We’re counting down to Christmas with Team B’s books of the year. Each member of the Mr B’s team has narrowed down their choices to just their top 12 (or close enough!) Each week we will bring you different members of the team so you can compile a brilliant selection of new favourites to add to your Christmas list.
Laura GM’s Fave: I Gave You Eyes and You Looked Towards Darkness by Irene Solà
Laura GM, our in-house translated fiction guru, has a great selection of fiction from around the world, as well as some varied non-fiction. But her top pick came from a fellow Catalonian, Irene Solà. Here’s what she said about I Gave You Eyes and You Looked Towards Darkness…
“Bernadeta lies on her deathbed as the ghosts of her ancestors keep vigil over her and her descendants tidy around her, feed her, watch videos. The dead women of Mas Clavell tell their stories: reapers, bandits, wolves, and the devil itself: now as a goat, now as a bull, both enemy and lover. Otherworldly, folkloric, and atmospheric, Solà’s prose is playful and so vividly painted that you can almost hear the shadows.”
Clem’s Fave: William by Mason Coile
Clem’s reading veers towards the dark edges of horror, as well as plenty of amazing graphic novels and manga. His top read of 2025 was Mason Coile’s AI-horror novel William…
“Henry, an incredible inventor trapped at home with agoraphobia, finishes fully automating his smart-house with excessive security upgrades, and returns to the greatest invention of his career: William, an entirely-too-conscious artificial intelligence who is currently lying unattended and deformed in Henry’s attic. Stephen King meets Black Mirror, William is gory, shocking and perfectly paced, combining psychological thriller with science fiction speculation. A haunted house horror for the Bluetooth age.”
Liv’s Fave: In Love With Love by Ella Risbridger
Liv is, of course, our romance fanatic, and her list includes bundles of love stories. But that’s not all: she also features some great edgy fiction and a couple of non-fiction bangers. Her fave, In Love With Love, is Ella Risbridger’s celebration of all things romance…
“Part literary criticism, part social history, total passion project, In Love With Love is a wild tour through the romance wilderness: a deeply heartfelt and wholly joyful exploration of a genre often misunderstood and underappreciated. Clever, funny, brilliant – I’m completely smitten. If you’ve ever wanted to read about Jane Austen, Jilly Cooper, Judith Butler, and giant sexy aliens in the same book, In Love With Love is for you.”