Book Review: Orbital by Samantha Harvey

Posted on by Libby Price

I have talked before on blog posts about my love of the podcast The Rest Is Entertainment with Marina Hyde and Richard Osman. Well, a few weeks ago Richard recommended some short books – and this, Orbital, was one of them. It won the 2024 Booker Prize – and I’m often put off books that have won prizes, a bit like Oscar winning films TBH – but decided to go with Richard’s recommendation. Here’s the blurb:

“A team of astronauts in the International Space Station collect meteorological data, conduct scientific experiments and test the limits of the human body. But mostly they observe. Together they watch their silent blue planet, circling it sixteen times, spinning past continents and cycling through seasons, taking in glaciers and deserts, the peaks of mountains and the swells of oceans. Endless shows of spectacular beauty witnessed in a single day.
Yet although separated from the world they cannot escape its constant pull. News reaches them of the death of a mother, and with it comes thoughts of returning home. They look on as a typhoon gathers over an island and people they love, in awe of its magnificence and fearful of its destruction.
The fragility of human life fills their conversations, their fears, their dreams. So far from earth, they have never felt more part – or protective – of it. They begin to ask, what is life without earth? What is earth without humanity?”

I started reading this just as the astronauts Suni Williams and Barry Wilmore landed back on earth after their extended 9-month stay in space on the International Space Station (ISS) (a PROPER space trip, not a billionaire sending random women into the edges of space for 11 minutes or anything!) and I really felt I got an insight into life as an astronaut from this book in terms of their day to day routine, exercise, food – and the effect of living in space on the human body.

Whilst the book is set over 24 Earth hours, that encompasses 16 circling of the Earth – and you also learn a lot of the back story of each of the astronauts / cosmonauts during the storyline.

It is beautifully written and really thought provoking. It’s incredibly different too (but in a good way, not in a Goldfinch way – I’m still sorry to various friends for that!) – but also, as Mr Osman pointed out, if you recommend people a short book and they don’t like it – you haven’t wasted too much of their time!

Book Review: The Penthouse by Catherine Cooper

Posted on by Libby Price

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Catherine Cooper’s previous books, so was pleased to be granted an advance review copy of her new book The Penthouse from Net Galley.

Here’s the blurb:

“Beneath the glamour dark secrets lurk.
World famous singer Enola had it all – fame, fortune, and a breathtaking penthouse view. Then she vanished without a trace, leaving the band’s careers in ruins.
Fifteen years on, the remaining members are reuniting for a series of concerts in Las Vegas. But when mysterious accidents plague them, some start to wonder if Enola is back for revenge.
What happened all those years ago – and who really knows the truth?”

The book is told in 2 timelines – back in the early 2000s when there’s been an X Factor / Pop Idol type competition with a girl band (Breathe) and boy band (This Way Up) and they become entwined. Then Enola suddenly goes missing and no one knows what has happened to her. Then there’s a current timeline when the 2 remaining members of the bands are doing a money spinning come back show in Vegas which appears to be cursed. There were characters throughout the book that you could imagine being real (a Simon Cowell style manager for example).

As well as being told by the band members – you also have the points of view of other supporting characters such as Enola’s Mum (who lived out her fame hungry ways through her daughter) and an obsessive Enola fan.

There are lots of twists and turns – as you’d expect from a Catherine Cooper book – and it’s not immediately obvious why the book is called The Penthouse in the first place!

I have to say I devoured the book in one day whilst ‘holding the bags’ at Alton Towers, and the short chapters were perfect for picking up and putting down whilst walking between rides.

It came out yesterday, so if you like the sound of it you can have it right away! Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for my ARC.

Book Review: Table for One by Emma Gannon

Posted on by Libby Price

Having enjoyed Emma Gannon’s previous book Olive (which frighteningly was almost 5 years ago!) I request an advance review copy of her book ‘Table for One’ from Net Galley. Here’s the blurb:

“Willow has everything worked out.
*The steady partner
*The successful career
*The grown-up house
Until she doesn’t – and she’s cast adrift on the sea of heartbreak, grieving a future with no clear path.
With her life transformed beyond recognition, and her friends busy ‘moving forwards’, Willow has never felt more alone.
But she’s in good company.
And when inspiration arrives from an unlikely source, she rekindles the relationship she longs for – but has long neglected… The one with herself…“

At the start of the book Willow is living and working with her boyfriend Dom. I have to say he comes across as a complete dick from very early on – and Willow being dumped by him should (and eventually is) the making of her.

Willow doesn’t really seem to have a depth of friendships with people – even though she’s been friends with them a long time (weirdly I remember this from Olive too – which makes me wonder if the author has been burnt by ‘friends’ in the past?)

Then Willow is given a writing assignment by a previous employer – to write about her seemingly ‘smug married’ life (she has neglected to mention she’s single again) compared to Naz, an influencer who’s USP is that she’s happily single by choice. Willow and Naz do get to know each other – and Willow is let behind the social media curtain that Naz lives through.

The one constant in Willow’s life is her Aunt Carla, who has been a mother figure to her for a very long time. Their relationship was really lovely – and I think Carla was my favourite character in the whole book.

Overall the book shows that Willow needs to be happy and content in herself, not just with the expected accoutrements of a 30 something life. I though the ending was really clever – as if Willow was sitting down to write this exact book!

I enjoyed this – and thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for my ARC.

Book Review: The Suspect by Rob Rinder

Posted on by Libby Price

I was lucky enough to be granted an advance review copy of Rob Rinder’s debut novel ‘The Trial‘ a couple of years ago – and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was then given an advance review copy of his book coming out later this year, The Protest, at which point I realised I’d missed book two. As it’s a series, and I loved Adam Green in the first book, I parted with hard cash for the middle book, and second in the series, The Suspect. Here’s the blurb:

“When the UK’s favourite breakfast TV presenter dies live on air in front of millions of viewers, the nation is left devastated.
More devastated still when it becomes clear that her death was not an accident.
The evidence points to one culprit: celebrity chef Sebastian Brooks. But junior barrister Adam Green is about to discover that the case is not as open-and-shut as it first seemed.
And although her angelic persona would suggest otherwise, she was not short of enemies in the glittery TV world . . .
Can Adam uncover the truth?”

In my review of The Trial, I commented that Rob Rinder had ‘written what he knows’ by making Adam a Jewish trainee barrister – well, Rob has now combined his second career with his first – to double down on this – with daytime TV now featuring too! Whilst this would probably stand alone as a ‘whodunnit’ – I think it really helps to have read the first book in the series to have the background on lots of the characters.

The book really does seem like it’s an open and shut case – as the death of a TV presenter is witnessed on live TV – but you think that really it can’t be – as that would be a pretty dull book! This case is the main element – with other cases, and the lives of Adam and his chamber-mates intertwined, along with the phonecalls Adam has with his Mum (which were a favourite part of the first book too!)

Lots of the characters are ‘familiar’ from TV personalities we know and love – but tropes are tropes for a reason I guess! I enjoyed this element of it as it made it feel more real.

It was another twisty and turny storyline, with the intricacies of the UK legal system woven through, which you know are going to be legitimate because of Rob’s background. Overall I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the third instalment of Adam Green’s career later this summer.

Book Review: Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch

Posted on by Libby Price

I’d seen Killer Potential on a list of debut novels for 2025 in Red Magazine. Given it involved a tutor to the rich and famous (and I’ve recently met someone who provides such tutors to pop stars and film stars!) and the main protagonist shares a name with one of my daughters, I was delighted to be granted an advance review copy by Net Galley. Here’s the blurb:

“Decisions were made: I made them. Violence was done: I did it. Crime scenes were fled: I fled them. People were hurt: I hurt them. Someone was loved: I loved them. Not everything I did was bad. Just most of it.
A scholarship kid with straight As and massive potential, Evie Gordon always thought she was special, that she’d be someone.
But after graduating from an elite university, she finds herself drowning in debt and working as a private tutor to the children of Los Angeles’s super-rich.
Everything changes when Evie arrives at the Victor family’s lavish mansion for her weekly lesson to discover, not the bored teenager she expected, but pure carnage: the bloody remains of Mr and Mrs Victor sullying their beautiful back garden, and a woman crying for help from within the walls of the house.
Within moments, Evie and the woman go from bystanders to suspects to fugitives.
Suddenly at the heart of a nation-wide manhunt, Evie finds that her mysterious companion, who refuses to speak, has quickly become the most important person in her upside-down life. Meanwhile, the press runs wild with Evie’s story – anointing her the new Charles Manson, a blood thirsty ninety-nine percenter looking to start a class war.
Evie is – finally and disastrously – someone.
Droll, dark and deeply insightful, Killer Potential is an edge-of-your-seat break-neck ride, a queer love story, and a darkly funny critique of the horrors of late capitalism and how the stories we’re sold about our potential can shape the course of our lives.“

Ooh – I really enjoyed this one!! It twists and turns at such a speed – and you’re not sure what’s going to happen next.

I liked Evie, and could see the situation she was in, trying to pay off student debt by being a SAT tutor. She’s a similar age to my eldest daughter – but I didn’t feel like an old fogey reading the book – it kept me totally engrossed and desperate to read the next chapter – which is always the sign of a good book!

Having made the decision to flee the crime scene that she’s stumbled upon, with a random person who had been tied up in the walls of the LA mansion she was tutoring at, everything snowballs from there. The young women need to keep on the run and not be found – and they set off on a road trip.

The book is split into three distinct sections – but I don’t want to describe why or how – as you need to ‘live’ the book. Whilst I did sometimes questions Evie’s decision making – it was also easy to see how she could get swept up in everything and for her story to take the route it did. Overall an excellent debut book.

Killer Potential is out this Thursday, 20th March 2025, so not long to wait! A big thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for my advance review copy.

Book Review: Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley

Posted on by Libby Price

I saw ‘Deep Cuts’ recommended as a debut novel of the year in Red Magazine – so was delighted to be granted an advance review copy by NetGalley. Here’s the blurb:

“The first time Joe plays Percy one of his songs in his college room in 2000, she instantly realises three things:
One, she is watching a star in the making.
Two, she can shape his music into something extraordinary.
Three, she will always be on the sidelines.
She swallows her jealousy and throws herself into collaboration, transforming Joe’s songs into indie hits with her blistering critiques.
But there’s an undercurrent to the music they’re making – something undeniably electric, hurtling towards love. And then, almost inevitably, towards heartbreak.
As Joe steps into the spotlight, can Percy bear to watch on in silence?
And can he exist there without her?
Deep Cuts is an irresistible novel about passion and obsession, love and longing and, above all, our need to be heard.“

The book starts with Percy and Joe at college. I wouldn’t say it’s immediately obvious when this is – until the musical references start (and 9/11 happens during the timeline of the book). I have to say it made me feel a bit uneducated about the late 90s early 2000s music scene – I knew some of the bands references – such a No Doubt – and whilst I could name you their commercially successful tracks like ‘Don’t Speak’ or ‘Just A Girl’ – the book focussed on more obscure tracks. This happened for many of the referenced artists – and perhaps someone a bit more nerdy about music than me, and maybe slightly younger, would have enjoyed that, I was spent wondering if they were real tracks or made up specifically for the book.

Each time you revisit Percy and Joe, or Percy and not Joe, you’re left wondering if they will get together. Both have other partners throughout the book too – but you always feel like they’re ‘the one that got away’ for each other.

You really feel Percy growing up over the course of the book – getting older, if not necessarily wiser – and the different US locations are well described, and fit well with Percy’s various circumstances.

I’d read a review that said Deep Cuts was ideal for fans of Daisy Jones and the Six – and I can see the reference point music wise, similar it’s been likened to ‘One Day’ – and with the main characters meeting up over a long timeline – I can also see that comparison (albeit Percy and Joe aren’t meeting on the same day each year).

Overall I enjoyed the book – but I wonder if I am slightly too old to LOVE it. I also wonder if I had super high expectations as it had been described as THE debut novel of 2025. A good read, particularly if you’re a music fan – and out tomorrow (13 March 2025) if you like the sound of it.

Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for my ARC.

Book Review: Cover Story by Mhairi McFarlane

Posted on by Libby Price

I have declared my love for Mhairi McFarlane’s writing many times before, and when I spotted that advance copies of her next book were out in the wild (the wonderful Marian Keyes had received a hard copy and was singing its praises) I messaged Mhairi on Instagram to see if it was going to be on Net Galley, and she said she thought it was – so I started a daily search. Obviously I only had to search the word Mhairi as she is the Beyonce / Madonna / Adele of women’s fiction!! I almost included Kylie in that list – but actually there is a line, somewhere between my age and my 21 year old eldest daughter – where the word Kylie is followed by Jenner rather than the OG Minogue. Anyway – I digress. I was delighted earlier this week to find Cover Story had arrived on Net Galley – and to be granted an advance review copy – and it immediately jumped to the top of my To Be Read pile!

Here’s the blurb:

“The unputdownable, brilliant new novel from the Queen of Romcom.
Bel’s joined the tiny Manchester office of a national paper from her indie podcast.
Thirty-something Connor is going to back to the start as the new intern.
The latest office news? They can’t stand each other.
So of course Bel bumps into Connor when she’s working undercover on the biggest scoop of her career. And of course she’s forced to improvise, pretending they’re a couple. A couple deeply in love.
Two rivals. One fake romance. The headline writes itself…”

Within the first chapter both the accountancy firm I trained with back in the 90s, and my favourite current TV show (Slow Horses – which Mhairi is now on the writing team for, which I was so excited to hear, almost like a mate had got a big promotion) were both referenced – so I was pretty happy we were on to another winner!

I really liked Bel from the start – even if she and her colleague Aaron were a bit horrible to the new intern Connor when he first arrived at the office of their newspaper on secondment from London. Quite early on you know Bel’s escaped a difficult ‘relationship’ and ended up in Manchester – and more of that is revealed as the book progresses.

You can guess this is going to be an enemies to lovers story arc – but will it actually be?! There are lots of twists and turns along the way – all whilst there is a concurrent storyline of an undercover investigation into a local celebrity politician who is something of a wrong ‘un.

The supporting cast are great – I think Bel’s best friend Shilpa would be a perfect wing woman, and Connor’s brother Shaun is fabulous (and gives Mystic Meg a run for her money!)

The writing is funny, quick witted, modern, entertaining – all whilst covering some deep topics in an incredibly well thought out way.

Every time I read the next Mhairi McFarlane book I have a slight worry that it can’t be better than the previous one, and surely at some point there’s going to be one that is even a tiny bit disappointing – but it just never happens! She is consistently my favourite author every year and this is another triumph.

A huge thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for my advance review copy. Cover Story is out in May, but I would recommend you pre order it now.

Book Review: The Re-write by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn

Posted on by Libby Price

I had seen The Re-write recommended in Red Magazine (my source of a lot of book recommendations) and was lucky enough to be granted an advance review copy by Net Galley. Here’s the blurb:

“Temi and Wale meet in London. They flirt, date, meet each other’s friends.
Then they break up. And Wale goes on a reality dating show.
Instead of giving in to heartbreak, Temi throws herself into her dream: writing. She’s within touching distance of a book deal that would solve all her problems. But publishers keep passing on her novel and bills still have to be paid. So, when the opportunity to ghost-write a celebrity memoir arises, Temi accepts.
And, of course, the celebrity turns out to be Wale…
Will Temi and Wale repeat the patterns of their past? Or can they write a whole new story?“

When I started this book, I realised I was probably far from target audience for it – being old enough to be Temi or Wale’s mother and not a Love Island aficionado – but I need not have worried, I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

You are rooting for Temi from the start. She’s desperate to be a published author – but is being rejected all over the place. She’s done some ghost writing historically – but is then offered the chance to ghost write for a new celebrity – who is, of course, her ex – who has just had a stint on The Villa (basically Love Island!)

There is then lots of will they / won’t they / misunderstandings / crossed wires – and at the same time their histories (from long ago, and more recently but undeclared) are exposed.

Whilst you want Temi and Wale to be reunited from the start, there are plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing!

I also loved that Temi was plus size and a glasses wearer – both of which I could totally get on board with (even at my advanced years!)

The supporting cast of friends and family were also great (or awful, but necessarily so!) and as well as the romance storyline – there are other big topics covered, being a carer, alcoholism, family pressure.

It was published last week – so you can buy a copy now if you like the sound of it.

A big thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for my advance review copy.

Book Review: The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji

Posted on by Libby Price

I saw The Persians recommended in Red Magazine as a debut novel of the year, and so requested an advance review copy from Net Galley and was granted it. Here’s the blurb:

“A riotously funny and moving debut novel following five women from three generations of a once illustrious Iranian family as their lives are turned upside down
Meet the women of the Valiat family. In Iran, they were somebodies. In America, they’re nobodies.
First there is Elizabeth, the regal matriarch with the famously large nose, who remained in Tehran despite the revolution. She is kept company by Niaz, her young, Islamic-law-breaking granddaughter. In America, Elizabeth’s two daughters have built new lives for themselves. There’s Shirin, a flamboyantly high-flying event planner in Houston, who considers herself the family’s future; and Seema, a dreamy idealist turned bored housewife languishing in Los Angeles. And then there’s the other granddaughter, Bita, a disillusioned law student in New York trying to find deeper meaning by giving away her worldly belongings.
When an annual vacation in Aspen goes wildly awry and Shirin ends up being bailed out of jail by Bita, the family’s brittle upper class veneer is cracked wide open and gossip about them spreads like wildfire. Soon, Shirin must embark upon a grand quest to restore the family name to its former glory. But what does that mean in a country where the Valiats never mattered to anyone? And, will reputation be enough to make them a family again?
Spanning from 1940s Iran into a splintered 2000s The Persians is an irresistible portrait of a unique family in crisis that explores timeless questions of love, money, art and fulfilment. Here is their past, their present and a possible new future for them all.”

The book is a sweeping saga telling the story of the many generations of Valiat family from their origins in Iran to modern day America. Having had a friend whose parents left Iran around the time of the revolution, I thought it would be interesting to understand more about her culture.

Some of the characters are more likeable than others – but the back stories of all, and how they intertwine are interesting.

There didn’t feel to be a strong ‘storyline’ – it was more a family drama in very different settings of time and geography.

Whilst I enjoyed it – and did find it educational at times – I’m not sure it’s going to end up on my personal best books of 2025. But thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for my ARC. It was released last month – so you can order it now if you like the sound of it.

Book Review: What A Way To Go by Bella Mackie

Posted on by Libby Price

I was lucky enough to be granted an advance review copy of Bella Mackie’s first fiction book ‘How To Kill Your Family’ which I thoroughly enjoyed (and did not act upon!) Bella posted on social media over the festive period that her more recent book was on offer at 99p for a Kindle copy – well, I somehow missed the bargain, but was happy to invest in the full price! Here’s the blurb:

“One wealth-obsessed man, who is also dead.
One status-obsessed woman, who is the perfect accessory.
Their four inheritance-obsessed children, each with a killer instinct.
And a murder-obsessed outsider looking to expose them all…

Anthony Wistern is wealthy beyond imagination. Fragrant wife, gaggle of photogenic children, French chateau, Cotswold manor, plethora of mistresses, penchant for cutting moral corners, tick tick tick tick tick tick. Unfortunately for him, he’s also dead. Suddenly poised to inherit his fortune, each member of the family falls under suspicion.”

Again, Bella has written about rich people based in London – I guess it worked very well last time – and again, there are lots of unlikeable characters!!

You know early on that Anthony has died, at his own 60th birthday party no less, but you don’t know how – and in fact, that’s the whole premise of the book. Anthony is stuck in a weird no-mans land between life and the after life – and in order to move on, he needs to remember how he died. Whilst trapped, he’s able to watch over his family and friends and see what they’re doing in real time to get clues and help trigger his memory. It’s an incredibly clever way to tell the story.

Each chapter is told from one of three points of view – Anthony, his wife Olivia, and an internet sleuth who is investigating Anthony’s ‘murder’. None of the narrators are particularly nice, and to be honest, neither are the supporting characters too!

Various ‘suspects’ are looked at – Anthony’s children, extended family, work colleagues, investors – and there are plenty of people with motivation for seeing him off. There are lots of twists and turns and you don’t uncover what’s actually happened until very near the end of the book.

It’s a real look at how awful some monied people, and people born with a family history if not cash, can be – but awful in a ‘can’t look away and need to see how this all finishes’ way.

Another great book – and as is already happening with ‘How To Kill Your Family’ – ripe for being made into a film or TV series.