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I don't exactly have a lot of places to do book ph I don't exactly have a lot of places to do book photography, but I DO have lots of dirty laundry, so... 

Been excited to read this for ages after I was gifted it at the Penguin Random House General Fiction Showcase (huge thanks to @vikingbooksuk for this one) πŸ™Œ

At the event they stacked some of their new releases at the back of the room and created a barrier of publishing professionals in front. Partly to tell us about the books, and partly to stop the mob of crazed book lovers from picking anything up too soon. 

Well let me tell you, when they released the book worms they all went straight for Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose and picked the shelf clean like piranhas. 

I thought I was out of the race completely due to my extreme aversion to confrontation and general wimp-ism, but I formed an alliance with two other book reviewers (wish I'd gotten their names but #neverforget) and we braved that mosh pit together to get our haul of paperbacks πŸ“š 

Glad I made it out alive with my copy of this πŸ˜‚

Dirty Laundry is narrated by 3 mothers in a very gossip-y community, all from different backgrounds. 

What they have in common is that their husbands are all just awful (in a variety of ways), and it's the kind of murder mystery where you're actually totally OK with the person who dies because they're so unlikeable πŸ˜… (but written really well!) 

Imagine Big Little Lies, but set in Ireland, with lots of social media drama thrown in. 

I was most fascinated with the character of Mishti who reminisces about her old life in India (her flashbacks were great, and I would have happily read a whole book just on her life story). 

The book looks at the problem with social media, parenting style judgement, infidelity, open relationships, community and belonging, and of course, murder, among other juicy topics. 

If you like your murder mysteries with a side of nosey neighbours and reality TV-esque drama, this is a good one for you. 

Now that I've finished it, I guess I'll go do my laundry? 

πŸ‘•πŸ‘ πŸ‘™πŸ‘–πŸ”ͺπŸ‘šπŸ‘—

#bookrecs #dirtylaundry #bookstagramer #fictionbooks #bookshelfie  #currentread #readerlife
Getting back to posting about these great books th Getting back to posting about these great books that I'm lucky enough to be sent by publishers. My thing is this: book recommendations are so personal. I struggle to recommend even my most favourite books in the whole world to some of my closest friends because I know my taste is entirely different to theirs, and I don't want to big something up so much that they'll be disappointed. 

On the other hand, I don't want to undersell something that could turn out to be a favourite for them.

Reader problems, eh?! 

So instead, I'm going to give quick overviews so you can make your own mind up. Here's one for The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller. 

Quick review: That. Cover. 

Huge thank you to @vikingbooksuk for this one, which transported me to a summery, humid cabin in Cape Cod. Just what I needed this winter πŸ‘Œ 

#bookreels #bookrecs #whatimreading #thepaperpalace #bookshelfie
Decision time! @vikingbooksuk have really sorted m Decision time! @vikingbooksuk have really sorted me out over the last few months, can't thank them enough for this #tbrpile ❀ 

#booksbooksbooks #newbooks #bookstagram #bookreviewer #bookworm
HUGE thank you to the teams at @penguinrandomhouse HUGE thank you to the teams at @penguinrandomhouse and @vikingbooksuk for inviting me and lots of other ferocious readers to their General Fiction Showcase this week, and for gifting us quite so many proof copies - some amazing stories in my TBR pile that I'm itching to read 🀩 

#Penguin2023 #penguinbooks #bookshelf #proofcopies #penguinrandomhouse #publishers #amreading #booklover #bookworm
Graitlin Ashbalister πŸ€ͺ❀ Graitlin Ashbalister πŸ€ͺ❀
I'm thrilled to have been included in the #Booksta I'm thrilled to have been included in the #BookstagramTour for @janecorry's brand new release - We All Have Our Secrets 🀫 

I was dying to jump straight into this one after reading the back blurb: 

"Emily made one bad decision, and now her career could be over. Her family home on the Cornish coast is the only place where she feels safe. But when she arrives, there's a stranger living with her father. Emily doesn't trust the beautiful young woman, convinced that she's telling one lie after another. 

Soon, Emily becomes obsessed with finding out the truth. But should some secrets stay buried forever?" 

What begins as a bit of a medical mystery turns into a twisty thriller with two very unreliable narrators, and even takes you back in time with diary entries from the second world war - this book sends your mind down so many different paths, and I enjoyed having no idea which woman to like and trust from one chapter to the next (which is probably why I finished it in about 3 days). 

In many books, particularly thrillers, there are 'good guys' and 'bad guys', but in We All Have Our Secrets every character lived in the grey area. Each person with a part in the story had their moral and ugly sides, which kept me guessing until the end. 

I've been lucky enough to read this one on a hammock by the sea this week, so I got a little added ambience for reading a thriller set in Cornwall! We All Have Our Secrets is out in eBook and paperback, and if you love: 

πŸƒβ€β™€οΈ Fast-paced stories
πŸ‘¨β€πŸ‘©β€πŸ‘§β€πŸ‘§ Family drama
🌊 A seaside setting 
πŸ’¬ Multiple, unreliable narratorsΒ  
πŸͺ– Historical elements 
😯 Surprise reveals 

... you're probably going to want to add this to your bookshelf. Let me know if you read it! 

HUGE thank you to @vikingbooksuk for sending me this advanced copy and including me on the tour schedule πŸ™ 

#WeAllHaveOurSecrets 

#bookstagram #booktour #booklover #bookworm #thrillerbooks #thrillerreader #amreading #readers #booklovers #bookreview #bookreviews
Out-of-office on βœ” Hammock βœ” Good book βœ” Out-of-office on βœ” 
Hammock βœ” 
Good book βœ” 

#bookstagram #booklovers #bookworm #readers #travelgrams
Did I write this? πŸ€” #writerproblems #writinga Did I write this? πŸ€” 

#writerproblems #writingabook #writersofig #writersofinstagram #indieauthors
Photo dump β€’ London Writers' Gym ✍ About a ye Photo dump β€’ London Writers' Gym ✍

About a year ago I joined a book club (@caitlincurry - the queen of making me read more πŸ™Œ) and off the back of that I set up a small writing group where writers could come do 'writing sprints' together (it's called the London Writers' Gym, but unlike an actual gym, you don't dread going). It's turned an otherwise lonely activity into something fun and social πŸ’ƒ

Looking forward to more sessions with this lot ❀ 

P.S. I've struggled to find venues for a larger bunch of us in central London that you don't need to pay a deposit for, so any recommendations are very welcome! πŸ™

#writers #londonwriters #londonvenues #writinglife #writinggroup #writing

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I post about writing, books and other stuff on Instagram (@caitmca) but for in-depth updates, you can sign up for my mailing list to receive occasional emails.

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☝️ Push it. Push it real good...

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