Louise O' Neill is from Clonakilty, in west Cork. After graduating with a BA in English Studies at Trinity College Dublin, she went on to complete a post-grad in Fashion Buying at DIT. Having spent a year in New York working for Kate Lanphear, the senior Style Director of ELLE magazine, she returned home to Ireland to write her first novel. She went from hanging out on set with A-list celebrities to spending most of her days in pyjamas while she writes, and has never been happier.
Pity Party (2024) Daisy Buchanan "Pity Party is both deeply moving and very funny. A raw, honest exploration of love, loss, and the complexity of grief. I read it in one sitting. I loved it."
Under Your Spell (2024) Laura Wood "Under Your Spell is one giant swoon of a novel - impossibly romantic, sweet, and uplifting. I read it in one sitting."
The Nightingale's Castle (2024) Sonia Velton "The Nightingale's Castle is a gripping read - beautifully written, skilfully plotted, and a fascinating exploration of women's struggle to have their truth heard."
Saltblood (2024) Francesca De Tores "I was not expecting a story about pirates to be as beautiful as this one; indeed, Saltblood is exquisite. The writing is sumptuous and lyrical, the story fascinating."
In Her Place (2024) Edel Coffey "A thought-provoking thriller with a brilliant premise - this one is going to be a Book Club favourite in 2024!"
The Wake-Up Call (2023) Beth O'Leary "An utterly delicious read. Amazing chemistry, characters to fall in love with, and all that Beth O'Leary magic. Irresistible."
The Lodgers (2023) Eithne Shortall "This moving, funny, and charming novel is reminiscent of Maeve Binchy; what an absolute joy it was to read."
My Hot Friend (2023) Sophie White "Her best yet. It's astute, relatable, hilarious, insightful, and utterly impossible to put down."
Between Us (2023) Mhairi McFarlane "I love Mhairi McFarlane's books and this was no exception . . . it's clever and engrossing and sharp. I read it in one sitting."
Small Joys (2023) Elvin James Mensah "This heart-warming, witty, and moving debut is one of the most charming books you'll read this year. Exploring love, friendship, grief, and the bittersweet joy of being young, Small Joys is utterly beautiful."
The Forgetting (2023) Hannah Beckerman "A tense, stylish thriller. Beautifully written and utterly compelling, with an important message at its heart. It's fantastic."
Strange Sally Diamond (2023) Liz Nugent "Twisted, shocking, and very, very, dark, Liz Nugent has created a character for the ages in Strange Sally Diamond."
Rootless (2023) Krystle Zara Appiah "This exploration of love, loss, and motherhood is tender, powerful, and almost unbearably moving."
No Accident (2022) Laura Bates "Laura Bates is one of the most important feminist voices we have and The Trial is engaging and clever, thought-provoking and thrilling. I inhaled it in one sitting."
The Key to My Heart (2022) Lia Louis "Gloriously romantic and very funny, this delightful book is not to be missed."
London, With Love (2022) Sarra Manning "Reading London, with Love reminded me why Sarra Manning is one of my favourite writers. It's wonderful - romantic, sexy, moving, and impossible to put down."
In a Thousand Different Ways (2022) Cecelia Ahern "Beautiful, moving and unexpected, In a Thousand Different ways is an unforgettable story. This is Cecelia Ahern at her very best."
Her Majesty's Royal Coven (2022) (HMRC Trilogy, book 1) Juno Dawson "HMRC is such a joy to read - the world building is incredible, the writing sophisticated, and the exploration of gender and identity is done with nuance and care. Utterly compelling."
Nobody But Us (2022) Laure Van Rensburg "Brutal, tense, and utterly compelling, Laure Van Rensburg is an electrifying new voice."
These Days (2022) Lucy Caldwell "Beautiful, lyrical, and deeply moving, These Days is a wonderful novel."
The Herd (2022) Emily Edwards "Insightful, compassionate and nuanced. The Herd is so good."
Magpie (2021) Elizabeth Day "Magpie is tightly plotted, crackling with an uneasy tension, and has an ingenious twist you won’t see coming. Stylish, sinister, and clever, this is a sublime thriller."
Reputation (2021) Lex Croucher "I had so much fun reading Reputation. It's a total blast."
Voyeur (2021) Francesca Reece "Unsettling, addictive, and razor-sharp, Francesca Reece is a devastatingly compelling new voice in literary fiction."
Holding Her Breath (2021) Eimear Ryan "A beautiful coming-of-age story told with impressive skill and lightness of touch. It marks the arrival of an exciting new voice on the Irish literary scene, one whom I can't wait to hear more from. I absolutely loved it."
Snowflake (2021) Louise Nealon "Snowflake is a beautiful novel; tender, laugh-out-loud funny, and deeply moving."
The Rules of Revelation (2021) Lisa McInerney "THE RULES OF REVELATION is a perfect end to one of the best trilogies in modern Irish literature. McInerney's writing moves from the tragic to the hilarious with a dazzling deftness, examining a post-Crash Ireland - and its hypocrisy in how it shapes class, art, and feminism - with a gimlet eye. A triumph."
House of Hollow (2021) Krystal Sutherland "This dark, deliciously twisted novel has everything you could hope for as a reader—a brilliant concept, glamorous characters with secrets to hide, immersive world-building, and some of the finest writing I’ve seen in YA fiction. I’ll put it like this—I am obsessed with House of Hollow."
If I Disappear (2021) Eliza Jane Brazier "A fascinating, twisty, beautifully written tale with an unforgettable premise and an ending you won't see coming...a delight from start to finish."
Girl A (2021) Abigail Dean "Girl A isn’t just an astonishingly accomplished debut novel, it’s a masterpiece."
Blood Moon (2020) Lucy Cuthew "Blood Moon is one of the best YA debuts I've read in years. Moving, compelling and bold, it filled me with such hope. It's a very special book."
Scenes of a Graphic Nature (2020) Caroline O'Donoghue "With Scenes Of A Graphic Nature, Caroline O'Donoghue establishes herself as one of the most exciting young Irish writers on the literary scene. Her acerbic wit is matched by her sharp-eyed observations, resulting in a piece of fiction that is dark, gripping, and beautifully written."
The Confession (2019) Jessie Burton "A beautiful novel and one that will stay with me for a very long time."
Queenie (2019) Candice Carty-Williams "Queenie has all the things you want in a debut novel—a startlingly fresh voice, characters you fall in love with from the very first page, and a joyous turn of phrase that makes this book almost impossible to put down. In turns hilariously funny and quietly devastating, Queenie is an important, timely story."
Last Ones Left Alive (2019) Sarah Davis-Goff "Kept me up until 2am. A triumph. A confident, assured debut from one of the most exciting new voices on the Irish literary scene."
The Hunting Party (2018) Lucy Foley "Gripping and exciting and wonderfully written, of course, with such incredible characters and a wonderful twist that I really didn’t see coming. I bloody loved it."
I'll Eat When I'm Dead (2017) Barbara Bourland "I can't put I'll Eat When I'm Dead down, I LOVE it. Biting, funny, and brilliantly subversive; Bourland's debut is like The Devil Wears Prada meets American Psycho."
