We’ve gathered together a fabulous range of books – humour, romance and intrigue – all you have to do is find a good reading spot and enjoy a long, blissful summer.
Freckles, Cecelia Ahern
From Cecelia Ahern, international best-selling author of P.S. I Love You, comes a life-affirming novel about kinship, connection and finding the people who you identify with.
‘You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with!’ When a stranger utters these words to Allegra Bird, aka Freckles, it turns her life upside down and she questions who the five people are who have made her the way she is. Just as she once joined the freckles on her skin to mirror the constellations in the evening sky, Allegra starts looking for the connections and wonders if she does in fact have five inspirational people she can look up to and be inspired by.
Freckles centres around this turning point in Allegra’s life and tackles a few complex issues relating to relationships, friendships and being alone. Quirky, detail-focused and a stickler for the rules and routines, Allegra soon finds out that our immediate impressions of people aren’t always correct and that people can often surprise us.
The Heart for a Compass, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York
Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, has written a beach-worthy read that follows a young noblewoman, Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott, who flees an arranged betrothal and embarks on a journey of self-discovery whilst helping the poor and writing children’s stories. She makes her way to New York where she works as a journalist and philanthropist and eventually marries… (we won’t give anything more away ☺).
The Duchess teamed up with Mills & Boon author Marguerite Kaye for this novel but don’t expect the usual swooning and sighing that you would normally get from the M&B romance genre, although there are a few ‘deep, starving kisses, their tongues tangling’ scenarios.
Compass gives a glimpse into life as a pampered, 18-year old, upper-class woman and the arranged societal marriage that Lady Margaret’s father has planned for her. Before the betrothal is announced at an opulent ball, Lady Margaret bolts and, without a plan, rushes from the estate and starts a new life. We follow her into her late 20s, through exile in Ireland, across the Atlantic, and back to Britain where she finds the life she wants to lead.
Interestingly, Lady Margaret bears a resemblance to its author in both looks and life story. Margaret’s hair is described as a ‘rebellious red mop’ and ‘burnished autumn leaves’ and one admirer exclaims “… by heavens, she had real spirit too, no one could doubt that.’
Her Heart for a Compass is a costume drama rich in history, colour and atmosphere and its main theme is about a rebellious woman who challenges the societal constraints she has been born into and her search for true meaning.
Over My Dead Body, Jeffrey Archer
Fine art, murder, theft, con artists, deception and revenge all abound in Jeffrey Archer’s latest page-turner.
It’s the 1980s and Detective Chief Inspector William Warwick navigates a maze of twists and turns, missteps and red herrings as he chases Captain Ralph Neville, aka Miles Faulkner, across Europe. The book opens with DCI Warwick and his wife enjoying a luxury cruise before being thrown into the deep end of a murder investigation on board.
Over My Dead Body will appeal to lovers of thrillers and police mysteries that are on the lighter side.
Apples Never Fall, Liane Moriarty
You know you won’t go wrong with a book by no.1 New York Times bestselling author of Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers!
On the surface, the Delaney family seem loving and cheerful. Former tennis coaches Joy and Stan live and breathe tennis and their four adult children have grown up in the tennis world but are now busy living their own lives.
Having sold the family tennis coaching business, Joy and Stan have all the time in the world to relax but undercurrents are circling, especially when a young woman arrives on their doorstep and moves in.
And now Joy Delaney is missing and her children start re-examining their parents’ marriage. A neighbour says she heard raised voices, her hairdresser has stories to tell, her husband has scratches on his face and was seen loading his car with a roll of carpet – a body perhaps?
A Funny Life, Michael McIntyre
Whilst reading Michael McIntyre’s latest book I could just imagine his voice, his inflections, his quick walk across the stage and his floppy hair falling into his eyes as he retells a fabulous, funny story. His humour is relatable to daily life and I especially like that he doesn’t need to use much, if any, bad language or explicit sexual innuendoes to get his humour across.
In the book, he is honest about his early money problems, his doubts and insecurities, but he can also laugh at himself and openly pokes fun at some of the things that have happened to him.
In A Funny Life, Michael doesn’t hesitate to share the highs and lows of his ‘overnight success’. From the tiny apartment with paper thin walls, the endless appearances on the comedy circuits to having sugar cubes thrown at him on stage, his trouser zipper inching down at the most inappropriate time, his disastrous appearances on panel shows, an awards ceremony that went horribly wrong… Michael shares the setbacks he went through before finding success.
This is such a fabulous, light-hearted read. Perfect for a day at the beach.