My Friends

by Fredrik Backman

Well, I had to wait until my final read of December - but this novel is my 'Book of the Year for 2025'. With breathtakingly beautiful prose, it's heartfelt, raw, and difficult, yet haunting. This is a book that will linger long in your memory.

The delicate balance between the lives of the main characters, filled with complicated home lives, domestic violence, and hopelessness, is contrasted with the simple beauty of friendship and loyalty. Art and life in all its rawness are exposed - and what is discovered underneath is the unrelenting humanity and loyalty of four friends who find refuge from their difficult home lives by spending their days laughing and telling stories out on a pier.

A wonderful, original book.

When Gavin met Stacey - and everything in between

by Ruth Jones & James Cordon

As a huge fan of this wonderful series, it was an easy choice for me to download this memoir with a difference - and what a fab read it was! It's the story of how Ruth and James turned their little idea for a TV programme into a 22 episode record-breaking show. The book is full of 'behind-the-scenes' stories, outlining their friendship and the outstanding and original creative journey that led to this iconic and much-loved TV series. From the initial ideas, through the first pitch to the final episode, this is a great read. In fact, I’m not gonna lie – this is immense. A crackin' read.

And the audiobook is the best way of enjoying this - with fab excerpts and their inimitable humour throughout. 

All That Matters

by Sir Chris Hoy

An honest, engaging and ultimately life-affirming book about Sir Chris' Stage 4 cancer diagnosis, treatment and life living with cancer. Full of practical advice as well as his personal journey - his life and success as an Olympic athlete, his love of motorsports - but most importantly, his deep love for his wife and children - this is a book for anyone facing any kind of adversity or challenge.

It's a tough read in places, as Chris covers his diagnosis and gruelling chemotherapy, but his honesty lays out a path for anyone learning to live with cancer in a positive way. None of us knows what is round the corner or how long we will live, and this book encourages us all to live each day with purpose and gratitude.

The Year of Less

by Cait Flanders

Cait writes with searing honesty about her life and the many challenges she has faced head on. Working her way out of $30,000 of consumer debt, with a history of excess - shopping, binge eating and alcoholism - she set herself possibly the ultimate challenge for a shopaholic - she would not buy anything except essentials for an entire year.

This was an intensely personal journey documented with heart and soul and was a powerful message of overcoming obstacles and reaching out for a better - and simpler - way of living. For so many people, the 'stuff' surrounding us is actually suffocating us. This is a message of hope, resilience and an inspiration to live a different way of life.

The Midwife of Berlin

by Anna Stuart

I'd previously enjoyed and reviewed The Midwife of Auschwitz, but didn't realise that was only the start of the series, until I stumbled upon The Midwife of Berlin. What a fabulous book! I recognised some of the characters from the first book, which is what made me curious to do some research.

The Women of War series is actually a 5-book series, with interwoven themes and personalities. All based upon the same harrowing and hopefully never to be repeated part of our recent history.

What happened to the survivors of Auschwitz and other concentration camps makes for a fascinating, if harrowing, read; and Anna Stuart brings their stories to life, using historical records, interviews and her own imagination to great effect. Highly recommended.

The Bones Beneath my Skin

by T J KLune

If you like a touch of sci-fi fantasy mixed with real characters and a heart-wrenching storyline, then this one is for you! Although this might not be a typical storyline for TJ Klune, the depictions of love, family, loyalty, all bound up in a mystery/fantasy setting, make this an unusual but compelling read.

Nate Cartwright is grieving the recent horrific deaths of his parents. He’s also just been fired from his job at the Washington Post. Not sure what to do with himself, he decides to visit the old family cabin in Oregon that his parents left to him in their will. But when he arrives, he’s startled to find that a gun-toting ex-marine and a little girl have broken into his cabin. The girl introduces herself as Artemis Darth Vader.

I'll leave the rest of the story for you to discover...