Book of the Week: Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
Reviewed by our own birthday girl Franca (first time, but looks like not last time, Emily Henry reader 😉)

“Celebrity biographer Alice Scott has figured out the whereabouts of newspaper heiress and american sweetheart Margaret Ives, who has been gone from public eye for twenty years. margaret has now invited her to interview her for a potential tell all book about her family, her life, her loss, her secrets. the only catch? Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Hayden Anderson has been invited for exactly the same purpose. and he’s the most unapproachable and unlikable man Alice has ever met. Will the two find some common ground? Who will Margaret choose? And what secrets about the Ives family is Alice about to uncover?

I have to admit I was sceptical at first. I had never read an Emily Henry book before and this just sounded like the wish version of ‘The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ to me. In some ways it was very similar to Evelyn Hugo but in other ways it wasn’t at all.

While Margaret’s story plays a large part, it is not the centre of the novel. After a few chapters I was completely invested in Alice & Hayden’s love story, rooting for them, being upset with them, yelling at them when they just DIDN’T COMMUNICATE PROPERLY!! I was truly giggling and kicking my feet the whole time.

I would definitely recommend this if you liked Evelyn Hugo but also if you just love a good rivals to lovers and American dynasty story.”

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Book of the Week: The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen
Reviewed by our friend and avid reader Lotte

“When Tess Gerritsen moved with her husband to a small town in Maine, she found herself living among retired spies, hence the inspiration for her new book series, The Martini Club.

The first book in the series, ‘The Spy Coast’, was published in 2023, and the second one, ‘The Summer Guests’, was published just last month.

We meet the main character, Maggie Bird, a retired CIA spy, now living in Purity, Maine, where she leads a quiet life running a small chicken farm, selling eggs and joining a ‘book club’ with four other retired spies, who read books and drink martinis.

When a dead body lands in her driveway Maggie quickly realizes it is a message from former foes who haven’t forgotten her and the body is linked to a haunting operation from the past that ended badly.

The Martini Club is activated and starts their own operation to solve the mystery. They might be retired, but they still have skin in the (spy) game.

The acting chief of police in the small town, young Jo, who has ambitions beyond being a small town cop dealing with drunk tourists, finds herself outrun and outplayed by the retired spies, but as the action picks up the spies find themselves needing to team up with Jo, and maybe also teach her a few tricks from their past.

The action soon takes Maggie on a tour around the world, while the story combines flashbacks to her earlier career with her current life in Maine, and the POVs also switch among other characters relevant to the story.

The writing is solid, the spy action combined with a small town feel makes the book well worth reading, and it surprised me that a book about retired spies in Maine could be so entertaining...

If you like the Thursday Murder Club but would like a bit more action and heat, then this is your book.”

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Book of the Week: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Reviewed by our resident Hunger Games lover, Franca 💜

“I have been tasked with the impossibility of summing up my (spoiler free) thoughts on Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins in one short Instagram post. Where to begin?

Possibly at the beginning. Sunrise on the Reaping follows a 16 year old Haymitch Abernathy who has been chosen to fight to the death in the 50th Hunger Games. Normally, 24 tributes are selected, a boy and a girl from each of Panem’s 12 districts, but this year it’s a Quarter Quell and there are twice as many tributes. The odds are definitely not in Haymitch’s favour. His one objective? Get home to his mother, his brother, and his girl. This soon proves more difficult than he had anticipated. Haymitch isn’t one to sit still and be told what to do and his defiance of the Capitol quickly gets him in trouble with Panem’s most powerful man, President Coriolanus Snow. I shall not reveal what happens next, you must read for yourself.

As someone whose favourite Hunger Games character has always been Haymitch Abernathy (and Effie Trinket, of course) I was scared to say the least. Would this book be able to live up to my expectations? Would Suzanne Collins be able to do my favourite tortured soul justice? The answer to both those questions is YES.

Collins does not provide us with a whole lot of information about Haymitch’s past in the original trilogy. We learn very little about his family and how he won the games. What we know for certain is that he has never been able to recover from the horrors he witnessed, drowning his sorrows in white liquor and sleeping with a knife under his pillow. But how did he get there?

My friend Persephone and I have spent many late nights speculating about Haymitch’s past. (I can hear you calling us nerds through the screen, don’t think I can’t.) Did his father die in a mining accident, or did he abandon his wife? What happened to his family? His girl? Were they sent away, burned, tortured? Who was this mysterious girl Haymitch loved all those years ago?

Sunrise on the Reaping answers all the questions fans of Haymitch Abernathy have been dying to know. And then some.

The book touches on themes such as the abuse of power, the sacrifices needed to change a system, the importance of music and most importantly propaganda. We learn things about Haymitch we, the reader, didn’t know because Katniss didn’t know them either. When we encounter him for the first time, Katniss has a certain idea of him, an idea that has been planted in the minds of Panem’s population by Snow to tell a specific story, a story that fits his narrative of who the district people are. Haymitch’s acts of the defiance have been successfully erased by Snow and his gamemakers, making sure that the new generations don’t get any ideas.  

In this newest Hunger Games book, we learn why Haymitch is so set on helping Katniss, his personal connection to her and an old promise he made long ago. It connects the dots between The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and the original trilogy and gives us a much more nuanced look into the world of Panem. It made me cry actual tears as I got to the end, a true testament to Collins’ writing, and I simply could not put it down.

I always encourage people to read in release order rather than chronological so if you have read this review and are intrigued but have not read The Hunger Games, I urge you to go and buy all three original Hunger Games books, a bottle of wine, a box of tissues and a therapy session and get started. If you already have read the originals but never got around to reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, fret not. Although I would recommend reading TBOSAS (because it is amazing and I love it) you can get away with simply watching the movie (which is also excellent) so you don’t miss out on too many of the easter eggs Collins has so cleverly planted in this novel. And if you are an adult reading this, thinking these books are not for you, you are mistaken. Reading The Hunger Games as an adult is a scary experience as you realise much of it isn’t really a dystopian nightmare but something happening in our world today.

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable (though emotionally damaging) read that I would recommend to anyone who loves their protagonists with a little – or a lot – of trauma.

 Run don’t walk to your local bookstore and get yourself a copy.”

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Book of the Week - The Healing Season of Pottery by Yeon Somin

Wonderfully reviewed by our very own Rikke (Trying to convince her to make a line of cups for the shop 😉)

“As an amateur potter, I was immediately drawn to The Healing Season of Pottery by Yeon Somin because of its title and cover. This quiet, beautifully written novel explores healing, self-discovery, and the transformative power of creating art.

The story follows Jungmin, a relatable protagonist—weary yet hopeful—seeking meaning beyond corporate burnout. Alongside her, a diverse cast of characters finds their way to the pottery workshop, each bringing their own personal struggles and stories that intertwine with Jungmin’s journey.

Through these interactions, the novel gently explores themes of self-discovery, love, forgiveness, and the quiet courage it takes to start over. The detailed descriptions of the pottery-making process serve as a powerful metaphor for Jungmin’s personal growth, illustrating how shaping clay mirrors the reshaping of her life.

Rather than a dramatic, action-packed plot, the story unfolds in a gentle, reflective manner—much like a slow afternoon spent working with clay. Yeon Somin beautifully captures both the challenges and joys of pottery, from moments of frustration to the deep satisfaction of creating something meaningful.

This book is perfect for anyone who appreciates stories about creativity, growth, and second chances.”

Happy Reading!

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