Red Flags is a joyful book with a great message. It is How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days for the Gen Z generation. I love Poppy. She is so confident and sure of herself, but her guard is up and she is too cynical. Then we have Cam, who is scared of being vulnerable. He is terrified of intimacy. It is so wonderful to see a young man portrayed in such a beautiful and nuanced way. I am not the target market for this book. I am not a teen, nor a young adult, but if I ever wanted to read a manual for having a good, healthy, relationship, then this is definitely it.
This witty and engaging book is a must read. Sophie Jo writes very wise books full of warmth and well-rounded characters. I adored it. A brilliant five star read.
Poppy is known for her high standards. Why bother with relationships when boys don’t ever seem to live up to her expectations? One red flag and she’s out.
Cam is known for quickly developing the ick. He’s never dated anyone for long – a week here, a month there, but he always spooks.
When Poppy’s friends challenge her to give someone a chance for two whole months, Poppy decides that Cam (her mysterious bus crush) could be the best of an underwhelming bunch. But Cam’s been set his own challenge: he’s banned from ending things in his next relationship … and that means he’s ready to do whatever he can to put Poppy off.
Two skeptics. Two months. And this time, neither of them can disappear the moment they spot something they don’t like…
Every now and then there is a book that everyone wants a proof of. Melancholy is the downside of seeing the social media posts of the book you want to read RIGHT NOW. Anyway, not to be smug, but I got a copy of Kate Kemp’s The Grapevine ages ago and devoured it in two days. A sumptuous story set in 1970s Australia, it is one of the most talked-about debuts of 2025. Winner of the Stylist Prize for Feminist Fiction, The Grapevine is a grippy and luscious story of living in a claustrophobic community and how the roles of motherhood can lead to bad decisions.
I felt for the housewives of this suburban community, even while being infuriated and sad with their decisions.
Set in the height of the summer in Australia, 1979, you can feel the heat in this book. It starts off with a shocking murder. As the news of Antonio Marietti’s death spreads through the neighbourhood, the gossip starts and fingers are pointed. Twelve-year-old Tammy launches her own investigation, desperate to solve the mystery.
The Grapevine is a fantastic story with a gripping plot and characters that you don’t forget. I thought I knew what was going to happen, then the plot threw me for a loop. Expect big things from Kate Kemp. This is a stunning debut and an unforgettable novel. It captures small-town life perfectly. The historical settings add yet another layer to this atmospheric novel. Gorgeous.
Australia, 1979.
It’s the height of summer and on a quiet suburban cul-de-sac a housewife is scrubbing the yellow and white chequered tiles of her bathroom floor. But all is not as it seems. For one thing, it’s 3 a.m. For another, she is trying desperately to remove all traces of blood before they stain. Her husband seems remarkably calm, considering their neighbour has just been murdered.
As the sun rises on Warrah Place, news of Antonio Marietti’s death spreads like wildfire, gossip is exchanged in whispers and suspicion mounts. Twelve-year-old Tammy launches her own investigation, determined to find out what happened, but she is not the only one whose well-meaning efforts uncover more mysteries than they solve. There are secrets behind every closed door in the neighbourhood – and the identity of the murderer is only one of them . . .
Richly atmospheric and simmering with tension, The Grapevine is an acutely observed debut novel about prejudice and suspicion, the hidden lives of women, and how the ties that bind a community can also threaten to break it.
Five eight in heels. Five four in a bullet proof vest.
Fundamentallyis the book of 2025. It is in every magazine and newspaper with rave reviews, and its author, Dr. Nussaibah Younis, long-listed for the Women’s Prize, is the woman of the moment. Readers, do believe the hype. The Times called Fundamentally Bridget Jones with Isis brides. It says a lot about the talent of the author that she can take such a serious subject and make it so funny. This debut, yes, it is actually a debut, is funny as fuck. Written with a bravery and lack of filter that sorts out the great writers from the good ones. This no-holds-barred novel takes a serious subject, the rehabilitation of Isis brides and extremism and handles it perfectly. It is not tackled with kid gloves, and Younis reminds me of I.S. Berry, who wrote The Peacock and The Sparrow (pretty much my favourite book of 2024). Written in first person, Dr. Nadia Buart has been abandoned by her mother and is escaping a broken heart after her girlfriend, Rosie, leaves her. Going to Iraq to rehabilitate Isis brides is one hell of a rebound. Dr. Nussaibah Younis knows her stuff. She’s a peacebuilding practitioner and a globally recognised expert on Iraq. She advised the Iraq government for years on proposed programmes to deradicalise women affiliated with Isis. It is impossible not to fall in love with Nadia, despite her many faults. Younis writes with such humour that you will laugh even when you wonder how she was brave enough to write it. Fundamentally is an immersive novel. Completely unique and full of hilarious, well-rounded characters. It tackles a very serious subject with such skill and compassion. Some of the women in the camp ended up there because their husbands told them they were going on holiday. When they get there, they are trapped. It is hard to say who my favourite character is because I kind of love them all. Younis put a huge amount of work into the book. I went to her book launch, and she said how she did a stand-up comedy course to get the jokes right and be funnier. She even got her book club to read her manuscript and critique it. The result is a morally complex, sparklingly funny, jaw-dropping, and gripping novel. It will make you laugh out loud. Fundamentally, is essential reading from a bright new talent who is completely unafraid. Nussaibah Younis has big things ahead of her. We are all just along for the ride.
A wickedly funny and audacious debut novel following an academic who flees from heartbreak and lands in Iraq with an insane job offer—only to be forced to do the work of confronting herself.
When Dr. Nadia Amin, a long-suffering academic, publishes an article on the possibility of rehabilitating ISIS brides, the United Nations comes calling, offering an opportunity to lead a deradicalization program for the ISIS-affiliated women held in Iraqi refugee camps. Looking for a way out of London after a painful, unexpected breakup, Nadia leaps at the chance.
In Iraq, Nadia quickly realizes she’s in over her head. Her direct reports are hostile and unenthused about taking orders from an obvious UN novice, and the murmurs of deradicalization being inherently unethical and possibly illegal threaten to end Nadia’s UN career before it even begins.
Frustrated by her situation and the unrelenting heat, Nadia decides to visit the camp with her sullen team, composed of Goody Two-shoes Sherri who never passes up an opportunity to remind Nadia of her objections; and Pierre, a snippy Frenchman who has no qualms about perpetually scrolling through Grindr.
At the camp, after a clumsy introductory session with the ISIS women, Nadia meets Sara, one of the younger refugees, whose accent immediately gives her away as a fellow East Londoner. From their first interaction, Nadia feels inexplicably drawn to the rude girl in the diamanté headscarf. She leaves the camp determined to get Sara home.
But the system Nadia finds herself trapped in is a quagmire of inaction and corruption. One accomplishment barely makes a dent in Nadia’s ultimate goal of freeing Sara . . . and the other women, too, of course. And so, Nadia makes an impossible decision leading to ramifications she could have never imagined.
A triumph of dark humor, Fundamentally asks bold questions: Who can tell someone what to believe? And how do you save someone who doesn’t want to be saved?
I exercise a lot so I feel like I am always battling muscle pains. I will try anything that can make a difference. I don’t like to suffer unless I really have to. I absolutely adore Wildsmith Body Cleansers, £38 each. They clean while also hydrating. I smell gorgeous after and my skin feels soft and smooth.
Introducing the innovative Body Cleansers from Wildsmith, the skincare brand that uses natural ingredients and sustainable practices to craft beautifully botanic products designed to support and transform skin health. The trio of Wildsmith body cleansers are formulated with carefully selected actives, to ensure your body stays clean and refreshed, and there’s something for everyone:
Everyone I know is obsessed with magnesium and I don’t blame them. It helps with sleep and muscle soreness. I have definitely noticed a difference. That said, always check with your doctor before supplementing.
Bare Biology Ready & Rested is brilliant for those with an active lifestyle, with its approved health claims supporting muscle function and recovery. Magnesium replenishes what’s lost through sweat, making it ideal for active lifestyles and post-workout recovery.
At time of writing, my book, Where The Light is Hottest, came out yesterday. It has been a long time coming. It took me a long time to figure out how to write a good book. Writing a book is hard, but one that is readable? Really hard. Anyone who is trying to do that now, keep at it. You will get there in the end.
When you are lucky enough to become a writer the amount of time you spend writing can go down. I am busy marketing and doing publicity for the book. I am also on TikTok, Instagram, Threads, X, YouTube, Facebook and Bluesky. Phew! Then there are interviews, podcasts and articles to write for various publications.
While being an author is a lot of work I can say that it never feels like work. I love what I do. I love writing and I also love meeting people. The writing and book community are amazing.
My publisher is busy printing more copies of my book as they ran out of stock. There are only eleven copies left on Amazon. It is also available on kindle unlimited and on ebook. The blurb is below.
Natasha Jones has everything – a successful acting career, an Oscar, a wonderful husband and beautiful kids. But what does she have to go through to get there? From humble beginnings in a small town, Natasha’s path to stardom is paved with setbacks, heartaches and moments of doubt.
In the glittering world of fame and fortune, where dreams are spun from starlight and ambition fuels the relentless pursuit of success, one woman’s journey stands as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Beneath the facade of glamour lies a story of unwavering determination and unyielding courage.
Where the Light is the Hottest is a gripping tale of ambition, perseverance and the enduring power of hope. Through Natasha’s journey, we are reminded that the road to success is rarely smooth, but for those who dare to chase their dreams, the rewards are beyond measure.
Your debut, The Cuckoo Sister, was a top 10 bestseller. Did you expect it to be so successful?
I came to publishing with my eyes fairly wide open, due to having both worked in film and TV (which has crossovers in terms of how it works) and then at Cambridge Literary Festival as the events coordinator. I knew nothing was certain with publishing so the top ten listing for The Cuckoo Sister was amazing! Obviously I wanted it to be a success and had dreamed about it, but making the top ten was fantastic!
You are known for tackling brave subjects and writing complex characters. How do you come up with your characters? Where do you get your ideas?
I read a lot-of everything. From books to magazines, to online forums, chat groups, newspaper articles. and often snippets of ideas or characters will come from these. Everyday people in extraordinary circumstances is what I like to write about and so inspiration for this can come from all sorts of places. I observe people, I listen into conversations (much to my daughters’ embarrassment!) when out and about and it all slots into the jigsaw when I’m putting together an idea. I’m like a magpie, stealing shiny things!
What was your publishing journey like?
It was strange because it happened during Covid. I had just started approaching agents in March 2020, having been longlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize and then my plans to focus on that got somewhat waylaid! I hadn’t sent The Cuckoo Sister to many, when my now agent, Marianne Gunn O’ Connor, responded and wanted to develop the book with me. I liked how she worked and her vision for the book so we worked on various edits before sending it out. I was on submission for about six months and I wrote The Silent Friend at that time as a way to keep sane! Boldwood then picked up both and offered me a three book deal. So it was quiet and fairly uneventful!
Describe your writing routine.
I recently moved to full time writing after juggling working for Cambridge Literary Festival as well as writing and parenting, so now my routine is a little less harried! I work from home and start the day turning the kitchen/diner back into my office! Then I usually work on admin and social media while I turn my brain from mum to writer. I then work from mid-morning to the school run on whatever stage I’m at. At the moment it’s the first draft stage for book five, so I’m aiming for 1000-2000 words a day. Once the children are home I might be able to do a little more work, or it’s back into family life.
Your fourth book, The Man She Married, is out now. What is it about?
The Man She Married is about Beth, who wakes up after a car accident with 5 years of memories missing. She doesn’t remember leaving Australia nor meeting or marrying Rob, the man at her bedside who everyone says is her husband. She goes home to recover but cannot shift the feeling that something isn’t right and that she ought not to trust Rob. But-with her own mind so unreliable, can she trust herself? The book is about strength in adversity and the power to start over again.
Does writing get easier the more books you publish?
Yes and no. The worry of a first draft can be alleviated by knowing that you’ve done it before so you can do it again, and skills and techniques that you’ve learned as you’ve developed as a writer make it easier to some degree. Yet each new book is a new idea, new characters, a new plot and developing these and bringing them to life in a way that readers will connect with, is a new unchartered challenge every time.
What is your favourite thing about being an author?
I love that I get to create all these stories in my head and then share then with the world. I wanted to be a writer from a young age so the fact that I get to do this for a living is still amazing to me!
And your thing you dislike?
The required self-promotion! I am too British, and I find it difficult to overcome the cringe factor!
What books have you read that you love?
Too many to list but the latest advance copies that I’ve loved include The Rush by Beth Lewis, set in the Canadian gold rush of the late 1800s and 59 Minutes by Holly Seddon which is set in the UK when a alarm is sent that a catastrophic nuclear strike is due in 59 minutes. We follow the main characters as they decide what to do with that time. Both brilliant, both out this summer.
What’s next?
I am working on book five for Boldwood, which is about the intensity of female friendship and what happens when it goes wrong.
I think so. I used to write short stories about my childhood pet cats as superheroes. I didn’t think too much of it until I was tasked with writing a short story for my GCSE coursework. My English teacher told me I should be a writer, and something clicked in my brain. That’s when I knew. After completing my creative writing degree, I attempted to write several children’s fantasy stories before I realised that takes a certain kind of brain – one which I don’t possess! It wasn’t until I picked up Jane Casey’s The Missing, I thought yes! Maybe I could do this. And the more crime fiction I read, the more certain I became that it was what I wanted to do.
What books did you read growing up?
I was an Enid Blyton kinda kid. I had alllll the books. My dad used to read me bedtime stories every night he was home without fail, and we worked our way through The Famous Five series pretty quickly. I remember reading a lot of Dick King Smith, and later went on to discover the Harry Potter series which I fully immersed myself in to. When I got older, I was really into The Lord of the Rings and Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. I truly didn’t see the crime fiction obsession coming!
What was the idea behind The Deadly Spark?
A few things sparked the idea, one of which I can’t tell you about as it’ll reveal something I really don’t want you to know yet… the killer’s identity! But honestly? The reason I wanted to write about a deadly fire was because it’s one of my biggest phobias, ever since we were shown a video at primary school about how quickly a house can go up in flames. Fire is so beautiful but so destructive, so dramatic, and the mental image of a burning house is so emotive, so naturally, it’s great to write about. And of course, I find inspiration in everything I read, from Gillian McAllister’s incredible characterisation and Louise Jensen’s beautiful description, to Jane Casey’s expert procedural plotting and Clare Mackintosh’s killer twists and reveals.
Can you tell us about your publishing journey?
I started writing The Deadly Spark in the summer of 2019, just after my honeymoon. After many, many rejections, I finally met my dream literary agent Maddalena Cavaciuti on Twitter in 2020. We polished the manuscript together, and landed a contract with HQ early 2021, and it’s been a rollercoaster ever since – not just the publishing journey, but I also managed to have a baby in that time. The book finally launched in May 2024, and I spent 6 months in a bit of a whirlwind of author events, sending out press releases and refreshing the reviews pages. I’m currently out of contract and excited at the idea of working with a new publisher!
What’s your writing routine?
I like to have each act and each chapter planned so I know more or less what’s happening. That way I find the writing and creativity flows better as I’m not worrying so much about plot issues further down the line. Once it’s all planned out, chapter by chapter, I snatch any time I can between my full-time job and parenting my crazy toddler, and write what I can when I can (and try not to stress about it). I can’t have dedicated writing time with my current situation so things are a bit slower than I’d like them to be.
Who are your favourite authors and books?
As mentioned above, I’m a huge fan of Gillian McAllister, Louise Jensen, Jane Casey and Clare Mackintosh – these are the authors I’ll read anything they’ve ever written. I’ve recently discovered Erin Kelly after reading The House of Mirrors and now I’m a little bit obsessed. Louise Minchin’s Isolation Island was SO good, Rob Parker’s The Troubled Deep was absolutely brilliant, and Robert Rutherford’s Seven Days was addictive. I do occasionally read outside of the crime fiction genre – although it doesn’t happen often – and I recently fell in love with Rachel Greenlaw’s Compass & Blade… a stunning book.
What’s your favourite thing about being a writer?
It has to be reading people’s responses to the book. Luckily for me, they’ve been mostly positive, so reading reviews, seeing social media posts about it, and attending book club meet ups has been such a lovely experience. I’ve also really enjoyed being on author panel events during my debut year – they were a LOT of fun.
And the least?
The waiting… the uncertainty… the fear of failure and rejection. I’m not sure if I can pick just one. There’s a lot to deal with along the way, and I don’t think I felt like a real author until the first time I walked into Waterstones and saw my book sitting on the shelf. Imposter syndrome is a big issue for a lot of authors I’ve spoken to, and it’s pretty hard to shake it off.
What’s next?
I have a few things on the go. The follow up to The Deadly Spark is almost finished, and I need to find a home for it. I’m working on a standalone thriller which I can’t reveal too much about just yet, but I’m super excited about it. And I’m dabbling in the world of lesbian rom coms with a new idea that I want to get stuck into. I’ve also got my first piece in Mslexia Magazine being published in March, and it’s all about marketing ideas for authors – do check it out if you can!
Roxie Key is a crime thriller author from Northampton, where she lives with her wife, Laura, and their daughter, Hallie. She has always been a writer; although the stories she wrote as a child about her pets will never see the light of day, she knew from a young age that one day she wanted to see her name on a book cover. Roxie studied Creative & Media Writing at Middlesex University and then went on to become a copywriter for a global brand. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found swimming, reading, or gaming.
My first fiction book, Ember, came out in 2022. As a baby author my overwhelm was helped by being part of a debut group. I was so grateful to become a published author that I was naive. It was a big rollercoaster of emotions as I tried to make my way. Before And After The Book Deal by Courtney Maum was a lifesaver. Full of great advice. It’s like having someone to hold your hand through a tough journey.
I am two weeks out from publication day on my second book. This is not a drill. Where The Light is Hottest will be out on February 27th. I am excited and stressed all at the same time. I wrote a piece about the book for The Sunday Times. I am also doing a good number of events and podcast interviews in the future.
I don’t think people realise how much work goes into being a writer. There are endless trips to the post office (over £17 to post four books. Yikes), interviews and an endless amount of emails. Months and years can go into the publication of a book. I signed the contract in July 2023. I wrote the first draft of the book nine years ago. I entered it into The Good Housekeeping writing competition. I was upset when it didn’t win but it wasn’t ready then. Nowhere near it. I finally got the book where I wanted it to be by reading other books with the same energy.
Where The Light is Hottest is based on my experiences in the film industry. It has lots of gossip and backstabbing. It has female friendship and is a feminist tale of survival and what it takes to achieve your dreams.. The main character, Natasha Jones, is Scottish and some of the book is set in Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is also set in London, New York, LA and Gstaad. It is dual timeline, told from the past as Natasha makes it, alongside her friends Scarlet and Claudia from drama school, and in the present as people try to bring her down. She is a famous, Oscar-winning, actress and dark forces are at work. Spreading rumours and sharing stories about her to Popbitch. If any of this sounds like your thing you can preorder here: https://tinyurl.com/Where-The-Light-is-Hottest
I will be writing a lot about author life. So keep an eye out for more.
