Love is in the air Books

From first loves to best friends and journeys of self-discovery, this month’s reads are about love in all its many, messy guises.

The Satsuma Complex

Bob Mortimer

Romance, humour and mystery combine to great effect in Bob Mortimer’s first novel. 30-year-old Gary lives a quiet, uneventful life. He’s open to love but hasn’t done too well with it so far. Then he heads out for a drink with his friend

Brendan and meets a woman with whom he feels an instant connection. So when Brendan goes missing, Gary has more than one reason to find the mystery woman and get some answers.

A Scatter of Light

Malinda Lo

A coming-out and coming-ofage novel set in California, A Scatter of Light follows Aria as she falls in love for the first time. Aria is spending her last summer before university with her grandmother. It certainly wasn’t the holiday she’d planned, but it turns into a summer of self-discovery as Aria finds herself falling for her grandmother’s gardener, Steph. A slow-burning, bittersweet novel.

The Man I Never Met

Elle Cook

When Davey misdials and ends up calling Hannah, it sets off a string of texts that has them both hoping for something more, despite the fact that they live thousands of miles apart. But when they finally arrange to meet in person, Davey doesn’t show. His reason is one that seems certain to keep them apart, but neither is ready to give up on what might be.

Maame

Jessica George

Maddie has long been called Maame by her Ghanian parents. It’s meant as an endearment and an acknowledgment of how helpful and dependable Maddie is. With Maddie’s mum so often abroad, Maddie becomes her ill father’s carer, giving up much of her own life in the process. Then Maddie gets the chance to move out. She wants to start living for herself and maybe even to find love, but is she ready to break away from being Maame? At times laughout-loud funny, at other times poignant or outright shocking, Maame is a powerful debut novel.

The Switch

Beth O’Leary

Eileen and her granddaughter Leena decide to swap homes for two months. While Leena moves up to Yorkshire to de-stress and calm her thoughts, Eileen heads to London to look for love. It’s been four months since her husband left her, and Eileen is more than ready to rejoin the dating scene. And rejoin it she does, with gusto.

We All Want Impossible Things

Catherine Newman

Edi and Ash have been through so many things in their 40-year friendship. Now Edi is dying in a hospice and Ash is, as always, by her side. The two relive their time together, but Ash also has to face up to the fact that her present life is a bit of a mess. And soon, she’ll need to face it alone. While there are sad moments in this book, they’re accompanied by humour and compassion, so it’s surprisingly uplifting.

By Kate Duggan

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