Reading Time: 2 minutesThe Pretender turns a Tudor footnote into a fantastic flesh‑and‑blood story that I absolutely loved. Jo Harkin takes Lambert Simnel – raised as the peasant boy John Collan, polished up as a princeling, briefly crowned in Dublin as Edward...
Reading Time: 2 minutesShuggie Bain is a tummy-punch read for sure. Douglas Stuart drags you through the grey sky and grit of 1980s Glasgow, beautifully crafted a tale of love between a mother and son. With her smudged lipstick smile: Agnes, a mother perched between...
Reading Time: 2 minutesThe story centres on Cass, who, as a 13-year-old in 2008, experiences a disturbing incident during a family holiday in the south of France. Fast forward 16 years, at a funeral, Cass collapses, prompting some reflection of past events and their...
Reading Time: 2 minutesHear me out…a woman has an accident, slips into a coma and wakes speaking fluent French (a language she never actually mastered). Her husband? Eric, a man who is heading deeper into misogynistic and ‘conservative’ beliefs. PLUS a very...
Reading Time: 2 minutesAfter her 3 critically acclaimed earlier novels: Purple Hibiscus, Half a Yellow Sun and Americanah, I started Dream Count, her first published novel in a dozen or so years, full on anticipation. It does not disappoint. I found Dream Count...
Reading Time: 2 minutesWarning: discussions about Domestic Violence and emotional abuse. From an unforgettable new voice in Irish fiction, a heart-pounding, life-affirming story about one woman trying to leave her marriage and start over. For fans of Claire Keegan and...
