We understand that it can be difficult to find the perfect book to scratch that specific reading itch you might have, or to find the best special edition to add to your collection, which is why in this series of bookseller recommendations we will cover every genre. Our passionate booksellers are always ready to chat about books and today the recommendations come from our seaside shop, as Brighton bookseller, Ellen, shares some of her favourite recent reads.
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While I’m not sure I’d be able to pin down one genre as my favourite, I will always reach for character-driven, intrigue-laden stories. I also have a fondness for non-fiction, especially anything historical.
Generally, my conditions for liking a book centre around two things: how likely it is to make me cry, and how attached I feel to the characters – these recommendations are no exception!
Currently reading: Dead Animals by Phoebe Stuckes
Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis
Floating Hotel is described as The Grant Budapest Hotel in space, and I wholeheartedly agree. With a wonderfully intriguing cast of characters, an incredibly vivid setting, and mysterious threads woven throughout, reading this book is an immersive experience.
Ultimately leaving you filled with a sense of wonder and hopefulness, I would recommend this to Sci-fi devotees and new readers of the genre alike.
Buy your signed first edition copy here!
The Lagos Wife by Vanessa Walters
The Lagos Wife is a brilliantly written crime novel. Following the disappearance of Nicole and her Aunt Claudine’s journey to Lagos to investigate, this is a story I found hard to put down. The story is intriguing and complex, and the various narrative perspectives bring the characters to life in a way that makes you feel like you know them, which in turn makes the mystery that much more engaging and suspenseful.
Buy your signed first edition copy here!
Shakespeare’s Sisters by Ramie Targoff
Shakespeare’s Sisters is an insightful look into the lives and works of women writers from the Renaissance era. I really enjoy historical non-fiction, especially when it’s bringing light to people and stories that don’t often get shared, in such an engaging and thoughtful way.
This book is detailed yet accessible, and a must-read for anyone eager to learn more about both the life and the literature of women in history.
Buy your signed first edition copy here!
Sweetness in the Skin by Ishi Robinson
Pumkin Patterson is dreaming of a different life, and this story follows her determined efforts to make this happen, and the community she finds along the way.
Sweetness in the Skin is a tale of resilience, self-discovery, and is an ultimately hopeful coming-of-age story. Pumkin’s narrative will pull at your heartstrings and keep you reading to the very end in hopes of seeing her fulfil her dreams.
Buy your signed first edition copy here!
The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson
I have recently found myself reading more Sci-Fi, and this book takes much of the credit for this. It is a beautifully written story, set in a spectacularly crafted universe. With such vivid setting and interesting characters, this is one I found hard to put down, so I am very excited to see where the series goes!
This is the perfect sci-fi novel for fans of historical fiction, time travel, and of course space operas.
