Books

‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ by Casey McQuiston.A review by Megan Robinson. What happens when America’s First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales? Well, that’s exactly the plot for Red, White & Royal Blue. Set in an alternate reality, Alex’s mother is the first female president of the USA. He’s handsome, charismatic, genius […]

‘Writers & Lovers’ by Lily King.A review by Megan Robinson. Writers & Lovers is a novel about love, grief, and striving for your dreams. We follow Casey who is recently out of a devasting love affair and mourning the death of her mother. On top of this, the novel she has been writing for six years […]

‘The Other Black Girl’ by Zakiya Dalila Harris.A review by Megan Robinson.The Other Black Girl is a dark and smart satire novel on race and the modern-day workplace that will keep you guessing until the very last twist. We follow Nella, an editorial assistant who is tired of being the only black employee at Wagner […]

‘Exciting Times’ by Naoise Dolan.A review by Megan Robinson.Exciting Times is a Sunday Times bestseller and made the longlist for the Women’s Fiction Prize 2021. We follow Ava, a 22-year-old from Ireland, who moves to Hong Kong to ‘find herself.’ The novel is split into three parts entitled ‘Julian’, ‘Edith’ and ‘Edith and Julian’ people […]

‘Convenience Store Woman’ by Sayaka Murata.A review by Megan Robinson. Convenience Store Woman is an international bestseller, with raving reviews from the likes of Sally Rooney and Vogue. It is a short novella (only 163 pages) and you have the choice of three different coloured covers: yellow, blue and pink. (I chose yellow.) The book follows […]

‘Small Pleasures’ by Clare Chambers. a review by Megan Robinson. Small Pleasures is set in 1957 in the southeast suburbs of London. We follow Jean Swinney a nearly forty-year-old journalist who is contacted by a young Swiss woman, Gretchen Tilbury, claiming that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth. The more that Jean investigates […]

‘The Song of Achilles’ by Madeline Miller a review by Megan Robinson The Song of Achilles is set in Greece in the age of heroes. We follow Patroclus and his tender friendship with demi-god Achilles, a bond that blossoms into something deeper as they grow into young men. But when Helen of Sparta is kidnapped, Achilles is […]

Normal People is a million-copy bestseller that has also been adapted into a BBC programme.  It follows Connell and Marianne who grew up in the same small town in the west of Ireland, but their similarities end there. It is a story of mutual fascination, friendship and love. It takes us from their first conversation […]

In ‘Before the Coffee Gets Cold’ we visit a small café in Tokyo, however, this café offers its customers the opportunity to travel back in time. We meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the café’s time-travelling offer. This novel is split into four chapters, one for each visitor wishing […]

‘Breasts and Eggs’ is Mieko Kawakami’s first full-length novel translated into English. The book is split into two parts. In part one we follow thirty-year-old Natsuko, her older sister Makiko, and Makiko’s twelve-year-old daughter, Midoriko. Natsu is a failing writer, Makiko is in search of breast enhancement surgery, and Midoriko has fallen into communicating only […]