Queen B by Juno Dawson:

This is an interesting sidestep to the HMRC books (which I generally devour over a couple of days).  Presumably the next (and possibly final) book in the trilogy ‘Human Rites’ is out next year.  

Anyway, I digress, this is the Tudor backdrop to HMRC, with Anne Boleyn plotting to establish a matriarchy of witches and is betrayed by a member of her own coven.  If you read the books as quickly as I do, be aware: this is less than half the size of the average book.  Plus, Dawson writes it in style of a historical novel, but a historical novel with grime, dirt, sex and magic.  

She is always in control of the broader narrative and messages explored much further in the other books.  So much so, that this could be read by someone wanting to sample the series, or maybe this hints at the apocalyptic future that began in the last book.  

It’s published by Harper Collins on 18th July and I thank them for a preview copy.  

 Clever Girl - Hannah McGregor:

Cultural studies is an interesting field.  Recently we’ve had Chris Kempshill showing us how an increasingly conflicted Star Wars Universe reflects history and politics.  Here McGregor delves into a much smaller universe (which she freely admits is one of declining quality) and how it reflects feminist and queer politics.  

And as I said, a narrow field.  But she’s got that personal touch to talk about her own life (caring for a dying mother, asexuality) but the broader themes of rampaging dinosaurs and fleeing humans.  

It’s not a long read, but the research has been done.  McGregor has spliced the DNA so you don’t have to.  It’s published by ECW Press on October 1st and I thank them for a preview copy.  

 My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes:

It was my wife who introduced me to Marian Keyes.  Not literally, but that would be nice.  She is a better novelist than anyone gives her credit for.  I mean, she is already a worldwide success.  But when Grown Ups hits Netflix with a mighty TU-DUM in 2026; some of us we can say we read it in six years ago before the world got weird.  

Like her previous novel, Again Rachel, she’s returned to The Walsh family.  Like most families, a wonderful ball of tension.  Anna pivots from a swanky job in New York and a broken relationship, to overseeing a wellness retreat in the rural Irish town of Maumtully.  Assisting her, is Joey -possibly, the great unspoken love of her life.  Can they build happiness as much as keep small town gossip at bay?

You’re in for a treat, whether you’re a newbie.  Keyes is brilliant with language, as deft as she is Rabelaisian.  So, we get a full description of what a ‘feathery stroker’ is a much as we get a new phrase, beardy glarer.  She’s also brilliant with set pieces - so here, we get a party (that almost develops into a threesome), a karaoke evening, a gallery opening and a family party. 

Above all though, there is the genuine craft of a novelist whose books are funny, warm, good natured and are given the space to breathe. She writes excellent sex scenes too!

I can’t recommend this enough.  It’s published on 11th April by Michael Joseph and I thank them for a preview copy.  #myfavouritemistake.  

Inside Out - Douglas Thompson:

In a Shakespearean sense, April Ashley played many roles. Born in pre-war Liverpool, a victim of horrendous physical abuse from her parents and sexual abuse from a family friend.  Sailor, cabaret performer, model, nightclub owner, activist and one of the first British people to undergo gender reassignment.  She took her name from her birth month and the character in Gone With The Wind.  

This is a long overdue biography (her autobiography no longer exists for legal reasons).  It’s a compelling, uplifting read.  Even in its darkest moments, especially with regard to the legal ruling that she didn’t actually exist, there is a sense of triumph and dignity.  

There’s also that granular, gossipy detail that I love in biographies.  Here we have being pursued by both Elvis and Macca; plus a one night-stand with Michael Hutchence (without actually knowing who he was, but he was ‘very nice’) and her penchant for sleeping with Welsh men; as ‘they’re very thorough’.  Plus, her small role in Profumo (a fact explored more deeply in the author’s previous book on Christine Keeler).  

The author was a friend of April and the close personal bond they had runs through this.  Yet, I would draw attention to the odd phrase that makes me wince: IE ‘gender hysteria’ ‘pronoun fascist’.  Three years after her death, her shadow grows both longer and more fabulous.  This is the flowers she never really had in her lifetime.  It’s published on 20th August by Ad Lib and I thank them for a preview copy.  

 Crave by Maria Llovet

In a university, an app called Crave appears on student’s phones.  It promises to give you what you want, but what it gives is relationship discord, anarchy, sex in public and potentially the downfall of civilisation.  Can a crack unit of outcasts and geeks save the world?

Well, I’m not here to give you the happy ending you wish.  And yes, I know that is a double entendre.  Crave is collection of the recently competed (or is it?) comic series by Image.  Their story is slightly unsettling - as it should be - with likeable characters and whipsmart dialogue.  Llovet also contributes artwork that is Beardsleyesque in its covers and end papers, but sketchy and full of life in the storytelling.  Lovely sex scenes too, with a scene featuring one of our heroes finding a unique way to improve his grades.  

As someone who loves graphic novels, but in recent years has found them repetitive and unoriginal (other than Sex Criminals, ironically from the same publisher) I would also offer a trigger warning: some content may not be suitable for younger readers. But if what you desire is an erotic, sinister and snarky six issues, you’ll love it.  It’s published by Image on 17th September and I thank them for a preview copy.  

 This Book Won’t Burn by Samira Ahmed: 

Noor Khan’s life takes a reset when her Dad suddenly leaves the family.  She’s forced to go to another school in another part of Chicago.  At the new school, she takes opposition to the banning of books (or ‘book boundaries’) in the library.  A high school protest led by her goes statewide and also puts her life in danger.  

It’s a YA book with a serious message: this is happening now in America.  Unfortunately, this message is muddied with the tropes of teen literature: families, dates and study.  Ahmed’s focus seems to be on that, rather than the contemporary issues.  See also, the change in tone in the final third when the polemical style of the book becomes epistolary.  

Ultimately, this is a book about banned books (all the titles Noor reads are all ‘under review’ in some states).  It won’t stop the insanity of censorship disguising itself as safeguarding, but teenage audiences will love its passion.  It’s published by Little Brown on May 2nd and I thank them for a preview copy.  

  Teddy by Emily Dunlay:

In late 1969, America, Teddy Huntley is an art student.  She’s also desired by men.  She marries a government official, moves to an Italy and becomes involved in a conspiracy where her own past unravels as quickly as a possible future could be revealed.  

It’s a delicious premise, the right side of trashy, with a political edge for those looking for a serious read.  However, it falls somewhere between the two and feels a somewhat elusive, allusive work of fiction.  There’s enough to produce a bright, engaging character - Teddy is matter of fact in her narration of her sex life as much as she is about modern art.  See also, the grimy, but glamorous backdrop of 1960’s Italy.  

But that imagined timeline, where Teddy’s nemesis is not the men who see her as disposable - but the ex-Cowboy actor, planning to run for President in 1976 - doesn’t seem explored as fully as it could be.  The overarching narrative nods to both Me Too and the current tyre fire that is American politics and the pieces of the novel didn’t really gel for me, but in age where nostalgia isn’t what it used to be, some may find the past as contemporary as the present.  It’s published by 4th Estate on  2nd July and I thank them for a preview copy.