert’s sensuous prose conjures fantastical figures including a man born with a wing for an arm, and a girl who’s abducted by a water bull … Bewitching * MAIL ON SUNDAY, BEST NEW FICTION *Folk is absolutely stunning. I loved it. With gorgeous, incantatory prose, it submerges you in a mysterious and utterly compelling world. Its illumination lingers long after you close the book -- MADELINE MILLERI was thoroughly absorbed. Zoe Gilbert’s invented folk-world is sensuous and dangerous and thick with magic -- TESSA HADLEYThat rare thing: genuinely unique. It’s part-myth, part-allegory, wholly wonderful * OBSERVER, BOOKS OF THE YEAR *A captivating mythical, magical and haunting debut which draws on fascinating folklore * I PAPER *
£9.49
Pan Macmillan Once a Monster: A reimagining of the legend of
Book Synopsis'Robert Dinsdale mixes history and mythology with great panache . . . Richly textured and with an appropriately labyrinthine plot, this is a book that explores the monster inside man — and vice versa. Book of the Month' Sunday TimesLondon, 1861: Ten-year-old Nell belongs to a crew of mudlarks who work a stretch of the Thames along the Ratcliffe Highway. An orphan since her mother died four years past, leaving Nell with only broken dreams and a pair of satin slippers in her possession, she spends her days dredging up coals, copper and pieces of iron spilled by the river barges – searching for treasure in the mud in order to appease her master, Benjamin Murdstone.But one day, Nell discovers a body on the shore. It’s not the first corpse she’s encountered, but by far the strangest. Nearly seven feet tall, the creature has matted hair covering his legs, and on his head are the suggestion of horns. Nell’s fellow mudlarks urge her to steal his boots and rifle his pockets, but as she ventures closer the figure draws breath – and Nell is forced to make a decision which will change her life forever . . .From the critically acclaimed author of The Toymakers comes an imaginative retelling of the legend of the Minotaur, full of myth and magic and steeped in the grime of Victorian London; perfect for lovers of historical fiction with a mythical twist such as Stone Blind and Circe.Praise for Once A Monster:'Imaginative mash-up of the mythical with Victorian gothic.' - The Times'A wonderful magic trick of a story, full of very human monsters and monstrous humans. Dinsdale is a beautiful, evocative story teller. - Stuart Turton, bestselling author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn HardcastleTrade ReviewA wonderful magic trick of a story, full of very human monsters and monstrous humans. Dinsdale is a beautiful, evocative story teller. -- Stuart Turton, bestselling author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle[An] imaginative mash-up of the mythical with Victorian gothic. * The Times *Robert Dinsdale mixes history and mythology with great panache in Once a Monster -- The Sunday Times Book of the Month (Nick Rennison's historical fiction picks)What if the Minotaur survived, and followed Ariadne’s string out of the twisting darkness of the labyrinth? From this thread, Dinsdale spins an engaging yarn about dreams, second chances, and monsters both ordinary and supernatural. The story flows as smoothly as the waters of the Thames, and is just as dark and deep. Of note is Dinsdale’s ability to turn a phrase, shimmering like fine crystal held to the light. A dazzling and heartfelt book. -- Luna McNamara, author of Psyche and ErosAn inventive and irresistible retelling of the legend of the Minotaur. * I News *A labyrinthine delight of a novel where a world of Dickensian darkness is infused with ancient myth. Historical writing at its finest . . . unique, seductive, and accomplished. -- Essie Fox, bestselling author of The SomnambulistI was very moved by this story about shame, the costs of survival, and being loved in all one’s brokenness. Minos makes perfect sense as a character living at the margins in Victorian London, and the different ways Nell searches for beauty in the dirt will stay with me for a long time. -- Kate Mascarenhas, author of The Psychology of Time Travel and Hokey PokeyLike the magic at the heart of the story, this vivid, haunting novel is both vast and intimate. A wonderful and thought-provoking read. -- Katherine Arden, author of The Winternight Series, on The ToymakersThe crystalline prose, deep characterisation and compelling story carry you along. Highly recommended. * Historical Novel Society *
£17.09
Cornerstone Feathertide
Book Synopsis____________________________A magical fairytale-inspired debut about accepting being that little bit different, for fans of The Night Circus and The Bear and the Nightingale.____________________________A girl. A secret. A life-changing journey.'A beautiful fairytale of a book with the most delicious prose. I devoured every page' Alex Bell, Bestselling author of The Polar Bear Explorers’ ClubBorn covered in the feathers of a bird, and kept hidden in a crumbling house full of secrets, Marea has always known she was different, but never known why. And so to find answers, she goes in search of the father she has never met.The hunt leads her to the City of Murmurs, a place of mermaids and mystery, where jars of swirling mist are carried through the streets by the broken-hearted.And Mara will never forget what she learns thereFeathertide is an enchanting, magical novel perfect for fans of Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus and Katherine Arden's The Bear and the Nightingale.____________________________Readers are loving Feathertide! 'Magical, inventive and unique. A truly beautiful story.''Rarely there comes a book that makes you go wow. When it does you want to treasure every word, savour the book, never let it end. This is that book.''Beautifully written, reminiscent of old fairy tales, yet very modern in its concepts.''Quite literally the most beautiful book I’ve ever read.''Beth Cartwright's stunning prose left me enchanted and enthralled and I love this style of writing.'Trade ReviewA beautiful fairytale of a book with the most delicious prose. I devoured every page * Alex Bell, Bestselling author of The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club *[A] surprisingly refreshing read * Hilton Jenkin *If you enjoy magical realism and moving tales of self-discovery, you won't be able to put this down. * CultureFly *
£8.54
Cornerstone A Deadly Education: A TikTok sensation and Sunday
Book SynopsisThe Sunday Times bestseller!FINALIST FOR THE LODESTAR AWARDIn the start of an all-new trilogy, the bestselling author of Uprooted and Spinning Silver introduces you to a dangerous school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death - until one girl begins to rewrite its rules.____________Enter a school of magic unlike any you have ever encountered.There are no teachers, no holidays, friendships are purely strategic, and the odds of survival are never equal. Once you're inside, there are only two ways out: you graduate or you die.El Higgins is uniquely prepared for the school's many dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out untold millions - never mind easily destroy the countless monsters that prowl the school.Except, she might accidentally kill all the other students, too. So El is trying her hardest not to use it . . . that is, unless she has no other choice.With flawless mastery, Naomi Novik creates a heroine for the ages - a character so sharply realized and so richly nuanced that she will live on in hearts and minds for generations to come.____________'Hilarious and wild! Take any fictional magic school, make it as over-the-top dangerous as possible, and populate it with a bunch of snarky teenagers; the result is pure batshit fun.'N.K. Jemisin, three-time Hugo Award winner and author of The Fifth Season'Novik deliciously undoes expectations about magic schools, destined heroes, and family legacies. A gorgeous book about monsters and monstrousness, chockablock with action, cleverness, and wit.' Holly Black, #1 New York Times bestselling author'The Scholomance is the dark school of magic I've been waiting for, and its wise, witty, and monstrous heroine is one I'd happily follow anywhere-even into a school full of monsters.' Katherine Arden, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale'The wonderful cast of characters will grab a hold of your heart and you'll never want to leave this deadly school ... a fantasy that delights on every level. I loved this brilliant book.'Stephanie Garber, #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Caraval series'Eyeball-meltingly brilliant. Novik is, quite simply, a genius.'Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of And I Darken'Sharp, witty, and darkly effervescent, A Deadly Education is Naomi Novik's fresh take on the concept of the magic school. One of my favorite reads of the year.'Rory Power, New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls'Fresh, smart, and delightfully unique. It's Hogwarts with higher stakes and sharper claws, and I absolutely loved it.'Alix E. Harrow'A nightmare from which I never wished to wake. Savage, inventive, and soulful, Novik grasps the totems of childhood that linger in your mind-schools of magic, curses, cutthroat classmates, monsters-only to twist them into a grand new tale that'll make you believe in magic again.' Pierce Brown, New York Times bestselling author of Dark AgeA Deadly Education, Sunday Times bestseller - October 2020Trade ReviewThe Scholomance is the dark school of magic I’ve been waiting for, and its wise, witty, and monstrous heroine is one I'd happily follow anywhere—even into a school full of monsters. -- KATHERINE ARDENSharp as a fang, funny and ruthless, this still manages to conjure up powerful observations about friendship, exclusion and privilege. * DAILY MAIL *From the author of Spinning Silver comes a story set in an austere school for the magically gifted which houses unfathomable secrets and dark challenges for its students. Weaving together suspicion, danger, sorcery, monsters and humour, A Deadly Education is a magnificent return to form from Naomi Novik. * WATERSTONES *Eyeball-meltingly brilliant. Novik is, quite simply, a genius. -- KIERSTEN WHITEA Deadly Education is a nightmare from which I never wished to wake. Savage, inventive, and soulful, Novik grasps the totems of childhood that linger in your mind-schools of magic, curses, cutthroat classmates, monsters-only to twist them into a grand new tale that'll make you believe in magic again.A dark, smart, delicious tale, set to redefine everything you think you know about schools for magic. A Deadly Education is dangerously addictive. * KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE *At Scholomance, monsters are everywhere and the breakfast might kill you, but the wonderful cast of characters will grab a hold of your heart and you’ll never want to leave this deadly school. Naomi Novik skillfully combines sharp humor with layers of imagination to build a fantasy that delights on every level. I loved this brilliant book. -- STEPHANIE GARBERHilarious and wild! Take any fictional magic school, make it as over-the-top dangerous as possible, and populate it with a bunch of snarky teenagers; the result is pure batshit fun. -- N. K. JEMISINSharp, witty, and darkly effervescent, A Deadly Education is Naomi Novik’s fresh take on the concept of the magic school. One of my favorite reads of the year. -- RORY POWERA Deadly Education plunges into the delightfully brutal world of the Scholomance, a magic school unlike anything you've ever seen before, and introduces El, a practical, ruthless heroine with the guts and wits to survive it. Naomi Novik has crafted a transcendent academic fantasy that pulls no punches. * EMILY SKRUTSKIE *Naomi Novik reinvents the magical school story by working a strange, funny, wild, dark magic all her own. This is not just your next great read - it's your new obsession. * GWENDA BOND *Novik is a master at setting up a plot to unfurl in a series of staggeringly well-thought out bursts of action, weaving together into an imaginative climax.A Deadly Education is a book that lives up to its gob smacker of an opening sentence and follows right through to its shocker of an ending that promises more to come. Naomi Novik is relentlessly innovative and entertaining -- TERRY BROOKSFresh, smart, and delightfully unique. It's Hogwarts with higher stakes and sharper claws, and I absolutely loved it. * ALIX E. HARROW *The author's most entertaining novel to date * SFX *Fun and beautifully written * Metro *A story that never stops moving while always remaining focused on developing the characters of both the people and the school itself * Locus Magazine *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Orange World
Book Synopsis'I loved Orange World... a collection of short stories in which demons live in drains, bog women come back from the dead and trees can grow inside the human body' Daisy Johnson, New Statesman BOOK OF THE YEAR'A rare combination of literary brilliance and unbridled entertainment' Mark HaddonThese exuberant, unforgettable stories showcase Karen Russell's comedic and imaginative talent for creating outlandish predicaments that uncannily mirror our inner lives. In 'The Bad Graft', a couple on a road trip stop in Joshua Tree National Park, where the spirit of a giant tree accidentally infects the young woman, their fates becoming permanently entangled. In 'The Prospectors' two opportunistic young women fleeing the Depression strike out for new territory, but find themselves fighting for their lives. In the brilliant and hilarious title story a new mother desperate to ensure her baby's safety strikes a deal with the devil to protect her baby. Stories of survival, love and of surreal and magnificent transformation show Russell writing at exhilarating new heights.Praise for Orange World:'The worlds of the stories are entirely convincing, small pockets in which it is possible to become lost' Guardian'One of our most original short story writers... Russell has impeccable command of her form' New York Times Book ReviewTrade ReviewSuperbly crafted...the weird and the outlandish exist side-by-side with everyday concerns... Russell is among the most skilled of this generation’s fabulist writers. In her surreal worlds, life is passing strange, but it is not devoid of wry comfort -- Nilanjana Roy * Financial Times *I loved Orange World by Karen Russell, which is a collection of short stories in which demons live in drains, bog women come back from the dead and trees can grow inside the human body -- Daisy Johnson * New Statesman, Books of the Year *One of our most original short story writers... Russell has impeccable command of her form... Russell’s particular gift lies in taking themes that are close to universal and presenting them in stories whose strangeness comes to seem entirely natural, even necessary * New York Times Book Review *A rare combination of literary brilliance and unbridled entertainmentA mesmerising, often hilarious, new collection that embraces survival, love and magnificent transformation -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday, *Books of the Year* *
£9.49
Cornerstone The House of Sorrowing Stars
Book SynopsisA spellbinding and haunting literary fable of loss, perfect for fans of The Binding and The Night Circus.'This beautiful and beguiling book tells a poignant and haunting story rich in slow-burning intrigue and tender emotion' Jennifer Saint, Sunday Times bestselling author of Ariadne.'A transporting, delicious fairytale about loss, beauty, and love.' Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Mercies.________________________How do you heal a broken house?First you unlock its secrets.Alone on an island, surrounded by flowers that shine as dusk begins to fall, sits an old, faded house. Rooms cannot be rented here and visits are only for those haunted by the memory of loss.When Liddy receives an invitation, she thinks there must be some mistake - she's never experienced loss. But with her curiosity stirred, and no other way to escape a life in which she feels trapped, she decides to accept.Once there, she meets Vivienne, a beautiful, austere woman whose glare leaves Liddy unsettled; Ben, the reserved gardener; and Raphael, the enigmatic Keymaker. If Liddy is to discover her true purpose in the house, she must find the root of their sorrow - but the house won't give up its secrets so easily . . .________________________'A haunting journey of self-discovery, bursting with metaphor, and with the feel of a classic fairytale. Prepare to get lost in this spellbinding world.' Ava Reid, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Wolf and the Woodsman.'Haunting, surreal, and intricate, Cartwright has deftly crafted a story about what we find when we believe we are lost.' Heather Walter, author of the Malice duology.'Enchanting, poetic prose that enriches a beautiful fairytale world.' A. E. Warren, author of the Tomorrow's Ancestors series.Trade ReviewThis beautiful and beguiling book tells a poignant and haunting story rich in slow-burning intrigue and tender emotion * Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne *A transporting, delicious fairytale about loss, beauty, and love. * Kiran Millwood Hargrave *A haunting journey of self-discovery, bursting with metaphor, and with the feel of a classic fairytale. Prepare to get lost in this spellbinding world. * Ava Reid, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Wolf and the Woodsman *The House of Sorrowing Star is like a dream poured onto a page. Haunting, surreal, and intricate, Cartwright has deftly crafted a story about what we find when we believe we are lost. * Heather Walter, author of Malice. *Enchanting, poetic prose that enriches a beautiful fairytale world. * A. E. Warren, author of the Tomorrow’s Ancestors series *
£9.49
Transworld Publishers Ltd Lonely Castle in the Mirror: The no. 1 Japanese
Book SynopsisFor fans of BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD, fairy tale and magic are weaved together in sparse language that belies a flooring emotional punch.'Strange and beautiful. Imagine the offspring of The Wind-up Bird Chronicle with The Virgin Suicides' GUARDIAN'Genuinely affecting. A story of empathy, collaboration and sharing truths' FINANCIAL TIMESTranslated by Philip Gabriel, a translator of Murakami_______________________________Would you share your deepest secrets to save a friend?In a tranquil neighbourhood of Tokyo, seven teenagers wake to find their bedroom mirrors are shining.At a single touch, they are pulled from their lonely lives to a wondrous castle filled with winding stairways, watchful portraits and twinkling chandeliers. In this new sanctuary, they are confronted with a set of clues leading to a hidden room where one of them will be granted a wish. But there's a catch: if they don't leave the castle by five o'clock, they will be punished.As time passes, a devastating truth emerges: only those brave enough to share their stories will be saved.Tender, playful, gripping, LONELY CASTLE IN THE MIRROR is a mesmerizing tale about the importance of reaching out, confronting anxiety and embracing human connection.Readers love LONELY CASTLE IN THE MIRROR:***** 'This book has become one of my favourite Japanese reads of all time . . . A magical heartfelt read that will stay with you'***** 'Unexpected, beautiful and heart-breaking . . . this is a work of fiction which reaches into the heart of a modern problem and has valuable insight'***** 'Rich and vivid.This book is a symbol that 'there is always hope'Trade ReviewA surge of Japanese women are redefining their nation's literature * VOGUE *Strange and beautiful. Imagine the offspring of The Wind-up Bird Chronicle with The Virgin Suicides * GUARDIAN *A moving, reflective and surprising novel... anyone who has ever struggled with feeling isolated, had difficulties at school, or had mental health struggles, will find this novel to be a cleansing balm. * CULTUREFLY *Neat twists and a genuinely affecting denouement. A story of empathy, collaboration and sharing truths, this is 'a modern, all-ages fairy tale' that should appeal to fans of Neil Gaiman and Studio Ghibli animations * FINANCIAL TIMES *There's a warmth to her writing, and Tsujimura has a mature ability to allow the story to speak for itself without narrative * JAPAN TIMES *An original and tender blend of social commentary and magical realism * THE JAPAN SOCIETY REVIEW *
£9.49
Quercus Publishing The Good Neighbours
Book SynopsisCath is a photographer hoping to go freelance, working in a record shop to pay the rent and eking out her time with her manager Steve. He thinks her photography is detective work, drawing attention to things that would otherwise pass unseen and maybe he's right . . .Starting work on her new project - photographing murder houses - she returns to the island where she grew up for the first time since she left for Glasgow when she was just eighteen. The Isle of Bute is embedded in her identity, the draughty house that overlooked the bay, the feeling of being nowhere, the memory of her childhood friend Shirley Craigie and the devastating familicide of her family by the father, John Craigie. Arriving at the Craigie house, Cath finds that it's occupied by Financial Analyst Alice Rahman. Her bid to escape the city lifestyle, the anxiety she felt in that world, led her to leave London and settle on the island. The strangeness of the situation brings them closer, leading them to reinvestigate the Craigie murder. Now, within the walls of the Craigie house, Cath can uncover the nefarious truths and curious nature of John Craigie: his hidden obsession with the work of Richard Dadd and the local myths of the fairy folk.The Good Neighbours is an enquiry into the unknowability of the past and our attempts to make events fit our need to interpret them; the fallibility of recollection; the power of myths in shaping human narratives. Nina Allan skilfully weaves the imagined and the real to create a magically haunting story of memory, obsession and the liminal spaces that our minds frequent to escape trauma.Trade ReviewHer literary sensibility fuses the fantastic and the mundane to great effect * Guardian (on The Dollmaker) *Nina Allan weaves a haunting, intricate tale that masterfully blurs genre lines. You'll want to savour every page * CultureFly (2021 picks) *A captivating exploration of community, tragedy and memory. Nina Allan's writing is enthralling. -- Irenosen OkojieA compulsive and twisting read . . . Nina Allan has created a surging and artistic narrative that lingers like a cold breath down your neck at the turn of the last page. -- Fiona Murphy * Mummy Pages *a compelling murder mystery filled with superstition, fairy folk and murder houses, set on Nina's beloved Isle of Bute ... spellbinding * Scots Magazine *Allan keeps multiple plates spinning without ever losing psychological coherence as a portrait of its self-denying protagonist's engrossingly complicated inner life. Satisfying, sophisticated and very finely done. * Daily Mail *This book cleverly weaves the imagined and the real to create a haunting story that relives the past. * Candis *[A] splendid crime narrative of memory, compulsion and the effects of trauma. * Guardian *
£9.99
Quercus Publishing A Girl Made of Air
Book Synopsis'A captivating tale of love and loss and finding connection in the most unexpected places' Nikki Marmery, author of On Wilder Seas A lyrical and atmospheric homage to the strange and extraordinary, perfect for fans of Angela Carter and Erin Morgenstern. This is the story of The Greatest Funambulist Who Ever Lived...Born into a post-war circus family, our nameless star was unwanted and forgotten, abandoned in the shadows of the big top. Until the bright light of Serendipity Wilson threw her into focus. Now an adult, haunted by an incident in which a child was lost from the circus, our narrator, a tightrope artiste, weaves together her spellbinding tales of circus legends, earthy magic and folklore, all in the hope of finding the child... But will her story be enough to bring the pair together again? Beautiful and intoxicating, A Girl Made of Air brings the circus to life in all of its grime and glory; Marina, Manu, Serendipity Wilson, Fausto, Big Gen and Mouse will live long in the hearts of readers. As will this story of loss and reconciliation, of storytelling and truth.Trade ReviewA captivating tale of love and loss and finding connection in the most unexpected places * Nikki Marmery, author of ON WILDER SEAS *Hetherington tells her captivating tale from deep within the sequinned heart of the circus, with characters as darkly flawed as they are brilliantly talented. A Girl Made of Air is a poignant story of regret and redemption, brilliantly interlaced with magic and folklore * Sonia Velton, author of Blackberry & Wild Rose *Tells a story about stories in rich, lyrical magic realism . . . the language is elegant and beautiful and an atmospheric success in itself * Starburst *Anenchanting talesteeped in circuslegend - a trulymagical debut! * My Weekly *Fantasy, folklore and funambulism tread an impressive line in this richly imagined debut. Hetherington spins a kaleidoscopic patchwork of memory and magic, secrets and lies, ideal for fans of The Night Circus * Emma Stonex, author of THE LAMPLIGHTERS *This novel had me under its spell from start to finish, each page conjuring up such vivid imagery that I was utterly captivated. Breathtaking * Emma Cooper, author of IF I COULD SAY GOODBYE *Spellbinding! * Candis *There's a glamour and grimness in this captivating novel . . . a vivid tale of regret and redemption * Psychologies *Several fairy tales intertwined into one, this captivating novel tells the story of love and loss . . . A pacey and entirely enthralling read * Independent online *For fans of Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus and The Binding by Bridget Collins, this magical debut from actress-turned-writer Nydia Hetherington is just the kind of book to curl up and escape to as the days get shorter * Huffington Post, Super Thursday round-up *Be prepared to be dazzled by this debut novel . . . As strange and spectacular as the world it is set in, this narrative is lyrical storytelling at its most brutal and beautiful * My Weekly *An enchanting, lyrical and atmospheric tale that brings the circus to life * Publishing Post newsletter *An immensely assured first novel * Guardian *You'll find yourself completely immersed in this story of circus folk and magic * Woman's Weekly *A spellbinding piece of escapism that's perfect for autumn evenings * Stylist *There are sequins and suspicion in this captivating circus novel . . . a richly imagined debut * Sunday Express S magazine *Captivating * Good Housekeeping *
£8.54
Quercus Publishing Spells for Forgetting: the spellbinding magical
Book Synopsis'Spellbinding' JODI PICOULT'Bewitching' REBECCA ROSS'Exquisite' STEPHANIE GARBER'Captivating' SUE LYNN TANEmery Blackwood's life was forever changed on the eve of her high school graduation, when the love of her life, August Salt, was accused of murdering her best friend, Lily. She'd once dreamt of running away with August, eager to escape the misty, remote shores of Saoirse Island and chase new dreams together. Now, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would: living a quiet existence among this tight-knit community steeped in folklore and tradition, ruled by the seasons and ancient superstitions.But when August returns after fourteen years to bury his mother's ashes, Emery must confront her first love and the reason he left so abruptly. But the town wants August gone again. And as the island begins to show signs of strange happenings, the emergence of deep betrayals and hidden promises threatens to reveal the truth behind Lily's death once and for all.'There were tales that only the island knew. Ones that had never been told. I knew, because I was one of them'Trade ReviewLush with secrets, magic, and a past that won't stay where it belongs, this novel is (quite fittingly) spellbinding * Jodi Picoult *A bewitching mystery, equal parts thrilling and romantic. I felt the isle's salt-laced winds, deeply rooted secrets, and the draw of the tides in Adrienne Young's stunning prose. Not to be missed * Rebecca Ross *A thrilling, rich mystery with exquisite twists. Adrienne Young's adult debut will trick you, bewitch you and leave you begging for more * Stephanie Garber *Spells for Forgetting seamlessly weaves mystery, magic, and love into a captivating tale. Deeply immersive and filled with intrigue, each page draws you closer and leaves you wanting more * Sue Lynn Tan *With magic, murder, and prose that reads like music, Adrienne Young weaves together an immersive tale amidst the Pacific Coast island of Saoirse where love and pain both stick to the bone and a novel that will surely stick with me for many years to come, too * Chandler Baker *With quiet magic like wind on a spooky autumn evening, Spells for Forgetting is so atmospheric it will leave you breathless. Adrienne Young's exquisite prose blends slow-burn romance and intense mystery into a beautiful, twisty gem of a novel. You won't want to miss this one * Sarah Addison Allen *A mysterious island with a will of its own. A fire. A murder. Love and betrayal, secrets and deep connections. And everything tinged with magic. A gripping and enthralling read. Beautifully crafted storytelling * Nydia Hetherington *Tense, lyrical, and wholly romantic, Spells for Forgetting is as immersive a story as you could ask for. I could feel the salt on my skin, smell the smoke, and every page felt like a tentative step into a mist concealing all of Saoirse's darkest secrets * Ruth Emmie Lang *Bewitching * E Online *Young casts a spell that will keep readers turning the pages * Publishers Weekly *While Young's fascinating, atmospheric, and mystical adult debut blends a few different genres, it is a mystery at its core * BuzzFeed *This tale has a claustrophobic Stranger Things atmosphere . . . highly emotional * Daily Mail *Haunting and mythical * Woman *At its heart this is a book about a community and relationships . . . thrilling * SF Books *
£9.49
Quercus Publishing The Fox Wife: an enchanting historical mystery
Book Synopsis'Vivid, enigmatic, enchanting' M. L. Rio'Irresistible' Sunday TimesSome people think foxes go around collecting qi, or life force, but nothing could be further than the truth. We are living creatures, just like you, only usually better looking . . .Manchuria, 1908: A young woman is found frozen in the snow. Her death is clouded by rumours of foxes, believed to lure people into peril by transforming into beautiful women and men. Bao, a detective with a reputation for sniffing out the truth, is hired to uncover the dead woman's identity. Since childhood, Bao has been intrigued by the fox gods, yet they've remained tantalizingly out of reach. Until, perhaps, now.Snow is a creature of many secrets, but most of all, she's a mother seeking vengeance. Hunting a murderer, the trail will take her from northern China to Japan, with Bao following doggedly behind. And as their paths draw ever closer together, both Snow and Bao will encounter old friends and new foes, even as more deaths occur. The Fox Wife is a stunning novel about old loves and second chances, the depth of maternal bonds, and ancient folktales that may very well be true.PRAISE FOR THE FOX WIFE'Magical, wondrous, transporting and illuminating' Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai'Rich and beguiling' Daily Mail 'Filled with wonder, mystery and folklore' Sue Lynn Tan'Enchanting' the i'A rich tangle of myth, mystery, and history' Alix E. HarrowTrade ReviewThe reader is taken on a journey from the underbelly of a Chinese town to the mountains of Japan. Among the more memorable characters along the way is a male fox spirit called Shiro. He is seductive, deadly and, like the book itself, quite irresistible to mere humans * Sunday Times *Like the foxes who populate its pages, The Fox Wife is vivid, enigmatic, and enchanting. Choo's fresh new fable conjures a world where danger and intrigue are forever entwined with sublime and sensory delights * M.L. Rio, author of IF WE WERE VILLAINS *Rich and beguiling * Daily Mail *A stunning story filled with wonder, mystery and folklore. I was utterly captivated by Yangsze Choo's exquisite prose and fascinating characters from the first page till the last. A remarkable tale, one that will stay with me * Sue Lynn Tan, author of Heart of the Sun Warrior *Witty and suspenseful * New York Times Book Review *Enchanting * The i *Magical, wonderous, transporting and illuminating, The Fox Wife reminds me that reading can be pure joy . . . I was captivated from the very first word of this novel until its very last. Yangsze Choo is a writer of immense talent * Nguyen Phan Que Mai, internationally best-selling author of The Mountains Sing and Dust Child *Masterfully plotted and superbly surprising, The Fox Wife will entice you into a world of magic and heartbreak, a beautiful tapestry woven from love and revenge and forgiveness. But beware: once you start, you may not be able to put it down! -- Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, author of INDEPENDENCE and THE LAST QUEENThe Fox Wife is a rich tangle of myth, mystery, and history, delivered with Choo's inimitable grace and precision. It's not a book so much as a beguilement; it enchanted me entirely -- Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of STARLING HOUSEChoo's writing is lush and the slow revelations of complicated relationships and reunions hum with tension. This is a treat * Publishers Weekly *Snow's difficulties as both a fox and a young woman in a man's world are clearly drawn, as is the pathos of Bao's situation as a gentle soul who's always been in search of something or someone. An intriguing vulpine mystery worth the suspension of disbelief * Kirkus *A beguiling tale of a bygone era * Straits Times *
£18.00
