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💙 INSTAGRAM LIVE - subscriber exclusive 💙 I am chuffed to BITS to say that my December live for subscribers is going to be with the gorgeous @jennie.godfrey on the 18th December 🥳 Jennie’s debut, The List of Suspicious Things, is one of my top two books of this year (spoiler alert) and I cannot wait to chat to her about Miv & Sharon, what it was like growing up in the shadow of the Yorkshire ripper, and her own favourite books. If you’d like to join us and haven’t subscribed yet, just hit the ‘Subscribe’ button on my home page ✨ It’ll be taking place at 7pm BST on the 18th December so mark your calendars and I hope to see you there 💙 (And if you haven’t read this BRILLIANT book yet, what are you waiting for!!)

Well this is EXCITING An Author Event to book in for January. . . and this time we have Holly Bourne! @chapter34books & @tillylovesbooks present @hollybourneya at @wagnerbrighton as stop number 4 on the book tour for Holly’s long awaited new novel ‘So Thrilled for You!’ Published by @hodderbooks and sponsored by @themumclub Could this be the perfect post Christmas antidote for you and your book loving friends? This is the cosy, bookish night out you’ve been waiting for. Be part of an insightful and lively event as Holly dives into the themes of friendship, competition, and self-discovery at the heart of her first adult title. ABOUT SO THRILLED FOR YOU! An intense heatwave. A high-stakes baby shower. Will it all end in tears? For more information and to book your tickets visit the Chapter 34 website. Don’t miss out, we expect this one to sell out pretty quickly, a bit like wildfire.

📖 Shy Creatures by Clare Chambers Swipe 👉 for blurb Finally read my first Clare Chambers and I LOVED it! This was my first five star read of the month, and I truly couldn’t put it down - it’s not a loud book, but it pulls you in immediately with its gentle warmth. First of all, it’s nice to read a novel set in a psychiatric hospital where the patients aren’t all being terribly mistreated and the doctors show some compassion and patience! Whilst Gil obviously had many faults, I did find his attitude to the profession refreshing, if unconventional at times, and Helen was a warm and complex character who I found really compelling. But the heart of the story is the mystery of William, and how he came to be hidden away with his aunts for all these years. I loved the dual timelines, and the way whilst the more recent timeline of Helen’s moved forward so we could explore William’s recovery process (and Helen’s own life and loves), William’s own timeline went backwards so we could slowly understand how he came to be in this situation. I just thought it was so beautifully and cleverly done, and it truly had the same addictive nature of all the best thrillers. It’s just such a lovely, life affirming and soothing story, despite there being plenty of hardship along the way. I’ll now be making sure that Small Pleasures is top of my 2025 reading list! #ShyCreatures is out now from @wnbooks ✨

As promised, here are all the lovely uplit reads I enjoyed in 2024 and my top 5 (swipe 👉)! These are all the gorgeous heartwarming reads which aren’t romance focused, as that’ll have its own list! What was your most uplifting read of the year?

📖 A Woman of Opinion by Sean Lusk (Ad pr product) Swipe 👉 for blurb Another brilliant fictional take on a fascinating woman from history who I hadn’t previously heard of, this time Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who seemed rather ahead of her time! I adored Sean’s debut novel, and this one was equally exquisite to read - rich in language, character and setting, especially when we got to travel to Constantinople. Mary is a captivating character, and I loved exploring her possible life and loves, but especially admired the way she refused to back down about the smallpox “vaccination”. What an incredible and strong spirited woman, even in the face of ridicule! If you love historical fiction that’s beautifully written and gives a voice to an overlooked woman from history, then definitely add this one to your list 🙌 #AWomanOfOpinion is out now from @doubledayukbooks and a huge thanks to the publisher for my gifted copy ✨

Time for a big messy #bookmail flatlay with all the lovely books I’ve been lucky to receive recently - thank you so much to all the tagged publishers for sending these! Who needs Christmas on the 25th when it’s a mini-Christmas every time the postie knocks?! 🤣 Spot any here you’re looking forward to, or intrigued by?

🎧 Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst (Ad pr product) Swipe 👉 for blurb This was my first Alan Hollinghurst novel, and what a storyteller he is! I would especially recommend the audiobook of this one, as it’s one of my favourite narrations of all time and I found it quite soothing 🤣 This isn’t a plot driven novel - we basically get to experience the span of our narrator’s life from boyhood to death, and in the space of that we explore race, class, privilege, sexuality, politics, art and so much more. Whilst it’s quite literary in scope and ideas, it’s a very accessible and easy to read novel, and hit me quite emotionally! If you love strong characters and beautiful writing, you can’t go wrong with this one. I’ll definitely be looking for more by the author. #OurEvenings is out now from @picadorbooks and a huge thanks to @camilla_elworthy for my early copy ✨ (Audiobook is available on @bookbeat - free trial link in bio!)

📖 Home Again For Christmas by Emily Stone (Ad pr product) Swipe 👉 for blurb I couldn’t choose which pic to share, so you get both 🤣 Another gorgeous read from one of my favourite Christmassy authors, @emstonewrites, although this one would work just as well for people who just want to dip a toe into festive reads as it’s very light on the Christmas specific stuff! As I’ve come to expect with Emily’s books, this one gets into some emotional territory - I found Lexie’s complex feelings around the death of her dad very familiar and moving, and thought this was really well done. But thankfully there was also lots of lovely heartwarming romance and friendship, along with some exciting travel, to help balance out the sadness! Theo was definitely my kind of love interest too 👀 This is a gorgeous, overall uplifting novel that looks at how our childhood experiences and parents marriages can affect the path we choose in life - but that it’s never too late to trust in love! ❤️ #HomeAgainForChristmas is out now from @headlinebooks and a huge thanks to @publicitybychoice for my copy ❄️

Morning lovelies! Still feeling rough so it’s a lazy shelfie day today - but I did finally see Wicked yesterday and I am OBSESSED! Cannot wait until it’s available to buy because I will be watching it daily for the foreseeable future (sorry books!) 🩷💚 What are you all reading on this stormy weekend? (🪴 @patchplants, still going strong 😍) (Ad some pr products)

I promised photos and here they are - ALL of the historical fiction reads I’ve enjoyed this year, then my top 10 and top 3! I’ve absolutely loved historical fiction this year, so narrowing it down was tough, but these were the 3 which I just kept wanting to push into people’s hands the most. Having done this wrap-up, I did just finish Shy Creatures last night which I absolutely adored, so add that to the list too 🤣 That’s always the risk in doing this so early in the month! Spot any here that you’ve loved?

🎧 Babylonia by Costanza Cosati (Ad some pr products) Swipe 👉 for blurb Another epic feminist retelling from Costanza Cosati, and I must admit I’m so happy we’re getting new stories other than just the Greek myths - this felt like a completely new and fresh story to me, having never even heard of Semiramis! Whilst this did take me a good few chapters to get into and understand all that was going on, once I got there I was hooked! Semiramis is a brilliant, fiercely intelligent strong woman despite her history, and I found her journey to power in this novel utterly compelling. I can’t recall reading anything about the Assyrian empire so I found it all fascinating, and anyone who loves all that kind of devious Game of Thrones style political manoeuvring will love it! It also has an excellent love triangle full of betrayal and longing, so romance fans will be kept happy too. But honestly it’s just all about a kick-ass woman who outsmarts most of the men around her whilst still being kind to those who deserve it, and I’m always here for those kinds of stories! Plus, there’s a “pet” leopard 🐆 Need I say more?! #Babylonia is out now from @michaeljbooks and a huge thanks to the team for my early proof - swipe to see my gorgeous special edition edges though ✨

Hey lovelies, happy Friday! Hope you’re all having a great week - I’m in bed full of cold and feeling sorry for myself (I’m basically a man any time I get poorly 🤣). Was meant to be having Christmas dinner with my lovely south coast reading gang tonight, but it’s not looking hopeful ☹️ I’m still powering through my 2024 TBR challenge - I started Shy Creatures last night which I’m already loving, and I’m going to start A Monsoon Rising on audio today if I actually move at some point! It’s going to be tight but I think I can read them all by the end of the month 🤞 How many 2024 reads do you have left to read? Keep your eyes peeled later for my historical fiction top ten of the year! (Oh, and how gorgeous do my @wordsworth_editions look?! I’m obsessed with all of their collections 🤩)