The Heirs by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Five prodigies, one dead father, a mansion full of suspects…

Octavius the Maestro.

Fola the Brain.

Bilal the Olympian.

Perdita the Artist.

Romeo the Failure.

These are the five heirs of the illustrious billionaire Leontes Button. Adopted and viciously trained with their father’s infamous “Button Method” to prove his hypothesis for creating prodigies—child geniuses—the Button siblings have had no choice but to be brilliant according to their father's impossibly high standards.

Until he is murdered at his annual Prodigy Ball.

Now, all who attended the ball are required to stay in the Button Manor while the police investigate. But the officers have their work cut out for them—each of the Button siblings has something to hide, but The Heirs aren't the only ones with secrets. After all, Leontes Button was especially good at making enemies. . .

Weekly recap 17th May 2026

Welcome to the weekly recap! 

This week, I posted:

The Last Dragon House - adventure and found family with only some light scorching occasionally

Forlorn Harbor - YA horror, Twilight Zone style. What's your ironic punishment?

A Flood of Memories - floods both literal and metaphorical in Malaysia

Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous - Stardew in real life, or sort of real

This week, I read:

The Someday Garden: Magic and mystery in a garden in Maine, where all the spooky things ever happen

A Flood of Memories - yep, cutting it very tight there

The Blue Book of Nebo - language and memory in post apocalypse Wales

All we have left - cosy apocalypse.

Apparently this week I was all about the memories we keep when everything else falls away.

Coming up:

It's all about princesses next week! 

What have you been reading?

Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous by Autumn K England

When Oaklin Nettlewood accidentally joined an evil world-ending cult, mind control magic forced them to do unspeakable things. Years later, the realm's heroes have finally saved the day, defeated the villain, and shattered the last remnants of the spell...leaving destruction in their wake. And so, with a spell-damaged memory and whole bushel of trauma, Oaklin escapes to a small farm on the edge of Mossley's Rest and swears an oath: After all the things they were forced to do with their magic, they will never use it again. Ever.

The no-nonsense ghost granny who lives in Oaklin's house has other ideas. As she coaxes Oaklin out of their shell and back into the world, they find companionship (a grumpy horse and a very good dog), friendship (a local bard and magical baker who should just kiss already), and tentative romance (a paladin-librarian who makes Oaklin's heart come alive for the first time in ages.) Magic even seems possible again--though strictly for foraging magical mushrooms and protecting the farm from bugs.

Healing comes in gentle waves, and Oaklin doesn't have to do it alone. So what does it mean when an inquisitor comes to town to hunt former cultists just as Oaklin begins to think that maybe, just maybe, they deserve a happy ending after all?

A Flood of Memories by Nadia Mikail

It's raining in Sarawak, Malaysia - a lot - and Leila, now living in Kuala Lumpar, must go home to help her Mak before the floods become serious. But she hasn't been home since the death of her father - and she's not quite ready to confront what's waiting for her there. Life with Pak was complicated.

But Arthur is in Sarawak, the boy she's thought about ever since they first met at school - Arthur, who offers her support, care and love, but at a cost perhaps too great for Leila.

As the floodwaters rise and her family and home become threatened, can Leila confront the enormity of her own past in order to move forwards properly in her present? A beguiling and meaningful novel which explores the fine line between care and control, between love and abuse in families, and shows that it is possible to move on to a brighter future.

Happy #BookBirthday! 14th May 26

Happy Thursday! This week there are TWO books on our lists publishing!

Forlorn Harbor by Jim Doran

Squeaky-clean Martina Ramirez is about to commit her first crime with a group of six schoolmates—breaking and entering into an abandoned movie theater. The trespassers soon find themselves trapped inside, and while trying to discover a way out, they are startled by a projector playing a film on its own. It shows a vintage episode of a horror series, and one of the group is trapped within the film. The only method of escape is to survive the episode, but the story doesn’t play fair. As the night wears on, the projector displays more episodes, ensnaring the others one by one. Martina tries to help her classmates, hoping that they’ll trust her. However, the events onscreen continue to work against her. And when Martina’s turn arrives, she must face her own ominous trial…alone.

The Last Dragon House by Liv Mae Morris

Siblings Olly and Jenny Atwood have never met a dragon—Olly doesn’t even think they’re real. But when the strange and brilliant Dr. Lady Abernathy offers Olly a job at her mysterious house, the Atwoods learn that these incredible beasts are very much alive—and they need help.

Dragons have been forced into hiding, and as caretakers of the Dragon House, Dr. Lady and Olly are the only protectors these magnificent creatures have left. But when evil forces conspire to poison Dr. Lady, Olly and his dragon friends find themselves locked in a race against time, political conspiracies…and one very large corgi. Can Olly recover the antidote before it’s too late? And can Jenny harness her stirring powers to keep Dr. Lady alive until then? Or could this be the end of the Dragon House—and dragons—as they know it?

Common Criminals' Club: Death Before Detention by Alison Weatherby

This is the story of how we . . .

- Discovered a dead body

- Launched an investigation

- Battled mean girls, feral bats, and nearly destroyed our three-year friendship all in the noble pursuit of solving a complex murder

Mae Flynn is used to the chaos of her rural Irish Catholic boarding school, but she isn’t expecting to discover a dead body in the school kitchen. To make matters worse, the hapless victim, Conor Haddock, was the previous owner of the school building and had recently been talking about selling up, alongside getting on the bad side of seemingly every adult Mae knows. In other words: the suspects are endless.

Along with her best friends, the self-named Common Criminals' Club, Mae is determined to solve the murder. But the more she uncovers, the more she begins to suspect that everyone around her is hiding something. Soon it’s not only her lessons and friendships at stake, but her very life . . .

Bromantasy by Marie Roche

Fellas, is it gay to kiss your bff while on a quest through the forest you’re unqualified for?

Juniper Reilly is good at only two things: demolishing a pint of mead and finding the perfect skincare routine. Oh, and getting in brawls at the local tavern, backed by his roommate, the absurdly capable, endlessly patient Morn Elmthorn (Mo, for short).

But when Juniper accidentally volunteers them both for a quest to kill a fearsome monster, he knows he’s finally gotten in over his head. Juniper hates camping, he hates the dark, and there’s no way all these foraged mushrooms are going to sit well in his stomach. One thing he doesn’t hate? How good Mo’s thighs look in his questing pants—though that’s worrying for an entirely different reason.

But monsters come in all shapes and sizes. When the brave, totally 100% platonic bros realize the “fearsome monster” is actually just a scared little girl, they’ll begin to wonder who the real villain is… and if Juniper and Mo can find their own happy ending along the way.

In a kingdom utterly unprepared for Juniper and Mo’s single shared brain cell, BROMANTASY is what would happen if David Rose starred in THE PRINCESS BRIDE.

Happy #BookBirthday! 7th May 2026

Happy Thursday! This week there are ELEVEN books on our lists publishing!

Questor's Academy: The Box of Locks by Sam Hay

Tom Friday was never meant to be a magical-object-guarding, super-brave secret agent. But on a visit to the Natural History Museum he gets embroiled in the world of the Questers Academy – protectors of mythical treasures and artefacts from around the world.

Questers student Leesha is determined to be the youngest ever agent for Questers, but first she’ll need to prove her worth. That’s where Tom comes in. Tom is a super-recogniser, someone with the ability to pick out people from a crowd after barely glimpsing them for a moment. Together Leesha is sure they can solve a complex and intriguing quest: to find the key to the mythical Box of Locks, before it falls into the wrong hands.

Faced with a bunch of complicated ciphers and coded clues, the new friends must learn to trust each other in order to beat the forces of darkness and save the world from potential apocalypse.

Common Decency by Tom Allen

It may be quiet in the suburbs, but it's far from peaceful...

Oak Drive can be found nestled tidily in an unassuming English town. Its uniform front gardens overlook a midsized common which the street's residents survey with quiet, some might say smug, pride.

This is the sort of place where it pays to sweat the small stuff, and let the big things look after themselves. Bins should be placed back in their right positions in a timely fashion and paintwork should share the same tasteful but muted palette.

Sometimes, however, the big things do not look after themselves - and all hell can break loose in sleepy suburbia.

Common Decency chronicles the lives and interactions of the street's residents as they band together to save a beloved oak tree from destruction at the hands of ruthless developers.

As tensions rise and repressed neuroses and resentments seep out, the secrets of Oak Drive threaten to shatter the well-ordered veneer, revealing some rather more surprising truths. . .

The Monster and the Clown by Mats Strandberg and Sofia Falkenhem

Frank must outwit the ringleader of the monstrous circus in this new story in the just-scary-enough illustrated chapter book series about a warm-hearted boy-turned-werewolf trying to find his pack.

The people of Yrred are terrified of monsters, and fear is spreading like wildfire. So when Kruger the Clown comes to town, they leap at his offer to catch the creatures haunting Yrred and force them to perform at his circus. Only Frank knows the town’s secret—and his own. He is the monster they’re all afraid of. But he’s also a nine-year-old boy, who has finally found friends like him. Frank and his monster friends must reveal the truth of Kruger’s cruel circus before the hateful plan takes hold. The Monster and the Clown is a spine-tingling adventure about a creepy clown, a daring rescue, and having the courage to stand up for what’s right.

Young World by Soman Chainani

America is on the brink of collapse, and the youth have lost all faith in their leaders. As a pivotal election approaches, Benton Young, a high school senior trying to impress a girl, impulsively uploads a video, daring everyone to interfere with the vote and write him in for President. The video explodes online, igniting election chaos and a national revolt, until the Supreme Court intervenes to put Benton in the White House. Galvanized by Benton’s rise, more global youth take to the streets, and more governments fall, until eight of the world's most powerful nations are led by teenagers.

When these young leaders convene at their first summit in Sweden, they face the monumental task of setting a new course for history. But the first night, their unity is shattered when a leader is murdered in cold blood . . . and Benton is the only suspect. Hunted by enemies young and old, he must untangle a deadly web of secrets, betrayal, and power plays—while the future of the world hangs in the balance.

With globe-spanning action, stunning twists, and an electric new brand of storytelling, Young World is a heart-stopping thriller that asks: What happens when the future really does belong to the young?