When it comes to looking after our skin, sun protection is non-negotiable but as we well know, not all SPF is created equal – especially when it comes to your face – and finding one that offers both UVA and UVB protection, hydrates and doesn’t cause breakouts or leave a chalky residue on the skin is no mean feat.

Whilst the glorious mini heatwave might have been and gone already (in a bit, pub garden!), the need for SPF endures, no matter the weather, season or temp as UV rays can still pass through cloud cover and windows. Even more reason to slather on the SPF when you’re working from home or heading into the office.

Come rain or shine, the risk of sun damage is a year-round concern, meaning SPF really is a wear-every-day kinda skincare staple and your best defence against sun damage and premature ageing.

We’ve tried and tested our fair share of pore-cloggers and eye-stingers in our time, so if you’re looking for nothing less than 5* formulas that slot seamlessly into your skincare routine, allow Team Zoella to help you narrow down the search and serve you in your quest to finding the one that ticks all the boxes.

From sunscreen for acne-prone skin to lightweight barely-there formulas and ocean-safe ingredients, here’s a look at the SPFs we’d snog, marry and avoid.

Psst don’t do a Gwyneth and apply it to the high points of your face. You need at least two fingers worth all over your chops. Nothing less.

Maddie’s Picks

Snog: VICHY Capital Soleil Solar Protective Water Hydrating SPF50 200ml

Shop it here

Remember the days of stripy white patches all over your body from a poor uneven application of your basic sun lotion? That was me until i found this product. You can literally spritz your whole body in a matter of minutes leaving behind nothing more than a lovely sheen. This product ticks so many boxes, it’s so easy to apply because of its water like texture which makes it totally mess free and on top of that it leaves your skin hydrated and highly protected, what more could you want?

Marry: Body shop Factor 50 face

Shop it here

This is such a fail safe product that everyone needs in their life. If you’re looking for a light weight, barely there feel with maximum protection that won’t break the bank, this is the product for you. I’ve purchased this time and time again and it’s never let me down. All the things that put me off about suncream, especially for your face, this product does the opposite. It’s not cakey, it doesn’t leave a white residue, it doesn’t clog your pores and it’s not heavy or greasy in any way. The new formula also boasts anti pollution protection and offers 24 hour moisture. Marry me now.

Avoid: Garnier ambre solaire dry mist

Shop it here

My beef isn’t specifically with just this product, i’m sure the product itself works fine, my issue is with the metal can/ mist spray concept. Whenever i’ve used them in the past the spray goes everywhere and comes out so fast which is great for the first few applications but it means you get so much wastage and within a few uses you’re out. I also have doubts over how much protection it provides with such a fine mist layer of product, it certainly doesn’t cut it for my sensitive skin.

Lareese’s Picks

Snog: Caudalie Anti Wrinkle Suncare SPF 50

Shop it here

Doubling up as both a soothing moisturiser and an SPF, it’s creamier and heavier than cult favourite La Roche Posay but for those who value hydration and radiance as much as protection, Caudalie ticks all the boxes. Formulated with organic grape water, it’s got a gentle floral fragrance and gives a glowy finish which I appreciate on the days when my skin looks a bit lifeless! It’s also free from harmful chemicals making it environmentally friendly for the marine ecosystems, so you can enjoy a guilt-free ocean dip. At £20 a pop, it’s not the cheapest option but when you consider the quality ingredients, anti-ageing properties and all-round protection (for both your skin and the planet), it’s worth the investment.

Marry: Anthelios La Roche Posay UVMune 400 Invisible Fluid SPF50+

Shop it here

With tear ducts as weak as mine, finding an SPF that doesn’t make me weep is a real challenge but La Roche Posay seems to do the trick. The formula is quite thin and watery meaning it feels delightfully lightweight on the skin and absorbs in seconds. It’s also fragrance-free – a big selling point for ol’ cry baby over here. If you’ve got sensitive skin or feel disenchanted with other SPFs on the market because of stickiness or white cast, this one makes for an easy, fuss-free option to slot into your skincare routine every day. It’s available in other factors but for the face, the higher the better I say. It’s usually on offer too so I stock up when it’s in the sale. Since using it, I’ve never gone elsewhere. It’s my go-to through the seasons!

Avoid: Vichy Ideal Soleil Mattifying Face Dry Touch Sun Cream

Shop it here

I’m here for barely-there texture but this was slightly too mattifying for my liking. I’m a dewy finish kinda girl so this missed the mark for me. No matter how long I waited for it to absorb it still left white cast so it’s not ideal for wearing under makeup. I also found it gathered in my brows and hairline a bit. Not a look. That said, if you’ve got oily skin it might be the shine-free SPF you’ve been looking for, it just wasn’t well-suited to my combo/dry skin type.

Darcey’s Picks

Snog: Solait Face Sun Cream Fluid SPF30 50ml

Shop it here

You absolutely do not need to spend a small fortune on SPF, actually if you check a lot of the expensive branded SPF’s their UVA rating (which is what helps fight skin ageing in the sun) is usually about 3 stars (with 5 stars being the best). I love this Superdrug Face Fluid Sun Cream, it’s best used on holidays when you will be using a lot more because it’s only £3.99! It’s only downside is it only goes up to SPF30, which I’m sure some people would argue isn’t high enough, but its UVA rating is 5 Stars.

Marry: Ambre Solaire Super UV Anti Dark Spots & Anti Pollution Face Fluid SPF50+

Shop it here

I loooove this SPF! Now I contradict myself a bit here, but hear me out. So this SPF is factor 50+, however its UVA rating is 3 stars, but I only really use this in the UK on a day-to-day basis (we have pretty low UV levels here). I love this SPF though because 1) it’s £8!, 2) it’s super lightweight and a La Roche-Posay dupe and 3) it doesn’t break me out at all. I find a lot of SPF breaks me out and then I get dark spots, which is equally frustrating, but this SPF is also anti dark spots and I genuinely have seen a difference in my skin since using it!

Avoid: La Roche-Posay Anthelios UVMune 400 Invisible Fluid SPF50+

Shop it here

Now I know this one is going to be VERY controversial… But this product just didn’t work for me. I love the texture of this SPF, which is why I said the Ambre Solaire SPF was a good dupe, because it’s super lightweight and has a high SPF. I believe it’s UVA is between 3 and 4, but for some reason they don’t state it on their packaging, but I think the ‘UVMUNE 400’ part of the name is the UV rating, but I’m not an expert so definitely could be wrong!! I just found this SPF really broke me out, my skin just didn’t like it at all and It’s also prettyyyy expensive if you ask me at £18 a bottle. I know so many people love it and I totally get why, but just wasn’t the SPF for me!

Charlotte’s Picks

Snog: La Roche-Posay Anthelios Ultra-Light Invisible Fluid SPF30

Shop it here

I recently picked this up in Boots as it is was on offer and worked out about £8 cheaper than my favourite ‘marry’ product, and have been pleasantly surprised by how much I rate it! Don’t get me wrong, La Roche Posay is very well loved in the world of facial SPFs, but having been loyal to one product for so long I was reluctant to switch things up. I love how thin the formula of this SPF is and how easily it glides on to the skin- it feels quite watery in texture but almost instantly sinks in and dries down. One of the main ‘musts’ for me in an SPF is how it wears under make-up, and I have to say this one gets a big thumbs up from me! I would say it gathers a tiny bit on dry patches around my nose, but aside from that my foundation looks as good as normal and doesn’t appear oily or shiny throughout the day which I’ve found to be the case with some heavier sun screens.

Marry: The Body Shop Skin Defence Multi-Protection Lotion SPF 50+

Shop it here

Ahh, my holy grail! I can’t remember who recommended The Body Shop skincare and SPF range but I haven’t looked back since! This SPF formula is definitely more reminiscent of a moisturiser than La Roche Posay’s thinner formula, feeling thicker in texture, but absorbs similarly quickly and doesn’t leave my skin feeling oily or weighed down. I always powder my skin after foundation anyway, but as this formula is quite hydrating it is one that I feel does benefit from setting in place, which could be worth bearing in mind for those who don’t normally powder their face- especially in the heat of the summer! I find the slight tackiness when first applied makes a great base for make-up, and most importantly it doesn’t break me out, which can be common with SPF! My skin always feels fully protected when using this sunscreen and I never have to worry about burning with it on- I rave about it all the time!

Avoid: Skin Defence Multi-Protection Face Mist SPF30 PA++

Shop it here

Now this mist may be branded as the same Body Shop SPF as above in spray form, but in my opinion there are some big differences that mean it’s currently gathering dust at the back of my skincare collection. I bought this mist as a means of keeping my SPF topped up when wearing make-up, and had really high hopes for how it would allow me to carry on rocking my Nars Sheer Glow in the summer months whilst safely protecting my skin. Unfortunately it’s near impossible to use, as the stinging that happens around your eyes (even when shut) and lips when you mist it over your face is simply too much for me to ever reach for it. The scent of the spray is also super strong and chemical-y in my opinion, and gets right up in your nostrils from the first spritz. I find it sits as an oily layer on top of my make-up and doesn’t sink in properly, but more than anything the issue remains that my eyes will be burning on and off for the rest of the day. In its defence I do think it does a good job of keeping my skin protected in the sun, and if you can get past the sensations mentioned above it may be one for you, but personally I don’t find the experience of applying it a pleasant one and won’t be repurchasing.

Danielle’s Picks

Snog: Ren Clean Skin Clean Screen Mineral SPF30

Shop it here.

I’m one of those people who do not use SPF as much as I know I should, rarely putting it on under make-up and only using it when it’s actively hot and sunny outside so take my reviews with a pinch of salt! For my ‘snog’ I’m hooking up with this Ren SPF 30, Ren skincare is absolutely lovely and their sunscreen follows suit. As this one is mattifying, it’s perfect for throwing on after moisturiser when I’m out in the garden or during the day on holiday as it combats my oily areas when I’m not applying powder. I wouldn’t marry this one only because I don’t like wearing it under foundation and let’s face it, I’m wearing foundation most of the time!

Marry: Supergoop! Glowscreen SPF 30

Shop it here

Supergoop, will you do me the honour of spending the rest of your life with me? I’ll sing this brand’s praises until the cows come home to be quite frank. Gloriously smooth, no stingy eyes, and the dewiest glowy base before putting make-up on. If you do one thing this summer invest in this bad boy.

Avoid: The Ordinary Mineral UV Filters SPF 15 With Antioxidants

Shop it here

Look you get what you pay for when it comes to most things and I’m afraid this sunscreen fits into that category. I love The Ordinary and the hyaluronic acid is a constant staple in my skincare wardrobe, but I’ve never been a big fan of their moisturisers. I bought this on a whim but it just didn’t do what it needs to do, it’s only 15 SPF which I’ve realised in my old age just isn’t enough for your face if you actually want to protect it. So now I like my SPF like I like my men – between 30 and 50 HA.

Hooray, we’ve reached the first Bank Holiday weekend since the New Year and feeling grateful for some time off doesn’t even cut it. With blossom on the trees, daffodils springing up here, there and everywhere and a sense of optimism in the air, the Easter Bank Holiday is often the first opportunity of the year when grabbing every picnic option insight in Tesco feels like a viable long weekend activity. Whether your calendar is looking more like bottomless brunch and Prosecco on ice at all times, a wander around a local food market with your parents, an Easter egg hunt with the kids, or a mixture of all of the above, keep scrolling for 10 long weekend events around the U.K to add something different to the first normal Easter we’ve seen in two years. Thank fudge for that!

Holkham Hall Food, Drink and Gifts Market

Holkham Hall, Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, NR23 1AB

Any excuse for a day dedicated to enjoying delicious artisanal food and drinks certainly has our ears pricking up, and what better location than the deliciously beautiful setting of Holkham Hall, Norfolk. From homemade jams, chutneys and cheeses to fresh bread, beers, ciders and spirits as well as gifts and crafts from some of the region’s most talented makers, you’ll be spoilt for choice in where to drop your £££ first. Including businesses like Truckle Cheese (drool worthy bloomer cheese toasties), Sin Bin (indulgent milkshakes and waffles), Duck Truck (Aromatic crispy duck wraps) and Phat Khao for Thai street food- arrive hungry, and prepare to be rolled back to the car. Running across the entire Bank Holiday weekend- Fri 15th- Sun 17th April 2022- entry for adults is £2 and £1 for children making it perfect for the whole family to attend without breaking the bank. 

Great Missenden Food Festival

Show Field, Off A413, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire HP16 9AE

A normal Easter for the first time in two years- what better time to pack every activity possible into one weekend?! Wine tasting, cheese sampling, pottery, live music, street food, an Easter egg hunt for the little ones, a designated charcuterie board area (say no more) and optional weekend camping- we’re sold! The Great Missenden Food Festival is a one-stop-shop for both couples, friends and families alike, whether you fancy taking part in a plant based cooking workshop,  a wander around the stalls of local sellers or even a unique murder mystery afternoon tea with celebrity chef Rosemary Shrager, there’s nothing short of something for everyone here. Purchase tickets in advance for a reduced price, with adults gaining entry for £7, seniors for £6, and children under 16 for free. For more information about admission and purchasing on the day, head to the official festival homepage. 

Sussex Downs Wine Pairing and Meal: Ridgeview Vineyard

Ridgeview Wine Estate, Ditchling Common, Fragbarrow Lane BN6 8TP

Seeking a more adult exclusive experience? Celebrate Easter with a tour of the beautiful Ridgeview Vineyard in the Sussex South Downs followed by a guided tasting with the vineyard’s top wine experts- anyone else drooling at the thought? Ridgeview is one of the only vineyards in England to focus solely on producing sparkling wines from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grape varieties, and have been doing so for over 25 years! Discover the beauty of the vineyard with Spring fully in swing and enjoy the luxury of a guided food and wine tasting with canapes carefully selected to match the three wines. Ninety minutes of pure bliss if you ask us! Venture home with another bottle under your arm and consider your Easter weekend complete. 

Easter ‘House Your Weekend’ DJ Event, Chelsea, London

The Chelsea Lodge Restaurant and Bar, 562 King’s Road, London, SW6 2DZ

Seeking a more upbeat bank holiday? Get yourself down to The Chelsea Lodge for their House Your Weekend event, featuring two floors of house music with over 300 other party lovers. Hangover and time of your life both guaranteed. The event also has the option to book a pre-drinks ticket, giving you 90 minutes of free flowing prosecco and cocktails, plus sharing platters of food to help soak it up if you have one too many of the aforementioned cocktails. With a mix of tropical, disco, deep and techno house, there’s something for everyone feeling in the mood to finally celebrate an Easter out of lockdown. Set against flower walls, and with perfect photo opportunities in the dreamy neon-lit pink bathroom, grab an early bird ticket for as little as £11 and shimmy the night away. 

Easter Monday Yoga and Vegan Supper Club, Manchester

Space at the Mill, Duke Street, Manchester, M3 4NF

Anddd let’s slow things down. A long weekend can be the ultimate excuse to purposefully slow down, taking time for some intentional breaths and offering a reset to your nervous system. If taking a dip out of normal life for a full three hours sounds like exactly what your mind and body are calling for this Easter, why not try out Sophie-Rae Martyn’s yoga masterclass, followed by an Ayurvedic inspired supper club. Find yourself in a state of deep peace following the asana practice and meditation, ready to enjoy an Ayurvedic (a healing lifestyle focused on the promotion of positive health through the balance of mind, body, and environment) inspired plant-based thali meal, made by vegan chef Aaron Reilly. Think big flavours and comfort in a bowl.

Finish the session with a warming cup of chai and some Easter chocolate and consider yourself reset. 

The Drag Brunch Of Dreams, Bristol

The Cloak & Dagger, 182-184 Cheltenham Road, Bristol, United Kingdom

What is a Bank Holiday without brunch, and this eggstravagant affair at Bristol’s Cloak and Dagger is one you won’t forget in a hurry. With a lineup of some of the city’s best performers, along with a complimentary glass of bubbly, games and activities galore, and of course a delicious brunch to enjoy with your besties, consider your Saturday plans secured. 

Located on Gloucester Road- known locally as Bristol’s Indie Shopping District- the Cloak and Dagger makes the perfect spot to then continue your bank holiday browsing the local independent shops, or lap up the excuse to let your hair down and continue popping a Prosecco or two with your ride or die pals. The event is pay-what-you-can, making it a more accessible option for your Easter weekend, with the venue also raising funds for Outspace- a new queer hub in the heart of Old Market- which you can opt to donate to when purchasing your tickets. Get ready to let your hair down!

Kew Gardens and a Perfectly Springtime Picnic, Richmond

Kew, Richmond, London, TW9 3AE

One for all the family and a celebration of the joy that is the U.K in spring, Kew Gardens makes for the perfect picnic and sharing board spot with something for all ages to enjoy. From the Rose Garden in which you can lap up views of the Palm House amongst beds of hundreds of roses, to the Mediterranean Garden in which you can spread out a picnic blanket amongst fragrant shrubs of lavender and rosemary, Kew offers the very best of the outdoors in one beautiful location. 

If you’re lucky you’ll catch sight of some of the beautiful blossoms in bloom around the grounds, as well as seasonal superstars like daffodils, and crocuses which have exploded in colourful bursts as the sun begins to shine that bit brighter. If preparing your own picnic isn’t your thing, there are plenty of options for food and drinks to purchase from spots including The Botanical Brasserie, Orangery restaurant and new Family Kitchen offering everything from stone baked pizza to an ice cream servery. Sign us up!

Iford Manor Gardens and Cafe, Wiltshire

Iford Manor, nr. Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, BA15 2BA

If a long weekend wouldn’t be complete without a stately home and opportunity to breathe in some fresh, country air then consider a trip to Iford Manor a rite of passage this bank holiday. Set within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, their Grade 1 registered garden is a beautiful mix of architecture and the rural valley views, described as ‘food for the soul’ and comparable to ‘stepping into another world’- anyone else itching to visit ASAP? Today’s owners, the Cartwright-Hignett family, have lovingly restored the garden (once thought ‘lost’ after WW2) continuing to develop it, and finish off the beautiful Oriental Garden area. If you fancy stretching your legs, there are three miles of footpaths across the estate that can be enjoyed all year round, allowing you to get back to nature and soak in the natural, unspoilt beauty.

The Iford Manor cafe is normally closed on Mondays, however will be open from 11am-4pm this Bank Holiday Monday to offer a welcome bite to eat after enjoying all that the estate has to offer. Now all that’s left to decide is which order to spread your jam and cream onto your scone…

Farnham Community Farm’s Easter Extravaganza

Farnham Community Farm, Tongham Road, Runfold, GU10 1PH.

Another outdoorsy affair, this time for adults and children alike, Farnham Community Farm is running an Easter Extravaganza event welcoming members of the community to experience the ins and outs of the veg growing world. With activities including an easter egg hunt, beehive tours, honey tasting, cookie decorating and education about the farm and seasonal growing, it makes for the perfect day out for those seeking a way to keep little ones entertained over a long weekend. Food is available in the form of home cooked lunches, including cakes and pizza cooked in the farm’s very own pizza oven!

Entry is donate-what-you-feel starting at £1, however after being hit hard by the impact of Storm Eunice, the farm are hoping to raise funds to offset the costs they have faced after an already difficult two years. Head down from 11am-3pm on Bank Holiday Monday to support this wonderful cause. 

Beaulieu River Canoeing and Easter Egg Hunt, Hampshire

Bailey’s Hard, Bailey’s Hard Lane, Beaulieu, Hampshire, SO42 7YF

Based in the beautiful New Forest? 1) we are jealous and 2) your Easter Bank Holiday just got seriously more fun. Enjoy a guided paddle along the Beaulieu River in Canadian style canoes, taking in the beautiful scenery before disembarking with kids in tow for an Easter egg hunt in seriously scenic surroundings. This two hour affair is suitable for all ages and with no experience required, you can rest assured that there’s nothing to prepare for this escape into nature. Out of office mode, 100% activated. 

Cecily Wong, adventure journalist with a slightly questionable mountaineering success rate, is taking on a near-impossible challenge in order to secure a once-in-a-lifetime story that could see her writing career skyrocket. Enter, Mount Manaslu. The eighth highest mountain in the world, measuring over 8,000 metres above sea level, it’s an intense challenge for the mind and body of even the most capable climbers, so how will Cecily fair amongst her new team when things start to go wrong before they’ve even made it to base camp?

There’s a theft. Then an accident. Then a mysterious note, pinned to her tent: there’s a murderer on the mountain. The higher they get, the more dangerous the climb becomes, and the more they need to trust one another. And that’s when Cecily finds the first body…

Still catching your breath? Us too. This March Team Zoella dove headfirst into Amy McCulloch’s first adult thriller release, and boy oh boy are we still thinking about it now. Known around these parts as co-author of our very own Zoe Sugg’s Magpie Society Duology, Amy is the queen of evocative, tension building writing, and if you’re seeking a book you won’t be able to put down, let it be Breathless.

Despite its cool, snowy setting, Breathless makes for perfect summer getaway reading when pure escapism is the aim, although we can’t promise you won’t have finished it before the plane even lands. Keep reading to see what Team Zoella thought, and spoiler: we’re obsessed…

Charlotte’s Review

I need to know if there’s a part 2 to Breathless IMMEDIATELY. This book was everything I hoped it would be and more upon reading the blurb, and I’m so glad it lived up to my expectations of Amy as an incredible writer who loves an unsuspecting twist and strong characters you feel deeply invested in. Had we not been reading for book club I probably wouldn’t have been drawn to a book based around mountaineering as it’s not something I felt was especially relatable to me, but not only am I now inspired to get climbing (genuinely went to mountaineering TikTok after finishing the book) but also really enjoyed this unique setting for a thriller that as we find out, does in fact make the perfect place for a murder.

I struggled at the start of the book to remember exactly which character was which as a lot of Cecily’s climbing team were introduced at once, however the further I got into the book the more I was able to differentiate and felt a definitive connection to them, especially Elise and Zak! I sped through Breathless super quickly which is rare for me as a chronically slow reader, but I honestly couldn’t put it down as each chapter revealed another twist in the tale and deeper level to the mystery.

I found myself rooting for (almost) the whole mountaineering team throughout, and Amy did an incredible job of conveying the trust and teamwork integral to climbing with a group, making the threat of a member with ulterior motives even more terrifying! I have to say I don’t love a book that ends on a cliffhanger and wished there had been a tiny teaser about what was to come (if there will be a sequel that is!) but I absolutely raced through the last couple of chapters before bed one night and struggled to sleep because I couldn’t stop thinking about it!

I’ll definitely be running straight to Waterstones next time Amy publishes something new as I find her writing style super digestible and her characters really well built out.

Rating: 5/5
Would you recommend it? Yes!

Lareese’s Review

Admittedly, I’m not an avid reader of the murder mystery/thriller genre but I’ve got to hand it to Amy, Breathless sucked me in and spat me out just like the very mountain it was based upon, serving as a reminder that good things can come from stepping out of your reading comfort zone once in a while. It features a fantastic cast of fully realised characters that get under your skin and cloud your judgement throughout. As the protagonist, Cecily Wong, continually questions who can be trusted and who can’t, the reader makes a similarly precarious summit alongside her.

The setting is the perfect killing ground for a thriller novel, with the mountain playing just as much of a role in this story as the rest of the characters. One minute it’s a stunning Instagram-worthy setting, the next it’s the ideal place for a murderer to hide. Amy’s mountaineering knowledge and personal experience absolutely shines through, giving the story a terrifying dose of realism and authenticity without getting in the way of the story. I knew nothing about mountaineering life before Breathless and really enjoyed learning about how they push their bodies to their limits in the acclimatisation processes and how much they have to prepare themselves for danger.

In true McCulloch style, Breathless ends on a cliff-hanger which I only hope means she is clipping into the safety lines as we speak and making her next adult fiction move… here’s hoping!

Rating: 4/5
Would you recommend it? Yes – ‘Be Bothered’ by Breathless.

Darcey’s Review

Thrillers are right up my street so I was excited to get stuck into Amy’s newest book! Having read The Magpie Society, I was aware of Amy’s writing techniques and a fan of them too, but this being her first novel out of the YA realm, I was intrigued to see what that would be like!

Amy did a great job at describing mountaineering techniques, especially for someone like me who has not a clue about that world, it really benefited the read having some level of understanding of what they were facing. The setting of the book is really quite breathtaking, you can imagine the incredible views whilst climbing, but it sets a scary and ominous scene too which gave me literal goosebumps at times.

It’s a thriller and ‘whodunnit’ read, I was engrossed throughout, with strange deaths which seemed unexplained, you knew something much darker was happening! The characters really make this book, there are a lot of crew members in this climb so you might find it takes some time to remember all their names, but it really does play such an integral part.

That cliffhanger too!! I felt breathless knowing I couldn’t find out more …

Rating: 4/5
Would you recommend it?: Yes!

Danielle’s Review

SO, I actually really enjoy the extreme sport/climbing space, I adored the documentary Free Solo ( Alex Honnold on his quest to perform a free solo climb of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park) and as soon as 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible came on Netflix I sat down to watch it. The docu follows Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja and his team as they attempt to climb all 14 eight-thousander peaks within a record time of under 7 months. Not 3 days later I was watching Amy’s IG story and realised she had actually ascended one of the mountains with him and had also written a new fiction inspired by mountain climbing so it was definitely one of those “when two of my worlds collide” moments and I couldn’t wait to tuck into breathless.

The novel itself DID not disappoint and is the absolute epitome of the phrase page-turner. Journalist Cecily Wong made such a great character to follow through this thrilling pursuit with climber Charles, and Amy’s descriptions of the icy crevices and situations the climbers find themselves in we’re so emotive, my hands were sweating just reading them! This survival story was so gripping, I kept switching between characters I thought were suspects or guilty and I couldn’t wait to find out more. For anyone who thinks the subject matter might not intrigue them the murder mystery definitely will!

Rating: 5/5
Would you recommend it? I’ve already given it to my sister to read!

YouTuber, Podcast Host and Author, Hannah Witton has been living with ulcerative colitis (UC), a form of inflammatory bowel disease, since she was seven years old. In 2018, after a particularly severe flare up, she had emergency ileostomy surgery to remove her colon and divert the small intestine through an opening in the stomach. She now lives with a stoma she affectionately calls Mona. 

It is estimated that one in 500 people in the UK are living with stomas (Colostomy UK) yet despite how many people are affected by colostomy, ileostomy or urostomy, there’s not a great deal of information available unless you really go digging for it and that lack of education, coupled with the stigma and shame around talking about it, means many of us don’t know the first thing about this hidden disability. 

Known for speaking openly about taboo topics and having honest conversations about sex and relationships on her podcast Doing It, Hannah’s willingness to talk candidly about the condition and using a stoma bag in her day to day life has helped hundreds of ostomates feel seen, understood and empowered. 

Now expecting her first baby, Hannah chats to us about her pregnancy so far, from birth plans to new bags and monitoring Mona… 

P.S To all those with stomas, IBD, scars and stories to tell, your body is beautiful. Long may you celebrate it and talk about it with openness, acceptance and pride. 

First up, so many congratulations Hannah! How are you feeling? 

Thank you so much! I’m currently feeling pretty good which I am very grateful for. I’m just very tired and hungry all the time but I can handle that.  

There is little information around pregnancy with a stoma, how has the experience been for you so far? 

Oh boy has it been an experience. Things are much calmer now (although that could change again…) but for a few weeks my stoma must have gone through some kind of growth spurt and I was trying to navigate that with getting bigger bags and different kinds of bags to fit my new stoma. Luckily the stoma nurse at my hospital has been so helpful but I just wasn’t expecting it to grow so fast and there can be a lot of trial and error with finding the right bag. There was a short period where I was in a lot of pain with my stoma and also just feeling like the bags weren’t very securely attached to my body, which just makes being able to relax and get on with your life really difficult.   

Did you have any reservations or concerns going into the pregnancy? What were your expectations? 

I honestly went into pregnancy with so few expectations. I knew that people’s experiences varied so vastly that there was really no way to predict how my pregnancy would go. I’ve very much been taking each day and everything as it comes. 

Whilst it’s definitely not been the easiest time, at least I haven’t had to deal with feeling disappointed that it wasn’t what I expected on top of that.  

Is there anything you have to be particularly mindful of / do differently to pregnancy with a stoma?

When we first saw the midwife, I was immediately referred to the obstetrics team at my hospital so the doctors could keep an eye on me too. The stoma itself isn’t really an issue for the pregnancy (the pregnancy is more of an issue for the stoma!) but I’d say the main thing is that because I don’t have a large colon the medical team want to make sure I’m absorbing enough nutrients to grow the baby. I’ve had to take a much higher dose of folic acid to make sure I’m absorbing enough, I’m also on iron and I’m having serial scans so they can check the growth of the baby more accurately than a tape measure around the tummy. And I’m not mad about any of those things at all! I feel very looked after and very grateful for more scans! 

What’s your birthing plan and what sort of delivery do you plan on having? Are there any dos and don’ts/limitations for childbirth/pregnancy when you have a stoma? 

At first the doctors were considering recommending I have an elective C-section (scheduled) because of my previous surgeries and the risks of potentially finding scar tissue on my womb if I have to have an emergency C-section – there is much more control of the situation if the C-section is planned.  

However, since then, they’ve seen me more and also spoken to my gastro consultant (who was very chilled about the whole thing and didn’t see any reason why I couldn’t have a vaginal birth) the obstetricians have said they’re happy to recommend a vaginal birth. 

But it is still completely up to me. The current plan is to give birth at the birth centre, which is the midwife led unit at my hospital.  However my birth plan may change with more information we receive from the serial scans that I am having. And I am open to all options. 

The only thing that could add an extra layer to the birth when you have a stoma is if I have an epidural. I would then need someone else, whether the midwives or my partner Dan, to empty my stoma bag for me when it gets full, as I will be unable to do this.

All births and bodies are different but in terms of postpartum recovery, does having a stoma affect the recovery period at all? 

That’s all a bit of an unknown for me and the best thing to do is play it by ear really. What I imagine will happen is that after birth before I’m discharged the stoma nurse at the hospital will come to see me and take a look at my belly and stoma and see if they need to give me any different bags to go home with. And then it’s just a case monitoring my stoma for changes again (if it does) making adjustments as we go. 

How do you deal with people asking you about pregnancy with a stoma if you’re not comfortable talking about it?

To be honest the only questions I get about it are from close friends and family who know I have a stoma and so I’m not bothered by them asking at all. Of course, I get comments from people online about it which is fine too as I talk openly about my stoma and my pregnancy and I just tell them I’m planning on doing a whole video about it. 

When strangers notice I’m pregnant and maybe ask questions about that, they’ve no idea I have a stoma and so obviously don’t ask! 

What’s something reassuring you’d like anyone going through pregnancy with a stoma to know?

Whilst obviously every pregnancy is different I found it reassuring when my gastro doctors said to me that having a stoma doesn’t automatically mean I can’t have a “normal” pregnancy and birth. What even is “normal” anyway?

And for any mums who might need a temporary/permanent colostomy after childbirth, what’s something you’d like them to know?

It can be a lot to adjust to, especially if it was an emergency surgery like mine was, but ultimately having a stoma doesn’t stop you from living your life. There’s loads of support out there (online and in hospitals – all the stoma nurses I’ve met have been incredible) and you’d be surprised how resilient you are. 

From sad girl lit with razor-sharp observations on love and loss to the ultimate feel-good fiction from the serotonin queen, Beth O’Leary (she basically invented book joy) and a lovesong to black art and thought from a powerful new voice, here’s what books we’re excited to read for Zoella book club in April, May and June.

April – What A Shame by Abigail Bergstrom 

Perfect for fans of Dolly Alderton and Fleabag, What A Shame is the impeccable debut from an exciting new voice in contemporary women’s fiction. In this dark, poignant but ultimately hopeful novel, we follow 20-something protagonist Mathilda Mannings as she navigates sudden heartbreak, parental loss, trauma and above all, self-acceptance. Tipped to be the book of 2022, What A Shame marks Abigail’s switch from agent to author, and a certified powerhouse we’re only too glad to see on our bookshelves. 

The Blurb: 

She doesn’t want to admit it, but there’s something wrong with Mathilda Manning. It’s not just that she’s been wearing the same pair of black dungarees for three months straight, or that she can’t seem to stop running, or that she’s once again sleeping with the deeply inappropriate Freddie. 

Cast into the grief of a brutal break up and the death of her father, she’s not moving on. Her friends are adamant she needs a helping hand, flinging her towards various spiritual practices in a quest for healing. But buried memories won’t stay that way forever, and it’s time Mathilda faces up to her past. 

Through darkly glittering satire, the novel rattles a hornets’ nest of inherited trauma and the prickly heat of female pain in our modern world. 

Purchase the book from bookshop.org here!

May – The No Show by Beth O’Leary 

Category is: pure escapism. 

From the best-selling author of The Switch and The Flatshare comes a new uplifting page turner, perfect for  those balmy spring-summer days. Fresh, brilliantly funny, heart-breaking and joyful in equal measure, The No Show is about dating (and waiting) and the ways love can find us…

A superbly plotted tearjerker with that trademark O’Leary warmth we stan in a major fan girl way – we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, Beth O’Leary’s novels *need* to be prescribed. 

The Blurb: 

Three women. Three dates. One missing man…

8.52 a.m. Siobhan’s been looking forward to her breakfast date with Joseph. She was surprised when he suggested it – she normally sees him late at night in her hotel room. Breakfast with Joseph on Valentine’s Day surely means something… so where is he?

2.43 p.m. Miranda’s hoping that a Valentine’s Day lunch with Carter will be the perfect way to celebrate her new job. It’s a fresh start and a sign that her grown-up life is finally falling into place: she’s been dating Carter for five months now and things are getting serious. But why hasn’t he shown up?

6.30 p.m. Joseph Carter agreed to be Jane’s fake boyfriend at a colleague’s engagement party. They’ve not known each other long but their friendship is fast becoming the brightest part of her new life in Winchester. Joseph promised to save Jane tonight. But he’s not here…

Meet Joseph Carter. That is, if you can find him.

Purchase the book from bookshop.org here!

June – Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson 

“It’s one thing to be looked at and another to be seen.”

An ode to black expression, Open Water is a short debut novel of rare artistic and emotional scope. 

A modern love story set in South East London about two young black British artists who meet perchance in a bar and have an instant and immediate connection. Both are trying to make their mark in a city that both celebrates and rejects them – a world where they’re so often afraid to live let alone dare to fall in love. 

Expect elegant refrains, poetic prose interspersed with Kendrick Lamar lyrics and a powerful meditation on art, love and blackness. Caleb Azumah Nelson is a new voice but sure to be an enduring one. 

The blurb: 

Two young people meet at a pub in South East London. Both are Black British, both won scholarships to private schools where they struggled to belong, both are now artists – he a photographer, she a dancer – trying to make their mark in a city that by turns celebrates and rejects them. Tentatively, tenderly, they fall in love. But two people who seem destined to be together can still be torn apart by fear and violence.

At once an achingly beautiful love story and a potent insight into race and masculinity, Open Water asks what it means to be a person in a world that sees you only as a Black body, to be vulnerable when you are only respected for strength, to find safety in love, only to lose it. With gorgeous, soulful intensity, Caleb Azumah Nelson has written the most essential British debut of recent years.

Purchase the book from bookshop.org here!

Gone are the days of uncomfortable and unsightly shapewear that you’d be forgiven for hiding at the back of your underwear drawer, since the likes of Kim Kardashian entered the space with her groundbreaking brand Skims, shapewear and sculpting underwear has had a serious makeover.

Whether it be bodysuits that sculpt your figure under a skintight dress or high rise briefs that provide extra support on the occasions when feeling your best is top of the agenda, there are endless high-street to high-end offerings that appear virtually undetectable under your favourite ‘fits. The best outcomes come from strong foundations, and here we consider our trusty shapewear to be the ultimate underpinning. More where that came from please! And FYI: shapewear shouldn’t be painful or contort our bodies in a way that encourages us to believe there’s something about us that needs to change. We’re here for style, comfort, confidence and support only!

Bodysuits

Shapewear Briefs and Thongs 

Shorts 

Backless and Adhesive Bras

*This post contains ad-affiliate links

Spring is waiting in the wings, people. The birds are a’chirping, the daffs are blooming and the skies have finally got a bit more colour in their cheeks. What a difference two long years makes.  

Go forth and claim those posi vibes! Here’s 20 things to do in the month of pisstakes, pranks and soaring temps (manifesting it) and not one of them requires watching Episode 4 of Brand New Cherry Flavour. It’s a hard pass on Tadpole Smoothie thanks. 

1. Spend 3-5 working days recovering from April Fool’s Day. 

2. Find yourself talking like Anna Delvey. I do not have time for this. I do not have time for YOU. 

3. Fall down a rabbit hole of asking yourself why Maltesers out the box are superior in taste and experience vs the bag. 

4. Eat a hot cross bun out of principal. The marmite ones = God-tier. We won’t hear otherwise.

5. Realise that you can only ever be expected to be a nice person if it’s sunny.

6. Read What A Shame by Abigail Bergstrom. The debut of all time and our Zoella book club pick for April dontchaknow. 

7. Feel violently ill when you don’t get time to do Wordle before work. 

8. Thank past you for booking a week off before the BH weekend. You will be the envy of all your colleagues. Big whoop. 

9. Begrudge past you for forgetting to book that week off. Countdown to the jubilee weekend is on. 

10. Form a love/hate relationship with Heardle. The lyrical version of Wordle. You’ll see. 

11. Marvel at the hold Cadbury’s have on you at this time of year. They have you in a Creme Egg chokehold. 

12. Declare yourself your own Uncuh Jaahmz muse. 

13. Eat your lunch outside because it’s just about warm enough to do that now. Bare arms season has arrived. What a novelty. 

14. Get your first pedicure of the season…

15. See how long you can last before apologising for the state of your feet. 

16. Wonder when your mum and dad decided you’d hit an age when buying you Easter eggs was no longer part of their parental requirements. Family drama ensues. 

17. Realise you spent the last 5 years cultivating an Instagram following before TikTok destroyed that dream and now you have to learn how to make videos. Social media is so fun. 

18. Try not to get overwhelmed at the sheer cost of breathing in 2022. 

19. Fail (obviously) because the very act of existing is exorbitant. 

20. Expect a visit from: The Fear. We need a hard factory reset after that Bank Holiday hangover. 

If ever there was an ideal way to get your five a day, then this has got to be it. We have officially peaked at pineapple dildos, folks. 2022, you’re a real grafter, you are.

For years, the magical mysteries of this fragrant fruit have fascinated humans all over the globe. From supercharging semen and changing the flavour profile of our vagina juice, it’s a tropical temptress with sweet talents aplenty, including turning oral sex into a goddam bodily banquet. Anyone for rice pudding?

It was only a matter of time before someone took the nation’s pineapple obsession and ran with it. And here we are, after eight years in the making, at the precipice of greatness – or a guaranteed trip to A+E – fondling a prototype of the world’s first pineapple-shaped sex toy.

Naturally, logistics were top of our mind.

The office was abuzz with a chorus of who, what, hows but never ones to shy away from uncomfortable topics, self-pleasure and new-fangled ways of securing an orgasm, we knew we were the women for the job. The weirder the better, if you ask us. Hey, if a spinning wheel of fake tongues already exists, then a pineapple dildo isn’t all that wild. Right?

Here’s what happened when we tried the world’s first pineapple-shaped sex toy…

Lareese says…

Now, going into this ‘We Tried’, I had my doubts. A pineapple doesn’t exactly scream compatible-with-vagina after all but hey, maybe I need to be more open minded. Perhaps most people look at them when they’re doing their food shop and think, now there’s a fruit I’d like to tap. I’ve never once looked at a pineapple, with all its barbed armour, and thought yep, that would make a good vibrator but maybe I’m the villain?

As sex toy aesthetics go, you could proudly display this on your bedside table or bar cart and house guests wouldn’t suspect a thing whilst they’re pouring themselves a porn star martini. Evidently, everything comes in a pineapple shape these days, so you wouldn’t have to worry about anyone sussing out your yoni décor. Major plus.

I’ve decided to park it for another time. When I’m not so in my head about it. Possibly a bit drunk. And it’s not April Fool’s Day.

Amy McCulloch is the co-author of the #1 YA bestselling novel The Magpie Society: One for Sorrow (alongside Zoella founder, Zoe Sugg), and has written seven solo novels for children and young adults. She’s also an outdoorsy force to be reckoned with. 

When she’s not writing, she can be found travelling, hiking and mountaineering and in September 2019, she became the youngest Canadian woman to climb Mt Manaslu in Nepal – the world’s eighth highest mountain at 8,163m (26,781ft). If you’ve already finished Breathless for this month’s book club, you’ll know all about the perils of that particular summit!

Best known for her YA books, Breathless marks her debut into the world of adult thrillers in what is arguably her most daring fictional outing to date. Here, Amy combines her own experience climbing Mount Manaslu with a chilly and addictive murder mystery that’s sure to leave you recording frantic voice notes to your pals in the middle of the night, willing them to read it at once. 

From the books waiting on her tbr pile to her writing process (she really can write anywhere) and mountainside epiphanies, we caught up with Amy to see how 2022 is treating her and what’s next on her bucket list of adrenalin-filled adventures and big bookish peaks, yet to climb…

Congratulations on the debut of your first adult fiction book! As your first venture into the genre, how different was the writing experience compared with that of writing children’s books and YA? 

Thank you! I didn’t find the writing experience that different, as young adult books are similar in length to adult novels and just as rich and complex! But it was nerve-wracking branching out into the very crowded Crime/Thriller market and I knew that avid readers of crime expect gripping books with twists that really deliver – I focused a lot on trying to get it right (I hope I did!)

How much of your personal mountain-climbing experience makes it into the book? Have you ever had a near death experience whilst mountaineering?!

I brought a lot of my personal experience to the mountain – I was taking a lot of notes while I was climbing and even sat down to write in the Death Zone! I was lucky though to have a much smoother expedition than Cecily, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t have its dangers. Like many mountaineers, I discovered that the most dangerous part of any climb is the way down. After making the summit, I was thrilled – but also exhausted, having climbed throughout the night. On the way down, I was on my own (my Sherpa had been called off to help with a rescue), tired, keen to get to base camp quickly and… I slipped. I wasn’t able to stop myself using any of the self-arrest techniques I had practiced. I was tumbling out of control. Thank god, I had remembered to clip into the safety line. Eventually the line caught and I was able to come to a stop. It was a huge lesson in respecting the mountain – just because I’d made the summit, didn’t mean I was safe yet. 

We have to ask, is Charles’ character based on Nirmal Purja? 

While Charles is attempting to break a world record like Nims, that’s where the character similarities stop! I based Charles more on the famous white male mountaineers – people like Reinhold Messner and Ueli Steck – who have climbed these massive peaks. Breathless isn’t semi-autobiographical as it is most definitely fiction, but of course, I drew from my own experience. Climbing with Nims on Project Possible for his #14Peaks challenge was great – it felt like I was at the forefront of mountaineering history. He’s highly motivating as a leader, and helped to pull me out of some real down moments at camp where I wasn’t sure if I could continue. At the time I signed up to climb with him on Aconcagua in 2018, I didn’t know what a global superstar he would turn out to be – but it was obvious from being on his team that he operates at an extremely high level, while also being a lot of fun, and that was inspiring.

We know from talking to you about The Magpie Society that you love writing the dark and gritty stuff. Have you always wanted to write a high-stakes adult thriller and when did the jumping-off point for Breathless first come to you?

To be honest, I thought I would always write for children and young adults. It wasn’t until I got to the base camp that I realised the setting was perfect for an adult thriller. The isolation of the camp, the danger of the mountain, plus a whole camp full of strangers – it seemed made for a scary, thrilling story. But it would be difficult for those characters to be teenagers, so I decided to have a go at writing my first book for adults!

The mountain feels like a main character in the book. You nailed the atmosphere! What came to you first, the murder mystery element or the remote snowbound setting? 

Oh, definitely the setting! I had no idea about the plot when I was on the mountain – that all came after. But I did a lot of journaling, recording my own personal experience on the mountain, so I could bring that to the novel. The murder mystery I came up with during lockdown.

How was the research side of things for the book? You already have heaps of experience and personal material to draw on but was there anything you had to do your homework on to make for an authentic and accurate story? 

A lot! Even though I have experience with mountaineering, I’m still only one point of view. I wanted to make the whole thing feel real, so I did a lot of research while building up the back story of each character. I also read up on my mountaineering history and literature, especially controversies in mountain records. So reading accounts by people like Reinhold Messner, Jon Krakauer and Bonita Norris was fascinating. 

How long did it take you to write it?

It took me about five months in total to write once I knuckled down to it! 

*Team Zoella fall off their chairs in admiration at this point*

It sounds like you’ve really got summit fever. Do you have any other challenges on your bucket list you want to tick off, mountaineering or otherwise? 

Because of lockdown, I’ve shifted my goals a bit closer to home – though I did manage to get out to the Alps to climb Mont Blanc. My next “summit” is actually to complete an ultra marathon – as I’m writing this, I’m preparing to set off for the Marathon des Sables, a 250km ultra marathon through the Sahara desert. By the time this has been posted, I may have completed it … or maybe not! 

What’s your writing process like? Are you a meticulous plotter or more of a pantser? 

I’m mostly a pantser. I do generally have an idea of where I want the plot to go, especially the ending, but otherwise I let the characters lead. I didn’t even know who the killer was until I got to that bit of the writing process!  

What was it about the Death Zone that you found particularly inspiring when you were writing? 

I think it’s because it’s one of the few places on Earth where life isn’t sustainable – every second you spend in the Death Zone, your body is breaking down. I wanted to try to translate that experience to the page, because it’s naturally thrilling and terrifying. Yet it’s also one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Watching the sunset slowly illuminate the world, turning marshmallow clouds pink, orange and purple, as the tips of gigantic mountains lit up – beneath me – was incredible. I know it’s a rare privilege to get to see that, and it doesn’t get more inspirational than that.

In September 2019, you became the youngest Canadian woman to climb Mt Manaslu in Nepal. What an achievement! As the world’s eighth highest peak, that’s no mean feat – when did you decide you had to climb Manaslu and complete the challenge? 

Thank you so much! I actually was asked to climb Manaslu by Nims Dai (Nirmal Purja, mentioned above), as part of his Project Possible team. It felt like the chance to witness mountaineering history unfold in front of my eyes, and so it felt like an unmissable opportunity. I had no real expectation that I would reach the summit myself – I wanted to give it my best shot, but it seemed like something way out of my mountaineering league! But under the guidance of Nims and Mingma David (the other expedition leader), I made it – showing me that I was more capable than I ever could have imagined.

What’s been the most random thought, moment of clarity or epiphany you’ve had whilst up a mountain? 

There’s a phrase that I actually put in the book: “Be Bothered”. It was one of my mantras on the mountain. I had to be bothered to fix issues the moment they arose – if I felt thirsty, I took a drink; if I had a wrinkle in my sock, I stopped to smooth it out before it could become a blister; I was always bothered to clip into the safety line even when I couldn’t see any danger. Remembering to do all the little things kept me alive on the mountain, but when you’re so tired and drained, it can feel like a chore. I feel like it’s something I’ve applied to my non-mountaineering life too. It’s been good practice to always try and be bothered, to check in with myself and with the people I care about. You never know when it could save a life.

Cecily Wong, the main character in Breathless, struggles with imposter syndrome. How do you deal with moments of doubt and feelings of inadequacy in your career? Writing and getting published can be a real journey can’t it? 

It really can. That’s definitely something I’ve faced in my own career and on the mountain too. I think two things really help: one is remembering that it’s totally normal to feel like an imposter when you’re striving to reach new heights (literally or metaphorically!). It means you’re challenging yourself. And secondly, I really find it helps me to keep a list of things I’ve accomplished that I’m proud of. It doesn’t have to be big things – like reaching the summit or getting a publishing deal. It can be small too. Like a great comment on the manuscript from a beta reader, or reaching the next camp on the mountain. It’s so easy to let the negative thoughts dominate, that it can help me to have a physical reminder of the good things I’ve done too.

How do you combat writer’s block? The physical onward push of a climb makes for quite a nice metaphor for writing, actually. How much do your two greatest passions complement one another? 

If there’s one thing mountaineering and writing have in common, it’s resilience! If you watch my video The Story Behind Breathless, I talk a lot about how the two pursuits complement each other. There are no shortcuts in writing – to be honest, to combat writer’s block, I have to tell myself that the only way forward is to get my butt in that chair and try to write. The muse works for me, not the other way around! But if it’s really not happening, then I don’t worry too much about writing in chronological order. I try to write a scene that I’m excited about. Anything that gets me back in the writing mood and a few hundred words toward my goal!

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever had? 

Read, read, read! And not just the classics of the genre. If you want to write YA, it’s no good to just read Twilight and the Hunger Games, you have to read what’s out there right now – the debut novelists, the best sellers, the under the radar hits – so you can see where your writing fits in the market. 

What’s on your TBR pile right now? 

Since I’ve been so busy training for the Marathon des Sables, I’ve barely had any time to read! But top of my teetering TBR pile are some brilliant crime/thrillers like Deep Water by Emma Bamford and A Stranger on Board by Cameron Ward. On the YA side, I’m really looking forward to reading Twin Crowns by Katherine Webber and Catherine Doyle!

A book you can’t wait to read in 2022…

I loved The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse so I can’t wait to read her second novel, The Retreat! 

If picturing a library conjures up an image of a damp and dusty extension of your former primary school, be prepared to have your mind changed for good after scrolling through these impressive, striking and downright beautiful spaces, so good you might want to consider travelling to all 8…

From Switzerland to Prague, New York to Madrid, there’s certainly no shortage of impressive booky buildings dating back further than is oftentimes comprehensible. Housing both original and modern works, these libraries are not only architecturally impressive, but are also no doubt inspiring a new generation of art, history and culture fanatics to fall in love both with their stunning interiors and act as a reminder of the universal, centuries-spanning joy that comes from seeing a collection of books together. Whether it be works of history, religion, art or pure fiction, keep scrolling to see 8 of the most impressive libraries in the world:

Abbey Library of Saint Gall, St. Gallen, Switzerland

Forget the seven wonders of the world, say hello instead to the Abbey Library of Saint Gall in Switzerland.  Be prepared to be swept off your feet by one of Europe’s oldest libraries (the earliest evidence of a library collection on the site dates back to around 820 CE!) , and a ceiling so dreamy you’d be forgiven (perhaps not by library security) for lying down to admire it. Even from early on in the Abbey and adjoining library’s history the site was known for its collection of illuminated manuscripts and writings, and became a leading centre for science and Western culture around the 10th century. 

In the mid-18th century the world-renowned collection was moved to a new library space and decorated in a Baroque rococo style that can still be admired to this day, and its elaborate ceiling artworks give the space an ethereal and magical energy making it a must visit for history, book and art lovers alike. Above the entrance to the library you’ll find a Greek inscription which translates as “pharmacy of the soul”- the monks who founded the library considered books as medicine for the spirit, and that we won’t certainly disagree with that!

FYI: Sadly photography isn’t permitted inside the library, but you can visit on guided tours and use this digital detox as an opportunity to step back in time and lap up its two floors of majestic beauty. 

George Peabody Library, Baltimore, USA

Accidentally Wes Anderson in library form, the George Peabody Library is a feast for the eyes, with its beautifully pleasing symmetry, five stories of cast iron balconies housing its book collection, and 61-foot-high atrium flooding the space with natural light. The library contains 300,000 books in total, mainly from the 19th century and focusing on religion, architecture, topography, American history, and literature, exploration, and travel. 

The Library was first established in 1857 when successful Baltimore merchant George Peabody pledged $300,000 as an investment for a cultural centre to be named the Peabody Institute. The Institute was set to open in 1860, but the onset of the American Civil War pushed construction back six years- and boy was it worth the wait. Designed by architect Edmund G. Lind, the library is renowned for its striking interior and takes inspiration from Roman and Greek architecture- a style known as Neoclassicism. 

The details of the library’s design really set it apart as a work of art, with Lind incorporating flowerlike embellishments into the railings and painting them grey to replicate stone as means of safely creating a structure that could house 300,000 flammable objects lit by gas lamps. Take a 360° tour of the library here and imagine walking its vast shelves in search of a magical work of fiction. 

The Royal Portuguese Reading Room, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Library porn, aka The Royal Portuguese Reading Room- be prepared to be wowed! The cathedral-like reading room has a stained-glass dome and wooden shelves as far as the eye can see, housing nearly 400,000 volumes in total, including rare editions dating back nearly 500 years.

The idea of creating the library came from a group of 43 Portuguese immigrants who wanted to spread culture and literature among the Portuguese communities living in Brazil and to this day remains of immense cultural value to the Portuguese colony. Built in neo-manueline style (considered by some as Portuguese architecture in its purest and most unique form), its limestone exterior- constructed of Lisbon stone brought by ship from Portugal to Rio- displays statues of past Portuguese explorers including Pedro Álvares Cabral, Infante D. Henrique, Vasco da Gama, and Luís de Camões.

Inside, it strikes the perfect balance of moody and inviting thanks to the dark stained wood and jewel toned-books on its shelves, contrasting its light and bright feel thanks to the natural light that pours through its stained-glass dome. Designed by architect Rafael da Silva e Castro, the building was voted the 4th most beautiful library in the world by Time Magazine!

Library of El Escorial Monastery, Madrid, Spain

Said to have inspired the design and decoration of the Vatican library in Rome, there’s surely no better accolade when it comes to architectural magic than this. Erected in the 16th century by Phillip II of Spain, his aim was to build a library that would hold not only books and manuscripts but also instruments of scientific learning such as ornate globes and maps of the known world. This emphasis on unifying the humanities and sciences was a new and exciting idea in the Renaissance period, and so the Royal Library of San Lorenzo de El Escorial was born. It was the first library to display its books and manuscripts in shelving cases along the walls rather than in bays so that the titles would be visible to visitors and avoid the damage caused to the books when they were continually taken out to view. Ingenius for its time!

The library consists of several rooms (most of them no longer used), however, only the Main Hall is open to the public. Measuring 177 feet long, 30 feet wide and 33 feet high, the vast room’s ceiling is curved in vaults and painted with frescos- a mural painting technique that involves painting with water-based paint directly onto wet plaster so that the paint becomes an integral part of the plaster. The iconic painting is divided into seven parts and in each section one of the seven arts is represented: Grammar, Rhetoric, Dialectics, Arithmetic, Music, Geometry and Astronomy. 

Majestic, magical and rich in history, the library was, and remains to be,  a Renaissance statement of power, majesty and prowess.

Admont Abbey Library, Austria

Framed by a magical mountainous scene- the Gesäuse National Park- the Admont Abbey receives around 80,000 visitors every year who travel to see its unique 70 metre long library and museums. Originally designed in 1764, it was constructed in the following years by Austrian master builder Josef Hueber, a firm believer in the ideals of the Enlightenment: “Like our understanding, spaces too should be filled with light.” 

The Abbey’s sculptor Josef Stammel created the numerous, elaborate limewood carvings in this magnificent space, most famous are the ‘Four Last Things‘; oversized figures of Death, Judgement, Heaven and Hell. These were actually carved before the library was built and only subsequently incorporated, hence the stark contrast with the Enlightenment concept that fills the rest of the space. 

Bookworms unite- the library holds some 70,000 volumes while the Abbey in total owns an impressive nearly 200,000 books. This Baroque-Gothic masterpiece wins the heart of all those who pass its doors. 

Maughan Library, London

Formerly the headquarters of the Public Record Office, the Maughan Library was acquired by King’s College University in 2001 and has been an iconic study location for its students ever since. Following a £35m renovation designed by Gaunt Francis Architects, the Maughan is the largest new university library in the United Kingdom since World War II.

The library is periodically open for public visitation, however it is currently only accessible for students of the university during peak exam period. The Grade II listed, neo-Gothic building is located in Chancery Lane, and inside you’ll find a dodecagonal reading room (inspired by the British Museum), and a former medieval chapel which is now an exhibition space showcasing the special collections of the library.

The round reading room is one of its most impressive spaces, so much so that it made an appearance in the 2006 mystery film, The Da Vinci Code. Take a visit and lap up the old and new charms that this central London gem has to offer,  even from the outside.

Wiblingen Monastery Library in Ulm, Germany

Whimsical: say hello to your dictionary definition. Wiblingen Monastery Library’s colour palette consists of rich golds, pinks and blues, with a new intricacy and detail catching your eye at every turn.

Built in the style typical of late-Baroque architecture, the colourful ceiling frescoes (the technique of mural painting on freshly laid (“wet”) plaster, remember) are considered some of the most important representations of this art form in the Württemberg region. The columns and statues are made out of wood, but they are cleverly painted to look like marble, with the library holding a total of over 15,000 books.

The numerous statues and sweeping ceiling design represent the architect’s vision that the library be a place for preserving “treasures of wisdom and science”. Visit for yourself to experience the truly impressive 72 metres long by 27 metres wide space, as well as the adjoining monastery museum for the full historic lowdown. 

The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, United States

If you had a few spare million sitting in the bank, would an impressive personal library next door to your home be on your list of ways to spend it? That was the case for financier J. Pierpont Morgan, who chose architect Charles Follen McKim to design a library to house his growing collection of rare books and manuscripts, and what a building he ended up with as  a result! Constructed of Tennessee pink marble, the exterior of the library is almost as impressive as the interior which features 20 different spaces, including galleries, the iconic library, a performance hall, and more. Majestic, striking and impressive in every way, the library is as much a work of art as the books and collectables it houses.

In 2010 the interior of the library was restored to its original grandeur, including a new lighting system to illuminate the beautiful murals and decor of the four historic rooms. Period furniture was reupholstered, and original fixtures—including three chandeliers removed decades ago—were restored and reinstalled. The museum and library also hosts temporary and seasonal exhibitions including works from different artists and authors (Charles Dickens and Emily Dickinson have been covered in the past), meaning adding a visit to your New York itinerary is one you won’t regret, even if for the gift shop and cafe.