The sportsmad Delaney’s appear to be an enviable family. Former tennis coaches Joy and Stan are still winning tournaments, and now they’ve sold the business they have all the time in the world to learn how to relax, while their four adult children (a disappointment to their parents … with not a single tennis star between them) are busy living their own lives. When Joy disappears, her children – fractious at the best of times – re-examine their parents’ marriage and the family history. Were things never as rosy as they seemed in the Delaney household? Liane Moriarty’s Apples Never Fall is all family secrets and sacrifices, bickering and a strange and obsessive house guest. Not as fabulous as Big Little Lies, but a great book club choice nevertheless. Penguin • More escapism, love and glamour in The Hotel Nantucket. Reeling from a break-up, Lizbet takes over as general manager of Hotel Nantucket. All she needs do to return this gem back to its former glory is win over the billionaire owner, get a popular Insta influencer on her side, and shake off a scandal nearly 100 years old. Great fun, as always with Elin Hilderbrand’s books. Hodder and Stoughton
Two of our fave authors for Spring reads … A beautiful chateau in the South of France. A stunning escort, who has to convince guests that she’s not a paid escort, but a real girlfriend. For what she plans to be her last job, it sounds easy. Until she arrives and finds that not everything is as it seems, In Adele Parks’ One Last Secret, the question is, would you kill to keep it? Harper Collins UK • Decades after they met, the four Robiecheaux sisters parents are getting married again, the sisters are returning to their family home for the wedding. All four have reasons to dread the week they’ll be spending together … and sure enough, it turns out to be a week the family will never forget. No-one beats Cathy Kelly for the perfect weekend read … and The Wedding Party doesn’t disappoint! Orion
This Spring’s book club we’re serving TOOR – a brand new, locally made whisky. Aged five years, the whisky is the first from a collective from Redford Beverages and Doña (which means woman of rank) Distillery … the craft distillery run by Daniella Schoeman. TOOR’s is rich and smooth, with flavours of vanilla and roasted oak, nutty caramel and stone-fruit palate, and hints of maple and earth. About the serve, Danielle says “It’s simply the one you enjoy best: neat, on the rocks, in a cocktail, with a mixer, or with a splash of water.” You’ll find it for a jolly well priced R299.99 at your local bottle store.
Three couples. One’s planning a very extravagant wedding at the chicest hotel on a tiny Scottish Island. The next is a woman who’s taken a job with the said chicest hotel and her American boss fiancé, who’re trying to arrange their own wedding. And lastly there’s the local headmistress and the doctor, who’re desperately trying to keep their relationship a secret. Then, throw into Jenny Colgan’s An Island Wedding an assortment of children and relatives and one glorious midsummer night and you’ve a funny, heart-warming happily-ever-after book club read. Sphere
Nilopar Uddin’s The Halfways, moving between London, Wales, New York and Bangladesh, is family drama that explores the relationships of mothers and daughters, of fathers and daughters, of sisterhood, of forgiveness. Harper Collins UK
New on the bookshelves …
The Infinity Pool by Claire S Lewis … An inherited Tuscan farmhouse promises swimming in the pool, sipping wine, sitting out under the stars. Instead it results in a body in the pool and long-buried secrets coming to the surface. Head of Zeus • Akwaeke Emezi’s You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty … Five years after Feyl’s husband died, it’s almost time to start dating again. She’s not really ready for anything serious, but a hot, fast and furious encounter at a rooftop party leads to a dream island holiday. All’s dandy, until she falls for the one man who’s definitely off limits. A brilliant read, which should come with a prude-warning … it’s steamy. Faber
• Summer at Primrose Tower by Annie Robertson … A florist takes on the biggest wedding of her career, but it’s difficult to focus when the charming local doctor keeps distracting her. A light and feel-good love story. Welbeck • Double Booked by Lily Lindon … Two lives are twice as much fun. A young girl with a steady boyfriend is stuck in a rut, until she auditions for a famous lesbian pop band, she finds their drummer really hot! May she be bisexual? Throwing her strict schedule out of the window, she splits herself in two, alternating between the safety of her old life and the freedom of her new one. Head of Zeus • Catherine Mangan’s One Italian Summer … A wedding on a island, a break up and job loss and the beginnings of a love … all wrapped up in a glorious and uplifting escapist novel set against the backdrop of the Italian Coast. Bliss! Sphere • Yinka, Where Is Your Husband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn … A hilarious tale about Yinka, who wants to find love, but her mum – and many aunties – want to find it for her. Family, friendship, love and massive dose of good humour. Penguin • The Tea Ladies of St Jude’s Hospital by Joanna Nell … Three unlikely friends must put aside their many difference to keep the hospital’s cafeteria where the work open. An hilarious, uplifting, feel good story about friendship and kindness. Hodder and Stoughton. All available from exclusivebooks.co.za
Could we get through the month without a killer read? Not a chance. From MJ Arlidge to Jo Spain to David Baldacci … gripping, sinister, chilling.
