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This week Being Bookish has gone to the movies with my guest, Lorraine from Once Upon a Nightmare. I've hit a bit of a reading slump, but this is still book talk as The Devil Wears Prada (2006) is itself based on a book by Lauren Weisberger which was originally released in 2003. So join us as we talk about what we liked and didn't in this film, how we would both probably fare in the fashion industry and all other things Prada in our review. Featured episodes Practical Magic Where you can find Lorraine Twitter Instagram Once Upon a Nightmare Podcast

Fantasy is not a genre that I read all that often. However, having recently been reintroduced to it, I decided to delve in feet first with this novel by New Zealand-based author AK Mulford. The High Mountain Court was released in 2021. In a world ruled by the Fae, witches live in fear, hiding their true abilities terrified that the witch hunters will find them. Remy has been in hiding for 13 years, ever since her family and friends were massacred by the King of the Northern Kingdom. When she is discovered by Prince Hale, she isn't quite quick enough to escape and gets convinced to join him and his friends on their quest... So, what did I think of this debut? Did it bring me into the fantasy world enough that I will return? Give this spoiler-free review a listen and find out if the book is one you'll want to try for yourself. Featured episodes Clytemnestra

If you've been here for a while you'll know how much I love a good Greek Myth retelling, and here we have another one. The story of Helen of Troy's older sister, Clytemnestra. All but ignored in traditional myth, her story is a long, sad and colourful one that makes up the central tale in Casati's debut novel. Find out what I thought in a 100% spoiler-free review. Featured episodes Elektra Circe The Spanish Love Deception Istória - the candles

Practical Magic - you may know the film, but did you know it's a 1995 book? This week I am talking with a guest, Lorraine from Once Upon a Nightmare about this book and how it compares to the film - does it come out on top? So join me and Lorraine as we find out more about Gillian and Sally Owens and the lives they've built for themselves. Featured episodes The Body Misery (1987) Warhammer 40k (The Eisenhorn Omnibus) Skyward Weyward Lorraine's links I Know What You Did Last Summer Once Upon a Nightmare Twitter Instagram TikTok

If you know me you'll know that I love cosy crime, and also have a huge amount of affection for the TV series Death in Paradise. When I saw The Marlow Murder Club on the shelves in my local book shop - just as I was feeling I needed to buy a new book (nothing new there), I had to pick it up. So, what did I think of this book by the creator of Death in Paradise? Did it fail to impress? Was it too much like other books already on the market, or did it hit the nail on the head? Check out my spoiler-free review to find out. Featured episodes Death in Paradise The Thursday Murder Club Agatha Raisin Phryne Fisher Investigates

Weyward is a story of women, witches, power, and internal strength. A novel about three women from one family line who go against the grain, fighting against their personal situations to improve their lives and find their inner power. A recent release and a debut from author Emilia Hart, it's a tale as old as time, poignant and powerful. To find out what I thought of this book, released on the 2nd of February give this spoiler-free episode a listen.

It's another new book this week, Really Good, Actually by ex-Schitt's Creek writer, Monica Heisey. A study (filled with pathos and humour) of divorce and moving on in the modern age. Maggie is 29, in a dead-end job and after just 608 days of marriage, she is getting divorced. What follows is a journey of self-discovery and learning in this January 2023 release. Featured episodes Delicacy by Katy Wix Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

This week we are visiting the world of Middren, where the worship of gods is forbidden and a battle with the old gods all but destroyed a royal dynasty. Her family devastated by sacrifice to the god of fire, Kissen rejoices in the fact that her search for vengeance is sanctioned by a king who wants to move his people on from the old ways. But when Kissen meets young Inara, the daughter of a noble house, bound by unknown forces to Skedi, the god of white lies, she must face her past on a pilgrimage to the site where the battle was fought at its strongest, Blenraden. And thus begins Hannah Kaner's debut novel, Godkiller. Join me on a spoiler-free analysis. What did I think? Featured episodes Skyward by Brandon Sanderson Links Being Bookish on TikTok

I had to do it! For some reason, this book was calling to me, and it does get another book I haven't read off my TBR. This week, instead of reviewing the supernaturally-themed novel I was promising I was going to look at, I picked up this 1941 novel from Agatha Christie. Again we are drawn into the world of Hercule Poirot. Instead of the streets of London though, we are staying in a luxury hotel off the coast of Devon where a glamorous actress has been strangled. But who could possibly dislike the beautiful Arlena Marshall enough to strangle her with their bare hands? Could it be her cuckolded husband? Her unhappy stepdaughter? A jealous wife? A drug smuggler frustrated by her presence near his smuggled wares? You know I am not going to tell you, but I will give you enough clues that you'll want to read the book! Featured episodes Death on the Pier Hickory Dickory Dock Agatha Raisin

In the 1980s, there was nothing like a good old-fashioned bonkbuster to brighten up your bookcases. With their somewhat stylised but garish covers that declared them to be the sort of book you would probably blush when telling your granny about. As well as the handsome but rakish main characters, they sold in their hundreds of thousands. Jilly Cooper was the Queen of Bonkbusters, famous for the heartless but too-beautiful-to-exist Rupert Campbell-Black who broke hearts all over the world. Rivals was released at the tail-end of the 1980s, but everything about it from the cover to the characters and the situations they find themselves in screams 'this is a 1980s book'. Despite that, Disney has now purchased the rights and is making it into an 8-part mini-series. So...what did I think on this re-read 15 years in the making? How will a mini-series based on a book that is all about the bedroom work on a network like Disney? Find out in the first episode of Season 6 of Being Bookish. Don't forget, sign up for my newsletter here The Being Bookish Bookclub book for January is Circe by Madeline Miller. Get in touch to find out more.

This year has been a big one. 130 books, 56 new authors, and only 22 re-reads. I have been introduced to new authors, new genres and some incredible new books. So what made it into the countdown? Are there books you're expecting? Is there anything you want me to mention? Go on, it's the final countdown for the year, give it a listen! Featured episodes The Spirit Engineer The House in the Cerulean Sea Delicacy: A memoir of cake and death Death on the Pier The Body Misery Skyward Podcast mentions Strive, Seek, Find Once Upon a Nightmare

Bet you never thought you'd see the day when I read a book in the Warhammer series! Well, today you are going to be surprised. This week I am talking Warhammer, specifically Xenos, the first in the Eisenhorn Omnibus by Dan Abnett with Dev - who really knows his stuff. So, settle back and welcome to Warhammer... Useful links Warhammer Wiki Warhammer beginners guide Warhammer Space Marines Trailer The Astartes Project

It’s 1960, in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine. Ray Brower, a boy from a nearby town, has disappeared, and twelve-year-old Gordie Lachance and his three friends set out on a quest to find his body along the railroad tracks. During the course of their journey, Gordie, Chris Chambers, Teddy Duchamp, and Vern Tessio come to terms with death and the harsh truths of growing up in a small factory town that doesn’t offer much in the way of a future. Join me and my guest, Lorraine, as we talk about this book, school bullies and a little about the 1986 film, Stand by Me. And we don't spoil the ending! Featured episodes Good Omens Misery (1987) Misery (1990)

Agatha Raisin and the Busy Body feels like the perfect start to December. When Health and Safety busy body John Sunday starts to tell people that there will be no Christmas trees on the church roof, that Christmas lights are a health and safety hazard and there can be no candles during evening services, you just know his days are numbered. But who in the village is the one that stabs him repeatedly in the back?

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is the first book in her bestselling trilogy (though it has since been added to with a prequel). First released in 2008, it was made into a Hollywood Blockbuster in 2012 (which made Jennifer Lawrence a household name). It is a story of political intrigue and mass murder made to look like entertainment. So, what did I think? Was it a book I liked more or less on the second reading? And how did the film fare? Find out in the first of my November Adaptation episodes.

Shiver is the first in a YA series by Maggie Stiefvater, originally released in 2009. The book has been on my bookcase since that point and until this year I hadn't done more than move it twice (when I moved house). So, what makes this werewolf novel the perfect spooky read for Booktober? Check out my spoiler-free review to find out. It was the ideal palate cleanser after my previous Booktober read. Featured episodes Flowers in the Attic

Flowers in the Attic is the gothic novel that has it all, some of this all you probably don't want, but over the 43 years since its release it's sold over 40 million copies worldwide and while you'd think that its popularity would fade as more books were released to market, it's spawned a franchise of films and a mini-series. So, what is it about this novel that makes it perfect for Booktober? Tune in to find out as I talk about Virginia Andrews' 1979 taboo tale. Featured episodes Call for the Dead by John Le Carré

Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House sounds as though it should be a great book to talk about in Booktober, right? Spooky, Halloween-like, ghosts, mysteries to solve. Well, in this we get a mystery, three murders and a haunting, but is all what it seems? Find out more about the 14th instalment in MC Beaton's Agatha Raisin series without discovering whodunit before you read the book. Featured episodes Agatha Raisin - There Goes the Bride Agatha Raisin - A Spoonful of Poison Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death An Interview with Author Jamie West

Jamie West is about to release his first novel, a murder mystery based in 1930s Brighton, Death on the Pier, so of course, I had to speak with him when I got the chance. We talk about his book (which is amazing, the work that goes into writing as well as where he got the inspiration for this locked room mystery. Death on the Pier is released on the 10th of October, you can order it from Amazon US/UK now. Find Jamie Twitter Instagram Website Featured Episodes Hickory Dickory Dock

*WARNING: Talk of suicidal thoughts from minute 25 (I get a bit real in the mental health talk). The Love Hypothesis was released in September 2021 and has been received incredibly well. Part Reylo fanfiction and part STEM and feminist love story, the book is incredibly popular amongst those looking for a slightly different romance founded on two contemporary romance tropes, fake dating and enemies to lovers. If these are your thing then this book is 100% for you. Episodes featured The Spanish Love Deception It Happened One Summer