The Eason Sinéad and Rick’s Must Reads series is back and ready to help you relax and unwind just in time for summer. In the latest installation of the popular book selection, best-selling author Sinéad Moriarty, and broadcaster and booklover Rick O’Shea have chosen eight page-turners with something to suit everyone.

This summer, Sinéad and Rick have selected a range of eclectic, compelling, heart-wrenching books that are guaranteed to help you escape reality. The range features titles from some of the best Irish and international literary talent. Sinéad and Rick’s Must Reads features eight diverse, gripping, page turners:

We Begin at the End – Chris Whitaker
This is a beautiful story, set-in small-town America with the most fantastic, kick-ass, unforgettable heroine, 13-year-old Duchess Day Radley. Duchesse has been dealt a very bad hand in life but she is the fierce protector of her little brother Robin and her alcoholic mother. The Chief of Police, Walk, is the closest thing Duchesse has to a parent. Their relationship is complex, yet also full of compassion and love (it very much reminded me of the wonderful friendship between Eleven and Jim Hopper in the Stranger Things TV series).

Notes from an Apocalypse- Mark O’Connell
To describe Mark O’Connell’s new book as timely is a grand understatement. For him, it all started with the birth of his son, - having a first child made him look more closely at the world that his firstborn might be inheriting, and some of the darker, stranger and more bizarre paths it might take.

Our Little Cruelties- Liz Nugent
It is the easiest thing in the world for me to recommend the new Liz Nugent book to you, because it may just be her best one yet. It begins, as all her books do, with an unforgettable opening. Luke, Will and Brian are three brothers, all at a funeral. One of them is in the coffin…

Exciting Times- Naoise Dolan
Eva is an Irish girl in Hong Kong, disillusioned with home and teaching TEFL just to keep herself ticking over when she meets British banker Julian. They have a sort-of-relationship - but strange and unconventional as it is before, it becomes even more complicated when Eva meets and falls for a Hong Konger, Edith, whilst Julian is away on extended business. The ensuing triangle of connections means that Eva has to evaluate what she wants, who she wants and even where she wants to be.

The Butchers – Ruth Gilligan
Set in 1996, this very original story seamlessly moves between the traditions of both ancient and modern Ireland and revolves around the eight male members of ‘The Butchers’, who each follow the custom of travelling around Ireland slaughtering the cows of those farmers who still believe in the old ways. One of these butchers is Cuch, father to twelve-year-old Una, who herself has a deep desire to become the first ever female to join the clan.

Hamnet – Maggie O’Farrell
Maggie O’Farrell wrote her latest novel because of a lifelong fascination with the story behind Shakespeare’s famous play, Hamlet. Set in 1580, this is a fascinating tale which will pull you in from the first page, and interestingly, the main character in this novel is not Shakespeare, but his enchanting wife, Agnes, with whom he falls in love at first sight, and marries after a brief courtship. Their marriage, however, is not straightforward and is put under huge strain, and is made difficult by Shakespeare’s frequent absence from the family home.

Love after Love – Ingrid Persaud
Set in Trinidad, it takes a page or two to get into the swing of the island dialect in this vibrant novel, but once you do, it adds so much colour to the story. Betty is a fierce woman, who has a dark secret, something that she did to protect her beloved son, Solo. But when Solo finds out what Betty did to his alcoholic father; the discovery shatters their once beautiful relationship. The rest of the book is spent with Betty trying everything to re-connect with her precious son who runs away to America.

How Much of These Hills Is Gold- C Pam Zhang
Lucy and Sam, young children of immigrant parents in 19th century gold rush California, have just suffered the death of their father, leaving them orphaned. They soon find themselves on the run from the ramshackle mining village where they once lived, leaving them to try to find peace with who they are and with who their parents were, as well as trying to find their place in a hard, unkind world. 

To check out full reviews of Sinéad and Rick’s Must Reads for summer, click here. For information on Eason, click here.