Capital XTRA Book Club with Leah Davis

A Christmas bonus episode! As we warm up for the second season of Book Club Leah helps you out with your last minute Christmas gifts. Don't forget, Season 2 of the book club launches on 9th January 2023! Reading list: Charmaine Wilkerson - Black Cake Sheena Patel - I’m A Fan Candice Brathwaite - Cuts Both Ways Scarlette Brade - The Hive Yewande Biala – Reclaiming

Lauren Rae's 'kind of memoir' Love, Wine and Other Highs' captures the highs and lows of being a young independent woman navigating through a modern world seemingly obsessed with image, perfection and success. Her words are honest and relatable and most importantly very entertaining!

Anne-Marie Imafidon's debut 'She's In CTRL' is all about dispelling myths and breaking down boundaries around women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). As a woman that has always been in STEM she's the perfect person to lead the charge in fixing the gender imbalance. A what a force she is!

Dorothy Koomson, is known as the queen of the big reveal for good reason. She returns with her brand new gripping thriller My Other Husband a story of power, love and murder. With a huge number of books already under her belt thankfully Dorothy Koomson has no plans on slowing down.

Today's guests are debut author and former member of Rizzle Kicks Jordan Stephens and illustrator Beth Suzanne. Their new picture book The Missing Piece tells the story of Sunny who's on the hunt for a missing piece to her Grandmother's jigsaw puzzle. We discuss, nostalgia, childhood and the joy of grandparents.

Book Club our guest this week is the supremely talented Candice Brathwaite. You know her as the writer that brought you 'I'm Not Your Baby Mother' and 'Sista Sister' but now she's stepping into fiction with her debut novel 'Cuts Both Ways'. An exploration of the aftershocks of violent crime.

Frances Mensah Williams' sixth novel 'The Second Time We Met' explores what happens when you get a second chance to fall in love at first sight. We meet Cara a young black woman from North West London and Henry a young white man who grew up in a mansion in Gloucestershire. Frances breaks down what inspired her to view a love story through the lens of both class and race and reminds us that there i...

As one of our favourite former Love Islanders we were always going to be excited to read Yewande's word in her first book: Reclaiming. She certainly did not disappoint with chapters about colourism, social media, beauty and more Yewande offers advice through anecdotes and incredible honesty. As a self confessed introvert Yewande lets us into her world and what a fascinating world it is.

You may know her as the queen of the Love Island villa, but the wonderful Amber Rose Gill has given us a romantic novel that is a dreamy summer read. Amber introduces us to her loveable protagonist Samantha and we discuss the importance of diversity in romantic literature, how much Love Island influenced the novel and more.

Telling the story of afro hair is not a simple task but it is a necessary one. This week's guest Kandace Chimbiri wanted to create an engaging and exciting book for children (and adults alike) to learn the rich history of afro hair, from the enterprising work of Madame CJ Walker to the iconic Josephine Baker. Join the book club using the hashtag #CapitalXTRABookClub and let's chat on twitter @leah...

A self-confessed ‘Romcomisseur’ and lover of all things love Bolu Babalola is one of the most exciting new voices in romantic literature. This week we discuss her new novel Honey and Spice a fun, sexy, exciting read that will have you obsessed with its witty protagonist Kiki Banjo. Continue the conversation using the hashtag #CapitalXTRABookClub and happy reading!

Imagine being 13 years old and the story you wrote anonymously on your family computer goes viral. That was the reality for Jade LB in the early 00s when her epic tale Keisha Da Sket had teenagers across the UK hooked. Cut to present day and Jade presents us with a reworked version of the novel as well as the original viral game changer. Join the book club using the hashtag #CapitalXTRABookClub an...

Meet Sheena Patel and her debut novel 'I'm A Fan' a read that she proudly exclaims might make you feel a bit sick. This captivating story centres a nameless protagonist as she battles her way through a complex relationship with a drastic power imbalance. Sheena is an exciting new voice in literature that I am absolutely fascinated by!

The queen of daytime TV Alison Hammond is gracing us with her presence on today's episode of the Capital XTRA Book Club! Having grown up seeing so few black faces in her history books Alison Hammond is on a mission to prove that Black history is British history. Her new book Black In Time tells the stories of some trail blazing Black people in language that is child friendly, totally accessible an...

Host Leah Davis catches up with ladies behind 'The Receipts' podcast to talk about their book 'Keep The Receipts'. Meet your new favourite authors that double as your very own agony aunts. Tolly, Milena and Audrey aka The Receipts Girls have been dishing out advice and spilling the tea on The Receipts podcast for years and now they've condensed years of experiences, anecdotes and life hacks into K...