Book 1 of 2026. The Grapples of Wrath by Alice Bell. Great fun, wrestling, ghosts and murder. What more could you possibly want?

I will definitely be picking that up. Starting with The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters.

Teenage Girls Can Be Demons by Hailey Piper sooooo good

What book are you starting 2026 with? Mine is The Grapples of Wrath by Alice Bell

Anyone used Masterclass/BBC Maestro? Worth it?

Spent the last 3 hours solving a murder. Great fun

Excellent Christmas books!

Happy Christmas!

New Review - today I look at a feast of science fiction stories recording a genre’s changes over time The Big Book of Cyberpunk Volume 2 edited by Jared Shurin www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2025/6/...

"Merry Christmas" implies the existence of "Pippin Christmas"

Christmas Eve this Christmas Eve that WHAT of Christmas Adam WHEN does he get his day THIS is why men don’t write novels anymore

Weird how the same coffee tastes better in some mugs than others.

Looks like I’ve only finished one book in December so far. Feeling very uninspired at the moment. My books of the year post is sat, half finished in drafts. Feel like a very bad book blogger!

Sneaky (blurry) peek at my books of 2025. Can you guess what any of them are?

Was looking at buying something online and got a 'sign up for a % discount!' popup. I did, then the discount doesn't work. Even got a 'save % on your basket' notification. You know what's in my basket, so don't offer me a code that doesn't work for it!

controversial opinion: Streak freezes shouldn't be a thing. If you've missed a day, you've missed a day.

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 165: Don't try submitting a manuscript - to anyone - during the Christmas break. Agents, publishers, editors, bloggers - *no one* wants that right now.

I work at a lovely library in South Oxfordshire. We're looking for #authors to talk to our members about their books. If you would be interested in coming to our library (in the heart of a historic market town), please let me know and I'll send you more details #AuthorsOfBluesky #writingcommunity

Ho Ho! Ho! Today Santa Womble is back and this time enters a world of magic, quests and more. Yes with suggestion of Fantasy novels to gift you or well loved ones I suppose www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2025/12...

my favorite thing about the benoit blanc movies is that they aren't really about benoit blanc. he is not grappling with demons from his past. we are not getting flashbacks to the husband whose murder he never solved. he just shows up and does his job like mary poppins for homicides

her shield stops the quick strike, while the slow blade may pass

the annual(ish) @alixeharrow.bsky.social gift guide buttondown.com/alixeharrow/... < my poor TBR pile. Already had Tasha Suri and Antonia Hodgson on there, but now added more!

Very excited to get an approval for @abeewords.bsky.social’s The Grapples of Wrath. Now I just need a week off to catch up with my reading

Get this one on your list for next year. Murder the Hotel Orient is fab!

Looking for a claustrophobic locked room mystery? The Chamber/One at a Time by Will Dean should be on your list. Took me so long to write the review that they changed the title on me. Still a fantastic book! @hodderbooks.bsky.social

Another locked room (albeit a whole prison-turned-hotel) mystery. Spooky, twisty, impossible to put down. @victoriagoldman.bsky.social's Little Secrets should definitely be on your lists

A very light Sunday Summary blog post this week... But I have started thinking about my goals for 2026. One of them has to 'shop the shelves' because my physical TBR is ridiculous and could be mistaken for a small shop's SFF section. Have you started making 2026 reading plans yet?

Excellent #bookpost this morning from the lovely @lisahallauthor.bsky.social. The Mysterious Double Death of Honey Black and The Case of the Singer and the Showgirl, book 1 & 2 of her Hotel Hollywood mysteries! Thanks!

Finished one of my NetGalley backlog. It was fine I guess? Probably wouldn’t have finished it if it wasn’t to bring the list down. Also somehow managed to hit my Goodreads target for the year so yay

Success! Found an advent calendar in Sainsbo’s last night. Not reduced tho 🤔

Lego CEO: You get that minifig of Timothy Olyphant from The Mandolorian finished? Designer: Sure did boss, real fuckin sexy just like you asked. CEO: what

I just realised that I forgot to get myself a chocolate advent calendar. Christmas is RUINED.

Wrote up three book reviews last night in an attempt to make a dent in the backlog. Forgotten how much I enjoy writing them. Are they good? Not necessarily. The books though, the books are great. You should read them. The books that is. And the reviews.

Getting back on my reviewing thing with Little Secrets by Victoria Goldman. A locked room mystery, strange murders, spooky prison, cracking plot. What more could you want from a book? espressococo.com/2025/12/01/l... @victoriagoldman.bsky.social

The Chamber/One At A Time by Will Dean. Bit late to the review for this one, but a book that you need to get on your christmas list. Just hope you're not claustrophobic... espressococo.com/2025/12/01/t... @hodderbooks.bsky.social

Murder at the Hotel Orient, by @alessandraranelli.bsky.social i espressococo.com/2025/12/01/m... Out next year from @johnmurrays.bsky.social

Murder at the Hotel Orient, by @alessandraranelli.bsky.social i espressococo.com/2025/12/01/m... Out next year from @johnmurrays.bsky.social

Murder at the Hotel Orient – Alessandra Ranelli In modern day Vienna, city of spies, American Sterling Lockwood is the loyal Concierge & Keeper of Secrets at the infamous Hotel Orient, a love hotel where cameras are banned, aliases are required, and every guest has a secret. After the double…

The Chamber/One At A Time by Will Dean. Bit late to the review for this one, but a book that you need to get on your christmas list. Just hope you're not claustrophobic... espressococo.com/2025/12/01/t... @hodderbooks.bsky.social

The Chamber/One At A Time – Will Dean HIGH PRESSURE OUTSIDEOn a boat heading out into the North Sea, Ellen Brooke steels herself to spend almost a month working underwater with five other divers. It is a close knit team and it has to be: any error or loss of trust in the living quarters could be…

Getting back on my reviewing thing with Little Secrets by Victoria Goldman. A locked room mystery, strange murders, spooky prison, cracking plot. What more could you want from a book?https://espressococo.com/2025/12/01/little-secrets-victoria-goldman/ @victoriagoldman.bsky.social

Little Secrets – Victoria Goldman Welcome to the true-crime controversy that’s divided the media for the last twenty years. To discover the truth, we need to delve back into the past…

 THEN: In June 1999, the last five prisoners at HMP Panbrook were killed just before the prison closed its doors…

Me: no more NetGalley requests until I've written a bunch of reviews. NG: You've been approved for this one that you really wanted to read. Oh, and this one too. Your TBR is toast *laughs maniacally*

The Iris Affair is a most peculiar thing. I’m not entirely sure it knows entirely what it wants to be. Tom Hollander is glorious though.

Spotted this in Leeds last night. I was initially confused until it twigged. Someone at Everyman is *very* pleased with themselves.

Bookstagram influencer: let me show you the book pages side out without actually showing you the cover for a minute while rambling on about how good it is

My November Reading Wrap-Up! I had four 5 star reads but my favourite of the month was definitely The Book of Fallen Leaves by @astamaki.bsky.social I’m starting off December by continuing reading The Swan’s Daughter by Roshani Chokshi which so far is a whimsical, magical and very fairytale esque!

Crime Central: Caroline England & Kate Gray Last night I headed over to Manchester again to the final Crime Central event of the year. This is the second one I've been to, and can highly recommend it as a night out if you love crime fiction! For this edition, Rob Parker was chatting with Caroline…

It’s #FridayReads time! Books are great gifts. Repost this and let us know what to repost for you. Here’s a happy tale full of old gods, magic, grief, violence, ghosts, a hurricane, friendship, and things from beyond the reef... www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0316... bookshop.org/p/books/hous...