What we loved: May 2025
Summer romances, audiobooks & blockbuster movies
Michelle moved in April and it was my (Caitlin’s) turn in May. Moving is absolutely hectic and I cannot believe how long I have been surrounded by boxes. There are just so many little jobs to do alongside the big ones that everything has been chaos for a full month now. My wardrobe doors still don’t have handles and all my books are still in boxes while my empty bookshelves stare at me. Hopefully the best (and last?) unpacking job will be done incredibly soon.
The reprieve in the middle of all this, was the Sydney Writers Festival. I didn’t even attend as many panels as I’ve done in previous years but I really enjoyed the ones I did and it was so enjoyable to be there soaking it all up. I went to see Marian Keyes and heard Colm Toibin speak twice which was wonderful. Plus panels on how the business of the beauty industry affects us, what modern feminism looks like, and a lovely heartwarming session about baking! I left the weekend with three new books and many more on my TBR.
What did you enjoy reading, watching and listening to in May? Leave us a comment and tell us what you can’t stop thinking about!
*denotes review copy
Reading
Swept Away by Beth O’Leary
You’re stuck on a creaky old houseboat in the middle of the North Sea. With your random one night stand. What a hook! This concept is big but believe me, Beth O’Leary delivers. Although, this did nothing to dispel my fear of the open ocean and sailing – there were some heart-in-throat moments of real jeopardy that took me by surprise.
Lexi and Zeke are such gorgeously complex characters and I absolutely loved spending time with them. Zeke’s relationship with his siblings and Lexi’s with her best friend added such depth to their budding romance. Swept Away is Beth O’Leary at her very best. It pushes the boundaries of emotional rom-com with a brilliant dash of adventure and I loved this wild ride.
– Michelle
One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune
I discovered Carley Fortune when I read This Summer Will Be Different on my PEI holiday last year and since then I’ve read the two in her backlist. One Golden Summer is her first new release since I became a fan, and it follows the brother of the male lead in her debut, Every Summer After. Back in Barry’s Bay for a beautiful Canadian summer, we go with Alice as she takes her grandmother to the bay for a relaxing summer break. She meets Charlie, who is a sort of caretaker of the property and they genuinely become friends and encourage each other to make the most of their holiday. This is up there with one of the best friends-to-lovers romances I’ve ever read, because we see them become wonderful friends and then test the romantic waters. It’s a slower burn but just perfect! Seriously, if you’re a romance reader and not across Carley Fortune please join me on this train! Or boat, that seems to work better for the settings in her books.
– Caitlin
That Night by Gillian McAllister
I fell in love with Gillian McAllister’s thrillers when I read Wrong Place Wrong Time and I’ve been meaning to read her backlist for ages. Taking a very battered secondhand copy with me on our little holiday in the Lake District was perfect – is it just me or is there something so fun about reading a thriller on holiday? It follows siblings Cathy, Frannie and Joe holidaying at the Italian villa they co-own. In the middle of the night Frannie calls her siblings begging for help: she needs to hide a body. Everyone is plunged into an impossible situation and questioning how far they will go for the ones they love. While this wasn’t as much of a hit for me as McAllister’s newer novels, it’s still a solidly gripping thriller with an immersive ‘now’ and ‘then’ structure.
– Michelle
Rival Darling by Alexandra Moody*
I picked up a copy of this adorable YA romance at work and am so glad. Rival Darling follows Violet who is new in town but met her high school’s hockey team captain over the summer and finds herself dating the most popular guy in school. When he turns out to be awful, Violet is determined to never date a jock again. Enter Reed Darling. Hockey star of the rival school and team, the perfect fake boyfriend to make her ex jealous. With fake-dating, enemies-to-lovers, and Reed falling first, Rival Darling is a super cute and sweet young adult romance. If you like To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before for a cosy night in, you’ll love this book. The next one, Grumpy Darling, follows Reed’s twin brother and is quite high on my TBR.
– Caitlin
Watching
Lilo & Stitch (live-action)
It is a truth universally acknowledged that live-action remakes will never be as good as the animated originals. However, Lilo & Stitch was such a joy. There were some storyline changes, but I felt these actually added a nice new dimension to the story – and were perhaps a little more realistic overall. I’m not one to well up in movies but I was crying a little at points throughout this movie. The animation for Stitch was perfect and Maia Kealoha was adorable as Lilo. Overall, definitely recommend taking a trip to the cinema to watch this one.
– Michelle
Thunderbolts
I decided to not include the asterisk in the title because in this newsletter that’s reserved for when we receive a PR copy of a book, and I spent my own money on seeing this movie! Look I am hardly the expert on the MCU and why it may or may not still be good, what’s gone wrong in how you manage a franchise. But I will say that I’ve been a fairly committed consumer and they were losing me, I wasn’t originally planning on seeing this and I have missed a few recent MCU projects. But they got me.
I’d started hearing pretty good things, and the marketing campaign was quite creative… they sucked me back in! So I went to see it and I had a pretty great time. Florence Pugh is obviously amazing and is such a shining star in this movie, she does an incredible job and holds it all together. All the other characters are okay and have their moments, but this is Florence’s show. It’s a little snarky and funny, has some cool action scenes, and is set at an interesting point in this larger story. Sebastian Stan is also great, though probably under used here, but there’s something jarring about seeing Bucky Barnes still having to deal with all this fall out.. he’s seen A LOT. And overall the moment that has stuck with me is when he’s speaking to Valentina’s (our villain) assistant and says, ‘I never had a choice who I worked for, but you do.’
- Caitlin
Small Things Like These
This is one of those films I meant to watch in cinemas and just didn’t get around to. It’s based on Claire Keegan’s stunning novella and feels like the perfect adaptation. Keegan’s writing is beautifully sparse and the film has the same sense of space to it – it feels like a gentle and quiet film with so much left unsaid and rushing underneath. Set in a small Irish village, Bill Furlong faces a confronting truth about the convent that has ‘a finger in every pie’ in this small community. Cillian Murphy was not who I had pictured as Bill when reading but, unsurprisingly, plays the role brilliantly. My only criticism, as with the book, was that I was left longing to see what happened after Bill makes a life-changing decision.
– Michelle
Parks & Recreation
The perfect cute, quirky, cosy, and hilarious re-watch while everything is hectic from moving. Parks & Recreation is one of my favourite sitcoms and it is pure joy to watch again. Amy Poehler is incredible, Aubrey Plaza’s performance is genius, Rob Lowe is ridiculously hilarious with every single line! I don’t think I’d ever appreciated Chris (Lowe) as much before but he cracks me up. Then there’s Adam Scott as Ben Wyatt, I love him. Ben and Leslie are the best, they’re so adorable. It’s amazing to rewatch and see the moments that have become such iconic memes and gifs, plus to see how wonderfully the long storylines of the characters relationships and careers are written. I love this show!
- Caitlin
Listening
Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green
I’ll admit I picked this up purely because I needed to fill a prompt for ‘history of medicine book’ in the reading challenge designed by my online book club (you can join it here). However, I’m really glad I did read this on audio because it was fascinating. I had no idea that celebrated YA author John Green has dedicated millions of dollars to fight the disease, which is still the most deadly in the world. Actually, Green’s personal contribution to ending tuberculosis deaths is not explicitly discussed in the book – the focus is instead on sharing the very human cost of the disease and explaining why there is still such an incredible disparity in treatment worldwide. The audio version, read by Green, was roughly 5 hours so felt kind of like listening to a very engaging podcast series.
– Michelle
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston*
I really want to keep reading Ashley Poston! I listened to A Novel Love Story last year but have also heard wonderful things about her debut, The Dead Romantics, and newest release, Sounds Like Love. The Seven Year Slip is a time slip love story set in a New York apartment. Without reason or explanation, sometimes the resident of this magical apartment can walk through their front door and find themselves seven years away from their own time. Clementine is an overworked book publicist, living in her grandmother’s apartment after she’s recently passed away. Torn between her past (all the memories in the apartment but also that man who appeared in her kitchen) and moving on towards her future (a promotion is promised if she can convince a huge author to sign on), and she has the summer to make her decision. I adore a time slip or time travel element, the touch of magical realism is just delightful and I enjoyed this book so much.
- Caitlin
‘BIG TALK: The Catholic Church Cover Up of Child Sexual Abuse’ by Big Small Talk podcast
We are rusted-on fans of Big Small Talk and we’ve recommended them (and this deep-dive series) before. But I want to recommend this specifically again because it delves into the story behind one of my all-time favourite films, Spotlight. As always, Hannah and Sarah have presented this story so well and explain all the context and nuance behind the headlines. If you’ve not watched Spotlight, please listen to this and then go watch the film.
– Michelle
Style-ish
I can’t remember if I’ve recommended this podcast here before, but I’ve been a loyal listener for many many months. From the team at Shameless Media, Style-ish focuses on fashion and beauty with the business side of brand and marketing always being part of the conversation. An episode I loved in May (and was very well timed, dropping the week I moved) was ‘We swear by the 6 home styling rules’. A follow on from a popular April episode, ‘These 8 rules will make clothes last longer’. These two a great examples of the tips and tricks you can pick up from listening to the girls who host Style-ish chat, discuss news in the fashion & beauty world, and review the big stories in these industries. Examples of the latter are their episodes on the history of the Birken bag or how Mecca became so huge in Australia over Sephora.
– Caitlin
Something else
Lick paint
Okay, this one is purely for UK readers. We’ve been decorating our lounge and, for the first time ever, decided to paint the room in something that wasn’t neutral. I spent a long time researching colours and paint options and Lick came up again and again. Now we’ve (almost) finished and I definitely recommend the brand if you’re looking for an easy, good coverage paint. The stick-on colour samples really are true to life and helped us make the decision on colour (Green 09 if you’re curious). An extra hint if you want to save some ££ and need more than the standard 2.5L tin, check out the LickPro range from Screwfix where a 5L tin works out cheaper than what’s available in B&Q.
- Michelle
Taylor Swift’s reclaimed albums
This is huge news and I confess I haven’t listened to a single Taylor song since I found out. I have no idea what to do. I didn’t know where to jump back to, there wasn’t one specific song that I felt like she didn’t recreate the way I wanted. But probably more accurately, I never let myself think about it that way. There’s way more to dissect and say there about the loyalty and commitment of Swifties, but I don’t have that much space down here. Also this isn’t really a recommendation, but this is my corner of the internet to write a bit about how I feel! I think soon I will dedicate some listening space to enjoying the original/reclaimed albums alongside the rerecorded ones. Time will tell, but I feel like they’re going to remain quite separate in my mind. Thank you for reading, if you got this far.
- Caitlin