Popular picks for July: SEVEN RULES FOR A PERFECT MARRIAGE by Rebecca Reid, MY OTHER HEART by Emma Nanami Strenner, THE SECRETS OF DRAGONFLY LODGE by Rachel Hore
SEVEN RULES FOR A PERFECT MARRIAGE by Rebecca Reid (Bloomsbury £9.99, 304pp)
Moral fable meets urban romance in this tale of relationship influencers.
Jessica and Jack have millions of followers, plus book and TV deals coming out of their ears. Everyone wants a marriage as wonderful as theirs.
Behind the scenes, however, they're both miserable. She wants a baby while he wants his old job back at the BBC.
During a moment of drunken madness, Jack unwisely reveals all. What now, as followers and publishers desert the golden couple in droves?
Lots of fun media detail and some great minor characters; Jack's stingy and snobbish parents, in particular.
MY OTHER HEART by Emma Nanami Strenner (Hutchinson Heinemann £18.99, 416pp)
A sharp upstairs-downstairs look at the Asian-American experience. We're in Philadelphia with Kit, Japanese adopted daughter of a wealthy white couple, and her BFF Sabrina, child of a poor Chinese single mum.
School's just ended and this last summer before college has some big surprises in store.
While feckless, beautiful Kit flies off to find herself in Tokyo, the less assured Sabrina interns at a downtown migrant charity. In the background is Vietnamese Mimi, whose child was snatched as a baby, and Lee Lee, Sabrina's prickly ma.
I loved this family drama which considers geography and destiny from a fascinating point of view – with a great twist at the end.
THE SECRETS OF DRAGONFLY LODGE by Rachel Hore (Simon and Schuster £16.99, 480pp)
Writer Stef's researching a book about pioneering women scientists. One is zoologist Nancy Foster, an elderly Norfolk neighbour of her mother's. Brilliant as she was, Nancy's career never reached the heights it should have, but why?
Stef sets about finding out, getting to know her subject's smouldering grandson along the way. There unfolds a tale of sexism and skulduggery.
The action moves between modern-day Stef and 1950s London, where Nancy studies alongside dashing and dastardly James West. Hore's novels are absorbing, calming and wonderfully sane. They should be prescribed on the NHS.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Alex Jones reveals she was completely unaware about complaints made against her The One Show co-host Jermaine Jenas
Alex Jones has revealed she was completely unaware about complaints made against her The One Show co-host Jermaine Jenas. Jenas, 42, was taken off the show after being fired by the BBC for sending inappropriate messages to female employees during his time at the corporation. The sexting scandal also cost Jenas his 13-year marriage after his wife Ellie, the mother of three of his four children, announced the pair were divorcing earlier in March. Someone who was oblivious to the complaints was Welsh presenter Alex, who used to host The One Show alongside Jenas. Speaking to The Big Issue, she said: 'I very much take people on face value. But with JJ I didn't know what was going on. I thought he was taking extended leave. 'If that was my daughter and she felt uncomfortable with someone's behaviour, I hope that whatever company she was working for would deal with it swiftly as well.' Jenas, who also has a daughter from a previous relationship, was sacked by the BBC in August, which resulted in him losing his hosting gig on The One Show and punditry work on both Match of the Day and 5 Live. The BBC confirmed their decision while he was on air guest hosting talkSPORT's drive time show. His agency MC Saatchi also cut ties with him before he brought in a crisis PR team to handle the aftermath of the scandal. Jenas revealed he lied to wife Ellie during a family holiday in order to sneak off and take a Zoom call with BBC bosses after news of his X-rated messages was first revealed within the broadcaster. And he also told how she had kicked him out of their £1million home in Hertfordshire after he admitted sending inappropriate messages to two female colleagues. Speaking to the Filthy Rellas podcast last month, Jenas claimed historical problems within the relationship also contributed to the break up. He said: 'The reality is, me and my wife haven't split up because I sent some text messages to some people at work. 'We had issues for a period of time, it all comes to a head and you eventually make a decision to say, as adults, we will be better parents for our children if we just remain friends and that's it. 'We had 16 amazing years together, me and my wife, how many people last that long? Sixteen years. Ups and downs. She caught the wrong end of my [playing] career, bless her.' During an interview with The Sun shortly after he was sacked by the BBC, Jenas admitted his wife was 'raging' over the incident. He said: 'We've not really spoken properly since. She's absolutely raging.' Jenas continued: 'It's just about the children right now. It's the school holidays and they're trapped in the house because photographers are outside my house. 'They're like, 'What's going on, Daddy?'. It's tough.' He added: 'I've got to take responsibility and I've apologised to all of them. 'I don't know what to say about that, to be honest with you. It's just hard at home for the kids right now. My wife's a real one 'My wife is solid and she's amazing. She is kind. She just needs some time.' Jenas bombarded a woman working at the World Cup in Qatar two years ago with unwanted messages asking 'You want my boy now?' During the interview, Jenas insisted Ellie should not fear more women coming out of the woodwork with tales of further inappropriate behaviour. However, weeks after the scandal broke, MailOnline revealed Jenas bombarded a woman working at the World Cup in Qatar two years ago with unwanted messages asking 'You want my boy now?' before sending her a picture of his manhood, despite her making clear she was not interested in his advances. The following week, we also told how he repeatedly pestered a junior make-up artist for sex - and when she told him she had a boyfriend replied: 'Just come to my dressing room early and I'll [perform a sex act] on u… that's not cheating.' That incident took place when he was working for BT Sport in 2017, where he was a rising star as a football pundit.
Daily Mirror
19 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
BBC gameshow Destination X start date, line-up, host and how to watch
The BBC is launching a thrilling new gameshow - here's everything you need to know. Rob Brydon is set to host a thrilling new gameshow on the BBC, where 13 strangers will compete for a £100,000 prize. The 60-year-old Gavin and Stacey actor will direct Destination X, a show that takes contestants on a mysterious European road trip. Drawing comparisons to The Traitors and Race Across The World, the participants are whisked around Europe without any knowledge of their location or destination, as they try to decipher truth from lies amidst the clues they're given. Each day involves travelling on a bus with sensory deprivation and no contact with the outside world. They must then attempt to figure out their location based on a series of peculiar clues. Only the most astute will be able to separate the red herrings from the genuine hints. As the game progresses, players are gradually eliminated based on how far off their location guesses are, until only the winner remains, bagging a £100,000 prize, reports Wales Online. "It's the adventure of a lifetime, with one simple question at its heart: where in the world am I? Rob Brydon masterminds the high-stakes competition where nothing is as it seems...," teases the synopsis. When does Destination X start? The first episode of Destination X will air on BBC One and iPlayer on Wednesday, July 30, at 9pm. There will be two episodes a week, running for five weeks until the winner is crowned. Who is in the line-up for Destination X? In the first season, Destination X will feature 13 strangers. They include a pilot, a taxi driver, an endurance athlete, a crime writer, a retired detective sergeant, and a content creator. The full line-up includes: Ashvin, 23, economics graduate Ben, 42, surf school director Chloe-Anne, 27, historian Claire, 51, retired detective sergeant Daren, 58, London taxi driver Dawn, 33, care assistant Deborah, 62, crime writer James, 23, e-commerce manager Josh, 26, pilot Judith, 28, nuclear engineer Mahdi, 22, content creator Nick, 35, endurance athlete Saskia, 25, marketing executive Who is the host of Destination X? Rob hosts the UK version of Destination X, while Jeffrey Dean Morgan of The Walking Dead hosts the US version. Speaking of the appeal of doing the show, Rob previously revealed: "I love the thought of the scale of it, because I've never done anything in television with that scale. We go all over Europe to some fantastic places, so the appeal was working on a show of that scale." He added that he took some inspiration from The Traitors host Claudia Winkleman, saying: "I did look to Claudia on The Traitors, I love the lightness of touch there... I didn't want to get in the way of the show, so I was very aware of that. I just wanted to be the bridge between the viewer and the contestants, because people say this, but it's true, they are the stars. "Their personalities really come out over the course of the series, and for me, watching that first one, you see the beginnings of relationships and people's characters blossom." How to watch Destination X? Destination X will air on BBC One and iPlayer, beginning on Wednesday, July 30 at 9pm, with two episodes dropping each week.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Here We Go creator says Bedford representative of the whole UK
A comedy writer has said he set his sitcom in the town of Bedford as it is representative of the whole Basden created and writes the BBC One show Here We Go, which he also appears in alongside Alison Steadman, Katherine Parkinson and Jim former vice president of Cambridge Footlights said: "I thought Bedford was a really good location for a show that speaks to the whole country."I wanted to set the show somewhere that just felt very traditionally English but not really known for being any one particular thing." Describing the show's premise, Basden said: "It's about a family called the Jessop family who live in Bedford and are a very, very normal family who find themselves in a lot of weird and wonderful situations."The full third series of the show is now available on BBC iPlayer, following the premiere of its first episode on BBC One. Basden added: "I didn't want it to feel too regional."I didn't want it to feel like it's a show about London or a show about Manchester or something."While one episode of the new series is set in Malta, the show remains largely based in Bedford, although it is filmed in other parts of the country. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
