Read This: Books under the Radar is a weekly post written by a guest author – often a friend of mine, someone I’ve met on my writerly travels, or an author I admire – who recommends three books they think deserve more recognition. If you’re interested in buying any of the books, please click on the covers and give these hidden gems some love. You can see the full list of books which have been selected, as well as the author’s latest book on Bookshop.org, where you can have a browse and buy any that take your fancy. Happy reading!

Read This: Beth O’Leary

Beth lives in my neck of the woods and once upon a time was in my writing group, so I was very privileged to read some of her novels as she was writing them. But family commitments took over, and to be honest, I’m not sure that Beth needs the help of a writing group – her novels are so wonderful. I have been sent a copy of Swept Away but I haven’t yet found the time to pick it up. Soon, I promise! It will be published on 8th April, and if you click on the picture you can pre-order (or order) a copy. Here’s what she has to say about herself:

Beth O’Leary is a Sunday Times bestselling author whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages. Her debut, The Flatshare, sold over a million copies and is now a major TV series, as is her third novel, The Road Trip. All her other novels – The Switch, The No-Show and The Wake-Up Call – were also instant bestsellers. Beth writes her books in the Hampshire countryside with a very badly behaved Golden Retriever for company. If she’s not in her writing shed, you’ll usually find her curled up somewhere with a book, a cup of tea and several woolly jumpers (whatever the weather).

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betholearyauthor/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betholearyauthor

Here are the books Beth chose:

Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho

Last Tang Standing was the standout book of the pandemic, for me, but publishing a debut at that particular moment of history was tough, and I don’t think Lauren Ho got the recognition she deserved (worldwide adoration, basically) for this hilarious diary-style novel. The protagonist Andrea Tang is an incredibly successful lawyer in Singapore, but that’s not enough for her family – especially now she’s the last one standing, i.e. the only one unmarried… The writing in this book is so sharp and perceptive, and it genuinely made me laugh out loud.

To Lahore, with Love by Hina Belitz

I absolutely adored this thought-provoking, warm-hearted novel, but I don’t see it shouted about nearly enough. It follows the story of Addy Mayford, who has always struggled with her identity – she feels torn between the Irish and Pakistani sides of her family. Early on in the novel she discovers a family secret that changes everything. Addy is a passionate cook, and the novel is laced through with the most beautiful food writing. It gives the whole story an incredibly special, warm feel, as though we are joining Addy for a cosy home-cooked dinner as well as her life story.

Leonora by Maria Edgeworth

I rarely read classics these days – I’m more drawn to contemporary fiction, and there are always so many tempting new titles coming along. But like so many young women, I fell in love with Jane Austen as a teenager, and part of me is always looking for stories that will fill that hole when it cannot be filled by yet another re-read of Pride and Prejudice. Austen’s contemporary Maria Edgeworth isn’t exactly under the radar in literary circles, but for a lot of readers who mostly enjoy modern fiction, I’d say she still is – and I think if you adore Sense and Sensibility, you should give Leonora a try.

 

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I’m embarrassed to say that I haven’t heard of any of these books, but that’s what Books under the Radar is all about. I’m going to add them to my tbr and I hope you will too. Have you read any of these? If you’d like to be told about future Read This recommendations, you can follow me on Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter.

More Read This: Books Under the Radar

Lou Morrish author of Women of War
Francesca Ramsay author of Pinch Me
Sarah Leipciger author of Moon Road
Tim Chapman university librarian
Juliet West author of The Faithful
Lindsay Hunter author of Hot Springs Drive
Gina Chung author of Sea Change
Susmita Bhattacharya author of Table Manners
Vanessa Harbour author of Safe
Freya North author of The Unfinished Business of Eadie Browne
Judith Heneghan author of Birdeye
Clare Mackintosh author of I Promise it won’t always Hurt like This
Barney Norris author of Undercurrent
Jo Leevers author of The Last Time I saw You
Alice Winn author of In Memmoriam
Anna Mazzola author of The House of Secrets
Alice Peterson author of The Saturday Place
Jenna Smith bookblogger
Lucy Atkins author of Windmill Hill
LV Matthews author of To Love a Liar
Ruth Thomas author of The Snow and the Works on the Northern Line
Jo Furniss author of Dead Mile
Nina Stibbe author of Went to London, Took the Dog
Nussaibah Younis author of Fundamentally
Cara Hunter author of Making a Killing
Leena Norms author of Half-Arsed Human
Cherie Jones author of How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps her House
Cate Baum author of The Land of Hope
Carole Burns author of Another Country
Sally Hughes, book blogger
Chloe Lane author of Arms and Legs
Tamsin Hope Thomas newsletter subscriber
Patrick O’Donoghue, book blogger
Adam Weymouth, author of Lone Wolf
Claire Thomson author of One Pan Beans
Sophie Haydock author of Madame Matisse
Huma Qureshi author of Playing Games
Beth O’Leary author of Swept Away