The Best Books To Read This Spring

Spring’s warmer weather makes it the perfect time to sit outside and read a great book (or two). Writer Sara Bragg picks her favourite reads.

Truly, Darkly, Deeply

By Victoria Selman Quercus £7.49

The One That Got Away

By Charlotte Rixon Aria £7.49

Oh, Sister

By Jodie Chapman Penguin £15.00

A dark chilling psychological thriller that will keep you reading past bedtime. Twelveyear-old Sophie and her mother, AmeliaRose move to London from Massachusetts where they meet the charismatic Matty Melgren, who quickly becomes an intrinsic part of their lives. But as the relationship between the two adults fractures, a serial killer begins targeting young women with a striking resemblance to Amelia-Rose. When Matty is sent down for multiple murders, questions arise about his guiltquestions which ultimately destroy both women. Nearly twenty years later, Sophie receives a letter from Battlemouth Prison informing her Matty is dying and wants to meet. It looks like Sophie might finally get the answers she craves. But will the truth set her free – or bury her deeper?

A poignant compelling story of first love, of the mistakes people make, and the lengths they’ll go to put things right. Perfect for fans of Colleen Hoover and Rosie Walsh, this is an emotional read full of nostalgia. Benjamin’s world is turned upside down the day he meets Clara. Instinctively, he knows that she is his person and he is hers, but the events of one devastating night will take their lives in very different directions. Twenty years later, a bombing is reported in the city where Clara and Ben met, and she is pulled back to the first love she could never forget. Searching for Ben, Clara prays that twenty years of silence is about to end. But is it too late to put right what went wrong?

Happy Place

By Emily Henry Penguin £13.19

The Garnett Girls

By Georgina Moore HQ £9.99

A big-hearted debut of love, sisterhood and what it means to be home. Forbidden, passionate and all-encompassing, Margo and Richard’s love affair was the stuff of legend– but, ultimately, doomed. When Richard walked out, Margo locked herself away, leaving her three daughters, Rachel, Imogen and Sasha, to run wild. Years later, charismatic Margo refuses to ever speak of her painful past. But her silence is keeping each of the Garnett girls from finding true happiness. Can children ever be free of the mistakes of their parents?

From the author of one of BookTok’s most popular reads for 2022, Emily Henry returns with a new gloriously feelgood novel of fake relationships and awkward holidays. Harriet and Wyn are the perfect couple –they go together like bread and butter, gin and tonic, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. Except, they broke up six months ago. And they still haven’t told anyone. Which is how they end up sharing a bedroom at the cottage that has been their yearly getaway with their best friends for the past decade. For one glorious week they leave behind their lives, drink far too much wine and soak up the sea air with their favourite people. Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are faking it. But how can you pretend to be in love with someone – and get away with it –in front of the people who know you best?

A thoughtfully, intricately crafted tale of breaking free and finding one’s voice, this addictive novel follows three very different women whose lives are intertwined by religious subservience. Jen, Isobel and Zelda are all linked through the same religious community, but soon they will discover they all share something else much more important – a sisterhood. But can that be enough to ever let them really be free?

Lessons in Chemistry

By Bonnie Garmus Transworld £7.99

Waterstones Author of the Year, Bonnie Garmus brings us a smart, funny, joyous and powerful debut set in the 60’s. Unconventinal chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. She falls for Calvin Evans, a brilliant Nobel-prize nominated grudge-holder. True chemistry results. But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later, Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (‘combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride’) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo. This book will win your heart.

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