Being Bookish

Welcome to my sixth anniversary episode. I thought long and hard about what I should talk about, and when I looked at my bookcase and realised I had yet to read the latest instalment of the Agatha Raisin series, Sugar and Spite, I knew that this was the perfect opportunity.The many books in the Agatha Raisin series, including the inaugural instalment, The Quiche of Death, have played a very...

In this week’s episode of Being Bookish, I am joined by novelist Simon Wroe to discuss his new novel, Ghost Month (released in hardback on the 27th of August). The novel is set in a London where the dead return to Earth for a single month (September) every year. During our conversation, we explore the book's interlocking cast and the events that connect them. We have Jane and the husband she...

YA Thrillers are living their best moment right now, and if you ever wanted to attend a barn party, or wondered what it would be like to be questioned by the police when your best friend is murdered, then this book is for you. Killing Sadie is Rachel Peterson's debut novel, published by SimonTeen. Here’s what we do know: there was another infamous barn party at the McClain family farm last night,...

If you ever long for the days when Syfy was making and airing their monster-of-the-week shows, or miss the early seasons of The X-Files, then the book I have this week is definitely one for you. (Mostly) Human Resources is the debut novel from American author Grace Viall. An urban fantasy that blends the world of monsters, monster hunters and the modern world together. In the first in her Entity...

Join me this week as I have a special guest, author Kristina Thornton. Her second novel is due to be released on the 28th July, published by Harpeth Road Press, and is titled Forty Going on Nineteen. As you may guess from the title, it has a little bit of a time travel vibe, though there is no de-ageing or battling with school bullies. Instead, our main character is about to turn forty (and for...

Welcome to the latest episode of The Stephen King Thing, a special spin-off series from the Being Bookish podcast. In this part of the show, Lorraine and I are dedicating our time to exploring the extensive bibliography of the master of horror, and this time, both Lorraine and I will be somewhat reluctantly and definitely nervously checking into the Overlook Hotel to dissect his 1977 masterpiece,...

In this episode of Being Bookish, I'm digging into the layers of Starside, the 2026 fantasy novel by Alex Aster. This book marks her first step into more adult romantasy after her original foray into the genre with the YA Lightlark series. While there's plenty of talk online about the deadly competition framework and the familiar tropes in this book, I'm much more interested in tackling the...

Welcome back to another episode of Being Bookish. I'm not quite sure how it happened, but we're almost halfway through 2026, so it's time for a bit of an update, and I am doing it differently this year! In this wrap-up, I am focusing a lot on expectation versus reality in my personal reading experience. I'm going to share my thoughts on the standout books I cannot stop thinking about, the ones...

In this week's episode of Being Bookish, I'm digging into the layers of The Ever King, the 2023 fantasy novel by LJ Andrews that made the transition from indie favourite to traditional publication in 2025. While there's plenty of talk online about the relationships and the sea fae romance elements in this book, I'm much more interested in pulling apart the high-seas intrigue and evaluating the...

In the second episode of the Being Bookish spin-off where I am reading my way through Stephen King’s novels, joined by my friend and fellow podcaster, Lorraine, we’re taking a look at Cujo, his 1981 novel, the second to feature Castle Rock.As previously mentioned, these episodes are approximately 6 weeks apart as there is a lot to cover.Cujo is the story of a friendly St Bernard, beloved family...