One of the (many) perks of working in an independent bookshop is that you get to meet the enthusiastic and lovely publisher reps who travel the globe showcasing the many new and exciting books coming your (our)way.

We hope that the easing of restrictions will allow us to once again meet in person.

Until then, here is a review of our ‘Book of the Week’ by Elena from Bloomsbury publishing. Hope to see you soon!

‘In July I read This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron, the author of our bestselling Cinderella is Dead and I really loved it! Briseis is a black teenager who lives in Brooklyn and has been adopted by two wonderful mums. She has a special power over plants. When they move to the countryside because Bri inherited a house with a secret garden, a lot of her past gets uncovered and mystery and danger wait behind the corner. There is a lot of Greek Mythology which is super cool and a cast of diverse characters and intriguing plants.

Definitely a five star read! ‘

Review by Elena Bianco, International Sales Manager, Bloomsbury Publishing

RESERVE YOUR COPY OF This Poison Heart

The Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Firekeeper’s Daughter is an stunning debut novel by Angeline Boulley about identity, heritage, community, and strength.

18-year-old Daunis lives with her mother in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. She caused a bit of a local scandal upon her arrival as her mother was the underage daughter of a wealthy white family in town and her late father was a promising hockey player from the nearby Ojibwe reservation who married another girl and got her pregnant before Daunis was even born. Being of mixed heritage, she struggles with feelings of not fitting in; although she has strong ties to both communities, she doesn’t feel fully accepted by either. Following her uncle’s recent death of an overdose and her grandmother’s stroke, she has put her plans to study medicine at university on hold to stay in town and support her fragile mother while they heal. 

When Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, she gets swept up in an ongoing undercover drug investigation and agrees to become a confidential informant for the FBI. In doing so, she is forced to look closely at those around her and consider what she’s willing to risk in order to protect her community. 

An Indigenous woman herself, Angeline Boulley tells the story with great reverence for the Ojibwe culture and its traditions and lets it permeate the fabric of the story. She touches on some heavy themes throughout the book such as murder, drug use, and sexual violence against women, however she weaves it into a larger, compelling narrative about identity, community, friendship, and resilience, which is beautifully written. 

I tore through this book in under 24 hours – once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down. Although there were some heavy subject matters, I appreciate that Boulley didn’t shy away from issues facing many Native Americans, especially as she also focusses on how the Ojibwe community deals with the trauma collectively and processes it to move forward.

Happy reading!

Christine Ebert

RESERVE YOUR COPY OF The Firekeeper’s Daughter

This week’s book, ‘My Best Friend’s Murder’, is such a special one as it is written by one of our great friends, the lovely Polly Phillips.

This page turner of a novel about a toxic friendship has been published to great reviews around the world and we are so excited to have it in stock.

The story of how I met Polly is already a Books & Company classic. Here is, in Polly’s own words, how it went down:

‘When I arrived as a very naive new mum, used to ozzie temperatures and not speaking a word of Danish, your shop was my sanctuary. I knew I was onto a winner when I locked my keys, handbag and dog in the car and had to leave Lalage (baby girl) with you guys in the shop while I frantically cycled on your bike the wrong way up the cycle path because I was too scared to try and cross the road back to the house to get the keys so I could come back and rescue said dog and claim said baby!! Such a baptism of fire.’

This slightly hectic day was thankfully followed by many wonderful hours of sipping hot chocolate and chatting about books.

We are so very proud of you Polly, and can’t wait for the Copenhagen launch as soon as the world opens up again!

As always, contact us to reserve a copy.

RESERVE YOUR COPY OF My Best Friend’s Murder

A few weeks ago, I was in my parents’ courtyard on a really beautiful, sunny afternoon. Everything was warm, bright, and quiet, and all I wanted to do was find a really lovely book with a good story that wasn’t too serious or heavy. I stumbled upon Neil Gaiman’s ‘Norse Mythology’ and it turned out to be perfect.

Gaiman is a wonderful storyteller and boils the many strange stories of Norse mythology down to some choice tales that he tells with humor and whimsy. If you already know quite a bit about the subject, this may not be the book for you. But, if like me, you are relatively unfamiliar, this is the perfect introduction.

For the most part, it reads like several stories that are linked but happening independently of one another, so it’s really easy to read a chapter and feel like you’ve gotten an awesome short story out of it.

Perfect for leisurely Sunday afternoons in the sunshine.

Happy reading!

Emma

RESERVE YOUR COPY OF Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman