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Book Review: Christmas Fling by Lindsey Kelk

Posted on by Libby Price

“Is a fake boyfriend really just for Christmas?

One fake romance. One magical Christmas. One chance to fall in love.|
Laura was all set for a quiet solo Christmas – just her, a bottle of wine, and flat-sitting for a stranger. But when the stranger’s parents mistake her for his mystery girlfriend, she’s swept off to the snowy Scottish Highlands with Callum and his whole family.
Between the cosy sleeper train, charming pubs and breathtaking views, this could be the no-strings-attached Christmas of Laura’s dreams.
But stranger Callum is hot, hilarious and their ‘fake’ chemistry is off the charts.
So is this just a Christmas fling? Or the start of something more?”

As my multiple previous posts will attest, I love a Lindsey Kelk novel – and so was delighted to be granted an advance review copy of her latest book which is out in October – and makes a perfect festive gift / read!

The ‘fake relationship into actual lovers’ has obviously been done many times before – but I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. Laura being a neurosurgeon was certainly unusual for a main character in a rom com (although I do wonder if her speciality changed during the writing process, as at one point the lack of ‘cardiac’ unit was mentioned) and I liked the different ‘vibe’ that gave the book. Callum was lovely – even though he could do with a shake sometimes!! Laura’s friends Desi and Joel were brilliant (definitely reminded me of Bridget Jones and her gang of mates) and really added to the colourfulness of the storyline.

The Scottish Highlands are described beautifully – and you could almost feel the chill off the page. I also liked the modern issues – phone reception (or lack of) and a major life incident in an M&S petrol station! It has also made me think I never want to the Caledonian Sleeper train!

It was a fabulous escapist read – and would be PERFECT to read over the Christmas holidays all cosy and warm curled up in a comfy chair with a hot chocolate (or mulled wine!) There were laugh out loud moments, scenes of great sexual tension – and the chaos of an extended family festive season.

A huge thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for my ARC.

Book Review: This Book Made Me Think Of You by Libby Page

Posted on by Libby Price

Having enjoyed previous books by Libby Page, I was delighted to be granted an advance review copy of her next book, due out in January 2026 (but available for pre order now if you like the sound of it!) Here’s the blurb:

“Twelve stories. Twelve months. Once chance to heal her heart . . .
When Tilly Nightingale receives a call telling her there’s a birthday gift from her fiancé waiting for her at her local bookshop, it couldn’t come as more of a shock. Partly because she can’t remember the last time she read a book for pleasure. Mainly because Joe died five months ago . . .The gift is simple – twelve carefully-chosen books from Joe, one for each month, to help her turn the page on her first year without him.
Tilly sets out on a series of reading-inspired adventures that take her around the world. But as she begins to vlog her journey, her story becomes more than her own. With help from Alfie, the bookshop owner, her budding new following and her friends and family, can Tilly’s year of books show her how to love again?”

This book is so lovely – and quite emotional – you really feel for what Tilly / Matilda is going through having lost her husband, Joe, a few months before. Whilst he wasn’t a book lover – he fully appreciated that Tilly was and set up this wonderful plan to give her a new book each month. The start of each chapter also has the book shop’s recommendation for the coming month too (and I loved that there were a mixture of books I had and hadn’t already read).

The thought that Joe has put into each month is really lovely – and you see how Tilly grows and changes over the year. There are flashbacks to Tilly’s life with Joe – and her relationships with family and friends (old and new) are also evolving. Clearly grief is an important issue throughout the book – and at times it was incredibly moving (quite embarrassingly I ended up snotty sobbing at the end whilst my daughter and her friend enjoyed splashing around at an Aqua Park!)

Whilst the book is primarily set in London – there are trips to Bali, Italy, Paris and New York – and each setting is described beautifully. Escaping metaphorically into the pages of a book, as well as escaping physically to other parts of the world are cleverly compared and contrasted.

The book also describes the importance of a physical book shop – and the difficulties they have to survive in an era of online purchasing. To be honest I think it’s the same for many independent shops on our high street nowadays – so let’s try and support them whenever we can!

One premise of the storyline is clearly a love for books. I love it when people recommend books to me – or send me book post – it’s so thoughtful (although when I sent a friend a book I thought she’d like, she didn’t see the gift note, and thought she’d been drunk shopping on the internet!!!)

Overall it’s another triumph for Libby Page – she writes such beautiful, emotive books – I’d definitely recommend pre ordering (maybe from your local bookshop) for when this is out in January 2026.

A big thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for my ARC.

Book Review: One of Us by Elizabeth Day

Posted on by Libby Price

I always enjoy Elizabeth Day’s books, both fiction and non fiction, and when I saw she’d written a sequel to The Party, I was delighted to be granted an advance review copy from Net Galley. Here’s the blurb:

“In this compulsive story of betrayal, old bonds and buried scandals, one British establishment family comes face to face with the consequences of privilege and the true cost of power.
Martin and Ben were friends for decades ― best friends, Martin would have said ― before the terrible events at Ben’s 40th birthday party tore them apart. So when Martin receives a surprise invitation back into the inner sanctum of the dazzling Fitzmaurice family after seven years of silence, he can’t resist the chance to get his revenge.
Ben has risen through the ranks of power, and is now touted as the next Prime Minister. But Martin can’t help but notice certain flies in the ointment… Ben’s wife, Serena, for instance, whose privileged existence is beginning to feel like a gilded cage. Or their daughter, Cosima, an environmental activist fighting against everything her parents once stood for. Or the disgraced MP Richard Take, determined to make his big comeback. And then there’s Fliss, the Fitzmaurice black sheep, whose untimely death sparks more suspicion than closure. Through their intertwined stories, we see a family – and a nation – unravelling under the weight of its secrets.
With everyone watching, the stage is set for a reckoning. It’s time for Martin and Ben to confront what love truly means when everything―family, power, and loyalty―is on the line.”

Having said in the opening sentence that I was excited this was a sequel to The Party, I’d then forgotten about this before starting it – and so I hadn’t read back the synopsis of the initial book in the series – and I actually think this would stand alone as a book – as the relevant elements of the back story are explained in summary as and when required – but equally it was interesting to revisit old ‘friends’.

The book is told from multiple points of view – and I quite like that, as it keeps momentum – and you see different ‘takes’ on the same situation.

There were lots of unlikeable characters in the book – and seeing how their unpleasantness interacted and unfolded was interesting! I fundamentally liked both Martin and Cosima – although they could have done with a good talking to sometimes.

Whilst the main threads of family, power and loyalty are fairly timeless – this did feel like a book of the moment with regards to politics, sexual politics and environmental issues all thrown in.

I always feel that a lot of care and attention has been made in both the writing – and editing – of Elizabeth’s books – it’s incredibly unusual to find a typo / grammar / continuity error – and I was not disappointed.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed ‘One Of Us’ and would definitely recommend you pre order before it’s release in late September 2025.

A big thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for my ARC.

Book Review: A Month In The Country by J L Carr

Posted on by Libby Price

I have mentioned my love of ‘The Rest Is Entertainment’ podcast before, and recently read one of Marina’s book recommendations, and now it’s Richard’s turn. He recommended A Month In The Country when specifically short novels were being discussed – but has reiterated his love of the book subsequently. Here’s the blurb (although I have to say I didn’t read it – as ‘recommended by Richard Osnam’ was enough for me!):

“One summer, just after the Great War, Tom Birkin, a demobbed soldier, arrives in the village of Oxgodby. He has been invited to uncover and restore a medieval wall painting in the local church. At the same time, Charles Moon – a fellow damaged survivor of the war – has been asked to locate the grave of a village ancestor. As these two outsiders go about their work of recovery, they form a bond, but they also stir up long dormant passions within the village. What Berkin discovers here will stay with him for the rest of his life . . .”

This book is lovely – Richard was not wrong! It is written beautifully and is really evocative of the location and situations Birkin and Moon find themselves in They’ve clearly both had an awful time during the First World War and are now pursuing interesting new careers. Whilst quite serious in places – there were also really funny moments too. It felt like a comfortable, Sunday night escapist drama – with beautiful prose thrown in.

The supporting cast of characters in Oxgodby are fabulous – particular favourites are the Station Master’s family who really take Tom under their wing. The vicar’s wife is also intriguing.

I also like the fact that as Mr Osman said himself, if you recommend a short book and someone else doesn’t like it – it’s not the end of the world. (As I’ve definitely said before, some friends I don’t think will ever forgive me for my The Goldfinch recommendation…………..)

Book Review: The Protest by Rob Rinder

Posted on by Libby Price

When I saw Net Galley had the latest Rob Rinder book in the Adam Green series, I was delighted to be granted an advance review copy. I then realised I’d missed the second book in the series, The Suspect, so had to read that first! Here’s the blurb for book three:

“A world-famous artist. A fatal brush with death.
At a star-studded opening night for the Royal Academy’s celebration of renowned artist Max Bruce, someone is hiding a dark secret.
As the night reaches its climax and Max addresses his admirers, the occasion takes a shocking turn when a protester runs from the crowd and sprays the artist with blue paint.
Max collapses and it soon turns out that the paint was laced with cyanide. Someone has been plotting to kill him.
All evidence points to the protestor – and newly qualified barrister Adam Green is assigned the impossible task of their defence.
But could there be others who wanted Max dead?”

The book starts exactly as per the blurb – and again Rob has characters which you immediately recognise from popular culture (a nepo-son with a hot sauce brand remind you of anyone?!) The book also follows the skeleton of the previous books with Adam working on a high profile case, interweaved with another case – and I quite enjoyed the light and shade, or shade and shadier, that this brought to the book.

I felt that this time Adam’s Mum didn’t feature quite as much – which was a shame, as I love her!! But she’s always there in the back ground – and her phonecalls are classic.

This book would stand alone – but knowing the back story of all of the characters definitely adds to it – and it’s interesting to see how they all develop. It also emphasises just how overworked young barristers are.

There are lots of twists and turns in the book as the story progresses – some of which I have to confess guessing in advance (but that does make me feel smug and clever, so isn’t necessarily a bad thing!)

My one niggle is there were quite a few grammatical errors and odd inconsistencies – for example Adam quotes a text from his Mum and says why would she use 1 emoji when she could use 3 or 4 – but in the text he quoted, she’d only used 2! I suspect that this may be because I read an early proof copy – and some anal editor (my dream job!) will have picked these up before the book is actually published! And it didn’t detract from a great book.

The Protest was out a few days ago, so if you like the sound of it – or would like to reconnect with Adam Green from the previous books – then you can buy it right now!

Many thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for my advance review copy.

Book Review: Albion by Anna Hope

Posted on by Libby Price

“The Brooke family are gathering in their eighteenth-century ancestral home – twenty bedrooms of carved Sussex sandstone – to bury Philip: husband, father and the blinding sun around which they have all orbited for as long as they can remember.
Frannie, inheritor of a thousand acres of English countryside, has dreams of rewilding and returning the estate to nature: a last line of defence against the coming climate catastrophe. Milo envisages a treetop haven for the super-rich where, under the influence of psychedelic drugs, a new ruling class will be reborn. Each believes their father has given them his blessing, setting them on a collision course with each other.
Isa has long suspected that her father thought only of himself, and hopes to seek out her childhood love, who still lives on the estate, to discover whether it is her feelings for him that are creating the fault lines in her marriage.
And then there is Clara, who arrives in their midst from America, shrouded in secrets and bearing a truth that will fracture all the dreams on which they’ve built their lives.”

This book is a sweeping family drama, based in Sussex between the death and funeral of Philip Brooke – with flashbacks filling in the back story of all of the family and associated cast. I really wanted to enjoy this – but I have to say I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likeable and I found the story arc not incredibly thrilling. It’s also told from the point of view of many different characters – which felt somewhat disjointed.

I also found there were some really ‘preachy’ elements of the book – be that on environmental issues, historic slavery, inherited wealth. It’s been described as beautifully written in reviews – but it just didn’t pique my interest much at all. I persevered and read the whole book – but it just didn’t hit the mark for me at all.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for my advance review copy. If it sounds more of your bag than mine, it’s out now!

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: 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 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.