A gloriously funny and touching story

Bridget Jones is as relevant and funny today as she has always been... Daniel [Cleaver] is not only alive and shagging, he also has the best lines… Again and again he comes up with smutty one-liners that steal the show

Fielding’s narrative diverts from the screen version: notably that feckless Daniel Cleaver, the original “fuckwit” in Bridget’s life is, gratifyingly, very much alive and central to the plot of the novel. "VG"

It’s a real fun read. The jokes are great and you find yourself rooting for Bridget and praying she gets the outcome she deserves

Before I read this book, I wondered whether there could possibly be anything left to tell. This book is absolutely necessary. At a time when the world seems especially dark and difficult, and sometimes stacked against women, Bridget Jones’s Baby is both a longed for slice of escapism and a real inspiration

It’s very, very good… Fielding reminds us once again she’s queen of encapsulating the female experience… Short, pacy and perfect

Helen Fielding is one of the funniest writers in Britain and Bridget Jones is a creation of comic genius

A brilliant comic creation

How can a reader not love this woman?

Bridget Jones is no mere fictional character, she's the Spirit of the Age

Pages devoured: 216. Embarrassing laugh-out-loud moments on public transport: numerous. Overall thoughts on latest Bridget Jones book: V.v.v. gd. Helen Fielding reminds us once again that she’s the queen of encapsulating the female experience in all its messy, funny and emotional glory… Short, pacy and perfect.

There’s delight to be had in sharing her happy ending.

With a deft wit, Fielding lampoons 21st century life but amongst the humour there are some serious points about the way in which we judge ourselves and others…[Fielding] is certainly back to her witty best.

A gloriously funny, touching story of baby-deadline panic, maternal bliss, and every kind of chaos.

The Bridget we were all clamouring to see.

More than enough chuckles to keep you turning the page.

The pantheon of top-class soccer novelists has never been large, but with A Natural Ross Raisin can immediately be ushered into the Premier League exective box occupied by J.L. Carr’s How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won The F.A. Cup (1975), Gordon Williams and Terry Venables They Used to Play on Grass (1971), and David Peace’s The Damned Utd (2006).

A Natural is a football novel that non-fans can enjoy.

A Natural is a vast advancement on Raisin’s already considerable achievement in [his] earlier novels – broader in focus, eschewing the interiority of his previous novels without sacrificing intimacy.

There are visceral moments, on and off the pitch, but A Natural’s storytelling purposely avoids Messi-like flourishes. Raisin should be applauded for tackling sexuality within football.

The deservedly feted author Ross Raisin has created a gripping coming-of-age story in this fictionalised exploration of the ruthless compromises the Beautiful Game forces on its players… A subtle tale of what it means to be “a natural” – not just in the masculine world of football, but anywhere.

More than a book about sport it is a book about a young man struggling to find his groove in the rough and tumble of fairly unforgiving, male society.

In A Natural, Raisin delves into the life of a lower league English football team – a subject never covered before, as far as I know, in literary fiction. Perhaps it doesn’t sound an immediately appealing prospect. But he makes it wholly absorbing.

[A] gripping, well-written and moving story, which should interest anyone curious about enclosed worlds and hidden lives… Raisin captures both the sweat and the glory of football. He has mastered the register of manager-speak, with its urgently shouted clichés, and the earnest banter on fans’ messaging boards.

A Natural makes a conceptual leap that most old-style football fiction laboured to achieve: in the end its characters are as important as the milieu that tethers them and what emerges is an exceptionally good novel, which just happens to take place on a football pitch.

Raisin provides an authentic portrayal of life in the lower divisions both on and off the pitch. The fine details are present in the pre-match nerves in the changing rooms, the neatly laid out kit and the smell of Deep Heat, but it is the unchecked laddishness, the fake camaraderie and the close scrutiny from supporters on social media that Raisin wants us to feel… This is a rare novel about the challenge of being a gay professional footballer and hopefully it will go some way to help changing perceptions in a sport that has still got a very long way to go.

Ross Raisin’s book about a gay footballer, demands about 200 pages of patience, but you won’t regret it. In the vertiginous second half of this rich, wise study of masculinity, Raisin demonstrates with extraordinary sensitivity how difficult it can be to attain E.M. Forster’s dictum, “Only connect!”

The virtue of devastatingly simple storytelling was also felt in Ross Raisin’s A Natural…one of my favourite novels of the year, about a gay footballer hiding an affair with the groundsman at his struggling lower-league team.

A deeply moving portrait of fear and acceptance.

This seems like one of those books designed to fold straightaway into contemporary liberal conversation.

The Summer of Impossible Things is special - magnificent and magical, it truly captures the essence of love. Epic, romantic, tender and beautiful, I adored it.

The Summer of Impossible Things is that rare thing: a deftly crafted, utterly compelling story written entirely from the heart. Hauntingly beautiful, heart-rending and unique, this is an instant classic. I sobbed my heart out and adored it!

GORGEOUS. It's so moving and romantic and I want to re-read it immediately

Definitely more Time Traveller’s Wife than Dr Who

Packs an emotional punch that's second to none - and the author's hallmark. Rowan Coleman picks you up, spins you around and dances you to the very edge of love. Glorious

Powerfully moving, vivid, glowing with love and humanity... I loved every word

The Summer of Impossible Things is utterly beautiful and engrossing - and Coleman is a brilliant storyteller

I fell into the pages of this beautiful book, vivid, emotional, and so very evocative, it was an utter joy from first page to last

THE SUMMER OF IMPOSSIBLE THINGS is truly a thing of great beauty.'

The pages turn themselves in this perfect summer read. Rowan Coleman has written a time-bending mystery with a huge heart. I loved it

The Summer of Impossible Things is captivating, thought-provoking and beautifully written. Rowan Coleman has written a book to savour, and characters to care about. I loved it.

A romantic holiday read with substance…a timeless love story…heart-wrenching

You're going to love, The Summer of Impossible Things...A rollercoaster ride back and forward through time...enthralling

A wonderful story

magical and fresh...totally unexpected

A sparkling novel of hope and sacrifice’

Magical, heart-warming and time-bending story.