On Bee's Bookshelf

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 ...

Hanna Stevens has perfected the art of being fine.   After her mother’s death and a breakup that leaves her shattered, pretending becomes easier than processing. At least, until she meets Milo at her best friend's engagement party. The "doesn't do dating" groomsman sits at the top of her list of people to stay the hell away from, but when he witnesses one of her weaker moments, he can't help but offer himself as a distraction.  Friends with benefits never backfires, right? As Milo and Hanna get closer, they’re both forced to admit they aren't as fine as they're pretending to be.  With her best friend’s wedding on the horizon—to her ex’s brother, no less—Hanna is juggling a grief that won't give up, an ex who won't give way, and a groomsman who won't give in. Hanna must decide if she's willing to fight for a real shot at love and risk facing yet another loss, or if she'll settle once again for the safety of “fine.” "I think you'...

Dressed in a white tunic and adorned with candles, a teenager is found dead on the island of Lidingö, his skill smashed in. Twenty-three years earlier, a young girl was also found murdered in the same place, in the same garments, traditionally intended to celebrate Saint Lucia. At the time, the victim's boyfriend was convicted of her murder, which he has always denied.  Was he innocent? Has the real culprit struck again? But why now?  Commissioner Aleksander Storm, with the unexpected help of French policewoman Maïa Rehn who recently moved to Sweden, stubbornly attempts to untangle the bizarre case and, in the process, uncovers a long-buried secret that holds the key to a deeper, darker mystery that will put everyone at risk… The lidingö mysteries saga continues with Gustawsson's latest offering of another atmospheric, twisted gothic crime thriller. Set against the same beautifully frozen, isolated backdrop as the prior, it has all the dark, devilish things I loved about ...

Helsinki, 1982. Recently divorced postal worker Ilmari Nieminen has promised his daughter a piano for Christmas, but with six days to go – and no money – he's desperate. A last-minute job offers a transport a valuable antique sofa to Kilpisjärvi, the northernmost town in Finland. With the sofa secured in the back of his van, Ilmari stops at a gas station, and an old friend turns up, offering to fix his faulty wipers, on the condition that he tags along. Soon after, a persistent Saab 96 appears in the rearview mirror. And then a bright-yellow Lada. That's when Ilmari realises that he is transporting something truly special. And that's when Ilmari realises he might be in serious trouble… Oh, look, another Antti Tuomainen book that I’m going to rave about. Predictable, right? But that is entirely his fault for being so consistently on the pulse and entertaining.  While on the surface this has all the classic elements that I love about a Tuomainen story — a painfully desperate ...

The invitation arrives out of the blue. In it, Matilda discovers a father she’s never met. Kingsley Cello is a visionary, a reclusive artist. And when he asks her to spend the summer at his seaside home, Hidden Beach, Matilda expects to find a part of herself she’s never fully understood. Instead, she finds Meer, her long-lost, openhearted brother; Brock, a former child star battling demons; and brooding, wild Tatum, who just wants her to leave their crumbling sanctuary. With Kingsley nowhere to be seen, Matilda must delve into the twisted heart of Hidden Beach to uncover the answers she’s desperately craving. But secrets run thicker than blood, and blood runs like seawater. And everyone here is lying. "I am not just a girl in a college sweatshirt. Beneath my surface there is darkness and strength. Maybe madness. But maybe magic." Despite not being a fan of it in real life, I just love it when writers lie to me. When they confuse me, make me distrustful of everything I'm ...

When the chief suspect in the disappearance of Áróra' s sister is found dead, and Áróra' s new financial investigation leads to the street where her sister was last scene, she is drawn into a shocking case that threatens everything …  When the fate of Áróra' s missing sister, Isafold, is discovered, Áróra is relieved that she can halt a search that has taken over her life, even if the mystery remains unsolved. But when Isafold' s boyfriend – chief suspect in her disappearance – is found dead in the same place that Isafold' s body was found, Áróra begins to lose her grip on reality. To distract herself, she dives headfirst into a money-laundering case that her friend Daníel is investigating. But she finds that there is more than meets the eye, and once again, all leads point towards Engihjalli, the street where Isafold lived and died, and a series of shocking secrets that could explain and endanger everything…  I have been waiting for this book with equal parts excit...

Thirteen years. Three women. One annual sleepover. 13 February 2013. Alicia, Marnie and Hannah have their first Galentine’s Day sleepover. They’re eighteen, single, and the world is at their feet. Soon they’ll go their separate ways after college, but they promise that every year, they’ll have their sleepover. 13 February 2026. There are only two friends at the annual sleepover. Their friendships have been tested by life, by partying, breakdowns, and even by pregnancies. Are their best Galentine’s Days now behind them? "Perhaps it's more about accepting that our friendship looks different now to when we were eighteen ... choosing to reconnect with each other again and again, even after bust-ups, drifting away and busy lives." When I met my best girlfriend, it was actually almost thirteen years ago just like our story. We used to spend our weekends drinking cheap beer, discussing our latest dumb decisions at sleepovers and being silly teenagers. Flash forward, our precious...

Blurb:  Vita Woods is on the brink. She has a good job and a successful doctor boyfriend, Max, with whom the sex is great and the chat sufficient; a vivacious and charming sister Gracie, her verbal sparring partner and best friend for life; and she’s even got a goldfish called Whitney Houston, who brightens her days by showing her she's not the only one going round in circles. Because it’s the days that are Vita’s problem. Vita is not leaving the house. In fact, Vita rarely exits the basement apartment where she lives, since Vita is in “The Pit” – a place of deep exhaustion and semi-consciousness where she spends much of her time, dead to the world and to herself. She has been sick for months, with an illness that no doctor, not even Max, can medically diagnose. One day an unexpected courier delivery forces Vita upstairs, into the light - and into a chance encounter with her neighbours upstairs. Suddenly, Vita finds herself faced with an even trickier dilemma. She likes her new fri...

Audrey and Ian were best friends—until they fell in love with the same man. To be precise, they fell in love with, married, and divorced the same man. And there’s no coming back from that. Twenty-odd years later, they’re right back at the beginning: Vienna, where their university study abroad turned into a love triangle from which they never quite recovered. But it’s Christmas, and Audrey’s daughter is getting married. Time to let bygones be bygones. Not for the sake of the holiday or even because they’ve matured with age…but because their mutual ex is nowhere to be found. It’s up to Audrey and Ian to track him down. As wedding plans go further awry, the former besties race to find the father of the bride. Juggling complicated family dynamics (and the cocktails required to cope), they learn that, sometimes, it’s not about the search but the friendships rediscovered along the way. "The waiter looks at us, confused, but we both nod. We remember each other's poison of choice. Of ...

The world is about to end. Again. Ever since the first Storm wreaked havoc on civilization as we know it, seventeen-year-old Liz Flannery has been holed up in an abandoned bookstore in suburban New Jersey where she used to work, trading books for supplies with the few remaining survivors. It’s the one place left that feels safe to her.  Until she learns that another earth-shattering Storm is coming . . . and everything changes. Enter Maeve, a prickly and potentially dangerous out-of-towner who breaks into the bookstore looking for shelter one night. Though the two girls are immediately at odds, Maeve has what Liz needs—the skills to repair the dilapidated store before the next climate disaster strikes—and Liz reluctantly agrees to let her stay. As the girls grow closer and undeniable feelings spring up between them, they realize that they face greater threats than the impending Storm. And when Maeve’s secrets and Liz’s inner demons come back to haunt them both, they find themselves...

When Anna Graham finds diamond earrings in her husband’s drawer the day before Valentine’s Day, she knows they’re not for her – her ears aren’t even pierced. Gray is having an affair – but before she can confront him about his betrayal, he receives a terminal cancer diagnosis that shatters their family. As Gray lies dying in their Damask Square home, Anna meets Laurel – the nurse who stole her husband’s heart. Despite her rage, Anna finds herself sharing Gray’s final days with this other woman, both desperate to ease his suffering while drowning in their own grief. But hidden in their loft, Anna discovers traces of a stranger – a boy who was a gifted pianist, who had a different life before he became her husband. As she struggles to hold herself together for her teenage children, Anna realises everything she believed about Gray was built on carefully constructed lies. Can two women who loved the same man find a way to heal – and help each other discover who Gray really was? "I ima...

  A startling, compelling collection of over 50 short stories and micro-fiction from Japanese writers, exploring the treatment of women and girls under a misogynistic society.  From critique of sexist etiquette and expectations, to violence and discrimination - this collection touches on points that all women will be able to find some connection, catharsis and understanding in. From simple, striking prose to whip-smart wordplay to poetic entries and fantastical, powerful metaphors that vividly take root in your head, it's full of beautiful examples of writing. Some readers have said it's not always clear the message of certain stories, potentially the translation could be adding a barrier here or cultural nuance but there's usually a brief overview and explanation at the end to help with any clarification you may need.  As with all collections, you might not enjoy everything, and there's such a variety of styles to enjoy. Sci-fi tales, surreal literary fiction, short bu...

If you knew you had fifty-nine minutes until everything and everyone you love would be lost forever, what would you do with that time? It's an ordinary evening. People are coming home from work, cooking dinner for their children, cuddling on sofas with their lovers. And then the message arrives, shattering everyone's worlds: Missiles are set to destroy England in fifty-nine minutes. Everyone should seek immediate shelter. 59 minutes  follows the journey of three women trying to make it home to and protect their families. The journeys should be simple, but with a lost schoolchild seeking help, a teenage daughter suddenly going missing, and dangerous criminals on the prowl, there is peril at every corner. Review:  " It's a beautiful day for the world to end" In this compulsive, terrifying tableau of real life, we follow Carrie, Frankie and Mrs Dabb when the alerts start to sound. And then the news comes; there's less than an hour until their world quite literall...

  On the windswept shore of her coastal town, seventeen-year-old Rose finds fleeting solace from a life marred by her father’s cruelty. There, she meets William, a mysterious fisherman whose quiet strength offers the comfort she has never known. As their bond deepens, Rose’s long-held dream of attending art school in Paris suddenly becomes reality, forcing her to leave behind the one person who truly understands her. Yet even in the vibrant heart of the city, William’s presence lingers in her dreams, his absence a hollow ache she cannot ignore. Drawn back home by an inexplicable pull, Rose embarks on a journey to uncover William’s past—only to discover he may not be who she thought… You know the phrase “good things come in small packages?” Well how about “emotionally devastating stories come in small books?” I know it doesn’t quite have the same ring to it but that’s exactly how I’d describe this.  A sweeping tale about a love and recovery that transcends time and death, Drown...

May 1940. As the Nazis overrun Denmark, Britain counters by invading Iceland. Secret agent Daphne Devine is dropped into occupied territory to assess a clairvoyant in Reykjavik, who may be passing information to the enemy. Alone, Daphne must navigate her way through this strange, frozen landscape, where the Allies aren’t always welcomed with open arms. When a new lead takes her North into Strandir, the land of sorcerers, she encounters fresh peril and discovers that now she, the hunter, has become the hunted. Daphne must use all her Secret Service training to outwit the enemy agents in her midst. Review: The simple fact of the matter is that Syd Moore is a witch. Back hundreds of years ago, she would’ve intimidated and scared men with her creativity, her ability to weave words and stories, her boldness and command of feminine power. Let’s be honest, men are probably still intimidated by her but we’re not locking people up in Colchester Gaol for witchcraft anymore.  Her writing is q...