BOOK TOUR STOP x InstaBookTours - Ben & Sally by Oliver Sparshot

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 and realising he has no idea what he wants, something I'm sure too many of us can relate to. Ben and Sally were both beautiful people - they were flawed, crass, they made impulsive decisions and did stupid things but they were so real I was just desperate to be their friends.

Ben & Sally is a love story - but not your average happy ever after. It's about romance and sex (and there is some very hot sex - maybe bring a fan), but it's also about the love for yourself, for your friends, for your family, even for the places you call home.

I spent this entire book with a giant grin on my face, right from the first page we're sucked (Shut up) into the drama and it doesn't let up - each setting and each character we meet along the way is vibrant and full of life created a completely engrossing and compelling story that is impossible to put down.

Steamy, a little bit silly and oh so sweet - this is a story about getting nothing you want but everything you need, whether you see it or not.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review. Thank you to Vic at InstaBookTours and the author for inviting me to take part in this tour.

Comments

REVIEW: This Could Be Us by Clare McGowan

Genre: Fiction | Literary Fiction Release Date: Expected 1st June 2023 Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group | Corsair Kate has done the unthinkable. She'd worked hard to build a perfect life for herself, while ignoring her growing unhappiness. But when her second child was born profoundly disabled, reality hit. Unable to cope, Kate left - disappearing without a trace. She ends up in LA, with a glittering career and a new family of sorts, but the guilt is still suffocating. Husband Andrew was left to pick up the pieces and care for their disabled daughter and angry, confused son. Bereft and broken, he leaned on Olivia, Kate's best friend. She's been by his side ever since, ignoring her own needs to meet his. Years later, Andrew has written a memoir about his daughter learning to communicate against all odds. But when Kate's new producer husband decides he wants to make a film of it, their worlds collide once again. Now, Kate must return to the life she abandoned and reck...

REVIEW: Live, Laugh, Lesbian by Helen Scott

Genre: Non-Fiction | Memoir | LGTBQ+ Release Date: 19th October 2023 Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Part memoir, part guide, part conversation and all queer joy — Live, Laugh, Lesbian is a brilliantly warm and friendly journey into the queer experience, not only from the author but from plenty of other lesbian, queer, bisexual and pansexual contributors who bring a unique viewpoint and voice and also show a beautiful diverse, intersectional scope of the queer spectrum and welcomes in queer people and allies of any kind to come feel the love. The book is very conversational, talking to the reader in a fun, friendly way — at times I rolled my eyes as the use of “famalam” but as a previous patron of Colours and Chicagos I’m not in a position to judge the Essex-isms. It’s full of anecdotes and observations that were witty and relatable as well as talking is through the more difficult side of queerness like dealing with workplace discrimination, religious trauma and coming out to family...

BOOK TOUR STOP x RANDOM THINGS TOURS: Thirty Days of Darkness by Jenny Lund Madsen

" This town has secrets that are best left alone." Author Hannah is a success, on paper at least. She's receiving critical acclaim and praise worldwide and her work is regarded as some of the best. She writes literature, not just books. But the reality is, outside of the literary circles nobody actually reads her work. But when she finally snaps at a book event and publicly criticises the genre fiction books that outsell hers, claiming they're easy and mindless she's challenged to write her own crime fiction novel in just thirty days by an author she loathes. Desperate not to lose to him, her editor arranges for her to spend a month in a quiet, cold village in Iceland hoping that the solitude will spark inspiration. But instead of writing a murder story - she's in one . Just before she arrives, the body of a young man is pulled from the icy waters and her search for ideas soon becomes a search for a killer. And if she's not careful, she might end up the...

On Bee's Bookshelf

Search This Blog