Bright Burning Things is a quietly beautiful novel that delicately handles the pressures of addiction illness. Sonya, a complex and kind character, pursues a path of recovery when her role as a mother to Tommy is questioned. What follows is an intense and considered portrayal of family life, highlighting strained relationships and darkened pasts. We
Poetic, gripping, and unarguably unique, No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood is a novel on social media that we didn’t know we needed. Lockwood has taken a now well-worn, over-analysed aspect of modern society, and injected it with an impressive poignancy. What follows is a novel that crosses genres, stomping unapologetically through
Misery by Stephen King is a great book, actually it’s damn near masterful. It’s more than what first meets the eye; Misery is a deeply rich study of pain. It’s also on the other hand a rich craft book – odd I know, but with our main protagonist Paul Sheldon being a writer who has
I had the pleasure of reading ‘Slow Burn On Riverside’ recently which is the prequel for ‘The Same Deep Water As You’ and I’m glad I read them this way around – as when I turned that first page the distinct voice of Jex poured from the pages and it was like returning to a
The foreword by Sara Tantlinger echoes my thoughts on what a sublime talent LaRocca is, his prose is mesmeric, his poetic turns of phrase showcase his brilliance as a storyteller and in my opinion further cement Eric LaRocca as one of the most exciting voices in indie publishing. Introduction – Eric LaRocca takes time to
An iconic and vital piece of literature, reimagined with stunning artwork to add a layer of visual storytelling, the Folio Society edition of Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses is a feast for the eyes for readers of all ages. Ask many readers what the most successful and notable young adults book series is, and most
Intimacies by Lucy Caldwell is one of those collections that you’ll remember for a lifetime, a collection that you remember exactly where you where when you read it – it’s memorable and masterful and proves yet again what a force Caldwell is when it comes to the short story form and why she is one
I first came to know of the name William R. Soldan when I picked up his collection ‘In Just The Right Light’ which was brilliant. So when the opportunity arose to read ‘Houses Burning and Other Ruins’ another collection, I jumped at the chance – and boy is it good. ‘Houses Burning and Other Ruins’
When I was about sixteen / seventeen it was a different time, it was a time without gadgets and phones, it was a time when you went exploring with friends or by yourself, it was a simpler time, a time I sometimes long for for my children, a time when you didn’t have to conform
I am a huge fan of Myers’ work having read many of not all of his published works and I was delighted to hear that he was releasing a short story collection with Bloomsbury Books and when I could I requested that book. Ben Myers is one of my favourite British writers, his work on
