Inspired by the intoxicating 1990’s world of the Young British Artists movement, Exhibition by Alex Hyde tells the story of an intense decades long relationship between two women: photographer Rabble Stone, and an unnamed and now dead celebrity artist. In an absorbing tale that encompasses the Cool Britannia era, female friendship, the concept of muse, sacrifice, and things left unspoken, Rabble addresses her friend directly, recalling the twists and turns in their relationship, from a student house share in Brixton to the heights of YBA stardom in London and New York.

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Happily destined for the Summer Reads bestseller lists, Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer seems at first glance to follow the well-worn literary path of an American innocent abroad. It tells the story of an initially unnamed young man, a recently graduated archivist, hired to catalogue the artefacts and treasures of a grand Tuscan Villa. Upon arrival, however, he is plunged into a world of bizarre characters and strange events orchestrated by his employer, 92-year-old Coco, the Baronessa. Coco instantly nicknames him ‘Giovedì’, and along with her kooky companions, lights his way to a life well lived in Greer’s luminous tale of friendship, abiding secrets and sheer zest for life.

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