Apologies, I’ve been slacking a bit – still reading (of course – it’s like breathing!) but sorting out holidays, making sure my finances are in good order, filling the freezer with batch cooking, even some housework and ironing (I hardly know myself!). But I did promise to tell you about these books, didn’t I? I really have had the loveliest break, not needing to read and review books to the usual deadlines – and it was the perfect opportunity to catch up with some books that I really wanted to read but just haven’t been able to fit into my schedule. And reading books that were all a little different from my usual lighter romance – it’ll always be my first love, but I felt like I’d been neglecting books that weren’t my usual comfortable reads, and wanted to challenge my tastes a little.
I shared my planned reads in a post as I signed off for the festive season (you’ll find it here), but it might be no surprise (ah, the freedom!) that I didn’t get to them all – instead I added two books I’d overlooked that weren’t on my original list. In the spirit of “having a break”, I haven’t produced the usual full and detailed reviews, just a few lines on each. But I will tell you – to avoid any doubt – that every single one of these wonderful books was an unqualified five star read, would have featured in my Books of the Year list, and that I’d recommend every one without reservation. Didn’t I choose well?!
So on to my first, and it’s Beautiful People by Amanda Jennings: with that rather stunning cover, it was published by HQ on 7th November in hardcover, for kindle (also available on other major platforms) and as an audiobook. And I must thank the publishers for my advance reading copy, provided via netgalley – and apologise that I didn’t manage an early review. There are a small number of authors whose books I always seek out and eagerly devour, and Amanda is one of them (and always will be). In Her Wake will always have a place in my list of favourite ever books – an entirely compelling story with an authentic depiction of grief and loss unlike any other I’ve read, and simply beautifully written (you can read my review again here). Her first book with HQ was The Cliff House – emotional, edgy and unsettling, and again the very finest of writing. Life got in the way of reading The Storm – and I really must remember to catch up – but The Haven was yet another superb read, exploring the impossibility of creating Utopia, totally engaging with the complexity of its characters and the emotional aspects of their journey (you can read my full review of that one here). So I had very high expectations for her latest book – and always knew I wouldn’t be disappointed…
When Victoria escapes her broken home for university in London, she is determined to reinvent herself and make a fresh start. She falls in love with Nick, who welcomes her into his privileged circle of friends, opening her eyes to a world she only ever dreamt of.
Then life takes a darker turn.
Twenty-five years later, the circle is reunited alongside a host of glittering guests to celebrate the wedding of Hollywood darling Ingrid Olsson to ruthlessly well-connected Julian Draper. Victoria has spent years trying to forget Nick and put the horror of what happened behind her. Now she has to face the past she tried so hard to bury.
As the champagne flows and painful memories resurface, Victoria can’t shake the feeling that some people seem to get away with everything.
But maybe not this time.
Maybe this time, someone will pay the ultimate price.
A dual time story with a real difference, and absolutely beautifully constructed. It moves seamlessly between Victoria’s university years in the 1990s as she sought acceptance by the in-crowd, finding an unexpected ugliness at its heart, and her attendance at a wedding in the present day when she’s forced to revisit some of her most painful experiences. The book starts with a death, an unknown victim – and the whole book builds towards its resolution. It’s a story of obsession, sometimes acutely uncomfortable – and often very dark indeed, with the most toxic relationships, and real insights into the world of the rich and entitled. It’s an emotional read too – Victoria’s youthful vulnerability and efforts towards acceptance are really heartbreaking. Such a powerful read, with a conclusion that took my breath away – perhaps my favourite from the author so far, read in two sittings, and I entirely loved it.
My second was one of those late additions, The Mischief Makers by Elisabeth Gifford, published on 5th September by Corvus, and available in all formats. The e-copy I read was my own, purchased and downloaded from Amazon. I chose this book largely because of my fascination with Daphne du Maurier, but also because of my love for Elisabeth Gifford’s writing. The first book of hers that I read was The Lost Lights of St Kilda: her story-telling was exceptional, the book moved me deeply, and kept me gripped from its first page to its last. It was, of course, one of my 2020 Books of the Year and you’ll find my full review here. I then went on to read A Woman Made of Snow – the same wonderful story-telling and both enthralling and immersive with a compelling early 20th century mystery at its centre but also moving seamlessly to the twists and turns of the family’s history in the late 1800s. Oliver’s Arctic journey is something I’ll never forget – but I also very much enjoyed the unfolding family drama underpinned by society’s expectations, the changing roles of women, and the prevalent prejudices and norms of the different times. And, of course, it was one of my 2021 Books of the Year – you’ll find my review here. This was a book I was very much looking forward to…
She wrote her stories in his shadow. Now Daphne’s past is catching up with her…
In a beautiful house in the wilds of Cornwall, Daphne du Maurier is on the brink of a nervous breakdown. Tangled in a self-destructive love affair that threatens to unravel her marriage, she is also distracted by worry for the family friend whose shadow looms over her childhood: J. M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan.
Daphne tries to escape into writing her new book, but the line between fiction and reality blurs dangerously when her own characters start manifesting before her eyes – in particular a woman called Rebecca who looks suspiciously like her husband’s alluring ex-girlfriend.
Daphne must confront the dark truth that lurks beneath the fantasy of Peter Pan and the secret life that has plagued her since she found fame. Unless she can solve these mysteries and reckon with who she truly is as an artist, her next great work may be lost to history…
Fictionalised real lives are a particular personal favourite, and – with an extraordinary depth of research and attention to detail – the author uses her insights to bring Daphne du Maurier vividly to life. Starting with her childhood – relatively straightforward biography, but beautifully written – it then delves into her friendships, her marriage, her sexuality, and her struggle to understand herself. And, of course, the influences on her writing – significantly, that complicated relationship with JM Barrie, and the dark side of Peter Pan. The settings are so perfectly drawn – having holidayed in Fowey a couple of years ago, particularly easy to visualise and fascinating to explore further. I found the whole book both engrossing and particularly moving – very much recommended.
The next book had been on my “must read” list for some time – The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier, published on 12th September by The Borough Press, available now in hardback, e-book and audiobook, with the paperback to follow on 8th May. The e-copy I read was my own, purchased and downloaded from Amazon.
Venice, 1486. Across the lagoon lies Murano. Time flows differently here – like the glass the island’s maestros spend their lives learning to handle.
Women are not meant to work with glass, but Orsola Rosso flouts convention to save her family from ruin. She works in secret, knowing her creations must be perfect to be accepted by men. But perfection may take a lifetime.
Skipping like a stone through the centuries, we follow Orsola as she hones her craft through war and plague, tragedy and triumph, love and loss.
The beads she creates will adorn the necks of empresses and courtesans from Paris to Vienna – but will she ever earn the respect of those closest to her?
Tracy Chevalier is a master of her own craft, and The Glassmaker is vivid, inventive, spellbinding: a virtuoso portrait of a woman, a family and a city that are as everlasting as their glass.
This was a book that I found totally enthralling. You might just expect the re-shaping of time – Orsola’s life as a glassmaker on the island of Murano spanning the centuries from Renaissance times to the present day – to make the story less accessible, but it’s so perfectly done and wholly believable through the clever device of the skipping stone. There’s a deeply moving love story at its heart, beautifully sustained, along with the changing fortunes of Orsola’s glass-making family – the rivalries, the alliances, and the strong and independent women who found their own paths to survival through the many changes affecting the world outside. The writing is beautiful, the characters beautifully drawn, the relationships fascinating – along with the exceptionally detailed insights into the glassmaker’s art and the tribute to Venice from the past to the present day. Both stunning and compelling – and wholly unforgettable.
My next book was chosen on the recommendation of others – You Are Here by David Nicholls, published by Sceptre on 23rd April 2024, available in all formats. Just between us, I wasn’t sure about trying this one. I’m one of those rare people who really didn’t enjoy One Day for all sorts of reasons – and I haven’t even watched the Netflix series, although so many people have told me how much I’d love it. So I went in with some trepidation… the e-copy I read was my own, purchased and downloaded from Amazon.
Sometimes you need to get lost to find your way
Marnie is stuck.
Stuck working alone in her London flat, stuck battling the long afternoons and a life that often feels like it’s passing her by.
Michael is coming undone.
Reeling from his wife’s departure, increasingly reclusive, taking himself on long, solitary walks across the moors and fells.
When a persistent mutual friend and some very English weather conspire to bring them together, Marnie and Michael suddenly find themselves alone on the most epic of walks and on the precipice of a new friendship.
But can they survive the journey?
A new love story by beloved bestseller David Nicholls, You Are Here is a novel of first encounters, second chances and finding the way home.
A romantic comedy at heart, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as Michael and Marnie – uncomfortably thrown together – found themselves undertaking an epic walk from the Lakes to the Northumberland coast. Both characters are so very real, easy to identify with in so many ways – and the whole book so beautifully explores loneliness and isolation, the warmth of friendship, and the bravery needed to take a chance on love. The scenery is vividly drawn, the discomfort of the changing weather something you really feel – and the dialogue sparkles throughout, laced with humour, but acutely observed and so deeply affecting. Unlike anything I’ve read before – and entirely deserving of the praise heaped upon it.
Next? I really wanted to read By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult (a favourite in years gone by, but read less often these days…), having seen her interviewed (via a live link) from the Ilkley Literature Festival, and being entirely fascinated by the book’s premise – and rather in awe of her passion for her subject. Published by Penguin/Michael Joseph on 10th October, it’s currently available in hardback, e-book and for kindle, with the paperback to follow on 5th June. The e-copy I read was my own, purchased and downloaded from Amazon.
Student playwright Melina Green finds that even in New York, her words will struggle to make the stage, when the power is held by men. Inspired by the life of her ancestor Emilia Bassano, a gifted and witty storyteller herself, Melina takes a lesson from history, and submits a play under a male pseudonym . . .
As Melina discovers more of Emilia’s extraordinary life in Elizabethan England, she is determined to right the wrongs of the past – and finally tell her story.
Two women – centuries apart – are both forced to hide behind another name.
But can either make their voices heard?
Melinda’s present day story – her experiences as a female playwright in a male-dominated theatrical world – is the perfect counterbalance to the engrossing and meticulously researched story of Emilia Bassano, perhaps the true author of Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets. And Emilia’s was the story that had me most gripped – a wonderfully recreated historical world with real depth of detail, with very real and well-drawn characters, every twist and turn of her fortunes and experiences increasing the evidence supporting the author’s convincing hypothesis. A very different read, beautifully written, a fascinating examination of gender bias across the ages – and by the end, I really believed.
It’s far too long since I read a book from John Boyne – way back in 2016 I produced a tribute to his wonderful writing (you can read it again here), and I’ve since read a few more with my book group (but not shared reviews). And his more recent books have been rather too weighty to easily fit in to my schedule – I MUST do so this year, perhaps in audiobook format. But I was really intrigued by his current four-part series, and they’re all rather shorter reads – so I started by adding Water to my reading list, published by Transworld in November 2023. The e-copy I read was my own, purchased and downloaded from Amazon.
The first thing Vanessa Carvin does when she arrives on the island is change her name. To the locals, she is Willow Hale, a solitary outsider escaping Dublin to live a hermetic existence in a small cottage, not a notorious woman on the run from her past.
But scandals follow like hunting dogs. And she has some questions of her own to answer. If her ex-husband is really the monster everyone says he is, then how complicit was she in his crimes?
Escaping her old life might seem like a good idea but the choices she has made throughout her marriage have consequences. Here, on the island, Vanessa must reflect on what she did – and did not do. Only then can she discover whether she is worthy of finding peace at all.
Can you ever truly wash away your past?
Less than 200 pages long, this really was a masterclass in storytelling – the wonderfully drawn island community, Vanessa’s dark secrets slowly revealed and come to terms with, the narrative engaging and compelling throughout. It’s a quiet book, so perfectly paced, the story gradually unfolding – in many ways, it’s timeless, although set in the present day. It’s also particularly moving – and the quality of the writing was an absolute joy, with its shimmering watery themes. On completion, I wanted more – and immediately downloaded the next two books in the series…
My next book was another recommendation, from a conversation with an author friend – What We Thought We Knew by Claire Dyer, independently published in early 2024 and available for kindle and in paperback. The e-copy I read was my own, purchased and downloaded from Amazon.
Four children, three marriages, two secrets, and one unfathomable tragedy: the families at numbers two, four and six Penwood Heights are connected by work, friendship, the loss of a child and a secret truth which has sat in the bedrock of their lives for years.
In the centre of this tight-knit group is Faith, who believes her job is to act as a paperweight, keeping them all safe. And she does this until someone from her past reappears and threatens to sabotage everything.
And, as the pieces fall, these families, these friends, realise that what they thought they knew about one another was nothing more than make-believe. They also discover that trust is illusory and for Faith, at least, that keeping other people’s secrets can be more dangerous than keeping our own.
Perhaps it was just me, but I’ll admit I did struggle at first with the cast of characters – distinguishing between the three couples and their families. But I only mention that in case you find the same – it didn’t last, and I became entirely consumed by the wonderful storytelling as the layers of secrets uniting and dividing them were slowly uncovered. The relationships are so beautifully observed, the moral dilemmas so searingly real and excruciatingly painful – encompassing grief and loss, friendship and support, guilt and betrayal, and with the most perfect emotional touch.
And just one more? I’m cheating a little – I actually read Orbital by Samantha Harvey back at the end of October, before it won the 2024 Booker Prize, when it was chosen by my book club. I didn’t share a review – and that was only because I felt I couldn’t possibly do it justice. And, of course, there’s my well known aversion to anything on a prize shortlist… this one was published by Jonathan Cape/Vintage in November 2023 and is available in all formats. The e-copy I read was my own, purchased and downloaded from Amazon.
Life on our planet as you’ve never seen it before…
A team of astronauts in the International Space Station collect meteorological data, conduct scientific experiments and test the limits of the human body. But mostly they observe. Together they watch their silent blue planet, circling it sixteen times, spinning past continents and cycling through seasons, taking in glaciers and deserts, the peaks of mountains and the swells of oceans. Endless shows of spectacular beauty witnessed in a single day.
Yet although separated from the world they cannot escape its constant pull. News reaches them of the death of a mother, and with it comes thoughts of returning home. They look on as a typhoon gathers over an island and people they love, in awe of its magnificence and fearful of its destruction.
The fragility of human life fills their conversations, their fears, their dreams. So far from earth, they have never felt more part – or protective – of it. They begin to ask, what is life without earth? What is earth without humanity?
The most beautiful writing, with a sense that every word was so carefully chosen, and most definitely not the difficult read I thought it might be. Sixteen orbits around our fragile planet for the multi-national team on the space station, filled with routine, but with the perfect opportunity to observe and reflect on the fragility of life. One review I read said “very little happens, while everything happens”, which captures it so perfectly – a prose poem, but filled with humanity, and I totally loved it.
And that’s what I’ve been up to during my long absence – until starting to read the books for January blog tours. There’ll be review posts every day this week (all on the books’ publication days), and I’m now very much looking forward to the reading and reviewing year ahead…
Having a break is good for the soul, you will feel refreshed.
So glad you enjoyed The Glassmaker and You Are Here, two of my top reads last year. You Are Here was particularly good on audio. I finished The Mischief Makers last night and between you and me (it’s a book group read!) I didn’t love it. 😬