March and April books, which actually made me feel something…

My reading has been all over the place lately. I had a huge reading slump that I just couldn’t shake and all I wanted to do was reread Annika Martin’s Billionaires of Manhattan (paid link) series, which actually I can’t recommend enough. There were also a lot of books discarded after a couple of chapters. But these are the ones I read and loved and think that you will too.

The Infamous Gilberts by Angela Tomaski (paid link)

What is it about the lure of a big house and the posh yet dysfunctional families who live in them? The Infamous Gilberts follows these tropes but does something entirely unexpected with it as we follow The Gilberts through the decades, tracing their story in the dust and cobwebs and objects left scattered about the house, which awaits its new owners, a luxury hotel chain. Creepy, magical and utterly compelling, like The Cazalets Chronicles (paid link) and We Have Always Lived In The Castle (paid link) met and had a problem child, it’s impossible not to get sucked into this tragi-comic tour de force.

The Keeper by Tana French (paid link)

I’m a huge Tana French fan and I was hooked on the first two books in this trilogy (The Searcher (paid link) and The Hunter (paid link), both of which you MUST read. It was so immediately immersive to be back with retired Chicago cop Cal Hooper, in the small rural Irish town of Ardnakelty, a place I feel I know so well now along with its inhabitants. When a young woman is murdered, her death implicates a powerful local property developer, whose malevolent influence casts a wide net and when the final reckoning occurs, it feels like something has irrevocably broken in Ardnakelty. I had such a book hangover after finishing this one and without spoilers, Kojak the dog’s, reaction to redacted redacted redacted left me but a husk. No one writes literary crime quite like Tana French, a compelling mix of the lyrical and the menacing, and in The Keeper she absolutely nails the complexity of human nature but never sacrifices the tension and the twists.

200 Monas by Jan Saenz (paid link)

I always have time for a heist novel and 200 Monas did not disappoint. The Monas in question are an almost mythological drug, which promises to deliver a life-changing, world-altering orgasm. When Arvy finds a bag of them in her unexpectedly deceased mother’s closet, she’s forced to sell them or end up dead herself at the hands of a seriously unhinged gangster. Luckily, she teams up with a local, small-time drug dealer, Wolf (soon to be your next book boyfriend) and there follows a sexy, high octane adventure full of jeopardy and twists and turns but also a very poignant, moving exploration of loss and loneliness.

Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell (paid link)

A very special novel from a writer at the peak of her powers. I am so happy that Rainbow Rowell is writing grown up romcoms again. Because that is what they are; stories about proper grown ups and heroine, Cherry has flaws and foibles which will resonate with so many readers. I can’t remember the last time a fictional character made me feel so seen. Set as usual in Omaha, Nebraska, Cherry works for the railroad (OK, in the marketing department, but I love that she works for the railroad) and is recently estranged from her husband who’s in Hollywood making a film of his cult comic strip. A comic which features a character heavily based on Cherry. It’s quite hard to go into too much detail about Cherry Baby because something so unexpected but beautifully organic happens that I don’t want to spoil it for you, but you do need to know that this is a tender, heart-melting and very real second chance romance.

Whatever Happened to Madeline Stone? by Louise O’Neill (paid link)

Warning: while you’re reading the latest novel from the always perceptive Louise O’Neill, you will spend your days singing, “Where the fuck is Madeline?” That is, if you can bear to tear yourself away from the pages for long enough. Set between the early Noughties and present day, Chelsea and Madison Stone were identical twin child stars with their own sitcom. Even though Maddie is the twin with the real star power, when Chelsea lands a career defining role, it will set into motion a chain of events, which will result in Maddie vanishing off the face of the earth and Chelsea turning her back on fame to live the pampered life of a billionaire’s wife. Until Maddie’s old storage locker is discovered and secrets that Chelsea thought were long buried threaten to come to the service. Louise O’Neill takes a scalpel to celebrity culture then and now in this super smart, addictive story, which will hook you from the first page!

How Korean Corn Dogs Changed My Life by Alice Amelia (paid link)

Something about this memoir of a young woman who goes to live in Seoul spoke to me and I’m so glad it did. How Korean Corn Dogs Changed My Life is a fascinating deep dive into the world (and the seedy inner workings) of k-pop and k-drama, neither of which I knew anything about. It’s also an insider’s guide to the hidden heart of Seoul; the food, the different neighbourhoods, and culture, which made it so different to the many memoirs I’ve read of dream-chasers who head for Paris or New York or other more recognisable destinations. It’s also an honest account of the author’s turbulent twenties and affairs of the heart, which felt a lot closer to home for me!

Dogs, Boys And Other Things I’ve Cried About by Isabel Klee (paid link)

If you don’t follow Isabel Klee on Instagram (I came on board in the Poutine era #iykyk,) then what are you even doing with your life? Isabel lives in Brooklyn and along with her fiancé, Jacob (AKA Mr Isabel) and her dog Simon, she welcomes many a foster dog into her home and her heart, often with complex medical or behavioural needs who blossom under Isabel’s care. She is one of those people whose goodness shines through. This memoir is a love letter to all the dogs that Isabel has known who all fixed something in her even as they went on their own healing journeys. It’s also a love letter to New York and being young and making bad decisions and then being not so young and having to figure out what the hell you’re doing. This memoir will be one of the other things many readers will cry about, in a good, soul-nourishing kind of way.

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