WORDS LAURA SILVERMAN. PHOTOGRAPHS GETTY IMAGES, SHUTTERSTOCK
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ORCHID &
THE WASP
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
When Gael’s father
walks out on the family
during the economic
crash of 2008,
enterprising Gael
escapes Dublin for
London and New York
as she tries to rebuild the family’s fortunes.
WHO’S IT BY? Award-winning Irish
poet Caoilinn Hughes.
WHY WE LOVED IT: From blagging
a place at business school to tricking
a billionaire into buying one of her
brother’s paintings, Gael Foess (“gale
force”) is one of fiction’s most likeable
unlikeable characters.
READERS SAY: “The author has such
a way with words. It was powerful
and playful.”THE FLAT
SHARE
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Tiffy and Leon share
a bed, but have never
met. Tiffy, a book
editor, works 9-5,
while Leon, a nurse
on night shifts, sleeps.
Their relationship
develops through Post-it notes left for
each other.
WHO’S IT BY? Former children’s book
editor Beth O’Leary. Her boyfriend worked
nights so she knows all about living with
someone you never see.
WHY WE LOVED IT: Sharing a flat with
a soulmate – even one you don’t lay eyes
on – might be the future of dating.
READERS SAY: “I fell in love with the
characters and wanted more. I’ll be
looking out for this author again.”HOW DO YOU LIKE
ME NOW?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Tori, a successful
Instagrammer, has
settled down with her
picture-perfect partner.
But behind the filtered
snaps, her relationship
is crumbling and she’s
terrified of exposing her lies (and of being
single at 30). The film rights have been
optioned – welcome to your life on screen.
WHO’S IT BY? Holly Bourne, British author
of bestseller Am I Normal Yet?
WHY WE LOVED IT: This book cleverly
investigates how easy it is to fall into toxic
relationships while also highlighting how
we all exaggerate our lives online.
READERS SAY: “Tori said all the things
I secretly think and feel, but never admit
to, sometimes even to myself.”A AT LAST
S IT ABOUT? A Muslim riff on Pride
ejudice, in which Elizabeth Bennet and
y take a high-speed train – we mean,
from 19th-century England to modern-
onto. Ayesha – Lizzie to Austenites –
year-old teacher. She’s independent,
ken and against arranged marriage
e meets Khalid, who’s smart, handsome
nservative. “Love comes after marriage”
other’s idea of a chat-up line. The
hts have already been snapped up.
IT BY? Canadian teacher Uzma Jalaluddin
rprised” when a publisher accepted her
I started it in 2010 and [no one was] as
ed in stories about diversity back then.”
E LOVED IT: Anything Austen is OK by
this is a refreshing take on a classic.
as unavailable for comment, but we
have no doubt she would wholeheartedly agree.
READERS SAY:“This novel opened my eyes to a completely different culture.
It was really funny and kept me hooked.”
“I really enjoyed meeting the characters – they were all from different walks
of life and had their own strong viewpoints.”THE RUNNERS-UP
You’ve seen it all
over Instagram
and the cover
looks great, but
to find a read
that will really
be worth your
time, what you need is a reliable
recommendation. These four
books come with exactly that- because they’ve all been
independently judged as part
of our Big Book Awards 2019,
where our editors, alongside
a reader panel, devoured the
best latest-release fiction on
the market to select the ones
that they adored. Here, we
announce the worthy winners...
AWARDS 2019AY ESH
WHAT’S
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havenodoubtshewouldwholeheartedlyTHE WINNER
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EARWIN NER