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Spring is here in full force (hallelujah!) and with it comes a whole new crop of books to be excited about. Whether you want a page-turning thriller, a gripping historical novel or a feelgood read, we have some great choices out this month.
Book of the month
Consider Yourself Kissed by Jessica Stanley
Set against the backdrop of an eventful decade in British politics, this smart, joyful literary love story takes an intimate look at the intricacies of a long-term relationship, with characters so real they live beyond the pages.
When Australian expat Coralie meets Adam, she’s new to London and feeling adrift. They soon start dating and she falls head-over-heels not just for him but for his four-year-old daughter, Zora, too. The early days of the couple’s romance are beautifully described; book lovers will swoon at the bit where they go through each other’s bookshelves. Within a few months, Coralie has packed up her life and moved in with Adam and Zora. Ten years on, and with two more children, Coralie is drowning in her responsibilities. She wants so badly to be a good mother that she takes on more and more, and while Adam’s career as a political commentator skyrockets, her own dreams of a writing career are firmly on the back burner. Until, finally, she implodes.
This isn’t a new narrative, but the way Stanley tells it is fresh and original, largely thanks to the way she combines the personal and the political. Coralie is one of the most painfully relatable literary heroines I’ve encountered in ages. Her story captures so well the mess and magic of ordinary family life and how women often sacrifice parts of who they are for other people. There’s a great cast, too, of secondary characters: stepdaughter Zora, who’s hilarious and adorable; Coralie’s narcissistic dad, who signs his texts to her with his Christian name, and her boss, Antoinette, who buys her Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In as a Christmas present.
What elevates this novel is the clever way it weaves in snippets of history, bringing in details of a turbulent period that saw us go through five Prime Ministers, Brexit and Covid. This is done with the lightest of touches and really adds to the story. It’s a brilliant book that hits all the right notes: a bit sad, a lot moving and very funny in places. A wholehearted recommend.
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
The wonderfully straight-talking seventysomething Sybil Van Antwerp is the heroine of this epistolary novel. Sybil keeps the world at bay, preferring instead to communicate by letter. When her eyesight begins to go, Sybil is forced to face up to a tragedy from her past. A unique and charming read.
Dream State by Eric Puchner
Already an Oprah’s Book Club choice, this epic novel spans five decades, telling the stories of three people bound together in complicated ways. While preparing for her wedding to Charlie, Cece becomes close to his best friend, Garrett, and this relationship alters the paths of each of their lives. The writing is beautiful; this is one of those books to sink into and relish every word.
The Names by Florence Knapp
This amazing novel, which reminded me of Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, is so raw and beautiful it was hard to read at times. When Cora’s son is born, she must choose a name for him: Julian, as she wishes; Bear, her daughter’s choice; or Gordon, as his abusive father wants. Here the story splits into three parallel timelines: in each, he has a different name and with it, a greatly different future.
Heartwood by Amity Gaige
A female hiker goes missing on the Appalachian Trail in this gripping novel that uses its isolated setting to great effect. Told from three women’s points of view – the hiker’s journal entries, the warden heading up the search and a seventysomething armchair detective – each strand adds tension and drama.
The Book Of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey
This novel’s shocking plot turns will make you gasp. Identical triplets Vincent, William and Lawrence have lived in a Sycamore Scheme home since birth, cared for by their Morning, Afternoon and Night Mothers. When allowed into the world for the first time, they begin to question everything they’ve been told.
Albion by Anna Hope
Think TV show Succession but set on a huge estate in Sussex. When her father dies, eldest daughter Frannie inherits the lot and plans to continue with their shared dream of rewilding the land, but her three siblings have different ideas. An intense slow-burner of a family drama about inheritance and accountability.
