Easter book recommendations from team ME
The Mushens Entertainment team take you through their book recommendations for Spring and the Easter holidays …
Juliet
I WHO HAVE NEVER KNOWN MEN
by Jacqueline Harpman
I just finished I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman. I’m a member of my local book group and this was our most recent pick - it sparked a discussion which lasted nearly 2 hours!
It follows a young woman who is kept in a cage with 39 other women, and what happens when they escape. It was originally published in 1995 and has had a recent resurgence. I found it very thought-provoking on the nature of existence and humanity.
Catriona
THE SAFEKEEP
by Yael van der Wouden
I am currently reading The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden, which won the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2025 and was shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize. The novel is set in the post-war Dutch countryside and follows a lonely young woman when she is faced with an unexpected house guest who forces her to reexamine her isolated existence. I’m only part way through but already I’m drawn to the thick atmosphere of the novel and the claustrophobic setting of the family’s ancestral home.
Rachel
BLOOD OVER BRIGHT HAVEN
by M. L. Wang
I snapped Blood Over Bright Haven up based entirely on the cover when it first came out,
and am finally getting around to reading it
over the easter holidays.
I love a dark academia setting in fantasy so
have high hopes!
Emma
TO EXIST AS I AM
by Grace Spence Green
This Easter, I would recommend reading To Exist as I am by Grace Spence Green. It’s a really welcome addition to the genre of disability memoir, exploring a medical student’s journey after her spine was broken and she became a wheelchair user. Two moments particularly stood out to me. Firstly, when Spence Green realises how invisible disability has been in her medical training. And secondly, when she relates how challenged hospital staff and patients were by her practicing as a doctor since she did not fulfil their expectations, both by being employed while disabled and by being a disabled doctor. I think that it is a really accessible and wise book for anyone looking to expand their knowledge about disability.
Daniel
THE DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X
Keigo Higashino
I’ve just started The Devotion of Suspect X,
which was published more than 20 years ago and has been on my TBR list for a long time. I’ve heard nothing but great things so have
high hopes.
It follows a Detective with the Tokyo Police who tries to piece together the events of a seemingly simple crime and finds himself confronted by the most puzzling, mysterious circumstances he has ever investigated.
Nothing quite makes sense, and it will take a genius to understand the genius behind this particular crime.
Maria
MAY WE FEED THE KING
Rebecca Perry
I am currently reading May We Feed the King
by Rebecca Perry. I am only 30 pages in, but I don’t want it to end. It is poetic, meditative, hypnotic, and disorientating both in subject matter and temporality. It follows an unnamed Curator in the present who is tasked with recreating historical scenes in a royal palace. The narrative also delves into the past, examining the life of a mild-mannered Medieval King who once resided in the palace that the Curator in the present is recreating. As the title suggests, there is a gorgeous and vivid emphasis on food in the text, which feels apt for Easter Break, as I plan to do a lot of feasting.
Melody
BRIGANDS & BREADKNIVES
Travis Baldree
I’m reading Brigands & Breadknives by
Travis Baldree.
I’ve read the author’s previous books and enjoy the cozy, low-stakes adventures, full of eccentric and loveable characters.
This is book 3 in the Legends & Lattes series.
A freshly baked adventure featuring fan-favourite, foul-mouthed bookseller Fern.
A fun and easy read, perfect for the
Easter break!