Narrative theme: coming of age

Book Synopsis'A subversive debut' GUARDIAN'Prose that dances with charge and potency' LOS ANGELES REVIEW OF BOOKS*WINNER of a 2023 ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR LITERATURE and a 2023 SOUTH ASIA BOOK AWARD*On a year-long exchange programme, sixteen-year-old Hira must swap the bustle of urban Pakistan for church and volleyball practice in rural Oregon. Stuck between two worlds, her experience of America is sometimes freeing, sometimes painful, often quite painful. And while she faces racism and Islamophobia, she also makes new friends and has her first kiss.But when her new life is blown apart by a shocking health crisis, Hira's sense of belonging is overturned once again - forcing her to consider her place in the world.'Marks the debut of a thrilling new global voice' Peter Ho Davies, author of The FortunesTrade ReviewA subversive debut . . . It is the sharpness, and surprise . . . that makes Dur e Aziz Amna's coming-of-age, coming-to-America debut novel stand out . . . The highly quotable Hira is a force to be reckoned with. Her spiky prose style provocatively undercuts received narratives about the 'American dream' from the immigrant's perspective. -- Sana Goyal * Guardian *What comes sharply into focus in this beautifully written debut, is that we can never leave the past behind -- Jane Shilling * Daily Mail *American Fever is the unforgettable story of a teenage girl in a year of transformation. Dur e Aziz Amna navigates the choppy waters of adolescence with blistering insight and humour, and exquisitely captures the way we can long for home while yearning to escape it. Rarely does a book sharpen how you see the world around you, but American Fever does just that. It dazzled me on every page. * Julie Buntin, author of Marlena *"The one thing I shouldn't ever do was take an American's word on America." Good point: take Dur e Aziz Amna's word instead. In this sharply observed twist on the classic coming-to-America story, we find an America recognizable in all its generosity, cruelty, and sometimes-well-intentioned bumbling. And we find a brilliant exploration of the sacred, scary moment when a girl comes into the wider world. * Benjamin Moser, Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of Sontag: Her Life and Work *Brave, tender-hearted, and painfully bittersweet, American Fever is a sharply observed debut that announces Dur e Aziz Amna as a brilliant new voice. * Fatima Farheen Mirza, author of A Place for Us *In American Fever, Dur e Aziz Amna gives us an unforgettable South Asian protagonist - clever, clear-spoken, equal parts brash and vulnerable - navigating the mores of illness, separation and small-town America. Charming, fearless and politically aware, American Fever is a novel that will stay with you for a long time. * Sarah Thankam Mathews *American Fever is an extraordinarily assured and gripping debut. The intelligence, humour and longing of Hira's voice, as she negotiates what it means to belong to a place, will certainly stay with me * Aysegül Savas *Hira's is a voice I won't soon forget; her biting intelligence, her irreverence, and her wit blazes through this riveting, brilliant novel which stuns in its insights, its sensitive understanding of the complexities of identity, of what home means, and what it means to exist within a globalized world. A searing debut. * Aamina Ahmad, author of The Return of Faraz Ali *A poetic, memorable novel. I loved it. Hira is a marvellous creation - American Fever marks the arrival of a hugely promising writer. * Mirza Waheed *A loving and unflinching exploration of home and homeland, the ways they make and unmake us, how they feed us and also eat away our insides. Amna's crystalline prose reflects and refracts, dazzles and captivates. * Nawaaz Ahmed, author of 'Radiant Fugitives', finalist for the PEN-Faulkner Award *American Fever is a fresh, fierce bildungsroman - a story of homesickness and adolescent ache, not to mention a biting meta-commentary on what we expect from immigrant narratives. It's a relief to witness America as Hira does, seeing it clearly as an absurd, flawed nation that is all too often, as Hira says, a concept on whose behalf immigrants are unreasonably asked to testify. * Sanjena Sathian, author of GOLD DIGGERS *American Fever is a beautifully written book . . . Hira [is] a narrator whose insight and skepticism is addictive . . . Excellent * Tribune Magazine *Hira is a compelling, emotionally astute narrator . . . Hira's freshness in the way she assesses the world and herself while skewering the inconsistencies of those around her makes for a layered read . . . Amna's debut novel showcases her adeptness in tackling some of the big migration questions of home and identity within the context of her insightful young protagonist's complex experiences * Booklist *This is a funny and affecting novel, understated but powerful, a wonderful new spin on the coming-of-age story. A smart, charming debut. * Kirkus Reviews *An utterly hypnotic, witty and brilliant novel about young Hira's journey across two oceans... Dur E Aziz Amna's virtuosic way with language kept me enthralled the whole way through. This book is a necessary next-leveling of diasporic consciousness, the unraveling of borders between homeland and newfound home that happens inside of us. * Tanaïs, author of IN SENSORIUM *American Fever is an exhilarating juxtaposition of discovery and nostalgia. With great humour and fine attentiveness, Dur e Aziz Amna captures the feverish excitement and confusion of America from the point of view of a young outsider, questioning our assumptions about relationships, politics, food, clothes, illness, grief and beyond. It's a fast-paced yet contemplative story of malaise and opportunity, intercultural (mis)understanding, and transgenerational debt. Every page is filled with the zest of life that makes you want more. * Kit Fan, author of DIAMOND HILL *Fierce, razor-sharp, poignant, and rendered with fiery wit and deep empathy for human foibles, American Fever is a powerful tale of exile, identity, and belonging in our complex world. * Vikram Paralkar, author of NIGHT THEATER *A gripping debut on a journey that so many young people embark on but very little is written about with such audacity, skill and compassion. The narrative toggle between teenage and adult Hira adds depth to an already evocative book. * Zeba Talkhani *Gorgeous... Amna is a bold storyteller skilled at blending character, plot, and the kind of existential crises that keep us up at night. Her debut novel, American Fever-as propulsive as it is lyrical, as hilarious as it is sobering-is, above all, an irresistible read from an impressive new literary voice. * Michigan Quarterly Review *Completely engrossing . . . Amna's prose moves along quickly and Hira's appraisal of the people and places she encounters is sharp and untarnished by tact. At times, her wit and judgement land like the crack of a whip and leave you both laughing and uncomfortable. -- Mariam Tareen * Dawn *When I finished reading the novel, I was filled with gratitude for finding this brilliant voice from our country at the start of her career . . . Dur e Aziz Amna is a writer that every Pakistani should be reading. * The News *Prose that dances with charge and potency . . . American Fever firmly puts Amna on the literary map as a sharp young voice to look out for. Its striking cast of characters, both Pakistani and American, stand out in their pugnacious individuality, and its potent themes are woven through the story with genuine subtlety -- Anandi Mishra * Los Angeles Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisA warm and bittersweet novel about love, loneliness, coffee and the pitfalls of an ill-advised selfie, perfect for fans of Monica Heisey, Nora Ephron and Katherine Heiny.'Moriarty's uplifting debut has much in common with Ephron's classic novel Heartburn, covering as it does long-term love, casual sex and heartbreak.' IRISH INDEPENDENT'Delightful . . . entertaining, often funny, but also makes you think about relationships, loneliness, and how to find out who you really are' IRISH EXAMINER'A perfect literary romcom that is compelling and warm without missing out the vagaries of Grindr, drunken nights out and the loneliness of London.' KATE SAWYER'An insightful and utterly believable take on the emotional and practical realities of opening up a relationship . . . A beautiful, understated novel about connection, self-discovery and trying to get by. Highly recommended' ATTITUDE'A super-fun must-read - we finished it in one sitting!' CLOSER'A candid, funny romcom' BBC SOUNDS'So refreshing and compelling, I can't wait to buy copies for everyone I know. Hard recommend!' LUCY VINE'Such a warm writer that every word glows on the page' HANNAH TOVEY'I loved spending time with this whole cast of characters . . . a witty, warm, contemporary read' NIAMH HARGAN'An absolute delight of a book. You will totally fall in love with Eoin' OLIVIA BEIRNE'Hilarious and heartbreaking in equal measure' KIRSTY EYRE'An absolute treat. I adored every minute.' HANNAH DOYLE******Meet Eoin. Eoin is doing great. He's 27, gainfully employed and in a long-term relationship with his boyfriend Rich. Okay, so his best friend Jax is diving into yet another disastrously bad relationship and Eoin's going to be the one dealing with the eventual fallout. And his boss at the café, Rebecca, seems to have vanished, so somehow Eoin's left managing the place. And to be honest, he's not got much else going on. But still, he's got his boyfriend Rich - steady, sensible and dependable Rich. That is, until Eoin's world is turned upside down when Rich announces that he wants an open relationship. Terrified of losing the man he loves, Eoin reluctantly agrees to this new arrangement, and stumbles into the world of dating with no strings attached.What could go wrong?******READERS ARE LOVING SOUNDS LIKE FUN:'I stayed up until midnight to binge read this in one go' READER REVIEW, 5*'An utterly gorgeous read with a compelling lead who had me rooting for him on every page' READER REVIEW, 5*'I gobbled this story up in just two sittings and will certainly recommend all my rom com loving pals pick it up' READER REVIEW, 5*'A witty and wise stroll through London's contemporary gay scene, bulging with humour and really great characters that I'm missing already' READER REVIEW, 5*'A fun and heartwarming read, with a depth of feeling that I perhaps wasn't fully expecting before I started' READER REVIEW, 5*Trade ReviewMoriarty skilfully brings Eoin, with all his hang-ups and doubts, to life . . . A warm-hearted and good-humoured tale of trying to find where you fit. -- The TimesCertainly, Moriarty's uplifting debut has much in common with Ephron's classic novel, Heartburn, covering as it does, long-term love, casual sex and heartbreak. * Irish Independent *Moriarty perfectly captures the sometimes wasteland years of your 20s . . . It is one of Moriarty's talents to gradually reveal the charm of the world and characters he has created. Chief attraction is Eoin himself, who is a mixture of wit, touching humility, and burgeoning self-confidence, which combine to make him an extremely endearing hero . . . His supporting cast of quirky co-workers, possible love interests, one-night stands through Grindr, and friends hosting knitting circles, are well drawn and hugely entertaining. I was so drawn in I abandoned an entire day to reading it, just-one-more-chaptering my way through until I found I had completed the thing. * Irish Independent *Delightful . . . entertaining, often funny, but also makes you think about relationships, loneliness, and how to find out who you really are . . . laugh out loud funny at times . . . Sounds Like Fun is fun - it's also a novel which captures the differing ways individuals deal with loneliness, full of characters the reader will care about. * Irish Examiner *Full of wit, soul-searching and poignant observations on queer life... A warm and bittersweet novel -- Irish Country MagazineMoriarty has created a real living, breathing person that I want to protect at all costs, so much so that I found myself annoyed when I got to the end because I knew the rest of Eoin's life would have to be left up to the imagination . . . an excellent exploration of modern-day relationships along with that mid-to-late-twenties crisis so many people have as they try to figure out what they want their future to be. * Writing.IE *I was utterly charmed by this debut . . . a coming of age story that is compelling and warm without missing out the vagaries of Grindr, drunken nights out and the loneliness of London. A perfect literary romcom -- Kate SawyerI adored Sounds Like Fun and tore through it. It felt so refreshing and compelling, and the characters are all so well written and relatable. I can't wait to buy copies for everyone I know - hard recommend! -- Lucy VineSo refreshing, with characters that make you whoop and cheer throughout. Moriarty is such a warm writer, every word glows on the page. -- Hannah ToveyI raced through it in one sitting and loved spending time with this whole cast of characters . . . a witty, warm, contemporary read -- Niamh HarganWarm and welcoming, Moriarty's debut has the effortless informality of a friend confessing his reluctant foray into an open relationship . . . If you enjoyed Kate Davies' In At The Deep End, this book should indeed sound like fun! -- Lily LindonA heartfelt novel offering an insight into modern relationships, loneliness in your twenties and finding your place in the world. -- Somewhere For UsTotal brilliance. Eoin is charming and instantly relatable - not to mention laugh-out-loud hilarious at times. It's impossible not to fall in love with this book! -- Beth ReeklesAn absolute delight of a book. You will totally fall in love with Eoin. I read it in two sittings - it's that good! -- Olivia BeirneHilarious and heartbreaking in equal measure, this is a refreshing, honest and real take on a traditional romance with an ending of agency and hope that I loved. A delight to read. -- Kirsty EyreSounds Like Fun is an absolute treat. A pacy plot with plenty of laughs and a cast of characters who jump from the page. I adored every minute. -- Hannah DoyleSets itself apart from the crowd - its message is that happiness is often found in being brave, in departing from the comfortable and in asking difficult questions of yourself and those around you. It is refreshing to read a queer novel about people who are basically enjoying life and who come to important, and life-changing, realisations without having to endure some spectacular tragedy or suffering -- Daniel BarnesI adored this. It's funny yet poignant. Eoin's work life and friendships feel utterly authentic. * Irish Examiner *Moriarty's debut explores modern dating and the loneliness that people in their twenties feel as they try to make their way in the world. It's a witty, wise and sincere novel that offers a fresh take on queer life and open relationships * Culturefly *

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Book Synopsis“Dixen excels at concocting unexpected detours and jaw-dropping cliffhangers. Anne Rice fans will be especially enthralled.” ―Publishers Weekly (starred review) A fiery heroine seeks vengeance against a royal court of deadly vampires in this epic alternate history set in lavish Versailles. Louis XIV transformed from the Sun King into the King of Shadows when he embraced immortality and became the world’s first vampire. For the last three centuries, he has been ruling the kingdom from the decadent Court of Shadows in Versailles, demanding the blood of his subjects to sate his nobles’ thirst and maintain their loyalty. In the heart of rural France, commoner Jeanne Froidelac witnesses the king’s soldiers murder her family and learns of her parents’ role in a brewing rebellion involving the forbidden secrets of alchemy. To seek her revenge, Jeanne disguises herself as an aristocrat and enrolls in a prestigious school for aspiring courtiers. She soon finds herself at the doors of the palace of Versailles. But Jeanne, of course, is no aristocrat. She dreams not of court but of blood. The blood of a king.Trade Review“Dixen excels at concocting unexpected detours and jaw-dropping cliffhangers. Anne Rice fans will be especially enthralled.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Fantasy fans who like their speculative fiction filled with vampyre aristocrats and plenty of twists along the way will enjoy taking a bite out of this series starter.” —Library Journal “The Court of Shadows is highly recommended for those who enjoy reading dark tales filled with suspense, terror, and supernatural vampyres…” —Historical Novels Review “The Court of Shadows has intriguing world-building and a protagonist with true, merciless grit. You’re rooted in the familiar, yet there are enough twists to break your expectations. Jeanne is vicious in her determination, and the king is utterly fascinating. I NEED TO SEE HIM WITHOUT THAT MASK!” —Charlie N. Holmberg, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Paper Magician “I loved it! The tension, the intrigue, the undercurrents of revolution, and above all else, a warrior girl who still wants to love and be loved. This will be an immediate classic. Bravo!” —Amy Harmon, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and New York Times bestselling author “Seductive, thrilling, and deliciously dark, The Court of Shadows brings the glamour and danger of eighteenth-century Versailles to life. This is historical fantasy at its finest!” —Kass Morgan, bestselling author of The 100 “Victor Dixen has crafted a decadent literary feast that makes vampire lore fresh again. The Court of Shadows deserves a place on your bookshelf with all the bloodsucking classics.” —Megan Shepherd, New York Times bestselling author of Grim Lovelies “A brilliant and brave young heroine who is still realistically vulnerable, in a world of vampires who really do want to kill people—and yet retain their creepy fascination. Read this to find out why Victor Dixen’s thrilling series is a huge bestseller in France. I can’t wait to read the next one!” — Ellen Kushner, World Fantasy Award and Locus Award winner, author of Swordspoint “Gory, twisty, heart-stopping fun of the best kind—I couldn’t stop reading!” —Shelley Parker-Chan, #1 bestselling author of She Who Became the Sun “Victor Dixen's The Court of Shadows is an entirely original version of a world ruled by vampires. His protagonist, Jeanne, makes choices that are genuinely unpredictable as she seeks vengeance for the deaths of her family. I could not put this book down.” —Charlaine Harris, author of All the Dead Shall Weep

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Book SynopsisLaura travels the world before returning to Sydney, where she works for a publisher of travel guides. Ravi dreams of being a tourist until he is driven from Sri Lanka by devastating events. An enthralling array of people, places and stories surround these superbly drawn characters - from Theo, whose life plays out in the long shadow of the past, to Hana, an Ethiopian woman determined to reinvent herself. Michelle de Kretser illuminates travel, work and modern dreams in this brilliant evocation of the way we live now. Questions of Travel is infused with wit, imagination, uncanny common sense and a deep understanding of what makes us tick.Trade ReviewThis is a novel unlike any other I have read... It is not really possible to describe, in a short space, the originality and depth of this long and beautifully crafted book. -- A.S. Byatt * The Guardian *Ambitious and entertaining... Questions of Travel should ensure her place as a serious international novelist of the first rank. * The Economist *Sweeping and virtuosic... An outstanding novel. -- Stephanie Cross * Daily Mail *Novel by novel, the Sri Lankan-born Australian has emerged as one of the most fiercely intelligent voices in fiction today. This new work, her most ambitious yet, makes globalisation and its discontents the focus of a multi-faceted story that unites grandeur and intimacy. -- Boyd Tonkin * The Independent *An artful meditation on movement and migration. * The Times Literary Supplement *Man Booker-longlisted de Kretser's precisely written novel is concerned with tourists, refugees and the complexities of immigration... a nuanced and ambivalent look at the crassness of tourism. * The Sunday Times *This truly is a book for our times. * Irish Times *

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Book SynopsisA feverish vision of McCarthy-era Hollywood...Los Angeles, 1950. Over the course of a single day, two friends grapple with the moral and professional uncertainties of the escalating Communist witch-hunt in Hollywood. Director John Marsh races to convince his actress wife not to turn informant for the House Committee on Un-American Activities, while leftist screenwriter Desmond Frank confronts the possibility of exile to live and work without fear of being blacklisted. As Marsh and Frank struggle to complete shooting on their film She Turned Away, which updates the myth of Orpheus to the gritty noir underworld of post-war Los Angeles, the chaos of their private lives pushes them towards a climactic confrontation with complicity, jealousy, and fear. Night for Day conjures a feverish vision of one of the country's most notorious periods of national crisis, illuminating the eternal dilemma of both art and politics: how to make the world anew. At once a definitively American novel, echoing Philip Roth and Raymond Chandler, it also nods to the mythic landscapes of Dante and the iconoclastic playfulness of James Joyce. With as much to say about the early years of the Cold War as about the political and social divisions that continue to divide the country today, Night for Day is expansive in scope and yet tenderly intimate, exploring the subtleties of belonging and the enormity of exile-not only from one's country but also from one's self.Trade ReviewImmersive... Flanery is an accomplished novelist. [He] writes with skill and conviction. * Guardian *Flanery's funniest and most entertaining... novel * TLS *Craftsmanlike * Sunday Times *Patrick Flanery is an exceptionally gifted novelist. * Philip Gourevitch, New Yorker, on Patrick Flanery *Flanery is a master of puzzling, alarming and even terrifying storytelling. * A.S Byatt, Guardian, on Patrick Flanery *A passionate, gripping, brilliantly voiced and scintillatingly intelligent novel... I Am No One will get under your skin. * Neel Mukherjee, on I am No One *

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Book SynopsisA dazzling, smart and razor-sharp story collection by Curtis Sittenfeld, Sunday Times bestselling author of Rodham and American Wife.The theme that unites these stories is how even the cleverest people tend to misread others, and how much we all deceive ourselves. Sharp and tender, funny and wise, they show Sittenfeld's knack for creating real, believable characters that spring off the page, while also skewering contemporary mores with brilliant dry wit.'DO-OVER', ONE OF THE STORIES IN THIS COLLECTION, WAS SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2018 SUNDAY TIMES EFG SHORT STORY AWARD.

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Book Synopsis‘By turns beguiling and unsettling, Flotsam examines grief and loss through the eyes of an extraordinary child’ Rachel SeiffertTrine and her mother live in a cottage on the German coast. The mudflats that surround them disappear and reappear with the North Sea tides. The family leads a lonely existence, but each person has adapted in their own way. Anna roams the beaches collecting flotsam and jetsam to make art, while Trine loves playing on a wartime shipwreck. That is, until she loses her brother.In her taut style, Meike Ziervogel tells a coming-of-age story from 1950s Germany – a place still haunted by war. A place where people pretend not to notice the ghosts.Trade ReviewZiervogel grew up in Germany and this taut, mysterious novel not only conjures female subjectivities and grief, but it also paints a haunting portrait of the country in the 1950s Germany, with its greater sense of loss, and the looming spectre of crimes committed during the war. -- Arifa Akbar * The Guardian *The writing has a dark and haunting quality yet there is much beauty in its concise construction. The story ebbs and flows with the ghosts of the past and the effects of the isolated location. Both Trine and Anna show a resolve that can be unsettling, beguiling – perhaps because young women are not expected to behave as they do. An astute and arresting tale… -- Jackie Law * neverimitate *This is not an easy book to write about without muffling the small shocks and perplexities which readers should experience for themselves. Told first from Trine’s perspective then Anna’s, it’s the briefest of novellas yet it provokes more thought than many books three times its length. Written in often lyrical yet spare, clean prose, Flotsam is haunted by grief, leaving much for readers to deduce for themselves. * A Life in Books *★★★★★ If you’ve read Ziervogel before you will be aware of her ability to tell a dark, haunting story of loss and grief in mesmerising prose. Flotsam excels in this regard, it depicts the cruel way a separation is inflicted upon the living and the stories we tell ourselves to survive. Flotsam looks at the psyche of the nation, the greyness of the post war world as the country attempts to modernise and leave the past behind. Heart breaking and thought provoking, this elegiac and insightful novella is poignant, timely and deeply intelligent. -- Paul Burke * NB Magazine *Anna’s experience of World War Two and the consequences of an event in the War, dominates her daughter’s life. Flotsam asks how will the next generation live in the shadow of such destruction, when so much of that history is left silent? Wonderfully concise yet powerful, Flotsam seems simple while offering a layered intelligence that should be valued. -- James Doyle * Bookmunch *

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Book Synopsis'She's no good, that girl. Much too individualistic'This is the story of Fenfang who, determined to carve out a life more independent than her provincial roots, gets a job as a film extra in Beijing. But living a modern life is not as easy as it looks in this tumultuous, messy city. Grappling with the narrow world of cinema, an outworn Communist regime, and the city's far-from-progressive attitudes to women, charismatic Fenfang finds her true freedom in the one place she never expected.20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth is a sparkling and wry coming-of-age story about the changing identity of women in contemporary China.Meet ten of literature's most iconic heroines, jacketed in bold portraits by female photographers from around the world.

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Book Synopsis'This atmospheric debut looks like a rural Irish coming-of-age novel, but it’s cleverer, darker, more unreliable.' Daily Mail AN IRISH INDEPENDENT BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR AN IRISH INDEPENDENT CRITICS CHOICE FOR CHRISTMAS WINNER OF THE BERYL BAINBRIDGE BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD, 2020/2021 AN IRISH TIMES, IRISH INDEPENDENT and SUNDAY INDEPENDENT 'TITLE TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2020' Katie, Maeve and Evelyn have been friends forever. Outspoken, unpredictable and intoxicating, Evelyn is the undisputed leader of the trio. But Katie’s dream of escaping their tiny rural town for a new life in Dublin confronts her with a choice: to hold onto a friendship that has made her who she is, or risk leaving her best friend behind. Told from Katie’s witty, quirky perspective and filled with unforgettable characters, this moving, immersive and very funny study of sisterhood takes a keen-eyed look at the delights and complexities of female friendship, the corrosive power of jealousy and guilt, and the people and places that shape us. Compellingly readable and effortlessly sharp, fizzing with the voices of rural Ireland, this is an unmissable novel from a dazzling new talent.Trade Review'This was perfect. Shades of Elena Ferrante in the story of a country girl who leaves and the friend who stays behind. Light of touch but not light of substance. Great stuff.' -- Kathleen MacMahon, author of This is How it Ends'This atmospheric debut looks like a rural Irish coming-of-age novel, but it’s cleverer, darker, more unreliable.' * Daily Mail *'A fresh, clever look at the intricacies and jealousies of female friendship. This debut reads like a modern, mysterious version of Edna O’Brien’s The Country Girls.' * Irish Examiner *'Hugely enjoyable, profound and humorous.' * Mayo News *‘Small town familiarity meets the Utopian promises of Dublin city as school finishes. Alcohol, grief and the pressure to have 'stories' to bring home to those at home destroy the silvery-spun webs of friendships. Astute and sharp, this is sublime.’ * The Book Nook *'Few writers have articulated the intricacies of friendship – the dependency, the uncertainty, the fragility of the pecking order – with as much authority….a debut bursting with heart.' * Irish Independent *'I loved this one... In some ways, this novel reminded me a fair bit of My Brilliant Friend, just a different time and place, but connected by those themes of friendship, moving on and breaking free.' * Theresa Smith Writes *'Macken's downplaying of major events, such as Pamela's disappearance and Katie's college years, resonates with the solipsism of youth... [She] gets a lot of mileage from Katie's beguiling voice and sardonic humor.' * Publishers Weekly *‘You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around Here vividly captures life in a close-knit community, while examining the intricacies and anxieties of female friendship… Katie is a vibrant creation, whose insights are often fresh and startling… The ups-and-downs of going places is ultimately what makes the narrative come to life.’ * Irish Times *'This exploration of the seething hinterland of growing up, with its often unspoken passions, unrequited longings and intense jealousies, is melancholy, funny, dark and affecting.' * Deborah Kay Davies, author of Reasons She Goes to the Woods *'A subtle, powerful debut novel. Quietly packing her emotional punches, never predictable, Macken’s prose is clear-eyed yet lyrical, and in Katie, she has created a truly touching (and at times very funny) protagonist... A new voice in fiction to celebrate.' * Anna Beer, author of Patriot or Traitor *'Readers will be charmed by the picture of Katie’s circle of friends and acquaintances... Macken's first novel will suit young adult and adult readers alike.' * Booklist *'Frances Macken's You Have To Make Your Own Fun Around Here charts the friendship of three small-town girls from their childhoods through to their early careers, exploring envy and self-belief with consistent, natural humour and spot-on observations.' * Caoilinn Hughes, author of Orchid & the Wasp *'It's funny, dark and brilliant on toxic friendships. I highly recommend.' * Jackie Lyman, Dublin City Libraries *'Frances Macken paints the very real scenario, that we leave, just to say that we did… A breath-taking novel from Irish writer, Frances Macken, shows us that while we may anchor our dreams around others, we can achieve them on our own.' * Waterford News and Star *'Written with a keen insight into female friendships and dripping with wit and charm, You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around Here is a truly immersive story. Macken has a visual eye, bringing simple scenes to life with a carefully chosen word or perceptive detail, and her ear for dialogue is pitch-perfect. The ways in which she captures the pull of the places we call home and the people from our childhoods who shape our lives is also impressive... Reminded me of the best of Maeve Binchy's work, albeit set in a more modern era.' -- Reading Matters'Mayo author Frances Macken captures the intricacies and anxieties of female friendship in this vibrant story set in the fictional small town of Glenbruff… Jealousy and guilt dog the three young women as they attempt to follow their dreams and make their mark in the world in this funny and at times dark tale.' -- Irish Independent'Following these young women from their childhood to their 20s, Macken's novel grapples with the successes and disappointments that splinter their friendship. This tension between expectation and reality — between dreams and growing up — becomes a driving narrative force in the novel... Macken thrives in making meaning out of the commonplace...as she traces Katie and Evelyn's friendship from early childhood to adulthood, inviting the reader to follow along.' -- NecessaryFiction

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Book Synopsis***WINNER of the 2021 RSL Ondaatje Prize***'I binged it like a Netflix show... It's stunning' Luke Kennard, author of The Transition______________________________A photograph is hung on a gallery wall for the very first time since it was taken two decades before. It shows a slaughter house in rural Ireland, a painting of the Virgin Mary on the wall, a meat hook suspended from the ceiling - and, from its sharp point, the lifeless body of a man hanging by his feet. The story of who he is and how he got there casts back into Irish folklore, of widows cursing the land and of the men who slaughter its cattle by hand. But modern Ireland is distrustful of ancient traditions, and as the BSE crisis in England presents get-rich opportunities in Ireland, few care about The Butchers, the eight men who roam the country, slaughtering the cows of those who still have faith in the old ways. Few care, that is, except for Fionn, the husband of a dying woman who still believes; their son Davey, who has fallen in love with the youngest of the Butchers; Gra, the lonely wife of one of the eight; and her 12-year-old daughter, Una, a girl who will grow up to carry a knife like her father, and who will be the one finally to avenge the man in the photograph.Trade ReviewThis strange and poignant book grips throughout, offering a vivid portrait of one of Ireland's less heralded corners. * Guardian *Gilligan writes with clarity and compassion, resulting in an outstanding contemporary twist on the great Irish novel. Enchanting, ethereal and enlightening. Highly recommended. * Irish Sunday Independent *Exhilarating... I was hooked from the first page -- Donal Ryan, author of From a Low and Quiet SeaThe Butchers by Ruth Gilligan is a funny, sad, beautiful book that asks how you make a new life when your world changes. So much is packed into these pages about family, about greed, about love, and about desperation. Oh and it has the perfect ending. * Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, author of Harmless Like You and Starling Days *Flawlessly, intricately plotted, but with such a compelling central mystery that I binged it like a Netflix show... The Butchers is deeply humane and astute on why we might take even the worst options available to us, at times deeply poignant and genuinely moving. It's stunning. * Luke Kennard, author of The Transition *Plot twists worthy of Tana French... dark, wild, mythic, unsuspecting, and absolutely riveting -- Colum McCann, author of ApeirogonThis is a remarkable novel. The story is utterly compelling and the characters so well-drawn I found myself reading faster and faster as the plot progressed. Gilligan paints a disturbing portrait of rural Ireland which is both modern and ancient, firmly grounded in the realistic and hauntingly otherworldly. * Jan Carson, author of The Fire Starters *Immersive... Gilligan is a writer I admire * Jess Kidd, Daily Mail *I binged it like a Netflix show... It's stunning * Luke Kennard, author of The Transition *I found The Butchers haunting and compelling. The relationships between daughter, mother and landscape move in strange harmony with a story about Irish modernity and masculinity. * Sarah Moss, author of Summerwater *Excellent... completely gripping * Evie Wyld, author of The Bass Rock *I loved The Butchers. Filmic and sensory, full of heifers and grift. * Naoise Dolan, author of Exciting Times *It's gripping, Gothic, and moody. * Buzzfeed *A subtle and enthralling novel * Sebastian Barry, author of A Thousand Moons *

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Book SynopsisAn ebullient Mr Finchley is about to propose marriage to a lady he had rescued from mishap, when he is sent to Paris by his firm. There he manages to upset a boat, adopt a stray orphan and get himself kidnapped. The fine tangle he gets into takes some unravelling! Only when eventually back in London does he complete the proposal of marriage that was interrupted at the start. This gentle comedy trilogy was a runaway bestseller on first publication in the 1930s and retains a timeless appeal today. It has been dramatized twice for BBC Radio, with the 1990 series regularly repeated.Trade ReviewPRAISE FOR THE CLASSIC CANNING SERIES ‘Quite delightful, with an atmosphere of quiet contentment and humour that cannot fail to charm… The longer we travel with Mr Finchley, the better we come to love him. He makes us share his bread and cheese, and beer and pipe. His delight at the beauties of the countryside and his mild astonishment at the strange ways of men are infectious’ Daily Telegraph‘His gift of story-telling is obviously innate. Rarely does one come on so satisfying an amalgam of plot, characterisation and good writing’ Punch‘A paean to the beauties of the English countryside and the lovable oddities of the English character… [Mr Finchley] runs into one astonishing situation after another, sticking gamely to his resolve that he must take things as they come and accept them’ New York Times‘What counts for most in the story, as it did for Mr Finchley, is his mounting pleasure in vagabondage and the English scene’ The Times‘There is such a gentle humour in the book … Mr Finchley is the ideal Englishman’ Daily Sketch

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Book Synopsis'A gleeful, page-flipping read' Observer'The ultimate summer escape' New York TimesOne wrong move, one misstep, and the course of a life can be changed for ever.Annie Perry is born beside the coal-muddied canals of the Black Country at the height of the industrial revolution. At nine years old she is sold for six guineas to the famous and feared bare-knuckle boxer Bill Perry, the Tipton Slasher. From that moment on, Annie will fight - for Bill and for her future.A whole new world opens up to Annie, one of love, fortune and family, but also of great danger.Trade ReviewA punchy historical yarn . . . [Kitson] has a fine time with Annie and the Slasher - warm, memorable creations who come punching off the page . . . Featherweight transports the reader to the tough, rapidly industrialising world of the 19th-century Black Country, with its old canals and new railways, the soot of the forges and strikes at the nail factories, via lushly detailed, rhythmical descriptions . . . A gleeful, page-flipping read . . . A rollicking tale, one you'll be glad to take a ringside seat for * * Observer * *Annie is a lively, appealing character and there is plenty more to enjoy in Kitson's narrative * * Sunday Times, Best New Historical Fiction * *The ultimate summer escape . . . Sweeping . . . Will transport you to 19th-century England * * New York Times * *A rollicking historical novel set in the Black Country during the Industrial Revolution . . . Offers plenty to enjoy * * Daily Mail * *Kitson creates a Dickensian flavour through Black Country dialogue, a strong sense of place (a smut-blackenedindustrial town), and colourful characterisation. Detailed descriptions of what goes on in the ring add suspense . . . Readers will love rooting for this great little fighter who easily punches above her weight . . . Compelling * * Booklist * *A wonderful novel . . . The themes of Kitson's plot also revolve around themes of rejection, lost hope, vulnerability. But in Annie it also shows us a strong woman, way ahead of her time who decides she can also turn her hand (or fists) to pugilism * * NB Magazine * *Praise for Sal: Kitson writes clearly and concisely . . . Sal is an ambitious and skilled novel. Literature needs more stories like this -- JENNI FAGAN * * Guardian * *Daring and original . . . Manages to feel both contemporary and timeless, both heart-rending and uplifting * * Observer * *Just wonderful. A breath of fresh air in a book. Sal is a story with incredible heart, told so beautifully and with such clarity and grace I can hardly believe it's a debut! I loved it -- JOANNA CANNON, author of THE TROUBLE WITH GOATS AND SHEEPSal is an inspiring novel that feels honest and fastidious. It introduces the theme of redemption and fresh beginnings without shying from the awful truth * * Financial Times * *

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Book Synopsis'Extraordinary' Naoise Dolan'Seriously good' Louise NealonPICKED AS 'ONE TO WATCH' FOR 2022 BY IRISH TIMES, STYLIST AND IRISH INDEPENDENTDublin student life is ending for Sophie and her friends. They've got everything figured out, and Sophie feels left behind as they all start to go their separate ways. She's overshadowed by her best friend Grace. She's been in love with Finn for as long as she's known him. And she's about to meet Rory, who's suddenly available to her online.At a party, what was already unstable completely falls apart and Sophie finds herself obsessively scrolling social media, waiting for something (anything) to happen.None of This Is Serious is about the uncertainty and absurdity of being alive today. It's about balancing the real world with the online, and the vulnerabilities in yourself, your relationships, your body. At its heart, this is a novel about the friendships strong enough to withstand anything.Trade ReviewAn extraordinary novel. None of This Is Serious brilliantly explores the impossibility to "come of age" in end times, where screens are so contiguous to experience that no-one is ever truly online or offline. She writes truthfully and with affectless nuance about the labyrinthine workings of friend groups and the defences women scramble for in a world that still hates us -- NAOISE DOLAN, author of EXCITING TIMESI inhaled None of This Is Serious. I've been waiting for a fictional story that reflects the all-consuming influence that the Internet has on my life. None of This Is Serious is that story. A compulsively readable, fresh and painfully accurate description of the way we live now. Don't let the title fool you. It is serious. Seriously good -- LOUISE NEALON, author of SNOWFLAKEEdgy . . . [Prasifka] has a painfully raw and acute gift for catching the way things are * * Sunday Times * *I absolutely LOVED this novel. Beautifully crafted -- EMMA GANNON, author of OLIVEFortunately, [Prasifka] doesn't need any sprinkling of Rooney's fairy dust; she makes her own magic. In the seriously good None of This is Serious, the 26-year-old author conveys what it's like to be a young woman today navigating life in Dublin and online . . . She is an astute observer of the social dynamics of her generation * * Irish Times * *A beautifully written original take on how we're all guilty of taking refuge online as the world around us becomes increasingly confusing * * Stylist, Fiction Books You Can't Miss in 2022 * *[A] funny, endearingly heartfelt debut * * Daily Mail * *As we adapt to our increasingly online lives, Catherine Prasifka's debut is the antidote we never knew we needed. We meet Sophie, Prasifka's ultra-relatable protagonist, at a precarious time in her life: leaving university. What happens next is a worthy reminder that Instagram /= reality * * Glamour, Best Books of 2022 * *None of This Is Serious is brilliant - so devastatingly precise about being a young woman living in Ireland and online today, moving deftly between sharp, hilarious observations and heartbreaking, enraging moments -- CLAIRE HENNESSY, author of LIKE OTHER GIRLSNone of This Is Serious is such a compelling novel, and Sophie is such a relatable character - reading her story felt like one of those meaningful and immersive conversations you can only have with a stranger at 3am in the toilets of a dingy club, all hearts laid bare. At times agonisingly close to the bone, Catherine Prasifka's debut novel is an exquisitely unnerving portrayal of who we are and how we live -- KATIE HALE, author of MY NAME IS MONSTER

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Book Synopsis'Utterly magnificent . . . gripping, accomplished and dark' Marian KeyesWINNER: Newcomer of the Year at the IBAs WINNER: Bookseller YA Prize WINNER: CBI Eilis Dillon Award Buzzfeed's Best Books Written by Women in 2014The bestselling novel about beauty, body image and betrayaleves are designed, not made. The School trains them to be prettyThe School trains them to be good.The School trains them to Always be Willing.All their lives, the eves have been waiting. Now, they are ready for the outside world.companion . . . concubine . . . or chastityOnly the best will be chosen.And only the Men decide.Trade ReviewGripping ... like all the best dystopias, Only Ever Yours is about the world we live in now * Irish Times *The Handmaid's Tale meets Mean Girls' * The Vagenda *Utterly magnificent ... gripping, accomplished and dark * Marian Keyes *Deserves to be read by young and old, male and female, the world over in the same way Harry Potter and The Hunger Games were * Sunday Independent *A dark dream. A vivid nightmare. The world O'Neill imagines is frightening because it could come true. She writes with a scalpel * Jeanette Winterson *Deep, dark and frighteningly believable, this book will stay with you for a long time * Marie Claire *Compelling writing ... this only-too-real dystopia grips from beginning to end * SFX *Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale with a post-millennial twist * The Journal.ie *The bleakness of The Catcher in the Rye, the satire of The Stepford Wives and it made me recall Nineteen Eighty-Four ... a fresh and original talent * Irish Independent *Terrifying but captivating * Company *A sparkling debut that will really make you think * Heat *'Compelling and frightening' * Irish Examiner *An ingenious exploration of gender roles, female identity and female competition * Buzzfeed *'Terrifying and heartbreaking, O'Neill's story reads like an heir to Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and MT Anderson's Feed, and, like those two books, it's sure to be discussed for years to come' * Publisher's Weekly *'A stunning debut set in a dystopian future that has everyone talking . . . once read, will never be forgotten' * Irish Independent *Dark, gripping . . . should be mandatory reading everywhere * The F Word *

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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

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Book SynopsisAcknowledged as Rebecca West''s fictional masterpiece, The Fountain Overflows introduces the crisis-ridden Aubrey family. This Real Night continues their remarkable story.It is the early 1900s. With the disappearance of Piers, her feckless and gambling husband, and the sale of some valuable paintings, Clare Aubrey has a firmer grip on the purse strings. Rose and Mary are at music college, struggling for artistic perfection, while the self-assured Cordelia has fallen into the role of art dealer''s assistant. Richard Quin, beloved younger brother, is contemplating Oxford. The children''s coming of age, with its gradual acceptance of love and loss, becomes all the more poignant as the events of the First World War gather pace...Trade ReviewA lastingly important English writer * Marghanita Laski *To finish the book is to suffer a bereavement * MAIL on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisA deliciously seasonal and heart-warming tale from the Sunday Times bestseller In the pretty Lancashire village of Middlemoss, Lizzy is on the verge of leaving her cheating husband, Tom, when tragedy strikes. Luckily she has welcome distraction in the Christmas Pudding Circle, a group of friends swapping seasonal recipes – as well as a rivalry with local cookery writer Nick over who will win Best Mince Pie at the village show… Meanwhile, the whole village is gearing up for the annual Boxing Day Mystery Play. But who will play Adam to Lizzy’s Eve? Could it be the handsome and charismatic soap actor Ritch, or could someone closer to home win her heart? Whatever happens, it promises to be a Christmas to remember! Previously published as Sweet Nothings, but now with fabulous new extra material. Readers adore The Magic of Christmas ‘Trisha Ashley’s characters appear as real people that you would love to get to know with heroines that known their own mind … a warm and cosy romance that is perfect for cold, wet and windy days curled up in front of the fire.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Trisha writes beautifully and has a strong comic streak. Her heroine was feisty and all her characters interesting. Totally recommend!’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Full of Trisha Ashley’s warm humour and trademark wit … ideal for fireside reading on cold winter evenings with a mince pie beside you.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I enjoy all of Trisha Ashley’s books, but this is one of my absolute favourites. I return to it again and again when I need a bit of positive escapism!’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Trisha Ashley is a brilliant writer that makes her characters spring to life. This cleverly written story has romance, mystery, self sufficiency, recipes and the magic of Christmas all rolled into one! Cannot recommend enough.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Wonderfully written as always. Lots of twists and turns with fantastic characters who come to life as you read.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘The characters are believable and endearing, with the bonus of being down to earth enough to identify with.’ Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Trade Review Praise for The Magic of Christmas: ‘This is the perfect novel to snuggle up with on a cold winter’s night.’ Closer Book Club ‘A lovely, cosy read.’ My Weekly ‘As warm as a glass of mulled wine on a cold winter’s night.’ Lancashire Evening News Praise for Trisha Ashley: ‘A warm-hearted and comforting read. Trisha at her best.’ Carole Matthews ‘Trisha Ashley writes with remarkable wit and originality – one of the best writers around!’ Katie Fforde ‘A lovely, warm book, full of down-to-earth humour.’ Sophie Kinsella ‘Full of comedy and wit.’ Closer ‘Makes for enjoyable reading.’ The Times ‘Fresh and funny.’ Woman’s Own ‘Searching out something indulgent for curling up with as the nights draw in? Look no further.’ Publishing News

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Book Synopsis''This is a truly excellent fantasy and an epic beginning for a new trilogy'' LocusOne woman will either save an entire continent or completely destroy it in a captivating epic fantasy bursting with intrigue and mystery, broken magic and betrayal.''Guard the tower, ward the stone. Find your answers writ in bone. Keep your trust through wits or war - nothing must unseal the door.''Deep within Gloamingard Castle lies a black tower. Sealed by magic, it guards a dangerous secret that has been contained for thousands of years.As Warden, Ryxander knows the warning passed down through generations: nothing must unreal the Door. But one impetuous decision will leave her with blood on her hands - and unleash a threat that could doom the world to darkness.''A classic, breath-taking adventure brim-full of dangerous magic and clever politics. This is a book that will thrill and delight any fantasy fan'' Tasha Suri, authorTrade ReviewThis is a truly ex­cellent fantasy, and an epic beginning for a new trilogy. I can't wait to see what [Caruso] does next -- LOCUSWith this novel, Melissa Caruso solidifies herself as one of my favourite authors. The Obsidian Tower is a masterpiece of character driven fantasy . . . I was enthralled from the first page -- FANTASY BOOK REVIEWCaruso is a terrific writer who weaves fascinating and intricate fantasy tales -- GRIMDARK MAGAZINECaruso's world-building is brilliant and complexA gorgeous narrative that intertwines war, love, political intrigue, betrayal . . . I'll be following this author's career closely as I think she is sublimely talented . . . A phenomenally well-written, engrossing political fantasy seriesThe eagerly awaited conclusion to Caruso's Swords and Fire Trilogy is as spellbinding as the first two booksA dashing, compelling and exciting story, blending magic, assassination, conspiracy and diplomacy . . . I'll make no bones about it: I loved this bookBlock out time to binge this can't-stop story filled with danger and unexpected disaster. From the fresh take on time-honored tropes to a crunchy, intrigue filled story, The Obsidian Tower is a must-read for lovers of high fantasy * C. L. Polk, author of World Fantasy Award-winner WITCHMARK *"A classic, breath-taking adventure brim-full of dangerous magic and clever politics. This is a book that will thrill and delight any fantasy fan -- Tasha Suri, author of Empire of Sand

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Book SynopsisFor fans of IN FIVE YEARS and THE SIGHT OF YOU comes a life-affirming story about a woman who lives every year of her life in the wrong orderTrade Review[A] clever debut * Starburst *This witty, fantastical exploration of life's inevitable changes is surprising and touching * Publishers Weekly *The author has faultless control over her complicated plot in this hugely enjoyable book and makes excellent use of the possibilities of its key concept * Morning Star *Something truly lovely * Sci-Fi Now *Must Read * Daily Express *An enjoyable read! * SFX *By turns tragic and triumphant, heartbreakingly poignant and joyful, this is ultimately an uplifting and redemptive read * The Guardian *

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Book Synopsis‘Page-turning… reveals the wars waged every day between girls and their images in mirrors’ E. Lockhart, author of WE WERE LIARS Prettiest or ugliest, once you're on the list, you'll never be the same. It happens every September – the list is posted all over school. Two girls are picked from each year. One is named the prettiest, one the ugliest. The girls who are picked become the centre of attention. The girls who aren't are quickly forgotten. Through the eyes of eight very different girls, THE LIST captures the high school experience with all the struggles of identity, self-esteem, and judgements. Whether they’re on the list or not, things will never be the same. What readers are saying about THE LIST ‘THIS BOOK MADE ME FEEL ALL THE THINGS…Raw and heartwrenching and authentic. I really feel like this is a book that any young girl struggling with her looks should read.’ ‘I was awed at how Siobhan Vivian was able to weave this intricate story that involves some pretty harsh realities with a right amount of levity to keep me captivated.’ ‘The storyline that the author has flawlessly created and that gripped me throughout.’Trade Review ‘Vivian explodes the beauty myth in a page-turning whodunit that reveals the wars waged every day between girls and their images in mirrors.’ —E. Lockhart, author of WE WERE LIARS. ‘Siobhan Vivian is funny and sharp, and she nails the little details and big truths that matter.’ —Maureen Johnson, Queen of Teen 2012. Offering a well-differentiated cast of complex characters and a thoughtful focus on femininity, sisterhood, relationships, eating disorders, and what it means to be singled out, Vivian proves that beauty and ugliness aren't always a matter of appearance.” – PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, starred review ‘Smart, snappy writing.’ – NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2014 DEBUT CATEGORY - KITCHIES PRIZELONGLISTED FOR THE 2013 IMPAC DUBLIN LITERARY AWARDSA New York Times bestseller, Mr Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore is an entirely charming and lovable first novel of mysterious books and dusty bookshops; it is a witty and delightful love-letter to both the old book world and the new.Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a Web-design drone and serendipity coupled with sheer curiosity has landed him a new job working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. And it doesn't take long for Clay to realize that the quiet, dusty book emporium is even more curious than the name suggests. There are only a few fanatically committed customers, but they never seem to actually buy anything, instead they simply borrow impossibly obscure volumes perched on dangerously high shelves, all according to some elaborate arrangement with the eccentric proprietor. The store must be a front for something larger, Clay concludes, and soon he has plugged in his laptop, roped in his friends (and a cute girl who works for Google) and embarked on a high-tech analysis of the customers' behaviour. What they discover is an ancient secret that can only be solved by modern means, and a global-conspiracy guarded by Mr. Penumbra himself... who has mysteriously disappeared.Trade ReviewThe story is gripping, the characters are terrific and the writing is clever and funny. As intelligent as it is enjoyable * Daily Mail *It's a proper novel. By which I mean, not that it has pages you actually turn - that is optional with novels nowadays - but pages that you actually want to turn, which is getting rarer and rarer.... Charming, gently comedic, sweetly nerdy and enthusiastic about media both old and new * Irish Times *Rollicking... an ode to the beauty of dead-tree books * New York Times *Delightful... Smart, hip and witty * Washington Post *The pages swell with Mr Sloan's nerdy affection and youthful enthusiasm for both tangible books and new media... A clever and whimsical tale with a big heart * The Economist *

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Book SynopsisTold with intimacy and ferocity and set in the passionate and crumbling Spanish Quarter of Naples, comes a poignant tale of first love of a place, of a person where languages and cultures collide while dreams soar and crash in spectacular ways.Don't forgive me, don't answer, don't be sad. Be happy, have babies, make mixed tapes, take pictures it's how I always love to think of you. And now and then, if you can and if you want to, remember me.'Several years after leaving Naples, Heddi receives an email from Pietro, her first love, admitting that he was wrong. Immediately, Heddi is transported back to her college days in that heartbreakingly beautiful city built on ruins and set against the cliffs of a sleeping volcano. Just the thought of the Spanish Quarter, the crumbling apartment she shared with friends and where she first met Pietro, still spark the pain of longing and a desire to belong. For Heddi's tribe of university friends, Naples was the first taste of freedom and an escapeTrade Review‘From the deteriorating and claustrophobic neighborhood of Elena Ferrante to the violent Gomorra of Roberto Saviano, Heddi Goodrich's is a third Naples – central, dense, vital – a story of love and of roots, of origins, set in the Spanish Quarter’ Corriere della sera ‘Written from the perspective of a young woman discovering love for the first time, the tale unravelled within the mystery and culture of Naples. Transported to the gritty streets of Naples, reading this novel felt both excruciating and exciting’ NB Magazine ‘Goodrich is perceptive on the potent early days of first love and the exhilaration of living in a foreign country – a sort of romance in itself … her depiction of the Spanish Quarter is deliciously vivid with its hollering fish sellers and shrieking neighbours, canopies of laundry and purring motorbikes, and glimpses of glittering sea from sun-drenched rooftops’ Discover Southern Europe

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Book SynopsisCaptivating and heartbreaking' StylistBrought me close to tears' Beth O'Leary, author of The FlatshareA romantic, bittersweet debut an incredibly powerful read' Daily MirrorExpect to be heartbroken' ElleAn unforgettable debut novel about first love, family obligation and finding your way.In the wake of first heartbreak, Nur somehow meets his perfect woman. Yasmina is bright, beautiful and, what's most remarkable, she's into him too. Before long, they are inseparable.But no relationship is perfect. For Yasmina, the complexities of family and cultural expectation are something she wants to navigate with Nur by her side. For Nur, the pressures of being the good son' are suffocating, and soon threaten everything he wants for his future with Yasmina. Can he find a way to offer her everything she deserves?Addictive in every sense' Irenosen Okojie, author of NudibranchA clever novel that subtly subverts the reader's expectations' Sunday TimesTrade Review‘Family obligation and racial prejudice sit alongside the flush of first love. Expect to be heartbroken’ Elle ‘[A] clever novel about vulnerability and victimhood that subtly subverts the reader’s expectations’ Sunday Times ‘Ever fallen in love with messy, confusing consequences for everyone involved? Then Good Intentions is for you’ Stylist ‘Kasim Ali boldly grasps the nettle of South Asian prejudice … what a tonic’ The Times ‘Good Intentions is so absorbing, compelling and beautifully written. Its ending brought me close to tears – what an incredibly assured debut. I can't wait to see what Kasim Ali writes next’ Beth O’Leary, author of The Flatshare ‘A beautiful and honest story… from a fantastic new talent’ Sareeta Domingo, author of If I Don't Have You ‘[A] compelling debut reminiscent of The Big Sick in storyline and Ordinary People in feel’ Living Magazine ‘Moving, modern and utterly engaging. What a talent’ Rhik Samadder, author of I Never Said I Love You ‘A love story full of hard choices and tensions, family obligations and racial prejudices. Not to be missed by fans of Modern Love’ Vogue India ‘A gorgeous, unbelievable debut’ Angie Kim, author of Miracle Creek ‘[A] clever debut… Ali explores racism, the difficulty of navigating cultural heritage and the travails of early adulthood [with] a climactic sucker punch’ Metro

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“A fearlessly candid, heartrendingly forthright examination of the joys and terrors of family life from the perspective of a woman of unusual sensitivity and empathy, Count the Ways takes us on a memorable journey.” — Joyce Carol Oates "Cut[s] across moments of national and personal upheaval to examine the complex web of family against the backdrop of history." — New York Times Book Review "Wonderfully absorbing, precise and emotionally astute . . .I was moved by the characters' ambivalences, their misgivings, their anger, but most of all by their complex and fascinating love." — Marisa Silver, New York Times bestselling author of The Mysteries "Sensitively plumbing the complexity of human emotions, of love and forgiveness, [Maynard] draws readers into a deep, aching attachment to her characters, creating an ultimately hopeful tale just right for this moment." — Booklist (starred review) "The novel bites off a lot—a Brett Kavanaugh–inspired storyline, a domestic abuse situation, a trans child, Eleanor's career—and manages to resolve them all. . . Maynard creates a world rich and real enough to hold the pain she fills it with." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Readers will sink into Maynard’s masterful portrait of one woman’s life in this decades-spanning family saga.” — Library Journal (starred review) “How did Maynard know that this is exactly the book we all need now? This exhilaratingly brilliant novel isn’t just an indelible story of the falling dominoes of a family struggling through crisis and through generations, it’s also about the times we live through. . . . This gorgeous story reminds us that love is always, always worth it.” — Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You and With or Without You “Joyce Maynard is the queen of the family saga, and Count the Ways is the best! Instantly addicting, the story of Eleanor, Cam, and their children pulls you in and wraps itself around you like an heirloom quilt made of familiarity, intimacy, and the orchestral complexity of loving the people closest to us. This is the novel you’ll be longing to return to at the end of every day and one you will re-read for years to come.” — Jenna Blum, New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Save Us and The Lost Family “Count the Ways is the book you will want to curl up in a chair and read from beginning to end. It’s rich and complex, beautiful and heartbreaking, just like life. Reading about this flawed and lovely family will make you want to hug your own flawed and lovely family tight. Joyce Maynard celebrates the messy, wonderful thing that is love." — Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle and The Book That Matters Most “Count the Ways is an extraordinarily generous invitation into a woman’s intimate life, from the loneliness of her youth to the earned wisdom of middle age. In this richly imagined novel, Maynard never flinches as she portrays both quiet successes and heartbreaking failures at love, marriage, and motherhood. This is the work of one of our great storytellers.” — Meredith Hall, New York Times bestselling author of Beneficence “My to-do list had umpteen items on it, but I let them all go to hell as I tore through Joyce Maynard’s latest page-turner. . . . To-do list? What to-do list? Under the Influence is a riveting read.” — New York Times bestselling author Wally Lamb on Under the Influence “Joyce Maynard has, again, managed to tap flawlessly into the voice of a teenage girl: part hope, part fiction, and all heart. After Her is page-turning mystery, wrapped in a beautifully rendered story of sisterhood; and reading it is a journey through one’s own memory of what it meant to be thirteen, when the world was equally terrifying and fascinating. Books this compelling just don’t come around very often.” — Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author on After Her

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Demonstrating a polished sense of setting and characterization, Frost crafts a deftly complex, psychologically astute, and deeply unsettling debut novel.” — Booklist “Frost’s prose is engaging and sharp-edged, carefully attuned to her characters in a way that feels vividly real...[Shadows of Pecan Hollow is] a heart-rending and complex examination of one woman’s flawed attempts to overcome her past.” — Kirkus Reviews “This is a truly great year for Texas crime novels, and Shadows of Pecan Hollow is no exception.” — CrimeReads “Heart-rending… Frost puts her background as a marriage and family therapist to good use in crafting [main character] Kit. Less perceptive writers may have written Kit as a cli­ché, but Frost guides the reader to understand Kit’s story and the reasons behind her susceptibility to a charismatic egotist.” — BookPage “[C]aptivating…The author does a bang-up job…creating the perfect storm of circumstances.” — Publishers Weekly “Frost's skill at sculpting a character both sympathetic and prickly shines in Shadows of Pecan Hollow…[an] impressive debut.” — Shelf Awareness “How do we let go of a dark, menacing past, especially when a dangerous love still binds us to it? Frost’s extraordinary debut is about Kit, a young mother struggling to raise her daughter, and to erase her abduction at 13 by a thief, who coerced her into crime and into his heart. Dazzling, unexpected and profound, this is a shattering page-turner about how love can twist our lives into something we no longer recognize, and how we might find our way back to our best selves and to the communities that just might save us. In a word: brilliant.” — Caroline Leavitt, bestselling author of With or Without You “’Paper Moon’ meets ‘Badlands’ in this mesmerizing Texas backroads thriller, a twisty story of a runaway girl who finds a home and a desperate love on the road with an opportunistic criminal, and the long comet’s tail of their story. A notable debut, drenched in regional detail and told in a gritty, sensual prose.” — Janet Fitch, #1 New York Times bestselling author of White Oleander “Frost’s depiction of female desire in a man’s world has undeniable power.” — Texas Monthly “What immense talent flows through this spellbinding story! Everything is here: magnetic characters, fierce momentum, and great authenticity of voice, place and thought. I was stunned in the best possible way throughout. How does Caroline Frost do it, I marveled; how does she know this? What an amazing, rewarding feat of craftsmanship and love!” — Elinor Lipman, author of Rachel to the Rescue “Shadows of Pecan Hollow is a hugely satisfying slow burn of a novel that builds to a wrenching, unforgettable blaze. Frost explores the lives of her complex, arresting characters with nuance, compassion, and an unwavering gaze. Highly recommended.” — Lou Berney, Edgar-award winning author of November Road “With a strong sense of time and place, Caroline Frost's debut novel weaves an authentic southern tale of need, necessity, survival, and forgiveness, with love as the enduring force that guides.” — Deb Spera, author of Call Your Daughter Home “Caroline Frost's beautiful and clear-eyed debut captures the huge comfort of even deeply flawed love and how our urge for survival can distort our lives as easily as it can straighten them into something true. But it also shows us that with enough patience, for ourselves as well as for others, we all have the capacity to heal even the most stubborn of wounds. These are characters you'll carry with you long after you've read the last page.” — Stacey Swann, author of Olympus, Texas "He’s a charismatic criminal; she’s a dirt-streaked runaway who doesn’t feel pain. Their ensuing crime spree sits like a rock in your stomach, and fifteen years later, when he comes back to haunt her, you'll reach for your phone to dial 911. In this gorgeous, completely addictive debut of love gone bad, Caroline Frost churns up an atmosphere sinister and sour as wind whipping off the oil rigs in Galveston—and a heroine so toughened and feral, readers won't want to step out of her brave, quick-witted, leather-bound hide for a single moment." — Barbara Bourland, author of Fake Like Me

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Book SynopsisCaitlin Moran is the eldest of eight children, home-educated on a council estate in Wolverhampton, believing that if she were very good and worked very hard, she might one day evolve into Bill Murray.She published a children's novel, The Chronicles of Narmo, at the age of 16, and became a columnist at The Times at 18. She has gone on to be named Columnist of the Year six times. At one point, she was also Interviewer and Critic of the Year - which is good going for someone who still regularly mistypes the' as hte'. Her multi-award-winning bestseller How to Be a Woman has been published in 28 countries, and won the British Book Awards' Book of the Year 2011. Her two volumes of collected journalism, Moranthology and Moranifesto, were Sunday Times bestsellers, and her novel, How to Build a Girl, debuted at Number One, and is currently being adapted as a movie. She co-wrote two series of the Rose d'Or-winning Channel 4 sitcom RaTrade ReviewWho better than Caitlin Moran to bring fame down to earth with a bump -- HELEN FIELDING, bestselling author of Bridget Jones's DiaryIt's quite a ride, this book. It's laugh-out-loud funny, sweetly romantic and fiercely angry. Often all at once ... beautifully written * THE TIMES *A deeply satisfying tale of sex, drugs, britpop, unrequited love, London, and a narrator I completely adore. This is funny, philosophical, and poignant in equal measure. Glorious and life-enhancing -- NINA STIBBEBrilliantly funny, caustic social commentary with the best-wish fulfilment revenge scene I've read, like, ever * THE POOL *A rollicking fantasy which leaves a rosy afterglow -- Book of the Day * GUARDIAN *

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Book SynopsisGenerous-hearted and wickedly insightful, The Girls'' Guide to Hunting and Fishing is the New York Times bestselling novel by Melissa Bank and part of the Penguin Essentials, a series which spotlights the very best of our modern classics The Girls'' Guide to Hunting and Fishing maps the progress of Jane Rosenal as she sets out on a personal and spirited expedition through the perilous terrain of sex, love, relationships, and the treacherous waters of the workplace. Soon Jane is swept off her feet by an older man and into a Fitzgeraldesque whirl of cocktail parties, country houses, and rules that were made to be broken, but comes to realise that it''s a world where the stakes are much too high for comfort. With an unforgettable comic touch, Bank skilfully teases out universal issues, puts a clever new spin on the mating dance, and captures in perfect pitch what it''s like to come of age as a young woman.''This chronicle of a New Yorker'Trade ReviewBeautifully written and very funny. . . as with Salinger and Carver, there is crystalline simplicity to Bank's prose * Guardian *I read the first chapter and thought, 'Wait, I know this girl' . . . I realized she was my friend . . . she made me laugh, she made me weep, and when I closed the book at the end of the day, I knew I'd never forget her -- Ruth OzekiCharming and funny * New York Times *A smart, ruefully funny chronicle of a modern young woman's search for love . . . a model of well-crafted narrative building to a thoughtful, hopeful conclusion. Bank has created a delightful heroine who deserves her happy ending-even though any reader who has really been paying attention to the sharp, unsentimental details knows that all happy endings are provisional * Kirkus *One marvels at Bank's assured control of her material, her witty, distinctive voice and her ability to find comedy, pathos and drama in ordinary lives . . . phenomenally good * Publishers Weekly *This chronicle of a New Yorker's relationships has a wit and perceptiveness that singles it out from the crowd * Guardian *As hilarious as Girls' Guide is, there's a wise, serious core here * Wall Street Journal *A sexy, pour-your-heart-out, champagne tingle of a read-thoughtful, wise, and tell-all honest. Bank's is a voice that you'll remember * Cosmopolitan *Bank writes like John Cheever, but funnier * Los Angeles Times *

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Book SynopsisLizzie Vogel''s story continues in Paradise Lodge, the brilliantly comic sequel to Nina Stibbe''s hilarious Man at the Helm. ''LOVE it! Instant classic - funny, wise, touching, entirely delightful'' MARIAN KEYES ***** Working in a care home is not really a suitable job for a schoolgirl but 15-year-old Lizzie Vogel went for it. It just seemed too exhausting to commit to being a full-time girlfriend or a punk (it is the 1970s after all), plus she has some knowledge of old people. They''re not suited to granary bread, and you mustn''t compare them to toddlers, but she doesn''t know there''s a right way to get someone out of the bath - or what to do when someone dies. When a rival old people''s home with better parking and daily chairobics threatens to take all their residents, Paradise Lodge''s cast of staff and helpers have to come together to save the home before it''s too late. From the bestselling Trade ReviewLOVE it! Instant classic - funny, wise, touching, entirely delightful -- Marian KeyesA new Nina Stibbe?! Best day ever -- Emma HealeyThe funniest new writer to arrive in years -- Andrew O’HaganThe one problem with reviewing Stibbe is that I just want to quote entire pages: it's all so brilliant. She captures exactly what it's like to be a teenager, with all its contradictions, confusions, anxieties and ambitions. * The i *There is a laugh out loud moment in every chapter. Paradise Lodge brilliantly captures the internal panic of a teenager -- Kathy BurkeA touch of Holden Caulfield in 1970s Leicestershire... I wouldn't mind fetching up at Paradise Lodge when my time comes: at least we'd all share a laugh, a hug and a terrible cup of tea before the dying of the light. -- Lee Langley * Spectator *There is never a dull moment in this lively, sensitive, roaringly funny tale * Daily Express *Stibbe looks at another chapter of her life through the prism of her trademark deadpan, acutely observed humour * Stylist *Irreverent, warm and hugely entertaining * Daily Mail *The whole book surprises and impresses... I'm not surprised to see that Stibbe's writing has been compared to Jane Austen's -- Emma Healey * Guardian *Stibbe is a terrific writer with a gift for sharp dialogue * Evening Standard *Laugh-out-loud funny and full of spot-on 1970s details * Good Housekeeping *Stibbe is herself becoming a worthy successor to Pym, that peerless chronicler of the melancholy pleasures and small struggles of 20th-century English life on the sort of days when, as Lizzie puts it, "there was nothing for lunch except ginger cake and tins of marrowfat peas * Financial Times *Winsomely naïve yet confident * Sunday Times *Witty and thoroughly chortle inducing * The Lady *A dollop of nostalgia and very British humour * Glamour *Warm, funny story * Elle *

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Book SynopsisUm, holy shit...This novel will be the most fun you''ll have this summer. -Emily Temple, Literary HubRemy and Alicia, a couple of insecure service workers, are not particularly happy together. But they are bound by a shared obsession with Jen, a beautiful former co-worker of Remy''s who now seems to be following her bliss as a globe-trotting jewellery designer. In and outside the bedroom, Remy and Alicia''s entire relationship revolves around fantasies of Jen, whose every Instagram caption, outfit, and new age mantra they know by heart.Imagine their confused excitement when they run into Jen, in the flesh, and she invites them on a surfing trip to the Hamptons with her wealthy boyfriend and their group. Once there, Remy and Alicia try (a little too hard) to fit into Jen''s exalted social circle, but violent desire and class resentment bubble beneath the surface of this beachside paradise, threatening to erupt. As small disturbances escalate into outright horror, we find ourselves tumbling with Remy and Alicia into an uncanny alternate reality, one shaped by their most unspeakable, deviant, and intoxicating fantasies. Is this what self-actualization looks like?Part millennial social comedy, part psychedelic horror, and all wildly entertaining, A Touch of Jen is a sly, unflinching examination of the hidden drives that lurk just outside the frame of our carefully curated selves.

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Book SynopsisOne of contemporary fiction''s most gifted sentence builders Beejay Silcox, GuardianBehind the ornate doors of 30, rue du Métal in Brussels, twenty students begin their apprenticeship in the art of decorative painting - that art of tricksters and counterfeiters, where each knot in a plank of wood hides a secret and every vein in a slab of marble tells a story.Among these students are Kate, Jonas and Paula Karst. Together, during a relentless year of study, they will learn the techniques of reproducing materials in paint, and the intensity of their experience - the long hours in the studio, the late nights, the conversations, arguments, parties, romances - will cement a friendship that lasts long after their formal studies end.For Paula, her initiation into the art of trompe l''œil will take her back through time, from her own childhood memories, to the ancient formations of the materials whose depiction she strives to master. And from theTrade ReviewAs she has so often done, de Kerangal shows there is poetry to be found in our jargon, and stories embedded in our tools . . . This is writing that defies haste, that slows the eye. It is also a mighty feat of translation . . . Cements [de Kerangal's] reputation as one of contemporary fiction's most gifted sentence builders -- Beejay Silcox * Guardian *The book is a joyful testament to the rigours of research, and to the translator's art too . . . Maylis de Kerangal is mining a rich and individual seam -- Jonathan Gibbs * TLS *Intensely alive, encompassing both the technical and the poetic, emotion and cerebrality -- Raphaëlle Leyris * Le Monde *Always brilliant, executed in flowing, lyrical prose that had already reached the firmament in [Mend the Living] . . . De Kerangal finds fiction in reality; precise, technical vocabulary is imbued with rich imagination and meaning. And mastering trompe-l'œil - isn't that the ideal metaphor for the work of a novelist? -- Frédérique Roussel * Libération *The art of painting in perfect harmony with de Kerangal's writing; visual, flamboyant, assured . . . in perfect alignment with her subject -- Marine Landrot * Télérama *Kerangal's elegant, sexy, subtly Proustian, and fluidly dimensional drama of discipline and passion, imitation andimagination is resplendently evocative and exhilarating. -- Donna Seaman * Booklist *Long looping sentences, beautifully translated from the French by Jessica Moore, are balanced by taut scene changes . . . De Kerangal conjures the same painterly realism that her characters hope to achieve in paint * London Magazine *

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Book SynopsisDancing to the rhythm of Jazz Era San Francisco, On the Rooftop is a stunning story of ambition, success, and three sisters who long to pursue their own dreamsTrade Review'Beautiful, moving, and truly unforgettable!' Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies'It will get inside your heart, break it wide open and stay there for a long time.' Good Housekeeping'In On the Rooftop, Margaret Wilkerson Sexton’s mellifluous third novel, readers have a front-row seat to a timeless drama about a mother with dreams that don’t quite line up with her daughters’ realities... Riveting.' New York Times'An utterly original and brilliant story about learning how to mother children who have very different dreams and how to encourage them to reach for the stars.' Reese Witherspoon'The kind of expansive, lush novel that envelops with charm while provoking with its fierce intelligence.' Kaitlyn Greenidge, author of Libertie'The exceptional storytelling hooks you in and before you know it, you're rooting for every single one of the characters. Their dreams become yours.' Melody Razak, author of Moth'In this stellar novel, Margaret Wilkerson Sexton takes us deeply into the dynamics of mothers and daughters, their individual—and collective—dreams and struggles.' Luis Alberto Urrea, author of The House of Broken Angels'Richly observed and beautifully written, On the Rooftop weaves the lives of its characters together into a story bursting with music and feeling.' Charles Yu, author of Interior Chinatown'A creative exploration of family, community and resilience... On the Rooftop is a quiet page turner that can serve as a beacon of hope in any trying time.' BookPage (starred review)'Narrating duties rotate among Vivian and each of her daughters, illuminating the stressors and conflicting values that the women must navigate as they try to find themselves within their singing family, their Black community, and their unjust country. Once again, Sexton delivers.' Booklist'A powerful drama set during a pivotal moment in US history.' Real Simple'A showstopper of a third novel… On the Rooftop is a powerhouse novel that reflects both how high we can fly and how quickly we can be knocked down.' San Francisco Chronicle'This novel about The Salvations, a trio of singing sisters, hits the right note… A great exploration of ambition and success.' Sunday Post (Dundee)

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Book SynopsisCharlotte Mendelson's novels include Daughters of Jerusalem, When We Were Bad, Almost English and The Exhibitionist. She has won both the Somerset Maugham Award and the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, has been longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and has been longlisted and shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction. She is also the author of one work of non-fiction, Rhapsody in Green, and is the gardening correspondent for The New Yorker. She lives in London.Trade ReviewI read and ADORED Almost English . . . And now I will read everything she's ever written. Charlotte Mendelson is a fiendishly gifted writer with such a way of looking at the world with huge generosity of spirit. It's what we need, especially now -- Marian KeyesCharlotte Mendelson is much admired by the cognoscenti and Almost English ought to be a bestseller. The account of a girl from a family of Hungarian aunts, dealing with love and old lechers at a ghastly boarding school in the 1980s, is sheer bliss — pure rueful comedy with endless resourcefulness . . . I adore her novels and wish there were many more of them -- Philip Hensher * Spectator *I adored Almost English -- Nigella LawsonAlmost English is as good as we’d hoped . . . This funny, wise and heart-warming 1980s-set novel is perfect summer reading * Elle *Charlotte Mendelson’s fourth novel is a deliciously funny tale of dysfunctional families. The Farkases recall characters from fairy tales or Roald Dahl . . . Reading Mendelson’s easy, assured prose is like sinking into something soft and velvety * Telegraph (Top 10 Summer Holiday Reads) *Exotic, magnificent and just a little bit sinister . . . Mendelson's novels inhabit similar territory to those of Maggie O'Farrell, with the same capacity for extreme noticing, the same profound emotional intelligence shaping the characters and driving the narrative. But Mendelson's world is sharper, her sense of the world a little more cynical. Almost English has been longlisted for this year's Booker; it deserves to win for the quality of the writing alone . . . Beautifully written, warm, funny and knowing * Observer *Charlotte Mendelson’s Man Booker Prize-longlisted novel takes that most English of literary genres – the boarding school comedy – and spices it with exotic ingredients drawn from Hungarian culture . . . It demonstrates a mastery of narrative craft . . . [A] deliciously moreish read * Financial Times *The Booker longlisted novel is a warm, wry and lively account of teenager Marina . . . the humanity in Mendelson’s observations and her clever, comic writing make this a sparkling treat * Metro *Almost English is long-listed for this year’s Man Booker Prize, and Charlotte Mendelson writes of the inner monologues and quiet frustrations that plague an all-female, half-Hungarian household trying to fit into society with a wry humour that carries echoes of Zadie Smith and Zoe Heller * Stylist *Almost English, her fourth novel, has just been longlisted for the Man Booker prize and it isn't difficult to see why: it is a little masterpiece of characterisation and milieu. There is plenty of plot and movement in Almost English, many changes of scene and points of view. * Guardian *Almost English is a finely executed comedy of manners, with a dark side . . . [Mendelson] masterminds events with wit and ingenuity, shifting moods from darkness to light in an instant, and delivering some glorious moments of uproarious comedy . . . Call it Jane Austen for the 21st century – a novel on a small scale, full of private preoccupations and a mischievously overblown supporting cast; a novel that nevertheless says something profound about the human condition * Scotsman *

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Book SynopsisShe''s accused of four murders. She''s only guilty of three...When Ruby was a child growing up in Miami, she saw a boy from her school struggling against the ocean waves while his parents were preoccupied. Instead of helping him, Ruby dove under the water and held his ankle down until he drowned. She waited to feel guilty for it, but she never did. And, as Ruby will argue in her senior thesis while studying psychology at Yale, guilt is sort of like eating ice cream while on a diet - if you''re already feeling bad, why not eat the whole carton? And so, the bodies start to stack up. Twenty-five years later, Ruby''s in an interrogation room under suspicion of murder, being shown four photographs. Each is a person she once knew, now deceased. The line-up includes her husband Jason. She is responsible for three of the four deaths... but it might be the crime that she didn''t commit that will finally ensnare her.From the Emmy Award-winning Trade ReviewOne of the best debuts I've read in a while, with a fascinating story, wicked sharp writing, and an unforgettable narrator. Blood Sugar needs to be on your 2022 reading list. * Samantha Downing, bestselling author of For Your Own Good *Unsettling from its outset and engrossing to its very end, Blood Sugar pulls the reader deep into the mind of its highly intelligent, obsessively organized protagonist - an accomplished woman who just so happens to leave a trail of dead bodies in her wake. Never before have I cared so much for such an untrustworthy character. * Kathleen Barber, author of Truth Be Told *Inventive, engrossing, and wicked, BLOOD SUGAR is the tale of a woman who just can't seem to stop killing people. But she would never hurt her own husband-right? Ruby Simon is perhaps the most relatable murderer since Dexter. I found her story disturbingly fun. * Stephanie Wrobel, author of Darling Rose Gold *The story of Ruby - a Dexter-like figure who commits her first murder aged five. I totally loved this book which had some incredibly inventive methods of death! Entirely original and utterly brilliant - a must-read. * Catherine Cooper, author of The Chalet *A chilling, twisty and exceptionally smart thriller that will convince you that not every cold-blooded killer is a villain. I adored this book from page one and didn't want it to end. * Michele Campbell, bestselling author of It’s Always the Husband *When a multiple murderer is your new fantasy best friend, you know you've just read something very special indeed. BLOOD SUGAR had me glued from the very first page with its masterful storytelling and whip-smart characterisation. Darkly comic, surprisingly tender, and most of all, hugely entertaining. A 2022 must-read! * Caz Frear *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA heartwarming and uplifting tale * Daily Express *A winner . . . Beryl Matthews grabs and holds the attention of the reader from the very first page * Billy Hopkins, bestselling author of Our Kid *Catherine Cookson fans will love this * Woman's Own *Praise for Beryl Matthews * - *A delightful story told with the assured touch of a born storyteller. I couldn't put it down * Babara Erskine *A delightful and uplifting first novel * Gilda O'Neill *

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Book Synopsis_______________SELECTED BY THE INDEPENDENT AND THE OBSERVER AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018_______________''An immensely talented young writer ... Her fearlessness renews one''s faith in the power of literature ' - George Saunders, winner of the 2017 Man Booker PrizePoetic' - Independent The language is scintillating, the emotional heft remarkable' - Observer Daring' - Sunday TimesFerocious, startling, all-consuming' - Daisy Johnson, author of Fen_______________Peach is a teenage girl like any other. She has college, and her friends, and her parents and the new baby, and her gorgeous boyfriend Green. She has her friend Sandy, and Sid the cat, and homework to do. But something has happened something unspeakable and her world has become unfamiliar, fractured into strange textures and patterns. Reeling through her refracted universe, Peach knows that the people she loves arTrade ReviewAn immensely talented young writer ... Her fearlessness renews one's faith in the power of literature -- George Saunders, author of Lincoln in the Bardo, winner of 2017 Man Booker PrizeEmma Glass’s fictional debut – a novella-cum-prose poem – packs one hell of a punch … Glass’s commitment to the visceral is like nothing else I’ve read … Peach inhabits a strange, horror-story realm of the hyperreal, and Glass’s vision goes a long way towards portraying an experience that’s near-impossible to articulate * Observer *Addressing an all-too-relevant issue, the novel charts the physical and psychological effects on Peach through stylised, poetic prose, self-confessedly informed by James Joyce’s experiments with language. Referenced variously as “the new Jane Eyre”, “intimately weird” and “exhilaratingly bold” * Independent, Books to look out for in 2018 *Glass’s tale of a girl neglected by her parents and abused by others is a dark poetic read that is a visceral in its telling. It’s an extraordinary debut that we urge you to seek out * Stylist, 'Books to read this Spring' *Peach by Emma Glass is a short and brutal tale of sexual assault and its resulting traumas that carries clear echoes of Eimear McBride ... The language is scintillating, the emotional heft remarkable * Observer, The best fiction for 2018 *Peach is shocking, revealing and deals with a subject most authors would shy away from. It is uncomfortable, worthy and brave …Glass deserves recognition for her bravery regarding both the topic and style * Independent *A visceral work … Glass uses fragmented, sensory language to evoke the lasting trauma of a sexual assault, from dissociative episodes to body dysmorphia. But for all its emotional insight, the book’s boldest choice is its suspension between fantasy and reality * New Statesman *Genre-defying and brilliantly surreal novella ... Barely 100 pages, and somewhere between poetry and prose, this is a book to be devoured in a single sitting. Glass is an exciting new author to know * Vogue *An impressive achievement. There are obvious Joycean and Eimear McBridean influences on her writing, which is rich with onomatopoeia, musical rhythm and graphic, bloody imagery …A truly original voice for the future. Peach is a meeting place for expressionist poetry and Cronenberg-style body horror that’s not something you come across every day * Big Issue *A debut of consistently visceral writing ... The dark poetic world of Emma Glass’s debut, Peach, immerses the reader in a young woman’s personal hell … Through prose that is lyrical, mythic and yet wonderfully clear, Peach expounds on themes of good versus evil, and the base nature of desire, consumption and carnality … There is a spoken word vibrancy to Glass’s prose … Not since Patrick McCabe’s The Butcher Boy has such symbolism been used so effectively to make clear one woman’s brutal experiences * Irish Times *Surreal and unsettling, experimental and lyrical * Big Issue *A daring novel * Sunday Times *Powerfully felt, sinister, vivid * Literary Review *Related in an urgent, rhythmic unspooling of language … Peach’s voice is unsettling, idiosyncratic and discomforting, as well as being moving and utterly absorbing … This sense of radical domestic fantasy gives the novel a raw power, as well as provoking multiple interpretations. It may occasionally confound, but Peach is a bold, memorable novel – gripping, strange and utterly singular * Spectator *Challenging fiction that disrupts narrative forms, provocatively outlandish stream of consciousness set in the aftermath of a sexual assault … A gutsy, discomfiting experiment * Metro *It’s apt to see that this debut author cites James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, Kate Bush and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) in her acknowledgements. Peach is a hypnotic, visceral read ... Lyrically and visually driven, Glass’s sentences read like powerful poems, and they encompass so much emotion, you’ll find it hard to put this novel down once you start * Lithub, 15 books you should read this January *What it lacks in pages (Peach has just 98), it makes up for in uniqueness * Red, Most Hotly Anticipated Books of 2018 *This startling book uses hypervisceral prose to detail how a woman tries to move through ordinary life after being raped. An explosive dramatization of trauma, Glass' short but harrowing Peach provides a propulsive, unforgettable read that's impossible to shake * Entertainment Weekly *Choose wisely the moment when you pick up Peach; because once you do you'll be unable to put it down until the very last sentence -- Kamila Shamsie, author of Home FireImpossible to categorise, intimately weird and exhilaratingly bold, Peach shares literary DNA with Gertrude Stein, Hubert Selby Jr, and Eimear McBride, but Emma Glass’s massive talent is all her own -- Laline Paull, author of The BeesPeach is ferocious, startling, all-consuming ... it has changed the way I see the world -- Daisy Johnson, author of FenPeach is a work of genius. So lonesome and moving, so gruesome, wry, tender and plaintive. It is the new Jane Eyre, and one wild, thrilling ride. Swallow it in one gulp, and carry a spare copy in your pocket. Always -- Lucy Ellmann, author of MimiA mesmerising, deeply disturbing and stylistically daring debut, Peach reads almost like an incantation of dread and fear ... A visceral and unflinching journey through one woman's internal life. Like A Girl is a Half -formed Thing before it, this is a ground-breaking work of experimentation * NetGalley, ‘Netgalley UK’s Top Ten Books, December 2017 – January 2018’, *Glass ... aptly portrays Peach's real and mythical struggles between emotion and reason, power and trauma in this darkly arresting debut * Booklist *Glass’s prose is capable of breathtaking deftness ... A terrifying window into a freshly traumatized psyche. With paragraphs that read like poems, this is a memorably crafted entry into the canon of revenge narratives * Kirkus *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“A sharp debut...observant and piercing set pieces about suburban malaise and economic drift punctuated with starker themes... MacLean distinguishes himself with his voice — that is, Barry's voice, at first sarcastic and distant, then earnest and ultimately heartbroken.” * Minneapolis Star-Tribune *“MacLean has mastered the tones of striving diffidence in his teen characters as their worlds fall apart at home with badly behaving adults, anger simmers below the surface of daily life, and racial violence erupts. How I Learned to Hate in Ohio becomes not only a finely observed novel but one with a deep social conscience.” * National Book Review *

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Book SynopsisHaunting and heart-wrenching, Tell the Wolves I'm Home is a tender story of love lost and found.1987, New York City. There's only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that's her uncle, the renowned painter, Finn Weiss; he is her godfather, confident, and best friend. So when he dies far too young of a mysterious illness, June's world is turned upside down.But Finn's death brings a surprise acquaintance into June's life. At the funeral, she notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd, and a few days later, June receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn's apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet.A the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she's not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he might just be the one she needs theTrade ReviewA bittersweet tale of unrequited love, faily portraits, and uncovered secrets. * Marie Claire *

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Book SynopsisFirst published in 1978, this is Deborah Moggach''s first novel, newly republished by Tinder Press__________________''Moggach is at the height of her powers'' Sunday Times''She really is the Nora Ephron of North London'' Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures''She writes unflinchingly about family life, divorce, children, and the ups and downs of relationships'' Independent''She writes beautifully'' Sunday Telegraph__________________Three sisters, Claire - a model daughter, a teacher, straightforward, happy yet wanting love. Laura, the wild one, a student, a beauty, yearning to break the bounds of family life. And Holly, their little sister, the one they don''t really know, but who watches everything.Leaving home, seduction, coming of age and growing up abound in this delicious novel of sibling rivalry, partnership and love.Trade ReviewA delightful story of young love * Times *Sensitive and humorous * Daily Express *The happiest, saddest, funniest, most perceptive truth about growing up since The Catcher in the Rye * Over 21 *

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Book SynopsisHis famous father is inviting him on more than just a journey into the past. It’s a treasure hunt. To his fans, Édouard Bresson is the greatest comic standing—charismatic, adored, unmatched, and aiming ever higher for the unpredictable. To his ex-wife, he fulfilled all expectations, except as a husband and a lover. To his brother, he’s a hero. And to his estranged son, Arthur, he’s always been a mystery. Never more so than now… After the performance of a lifetime at the sold-out Stade de France, Édouard decides to vanish. Très drôle. Arthur isn’t laughing. Édouard has sent him a letter and instructions to a puzzle—a treasure hunt for the son he ignored and misses and loves. If Arthur is willing to find out everything there is to know about his father and to understand the choices he made, all he has to do is put the pieces together. As the trail of clues winds its way through the past—reflected in the memories of both father and son—what unfolds is a surprising journey of forgiveness, family, and self-discovery.

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Book SynopsisWall Street Journal and New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni’s coming-of-age story is, according to Booklist, “a novel that, if it doesn’t cross entirely over into John Irving territory, certainly nestles in close to the border.” Sam Hill always saw the world through different eyes. Born with red pupils, he was called “Devil Boy” or Sam “Hell” by his classmates; “God’s will” is what his mother called his ocular albinism. Her words were of little comfort, but Sam persevered, buoyed by his mother’s devout faith, his father’s practical wisdom, and his two other misfit friends. Sam believed it was God who sent Ernie Cantwell, the only African American kid in his class, to be the friend he so desperately needed. And that it was God’s idea for Mickie Kennedy to storm into Our Lady of Mercy like a tornado, uprooting every rule Sam had been taught about boys and girls. Forty years later, Sam, a small-town eye doctor, is no longer certain anything was by design—especially not the tragedy that caused him to turn his back on his friends, his hometown, and the life he’d always known. Running from the pain, eyes closed, served little purpose. Now, as he looks back on his life, Sam embarks on a journey that will take him halfway around the world. This time, his eyes are wide open—bringing into clear view what changed him, defined him, and made him so afraid, until he can finally see what truly matters. Winner of Suspense Magazine’s Crimson Scribe Award.Trade ReviewA Suspense Magazine Crimson Scribe Award Winner A Goodreads Choice Award Semifinalist, Historical Fiction An Amazon Best Book of the Month: Literature & Fiction Category “This is the bestselling Dugoni’s masterpiece, the book by which his work, and that of others, will be measured for years to come.” —Providence Journal “Dugoni has produced a novel that, if it doesn’t cross entirely over into John Irving territory, certainly nestles in close to the border…Told in two separate time lines (Sam as a boy, and Sam as a man) that eventually come together, and written in a gentle, introspective yet dramatic style that is very different from that of Dugoni’s crime fiction, this is an inspirational story of a man who spends a lifetime getting to know himself.” —Booklist “Sam Hell is inspiring and aglow with the promise of redemption.” —Kirkus Reviews “Robert Dugoni has a rare and brilliant talent for infusing his characters with complex emotions. It is very hard not to ache for young Sam…Frankly, this might be the best book of the year.” —Bookreporter “Distinctly different in style from Dugoni’s typical fare, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, is a captivating and poignant journey of strength and the power of finding your true self. Without a doubt, this is Dugoni’s best yet.” —Suspense Magazine “Dugoni’s writing is compellingly quick, simple, and evocative; readers will immediately empathize with young Sam and will race to discover how his story ends. The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell is a heartwarming novel that celebrates overcoming the unfairnesses of life.” —Seattle Book Review Past Praise for Robert Dugoni: “Dugoni is a superb storyteller…” —Boston Globe “Dugoni has a gift for creating compelling characters and mysteries that seem straightforward, but his stories, like an onion, have many hidden layers.” —Associated Press

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the 2016 David Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Debut Death and destruction will bar her way. . . Kyndra's fate holds betrayal and salvation, but the journey starts in her small village. On the day she comes of age, she accidentally disrupts an ancient ceremony, ending centuries of tradition. So when an unnatural storm targets her superstitious community, Kyndra is blamed. She fears for her life until two strangers save her, by wielding powers not seen for an age - powers fuelled by the sun and the moon.Together, they flee to the hidden citadel of Naris. And here, Kyndra experiences disturbing visions of the past, showing war and one man's terrifying response. She'll learn more in the city's subterranean chambers, amongst fanatics and rebels. But first Kyndra will be brutally tested in a bid to unlock her own magic.If she survives the ordeal, she'll discover a force greater than she could ever have imagined. But could it create as well as destroy? And can she control it, to right an ancient wrong? With George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones now a huge TV success, fantasy fiction has never been more popular. And these books are traditional fantasy at its very best.Trade ReviewEvocative, original worldbuilding and a wonderfully feisty heroine: top marks to Lucy Hounsom * Karen Miller *A brave heroine, a perilous destiny, and an intriguing world full of myth and mystery make for an enthralling read * Gail Z. Martin *I thought it was great, reminding me of Trudi Canavan; it had me turning pages way into the night, which is not good at my age! What a mix: immersive worldbuilding, secret societies, a flawed and hugely likeable protagonist, and awesome magic. There's a lot to like here, but be warned, this book will seriously damage your sleep. * John Gwynne *Has all the elements to become a modern classic of the genre. It's essentially a coming-of-age story that breaks out into a wide-screen fantasy extravaganza with huge stakes * Independent on Sunday *For those readers with a yearning for a novel with a Trudi Canavan / David Eddings type vibe, but with a contemporary twist, Starborn may be just the ticket * SFFWorld.com *An exciting new high fantasy story . . . the story moves along at a brisk pace * SFBook.com *A genuinely impressive debut, and Lucy Hounsom is definitely one to watch * TheBookbag.co.uk *

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Book SynopsisThe characters in this book are works of fiction. But, then, isn’t everyone . . . ?1988, Pencalenick, Cornwall.At seventeen, Jason wants much more from life than working at his father’s pub and when fate, in the form of twins Daisy and Bea and their small circle of friends, offers him a glimpse of another, more glamorous, world, he’s determined to become a part of it. It’s Daisy who Jason is most entranced by, though. Everyone is: she’s the sun around which others orbit.The trouble with the sun, of course, is that those who get too close risk getting burned – and by the end of the summer, one of the group will be dead.2018, Camberwell, London. When famous actress Daisy Hemmings decides it's time to publish her autobiography, she chooses James Tate to write it. James is a ghost writer: it’s his job to step into other people’s shoes; to tell their stories for them. And he’s good at it. Very good. After all, he’s had years of practice at pretending to be someone he’s not. But what happens when past and present – and truth and lies – collide?Joanna Nadin’s The Double Life of Daisy Hemmings is an unflinching, unforgettable novel about the people we are, the people we’d like to be, and the price we pay for getting what we want . . .Trade ReviewUnflinching, unforgettable . . . Nadin should be this year's summer sensation -- a step up for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid. * The Bookseller *The writing fizzes with energy and charm, and the story is bewitching. I didn't want it to end -- Emylia Hall, author of The Book of SummersTotally absorbing and evocative -- Kate Riordan, author of Summer FeverA gloriously shimmering and captivating novel, with a mystery at its heart that keeps you turning its pages -- Emily KochA clever novel . . . about truth, lies and what happens when the secrets we keep are exposed * Red *A gem. Atmospheric and thrilling and sexy and so clever -- Laura Pearson

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Book SynopsisWhat if you were imprisoned for all eternity?The House of Always is the fourth book in Jenn Lyons’s epic fantasy series A Chorus of Dragons, which starts with The Ruin of Kings.In the aftermath of the Ritual of Night, everything has changed.The Eight Immortals have catastrophically failed to stop Kihrin’s enemies, who are moving forward with their plans to free Vol Karoth, the King of Demons. Kihrin has his own ideas about how to fight back, but even if he’s willing to sacrifice everything for victory, the cost may prove too high for his allies.Now they face a choice: can they save the world while saving Kihrin too? Or will they be forced to watch as he becomes the very evil they had all sworn to destroy?Praise for A Chorus of Dragons:‘I loved it’ – Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians‘A larger-than-life adventure story about thieves, wizards, assassins and kings’ – New York TimesTrade ReviewWhat an extraordinary book. The Ruin of Kings is everything epic fantasy should be: rich, cruel, gorgeous, brilliant, enthralling and deeply deeply satisfying. I loved it -- Lev Grossman on The Ruin of KingsA fantastic page-turner with a heady blend of great characters, fast-moving action and a fabulously inventive magic system . . . I loved it -- John Gwynne on The Ruin of KingsIt’s impossible not to be impressed with the ambition of it all, the sheer, effervescent joy Lyons takes in the scope of her project. Sometimes you just want a larger-than-life adventure story about thieves, wizards, assassins and kings -- New York Times on The Ruin of KingsLyons proves she is worthy of comparison to other masters of epic fantasy, such as Patrick Rothfuss, Stephen R. Donaldson and Melanie Rawn -- Booklist starred review of The Name of All ThingsSimply put: this is top-notch adventure fantasy written for a twenty-first-century audience – highly recommended -- Kirkus starred review of The Name of All ThingsLyons is creating a complex and wonderful series that will immerse and delight -- Library Journal on The Name of All Things

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Book Synopsis'I adore this book! ... An Experiment in Leisure shows us the burning, intense, messy beauty of youth and what it means to be alive' Maxine Peake 'Can I get a refund?' I asked the bus driver. 'You taking the piss, love?' It's the eve of Brexit, and Grace is supposed to have what she wants. She's swapped West Yorkshire for north London, her accent carefully edited. Her friends drink beer out of artful tins. She makes flat whites for people with berets. She's found a psychoanalyst. But this fantasy of metropolitan cool is turning out to be more costly than she thought and Grace faces complicated crises of identity, class, sexuality and geography. Can she remember how to love? Can she find a way home? 'A dizzying yet powerful read' Claire-Louise Bennett, author of Checkout 19Trade ReviewRiveting...the words blaze and bounce across the page * Claire-Louise Bennett, author of Checkout 19 *I adore this book... Shows us the burning, intense, messy beauty of youth * Maxine Peake *A stunning, vivid and very funny debut * Saskia Vogel, author of Permission *This is such a special book. With deeply joyful pace, and rhythm, I grew as obsessed with the prose itself as I did with the plot and characters. As things in the Big World seem to get more binary, An Experiment in Leisure plunders the grey area with wit and forgiveness - and that's exactly where I wanted to be * Tom Rasmussen, author of First Comes Love *Remarkably assured... An attractive aspect of Glendenning's writing is the warmth with which she suffuses not just Grace but her whole cast of characters * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisOn the train from Karachi, as dusk begins to fall, Fahad's dreams of his summer in London are fading. He is headed to Abad, the family's feudal estate, where his father intends to toughen up his sensitive boy, to teach him about power, duty, family -- to make him a man. Instead, over the course of one shimmering, indolent season, Fahad finds himself seduced by the wildness of the land and by the people he meets: those who revere and revile his father; cousin Mousey, who lives alone with a man he calls his manager; and Ali, a teenager like him, whose presence threatens to unearth all that is hidden. Other Names for Love is a truly exceptional novel: a luminous tale of memory and desire, inheritance and love, and the search for a sense of home. Written with urgency and unusual beauty, it marks the arrival of a stunning new voice in fiction.Trade ReviewA beautiful novel on the desire to leave and the hope to remain, the need to find oneself among one's people and away from them -- HISHAM MATAR, author of The ReturnAn exceptional novel about fathers and sons, desire and love, and the long reach of the past -- SUNJEEV SAHOTA, author of China RoomSuch a deftly told and evocative story of duty, masculinity and desire -- KAMILA SHAMSIE, author of Home FireA twenty-first century variation of Turgenev's Fathers and Sons... Taymour Soomro is a thrilling new addition to international literature -- YIYUN LI, author of Must I GoThis haunted, haunting novel is about the cruelties we commit in our search for freedom and the bonds from which we can never be free. Taymour Soomro's piercing insight is that both the freedom and the bonds are constituent of love -- Garth Greenwell, author of CLEANNESS and WHAT BELONGS TO YOU

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE BRITISH BOOK DISCOVER AWARD 2022Where were you when Keisha the Sket first broke the internet?Keisha is a girl from the ends, sharp, feisty and ambitious; she's been labelled 'top sket' but she's making it work. When childhood crush and long-time admirer, Ricardo, finally wins her over, Keisha has it all: power, a love life and the chance for stability. But trauma comes knocking and with it a whirlwind of choices that will define what kind of a woman she truly wants to be.Told with the heart and soul of the inner city, with an unforgettable heroine, Keisha the Sket is a revelation of the true, raw, arousing and tender core of British youth culture.Complete with essays from esteemed contemporary writers Candice Carty-Williams, Caleb Femi and Aniefiok Ekpoudom.Trade ReviewKeisha the Sket is truly a crucial part of not just Black Brit literature, but British literature as a whole. * Bolu Babalola *Our literary foremother. * Candice Carty-Williams *Keisha the Sket accidentally decolonised literature. * Black Ballad *'Reading Keisha the Sket as an adult makes me swoon at the richness of its nostalgia. * Caleb Femi *British answer to Gossip Girl. * Dazed *

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