Title: Queenie Author: Candice Carty-Williams Genre: Fiction Publisher: Orion Publishing Publication date: March 19 2019Hardcover: 330 pages Bridget Jones’s Diary meets Americanah in this disarmingly honest, boldly political, and truly inclusive novel that will speak to anyone who has gone looking for…
I’ve been reading quite a lot now that my commute is five hours long. Daily. I read two books recently, a mixed bag – one, a literary fiction that left me cold, the other a historical fiction that was…
I am still dipping my toes into the literally fiction pool, finding what works for me and what doesn’t. Books like The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray are definitely my cup of tea. …
Title: My Sister, The Serial Killer Author: Oyinkan Braithwaite Genre: Literary Fiction, Thrillers Publisher: Doubleday Books (US) / Atlantic Books (UK)Publication date: November 2018 / January 2019Hardcover: 240 pages When Korede’s dinner is interrupted one night by a distress call…
Title: Those Who Knew Author: Idra Novey Genre: Literary Fiction Publisher: VikingPublication date: November 2018Hardcover: 248 pages On an unnamed island country ten years after the collapse of a U.S.-supported regime, Lena suspects the powerful senator she was involved with back in…
Old School Wednesdays is a regular Book Smuggler feature. We came up with the idea towards the end of 2012, when both Ana and Thea were feeling exhausted from the never-ending inundation of New and Shiny (and often over-hyped)…
The Feats of Strength are an integral part of our annual Smugglivus Tradition. In previous years, the Feats of Strength were a challenge in which we dared each other to read a book that we knew was so far…
It’s Friday, which means we are over at Kirkus! Today it’s Thea’s turn as she talks about the Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer… Thea reflects on the trilogy (which she found fascinating, frustrating, and utterly memorable), and recommends…
It’s Friday so this means we are over at Kirkus! This week, Thea reviews speculative fiction novel The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers. Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, The Testament of Jessie Lamb is a hefty,…
Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway Alfred A. Knopf/ Vintage, February 2012, HC/PB: 568 pages From the acclaimed author of “The Gone-Away World”, blistering gangster noir meets howling absurdist comedy as the forces of good square off against the forces of…
Title: Your House Is on Fire, Your Children All Gone Author: Stefan Kiesbye Genre: Horror, Fiction Publisher: Penguin Books Publication Date: September 2012 Paperback: 208 Pages Shirley Jackson meets The X-Files in this riveting novel of supernatural horror The…
Title: Summer and Bird Author: Katherine Catmull Genre: Fantasy, Fairytale, Middle Grade Publisher: Dutton Juvenile Publication date: October 2 2012 Hardcover: 384 pages An enchanting—and twisted—tale of two sisters’ quest to find their parents When their parents disappear in…
Title: The Vanishing Act Author: Mette Jakobsen Genre: Literary Fiction, Historical (maybe) Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (US) / Vintage (UK) Publication date: August/ September 2012 Hardcover/paperback: 218 pages “The best stories change you. I am not the…
Title: The Prisoner of Heaven Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón / Translated by Julia Graves Genre: Literary Fiction, Historical, Thriller Publisher: Harper Collins / Weidenfeld & Nicolson Publication date: July 2012 / June 2012 Hardcover: 279 pages Barcelona, 1957. It…
Title: Advent Author: James Treadwell Genre: Fantasy/Literary Fiction Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton / Atria/Emily Bestler Books Publication date: February 2 2012 / July 3 2012 Hardcover: 448 pages A drowning, a magician’s curse, and a centuries-old secret. “1537. A…
Title: The Age of Miracles Author: Karen Thompson Walker Genre: Speculative Fiction, Literary Fiction Publisher: Random House (US) / Simon & Schuster (UK) Publication Date: June 2012 (US & UK) Hardcover: 288 Pages (US) With a voice as distinctive…
Title: The Uninvited Guests Author: Sadie Jones Genre: Historical, Paranormal Publisher: Chatto & Windus / Harper Publication date: May 1st 2012 Hardcover: 272 pages One late spring evening in 1912, in the kitchens at Sterne, preparations begin for an…
Title: The Rebel Wife Author: Taylor M. Polites Genre: Historical, Literary Fiction, American Civil War, PoC Publisher: Simon & Schuster Publication date: February 7 2012 Hardcover: 304 pages Brimming with atmosphere and edgy suspense, The Rebel Wife presents a…
Title: The Miseducation of Cameron Post Author: Emily M. Danforth Genre: Contemporary, LGBT, Young Adult Publisher: Balzer + Bray Publication date: February 7 2012 Hardcover: 480 pages When Cameron Post’s parents die suddenly in a car crash, her shocking…
Title: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Author: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows Genre: Literary Fiction, Historical, Second World War Publisher: Dial Press / Bloomsbury Publication Date: First published in 2008 Hardcover/Paperback: 274 pages January 1946:…
Title: The Man Who Rained Author: Ali Shaw Genre: Officially? Literary Fiction. But this is a Fantasy novel if I’ve ever seen one. Publisher: Atlantic Books Publication date: January 1 2012 Hardcover: 304 pages When Elsa’s father is killed…
Title: The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet Author: Reif Larsen Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult Publisher: Penguin Press HC Publication date: May 7th 2009 Hardcover: 375 pages When twelve-year-old genius cartographer T.S. Spivet receives an unexpected phone call from the…
Title: Heaven and Hell Author: Jón Kalman Stefánsson (translated by Philip Roughton) Genre: Literary Fiction, Historical Publisher: Quercus Publishing Publication date: September 2011 (first edition: 2010) Paperback: 240 pages In a remote part of Iceland, a boy and his…
Title: When She Woke Author: Hillary Jordan Genre: Dystopian, Speculative Fiction Publisher: Algonquin Books Publication Date: October 2011 Hardcover: 352 pages Hannah Payne’s life has been devoted to church and family, but after her arrest, she awakens to a…
Title: The Radleys Author: Matt Haig Genre: Literary Fiction, Speculative Fiction Publisher: Simon & Schuster (US) / Walker (UK) Publication Date: September 20, 2011 (US) / July 2010 (UK) Paperback: 384 pages Just about everyone knows a family like…