On Bee's Bookshelf

What are ghosts, really? Are they the souls of the dearly departed, a warning from the great beyond, a manifestation of our subconscious desires and fears - or something entirely unexplainable? In this mesmerising collection of eight newly translated short stories, we meet brand new ghost stories with lives (or deaths) of their own. They're full of wonder and whimsy, playing with the concepts of ghosts to explore different aspects of life from self-reflection, loss, love and identity. Each story has it's own style, but the same contemplative, warm voice flows through every one. These tales are strange, with beautifully vivid writing and lyrical, poetic wording that were a pleasure to read. Sunwoo paints each story in rich detail, whether the setting is ordinary or extraordinary, keeping each tale short but their core ideas still shining through without having to interpret or think too hard (although you may anyway) Some of the tales bordered on the longer side of what you'd...

Dutiful and hard-working, Rhea Wolfe lives a simple, if mundane, life with her pet parrot in small-town Alabama. Sure, she may not love her desk job working for an insurance agency. And her on-again-off-again relationship with the local mechanic may not have the fiery passion she’s read about in her favourite books. Still, things are stable, which is more than she can say about the two hopelessly immature younger sisters who rely on her. But when Rhea’s estranged grandmother dies, leaving her everything—including a magical heritage Rhea never knew she carried—she finds herself in Arcadia Falls, the quaint mountain town her mother made her swear to avoid at all costs. While the defunct video store she’s also inherited needs a serious upgrade, Rhea’s lucky that resident handyman Hunter Blakely is more than happy to help—and more than easy on the eyes. If only he wasn’t the grandson of her grandmother’s sworn enemy in witchcraft. Yet as Rhea makes plans for the bookstore of her dreams, sh...

  Hold onto your darkest fears and prepare to walk through the fog to explore the history of the Silent Hill franchise. Since 1999 when the first video game was released, Silent Hill has been a cult icon in the horror world - its games and subsequent movies crafting a terrifying, complex lore that I’ve been obsessed with since I first discovered it.  After starting off with a little reflection on the psychology of fear and why we love all things terrifying, this bible explores the six games in detail, delving into the characters and their journeys, the different stories players can discover — everything is laid out in a clear structure, full of amazing stories not only about the rich lore, but interesting insights into game design and development from behind the scenes too. At points there was a little too much text, if you’re a big fan you might find yourself skipping sections where the plot of the games are practically explained - at times the lengthy explanations weren’t th...

The day Ruth Foster’s life changes begins the same way as many others—with a walk through her North Carolina hometown toward the diner where she works. But on this day, Ruth is stopped by the local sheriff, who insists that she accompany him to a health clinic. Women like Ruth—young, unmarried, living alone—must undergo testing in order to preserve decency and prevent the spread of sexual disease. Though Ruth has never shared more than a chaste kiss with a man, by day’s end she is one of dozens of women held at the State Industrial Farm Colony for Women. Some, like 15-year-old Stella Temple, are brought in at their family’s request. For Stella, even the Colony’s hardships seem like a respite from her nightmarish home life. Superintendent Dorothy Baker, convinced that she’s transforming degenerate souls into upstanding members of society, oversees the women’s medical treatment and “training” until they’re deemed ready for parole. Sooner or later, everyone at the Colony learns to abide b...

It's a new year! Time for reading challenges to be reset and brand new stories to discover. Start out your 2026 with some of these fabulous books that are releasing early this year and come Bee-recommended.  January Releases:  Women of a Promiscuous Nature by Donna Everhart  This is not an enjoyable story. It's not fun to read. But it is important and undeniably compelling. Following the story of three women and girls whose lives have been forever changed by 'The Colony' - an institute where men could send any woman they didn't agree with. It explores the violent misogyny that happened, and still happens from the systemic control to the society-approved abuse. Well-researched, impeccably written and unforgettable. Galentines Day by Rebecca Anderson   Three girls, one tradition that spans years. Galentines Day follows three friends as they grow up together and apart, navigating adult life and all the difficulties it brings. It's a beautiful snapshot of life in al...

So Thrilled For You - Holly Bourne (January 2025)  Four friends gather for a baby shower, but it ends in fire and disaster. During the investigation, more comes out than just who set the fire. A searing statement on modern womanhood and motherhood with the intensity of a thriller and the emotional devastation of a crime drama. A compulsive story about aging and friendships throughout the years with a compelling thriller edge. As usual, Holly Bourne nails it.  A Serial Killers Guide to Marriage - Asia Mackay (January 2025) Haze and Fox have a lovely, normal marriage in the suburbs with their child. But their love story started with killing evil men and revelling in the bloodshed. Now bored in suburbia, Haze accidentally kills a man and finds it's going to be harder to keep pretending. A delightful, dark love story like a bloodier Mr & Mrs Smith - balancing a relatable story about losing yourself with a murderous twist.  The Science of Racism - Keon West (January 2025) ...

Happy Holidays, bookworms! I hope you're all looking forward to a lovely festive season for whatever reason and have written out your lists to Santa. If not, here's my top five new releases for you to add to your wishlist for a bit of festive reading fun!  How to Slay at Christmas  by Sarah Bonner  Jessica loves Christmas and killing bad men. Fearne hates Christmas, her stupid husband and her stupid husbands Christmas Market, where Jessica just got a job as Mrs Claus because murderesses can have hobbies too, okay? A devilishly festive tale about women taking revenge on violent, misogynistic men full of dark humour, beautiful characters, feminine rage and a truly beautiful Christmas vibe.  The Christmas Party  by Kathryn Croft Six friends reunite after years for Christmas at a remote, snowed in manor - to discover the tragedy that broke them apart isn't over yet. A locked room mystery, years of lies, a cast of untrustworthy characters and a decade old murder myst...

  When librarian Kay bumps into her ex-boyfriend Nick at a Christmas market, she thinks fate is finally giving her a second chance with her first big love. But then she gets spectacularly tangled in a Christmas tree-netting machine and meets another Nick entirely. One who cuts her free, dresses her wounds, and makes her pulse race in ways that thoroughly confuse her. Finance Nick is successful, settled, and ready to talk five-year plans. Farmer Nick makes handcrafted furniture, supports local charities, and sees the creative spirit Kay has kept hidden behind her library desk. But how is a girl to choose? Soon she’s spending her days delivering books to children’s hospitals and care homes with farmer Nick, before dashing home to whip off her reindeer onesie and glam up for romantic dates at the ballet with finance Nick. But the countdown to Christmas is on, and Kay can’t keep this up forever. Somehow she must navigate London’s most complicated love triangle, avoid getting any more p...

Mia’s been ghosted.  Her festive spirits are at an all-time low, but at least her Christmas can’t get any worse. Or so she thought, until she discovered that her ex, Sam, is spending Christmas with her family. Now she’s looking at a whole week with the man who broke her heart and no chance of escape. John’s a ghost.  After 30 years in limbo without a soul to talk to, he’s bored to death but still can’t seem to reach the afterlife. So when Mia screams at the sight of him, he can't help but wonder why this lovelorn girl can see him. Could helping to ease her heartbreak be his ticket to passing on? As John and Mia become friends, he’s desperate to work out how he can cheer her up. But then John sees the way that Sam and Mia look at each other and he knows how to convince her that love isn’t dead after all.  She just needs a ghostly nudge in the right direction… "You can see me?"  "Well of course, I'm not blind!"  "No, I can see that, but … you can see me?...

As a self-confessed CPD nerd, I was very excited when this found its way to my desk. I don't get much time to brag while doing book reviews, but you're looking at the 2nd highest CPD point earner in the Chartered Institute of Public Relations right here.  And this book was an absolute delight, so easily readable, written without jargon or overly complex language; pulling in useful graphs, diagrams, relevant stats and case studies that all add real value and make information easily digestible.  It offers simple, explanations about the importance of continued learning after structured education finishes, highlighting how mindfully developing your skills and knowledge can be a key part of professional and personal growth.  And if you're not sure where to start, this covers a lot of ground, from showing how different organisations promote CPD, different learning styles to try, exploring how desirable skills have grown in recent years and types of reflective practice you can b...

Quinn Lee is a walking disaster with perfect hair, zero filter, and an alarming caffeine addiction who’s just ploughed her life savings into rescuing her family’s failing Christmas tree farm. She’s got one shot to pull off a Christmas miracle, so when an important promotional cookie order goes wrong, it understandably leads to a spectacular meltdown in front of cute-as-a-button bakery owner, Zoey. Zoey bakes like an angel, thinks “drat” is a swear word, and is wholly unprepared for the opinionated, red-headed hurricane who storms into her shop competing for “world’s worst customer”. But she’s equally unprepared to discover that you don’t have to like someone to find them irresistible. When both their businesses are threatened, a reluctant partnership becomes their only solution. But somewhere between Zoey’s killer dance moves and Quinn’s Chuck Norris puns, incompatible starts looking a lot like inevitable. As Christmas approaches, can these polar opposites navigate unexpected feelings,...

When Beth March is found dead in the woods on New Year’s Day, her sisters vow to uncover her murderer. Suspects abound. There’s the neighbor who has feelings for not one but two of the girls. Meg’s manipulative best friend. Amy’s flirtatious mentor. And Beth’s lionhearted first love. But it doesn’t take the surviving sisters much digging to uncover motives each one of the March girls had for doing the unthinkable. Jo, an aspiring author with a huge following on social media, would do anything to hook readers. Would she kill her sister for the story? Amy dreams of studying art in Europe, but she’ll need money from her aunt—money that’s always been earmarked for Beth. And Meg wouldn’t dream of hurting her sister…but her boyfriend might have, and she’ll protect him at all costs. Despite the growing suspicion within the family, it’s hard to know for sure if the crime was committed by someone close to home. After all, the March sisters were dragged into the spotlight months ago when their f...

Twelve years ago, the six of us were young and carefree, getting ready to celebrate Christmas. We had the house to ourselves: no parents, nobody telling us to behave. We just had to look after  Seffie , my friend  Gabby’s  little sister. We thought she was tucked up safely in her lilac pyjamas, sleeping through the music. We were wrong. The next morning, when we went to wake her, her bed was empty. She was never seen again. And no one ever found out why…    Twelve years later, I receive a call from Gabby, inviting me to spend Christmas at her remote Scottish lake house. None of us have spoken since the night that Seffie disappeared, and part of me knows I shouldn’t go. But Gabby says we need to be together to help us move on. Yet as soon as I arrive, it becomes clear that she has another reason to bring us all together. She claims one of us knows what happened to her little sister. And, as a snowstorm traps us in the house, she’ll stop at nothing to get to the t...

Sloane Price knows there are worse things than the end of the world, so when the zombie apocalypse happens, the opportunity to escape her violent home life offers no relief. She’s already lost the one thing that matters most—her sister—and now seems like the perfect time to give up. But when she inadvertently ends up barricaded in her high school with five other teens, their desperate and volatile bids for survival force a series of impossible decisions. As the days creep by and the dead close in, Sloane must confront everything she thought she knew about life, death, survival, and sacrifice and—once and for all—make a choice. Looking for a book that's gonna throw you directly into the eye of the storm and keep you dizzy right until the end? You'll love this. This is not a test is a breathtakingly compelling take on a zombie apocalypse, full of a subtle horror that looms overhead with every page; the fear of the undead just outside the door being not quite as scary as the human...

After a breakdown and the loss of her job, Mattie moves into a house inherited from an aunt she never knew existed, hoping to find peace and stability. But the house holds more than she expected —it has a sitting tenant, and secrets that refuse to stay buried. As Mattie unravels the tangled threads of her family’s past, she discovers the shocking truth about her mother, her birth, and the sister no one ever spoke about. Just as she begins to settle in, an unknown enemy launches a sinister campaign to drive her out of the home she’s grown to love. With her past and present about to collide, can Mattie find the strength to rebuild her life. Some houses are haunted, but not always by evil spirits. The Sitting Tenant throws us right into the fray with Mattie as they're released from hospital and get a fresh start with a mysteriously inherited family home, a curiously eccentric late aunt to discover, family secrets to unravel and a new collection of worries to think about as the voices ...

Jessica Williams loves Christmas: the food, the drink, the fairy lights, the opportunities to take out all the miserable people who ruin the festive season for others. And what better cover for her murderous intentions than taking a job as Mrs Claus at the Ellsbury Christmas Market grotto? After all, who would possibly think Mrs Claus could stab a man through the eye with a Phillips-head screwdriver? Fearne Dixon hates Christmas. As the long-suffering wife of the Ellsbury Christmas Market’s manager, she’s sick to the back teeth of it and it’s still only November. But then the bodies start piling up, an old rival arrives back in her life, and Fearne reaches breaking point. "When someone is writing a list of people they think could be guilty of garrotting a man with a strand of Christmas lights, they are not going to think of Santa's wife, are they? And trust me. No one ever figured out it was me." Well this slayed (Sleighed?) - but that's exactly what I've come to ...