Being Bookish!

Check out the latest episodes of Being Bookish (every review is spoiler-free), and remember, new content every Monday from 00:13BST.

Every episode is also available on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify and others. If you want to listen there, follow the links below.

Apple podcasts logo
Listen on Amazon Music
Listen on Spotify
Listen on Google Podcasts
Listen on Pocket Casts
Listen on Castbox

Episodes

     

A compelling combination of Six of Crows and Peaky Blinders is the way that book promoters have been selling the third novel by American author Hafsah Faizal. As someone who has never seen Peaky Blinders, but loved Six of Crows (see my review of that from 2021), does this claim actually ring true?

Enter White Roaring, a town that is full of intrigue and insurrection. A town under the tyrannical rule of the mysterious Ram and meet Arthie and Jin Casimir, proprietors of Spindrift, a charming tea room with a secret. All is not as it seems on the surface, and that becomes much clearer when you realise that Arthie is a schemer, going after what she wants whatever the cost...and right now what she wants is in the Athereum; a ledger that can help her and others to take down the powers that rule so unfairly...but will they succeed?

Before I read this book I had heard so much about it, the reviews are mixed, so which side of the track will mine fall? And more importantly...I won't spoil it to reveal my thoughts!

Featured Episodes

Six of Crows

This one book is not like the others...and that is certainly true where The Secret Adversary is concerned. With a career spanning more than 50 years, Agatha Christie created and wrote about a lot of different characters, though her most well-known and most beloved are an elderly woman who loves to knit and observe and a rotund Belgian who knows and sees everything!

In 1922, Christie wrote about Tommy Beresford and his friend Tuppence Cowley for the first time. Though they would only appear in a few books, their tales are very different from others that she wrote...in fact, I would go so far as to say that they are more spy novels than mysteries! But that's just me...So, join me this week on my first adventure with the Young Adventurers Ltd and see what kind of trouble they get into, and whether I like it or not!

Featured episodes

Cosy Crime Playlist

Featured links

Spybrary's recommended spy novels

Raye on YouTube

Just over a year ago I reviewed a fantasy novel by a debut author, and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. That book was Godkiller, and as a treat to myself for the end of the month I picked up the sequel, and second book in a trilogy titled Fallen Gods. That second book is called Sunbringer and as well as answering the question 'what happened to everyone after that cliffhanger?' the book also gives us further insight into the battles being fought across the kingdom of Middren. I loved returning to Hannah Kaner's carefully built world, and the reunion with Kissen, Inara, Skedi and Elogast was a very welcome one.

As ever I am not going to spoil anything about the book I am reviewing, but I would love you to join me on my journey to reacquaint myself with old fantasy friends and find out more about Sunbringer.

Featured episodes

Godkiller

Farewell to 2023

Best and Worst (Reads) of 2023 (YouTube)

I know, I know, I said that I would probably be staying away from Agatha Raisin for a while, but I was trying to find something on my bedside table and this book just happened to be there. So join me and Agatha and her reliable crew in Carsely as she attempts to solve the mystery of a body that disappeared, and discover what connection it has with ice cream, a naturist society and drug smuggling...it's a doozy, but did it impress me? Remember, there will be no spoilers, I am not going to tell you whodunnit and I certainly won't be revealing who gets to go home with Agatha at the end of the night, though I have my preferences!

Featured episodes

Cosy Crime Playlist

Episode Links

Being Bookish on YouTube

The Changeover was first published in 1984 so while I am celebrating a milestone, it's not far behind. As I have already established while talking about other 1980s YA novels, these were few and far between during that era. The happy medium where books were written with more grown-up themes targeting an audience that was going through changes was incredibly rare. Sure, we had Judy Blume, Sweet Valley High and the Sweet Dreams series, but really, that was it. The Changeover was an original, probably would be classified as a Romantasy and it's the first book I became obsessed with. A story of growth and change, of realisations and first loves, loss, and awakening. I know it won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I would love if this made you want to give it a chance.

As ever, this episode is spoiler-free, though it was hard to keep it that way!

Featured episodes

Mel

Easy Connections and Easy Freedom

Every once in a while you have to try something new, but perhaps now isn't exactly the time. I guess that's why, this week, on the recommendation of a reviewer on YouTube, I picked up the first book in the Hamish Macbeth series. If you are a fan of 1990s BBC mysteries then you may be familiar with the series (as I was), but this isn't exactly that. While you're transported to the beautiful Highland village of Lochdubh (pronounced Lochdoo) and you meet the fantastic and laid-back Hamish Macbeth, other similarities are few and far between. However, if you love a cosy mystery and want something with beautiful scenery then this might be just what you're looking for. As with every episode, I am not going to spoil the ending, reveal whodunnit or why...I am going to give you a nice in-depth look into the story itself...

Featured Episodes

The cosy crime playlist

Episode Links

Being Bookish YouTube

Ruthless Vows is the long-awaited and greatly anticipated sequel to last year's romantasy hit, Divine Rivals. Did this book change the path of our two lead characters, Iris and Roman? Did they get their happy ever after at the end of this duology? You know I won't spoil anything (so you can find that out for yourselves), but I am going to talk about how I felt about the book, what I loved, what I didn't...so join me on my journey through Oath and discover what I thought. Will it be controversial?

Featured Episodes

Divine Rivals

Fourth Wing

Godkiller

Featured Links

Being Bookish on YouTube

There is probably more mystery surrounding the author of this new spy thriller than there is about the book itself. In this week's episode I take a look at this debut novel, is it worth a read? Did it convert me? Am I now going to be reviewing more spy thrillers than anything else (listen to find out!)?

So, what is it about Argylle? Is it truly going to be the start of a fantastic new gripping franchise? I dipped my toes into the book to find out. So give this 100% spoiler-free review a listen and then make your own decision about whether you want to give Argylle a try.

Featured Episodes

Call for the Dead

Episode Links

Spybrary on 2023 book recommendations

Being Bookish YouTube

Being Bookish Instagram

Being Bookish TikTok

This week I am looking at my favourite books of the year, according to the reviews I released. So while I have read much more than I have reviewed here, I thought I would stick to the books on Being Bookish. Did I pick an unexpected book? Did I miss out one of the books you felt deserved to be on the list? Give this episode a listen to find out which books I felt were deserving of a second (or possibly third) visit.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank every one of you for listening to and supporting the podcast this year and I look forward to sharing more books with you in 2024 from Monday the 15th of January.

Happy New Year

The year has been full of incredible fantasy debuts and what better way to round up the year than with another one? This time it is a book inspired by Filipino mythology, full of vibrant colours and strong characters. The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon was released in October 2023 and probably has one of the most beautiful covers I have seen in years, and that's saying something when I look at some of the books I have added to my collection over the last 18 months. It's a beautiful story of enemies who must work together in order to prevent the end of their world. It also includes a lot of the romantic tropes that make many readers happy; enemies to lovers, forced marriage, undeniable chemistry...So, what did I think when I read this book after receiving it in a subscription box? Give it a listen and find out! Remember, I won't spoil the ending.

Featured episodes

Fourth Wing

Iron Flame

The Love Hypothesis

Featured links

Being Bookish on YouTube

Being Bookish Website

Being Bookish Instagram

Being Bookish on TikTok