 Hi everyone, a big welcome or welcome back to my channel. Today we're going to be talking about everything that I read in January and February, and my reading year has started off strong. I have read a lot. I'm loving reading at the moment, I'm loving thinking about my reviews to share with you all, and there are just so many amazing new releases flying around at the moment. I've been sent so many good proofs. A big thank you to all of the publishers who have sent me these copies. I really, really appreciate it. So we've got 17 books to talk about today, including all of the usual suspects, literary fiction, translated fiction, non-fiction, poetry, short stories, a surprising number of 4.5 star and 5 star reads. Let's get into it. The first book that I read this year was stolen by Anne Helen Lestadius, translated by Rachel Wilson-Broyles. This is a Swedish novel set north of the Arctic Circle. It follows the coming of age of a young Sami girl named Elsa, who when she is nine, witnesses the brutal killing of her family's reindeer. She tells nobody who or what she saw, including the Swedish police, and when she is a teenager, she finds herself the target of the man who killed the reindeer. I really enjoyed this book. It was a ride. This is about Sweden's indigenous people, both their inner community dynamics, as well as the wider violence and prejudice they've had to endure from others in society. There are quite a lot of heavy topics explored in here, quite unflinchingly. The settings and dynamics felt very authentic. I really enjoyed reading about this way of life. This book is also surprisingly tense, almost mystery thriller-esque, but in a very slow-paced way. I loved that it spanned multiple years. I loved that it explored how things develop, how years of anger and fear and guilt can build and build and build. This is quite a unique read, and I really, really enjoyed it, so in the end I gave it four stars. Next up, I read The Wake Up Call by Beth O'Leary. This is a contemporary Enemies to Lovers romance novel Beth O'Leary's newest. It follows Izzy and Lucas, two employees of Forest Manor Hotel, when they are told that the hotel will not be able to stay afloat beyond Christmas. By returning the engagement rings found in lost property, Izzy and Lucas must work together to save the hotel and try and keep their hearts intact as they do so. Beth O'Leary is one of my favorite romance writers. I just love her. She is so good at hitting all of the elements. Sweet, intriguing plots, quirky, delightful characters with really strong voices, funny, sexy, smart dialogue. This one was no exception. I loved the festive hotel setting, the whole plot setup was really lovely. There's such a gorgeous sense of community and the messiness of people's lives in here. I liked both Izzy and Lucas a lot. They were both spunky and immovable and endearing. The dialogue was great, very humorous and sparky. Also if you listen to this one on audiobook, Lucas' voice in particular with his Brazilian accent is so good. Not my favorite, Beth O'Leary. The switch and the no-show still beat this one for me but I loved it so I gave this one 4.5 stars. Next up I read I promise it won't always hurt like this by Claire McIntosh. This is a new non-fiction book that just came out at the beginning of March from Sphere in which Claire McIntosh shares her own personal experiences of the death of her father and her son through 18 promises to the reader. I read this one slowly over the course of a few months as and when I needed it. For those of you who may not know, my dad unexpectedly passed away last summer so this book was very welcome for me. In here Claire McIntosh is tender and generous and lays everything completely bare. I'm not quite sure how to explain what my reading experience of this one was like because I'm still so in my grief which is proving to be so many different things at once. It just felt right for me to be spending my time reading this book, to submerge myself in it and to think about my grief, to acknowledge that it's something I'm experiencing and that others experience too. I would highly recommend this book to anybody who wants to validate their own experiences or learn about others' experiences and grief more generally. It feels weird to give this one a rating but I guess it was five stars. Next up I read The Caretaker by Ron Rash. This is a literary novel set in the 1950s in North Carolina. It follows Blackburn, the caretaker in a cemetery whose life has been irrevocably altered by a childhood case of polio when he is charged with taking care of his only and best friend's pregnant wife as his friend goes to fight in the Korean War. Naomi is poor, uneducated and casted out from the community and the two characters grow closer together until a shattering development derails all of their lives. This is a quiet understated novel. It is a love story, an examination of family and duty and I loved it. It's one of those books where you can't quite put your finger on why you're so invested in it but you're totally hooked. I was completely transported into this story. I just wanted to live in these pages and follow these characters and their lives. The prose in here is divine, it actually gave me shivers. The characters are so well drawn, not overly detailed but somehow completely authentic feeling and there is such an engrossing sense of heartache and foreboding throughout this book that is so powerful. I love this. If quiet but sweeping literary novels are your thing, you've got to read it. Of course, I gave it five stars. Next up we have Happiness by Jack Bunderwood. This is a contemporary poetry collection exploring the ephemerality of happiness, its ever-present possibility of departure, and how we can keep hold of it. Themes in here include parenthood, anxiety, loss of family and friends, both the pleasure and panic of love. It is filled with the absurdity and strangeness of life and that came through really strongly for me. On the whole, I really enjoyed this collection. I loved a lot of the imagery, in particular describing love as being like moving a snail somewhere safer in the rain. There were a lot of funny and tender and odd moments that I related to. The language itself is also quite simple, which I enjoyed filled with satisfying metaphors and similes. I can't say that the collection had a very strong effect on me. There weren't any poems in particular that I totally loved, but this was very enjoyable so in the end I gave it 3.5 stars. Next up I read One of the Good Guys by Araminta Hall. This is a new psychological thriller novel out from Macmillan last month. It follows a man named Cole who leaves London for a remote seaside cottage when his marriage fails. Leonora has also moved to the coast for similar reasons and she is preparing for her next art exhibition. Then two young female activists raising awareness about gendered violence disappear locally and Cole and Leonora find themselves in the middle of a police investigation and media firestorm. This book is a ride. It is twisty and turny, filled with lots of layers, surprises, after surprises. I did not know where this was going while I was reading and I really enjoyed that aspect of it. I found it to be quite a unique and different read to what I'm used to. The characters in here are really engaging. You read from Cole's perspective the Good Guy. It's super interesting and uncomfortable. The book also explores a lot of contemporary issues. It includes mixed media throughout which is fun. On the face of it I think a lot of what happens in here could seem quite ridiculous and unrealistic. Unfortunately I don't think that's necessarily true. This was fun. Araminta Hall definitely knew what she was doing from start to finish. In the end I gave it four stars. Next up we have Minor Detail by Adania Shibley, translated by Elizabeth Jackett. This is a Palestinian novel told in two halves. One half in the summer of 1949, one year after the forced occupation of Palestine by Israeli forces, known both as the Nakba and the War of Israeli Independence, and one in present day when a woman in Ramallah learns about a minor detail in history. This book is as urgent now as it always has been. I'm really wanting to make an intentional effort to read more Palestinian voices at the moment and this one was already on my shelves. It centres around the capture, rape and murder of a young Palestinian woman. It is relatively short but it packs a massive punch. I raced through this. I found it to be incredibly intense and absorbing. I almost couldn't look away. The imagery is so vivid throughout, clearly building up a picture of these settings. It really zooms in on the tiny details of this minor detail in history, really transporting you to this time and place. I did find the first half to be more effective and slightly more engaging than the second half but the two together and the ultimate devastating parallels that are drawn between the two halves took my breath away. This was pretty exquisite. I would highly recommend it now and always in the end I gave it 4.5 stars. Next up I read Hidden Fires by Saireesh Hussein. This is a new novel out from HQ last month. It opens during Ramadan in 2017 as Grenfell Tower sets on fire. It follows two characters, Yusuf, an older man who lives on his own in Bradford and who is haunted by his own experiences of India's partition and his granddaughter Ruby who is experiencing her own teenage struggles and comes to stay with him. So I have mixed feelings about this one unfortunately. I went into this with super high expectations which frankly probably didn't do this book any favours. I fell in love with Saireesh Hussein when I read her debut novel The Family Tree a couple of years ago. I thought it was a perfectly balanced book and this one just wasn't as strong. The plot wasn't quite as engaging or propulsive. It just felt like there was less to it. The characters didn't grip me in quite the same way. I didn't fall in love with them. That being said the heart was still in this book. There's a real authenticity to Saireesh Hussein's writing that always shines through. She builds up such a convincing picture of family life and different communities. So in the end this was enjoyable but not my favourite and I gave it three stars. Next up I read Absolutely and Forever by Rose Tremaine. Set in the 50s and 60s in England this one tells the story of 15 year old Marianne, daughter of a wealthy army colonel and his wife. As she falls in love with 18 year old Simon before he moves away to Paris. I am a massive Rose Tremaine fan. What an accomplished author. This is a pretty short novel. It is sparsely told and the prose is beautiful. It is very character focused, very zoomed in. A real snapshot of young love and an endearing examination of this young girl in her coming of age. It feels totally transportive these characters and their lives just come alive on the page. I also really enjoyed the setting here. It is quite an interesting and understated examination of this period of time within a very specific upper middle class. We look closely at parenting styles and gender roles, the stiffness and coolness of basically all of the relationships in here. Rose Tremaine just does everything with such tenderness and intent. Pretty special though, not necessarily a favourite for me, so in the end I gave it four stars. Next up we have This Is Salvaged by Bohini Vara. This is a short story collection new from Grove Press this month. It follows a host of unrelated characters who through various turbulence are fervently searching for meaning in fellow humans. It is about different forms of estrangement, the nature of being a child, a friend, a sibling, a lover, and the relationship between oneself and others. The stories in here feel very varied and surprising, which I enjoyed. We have teenagers seeking intimacy as phone sex operators, a sibling who consumes the ashes of another, a young girl reads the encyclopedia to an elderly neighbour, an artist creates a life-sized arc. Some of the stories and moments in here I found to be particularly engaging and quite punchy. I liked the general vibes in here. It was certainly an unflinching look at human connection and at some of the darkest points of our lives. That being said, I don't think this one will be particularly memorable for me. I don't think it had a massive impact on me, so in the end I gave this one three stars. Next up I read Poiums by Len Penny. This is a new poetry collection that just came out at the end of February from Canon Gates. Written partly in the Scots language, this collection explores themes of womanhood, abuse, politics, and relationships. This is really good. I tore through this collection. The language and wordplay and lyricism in here is so delicious. The poems are almost song-like. They're very musical and enjoyable to read. The rhyme throughout is steadfast and reliable, and I love that. The inclusion of Scots in here is also really special. Scots is actually quite similar to traditional Cumbrian, which I'm familiar with, so I think that helped me. The poems in here are very fiery and punchy, very clear and to the point. I know that can be divisive in contemporary poetry, but I really enjoyed it here. It was quite an evocative and emotional reading experience ultimately. I definitely felt as though I was feeling some of the things that Len Penny had experienced. I really enjoyed this. Len Penny is a really bold and unique and interesting voice. In the end I gave this one 4.5 stars. Next up we have My Heavenly Favourite by Lucas Reinerfeld, translated by Michelle Hutchinson. This is a new Danish novel out this month from Faber & Faber. It is set during the summer of 2005 and explores the obsessive relationship between a 14-year-old farmer's child and the local veterinarian. I never read The Discomfort of Evening, which won the International Booker in 2020, but I tell you that I will be doing so now. I think everyone should know before going into this one that it is explicitly exploring the sexual and romantic relationship between an adult and a child. That is what it's about. This was a really intense reading experience. It is so uncomfortable and disconcerting on so many levels. The prose in here is just incredible. It is mesmerizing and crystal clear, almost trance-like. I was completely engrossed by almost every page. I was 100% transported to this time and place, to the house, to the fields, to the caravan. I haven't had such a visceral reading experience in a long time. Some of the bodily descriptions in here made me feel physically sick. This book is definitely not for everyone, but I know this reading experience is going to stick with me for a very long time. In the end, I gave it 4.5 stars. Next up, we have Vladivostok Circus by Elisa Chouardusupin, translated by Ines Abbas Higgins. This is a French literary novel, new from Dawn's Books earlier this month. Set in Russia as winter approaches, this one follows Natalie, a costume designer for a trio of acrobats who are performing the Russian Bar, a dangerous act at the Vladivostok Circus. I really enjoyed this book. I found the prose to be at once very simple, but also incredibly immersive and almost dream-like. It's difficult for me to put my finger on what it was about this exactly that kept me glued to the page, but all I wanted to do was read. This is very character-focused, which obviously I love. It explores themes of creativity, collaboration and belonging. The vibes are gloomy and slightly jarring. On the one hand, I kind of did want more from the characters in here. I wanted more substance, more meat, but at the same time I can totally see why this was executed exactly as it was, and it was very effective. I've seen reviews calling this underwhelming, and while I can kind of see why people have had that reaction, to me it was just beautiful and quiet and perfectly placed. And look at this cover. So good. So in the end, I gave this one four stars. Next up, I read Frank and Red by Matt Coyne. Another new release from this month, this one from Wildfire. This is a contemporary book about two characters who become unlikely friends across their garden fence. Grumpy, old Frank and old Recluse, who lives on his own and is estranged from his family and friends after his wife dies. And six-year-old Red, who recently moved into his new home and his new school, and who is struggling to come to terms with his mom and dad's separation. I listened to this one on NetGalley, and I would highly recommend the audiobook specifically. This was pretty much everything that I expected it to be. It was simple and somewhat predictable, character focused, well-paced, very nicely plotted. I really enjoyed reading from both Frank and Red's perspectives. Both were endearing and humorous and interesting in their own ways. The relationship between Frank and his wife was also a particular highlight. This definitely gave me all of the feelings that I hoped it would. It was very emotional in places. I can't say this one blew me away. I didn't find it to be particularly exceptional in any way. I'm not sure how long it will stick with me, but it was very endearing and very big-hearted, so in the end I gave it three stars. Next up, I read A Passage to India by E. M. Forster. This is a modern classic set in India in the 1920s. It follows a young British woman as she embarks on a relationship with a high-ranking Englishman, the son of her elderly companion. When the two women determine to explore the real India, they make friends with a charming Indian Muslim doctor. Then a mysterious incident occurs, and all of the characters are thrown into the middle of a passionate scandal. I am a massive E. M. Forster fan, and this was brilliant. A cutting exploration and critique of the British Raj in India at this time and the Anglo-Indian community in this specific town. This book gives such a clear insight into how individuals get caught up in the middle of great cultural conflicts. On the surface though, this book is a real drama. It is compelling and engaging with the plot, really driving everything forward. The characters are so well-crafted and morally gray, as we would expect from Forster. The landscapes are wonderful and luscious and symbolic. Everything in here just has so many layers to it. Whenever I read an E. M. Forster novel, I always read an analysis of it alongside the book. Not my personal favorite, E. M. Forster, but this was truly great. He just has such a clear, lucid vision of humanity and society. I dread the day when I run out of his work to explore. In the end, I gave this one 4.5 stars. Next up, I read Alphabetical Diaries by Sheila Hetty. This is a non-fiction book that came out from Fitzcarraldo editions earlier this month. It is comprised of Sheila Hetty's thoughts over a tenure period organized into alphabetical order. The structure of this book really hooked me. I was sold ever since I heard the premise. There are so many different levels and tones and vibes in here. Joyful and despairing, passionate and reflective, insightful and mundane. It is genuinely interesting seeing these thoughts arranged alphabetically, not knowing when they were written in relation to one another. It seems as though it may be odd and honestly, like it may have just been a bit of a marketing ploy. But I did really enjoy the reading experience and seeing what ideas reoccurred and what patterns emerged. This could have gone one of two ways, but I found it to be surprisingly engaging and enlightening. I don't know how this was so good and so enjoyable, but it was. So in the end, I gave it 4 stars. And finally, for today, we have God Complex by Rachel Allen. This is an epic narrative poem telling the story of the breakup of a toxic relationship against the backdrop of similarly toxic global degradation and disaster. I loved Rachel Allen's earlier collection Kingdomland. She is such an accomplished and assured poet. It was actually just recently announced that she's going to be heading a new poetry list for Fitzcarraldo editions in 2025. And that is some of the best literary news I've heard in a long time. This collection was fiery and urgent, a really sweeping reading experience. It explores pollutants and purgatory. It is filled with instability and grief and loss. Human experience and landscape is blurred and entwined in here in the most beautiful and visceral ways. This was just filled with feeling, the ultimate feeling being hope on the horizon. Really unique and powerful. I would highly recommend this to anybody wanting a really evocative poetry experience. In the end, I gave it 4 stars. So there we have it, guys. Those were all of the books that I read in January and February. So many amazing new releases. I am loving keeping on top of reading proofs at the moment. I really hope you all enjoyed hearing about these books. Please let me know if you've read any of them or which ones you most want to read. Also, please let me know what you've been reading. Have you been reading a lot? What's the best thing you've read so far this year? Thank you so much for watching everyone. I appreciate it so much. Really looking forward to chatting down below in the comments. And I'll hopefully see you very soon in a new video. Bye.