On Bee's Bookshelf

  The Quickening - Tallulah Riley  ⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Speculative Fiction | Released: 23/06/2022 This Fragile Earth - Susannah Wise  ⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Speculative Fiction | Released: 24/07/2021 The Men - Sandra Newman  ⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Speculative Fiction | Released: 02/07/2022 How To Live Without You - Sarah Everett ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre: YA | Released: 16/05/2022 Tell Me About It - Sacha Naspini  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Literary Fiction | Released: 02/06/2022 The Truth About Unspeakable Things - Emily A. Myers  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Fiction | Released: 06/04/2022 Love, Loss & Little White Lies - India Rigg  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Fiction | Released: 19/05/2022 Ben & Sally Episode 1 - Oliver Sparshot  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Romcom | Released: 21/05/2022 Why We Read - Collection  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Non-Fiction | Released: 05/05/2022 You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty - Akwaeke Emezi  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Fiction | Released: 26/05/2022  Young Women - Jessica Moor  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genre: Fiction | Released: 26/05/20...

  Ben is starting all over again - and it's terrifying.  He'd been with Phil for years, and he was the perfect boyfriend, anybody could see that. But the excitement, the spark had burned out long ago and Ben was getting tired of sitting in the  embers, so he packs up and leaves. Starting over again in the city, he sets out on a journey to experience all the fun … and the men that the city has to offer a newly single young man.  Ben is looking for something - purpose, love, direction - but he has no idea about the unlikely places he might find it, maybe even with a strange potential new flatmate called Sally who won't stop talking about his skinny legs and could be the worst possible flatmate in the world.  Ben & Sally Episode One is the first instalment in a new series from Oliver Sparshot, and it might just be your new favourite book series.  This hilariously witty tale is a journey of a young gay man trying to find himself out in the world ...

Sofia Khan and The Baby Blues - Ayisha Malik ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sofia Khan might not be doing things the way people think she should, but she's doing it her way. She's divorced again, living with her mum and stepfather and trying to climb over the many hurdles to adopt her foster daughter Millie.  She's trying to do her best, but when the past starts to creep into the present, she has a choice that could either leave her heart broken, or fill it with more love than she ever knew possible.  Based on Maliks beloved character, this is a beautiful story with authentic truths about motherhood and family, along with the expectations we find along with them. Each character was genuine and loveable, and I was left smiling after reading this shining story about love and acceptance.  The Swimmer - Graham Norton  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Three years ago, Helens sister came for a short visit … and still hasn't left. Helen is just trying to enjoy a quiet, peaceful retirement without any unwanted drama.  But ...

  Genre: Dystopian Fiction | Adult Fiction | Speculative Fiction Release Date: Expected 23rd June 2022 Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Years ago, Art loved a woman named Dana. A vibrant, chaotic woman who made him question everything. But that woman is gone now, he thinks.  The Dana now is untouchable - since she published her manifesto, The Quickening, and created a new world order that strives to protect and prioritise women, one with no war or violence, one where women finally take control. But to do that, the men of the world have been stripped of their rights, their identities, their very selves.  Dana has achieved everything she's ever dreamed of, by any means necessary. So how can Art ever really love her, when she has vowed to destroy everything that he is? " It starts like a love story, but don't be fooled." The Quickening is a startling warning about the danger of feminine rage and the power of an idea. Hearing from Art gave this story a side that most mat...

  Genre: Literary Fiction | Contemporary Fiction Release Date: Expected 2nd June 2022 Publisher: Europa Editions UK "Hope is the thing with feathers." - Emily Dickinson Nives was married for fifty years when her husband died. She found his body, shooed the pigs away so they wouldn't eat his entire face, buried him and then continued on without a tear. It was odd, but the only real sadness she felt was being alone in the farmhouse.  So she decides to bring in her favourite hen, Giacomina to live with her and finds her feathered friend provides more comfort and companionship than her late husband ever did. But then history repeats, and Nives finds Giacomina perfectly still in front of the TV and resorts to a late night call to the local Veterinarian, Loriano - an old friend, a ghost from another life.  Their phone call quickly drifts from the fate of Giacomina, from the here and now, into the distant past as Nives and this man who is almost a stranger now revisit the lives,...

  Penny and Andeep have raised their family, lived their lives and now have all the time in the world to themselves. Deciding to leave their family home, they move into a small countryside house and figure out how to fill their days with happiness and relaxation. But then their adult daughters, Asha and Camille come home. The move was meant to be for Penny and Andeep to reinvent themselves, to make art and upcycle and be free - but that's impossible when they're all together in such close quarters, with the girls not working, not making any money and definitely not getting along. The family starts to fracture.  They said it's just sibling rivalry. It'll pass. It's normal. But this isn't just rivalry - this family is set to explode, and they might not all survive the fallout.  Let me just start out by saying this - this entire book was glorious, violent chaos and I'm not sure exactly what I just read but I had a great time. Keep Her Sweet was a hazy, bloody d...

  If you asked Emma how she's doing, she'd tell you she's fine. Depending on the day, maybe even good.  But it's all an act. There are things too awful for her to put into words haunting her every day. Her cheating, abusive ex-fiance Beaux had stripped everything from her, and the unspeakable things that happened between them remain hidden. But then she meets Julian - quite literally the new boy next door, and allows herself to wonder if she could ever truly open her heart again after it was broken so violently.  To move forward, Emma needs to face the past and protect her future from the man who threatens to destroy it but in her fight for justice and peace, she finds the world around her is much darker than she ever imagined - and if she doesn't break the silence, nobody will.  "We're all Monsters. We all play a role is someone else's tragic story." Looking at the cover of this book, it looks a bit like a horror story, right? Well, that's hal...

Genre: Adult Fiction Release Date: Expected 12th May 2022 Publisher: Random House UK Samantha Miller is an idol to young girls everywhere. She has three million followers worldwide, everywhere she goes is sell-outs and autographs, and her 'girls' listen with bated breath to her every word hoping for inspiration to be more like her.  But in seconds, the foundation of everything she's ever built begins to crack. She's always shared her truths with her followers, about her struggles and addictions, but when she shares a story about her sexual awakening with her childhood friend, Lisa, she thinks she's sharing a beautiful, personal truth. But Lisa doesn't remember it that way. They haven't spoken in years, but Lisa manages to contact Sams manager to let her know that she remembers it happening quite differently and forces her to face the past.  So who is telling the truth? And who really gets to tell the story?  Idol is a compelling and timely story about the da...

Genre: Poetry Release Date: Expected 16th May 2022 Publisher: Cherish Editions A strikingly personal and authentic collection of 36 poems, spanning thoughts and ideas from art, film, news, ballet, health and the authors own life and loves.  Amy says, “My condition, cerebral palsy, leaves me with some obvious and some hidden disabilities. At times, such difficulties lead to conflict, frustration and insecurity. I have found a refuge in writing. For me, setting words on paper is also a healing and motivating process.” It's clear from her hauntingly beautiful prose than Amy understands and captures the power of the written word, and the struggles of overcoming the hidden obstacles that come between us and our passions. Drawing clear inspiration from the visual and the tangible and painting intriguing and thought provoking pictures for the reader.  The prose and subjects were diverse, ever-changing, and while I generally prefer poetry collections to have some form of tie-in o...

Detectives Frølich and Gunnarstranda are used to things never being quite what they appear. So when a suspected overdose turns into a murder, they're not surprised that something darker is coming. Then the victims scientist boyfriend goes missing and their case leads them into the hidden world of pharmaceutical deals and power struggles of corruption and murder that will span continents. Gunnarstranda searches Norway for a cold-blooded killer while Frølich heads to Africa with journalist Lise to try and uncover the deadly secrets that someone is killing to hide …  Little Drummer delves into the terrifying criminal worlds hidden in plain sight - about the power and politics that have control we couldn't even imagine. Our detectives uncover secrets in the world of foreign aid and prescription medications that risk everyone.  This dark procedural thriller is suspenseful, stylish and sophisticated - full of masterful deception and deceit. Getting into the gritt...

Genre: Dystopian Fiction | Speculative Fiction Release Date: Expected 12th May 2022 Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Wolfe is lucky to be here in The Bunker. She and the other lucky ones who made it to the Bunker work tirelessly for the world above to heal and grow again, and look after the people down below. It's not perfect - living on bunks, with ration packs and constantly at risk of assault from the other dwellers, but they're alive.  For now, anyway. When their leader starts to take an interest in Wolfe, asking favours she can't deny, she starts to see another side of the Bunker that could change everything - it could be a new life for her, or it could be the spark that sets everything on fire.  This claustrophic, atmospheric novel takes place in an unnamed place and time, after an unnamed event - and the whole story carries on with this sense of timelessness and loneliness, a strange alienation that sets the tone from the first few pages. We hear only from Wolfe, he...