A Little Catch-Up
Hannah has been visiting her parents in Wiltshire, enjoying a lovely lunch and a shopping trip to Bath. She’s also preparing for The Green Man Festival — despite being a complete festival virgin!
Nikki shares her festival experiences and tells us about a rather unusual BBQ prompted by the government’s wildfire warnings.
We also reveal our next buddy read: Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke, and discuss whether all the hype surrounding it will affect our expectations.
Hannah’s Reads
Fever Dream — Elsie Silver
Things get spicy, sassy and steamy as Hannah discusses Elsie Silver’s small-town romance.
We chat about the comfort of predictable romance, the similarities between romance novels and Hallmark-style TV, third-act misunderstandings, two-dimensional characters and the male gaze.
We also tackle first versus third person, writing sex scenes and the difference between erotica and a steamy romance.
Odd Body — Rose Keating
A collection of ten bold and unsettling short stories exploring desire, fear, shame and the human body.
We focus on the wonderfully strange titular story about a woman living alongside a ghost, and discuss how Keating uses humour to explore depression and mental health.
Nikki’s Reads
My Policeman — Bethan Roberts
Set in 1950s Brighton, this story of forbidden love, homosexuality and marriage follows Marion, Tom and Patrick as they navigate a complicated love triangle.
We compare it with our previous buddy read, A Room Above a Shop, and discuss historical context, social class, unreliable narrators and why Tom — the policeman at the centre of the story — never gets a voice of his own.
We also discuss the film adaptation and whether we think it can be successful from page to screen.
The Beekeeper of Aleppo — Christy Lefteri
Christy Lefteri’s powerful novel about love, loss and survival during the Syrian war leads us into a much bigger discussion about who gets to tell whose stories.
We explore representation, marginalised voices, diversity in publishing and whether writers should tell stories from perspectives different from their own. And ultimately, does the quality of the writing change that debate?
Book Prescriptions
Our new feature is here!
We’re prescribing books for life’s literary ailments — including an antidote to hot weather, a cure for ennui and a book for anyone suffering from a fear of making bad decisions.
Because sometimes the best medicine is a really good book.
Listen to Episode 16 of Current Reads for book reviews, reading recommendations, romance, short stories, literary discussion and plenty of opinions along the way.
