This is a story about hunger.
1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.
This is a story about love.
1827. London.
A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.
This is a story about rage.
2019. Boston.
College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.
This is a story about life—
how it ends, and how it starts.

Before I read The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, I could never answer the “what is your absolute favourite book?” question. Since reading Addie and finding my favourite book of all time, reading anything else by V.E. Schwab has become both exciting and terrifying in equal parts.

However, I loved Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil. It has to be said that Addie remains my favourite, but Bury Our Bones was very enjoyable in a very different way. I love that about Schwab’s writing – every book is a completely unique journey, but also feels like sliding into a warm bath as you fall back into her writing.

In that way, Bury Our Bones was no different. I loved the way you are immediately sucked into this story. It is the kind of book I would describe as meandering but is not necessarily slow. The writing is poetic, beautiful and emotional. Schwab, as usual, holds no punches. The atmosphere was dark, gothic and sizzling with tension. Despite the fact I usually dislike historical, Schwab once again pulled me into a story spanning centuries and continents.

I went into this knowing it was a multi-POV sapphic vampire story, and I’m glad I knew no more than that. This is the kind of story that drip-feeds you, and as you are given more information, you begin to crave more. It just gets better and better as you read on, and becomes even more compelling than the chapter before. This is the kind of book you don’t want to be apart from, that you will find yourself thinking of even when you’re not reading it, and you’re gutted to find out you accidentally left at home when you wanted to continue reading.

Despite the fact that this book is mostly day-to-day, and is definitely more character focused than plot focused, I was pulled in and didn’t want to let go. I found this deeply compelling despite the fact this is less punchy than some of Schwab’s other books.

I had absolutely no idea how this was going to end, I always love that about a book – so many books can become predictable and follow a pattern if you’ve read more than one book by the same author, but that’s definitely not the case with V.E. Schwab!

Thank you so much to the publisher (and a friend from work!) for my pre-publication copy ❤

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping new novel from Emily Henry.
Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: To write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years—or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the 20th Century.
When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.
One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.
Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication.
Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.
But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.
And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad…depending on who’s telling it.

I was enthralled with this book from the start. It has the addictiveness of an Emily Henry with the punchiness of Taylor Jenkins Reid, and I adored it.

We do of course have a romance to follow, and our main character is the lovable and flawed Alice, a journalist who is desperate to write the memoir of former tabloid princess, Margaret Ives. So desperate, in fact, that she tracked her down and followed her to the small island in which she has retreated from the limelight.

But now she has to spend a month competing for the job against Hayden, a Pulitzer-Prize winning writer who seems to be under his own little permanent raincloud.

This has all of the grumpy x sunshine vibes you might be looking for – and have come to expect – from an Emily Henry book, but also has the mysterious, evasive Margaret Ives and her story.

Even though Emily Henry’s books always have the ending I expect, I always find myself so caught up in the story and end up right on the edge of my seat, and possibly with tears in my eyes. This book made me want to read, and I don’t think I can ask for much more than that feeling.

I loved this. It’s definitely my new favourite Emily Henry. Be warned – it may not be what you’re expecting. But I thought it was bloody great.

Thank you to Penguin for my copy in exchange for an honest review!

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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This charming urban fantasy is what you’d have if Terry Pratchett wrote The Good Place, following two agents of love ensnared in a plot to bring down the natural order of the world.
Not everything is down to Fate but, when it comes to love, the right people must collide to keep the world running to plan. Immortal cupids, known as Apollo agents, spend their afterlife matching up pre-destined couples to sign off their daily quota. Love cynic, Erron Grover, and hopeless romantic, Casey Hart, are two such agents based in London. They live an afterlife of luxury until several of their assignments result in a bizarre series of deaths.
Under heavy suspicion of involvement, their blossoming relationship begins to fray, but far worse, the unplanned deaths start to cause the very fabric of Fate to unravel. Faced with the collapse of civilisation, far too many geese and a few questionable soul reapers, the two men are forced to go on the run to solve the murders and save the world . . . along with their favourite jazz bar.

I was hooked from the minute I saw this being compared to The Good Place. I love The Good Place – and this definitely did have the same kind of vibe.

This was fun throughout, but with higher stakes than a ‘cosy fantasy’, and I’m hesitant to label it as such. It definitely had elements of cosy fantasy that we’re all loving at the moment – namely the lovable characters, romance side-plot and almost a found family feeling. But from the start, Acts of Cupidity holds no punches. We’re begin to see this world, so like our own, through the eyes of our witty and down-to-earth protagonist, Nikita, and the book blossoms to also follow Erron and Casey. I really loved the cast of characters we discovered along the way.

The ending felt a little rushed to me, but overall this book kept me compelled throughout and has that all-encompassing feeling that makes you want to read it and pick it up. The absurd parts made me laugh out loud (or at least chuckle to myself), the world felt rich and I just adored our characters. Such fun!

Thank you to the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

★★★★
3.5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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AT THE AVALLON, REAL POWER COMES TO THOSE WHO WATCH AND LISTEN…
High in the Appalachian mountains is a place quite unlike any other. The Avallon Hotel and its enigmatic General Manager, June Hudson, are famed for offering unrivalled luxury, season after season, to those who come from far and wide to indulge in its beautiful hot springs and take the healing waters. Everything is perfect. Perhaps too perfect.
So when the Avallon is called upon to help the war effort – to oust its guests and host three hundred diplomats and Nazi sympathisers – June’s priority is business as usual. But as dark alliances and unexpected attractions crack the polished veneer of the hotel, she is forced to reckon with the true price of luxury.
After all, only June knows the sacrifice required to keep everyone happy – her staff, the FBI and, above all, the tumultuous sweetwater running through the heart of the hotel.
The Listeners is a story of love, lies, secrets and betrayal, based on real events and steeped with eerie Appalachian magic – and brought to life by a truly unforgettable ensemble cast of characters.

As soon as I heard about this book I was intrigued. A historical adult debut from Maggie Steifvater? A strong female main character? A magical undercurrent (pun intended)?

This book is a slow burn, in every sense. The story is quite slow, the romance is a very slow burn, and the whole book is a meander through a historical yet touched with magic world.

I loved:
– Our strong female main character, June, and the characters who looked up to her
– Our wide cast of characters
– The absolutely beautiful writing – I saw a quote describing this as art, and I completely agree
– The interactions between our characters, and their quirks and personality
– The atmosphere

Although I loved many aspects of this story, I do wish I felt the book had more to bring to the table. I left feeling slightly lacking and feeling as though the water and magical realism aspects never amounted to the interest it presented. I enjoyed what I read, but wanted more.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

★★★★
3.5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

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