The past 12 months have seen some fabulous releases. Prima ’s books editor Nina Pottell looks back at her favourites and the ones you may have missed…

These Spectred Isles

COUNTRY LIFE reviewers reveal the works that impressed and absorbed them in 2025

What revealed the magic of books for me was The Wind in the Willows. When I was five, I contracted measles, which meant I had to spend my days in bed in a darkened room. My mother sat outside my bedro

by Ross Montgomery(£16.99, HB, Penguin) Cornwall, 1910. Convinced that Halley’s comet will bring about the apocalypse, the pompous Viscount of Tithe Hall seals his home off from the outside world – on

My love of stories came before my love of reading. I rarely slept as a baby, so my poor mum often soothed me at nights by reading to me. As a small child I listened to Storyteller tapes all night – au