Ginge Reads

From the #1 bestselling author of the Caraval series, Once Upon A Broken Heart is the first in a new fantasy series about love, curses, and the lengths that people will go to for happily ever after. Release Date: 30th September 2021 Page Total: 416 Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Raised in her beloved father's curiosity shop, Evangeline Fox grew up amongst cursed stories and tales of immortals, like the tragic Prince of Hearts. His powers are mythic, his kiss is worth dying for, and bargains with him rarely end well.  But when Evangeline learns that the love of her life is about to marry another, she becomes desperate enough to seek his help.  In exchange for only three kisses, he agrees to stop the wedding. But after her first promised kiss, Evangeline learns that striking a deal with a Fate is far more dangerous than she could ever know. The Prince of Hearts has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after, or the most exquisite trage...

The debut novel from British-Ghanaian writer, Caleb Azumah Nelson, Open Water is the story that every contemporary book lover is raving about. Framed by a glorious celebration of Black art and culture, this gem of a book deserves pride of place on your bookshelf. The story follows two young Black Londoners, a photographer and a dancer, who are trying to both navigate the world and survive through it. Tentatively, tenderly, they fall in love. But fear and violence are determined to tear them apart. Written from a second person perspective, this is a stunning debut that looks at what it means to be defined as little more than a Black body in the twenty-first century. It's so beautifully powerful and compelling, you could take any one part of it and easily turn it into poetry.  "You have always thought if you opened your mouth in open water you would drown, but if you didn't open your mouth you would suffocate. So here you are, drowning." Open Water is the sort of novel ...

It's a sad thing to admit that when someone hears tell of a Young Adult novel, oftentimes their mind immediately flicks to unrealistic portrayals of teen romance, love-sick vampires or schoolboy pranksters. The mere mention that a book might be more suitable for a young person seems to ring all sorts of alarm bells. Yet Holly Jackson breaks all the stereotypes with her debut novel, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. The story follows Pip, a young A-grade student, as she undertakes a school project like no other: 5 years ago, Andie Bell went missing, presumed murdered. Everyone knows that Sal Singh did it, he even wrote his confession before taking his own life. But Pip cannot bring herself to believe this. Too many of the facts don't add up and she can't let a murderer continue to run loose in Little Kilton... Jackson cleverly combines all the best parts of a heart-racing thriller without the need for gory details and profanity. Her book will keep you constantly on the edg...

The poet laureate of Great Britain since 2009, Carol Ann Duffy is a particularly noteworthy writer as the first woman, Scott and first openly gay individual appointed to the role. Much of her work centres heavily on themes of love and relationships, possibly as a result of her own experiences as a homosexual writer constantly in the public eye, and nothing epitomises this more than her 2005 collection, Rapture . Comprised of 52 love poems, Duffy traces the course of a relationship from infatuation, through suspicion, heartache and finally to death in one of her most moving shows of literary talent to date. As the end of her time as Poet Laureate draws near, it seems only fitting that this, arguably one of her best collections (and winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize), should be brought into the spotlight once again. Carol Ann Duffy Photo via Wikimedia In truth, not many people like reading poetry. It brings out the worst in writers: a pretentiousness not to be found in novels. They ...

 Markus Zusak (2013) Photo by Page Thirteen  via Wikimedia Commons There are many books that stick out from the endless pages of black on white. Books which delight, books which scare, books which bewilder, and which make a person reflect on their own humanity. But very few have had such an impact on myself as with Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief .   “ I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right." Narrated by Death himself, Zusak tells the story of Liesel, a German girl sent to live with foster parents just before the outbreak of World War II. After her brother’s death on the journey to her new home, Liesel’s life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow – The Gravedigger’s Handbook . Though she cannot yet read, this first act of thievery sparks a love affair with books and words that is nurtured further by her accordion-playing foster father, Hans. As war closes in and rationing and air raids ...