On Bee's Bookshelf

Eartha is many things - a talented artist waiting for her moment, a loving friend, a resentful girlfriend and a closeted bisexual. But after finally getting out of a soul-sucking relationship and a chaotic breakup, she finds herself out in the world as a single bisexual woman for the first time. Which is hard enough, but the drunken rant she posted online has gone viral and now she’s a sensation on Wonderland - the platform everyone is on, all the time. As Eartha starts to find herself, she’s also rewriting herself for the public and she knows she can’t keep living a double life, she needs to figure out who she really is. But which version does she like, if any of them? "I think I'm bisexual. I still fancy men but … there's a whole other part of me that loves women just as much. it needs exploring. it needs to be watered, fed, tended to and nurtured, so that it can blossom into the beautiful garden I desperately need it to grow into." Okay, I officially have developed...

Genre: Horror | Mystery  Release Date: Expected 1st August 2023 Publisher: Quirk Books When Alex and Susan visit the apartment on Cranberry Street, Susan immediately knows they need to live here. It’s less than $4000 a month which is a steal for Brooklyn, has more room for their daughter and has the bonus room which she finally turn into an art studio of her own. It might be a bit old, and they might not be allowed in the basement but it’s perfect. It’s a dream come true - until the nightmare starts. Strange noises in the air, the sensation of crawling on her skin, strange dots of a blood-like substance on her pillow, the shadow something scuttling in the corner of her eye. But the landlady swears it’s fine, and the exterminator agrees — so if it’s not a bug infestation, what is it? “She had a powerful memory, of walking through the living room in the silence and darkness, of being watched. She almost said it, almost said ‘ I felt them watching me’ , but then didn’t." TBR is a sub...

   "Only the blink of an eye ago, everything was fine, everything was in order and everything looked promising. Now chaos and disorder threatened to ruin it all." Mathematician Henri has learned recently that you can't predict anything, no matter how good your calculations. The fun park he inherited from his late brother seems to finally be getting under control, the dangerous debts he inherited with it clearing, and his growing relationship with artist Laura is starting to take shape. It feels like everything is finally getting under control. But he doesn't have the time to get settled into his new life before it all starts to go wrong - again. The park is at risk when their suppliers won't sell them the Moose Chute - the must have attraction for success, and they seem to have been taken over by some shady characters who want to make trouble for Henri. And as he tries to untie that Gordion Knot, ghosts from the past return to the park to haunt his life in ways he...

Victorian England. A world of rural fairgrounds and glamorous London theatres. A world of dark secrets and deadly obsessions... Twin sisters Keziah and Tilly Lovell are identical in every way, except that Tilly hasn't grown a single inch since she was five. Coerced into promoting their father's quack elixir as they tour the country fairgrounds, at the age of fifteen the girls are sold to a mysterious Italian known as 'Captain'. Theo is an orphan, raised by his grandfather, Lord Seabrook, a man who has a dark interest in anatomical freaks and other curiosities ... particularly the human kind. Resenting his grandson for his mother's death in childbirth, when Seabrook remarries and a new heir is produced, Theo is forced to leave home without a penny to his name. Unable to train to be a doctor as he'd hoped, Theo finds employment in Dr Summerwell's Museum of Anatomy in London, and here he meets Captain and his theatrical 'family' of performers, freaks an...

Genre: Short Story | Queer Fiction | Literary Fiction Release Date: Expected 27th July 2023 Publisher: Pan Macmillan | Picador A queer and dangerously hungry mountain lion lives in the drought-devastated land under the Hollywood sign. Lonely and fascinated by humanity’s foibles, the lion spends their days protecting the welfare of a nearby homeless encampment, observing obnoxious hikers complain about their trauma, and, in quiet moments, grappling with the complexities of their gender identity, memories of a vicious father, and the indignities of sentience. “I have so much language in my brain,” our lion says, “and nowhere to put it.” When a man-made fire engulfs the encampment, the lion is forced from the hills down into the city the hikers call “ellay.” As the lion confronts a carousel of temptations and threats, they take us on a tour that spans the cruel inequalities of Los Angeles and the toll of climate grief, while scrambling to avoid earthquakes, floods, and the noise of their ...

Genre: Fiction  Release Date: Expected 20th July 2023 Publisher: 4th Estate and William Collins | Fourth Estate Ola Olajide, a celebrated journalist at Womxxxn magazine, is set to marry the love of her life in one month’s time. Young, beautiful, and successful—she and her fiancé Michael are considered the “couple goals” of their social network and seem to have it all. That is, until one morning when they both wake up to the same message: “Oh my god, have you seen The List?” It began as a crowdsourced collection of names and somehow morphed into an anonymous account posting allegations on social media. Ola would usually be the first to support such a list—she’d retweet it, call for the men to be fired, write article after article. Except this time, Michael’s name is on it. "It's just interesting that you've been more than happy to talk about 'believing women' until the one tmie it actually requires personal sacrifice. And by 'interesting' I mean 'total h...

  Genre: Poetry | Mythology  Release Date: 12th September 2023 Publisher: Central Avenue Publishing "THE END OF EVERY SURVIVAL STORY: I wasn't ready to become what I had to become." The third book in the Myth and Magick series, and for me the best one yet. I’m sure many women find some find of sisterhood with the story of Persephone- a Queen of both hell and spring, a divine feminine who is capable of kindness and fury, who is not the quiet victim that some stories may want you to believe. The author harnesses this powerful voice alongside her own musings to Persephone to create an anthology that is healing, comforting and cathartic — it has a focus on self-love and care that felt deeply personal but also harnesses the power and rage of a goddess who has suffered at the hands of men. Mixing striking artwork with eclectic prose that spans storytelling, disjointed verses, poignant one-liners and traditional poetry that follow different themes for a true journey, this collec...

Genre: Contemporary Fiction | Literary Fiction Release Date: Expected 20th July 2023 Publisher: HQ Cinnamon and Daisy didn’t expect to be friends when they met on that bench in the park over a year ago, but now their weekly lunch is one of the only things keeping them going. They’ve both struggled, faced the most difficult things life could throw at them — and still aren’t really sure where they’re going next. But at just nineteen, Daisy finds herself pregnant and alone and knows this is more than she can handle — and there’s only one person she knows who she’d trust to care for her beautiful daughter. So now Cinnamon finds herself with a baby - nobody, not even her husband can understand why a 35 year old black woman can take this tiny blonde, blue eyed baby who isn’t even hers, but she knows she will do anything to protect her, to protect her and the new life she’s found — even if means giving up everything she had before. "This is your lowest point. And there was something free...

Genre: Contemporary Fiction | Speculative Fiction | Romance Release Date: 6th July 2023 Publisher: Bonnier Books Despite living firmly in her comfort zone, Frankie McKenzie feels unsettled. She can't help feeling something's missing. Is it a home to call her own? Travel? A more rewarding job? A relationship? Before she can work it out, she dies in a freak kebab-related accident after yet another dud of a first date. But life isn't over for Frankie. Instead, she is offered a second chance: Frankie can revisit key moments from her past to see if different choices will lead her away from that fateful takeaway and on to the fulfilling life she's always dreamt of. "Life shouldn't be about filling time, it should be about fulfilling time." In my own experience, Helly Acton is the Queen of unique speculative, high-concept fiction. So when I was sent her new book with the pitch of “the good place meets sliding doors” you just know I couldn’t wait and Helly did not...

Genre: Thriller | Mystery | Domestic Drama  Release Date: Expected 20th July 2023 Publisher: Quercus Books When Finn Hensen gets a call from his sister Jess to say their father has died, neither is heartbroken. Their parents divorced many years ago, after which their father, Jimmy, continued to live a bohemian lifestyle in sun-soaked Mallorca. Ownership of his beautiful but dilapidated farmhouse in the mountains now passes to Finn and his sister. The only problem is that Jimmy recently remarried and his new wife, Ruensa, is still living there. The pair agree that Finn should go to Mallorca and tactfully take possession of their inheritance. When he arrives, however, Finn is surprised to find that Finca Siquia has been completely transformed into a chic Mediterranean bolthole by Ruensa and her twenty-seven-year-old daughter, Roze. The Spanish police, meanwhile, are asking awkward questions about Jimmy's death . . . Are Ruensa and Roze the helpless victims of circumstance? Or will th...

Genre: Thriller | Mystery  Release Date: Expected 6th July 2023 Publisher: Headline  Stories change depending on who's telling them …  As kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable, but their bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. So when Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend. Villa Aestas in Orvieto is breath-taking, but it has a dark past: in 1974 it was rented by a notorious rockstar, who was joined by up-and-coming musician Pierce Sheldon and his girlfriend, Mari. By the end of the holiday Pierce is dead, and Mari goes on to write one of the greatest horror novels of all time. As Emily digs into the villa's history, she begins to think that Pierce's murder wasn't just a tale of sex, drugs, and rock & roll gone wrong, but something more sinister - and that there might be clues hidden in the now-iconic works that Mari left behind.  Yet the closer that Emily gets to the truth, the more ...

Genre: Non-Fiction | Memoir | LGBTQ+ Release Date: 6th July 2023 Publisher: Canongate “ Ladies, gentlemen and those lucky enough to transcend gender ” - you need to read this book. None of the above is a powerful book from an equally powerful voice; that authentically explores the experience of living life outside of the socially accepted gender binary. This is a deeply personal memoir like no other — using seven phrases that seem to be continually targeted at the author as a black, mixed race non-binary person, the ones that are used to attack and hurt, to judge and condemn, that spring from ignorance and misinformation and things other people just don’t hear. It provides a unique, intersectional gaze at the world and a society that cannot accept life outside of their own opinions. This book is accessible and easily readable — each section is both informative but conversational and direct to the reader. It sits somewhere between a string of thoughts, a collection of stories and a well...

Genre: Fiction | Satire |  Release Date: Expected 3rd August 2023 Publisher: Headline You don’t have to be dead to work here, but it helps! Dr Miriam Price is dead. And she’s really not happy about it. Someone killed her, but the police are trying to blame her for her own death, claiming it was the drinking that killed her. Now, her lack of sobriety that might be why she didn’t see the killer — but it was murder. Now faced with the prospect of Limbo if her death remains unsolved, she’ll have to figure it out herself. But unfortunately, the only person can seem to hear her reaching out is her neighbour, and nemesis Winnie. Which means she’s probably dying too, and Miriam doesn’t even have time to laugh about it. But it’s all she’s got; now it’s time to catch a killer — but the list of people Who might have wanted some revenge isn’t short; her the ex lover and his disgruntled wife, her exhausted, hurt husband, her default best friend, the ex patients who blame her for their losses an...

Genre: Adult Fiction | Contemporary Fiction Release Date: Expected 6th July 2023 Publisher: Headline | Headline Review  When Reeva's Mum calls to tell her that her Dad is dead, she doesn't really care. Because he died 30 years ago.  But apparently, it's all a lie. Despite her thriving career as a lawyer, fighting for people and knowing exactly the right thing to say at any time - she's lost for words. Her twice-dead father had one last request for her and her estranged sisters; to spend the next two weeks at his home, saying prayers and sorting his estate. Her Bollywood Star Mother is conveniently unavailable in the mountains, so she's left alone miles from home with her two sisters who completely ruined her life the last time they spoke. She just needs to make it through these two weeks, so she can bury her Father and move on.  But could this be a chance to finally get answers? Not just about who their Father was, but everything else that has fractured their family...

Hey friends - It's my birthday! I will probably be spending the day reading whatever books I was given as a present with a good vegan wine and my cat, but as an extra little birthday celebration I'd like to share my some of the other amazing Beths who have graced my bookshelves with their brilliance!  Bethany Clift I was very lucky to be one of Ms Clifts first readers for her debut, Last One at the Party, and I really haven't shut up about it since to be honest. She is immensely talented and equally as charming. She writes uniquely compelling speculative stories, taking the world we know and turning into something curious and strange in the most spectacular ways. Also, she has a really cute dog.  Beth Miller  Beth Miller makes me cry. She spans a lot of styles, but everything she does is so full of heart that you can't help but fall in love with her stories and characters. I've had the privilege of being an advanced reviewer for two of her titles so far, and I know ...

Genre: Fiction | Contemporary  Release Date: Expected 25th May 2023 Publisher: Random House UK | Transworld Publishers Fifteen years ago, Rachel fell in love. As a teenager on a sunkissed island, she fell in love with the nightlife, with working at a bar by the sea, by living in paradise … and with Alistair.  That handsome, charismatic man twenty years her senior who made her feel things she can't explain, and still to this day lives in her mind - even now she's twenty years older, married, with a life of her own. But she still finds herself drawn to that Island, and here once again she finds herself reaching out to the people she met that summer and revisit the people they were back then. But the more she rediscovers her old self, the more she discovers about Alistair and she starts to question if that passionate love affair she's held onto all these years was even real or if something much darker was going on that she didn't even realise … "They feel like parts o...

Genre: Short Story | Literary Fiction  Publisher: Story Machine  Kate and her teenage daughter return to Ireland to sort through what is left of the family farm. But in doing so, Kate is brought to all the reasons she left many years ago. She can find no attachment to the objects of her past until she comes across her father’s dictionary. Can words be the way for her to unlock the past? Can they help pave the way towards reconciliation? Can they help us understand ourselves? " Homeland is like the birthplace of your soul. It's not just the country. It's the colour of the hedgerows, the cry of a curlew … the way neighbours greet you." The Source is a beautifully sweeping story about identity, heritage and home. It's deeply moving, evocate and descriptive; invokes a sense of longing for home and vivid imagery. In under 50 pages, the diminutive size of the book in no way reflects on the impact it gives. Instead of a structured, clearly linear narrative, this ...