Month: July 2026

Book Review: Hopeless Romantics by Mhairi McFarlane

Posted on by Libby Price

If anyone asks me for a book recommendation, my first question is ‘Have you read all of Mhairi McFarlane’s books?’ She is definitely my ‘go to’ author, and I’ve loved every book she’s ever written – so requesting an ARC of her new book is a given – and here’s the blurb:

“Ever wondered if one choice, one weekend and one person can change everything?
Writer Tess has always been accused of being overly romantic by her best friend Carys.
And when they meet cheerful stranger Spencer and his more reserved wingman Ryan on the sleeper train to a wedding, Carys is all-in with the shared champagne while Tess holds back. Yet there’s a jolt of attraction between her and Ryan that Tess can’t ignore – a sense of recognition that feels real.
As the weekend unfolds, with a twist that nobody saw coming, she asks herself – how do you know when it’s your life-changing moment?”

Having been forced into a reading slump by my previous book, I was delighted to be back in familiar territory of an incredibly well written, clever, insightful, funny book – and devoured ‘Hopeless Romantics’ in just over 24 hours!

I have to say I was a little nervous before I started reading – having at the end of 2025 read and enjoyed a book by Lindsey Kelk (IRL friend of Mhairi I believe?) set on a sleeper train to the Highlands, and I was concerned it could feel too similar – but I need not have worried, the sleeper train experience was completely different (and I still don’t ever want to experience it myself!)

You kind of know that something good is going to happen to Tess professionally from the start of the book – but then it loops back 10 years to Tess and Carys heading off to a Uni friend’s wedding in Scotland and meeting Spencer and Ryan on the train. I really liked all of the characters in different ways – and how the relationships developed over the decade of the book was brilliant.

And who doesn’t love a Deacon Blue reference early doors (weirdly, I’d also referenced Deacon Blue in an Instagram post the night before reading this – as I was sat in Crete sipping down raki, and suggested I might read some Maynard Keynes later #niche)

Whilst it is not straightforward (when is life?!) you know the twists and turns of the storyline are going to be worth it in the end. I’d read reviews saying readers had laughed and cried loads – so I have to say I was nervous of more trauma – but I definitely erred more on the side of laughing. I’m not sure sex on a sleeper train could be anything other than amusing?!

I don’t want to give too much away – but it’s another sure fire hit for Mhairi McFarlane.

A huge thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for my ARC. It’s not out until February 2027, but I would suggest pre ordering it now – so future you has a nice Valentine’s surprise!

Book Review: Death By Noir by Olly Smith

Posted on by Libby Price

I love Olly Smith on Saturday Kitchen – and I love wine (I am typing this with a glass of Doctors’ Marlborough New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc at hand, described as “an amazingly pungent white with tropical fruit and herbaceous aromas and a racy, off-dry finish. Dr John Forrest’s love of innovation helped to produce this lower alcohol, full flavoured style” – so I had high hopes for his debut novel. Here is the blurb:

“🍷In an idyllic Sussex town, murder is fermenting… 🍷
Barclay Flint is the charmingly eccentric proprietor of The Bottle Bank wine shop, nestled in a picturesque Sussex town renowned for its gloriously anarchic Bonfire Night celebration.
Barclay can taste a kaleidoscopic universe in a single glass of wine and delights in matching customers to the grapes of their dreams. But when his close friend, struggling regenerative vineyard owner Victor Crawshaw, is found dead, Barclay finds himself a prime suspect.
To crack the case and clear his name, Barclay must deploy his wine detection skills and follow his nose through the rolling Sussex hills where a tangle of old resentments and rivalries awaits to ensnare him.
With a killer on the loose and Bonfire Night fast approaching, the town crackles with anticipation. This year the fireworks might not be the only things to explode…
Join Barclay and his friends from The Bottle Bank in this sparkling debut novel by wine expert Olly Smith. It’s time to uncork the most exuberant and irresistible mystery of the year!“

I have to say I struggled with this from the start – but being the absolute pedant that I am, I couldn’t give up (despite it pushing me into a bit of a reading slump) The over use of excessive adjectives felt like a never ending wine review, where the word total needed to be about treble what it should have been. I found the style exhausting and wanted just to stop reading many, many times. But I am incredibly stubborn, and didn’t want to be beaten. With hindsight – I should have walked away at about 10%. I sometimes feel ‘celebrity’ authors are given leeway that an unknown author just would not be afforded. Maybe I’m being a cow – and perhaps if you have wine knowledge more extensive than ABC (Anything But Chardonnay) this would wet / whet your whistle – but I found it too verbose and meandering for me. I’ve seen the book described as a cosy crime in the style of the Thursday Murder Club books – but that would not be my view at all.

The book was written in the third person with an extensive cast of characters – none of whom I found particularly engaging. I didn’t feel that I was ‘Team’ any of them. I had to keep reading to see who had killed Victor – but I really didn’t care who or why!

I feel bad being so negative – as Olly Smith seems like a lovely bloke – but should he write another book, it won’t be one I request. But thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for my ARC – and sorry for being such a cow

(or as this book would say, such a “magnificent bovine: a placid, velvety-muzzled, ruminant beauty, adorned in a lustrous, ebony-and-ivory tapestry. A serene, cud-chewing behemoth who wanders the emerald-hued pastures, bearing liquid-dark, soulful eyes, a pendulous, milk-laden udder, and a rhythmic, swaying gait. A gentle, pastoral sovereign of the sprawling, sun-dappled meadows.”)

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for my advance review copy.