I am beyond grateful to Lily Birch at Faber for sending me a surprise copy of The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon. I’m delighted to share my review today.

The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances is published by Faber on 30th July 2026 and is available for pre-order here.

The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances

‘And that’s why I want to be called Scout’

‘It’s most unusual, said Clock.

‘She’s the one who listens and learns,’ Scout said. ‘She’s like me.’ She paused and set her voice to pensive. ‘You already have names. I’d like one too.’

In a self-running smart house, a young sentient hoover listens as her owner, Harold, reads aloud to his dying wife, Edie. Mesmerized by To Kill a Mockingbird and craving human connection, the little vacuum renames herself Scout and embarks on a journey of self-discovery.

But when Edie passes away, Scout and her fellow appliances discover that the omnipresent Grid, which monitors every household in the City, wants to displace Harold from the home he’s lived in for fifty years. With the help of a neighbourhood boy, and Harold and Edie’s daughter, the humans and the appliances must come together to outwit the Grid before they lose everything they hold dear. . . 

My Review of The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances

Harold’s reading of To Kill a Mockingbird to his dying wife Edie makes sentient vacuum Riv984 desperate to be called Scout.

What an incredible book. Slightly futuristic and reminding me rather of E.M. Forster’s The Machine Stops, The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances is absolutely perfect for today’s society, because elements of its world like self driving cars are already becoming more common in our lives so that it’s no great stretch to imagine all homes containing thermostats that alter according to conditions, or fridges that order food according to use. Watch in particular is familiar as he monitors Harold’s heartbeat, blood pressure and so on. This has the effect of making events believable and all the more terrifying as a result.

The plot is simple. The Grid, which has autonomy over every aspect of life, will not allow widowed Harold to continue to live in his large home of fifty years. It will send machines to downsize Harold’s possessions and move him into communal living so that his home can be divided up or knocked down to accommodate multiple occupancy buildings. His sentient household appliances are not sure what to do. But this simplicity, and the beautiful pared back language with which it is presented, belies the profound meaning and emotion in The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances. I had no idea I might be reduced to tears by a vacuum cleaner.

What Glenn Dixon does in this wonderful story is to examine grief, hope, autonomy, friendship, family and identity so that it’s impossible not to be entranced by his writing. He contrasts the rational decisions of the Grid and its household monitor Watch with the sheer emotion of music and literature, showing the real value in life.

Harold’s relationship with his daughter Kate is heartbreaking, and the more the reason for her absence is uncovered, the more affecting it is. So too is Adrian’s sheer determination as he tries to learn piano pieces. The child of an immigrant with little money, he humanises the foreign and unfamiliar, showing there is the potential for beauty and growth in us all. There’s an intense intimacy through these three human characters that is echoed by the appliances. Scout the vacuum in particular is just wonderful. Her questioning rather than acceptance of the status quo, her intelligence and her willingness to put others before herself make her every bit as dramatic, engaging and compelling as the humans.

It’s hard to review The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances without revealing so much that others need to discover for themselves. This is a story of truth and love, of books and music, and of the sheer spirit of humanity and indeed all sentient beings like Scout. It’s a narrative that will make you think. It’s one that will terrify a reader as it looks to the future in ways that might not be what we want, but it’s also a book of huge love and connection that moves, educates and returns us to the kind of humanity we might have felt lost forever. It’s not just Scout who is on a journey of self-discovery, but the reader and all the other characters (human and appliance) are too. I thought it was absolutely brilliant. Oh, and it’ll have you reaching for the books you’ve always loved and holding them more dearly than ever!

About Glenn Dixon

Glenn Dixon is an author, documentary film maker and musician.

His new book, The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances is out now in nine countries, from the U.K. and the U.S. to Canada as well as Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Greece and China. It features Scout, a Roomba vacuum cleaner who, with the other sentient appliances in a house in the near future, must band together to save their humans from being evicted. His third book Juliet’s Answer was a National Best seller and has been published in twelve countries and translated into German, Spanish and Chinese. His fourth book Bootleg Stardust about a rock band in the 1970’s featured a soundtrack.

He has travelled through 75 countries and written for the New Yorker, National Geographic, the Walrus, the New York Post and the Globe and Mail. He is currently at work on a new novel.

For further information, visit Glenn’s website, or find Glenn on Facebook and Instagram. 

My enormous thanks to Rebecca at Saraband for sending me a surprise copy of Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Parcel of Rogues by Olga Wojtas. It’s my pleasure to share my review today. 

Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Parcel of Rogues will be published by Saraband on 30th July 2026 and is available for purchase through the publisher links here.

Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Parcel of Rogues

Morningside librarian Shona McMonagle is a proud former pupil of the Marcia Blaine School for Girls, and deeply resents a well-known novel she believes has unfairly tarnished its reputation.

In 1788 Edinburgh, the city is celebrating Robert Burns on his second visit to the capital. Burns would much rather be back in Ayrshire with his beloved Jean, but his publisher has him touring society – and his supposed muse, Nancy McLehose, is encouraging him to adopt a more marketable persona.

Shona finds herself caught up helping a teenager, Burns’s ardent admirer Walter Scott, while becoming part of a circle of clever, ambitious women. But when she is framed for the capital crime of housebreaking and condemned to the Tolbooth, she must rely on her ingenuity – and her allies – to clear her name. As events spiral, how will she resolve this muddle without bringing Enlightenment society crashing down?

My Review of Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Parcel of Rogues

Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Parcel of Rogues is an absolute delight. The only issue is that, as this is the latest stand alone in a series, I am now compelled to go back and read all the others. I thought it was fabulous. 

The story in Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Parcel of Rogues is brilliant because it has a fast pace, real characters from history and an underpinning wit that is acerbic, intelligent and truly funny. The juxtaposition of modern life and the developing arena of Edinburgh in the 1700s works perfectly with Shona as the lynchpin so that this is bookish diversion of the highest order.

The setting is so well depicted, from the male dominated coffee houses to the dramatic fervour surrounding Robert Burns, so that the reader is truly transported back in time. As well as the narrative being highly entertaining, spotting the real people from history like Burns, Walter Scott and David Hume adds to the diverting story. The exemplary level of research that has gone into an era that means the narrative is effortless and convincing to read. It’s just brilliantly entertaining.

Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Parcel of Rogues might be part of a series, but it works flawlessly as a standalone story. An insight into Miss Blaine herself is given and Shona McMonagle is, quite simply, superb. Her narrative voice rings from the pages so that she feels like an old friend and someone that anyone would want in their side. There’s a fabulous sense of her confiding in the reader which draws them still further into this compelling story.

I thought the sense of prejudice was deftly and humorously handled. The noble folk of early Edinburgh looking with pity on those from Morningside and Shona herself not averse to casting aspersions on those from Glasgow, conveying a societal approach that is only enhanced by Walter Scott’s mother’s feeling for how history repeats itself. Feminism too is portrayed brilliantly. The moments between Shona and male characters and the suggestion that women are the ones feeding the male luminaries of the Enlightenment is only enhanced when the more prosaic relationship between Walter Scott’s parents is challenged. I’m being a bit oblique here as I don’t want to spoil the read, but I loved this aspect of the story. Who knew too that a teaspoon might be so revolutionary!

I thought Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Parcel of Rogues was terrific. Every time I think back to reading it I find a smile on my face and an uplifting sense of well-being. It’s a book not to be missed. Oh, and watch out because Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Parcel of Rogues might just surprise you with the power of poetry too!

About Olga Wojtas

Olga Wojtas is an unconventional – and witty – writer of cosy crime fiction whose surrealist humour has been compared to the likes of P.G. Wodehouse, Jasper Fforde, Blackadder and the Marx Brothers. She was born and brought up in Edinburgh, where she attended James Gillespie’s High School – the model for the Marcia Blaine School for Girls (in Muriel Spark’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie). Olga won a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award in 2014, and has amassed an impressive following for the Miss Blaine’s Prefect series, as well as several award nominations. A journalist for more than 30 years, Olga was Scottish editor of the Times Higher Education Supplement before she began adding creative writing to her portfolio.

For further information, visit her website or follow Olga on Instagram, Facebook and X @OlgaWojtas.

My enormous thanks to the wonderful Milly Johnson for giving me a copy of The Bungle Book. It’s my pleasure to share my review today.

The Bungle Book was published in paperback on 6th November 2025 and is available for purchase here.

The Bungle Book

This is a book that includes some of the most famous and infamous Trumpet entries.

From situations vacant to headlines, lonely hearts to the sadly passed. Heaps upon heaps of the Trumpet’s efforts to rectify wrongs and cocking stuff up even further.

It is a newspaper that rejoices in its inefficiency because it has earned a load of brass for Sir Basil despite being the bane of its editor’s life.

But cash is king and so he’ll have to lump it or b*gger off.

Enjoy the bloops, the errors, the typos, the in-yer-endos, they have been crafted from the best of wasted minds for your amusement – and also for charity.

NB: It’s a book for grown-ups so if any offence is caused: tough.

My Review of The Bungle Book

A compilation of errors from The Daily Trumpet.

What a little cracker of a book! I’ve been reading a few entries of The Bungle Book at bedtime over a series of weeks so that, regardless of the challenges of the day, I end it amused, uplifted and entertained. It’s a real treat of a book.

As Milly Johnson herself says, you won’t want to read it all in one go. It’s akin to eating your favourite food – you wouldn’t want it for every meal. I think it’s perfect to read a page or two when you’re feeling down because it’s impossible not to smile and feel the world is not so bad after all when you read the idiocy of The Daily Trumpet. I would, however, suggest reading The Bungle Book chronologically rather than dipping in because some of the bloopers build on previous entries so that they are all the funnier when you know what’s gone before.

Certainly there is adult humour here with sexual innuendo, but there’s nothing offensive. I think the only problem with The Bungle Book is that anyone with you is going to be sick of being interrupted as you read out another entry that you simply can’t help sharing. 

With typos, malapropisms, misquotes and inaccurate reporting, The Bungle Book is a smasher. It cheered me up. It made me snort with laughter and, in all seriousness, not only does The Bungle Book support a cat charity, it makes a frequently sad, selfish and cruel world a much brighter, funnier and happier place. What could be better than that? 

About Milly Johnson

Milly Johnson was born, raised and still lives in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. She is the author of numerous bestselling novels as well as various ebook novellas and a book of poetry. She was an erstwhile leading copywriter for the greetings card industry. She is also a performance poet, professional joke-writer, columnist and after dinner speaker.

She writes about love, life, friendships and the importance of community spirit. Her books champion women, their strength and resilience and celebrate her beloved Yorkshire. She has, this year, to add to her many accolades for literature and services to the county been given the Yorkshire Woman of the Year award from the Yorkshire Businesswoman organisation.

Her new Amazon First Reads novella Lift Me Up is available now.

You can follow Milly on X @millyjohnson and Facebook, or you can visit her website for more information. You’ll also find Milly on Instagram and on Bluesky.

My enormous thanks to lovely Emylia Hall for sending me a signed copy of the latest book in her The Shell House Detectives Mystery series, The Lone Island Mystery. I was thrilled to receive it and am delighted to share my review of The Lone Island Mystery today.

Indeed, I love Emylia Hall’s fiction and you’ll find her other appearances on Linda’s Book Bag here. 

Published by Thomas and Mercer on 28th April 2026, The Lone Island Mystery is available for purchase here.

The Lone Island Mystery

A wealthy family. An isolated island. A dead body. Is it a tragic accident or foul play? The Shell House Detectives are investigating again…

Lone Island is a remote and windswept spot, but for nature reserve warden Pippa Grant it’s always been a haven. Until a body washes ashore―and she’s the one to find it.

The police believe the deceased, Axel Marks, accidentally fell from the cliffs near Porthmerrin House, the grand estate on the mainland where Axel’s mother once served as housekeeper to the Grey family. But Pippa is adamant that there’s more to Axel’s death, and begs Ally and Jayden, the Shell House Detectives, to take the case.

Soon it emerges that Axel had a troubled past, and a complicated history with both Edward Grey and his son, Lucas. As the reasons behind Axel’s visit to Porthmerrin become clear, Ally and Jayden feel sure that the house holds the key, and both owners and staff come under scrutiny. But when the police switch their focus back to Lone Island, Ally and Jayden are forced to question whether it’s their client who has something to hide.

Was Axel murdered out of jealousy and greed, or because of an ancient betrayal? And how far will the killer go to achieve their ultimate goal? As Ally and Jayden finally bring the devastating truth to light, it’s clear that Axel’s death was just the beginning of the story…

My Review of The Lone Island Mystery 

The body of ex-soldier Axel Marks has washed up on Lone Island. 

What an utterly fantastic book. It’s been a while since I have read one of The Shell House Detectives books but The Lone Island Mystery has reminded me just how brilliant they are. I absolutely loved it.

Being back in the company of Ally and Jayden is akin to slipping into silken sheets, so smooth is the writing. Emylia Hall provides just enough background detail so that first time readers understand her characters, but it doesn’t matter at all if this is the first book a reader has encountered in the series. The Lone Island Mystery is so skilfully wrought that it can be read equally enjoyably as part of a series or a stand alone story.

Emylia Hall’s prose is mesmerising. Her ability to create setting through the use of the senses and through the most imaginative similes, creates vivid and painterly images in the mind’s eye. Her dialogue (with the occasional asides) is natural and engaging so that it feels as if these are real conversations, drawing in the reader completely. Genuinely, reading The Lone Island Mystery is like stepping into a film but with real people. I really felt part of the action.

Indeed, the characters feel so much more than fictional creations. The relationship between Ally and Jayden is pitch-perfect and every minor character is rounded, pertinent to the plot and interesting. I think what makes The Lone Island Mystery so special is that these wonderful people mean the narrative is written with warmth and humanity. It sounds rather exaggerated to say so, but being back with Ally, Jayden, Mullins et al felt rather like coming home. I hadn’t realised how much I had missed them.

The storytelling is magnificent. Opening in dramatic fashion in the Prologue, The Lone Island Mystery is balanced beautifully by a quieter Epilogue. In between is a brilliantly plotted, completely absorbing story with several surprises along the way and of course I can’t say more without spoilers! A couple of minor plot lines involving Ally and Jayden serve to enhance the heightened drama of the main story, making for an entertaining, emotional and compelling read. 

In amongst the cracking story are sensitively presented themes of mental health, family and relationships, romantic attraction and all manner of realistic elements that add humour, drama and engagement. Whilst she might be writing diverting crime fiction, this author shows just how much she understands the strengths and vulnerabilities of us all and Emylia Hall displays intelligent understanding of people’s motivation and perceptions.

The Lone Island Mystery has everything a reader might want. There’s a fabulous plot with superb insight into human nature, set in places that thrum with reality. I thought it was totally wonderful and could not have enjoyed it more. 

About Emylia Hall

Emylia Hall lives in Bristol with her husband and son, where she writes from a hut in the garden and dreams of the sea. She is the author of the Shell House Detective Mysteries, a series inspired by her love of Cornwall’s wild landscape. The first, The Shell House Detectives, was a Kindle Top 10 Bestseller, with the rights being optioned for TV. Emylia has published other novels, including Richard and Judy Book Club pick The Book of Summers and The Thousand Lights Hotel. Her work has been translated into ten languages, and broadcast on BBC Radio 6 Music. She is the founder of Mothership Writers and is a writing coach at The Novelry.

For further information, visit Emylia’s website, or you can follow Emylia on Twitter/X @EmyliaHall and find her on Instagram.

My enormous thanks to lovely Jenni Kerr for ensuring that I received a copy of her latest book, The Secret of the Lantern Keepers. It’s my pleasure to share my review today. 

Published by Boldwood on 10th July 2026, The Secret of The Lantern Keepers is available for purchase through the links here. 

The Secret of the Lantern Keepers

When Edith Averly is sent to investigate a murder at Green Briar Lunatic Asylum, a rambling gothic institution on the edge of the Cornish moors, she’s horrified to realise that in order to infiltrate the asylum, she’ll have to pretend to be mad herself…

Several weeks before her arrival, her beloved father stipulates in his will that his reclusive but strangely-gifted daughters must live apart from each other for a whole year in order to retain their family home. As a further condition of their inheritance, he assigns them each a crime that he was unable to solve during his recent years of armchair detecting.

The eldest sister, Edith, can see echoes of violent events from the past. So when she is sent to the remote Cornish asylum where the brutal murder of Dr Hawkins took place seven years ago – she is quickly overwhelmed by her disturbing visions and begins to fear for her both her sanity and her safety…

Because Green Briar is a place that asks more questions than it answers. Such as, why is the darkly-handsome new doctor in charge unable to meet her eye? Where do the patients keep disappearing to? And who are the Lantern Keepers and what are the secrets they keep?

Only Edith can find out… if Dr Hawkins’ killer doesn’t find her first.

My Review of The Secret of the Lantern Keepers

Edith Averly’s father has set her an unusual task in his will. 

What a brilliant book! The Secret of the Lantern Keepers is part historical fiction, part slow burn romance, part crime fiction, part paranormal narrative and part murder mystery so that there truly is something for everyone between its pages. Any of these aspects individually make it a cracking read, but together they are far greater than the sum of their parts. I found The Secret of the Lantern Keepers gripping, insightful and fascinating.

Grounded in meticulous historical research of so-called lunatic asylums in the 1880s the narrative is shocking, feminist and all too believable. Jenni Keer plunges the reader right in the heart of social history. I thought the name of the asylum was inspired, because once Edit arrives she is ensnared much like a briar in clothing. Add in the dramatic plot and this book would make a fabulous series for television. I loved the visual quality of the descriptions because I could picture the settings, the clothing and the food so readily. Equally engaging is the sense of menace and uncertainty Edith discovers as she integrates into asylum life, especially as this is balanced by warmth and humour too.

Edith is a carefully crafted character who is utterly convincing. With an uneasy gift of being able to ‘see’ moments of heightened emotion from the past she is set the task to discover the brutal murder of Dr Hawkins in a remote Cornish asylum. Remarkably well organised and determined, she has simultaneously led a sheltered life with her sisters. This means that the reader is plunged into her new environment with her, making for an immersive reading experience. The gradual development of her relationship with Dr Lambert is a real joy. 

The plot of The Secret of the Lantern Keepers is completely absorbing. It’s fast paced, highly cleverly constructed and so unpredictable that I found myself totally taken aback on several occasions. I thought the writing was so skilful because I had no idea what might happen next or who the murderer might be. 

However, underneath the wonderful entertainment of the narrative are some important themes that have unsettling resonance in today’s society, every bit as much as in Edith’s era. Mental health, masculine dominance, social care, corruption, family bonds and responsibilities all swirl through the story, making it one that feels highly relevant.

I had no real idea what to expect from this story, but I thought The Secret of the Lantern Keepers was brilliant. Authentic, fresh and innovative, it held me rapt. I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it completely. Not to be missed – though it has now made me determined to catch up with Jenni Keer’s other books! 

About Jenni Keer

Jenni Keer lives in the glorious Suffolk countryside with her four grown up children, three demanding cats, but just the one husband. She still pinches herself that she gets paid for making up stories and truly believes being an author is the best job in the world.

She writes romantic historical fiction, often set in the late 1880s and early 1900s, in beautiful locations across the UK, from the rugged Norfolk coast to the eerie Cornish moors. If you love novels dripping with Gothic vibes, the grandeur of old country houses, and twisty plotlines full of long-hidden secrets and suspicious deaths, then you’ll love Jenni’s books.

Her bestselling book to date is No 23 Burlington Square, which has sold over 125,000 copies worldwide, and her latest release is the first in THE AVERLY SISTERS’ TRILOGY, with The Secret of The Lantern Keepers out now.

For further information, visit Jenni’s website https://jennikeer.co.uk and find her on X @JenniKeer, Instagram, Bluesky and Facebook.

Having loved every children’s book I’ve ever read by Barbara Henderson, I was thrilled when she kindly ensured I received her latest, Enter Eddie Shakespeare. 

You’ll find other appearances by Barbara, including my reviews of her fabulous books, on Linda’s Book Bag here. 

Enter Eddie Shakespeare was published by Luath Press on 6th April 2026 and is available for purchase here.

Enter Eddie Shakespeare

The course of true brotherhood never did run smooth!

1592. Meet Eddie Shakespeare, determined to follow his big brother William to London to become a player. 

Eddie’s plan is simple:
1. Run away from home in Stratford.
2. Find his big brother Will in the city.
3. Act in London’s playhouses and win fame and glory.

As it turns out, the very last person the aspiring playwright William Shakespeare wants to see is his bothersome little brother, when he has more than enough worries of his own. 

But the truth is: William Shakespeare’s life is in danger.

And worse, only Eddie knows it.

My Review of Enter Eddie Shakespeare

William Shakespeare’s younger brother wants to be an actor. 

I’m beginning to run out of the ability to say something new about Barbara Henderson’s ability to write the most fabulous children’s books. Each is packed with a brilliant blend of meticulously researched historical detail combined with a fast paced plot and a real sense of history, peril and danger so that children and adults alike are both entertained and educated. Enter Eddie Shakespeare is no exception. I’d never considered Shakespeare’s siblings before, so that Enter Eddie Shakespeare was fascinating to read. 

Eddie is brought to life with true dexterity. His sense of the theatrical is enhanced by his feather collection so that he adopts a slightly different persona in accordance with whatever feather he places in his cap. That he’s a runaway appeals to young readers, and I adored the fact that the two closest friends he makes are different to the others in the book. You’ll need to read it to find out exactly what I mean. Barbara Henderson gives status to young people of all kinds. Even the reprehensible Perkin is treated with understanding so that young readers can consider why their peers might behave as they do. 

The sense of London at the end of C16th, with the swirling Thames, the ale houses, the fetid streets and so on gives real insight into the era. I thought the descriptions of The Rose Theatre were superb and seeing what happens during performances through twelve year old Eddie’s eyes brings to life the reality of plays at the time. This affords real learning opportunities as well as a cracking story.

Indeed, the educational qualities of Enter Eddie Shakespeare are unparalleled. From the maps and illustrations by Deborah Spence to the real people – Eddie and William Shakespeare’s family, and Christopher Marlowe for example – woven into the story, there is so much to discover. I loved the smattering of recognisable quotations from Shakespeare’s plays which make the story engaging for adult readers too. Equally useful for classroom use is the author’s Postscript that explains which elements of the story are factual and which have been used creatively. Add in a glossary of terms and a Shakespearean timeline and there are so many jumping off points for other research, drama and investigation. 

As ever, in Enter Eddie Shakespeare, Barbara Henderson has brought to life a period of history with real people in a way that is dramatic, engaging and totally innovative.  Enter Eddie Shakespeare is another cracking read for children of all ages. 

About Barbara Henderson

Barbara Henderson is the award-winning author of eleven books, including the Young Quills Award-winning novels The Chessmen Thief and The Siege of Caerlaverock, as well as Rivet Boy, winner of the Books for Topics Curriculum Support Award. Her historical and eco-fiction for children is widely studied in schools. Barbara is based in the Scottish Highlands where she still teaches Drama, but she loves to travel and spread the story-love in classrooms across the country. When she gets the chance, she likes to head outside, often to the nearby hills.

For further information, visit Barbara’s website, find her on Facebook or follow Barbara on Instagram and Bluesky. 

One of the pleasures of having finally retired after 55 years of working in some form since my paper round when I was 10, is that I finally have the chance to read without so many other constraints taking up my time. As a result, I am delighted to have read my July U3A book group book, The Familiars by Stacey Halls, on time! 

I’ve previously reviewed Stacey Halls’ Mrs England here and The Foundling here. 

The Familiars was published by Bonnier imprint Zaffre on 7th February 2019 and is available for purchase through the publisher links here. 

The Familiars

To save her child, she will trust a stranger. To protect a secret, she must risk her life . . .

Fleetwood Shuttleworth is 17 years old, married, and pregnant for the fourth time. But as the mistress at Gawthorpe Hall, she still has no living child, and her husband Richard is anxious for an heir. When Fleetwood finds a letter she isn’t supposed to read from the doctor who delivered her third stillbirth, she is dealt the crushing blow that she will not survive another pregnancy.

Then she crosses paths by chance with Alice Gray, a young midwife. Alice promises to help her give birth to a healthy baby, and to prove the physician wrong.

As Alice is drawn into the witchcraft accusations that are sweeping the North-West, Fleetwood risks everything by trying to help her. But is there more to Alice than meets the eye?

Soon the two women’s lives will become inextricably bound together as the legendary trial at Lancaster approaches, and Fleetwood’s stomach continues to grow. Time is running out, and both their lives are at stake.

Only they know the truth. Only they can save each other…

My Review of The Familiars 

Fleetwood Shuttleworth is pregnant.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Familiars because it explores the historical element of the Pendle witch trials from a different perspective. In a sense, the event leading to the trials are one step removed from the very personal first person narrative presented by Fleetwood so that the novel felt different and fresh.

That said, Stacey Halls weaves in historical and geographical detail that simultaneously creates a vivid, realistic and immersive image of the early 1600s. Food in particular is conveyed highly effectively. Settings too transport the reader to the places Fleetwood finds herself so that there is a cinematic quality to the writing and the era is clearly defined.

I confess I didn’t take to Fleetwood initially. I found her rather childish and occasionally petulant. However, once I’d grasped the concept that she actually was a child of seventeen, despite dealing with marriage and her latest pregnancy, I found her resilient, intelligent and passionate. She defends her friendship with Alice with fervor despite the personal risks it creates. Her love for Richard and the way in which she handles him and other powerful men is admirable. By the end of The Familiars when her past is uncovered, and her prickly relationship with her mother explained, Stacey Halls had shifted my opinion from slight irritation to real admiration. That is such clever writing. 

I think one of the elements that makes The Familiars so absorbing and fascinating is the fact that the themes incorporated feel pertinent and relevant to the modern reader. Stacey Halls explores marriage, family, the patriarchy and societal convention and control with true understanding. The witch hunts and trials that are used to enhance political careers and which whip up a frenzy of awful behaviour feel every bit as real as the internet trolls and career politicians of today’s world who will spout any nonsense if it brings then power. I thoroughly appreciated the depiction of female relationships too. Fleetwood and Alice come from very different strata of society and yet the links between them are indisputable. All these aspects make The Familiars a thought-provoking read. 

Assiduously researched, innovatively presented and with an absorbing, entertaining plot, The Familiars is a super book. It may have been Stacey Halls’ debut historical novel and is perhaps not quite as polished as her later fiction, but those who like me love her writing, will find all the seeds of perfection present in her later books. I thought is was excellent. 

About Stacey Halls

Stacey Halls was born in 1989 and grew up in Rossendale, Lancashire. She studied journalism at the University of Central Lancashire and has written for publications including the Guardian, Stylist, Psychologies, the Independent, the Sun and Fabulous. Her first book, The Familiars, was the bestselling debut hardback novel of 2019, won a Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the British Book Awards Debut Book of the Year. The Foundling, her second, was a Sunday Times bestseller, as was her third Mrs England. Mrs England was longlisted for the Portico Prize, the Walter Scott Prize and won the Women’s Prize Futures Award.

For more information about Stacey, visit her website. You can follow Stacy on X @stacey_halls, and find her on Instagram too.

My grateful thanks to Laura Sherlock for sending me a surprise copy of Ask Me What I’m Reading by Eleanor Goymer. I’m delighted to share my review of Ask Me What I’m Reading today. 

Published by Harper Collins imprint One More Chapter on 2nd July 2026, Ask Me What I’m Reading is available for purchase through the links here. 

Ask Me What I’m Reading

Perfect for fans of One Day and Talking at Night.

Every morning, Sophie boards the same train.

Every morning, she spots him – tall, unreadable, always with a novel in hand…often the same one she is reading.

Soon, their commute becomes a silent exchange of titles, a game only they seem to be playing. But how long can a love story stay between the lines before someone dares to take it off the page…

Ask Me What I’m Reading is a slow-burn romance about chance encounters, the love of books and the quiet thrill of meeting someone who just gets it.

My Review of Ask Me What I’m Reading

Sophie Hart reads on her morning commute.

What a lovely, lovely book. I thoroughly enjoyed Ask Me What I’m Reading.

Ostensibly this is a conventional love story that proves ‘the course of true love never did run smooth’ and which is filled with the aspects of romantic fiction readers like me love. There’s a slow burn of attraction as Sophie and Max gradually pluck up courage to do more than simply glance at one another across a train carriage. There are ups and downs in their emergent relationship that becomes thwarted by half truths, omissions and assumptions. There is a wonderfully depicted developing romantic attraction. All these features would make Ask Me What I’m Reading a perfectly wonderful story.

But Eleanor Goymer has this as her foundation for so much more too. The layers in the narrative add depth to plot, character and theme. 

I loved meeting Max and Sophie. Both have flaws and insecurities that make them appear all the more human. Their relationships with their parents and the effect of events from their pasts help create rounded, complex characters that are so much more than potential partners for one another. I also adored their friends. Sophie’s friend Anna is feisty, somewhat devious and fiercely loyal and Max’s friend Josh is the perfect antidote to the toxic manosphere of today’s world in his support of Max. I wanted to step into the pages and embrace him. Through Anna and Josh the reader is given even greater insight into Sophie and Max.

The themes of the plot are just wonderful. Obviously romance features, and it is presented with humour, thought and sensitivity as Sophie and Max stumble their way into getting to know one another – mostly through books. However, I found the themes of family, friendship, grief, guilt, corporate business and the impact of inertia absolutely fascinating. Ask Me What I’m Reading delivers brilliantly in so many ways. I can’t spoil the read by adding more, but trust me, there’s so much to discover in Ask Me What I’m Reading.

And of course, running through the narrative, as suggested by the title, are books. I found childhood favourites, classic and modern authors and new to me titles. This might be a love story, but it is also a love letter to the power of fiction that resonates deeply with any reader. What better name for an overindulged bookshop sausage dog than Vonnegut? 

Any reader looking for the perfect romantic story with books at its heart need look no further. Eleanor Gaynor has captured the concept brilliantly. I loved this one and recommend Ask Me What I’m Reading most highly!

About Eleanor Goymer

Eleanor Goymer is the author of The Plot Twist and The Fallback. Her upcoming novel Ask Me What I’m Reading is being published in July 2026. Born and raised in the UK, Eleanor now lives in the USA. For further information, find Eleanor on Instagram @eleanorgoymerwrites.

When my mum was a few weeks old, my grandmother died as a result of Mum’s birth and, as her father married again just a few weeks later, Mum was given to her aunt and uncle in an unofficial adoption. We also have an adopted child in our family. As a result, I am fascinated by the adoption process, so when my fabulous friend Carol Atherton dropped by with an early proof of her latest book, So Many Ways to Belong: A Personal History of Adoption, I knew I had to read it immediately – not least because I adored Carol’s previous book, Reading Lessons, my review of which you’ll find here. I am also incredibly touched to find myself in the acknowledgements at the end of So Many Ways to Belong.

So Many Ways to Belong is published by Penguin Figtree on 9th July 2026 and is available for purchase through the publisher links here. 

So Many Ways to Belong

Twenty years ago, Carol Atherton and her husband, Matthew stood together on the doorstep of a suburban house waiting to meet the small, red-headed toddler who would soon be woven into the fabric of their lives.

But that moment was only one of many thresholds they crossed on their journey to becoming adoptive parents. In the years leading up to it, they had found their path strewn with countless questions and clouded by the myths that have shaped our collective ideas about adoption.

What was the truth behind the sensationalist headlines and the dramatic depictions in books, film and television? What level of scrutiny would Carol and Matthew face? Who would their child be, and how had they come to be adopted? And what would they need from the family who were going to give them a home?

In the months following the first nervous call to the adoption agency, all Carol and Matthew’s assumptions would be upended. They would meet social workers, judges, support networks and foster carers, learning not only about the process, but also about the wider social and political realities of adoption – its complicated history, past injustices and ever-evolving future.

So Many Ways to Belong is the handhold Carol wishes she’d had two decades ago, when doubt and uncertainty shadowed every step. Honest and illuminating, it tells both a deeply personal story and the larger story of adoption itself―challenging stereotypes, exploding myths, and examining what it truly means to build a family.

Essential reading for those whose life has been―or may yet be―touched by adoption, and for anyone wanting to better understand its story, this is an empathetic exploration of belonging, identity and our very human need for rootedness: to know who we are, where we’ve come from, and how we fit in. 

My Review of So Many Ways to Belong

A personal and historical exploration of the adoption process. 

Now look. I’m the least maternal person I know and am not even sure I like children all that much, but reading So Many Ways to Belong hit me like a physical blow to the solar plexus because Carol Atherton layers her text with such humanity that it’s impossible not to be moved, shaken, and totally transfixed by her writing. It’s superb.

So Many Ways to Belong is multi-layered and fascinating. What ought to be dry information about the history of adoption is rendered relevant, entertaining and fascinating because Carol Atherton weaves it seamlessly into her personal experiences. So Many Ways to Belong is universal history and personal memoir blended beautifully. There are references to literature and culture that ensure readers can relate to the adoption process even when they have absolutely no link to it at all. The interest inspired by Carol Atherton’s words is astonishing. What I found so impactful is the way in which the author lays bare her own experience. Through So Many Ways to Belong we might find out about adoption, but we also encounter a woman who is a contradiction of strength and vulnerability, of confidence, resilience and tenacity as well as fragility and self-doubt so that her personality leaps from the page. Reading So Many Ways to Belong means the reader finds out about the reality of adoption, but also makes them feel they have encountered a real friend. 

So Many Ways to Belong is potentially also a highly uncomfortable read. The responses the author describes from others to her infertility and how she and her husband came to adopt, the attitudes to adoption outlined, and the reactions many have towards birth parents raised difficult issues for me. Had I been guilty of blase, ill-informed comments, or unthinking hurt and prejudice in my own reactions? This means the book resonates long after it is read. Whatever a reader’s view of adoption, So Many Ways to Belong draws in the reader with its personal approach, contrasted with meticulously researched historical and geographical detail, so that it is impossible not to be affected by reading it. Carol Atherton shines a light on the reader as well as adoption and her own experience.

Much of the information presented is terrifying. There’s no sugar coating of the adoption process. As a result of reading So Many Ways to Belong I have not only an enhanced understanding of the process, but also an increased respect for every person involved – yes even those birth parents who might be considered outside the parameters of social acceptance. 

Informative, emotionally intelligent and brutally honest, So Many Ways to Belong should be essential reading for any person involved in the adoption process, from potential new families, through professionals steering adoption, to adult adoptees who have always felt somewhat ‘other’. It entertained me even as it educated me.  At times it made me rage. On other occasions I read with tears streaming down my cheeks. I found it completely mesmerising and hugely moving and ended the book feeling a little bit broken. If you never read non-fiction, read So Many Ways to Belong. You might just find it life changing…

About Carol Atherton

Carol Atherton has taught English since 1996 and is currently Head of English at a secondary school in Lincolnshire. Originally from Merseyside, she read English at Oxford before doing a PGCE at Manchester Metropolitan University and a PhD at the University of Nottingham. She is a Fellow of the English Association and a member of the National Association for the Teaching of English. Atherton has written for a range of publications aimed at teachers and students, and she co-authored Teaching English Literature 16–19 (Routledge, 2013). Reading Lessons is her first trade publication.

For further information follow Carol on X @CarolAtherton8.

My enormous thanks to Rhiannon Morris at Harper Collins for sending me a surprise copy of Mr Sidhu’s Post Office by Amman Brar. Having been a sub-post master in my university holidays, I was fascinated to read this book and I’m thrilled to share my review today.

Mr Sidhu’s Post Office is coming from Harper Collins imprint Juniper on 2nd July 2026 and is available for purchase through the publisher links here.

Mr Sidhu’s Post Office

For years, Mr Sidhu’s post office has been a place of small rituals and quiet mercies: news exchanged, kindnesses remembered, a haven for all. Mr Sidhu is confidant, caretaker and witness to a community revealing itself in its loyalties and secrets.

But Mr Sidhu is caught between the life he has inherited and the one he has scarcely allowed himself to imagine. When his ordered world begins to shift, he is drawn towards a new future and an unexpected love, forcing him to navigate family tensions, shifting identities and the question of who stands beside us when everything changes. And soon, the life Mr Sidhu tended so carefully may no longer be enough …

Tender, wise and beautifully observed, Mr Sidhu’s Post Office is an unforgettable novel about love, duty and the communities that shape us – and save us.

My Review of Mr Sidhu’s Post Office

Mr Sidhu is caught up in the Horizon post office scandal.

I adored this narrative. I began reading Mr Sidhu’s Post Office with a slight feeling of dread as I abhor unfairness and thought I might be enraged by the plot. I was. However, I was also utterly charmed, thoroughly entertained and completely uplifted. Amman Barr’s prose is mesmerising. It’s relatively simple in style, which partly reflects Mr Sidhu’s own use of English, and has the effect of delivering incredible impact in a surprising way.

Whilst the backdrop to the story is the Post Office scandal, with which we’re all familiar, what Amman Brar does is to show at an intimate and personal level just how one person, Mr Sidhu, is affected. This helps the reader engage with the story and fully understand what a terrible scandal Horizon was and remains. It’s a story to entertain but also to leave the reader outraged.

Mr Sidhu himself is a brilliant character. He is only referred to by various first names in direct speech by others which itself illustrates the theme of identity and belonging as well as societal attitudes to our immigrant population. In general prose he is always called Mr Sidhu, giving him the status he deserves and showing his proud and formal character. Whilst he is certainly more sinned against than sinning, Mr Sidhu is no perfect individual which makes his story all the more relatable. Suffering a range of prejudices himself, even from his own family, he also has his own – not least his determination that his daughter Meenu should marry and have a family as soon as possible. His other flaws show Mr Sidhu behaving selfishly and thoughtlessly towards others so that it is all the more poignant when he has moments of self-awareness. As a result of these character traits, Mr Sidhu is absolutely real and rounded.

The relationships between Mr Sidhu, his Sikh and local community, Rose, Jay, and his children Meenu and Raji are beautifully handled with a lightness of touch that belies their intensity. At times I wanted to shake him, especially in his dealings with Rose and Meenu, but at other times I wanted to hug him tightly. All the time I cared about what happened to him because he felt so real.

I loved the theme of community in Mr Sidhu’s Post Office that reverberates throughout. The early Indian parts that give insight into Mr Sidhu’s upbringing and background enhance just how much he has achieved as he moves country and creates his own community via the post office and shop in Richmond. As a result, what happens to him is indeed enraging. Corporate cover up and corruption destroys lives like Mr Sidhu’s and those he supports. This community theme also shows that, no matter where we are in the world , or where we come from there are echoes and links between us all regardless of background. Indeed, Amman Barr’s Mr Sidhu’s Post Office is about humanity as much as anything else.

It’s quite hard to convey just what a fantastic book this is without spoilers. Yes, I was outraged and angered, feeling as impotent as Mr Sidhu in the face of the Horizon corruption, because it WAS Mr Sidhu’s post office, that he’d built into a safe environment for the vulnerable. That said, I loved everything about Mr Sidhu’s Post Office – plot, character and theme. I loved meeting those like Jay who don’t always conform. I loved being given a privileged glimpse into the life and character of Mr Sidhu. And I loved the concept that, above all else and whatever life throws at us, we always, always have our humanity. 

Don’t miss this fantastic debut. It’s wonderful.

About Amman Brar

Amman Brar is a writer and theatre maker. He has an MA in Creative Writing from UEA. He was one of the inaugural winners of the BBC Writersroom 10 Award for his play Punjabi Boy with Tamasha Theatre Co where he was also Artist in Residence.

Amman’s father was a sub-postmaster during the 1980s and 1990s, and as soon as he was able, Amman was ‘encouraged’ to work in the shop after school and at weekends. He saw how respected his father was and how the locals loved having a post office as a hub for the community. Mr Sidhu’s Post Office is Amman’s debut novel and pays tribute to his father and the community he served for decades, while also honouring the struggle of the victims of the Horizon scandal.

For further information about Amman, visit his website or follow him on Instagram.