Review: Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

 

Publication Date: June 2025

Source: Borrowed from library

Blurb:       [ Goodreads ]

Three women are connected by one man in this kaleidoscopic thriller. He’s the perfect man. It’s a perfect lie.

Nina Swann is intrigued when she received a condolence card from Nick Radcliffe, an old friend of her late husband, who is looking to connect after her husband’s unexpected death. Nick is a man of substance and good taste. He has a smile that could melt the coldest heart and a knack for putting others at ease. But to Nina’s adult daughter, Ash, Nick seems too slick, too polished, too good to be true. Without telling her mother, Ash begins digging into Nick’s past. What she finds is more than unsettling…

Martha is a florist living in a neighboring town with her infant daughter and her devoted husband, Alistair. But lately, Alistair has been traveling more and more frequently for work, disappearing for days at a time. When Martha questions him about his frequent absences, he always has a legitimate explanation, but Martha can’t share the feeling that something isn’t right.

Nina, Martha, and Ash are on a collision course with a shocking truth that is far darker than anyone could have imagined. And all three are about to wish they had heeded the same warning: Don’t let him in. But the past won’t stay buried forever.

It's no secret - I'm a huge Lisa Jewell fan. So if you were awaiting a negative review - keep scrolling. 

This book was more of Lisa Jewell's amazingly twisted mind conjuring up pulse-quickening excitement that I couldn't eat up fast enough. Full of twists, untrustworthy characters and craziness. If you are a fan of true crime documentary's this is a book you would really enjoy. 

Review: Yesteryear by Caro

 

Publication Date: April 7 2026

Publisher: Fourth Estate Books

Blurb: 

Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle – and her followers are sick with envy. Her charming farmhouse on her working ranch is artfully cluttered, her husband is a handsome cowboy, her homemade sourdough boules are each more beautiful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers and industrial-grade ovens behind the scenes? What her followers don’t know won’t hurt them.

Then, one morning, Natalie wakes up in a strange, horrible version of reality. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Is this a hoax? A reality show? A test from God? Natalie knows just two things for sure: this isn't her perfect life, and she must escape, by any means possible.

I would say this is the book of the year - EVERYONE has been raving about it, so naturally enough I was somewhat apprehensive going into it. I honestly can say I feel the hype was warranted in this case. 

This is a book where I feel like I am left thinking about it long after I turned the last page. Not solely because of the content, but because of the message, its execution and the societal changes that have warranted this book being published. 

Review: The Dirty South by Alex Wheatle

 

Publication Date: January 2008

Publisher: Serpent's Tail

Source: Borrowed From Library  [ Goodreads ]

Blurb: 

The mean streets of south London offer little hope for young black guys. Selling drugs, on the other hand, offers quick money and respect. 

Dennis Huggins finds himself drawn into the spiral in this powerful portrayal of gang life.

Alex Wheatle is an author I have recently discovered that I am trying to make my way through their back catalogue and read all of their work. Having read Liccle Bit and loving it, I picked up Dirty South as my next read. 

Review: Along For The Ride by Sarah Dessen

 

Publication Date: June 2009

Source: Borrowed from library

Blurb:     [ Goodreads ]

It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.

I haven't read much Sarah Dessen, despite her being the queen of teen when I was a teenager, and I found myself pleasantly surprised by this one. 

Review: Effie Is Offline by Karen Harte

 

Publication Date: June 2026

Publisher: Gill Books

Source:  Borrowed from library    [ Goodreads ]

Blurb: 

Fifteen-year-old Effie has spent her entire life in the spotlight as the daughter of @TheBrightFamily, a famous Irish influencer family known for their picture-perfect posts. But after her dad’s very public cheating scandal implodes their online empire, Effie’s mam relocates the family to a small rural town for a fresh start.

Desperate to escape her embarrassing past, Effie hides her influencer origins at her new school, where she finally starts to make friends and meets Jack – a grounded, gentle boy with a total lack of online presence or knowledge of that world. But as her mam starts reinventing herself, Effie’s secrets and her chance at a new beginning are at risk of being exposed … in a very public, very messy way.

Utterly unexpected and fantastic. One of my five star reads of the year! 

I actually had no idea this book was a graphic novel until it arrived into the library. I had only skim read the blurb before requesting it as I knew this sounded like a fun time. What I came away with was so much more than fun. 

Review: I Wrote This For Attention by Lukas Gage

 

Publication Date: October 2025

Source: Borrowed from library

Blurb:      [ Goodreads ]

Lukas Gage was having one of the shittiest weeks of his life. His beloved grandmother was dying. And Lukas was sitting next to his father, a man who had been mostly absent in his son’s childhood—except when talking to Lukas about tits because he loved nothing more than tits, and listening to Howard Stern on the radio. They were across the street from a building in Century City, where months prior, Lukas had to grapple with the dissolution of his marriage. This week had it all: death, divorce, and daddy issues.

In that room, Lukas did the smartest thing anyone can do in a crisis: doom scroll to see what random people on the internet were saying about him. People were calling him an attention whore—and they were absolutely right. Lukas Gage was no stranger to going viral. He loved attention. As a toddler, he set his room on fire. As a child, he hugged and flirted with women at Hooters to his father’s delight. As a teen, he stole handles of alcohol and cherry cough syrup. He had sex at a restroom in Chili’s, and fell hopelessly in love with a girl who wore an ankle monitor. He became an actor and filmed that scene in White Lotus (if you know, you know). Lukas was scared of attention and yet he craved it more than anything in the world.

I Wrote This for Attention is a riveting, exquisite memoir full of heart that chronicles Lukas’s coming of age in the haunting underbelly of San Diego and clawing his way to stardom.

As someone who loves a celebrity autobiography or memoir, when I heard about this one I knew I wanted to read it. I haven't had the most interactions with Lukas Gage - I mean I have seen The White Lotus and heard about his marriage which Kim Kardashian officiated- but asides from that I didn't really know much about him. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I HAD to Have Immediately but Still Haven’t Read

 Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

I am so guilty of this one - buying or renting out books that I am desperate to read at the time and then for some reason leaving them to gather dust on my shelf! Hopefully this will be the push to actually read these books soon..

1) Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

This book is EVERYWHERE at the moment and I requested it immediately after reading the blurb..but I still have not read it. I will hopefully be reading it very soon.

2) Half His Age by Jeannette McCurdy

After reading I'm Glad My Mom Died, I knew I would read her next book and to find out it was a fiction title - I needed it! I added it to my most anticipated books of the year and even got it as a christmas present..have I read it yet? No.