The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

                                                       

Paperback:   288 pages                                                                         

Genre:  Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, 

Publisher:  Penguin Paperback 2026

Source:  Tywyn Library

Literary Awards:  *WINNER OF THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2026*
Audie Award for Ensemble Performance and Nominee for Fiction (2026), Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Audiobook (2025), Women's Prize for Fiction (2026), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fiction and for Debut Novel (2025), The Rooster -- The Morning News Tournament of Books Nominee for Longlist (2026), The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize Nominee for Longlist(2025), She Reads Best of Award Nominee for Book of the Year (2025), Libby Award Nominee for Best Audiobook and Best Debut (2026)

Setting: Maryland, USA.  

First Sentences: At last, on Monday around ten or half past, Sybil Van Antwerp carries the mug of Irish breakfast tea with milk to her desk.

Review Quote:  'Immensely enjoyable' Guardian

My Opinion:

I have been wanting to read ‘The Correspondent’ for sometime now. Mainly because since publication last year it has been nominated for so many literary awards and I wanted to find out why.

In this her debut novel, the author Virginia Evans has given us a memorable protagonist in Sybil Van Antwerp. Sybil uses letter writing as communication and the novel is written as a series of letters, sent and received, through which the reader gets to know how life has treated her.

A unique idea which was an emotional read. Letters are not an easy format for a novelist to use as a medium to tell a story through. Virginia Evans has done so successfully and compassionately.  Highly recommended.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

Every morning, Sybil Van Antwerp sits down to write letters – to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to attend a class she desperately wants to take, to her favourite authors to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.

Because at seventy-three, Sybil has used her correspondence – witty and wise – to make sense of the world. But beyond the page, she has spent the last thirty years keeping the people who love her at arms’ length... Until letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life.

Now, Sybil must send the letter she has been writing for all these years - and find forgiveness within herself in order to move on.

Sybil Van Antwerp’s life of letters might be ‘a very small thing’, but she also might be one of the most memorable characters you will ever read.

Author Profile:

                                                                                                              

                                                Photo and Bio Courtesy of Amazon

Virginia Evans is from the east coast of the United States and was born in 1986.  She attended James Madison University for her bachelor’s in English literature. After starting a family, she went back to school for her master’s of philosophy in creative writing at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, where she had the good fortune to study under Carlo Gébler, Eoin McNamee, Claire Keegan, Harry Clifton and Kevin Power. She now lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with her husband, Mark, two children, Jack and Mae, and her Red Labrador, Brigid.

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Goodreads Profile   Amazon Author Page.   Wikipedia Profile.    Author - Official Website

Love Unlocked by Cecelia Ahern

 

                                                         

Ebook:  344 pages 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Irish Fiction, Romance,

Publisher: August 2026 by Harper Collins

Source: My Kindle Library via NetGalley

First Sentences: In the distance, a train rattles rhythmically along the tracks, sounding like a beating heart.

Setting: Dublin, Ireland

Review Quote: 'So much fun and very romantic. I loved it' Marian Keyes

My Opinion: 

An author I read from time to time when I am in the mood for contemporary fiction to lift my spirits.

'Love Unlocked' is set in Dublin and the story is centred around love locks and a bridge. It seems that when locks are removed from the bridge that relationships fall apart. An interesting conjecture that the protagonists Melody and Al are both involved in. What a mystery and is it resolved.

A quirky love story written with humour, that fans of Cecelia Ahern will enjoy.

With thanks to the author, NetGalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read and review.

Previous Reviews:   Thanks For the Memories   One Hundred Names.  Into The Storm

Paper Heart

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

Sometimes the key is letting go…
Melody has vowed never to fall in love again.

Al is a hopeless romantic.

So, when they quite literally bump into each other, there's no reason sparks should fly. But the world seems a little upside down lately.

A few weeks ago, Al ordered the removal of all the lovers’ padlocks from one of Dublin's beautiful bridges. Ever since then, couples across the world have started splitting up.

And as Melody begins investigating this mysterious wave of breakups for her podcast, it seems there might be a bigger story to tell.

Together, they decide to uncover what's unravelling so many love stories. And, in the middle of solving everyone else’s heartbreak, can they unlock their own?

Author Profile:         

                                                      

                                                  Courtesy of Amazon

Cecelia Ahern was born in Dublin, where she also grew up on September 30th 1981. After completing a degree in Journalism and Media Communications, Cecelia wrote her first novel at 21 years old. Her debut novel, PS I Love You was published in January 2004, and was followed by Where Rainbows End (aka Love, Rosie) in November 2004. Both novels were adapted to films; PS I Love You starred Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler, and Love, Rosie starred Lily Collins and Sam Claflin.

Cecelia has published a novel every year since then and to date has published 18 novels; PS I Love You, Where Rainbows End, If You Could See Me Now, A Place Called Here, Thanks for the Memories, The Gift, The Book of Tomorrow, The Time of My Life, One Hundred Names, How To Fall in Love, The Year I Met You, The Marble Collector, Flawed, Perfect, Lyrebird, ROAR, Postscript and Freckles.

To date, Cecelia’s books have sold 25 million copies internationally, are published in over 40 countries, in 30 languages.

Photographs, Trailer and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Amazon Author Page.   Goodreads Author Profile.   Facebook - Cecelia Ahern

Cecelia Ahern

When She Was Ours by Anna Nordberg

                                                        

Ebook:  308 pages                                                                         

Genre:  Adult Fiction, Contemporary Fiction

Publisher:  Lake Union, August 2026, 

Source:  NetGalley

First Sentence: When Astra was nine and travelling with her mother to Chicago, the passenger in front of them had a panic attack.

Review Quote: “This isn’t a book that demands your attention with dramatic twists; it earns it through emotional honesty.” — Manhattan Book Review

My Opinion:

Not sure now to be honest why I decided to read 'When She Was Ours', probably should not have done so as it was not for me.

A complicated story about a family that are navigating grief. Thea the mother is terminally ill and coming to terms with her imminent death. We learn how her adult daughters Astra and Phoebe cope, or rather don't as the plot lurches from one chaotic moment to the next.

A character driven novel about relationships and one that I believe the author wanted to write due to her own life experience. She certainly writes from the heart with regard to the death of a parent. 

This certainly seems to appeal to many readers, judging by the reviews, unfortunately not to me.

With thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

 

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

Thea Erickson, a renowned surgeon, is filled with both joy and grief as her family gathers at their home on a summer night in 1995. Her elder daughter Phoebe is getting married, but even the happiness of the day feels bittersweet, as Thea grapples with a terminal cancer diagnosis. She worries she won’t be around to support her younger daughter Astra, who’s still in college, but even Thea cannot foresee what is to come—a terrible accident the night of the wedding that changes Astra’s life forever.

In a last-ditch effort to protect her family, Thea arranges a secret meeting with an old family friend and extracts a promise that will reverberate long after she’s gone.

Years after her mother’s death, Astra has moved forward with a career and relationship, but she still struggles with her grief. When a man reaches out to her and Phoebe, offering a window into their mother’s past, Astra must make a choice, and her decision forces her to face what it means to love someone after they’re gone, who we decide to forgive, and how families reckon with the past.

Author Profile:

                                                           

                                                Photo and Bio Courtesy of Goodreads

Anna Nordberg is an author, journalist and culture writer whose essays have appeared in Slate magazine, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the San Francisco Chronicle. She spent a lot of her childhood writing novels with a number 2 pencil on yellow legal pads. She actually still has these novels. 

In 2015, she started writing a memoir about becoming a mother without her mom, who died when Anna was 17. This memoir never found a home, but its themes—how loss unfolds throughout a life, how we carry the memory of someone forward, the surprising legacy of grief—are all themes in Anna's debut novel, When She Was Ours, out August 1.

Anna grew up in New York City and now lives in San Francisco with her husband, son and daughter, and English cocker spaniel, Guinness (who also loves books). She loves muddling through middle school with her kids, trying to remember what the formula for the circumference of a circle is, and rereading books like Tuck Everlasting and A Wrinkle in Time. Favorite books she has read to her kids: The Hobbit, The Dark is Rising, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and Bridge to Terabithia. 

It was always her dream to write a novel after watching her mother write one on an ancient Apple IIC when Anna was eight years old. When She Was Ours is dedicated to her.

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Goodreads Profile.    Author's Official Website.    Amazon Author Page

The Secrets of Harbour House by Liz Fenwick

                                                

Paperback:  384 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Cornwall, Italy,

Publisher: HQ Sept 2025

Source:  Tywyn Public Library

Review Quote:  'Fascinating and complex… It’s beautifully researched and the life and landscape of the secret part of Cornwall around the Helford river gloriously evoked. What a pleasure to read!’ Rachel Hore

My Opinion:  

I have read quite a few of Liz Fenwick's novels and always find them to be an uplifting experience. 'The Secrets of Harbour House' is no exception to this as I was transported not only to Cornwall but also to my beloved Italy in this emotional dual timeline story.

The young female protagonist Kerensa returns to the family owned Auction house in Cornwall after the death of her father. When he died her father was working on cataloguing the contents of Harbour House and Kerensa soon finds herself immersed in the story behind a painting in the main hallway and how it is connected to the two women who last lived in the property.

Alternating between modern day Cornwall and Venice in the 1930's as fascism is taking hold on life in Italy. A mesmerising story with some deep hidden secrets to be discovered. Recommended to readers looking to immerse themselves in a captivating read.

Previous Reviews:  The Cornish House.  The Returning Tide   The River Between Us.   The Secret Shore

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

When Kerensa is sent by her father’s auction house to catalogue a neglected house overlooking the sea in Newlyn, Cornwall, it’s a welcome escape. Once the home of two female artists, Harbour House is a treasure trove, but one painting in particular catches Kerensa’s eye – a hypnotically sensual portrait of a beautiful young woman which dominates the hallway.

Captivated and intrigued, Kerensa finds herself piecing together the enigma of Bathsheba Kernow, a fiercely talented young artist who left St Ives almost a hundred years before, eager to escape a society that wouldn’t understand her, and her sweeping journey from the underbelly of Paris to the heady luxury of Venice, where a chance encounter would change her life for ever, drawing her into the most dangerous and forbidden of love affairs.

For Kerensa, still reeling with a grief of her own and facing an uncertain future in love, Harbour House will have secrets that will change her life too, and in ways she could never have imagined…

Author Profile:

                                      

Photo Courtesy of Goodreads 

Liz Fenwick was born in Massachusetts and after nine international moves - the final one lasting eight years in Dubai- she  now lives in Cornwall and London with her husband and two cats. She made her first trip to Cornwall in 1989, bought a home there seven years later. Apparently her heart is now forever in Cornwall, creating new stories.

Liz Fenwick describes herself as Novelist, wife, mother of three, slave to two cats and dreamer turned doer....

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Twitter - Liz Fenwick   Amazon Author Page  Official Author Website - Liz Fenwick 

Facebook Profile   Goodreads Author Profile

We Solve Murders (#1 in series) by Richard Osman

 

                                                      

Audiobook:  10 hours  33 minutes

Narrator: Nicola Walker

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Mystery, Humour, Crime

Publisher: Penguin Audio September 2024

Source:  Audible Membership

First Sentence:  It had finally happened. 

Review Quote: ''The thing that shines through in Osman’s writing is that he really likes people and revels in all their foibles and eccentricities. All of which makes for a delightful read – and another little slice of warmth in time for autumn' THE OBSERVER

My Opinion:

As a fan of  'The Thursday Murder Club' series despite it not being a favourite genre I decided to listen to the first book in Richard Osman's new series 'We Solve Murders' via my Audible Membership.

The protagonists of this series are Amy Wheeler and her father-in-law Steve Wheeler. They are joined by a vast cast of characters, good and bad amongst them. Amy is currently working as a security officer for a famous novelist, when chaos kicks off with Amy discovering she has not only become a target for a hit man but that there is a murder that needs solving.

Unfortunately this novel has not given me the same vibes as 'The Thursday Murder Club' so doubt I will be reading/listening to any more adventures of the Wheeler duo. Don't get me wrong the characterisation and humour are as appealing as all the author's writing, this one just did not get me excited. It took me weeks to listen to the full book which is not a good sign, just lack of enthusiasm.  Still I can recommend to true fans of the genre and those who enjoy humour in a thriller.

My Reviews 

The Thursday Murder Club   The Man Who Died Twice. The Bullet That Missed

The Last Devil To Die

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job...

Then a dead body, a bag of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a lethal enemy?

Author Profile:         

Courtesy of  Goodreads

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Richard Osman was born in Billericay, Essex, England on  November 28, 1970. He is now well known as an author, producer and television presenter. The Thursday Murder Club was his first novel. He is well known for TV shows including Pointless and Richard Osman’s House of Games. As the creative director of Endemol UK, Richard has worked as an executive producer on numerous shows including Deal Or No Deal and 8 Out of 10 Cats. He is also a regular on panel and game shows such as Have I Got News For You, Would I Lie To You and Taskmaster.

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Amazon Author Page   Goodreads Author Profile  Twitter - Richard Osman

Who Can you Trust (#4 in Cristy Ward Series) by Susan Lewis

                                       

Ebook:  384 pages 

Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Adult Fiction, Mystery 

Publisher:  HarperCollins (9thApril 2026)

Source: My Kindle Library via NetGalley

First Sentence:  Most people walked a little faster when passing 42 Randall Lane, picking up the pace as if something about the house might somehow be rotten or contagious or was waiting to spring outing get them.

Review Quote:  'Plenty of twists to keep you guessing' Heat

My Opinion: 

Susan Lewis is a prolific author writing across a broad range of genre, crime thrillers, suspense and family drama. I have been reading and enjoying her books on and off for over twenty five years now.

'Who Can You Trust' is the fourth title in the series about "hindsight" a podcast with the protagonists Cristy and Connor. This time they are investigating a suspected miscarriage of justice concerning a young woman convicted of murdering her baby twins some twenty years ago. The investigation is not an easy one and it impacts on the characters working and personal lives. It was great to catch up with the many familiar characters as they worked on another fascinating case.

Although this novel will read well as a stand alone story, I would recommend reading the whole series in order for maximum enjoyment and understanding of the relationships between the characters. Definitely recommend to fans of the series, the author and mysteries in general.

With thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK and the author for the opportunity to read and review

Previous Reviews:  A Sicilian Affair.  Don't Believe A Word  Nothing to See Here 

Never Look Back

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

Book 4 in the Cristy Ward series

A terrible crime. A shocking confession. Do you believe her?

Twenty years ago, Nicole’s twins disappeared without a trace.

No bodies. No witnesses.

Despite her pleas of innocence, Nicole was convicted.

Now she’s out. And she’s finally confessed.

But for true crime podcast host Cristy Ward, the story doesn’t add up.

Having worked on the case as a young reporter, Cristy can’t help but wonder whether Nicole is the villain everyone believes her to be.

Why did Nicole confess after so many years … and is the truth still out there, waiting…?

Author Profile:         

                                                                         

                                                                                 

                                               Courtesy of Official Author Website 

I was born in 1956, in Bristol.  My father was a Welsh miner, a poet, an engineer and a thinker.  My mother was one of 13 children who, at 20, persuaded my father to spend his bonus on an engagement ring instead of a motorbike.  We were a normal, happy, nuclear family, living in a spanking new council house on the outskirts of town – my mother’s pride and joy.  But we were going to do better, my mother had made up her mind about that.  My father, an unabashed communist, was writing a book, I was signed up for ballet, elocution, piano and eventually a private boarding school, and my brother, (the real great love of my mother’s life) was going to succeed at everything he set his mind to.

The rest of this fascinating biography can be read on the authors  Official Author Website

Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

 Official Author Website  Twitter Profile   Instagram Profile   Facebook Profile 

Amazon Profile    Goodreads Profile

Six Little Words by Sally Page

 

                                            

Ebook:   432 pages      

Genre:  Contemporary Literary Fiction, Fiction,                                         

Publisher: Harper Collins 12 March 2026

Source: NetGalley

First Sentences: To be or not to be... That is all that is written on the orange card. Six little words. Nothing more.

Review Quote: 'I LOVE Sally Page's story-telling and her characters, who, quite frankly, could simply sit about a room for an entire novel and I'd still be entranced' Freya North

My Opinion: 

Having been recommended to Sally Page's novels a couple of years ago, she is now a firm favourite of mine. 'Six Little Words' is the fourth I have read and it is just as captivating as her previous ones.

A group of very diverse men and women get together as a group to try and discover creativity within themselves. They all have inner struggles ranging from battling cancer to difficult childhoods. The group gives them the confidence to form new friendships and regain their self esteem. Using quotes from Shakespeare to introduce each chapter, cleverly leads the characters into the creative ideas they come up with.

Both funny and sad the story is to be recommended to readers that enjoy character driven fiction that deals with contemporary problems.

With thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read and review.

 

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

Can one small note give her the courage to find a new path?One Note. One Act of kindness. Her new beginning is closer than she thinks.

Kate gave up her dreams of being a painter years ago. But six little words pinned to the noticeboard of her local café could change her path forever.

‘To be, or not to be…’ – printed on orange card with no explanation – appears one morning.

Each day, a new line from a different Shakespeare play is added, sparking curiosity throughout the café. Among the regulars is Bardy, a retired English teacher grappling with writer’s block.

As Kate and Bardy follow this breadcrumb trail, they discover a local community group encouraging people to rediscover their own creative spark – and the long-lost courage to chase it.

For Kate, their new group might just offer a second chance at happiness, if only Bardy can find the strength to share his story too…

Previous Review:  The Keeper of Stories.  The Book of Beginnings  The Secrets of Flowers

Author Profile: 

Courtesy of Author Website

After studying history at university, Sally moved to London to work in advertising. In her spare time she studied floristry at night school and eventually opened her own flower shop. Sally came to appreciate that flower shops offer a unique window into people’s stories and she began to photograph and write about this floral life in a series of non-fiction books. Later, she continued her interest in writing when she founded her fountain pen company, Plooms.co.uk.

In her debut novel, The Keeper of Stories, Sally combines her love of history and writing with her abiding interest in the stories people have to tell. Sally now lives in Dorset. Her eldest daughter, Alex, is a doctor and her younger daughter is the author, Libby Page. Both are keen wild swimmers.

Photograph, Trailer and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Amazon Author Page.    Author's Official Website.   Instagram Profile  Twitter Profile

Facebook - SallyPageAuthor.   Goodreads Profile

The Cottage in the Clouds by Caroline Young

                                                  

Ebook:   327 pages      

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Romance                                            

Publisher:  Feb 20th 2026 by Storm Publishing

Source:  NetGalley - My Kindle

First Sentence: Anwen's day ended with a brief walk in the woodland around her cottage, as her days had done for more years than she cared to count.

Review Quote: ‘Really captured my heart' Reader Review

My Opinion: 

Caroline Young writes heart-warming stories about ordinary people and their everyday lives in Wales. This is the third of her novels that I have read, previously they have been set on the beautiful island of Anglesey, where she lives. This is the first novel she has set anywhere other than the island, this time the setting is in the mountains of Eryi or Snowdon. Living on the edge of the National Park myself  it is lovely to be able to visualise the locations that the author describes so well.

The main protagonist in 'The Cottage in the Clouds' is Elin Pugh who is currently feeling very unsettled in her London life. A call to help an elderly friend back in Wales where she grew up sounds like the ideal escape and opportunity to decide what she wants to do next with her life.  Anwen, the elderly lady who played a large part in Elin's childhood is a talented artist but known locally as very grumpy and somewhat of a recluse.  The homecoming makes Elin realise that something is missing from her life. As she and Anwen become closer and secrets from the past come to the surface, Elin begins to feel that maybe this is where she is meant to be.  The big secret I guessed early on in the novel as it is rather predictable, however that did not detract from the story as the truth is slowly revealed to Elin.

Recommend this gentle story to lovers of Wales looking to be transported to the wild and beautiful  countryside whilst enjoying a tender tale of finding oneself.

Thanks to Storm Publishing, the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review ' The Cottage in the Clouds' 

Previous Review:  Coming Home to the Windmill by the Sea.   The Lighthouse Keeper of Anglesey

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

When Elin Pugh’s life in London crumbles, she returns to the Welsh mountains of her childhood to care for Anwen Jones, the enigmatic artist who once filled her young heart with dreams of creativity and freedom.

Anwen lives alone in a ramshackle cottage high in the hills, surrounded by cats and decades of dust-covered paintings. Fiercely independent and famously difficult, she’s spent years driving away visitors with her sharp tongue and signs warning trespassers to ‘Go Away’. But as Elin settles into life in the shadow of the mountains, she discovers that beneath Anwen’s prickly exterior lies a woman with an extraordinary story to tell.

Helping the ailing artist catalogue a lifetime of work, Elin begins to uncover long-buried secrets about her own past that her mother has kept hidden for over thirty years. Soon she discovers that her journey home was about more than escaping – it was about finding out who she really is, rediscovering the life-changing joy of creativity and learning where she truly belongs.

A sweeping story of love, loss and the wonder of the natural world, The Cottage in the Clouds explores how creativity and unexpected bonds can help us to heal and find our way back to ourselves.

Author Profile:           

         

Caroline Young has always written stories and found inspiration in the world around her, be it a bustling city or a windswept beach. She has worked for many years as a writer of non-fiction books for children, which allows for few adjectives or creative expression, so she keeps these things for her fiction. As the mother of three grown-up daughters, she now has the time to focus on her own writing, and tell the stories she wants to tell. Caroline has a degree in English from Cambridge University where she was exposed to wonderful writers from every age, and she aims to relate just some of their ideas and language to her life and writing. Caroline's idea of paradise is a bright day with a bracing wind and the sea, waiting for her to dive into it (even in January!). She hopes to write stories that the reader can lose themselves in, which take them somewhere different and fill them with joy in the beauty of the natural world, and all the amazing people in it.

            

Amazon Author Page.     Goodreads Profile.   Caroline Young - Storm Publishing

Photos and Biographical information Courtesy of the above links.