What have us booksellers been reading? PROOF COPIES that's what! I read 6 books in December and loved all of them in different ways. All coming out soonish in 2026 so there's lots to look forward to!
Here's the lowdown:

John of John by Douglas Stuart. Stuart writes about Scottish working class life with such a deep, humane kindness. John of John is the story of a father and son, both weavers of Harris tweed on the Isle of Lewis. A profoundly moving story of secrets, sexuality, yearning, religion, and island life. A 5 star read.
Thanks to @panmacmillan for the proof. Out in May.
Hunger and Thirst by Claire Fuller, one of my favourite novelists. This was a SURPRISE! Usually a litfic writer, now she gives us a full on haunted house horror story! I loved it!! Its 1987. 16 year old Ursula leaves her childhood in the care system behind, hungry for what a new beginning living with friends in a squat may offer her. But The Underwood is a house with a dark history. Amongst the teenage fags & cider, darkness stirs. Brilliantly captures late 80's teenage life, a riveting, tense read.
Thanks to @penguinuk for the proof. Out in May.
Where the Dragon Waits is an inventive middle-grade fantasy novel by Tom Moorhouse. It fizzes with energy and humour and has a neat frame in contemporary reality. Ed wakes up after a boat crash on a deserted beach in an ethereal world. On his quest to return home he meets a host of extraordinary characters including an armoured pangolin, talking wolves and a mysterious, menacing mass of white butterflies. 9+ readers. Thanks to @dfb_storyhouse for the proof. Out in January.
A Million Tiny Missiles All At Once by Lucas Maxwell was a fresh poignant novel about a neurodivergent teenager trying to keep his family together. I loved the vivid voice of Elias, and the depictions of harsh Nova Scotia winter and small town rural life popped off the page!
A Sociopath's Guide to a Successful Marriage by M.K Oliver - I gulped this down quicker than my Xmas Bailey's! A wickedly funny, shocking and suspenseful thriller set amongst the Yummy Mummy Muswell Hill milieu. Our wildly unreliable and upwardly mobile narrator will KILL to protect the perfect life she has worked so hard to construct!
Book 6: I've just dived into The Shock of the Light, a debut novel by Sussex based writer Lori Inglis Hall, which I predict will be a big 2026 hit! Beautiful literary fiction set during the second world war, this is a delicately told story of twinhood. Anglo-French twins Tessa and Theo go their separate ways in the war - RAF for him, espionage in the Resistance for her. Can the interwoven thread of their lives survive the dark secrets of their war experiences? I'm loving this intimate, emotional story which meanders impulsively away from the well worn path of WW2 set fiction.#comingsoon #2026fiction