Curl up with six unputdownable reads this August…

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There’s been lots of noise about Seven Days in June by Tia Williams, and for good reason. It’s a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick (and who are we to argue with Reese?) and a cracking (and rather steamy) read for a cold night. When Shane and Eva meet at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their buried traumas, but also the eyebrows of the Black literati. What no one knows is that fifteen years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one crazy, torrid week madly in love. While they may be pretending not to know each other, they cannot deny their chemistry or the fact that they have been secretly writing to each other in their books through the years. And over the next seven days, during a sultry Brooklyn summer, Eva and Shane reconnect. Quercus • Another perfect book club read … How To Save A Life by Eva Carter. Structured around the simple steps involved in CPR, this book kicks off with Joel, who collapses at a New Year’s Eve party. Enter Kerry, who performs CPR until the ambulance arrives, and Tim, who wants to be a doctor but freezes when it’s his turn to help. The book, which was inspired by the author’s own experience of giving CPR to her partner, and by her mum’s stories of when she worked as a trauma nurse, follows the trio, and shows there’s more to being a hero than a split second decision … it’s all about how you live your life afterwards. Pan Macmillan

 

The Perfect Lie is Jo Spain’s fast-paced thriller, set in the pretty seaside town of Newport on Long Island, where Erin lives with her detective husband. All’s good with her life, until said husband jumps out of the window of their fourth floor apartment, and – despite the fact that he jumped in front of witnesses – she’s charged with his murder. She’d thought he was perfect. She’d thought their life was perfect. But it was all built on one perfect lie. Quercus

Oh. A new Sheila O’Flanagan book. Bliss. In Three Weddings and A Proposal, Delphie attends the first wedding – that of her brother – and there’s a shock. The second wedding is unexpected. By the third, she thinks nothing could surprise her. But she’s wrong. Throw in a proposal and you’ve the perfect weekend read. Witty, warm, and with really wonderful characters … loved it! Headline

Malibu. August 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas. There’s Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel, brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer, and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together, the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over – especially as they are the offspring of the legendary singer, Mick Riva. By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come bubbling to the surface. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them . . . and what they will leave behind.
Penguin Random House, available from Exclusive Books.

Our book of the month ... from talented local author Fiona Snyckers

Let’s here it for local. Loud applause and big whoops for local author Fiona Snyckers, who’s just released her latest novel, The School Gates … the PERFECT book club read. This is the third in a loose trilogy – the first two, Now Following You and SPIRE both fabulously successful. This one sees Ella Burchell, burnt out after years as a professional dancer, move to a small KwaZulu Natal North Coast town, where she gets a job teaching dance to children at a private school. The children she can handle … but she had no idea, when she took the position, about the mums. The private-school mums … who run the school as their own personal fiefdom. Circling the cliques at the school gates, they’re a force to be reckoned with. Even when a gorgeous new cricket coach arrives, she’s too busy fielding their demands to pay him much attention. Great fun … particularly since there’s more than one mum we know who could fit easily into this school-gate clique! Modjaji Books

Blush pink, fresh & crispy, this Groote Post Pinot Noir Rosé Limited Release 2021 looks sweet – think Turkish Delight, while you’ll taste watermelon, rhubarb and custard flavours. You’ll find it for R85 from groote-post-wines.myshopify.com

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