May Reading

Romcoms, Merry Men and finishing up the Women's Prize shortlist

A lovely month for reading. After bashing through most of the Women’s Prize longlist in March and April, I was really in the mood for fun books and certainly found some. It’s probably bad form to share my highlights at the top (please read the whole thing) but Under Your Spell and Experienced are both pretty perfect romcoms if you ask me. I also had an absolutely great time with Not for the Faint of Heart.

Under Your Spell by Laura Wood
I truly am not being hyperbolic when I say this is a pretty much perfect romcom - the leads have incredible chemistry, it is genuinely laugh-out-loud funny, there’s an amazing supporting cast of characters (it has brilliant sister relationships which I love) and it does exactly what you’re expecting but in the most charming way possible. It would make the most brilliant film and anyone reading this who has the power to make such things happen should get on that right away. It’s also about grown-ups which I enjoyed - both of the leads are in their 30s. Clemmie is the daughter of a very famous rock star (think Mick Jagger) who has just lost her job and gone through a breakup. Her sister works for a record label and needs someone to babysit Theo (think Harry Styles but pushing 40) while he writes his very late next album. Clemmie and Theo feel beautifully real, and Laura Wood has just the right balance of angst to humour to romance to sex (and it is sexy!). Can’t recommend highly enough!

Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville
Then I finished off the Women’s Prize longlist which I enjoyed without it feeling super special for me. It’s inspired by Grenville’s grandmother, and a real encounter she had with her as a child, and this makes for a very moving ending as the story comes full circle. It’s a character study of a woman growing up in rural Australia at the beginning of the 20th century who is out of step with what society expects of her. Her and her family end up moving a lot and I did start to find this repetitive as she encounters similar problems in several places but I found it ultimately very affecting, especially her complicated feelings around motherhood. I’m content to see it on the shortlist but it’s not a contender for the win for me. (Which is announced this Thursday, the 13th June! I’d love to see Enter Ghost or Brotherless Night take it and if pushed, I’d say perhaps that I think Brotherless Night will win. When it comes to prizes you have to think about how all the judges have to agree - I’m of the mind that usually everybody’s second favourite wins.)

The Theatre of Glass and Shadows by Anne Corlett
As most people know, I’m a big fan of immersive theatre and review it for The Stage and WhatsOnStage (you can see my recent review of Punchdrunk’s new show, Viola’s Room, here). Anne Corlett is also a big fan (I actually heard about this book via the immersive Facebook groups I’m in before I was sent a proof) and Punchdrunk in particular inspired this novel, set in an alternate London where the Theatre District is a sprawling, lawless area where an immersive show is constantly running. I really enjoyed how well she conjures the feelings of immersive magic and the district is packed with gorgeous details. I did prefer the first half of the book which was establishing this world and atmosphere rather than the second where the plot gets slightly convoluted at times, but anyone who’s been to a Punchdrunk show will find lots to enjoy here.

Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher
Lex Croucher (who, full disclosure, is a friend) is very good at what they do - irreverent, anachronistic, queer spins on familiar genres. I really enjoyed their debut, Reputation, which is a Regency romance, but I enjoyed this even more. It’s the story of Clem (two Clems in one month) a kind, flirtatious (one might even say sunshine-y) healer who has been kidnapped by Mariel, the grumpy granddaughter of Robin Hood with a chip on her shoulder and a lot to prove. Another extremely charming read with great flirting and a lot of excellent romping around the forest with Mariel’s bunch of misfits. Just a really fun time, excellently executed, with the added appeal of a joyfully queer Robin Hood world. I’m not sure I’ve ever sincerely used the phrase rip-roaring before, but I can’t think of a better phrase to describe this.

Experienced by Kate Young (bizarrely and annoyingly, Bookshop don’t seem to have this listed so I’ve linked to Kate’s brilliant bookish cookbook that I’m currently cooking my way through on TikTok). We had Kate Young (who, again, is a friend) at our last Lush Book Club speaking about her sexy, gorgeous, queer romcom Experienced. Kate is a master romcom student (master student is an oxymoron I know) - she analysed a hundred romcoms to track at what point various story beats work best and it pays off with Experienced which is about Bette, a newly out woman whose girlfriend tells her one morning that she thinks they should have a short break so that Bette can go and catch up on the experiences she missed in her 20s. Another absolutely charming, funny, moving romcom with a fabulous supporting cast (a particularly good best friend) and some amazing cooking and eating scenes, as well as some exceptionally sexy ones. Another very good time of a book!

I also reread (I have lost count of how many times at this point) Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as I finished the first draft of my children’s book Alice With a Why which is about Alice’s granddaughter tumbling back into Wonderland in 1919, just after the end of the First World War. It’s been a really enjoyable but very challenging creative puzzle to find the right balance between capturing that Wonderland feel while writing something that feels me, and feels original. I’ll be writing more about that process in my Crafts Against the Current series, which will be the paid strand of my writing here on Substack, which is where all the frank chat about writing and publishing will go! I’d be incredibly grateful if you were interested or able to become a paid subscriber!

Housekeeping!

• The links go to my Bookshop.org page and are affiliate links which means I get a small amount of money if you buy these books or other books via one of my links - thank you if you do buy this way, I appreciate the support!

• As a journalist and author, I am often reading proof copies of books sent for free by publishers. These are not sent with any obligation to read or write about them (indeed most of them are sent unsolicited) and I am never paid to say nice things about them. I’ll always disclose any personal relationships or if I’m reading a book for an event I’m being paid for. This month Under Your Spell, The Theatre of Glass and Shadows, Not for the Faint of Heart, and Experienced were sent by the publishers, Restless Dolly Maunder was sent by the Women’s Prize.