August is almost upon us and it’s chock full of exciting new releases. So, here’s the ones I’m most excited for.
Costanza by Rachel Blackmore
Published August 1st by Renegade Books
Historical Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Rome, 1636. History calls her a Muse. Temptress. Fallen woman. This is her story.
In the scorched city of Rome, the cobbled streets hum with gossip and sin. Costanza Piccolomini is a respectable young wife – until she meets Gianlorenzo Bernini, the famed sculptor and star of Roman society, whose jet-black gaze matches his dark temper. From the second they set eyes upon each other, a fatal attraction is born.
Their secret love burns with a passion that consumes them. But with every stolen kiss and illicit tryst, Costanza’s reputation is at stake. Meanwhile, Bernini has a dangerous desire: he wants to make Costanza immortal. He vows to possess her not just in body and soul, but also in marble.
When Bernini unveils his sculpture of Costanza, she is exposed as his lover, marking the undoing of their affair – and the beginning of a scandal which will rock Roman society. For Bernini would rather destroy Costanza than let her go.
Betrayed. Abandoned. Banished. This was meant to be the end of Costanza’s story. But Costanza is no ordinary woman: from the ashes, she will rise…
Based on a true story, Costanza is a dizzying and sensual historical novel that brings to life a feminist icon who has been written out of history. This utterly addictive tale of desire and betrayal is perfect for fans of The Marriage Portrait and The Miniaturist.
Pre-order here*
A Little Trickerie by Rosanna Pike
Published August 1st by Fig Tree
Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Listen. My one-time friend Maria did tell me once: “Make your own paradise, Tibb, since this world is no sweet place for people like us.”
Born a vagabond, Tibb Ingleby has never had a roof of her own. But her mother has taught her that if you’re not too bound by the Big Man’s rules, there are many ways a woman can find shelter in this world. Now her ma is dead in a trick gone wrong and young Tibb is orphaned and alone.
As she wends her way across the fields and forests of medieval England, Tibb will discover there are people who will care for her, as well as those who mean her harm. And there are a great many others who are prepared to believe just about anything.
And so, when the opportunity presents itself to escape the shackles society has placed on them, Tibb and her new friends conjure an audacious plan: her greatest trickerie yet. But before they know it, their hoax takes on a life of its own, drawing crowds – and vengeful enemies – to their door…
A Little Trickerie is blazingly original, disarmingly funny and deeply moving. Portraying a side of Tudor England rarely seen, it’s a tale of belief and superstition, kinship and courage, with a ragtag cast of characters and an unforgettable and distinctly unangelic heroine.
Pre-order here*
There’s Nothing Wrong With Her by Kate Weinberg
Published August 1st by Bloomsbury
Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Humorous Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A crackling, comical, tender, and highly original novel about mental health, the certainties of medicine, buried trauma, love, death and time lost in the crushing – and comical – hopes of modern life
_______________________________________________________
Vita Woods is on the brink. She has a good job and a successful doctor boyfriend, Max, with whom the sex is great and the chat sufficient; a vivacious and charming sister Gracie, her verbal sparring partner and best friend for life; and she’s even got a goldfish called Whitney Houston, who brightens her days by showing her she’s not the only one going round in circles.
Because it’s the days that are Vita’s problem. Vita is not leaving the house. In fact, Vita rarely exits the basement apartment where she lives, since Vita is in “The Pit” – a place of deep exhaustion and semi-consciousness where she spends much of her time, dead to the world and to herself. She has been sick for months, with an illness that no doctor, not even Max, can medically diagnose.
One day an unexpected courier delivery forces Vita upstairs, into the light – and into a chance encounter with her neighbours upstairs. Suddenly, Vita finds herself faced with an even trickier dilemma. She likes her new friends; she’ll even sneak upstairs to see them while Max is out, against all medical advice but something about her “condition” is nagging at the borders of her mind. After all, what is a house-bound girl to do when she can’t keep the light, her new friendships, or – worst of all – her memories out? The problem might be Vita herself but as far as anyone can prove… there’s nothing wrong with her.
Pre-order here*
The Drownings by Hazel Barkworth
Published August 1st by Headline
Dark Academia, Gothic Fiction, Fairy Tale, Contemporary Horror, Coming-of-Age Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
These waters became wild centuries before this university was dreamed of. Leysham has always been a dangerous place for women . . .
Serena arrives on campus reeling from the injury that destroyed her champion swimming career. She is lost until she meets Jane, an enigmatic tutor obsessed with the historic witch trials that took place in Leysham’s freezing waters.
When several young women are assaulted, the university’s shadowy legacy becomes inescapable. Those in power turn a blind eye, but Jane urges Serena and her friends to rise up. As their anger builds into an inferno of female rage, Serena takes matters into her own hands.
Leysham has reawakened something within her, a dark, impossible power. In the waters, she can see what must be done – and the sacrifice it will demand.
From the author of Heatstroke, an intoxicatingly atmospheric new novel about competition, obsession and influence – for readers of The Things We Do to Our Friends, Weyward and Promising Young Woman.
Pre-order here*
The Echoes by Evie Wyld
Published August 1st by Jonathan Cape
Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Psychological Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Max didn’t believe in an afterlife. Until he died.
‘A book that will stay with you forever’ OBSERVER
‘Sharp prose weaving intergenerational trauma and a ghost story’ SINÉAD GLEESON
‘It takes brilliance to leap into the darkness’ ANNE ENRIGHT
‘My favourite Wyld novel’ PAULA HAWKINS
As a reluctant ghost trying to work out why he remains, Max watches his girlfriend Hannah lost in grief in the flat they shared and begins to realise how much of her life was invisible to him. In the weeks and months before Max’s death, Hannah is haunted by the secrets she left Australia to escape.
A relationship with Max seems to offer the potential of a different story, but the past refuses to stay hidden. It finds expression in the untold stories of the people she grew up with, the details of their lives she never knew and the events that broke her family apart and led her to Max.
Both a celebration and autopsy of a relationship, The Echoes is a novel about stories and who has the right to tell them, asking what of our past can we shrug off and what is fixed forever.
Pre-order here*
I’ll Look For You Everywhere by Cameron Capello
Published August 1st by Pan Macmillan
Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance, Erotic Literature, New Adult Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
THE UNMISSABLE DEBUT ROMANCE NOVEL FROM CAMERON CAPELLO, TIKTOK AND INSTAGRAM’S @CHAMBEROFSECRETBOOKS, COMING SUMMER 2024. For fans who loved all the angst and tension of Magnolia Parks with the sun-kissed vibes of The Summer I Turned Pretty.
I’ll Look for You, Everywhereis an intoxicating love story for the ages following Theo and Magdalen, childhood neighbours, as they are reunited for the first time in seven years to celebrate a family wedding in the sleepy Italian village they grew up in. Confronted with the ghosts of their pasts, Theo and Magdalen must face both the burning tension between them and the long-buried secrets that threaten to tear their worlds apart – and could possibly separate them forever. . .
Pre-order here*
Fire and Bones (Temperance Brennan Book 23) by Kathy Reiches
Published August 1st by Simon & Schuster UK
Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Crime Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
#1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs returns with a new twisty, unputdownable thriller featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.
It’s never easy working fire scenes.
Called to Washington, DC to analyse the victims of a mysterious arson attack, Tempe quickly finds her misgivings justified. The fire site is in Foggy Bottom, a neighbourhood with a colourful history, and as the pieces start falling into place, the property’s ownership becomes more and more suspicious.
Sensing a good story, Tempe teams up with a new ally, telejournalist Ivy Doyle. Delving into the past, the duo learns that back in the Thirties and Forties the home was the hangout of a group of bootleggers and racketeers known as the Foggy Bottom Gang. Though interesting, this fact seems irrelevant – until the son of one of the gang members is shot dead at his farm in Virginia.
When another Foggy Bottom Gang-linked property burns to the ground, claiming one more victim, what might have been coincidence starts to look more like targeted attacks. As she and Ivy dig deeper, Tempe’s instincts point towards the obvious: somehow, her every move since coming to Washington has been anticipated in advance. And every path forward brings with it a lethal threat.
Pre-order here*
Mamele by Gemma Reeves
Published August 1st by The Borough Press
Literary Fiction, Lesbian Literature
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A stylish, searing drama about the complicated love between mothers and daughters, the indelible impact of estrangement – and one woman fiercely coming into her own.
–––
‘When my mother washed my hair she crooned, mamele, mamele, into my ear. Little mother, meaning little daughter, meaning you’re a good girl, Edie.’
Edie lives in a crumbling country house in Broadstairs with her partner Joanna. They have spent over a decade together since the death of Harry, the third member of their polyamorous marriage. It’s a quiet, comfortable existence – but conversations about the mother who abandoned her have recently awoken in Edie feelings she long thought buried.
As Edie’s memories unspool – childhood days among the gossiping housewives of the mansion block, intense adolescent love affairs, clandestine nights in London clubs – she is forced to confront her ghosts and piece together the various parts of herself, as a queer woman and the daughter of a Jewish émigré. Now in her early fifties, she wonders whether there is still time to become the woman she once yearned to be.
In Mamele, Gemma Reeves writes with extraordinary deftness about unconventional families, cultural inheritance and separation, loneliness and aching desire.
Pre-order here*
Cabaret Macabre by Tom Mead
Published August 1st by Head of Zeus
Historical Fiction, Mystery, Historical Mystery, Historical Thriller
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Sleuth and illusionist Joseph Spector investigates his most complex case yet in this gripping new locked-room murder mystery from Tom Mead, set in an English country house just before the Second World War.
Hampshire, 1938. Victor Silvius is confined in a private sanatorium after attacking prominent judge Sir Giles Drury. When Sir Giles starts receiving sinister threatening letters, his wife suspects Silvius. Meanwhile, Silvius’ sister Caroline is convinced her brother is about to be murdered… by none other than his old nemesis Sir Giles.
Caroline seeks the advice of Scotland Yard’s Inspector Flint, while the Drurys, eager to avoid a scandal, turn to Joseph Spector. Spector, renowned magician turned sleuth, has an uncanny knack for solving complicated crimes – but this case will test his powers of deduction to their limits.
At a snowbound English country house, a body is found is impossible circumstances, and a killer’s bullet is fired through a locked window without breaking the glass. Spector and Flint’s investigations soon collide as they find themselves trapped by the snowstorm where anyone could be the next victim – or the killer…
Pre-order here*
Medici Heist by Caitlin Schneiderhan
Published August 6th by Atom
Historical Fiction, Adventure Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
‘A stunning debut. Weaving together a cast of loveable rogues, a richly detailed historical setting, and a cinematic thrill ride of a story, Medici Heist knocked us flat!’
The Duffer Brothers, creators of Netflix’s STRANGER THINGS
Welcome to Florence, 1517, a world of intrigue and opulence, murder and betrayal.
Sharp-witted conwoman Rosa Cellini arrives in the city the same day that the Medici Pope, Leo X, returns to take up the reins of power. This is not a coincidence. The new Pope is extorting a mountain of indulgence money from the people of Florence to bolster his power and standing, and Rosa has a plan to take it back.
To pull off the Renaissance’s greatest robbery, she’ll recruit a team of highly skilled misfits: Sarra the tinkerer, Khalid the fighter, and Giacomo, the irrepressible master of disguise. But as the authorities draw closer and the Medici’s noose pulls tighter around the land, old secrets resurface and tensions in the group start to flare. What began as a robbery could be the key to saving the city itself – if Rosa and company don’t destroy each other first.
Get ready for an absolute swashbuckling riot, beginning with a ‘mud’ pie to the Pope’s face, and ending with a climactic heist that would give Danny Ocean a run for his money. Bursting with action, Medici Heist is your next un-put-downable obsession.
Pre-order here*
Wife by Charlotte Mendleson
Published August 8th by Mantle
Literary Fiction, Lesbian Literature
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Set in the world of London academia, both past and present, Wife by Charlotte Mendelson is heart-breaking and funny, profound and gripping, as it takes the reader from the end of a relationship to its beginning, and back again.
When Zoe moves in with Penny, their relationship looks perfect; after all, everyone wants a wife. But this is the story of how love can become a disaster . . .
Zoe Stamper, junior researcher in Ancient Greek Tragedy, meets fellow academic Dr Penny Cartwright at a faculty flute recital. Dr Cartwright seems impossibly glamorous to Zoe, who is, after all, several rungs down the academic pecking order – and a nervous ingénue as far as Penny’s sophisticated circle is concerned. But Penny leaves Zoe a cryptic note, and a passionate affair ensues.
Once Penny confesses all to her live-in lover, Justine, their happiness seems assured. But there is something else Penny needs as badly in her life as Zoe’s adoration, and thus the beginning of their affair might also have signalled its end.
Pre-order here*
There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
Published August 8th by Viking
Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Psychological Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The breathtaking new novel from the Booker-shortlisted, bestselling author of The Island of Missing Trees and 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World – available for pre-order now
*****
This is the story of one lost poem, two great rivers, and three remarkable lives – all connected by a single drop of water.
In the ruins of Nineveh, that ancient city of Mesopotamia, there lies hidden in the sand fragments of a long-forgotten poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh.
In Victorian London, an extraordinary child is born at the edge of the dirt-black Thames. Arthur’s only chance of escaping poverty is his brilliant memory. When his gift earns him a spot as an apprentice at a printing press, Arthur’s world opens up far beyond the slums, with one book soon sending him across the seas: Nineveh and Its Remains.
In 2014 Turkey, Narin, a Yazidi girl living by the River Tigris, waits to be baptised with water brought from the holy sit of Lalish in Iraq. The ceremony is cruelly interrupted, and soon Narin and her grandmother must journey across war-torn lands in the hope of reaching the sacred valley of their people.
In 2018 London, broken-hearted Zaleekhah, a hydrologist, moves to a houseboat on the Thames to escape the wreckage of her marriage. Zaleekhah foresees a life drained of all love and meaning – until an unexpected connection to her homeland changes everything.
A dazzling feat of storytelling from one of the greatest writers of our time, Elif Shafak’s There are Rivers in the Sky is a rich, sweeping novel that spans centuries, continents and cultures, entwined by rivers, rains, and waterdrops:
‘Water remembers. It is humans who forget.’
Pre-order here*
Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid
Published August 13th by Del Rey
Historical Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romantic Fantasy
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Fair is foul and foul is fair.
From the Sunday Times bestselling author of A STUDY IN DROWNING comes a reimagining of Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare’s most famous villainess, giving her a voice, a past, and a power that transforms the story men have written for her.
The Lady knows the stories: that her eyes induce madness in men.
The Lady knows she will be wed to the Scottish brute, who does not leave his warrior ways behind when he comes to the marriage bed.
The Lady knows his hostile, suspicious court will be a game of survival, requiring all of her wiles and hidden witchcraft to survive.
But the Lady does not know her husband has occult secrets of his own. She does not know that prophecy girds him like armour. She does not know that her magic is greater, and more dangerous, and that it will threaten the order of the world.
She does not know this yet. But she will.
Pre-order here*
The Housekeeper’s Secret by Iona Grey
Published August 13th by St Martin’s Press
Hitorical Fiction, Romance Novel
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
“This BEAUTIFULLY-WRITTEN HISTORICAL is a SUMPTUOUS, PAGE-TURNING DELIGHT
filled with an enticing mix of FORBIDDEN ROMANCE and buried secrets.”
–Ellen Marie Wiseman, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook
Duty, desire, and deception reside under one roof.
Standing in the remote windswept moors of Northern England, Coldwell Hall is the perfect place to hide. For the past five years, Kate Furniss has maintained her professional mask so carefully that she almost believes she is the character she has created: Coldwell’s respectable housekeeper.
It is the summer of 1911 that brings new faces above and below the stairs of Coldwell Hall–including the handsome and mysterious new footman, Jem Arden. Just as the house’s shuttered rooms open, so does Kate’s guarded heart to a love affair that is as intense as it is forbidden. But Kate can feel her control slipping as Jem harbors secrets of his own.
Told in alternating timelines from the last sun-drenched summer of the Edwardian Age to the mud-filled trenches of WWI, The Housekeeper’s Secret opens its door to a world of romance, the truths we hold onto, and the past we must let go.
Pre-order here*
The Phoenix Keeper by S. A. MacLean
Published August 13th by Gollancz
Fantasy Fiction, Romance Novel, Romantic Fantasy
SYNOPSIS:
As head phoenix keeper at a world-renowned zoo for magical creatures, Aila’s childhood dream of conserving critically endangered firebirds seems closer than ever. There’s just one glaring caveat: her zoo’s breeding program hasn’t functioned for a decade. When a tragic phoenix heist sabotages the flagship initiative at a neighbouring zoo, Aila must prove her derelict facilities are fit to take the reins.
But saving an entire species from extinction requires more than stellar animal handling skills. Carnivorous water horses, tempestuous thunderhawks, mischievous dragons… Aila has no problem wrangling beasts. Inspiring zoo patrons? That’s another story. Mustering the courage to ask for help from the hotshot griffin keeper at the zoo’s most popular exhibit? Virtually impossible.
Especially when that hotshot griffin keeper happens to be her arch-rival from college: Luciana, an annoyingly brooding and insufferable know-it-all with the grace of a basilisk and the face of a goddess who’s convinced that Aila’s beloved phoenix would serve their cause better as an active performer rather than as a passive conservation exhibit.
With the world watching and the threat of poachers looming, Aila’s success is no longer merely a matter of keeping her job… She is the keeper of the phoenix, and the future of a species now rests on her shoulders. There’s just one thing she has to remember: she is also not alone.
Against an epic fantasy backdrop teeming with all your favourite mythical beasts from dragons and unicorns to kelpies and krakens, The Phoenix Keeper combines the cozy fantasy stakes of TJ Klune and Travis Baldree with the heartwarming contemporary romance of Alice Oseman and Casey McQuiston.
Pre-order here*
The House of Fever by Polly Crosby
Published August 15th by HQ
Gothic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Historical Mystery, Romance Novel
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Can she unlock the secrets of The House of Fever?
1935, Hedoné House, a luxurious sanatorium for the creative elite dedicated to the groundbreaking treatment of tuberculosis. As the doctor’s new wife, Agnes Templeton has pledged her life to a house of fever.
But Hedoné is no ordinary hospital. High society rubs shoulders with artists, poets and musicians. No expense is spared on the comfort of the guests, and champagne flows freely. It’s a world away from everything Agnes knows.
Her husband’s methods are unusual. There are whisperings about past patients and even a cure. Hedoné’s secrets draw Agnes in, revealing truths she could never anticipate, and soon she is caught between a past she is desperate to escape and a future she may forever regret.
Pre-order here*
The Heir of Venus by Laura Shepperson
Published August 15th by Sphere
Historical Fiction, Fairy Tale, Thriller, Political Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR COMES A NEW SPELLBINDING RETELLING SET AT THE DAWN OF THE ROMAN WORLD
________
Aeneas, the son of Venus, is destined for greatness, prophesised to father a people who will one day rule the world.
But behind every great man are the women the prophecies forget.
Creusa, Dido and Lavinia will never meet, yet they are united by the ambitions of one man whose life is pre-ordained to collide irreparably with theirs.
But if their destiny remains unwritten, can they determine the future for themselves?
This is the story of Rome’s origins as it’s never been told before, through the eyes of three women whose choices changed history.
Pre-order here*
The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable
Published August 15th by Bloomsbury
Historical Fiction, Psychological Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
‘Enthralling, passionate, vivid. The Instrumentalist is a marvel’ KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE
_________________________________________
Anna Maria may have no name, no fortune, no family. But she has her ambition, and her talent.
Her best hope lies in her teacher, Antonio Vivaldi. Soon she is his star pupil.
But as Anna Maria’s star rises, not everyone is happy. Because Anna Maria’s shining light is threatening to eclipse that of her mentor.
She will leave her mark, whatever it takes. And her story will be heard.
Pre-order here*
Guilty By Definition by Susie Dent
Published August 15th by Zaffre
Mystery, Thriller, Crime Fiction, Travel Literature
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The debut linguistic mystery novel from Countdown‘s resident lexicographer, Susie Dent.
‘A TANTALISING MYSTERY FOR WORD SLEUTHS AND CRIME FANS ALIKE’ JANICE HALLETT
She’d known there would be ghosts in Oxford. Martha wasn’t afraid of any headless horsemen, or nuns haunting the local ruins; it was Charlie, always Charlie she was afraid would find her.
When an anonymous letter is delivered to the Clarendon English Dictionary, it is rapidly clear that this is not the usual lexicographical enquiry. Instead, the letter hints at secrets and lies linked to a particular year.
For Martha Thornhill, the new senior editor, the date can mean only one thing: the summer her brilliant older sister Charlie went missing.
After a decade abroad, Martha has returned home to the city whose ancient institutions have long defined her family. Have the ghosts she left behind her been waiting for her return?
When more letters arrive, and Martha and her team pull apart the complex clues within them, the mystery becomes ever more insistent and troubling. It seems Charlie had been keeping a powerful secret, and someone is trying to lead the lexicographers towards the truth. But other forces are no less desperate to keep it well and truly buried.
Pre-order here*
Talking To Strangers by Fiona Barton
Published August 15th by Bantam
Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Suspense
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Three women. One Killer.
Talking to strangers has never been more dangerous…
When the body of forty-four-year-old Karen Simmons is found abandoned in remote woodland, journalist Kiki Nunn is determined this will be the big break she so desperately needs.
Because she has a head start on all the other reporters. Just a week before Karen was killed, Kiki interviewed her about the highs and lows of mid-life romance. Karen told her all about kissing strangers on the beach under the stars, expensive meals, roses. About the scammers and the creeps…
While the police appear to be focusing on local suspects, Kiki sets out to write the definitive piece on one woman’s fatal search for love. But she will soon learn that the search for truth can be just as deadly…
Pre-order here*
The Liars by Katherine Fleet
Published August 15th by xx
Crime Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Psychological Thriller
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
I thought I saw her today. Down by the water. It was her hair I noticed. Do you ever see her, Lex? Does she haunt you too?
I haven’t been back to Eos since I first met my step-sister, Lex.
It’s been twenty-five years since that summer.
Since we went from strangers to sisters.
Since Abigail went missing.
Since we told the first lie.
Now we’re back together on the island.
So much has changed since we were teenagers.
We’ve both tried to move on from the past – from each other.
But the island won’t let us escape our secrets.
Only me and Lex know the truth about Abigail.
We’ve been living a lie for so long.
And if the truth comes out – neither of us will survive it…
Pre-order here*
Eddie Winston is Looking For Love by Marianne Cronin
Published August 15th by Doubleday UK
Romance Novel, Literary Fiction, Humorous Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Funny, feelgood, heartlifting story about the power of intergenerational friendship and finding love in unexpected places – perfect for fans of The One Hundred Year-Old Man Who Climbed Through the Windowand The Rosie Project
‘Marianne Cronin creates such complete and lovable characters, and these pages are brimming over with kindness and hope. Sublimely enjoyable’ Hazel Prior, author of Away with the Penguins
Eddie Winston is ninety years old. He has lived and he has loved, but he has never been kissed.
A true gentleman and incurable romantic, Eddie spends his days volunteering at a charity shop, where he sorts through the donations of the living and the dead, preserving letters and tokens of love along the way. It is here that he meets Bella, a troubled young woman who, aged twenty-four, has just lost the love of her life.
When Bella learns that Eddie is yet to have his first kiss, she resolves to help him finally find love, sparking an adventure that will take them to unexpected places and, they hope, bring Eddie to the moment he has waited for all his life.
As Bella helps Eddie and Eddie helps, well, everyone, a soul-stirring story of friendship and kindness unfolds as we see how those we love are never forgotten and it is never too late to try again.
Pre-order here*
The Right Place by Sophia Money-Coutts
Published August 15th by HQ
Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance, Coming-of-Age Story
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
If Maggie is living her best life, why doesn’t it feel like she’s in the right place?
From the outside, Maggie Lemon has a perfect life. But she and her husband have been trying for a baby for five years and she’s exhausted. She’s seen countless fertility experts and followed dozens of diets and homeopathic recommendations, and even gave up her dream restaurant in London when doctors suggested the stress might be too much. And now her estranged aunt has died, leaving her hotel in Provence to Maggie.
It’s been years since Maggie visited Le Figuier. There’s a lot of work to be done and she knows she should sell it. But when a disgraced Hollywood actor hiding out at the hotel lends a hand, the load feels a lot lighter. Is it just the chemistry with this handsome stranger, or is it starting to feel like Maggie might finally be in the right place?
‘I’m a huge fan of all of Sophia’s books but this is my new favourite…it helped me remember that the sun will come again. Summer holiday read simply doesn’t do it justice!’ Cleo Watson, author of Whips
Pre-order here*
The Palace of Eros by Caro De Robertis
Published August 15th by The Borough Press
Historical Fiction, Fairy Tale, Mythology, LGBT Literature
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
‘A brilliant and luminous writer’ MADELINE MILLER, author of THE SONG OF ACHILLES and CIRCE
Theirs was a love that defied the gods…
Young, headstrong Psyche has captured the eye of every suitor with her beauty – but also, unfortunately, the jealous gaze of the goddess Aphrodite. As punishment, Psyche is tied to a rock to be sacrificed to a ‘monstrous husband’. And yet, no monster arrives: instead, she is spirited away by Aphrodite’s daughter Eros.
Eros, goddess of desire, can change gender at will. And in her hidden palace, she visits her bride under the cloak of darkness: Psyche is forbidden to gaze upon the face of her lover. But as they explore each other’s bodies and discover new pleasures, Psyche is tempted to break her vow… even if it brings down the wrath of the gods.
A gloriously anarchic and seductive retelling of the myth of Psyche and Eros, groundbreaking, gender-fluid and hugely enjoyable, this is a masterpiece from Caro De Robertis, a writer described by Madeline Miller as ‘brilliant and luminous’.
Pre-order here*
Gentlest of Wild Things by Sarah Underwood
Published August 15th by Electric Monkey
Fantasy Romance, Historical Mystery, Mythology, LGBT Literature, YA Novel
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A fantasy romance, by dazzling new talent Sarah Underwood, inspired by Greek mythology and the tale of Eros and Psyche.
On the island of Zakynthos, nothing is more powerful than Desire―love itself, bottled and sold to the highest bidder by Leandros, a power-hungry descendent of the god Eros.
Eirene and her beloved twin sister, Phoebe, have always managed to escape Desire’s thrall. Until Leandros’ wife dies mysteriously and he sets his sights on Phoebe. Determined to keep her sister safe, Eirene strikes a bargain with Leandros: if she can complete the four elaborate tasks he sets her, he will find another bride. But it soon becomes clear that the tasks are part of something bigger; something related to Desire and Lamia, the strange, neglected daughter Leandros keeps locked away.
Lamia knows her father hides her for her own protection, though as she and Eirene grow closer, she finds herself longing for the outside world. But the price of freedom is high, and with something deadly―something hungry―stalking the night, that price must be paid in blood . . .
Pre-order here*
What Waits in the Woods by Terri Parlato
Published August 15th by Canelo
Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A woman murdered. But was I the real target?
When Esmé Foster left the Boston suburbs to become a professional ballerina, the future shimmered with promise. Eleven years later, her career has been derailed by an injury, and Esmé knows it’s time to come back to Graybridge to help her brother care for their ailing father. But her return coincides with an unthinkable crime. Kara Cunningham, one of Esmé’s high school friends, is found dead in the woods behind the Fosters’ house.
Esmé is shocked and grieving, but also uneasy. In her dreams, she still sees the man who showed up at the scene of the car accident that killed her mother―and told Esmé he was going to kill her too. Family and friends insisted the figure was a product of Esmé’s imagination, that she was concussed after the crash. But she and Kara looked alike, sharing the same petite build, the same hair color. Could Kara’s murder have been a case of mistaken identity?
Detective Rita Myers is familiar with closeknit communities like Graybridge, where, beneath the friendliness, there are whispers and secrets. The town has seen other tragedies too, including the long-ago drowning of a young girl in a pond, deep in the woods. Even within the once-close circle of friends that included Kara and Esmé, Rita discerns a ripple of mistrust.
Day by day, Esmé discovers more about the place she left behind―and the friends and family she thought she knew. Soon, shining a light into the darkness to learn what really happened the night Kara died is the only way she can bring the nightmare to an end …
A dark new thriller perfect for fans of Claire Douglas and Shari Lapena
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The Voyage Home by Pat Barker
Published August 22nd by Hamish Hamilton
Historical Fiction, Mythology, Fairy Tale, War Story
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The exhilarating follow-up to Pat Barker’s The Women of Troy and The Silence of the Girls
After ten blood-filled years, the war is over. Troy lies in smoking ruins as the victorious Greeks fill their ships with the spoils of battle.
Alongside the treasures looted are the many Trojan women captured by the Greeks – among them the legendary prophetess Cassandra, and her watchful maid, Ritsa. Enslaved as concubine – war-wife – to King Agamemnon, Cassandra is plagued by visions of his death – and her own – while Ritsa is forced to bear witness to both Cassandra’s frenzies and the horrors to come.
Meanwhile, awaiting the fleet’s return is Queen Clytemnestra, vengeful wife of Agamemnon. Heart-shattered by her husband’s choice to sacrifice their eldest daughter to the gods in exchange for a fair wind to Troy, she has spent this long decade plotting retribution, in a palace haunted by child-ghosts.
As one wife journeys toward the other, united by the vision of Agamemnon’s death, one thing is certain: this long-awaited homecoming will change everyone’s fates forever.
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Agnes Sharp and the Trip of a Lifetime by Leonie Swann
Published August 22nd by Allison & Busby
Mystery, Women Sleuths, Dark Comedy
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Sunset Hall doyenne Agnes Sharp is only too pleased when her housemate Edwina wins a trip to a spa hotel in Cornwall – heaven knows the group of elderly sleuths could do with a change of scenery. But it quickly becomes apparent that the hotel is no paradise, despite the romantic package and five-course menu.
As soon as they’ve made themselves comfortable, Agnes thinks she’s witnessed a murder on the cliffs. And it soon becomes clear that the perpetrator is among them. Will Agnes and her friends survive their holiday?
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Death at the Sanatorium by Ragnar Jonasson
Published August 22nd by Michael Joseph
Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
One Murder.
Five Suspects.
Step into Death At The Sanatorium . . .
‘Is this the best crime writer in the world today?’ THE TIMES
‘An automatic must-read for me’ LEE CHILD
‘Master of the Icelandic thriller’ NEW YORK POST
—
An old sanatorium. A terrifying murder. Six suspects and a case that never closed . . .
Akureyri, Northern Iceland, 1983.
High up in the most northern part of Iceland stands The Akureyri Sanatorium. Once a hospital dedicated to treating tuberculosis, it now sits haunted by the ghosts of its past.
One wing of the hospital remains open and houses six employees: the caretaker, two doctors, two nurses and a young research assistant.
Despite the wards closing decades ago they remain at the hospital to conduct research. But the cold corridors, draughty windows and echoey halls are constant reminders of the building’s dark history.
When one of the nurses, Yrsa, is found brutally murdered, they discover that death has never left this place – and neither did its secrets. None can escape this terrifying legacy.
Despite just five suspects the case is never solved and remains open for two decades. Until a young criminologist named Helgi Reykdal attempts to finally lay the ghosts of the hospital’s past to rest . . .
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Liars by Sarah Manguso
Published August 22nd by Picador
Literary Fiction, Psychological Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A searing novel about being a wife, a mother, and an artist, and how marriage makes liars of us all.
‘An unflinchingly true and honest depiction of a marriage turning from gold to dust ― the resentments and disappointments that can rot the heart’ – Miranda Cowley Heller, author of The Paper Palace
A white-hot dissection of the power imbalances in a marriage, and as gripping as you want fiction to be. Any spouse that has ever argued about money, time, work and childcare should read it’ – Nick Hornby, author of High Fidelity, Fever Pitch and About a Boy
A nuclear family can destroy a woman artist. I’d always known that. But I’d never suspected how easily I’d fall into one anyway.
When Jane, an aspiring writer, meets filmmaker John Bridges, they both want the same things: to be in love, to live a successful, creative life, and to be happy. When they marry, Jane believes she has found everything she was looking for, including―a few years later―all the attendant joys and labors of motherhood. But it’s not long until Jane finds herself subsumed by John’s ambitions, whims, and ego; in short, she becomes a wife.
As Jane’s career flourishes, their marriage starts to falter. Throughout the upheavals of family life, Jane tries to hold it all together. That is, until John leaves her.
Sarah Manguso’s Liars is a tour de force of wit and rage, telling the blistering story of a marriage as it burns to the ground, and of a woman rising inexorably from its ashes.
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The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi
Published August 22nd by Picador
Literary Fiction, Time Travel Fiction, Translated Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
One photograph, one treasured memory, one chance to go back . . .
In a cosy photography studio in the mountains between this world and the next, someone is waking up as if from a dream. A kind man will hand them a hot cup of tea and gently explain that, having reached the end of their life, they have one final task.
There is a stack of photos on their lap, one for every day of their life, and now they must choose the pictures that capture their most treasured memories, which will be placed in a beautiful lantern. Once completed, it will be set spinning, and their cherished moments will flash before their eyes, guiding them to another world.
But, like our most thumbed-over photographs, our favourite memories become faded with age, so each visitor to the studio has the chance to choose one day to return to and photograph afresh. Each has a treasured story to tell, from the old woman rebuilding a community in Tokyo after a disaster, to the flawed Yakuza man who remembers a time when he was kind, and a strong child who is fighting to survive.
Extraordinarily moving and wise, The Lantern of Lost Memories is a beautiful Japanese tale about the people that make us and the moments that change us.
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The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
Published August 29th by Canongate
Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
What looks like magic is simply a part of life we don’t understand yet . . . When retired Maths teacher Grace is left a run-down house on a Mediterranean island by a long-lost friend, curiosity gets the better of her. She arrives in Ibiza with a one-way ticket, no guidebook and no plan. Among the rugged hills and golden beaches of the Balearics, Grace searches for answers about her friend’s life, and how it ended. What she uncovers is stranger than she could have dreamed. But to dive into this impossible truth, Grace must first come to terms with her past. Filled with wonder and wild adventure, this is a story of hope and the life-changing power of a new beginning.
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The Examiner by Janice Hallett
Published August 29th by Viper
Mystery, Thriller, Epistolary Novel, Crime Fiction, Cosy Mystery, Suspense
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
‘An absolute original’ – MICK HERRON
‘Hallett at her very best’ – ELLY GRIFFITHS
‘A slice of genius’ – LOUISE CANDLISH
Six Students. One Murder. Your Time Starts Now…
The mature students of Royal Hastings University’s new art course have been trouble from day one. From acclaimed artist Alyson who seems oddly overqualified, to hapless Patrick who can barely operate design software, and city boy Cameron who blusters his way through assignments. Not to mention Jem, who’s a gifted young sculptor… but cross her at your peril.
The year-long course is blighted by students setting fire to one another’s artwork, a rumoured extra-marital affair and a disastrous road trip. But finally they are given their last assignment: to build an art installation for a local manufacturer. With six students who have nothing in common except their clashing personal agendas, what could possibly go wrong?
The answer is: murder. When the external examiner arrives to assess the students’ coursework, he becomes convinced that a student was killed on the course and that the others covered it up. But is he right? Only a close examination of the evidence will reveal the truth. Your time starts now…
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Five By Five by Claire Wilson
Published August 29th by Michael Joseph
Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Psychological Thriller
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
What if the killer she’s hunting turns out to be the woman she’s falling for? A gripping debut thriller in a unique location, from a major new talent in Scottish crime – pre-order now to read before anyone else!
‘A significant crime debut. Authoritatively authentic, irresistibly pacey and nerve-shreddingly tense’ Chris Brookmyre
—-
Just because the most dangerous criminals in society are caught and locked up, doesn’t mean they stop committing crime.
That’s where Kennedy Allardyce comes in – monitoring not just the prisoners, but also the staff.
And she’s just stumbled across her most dangerous foe yet – rumours of a corrupt guard with lethal influence. And what’s worst, it seems they’ve already realised Kennedy is on their tail.
At least one thing is giving her joy – a blossoming relationship with Molly, a beautiful, enigmatic new guard.
Wouldn’t it be awful if the killer she’s hunting turned out to be the woman she’s falling for?
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Tales of a Monstrous Heart by Jennifer Delaney
Published August 29th by Gollancz
Gothic Ficiton, Fantasy Fiction, Romantic Fantasy
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Be careful of the dark and those that call it friend.
Katherine Woodrow is fey, and all she wants is to graduate from the Institute of Magic. But when the prejudiced mortal council threaten her position at the institute, she is left with only one option: accept a Mage Partnership with the elusive Lord Blackthorn.
Emrys Blackthorn is a riddle Kat is fearful of solving. The mysterious, cursed war hero with his stormy eyes and unpredictable ways leaves Kat with more questions than answers. What she does know is that she is irresistibly drawn to him . . . no matter how forbidden it might be.
When a string of murders and fey disappearances herald the return of dark magic, Kat and Emrys are thrown into a world of ancient books that hide hideous monsters, dark fiends who play with nightmares and mortal men who wish nothing more than to see them both burn.
But what haunts them both are secrets even ghosts dare not whisper, while insidious shadows lick their teeth and sharpen their claws, waiting for the moment that all tales will come to light – even the monstrous ones.
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I Died at Fallow Hall by Bonnie Burke-Patel
Published August 29th by Bedford Square Publishers
Thriller, Mystery, Crime Fiction, Political Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Anna Deerin moves to a remote Cotswold cottage to become a gardener, trying to strip away everything she’s spent all her life as a woman striving for, craving the anonymity and privacy her new off-grid life provides. But when she clears the last vegetable bed and digs up not twigs but bones, the outside world is readmitted. With it comes Detective Inspector Hitesh Mistry, who has his own reasons for a new start in the village of Upper Magna.
Drawn in spite of herself to this unknown woman from another time, Anna is determined to uncover her identity and gain recognition for her, if not justice. As threats to Anna and her new life grow closer, she and DI MIstry will find that this murder is inextricably bound up with issues of gender, family, community, race and British identity itself – all as relevant in decades past as they are to Anna today.
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The Abandoners by Begona Gomez Urzaiz
Published August 29th by The Borough Press
Contemporary Fiction, Biographical Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
When it comes to children: a man leaves, a woman abandons
Ingrid Bergman, Muriel Spark, Maria Montessori, Joni Mitchell … what do these vastly different women have in common?
During the pandemic, trapped at home with young children and struggling to find creative space to write, journalist Begoña Gómez Urzaiz became fixated on artistic women who were able to overcome both society’s judgement and their own maternal instincts in order to leave their children. More than anything, she was fascinated by her own prejudice towards these women, so clearly tied up in a much wider cultural bias.
Using famous examples including Doris Lessing, fictional ones such as Anna Karenina, and interrogating modern trends like Momfluencers, Begoña reveals what our judgement of these women tells us about our judgement of all women.
‘The best book I’ve read on the implications of motherhood and its opposites after Sheila Heti’s Motherhood’ CLAUDIA DURASTANTI
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The Secrets of Flowers by Sally Page
Published August 29th by Harper Collins UK
Romance Novel, Humorous Fiction, Domestic Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The Lost Bookshop meets The Keeper of Stories in this utterly heart-warming story about friendship, hope and a mystery hidden in the language of flowers…
‘Another masterpiece by Sally Page! I read this in one sitting. It moved me, made me smile and stayed with me…’ Reader review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
____________
Follow the flowers and you will find your way home…
One year after her husband’s death Emma has become a wallflower, hiding among the brighter blooms in the florist where she works.
But when a colleague invites her to a talk on the Titanic, she begins a quest to uncover who arranged the flowers on board.
As Emma discovers the lost story of the girl and the great ship, she realises that flowers may unlock long buried secrets in her own life…
Will she be able to unlock the mystery of the Titanic and heal her heart too?
Escape into the world of Sally Page with the perfect summer read for a weekend away or cosying up in your favourite armchair! From the author of phenomenal bestsellers The Keeper of Stories and The Book of Beginnings comes another novel that will warm your heart.
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The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki
Published August 29th by Brazen
Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Translated Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The Full Moon Coffee Shop is the big next read for fans of BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD, DAYS AT THE MORISAKI BOOKSHOP and BUTTER.
IS THERE SUCH A THING AS DESTINY? AND HOW CAN YOU FIND YOURS?
Under a glittering full moon, a Kyoto coffee shop with no fixed location or opening hours appears only where and when it’s needed. Serving fragrant teas, the finest coffees and delicious desserts, it is entirely run by talking cats.
The coffee shop attracts customers who have lost their way in their life, from a down-on-her-luck screenwriter and a lovesick TV director to a misunderstood stylist and a failed video game developer. In the middle of the night, the coffee shop’s feline guides take them on an astrological journey which forces the characters to face up to the past, in order to discover their destiny. And as each of them uncovers their purpose, their paths all become somehow intertwined…
Heartwarming and magical, The Full Moon Coffee Shop will remind you that it’s never too late to discover your purpose.
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Yeonnam-Dong’s Smiley Laundromat by Kim Jiyun
Published August 29th by MacLehose Press
Urban Fiction, Domestic Fiction, Literary Fiction, Translated Fiction
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The Yeonnam-dong Smiley Laundromat is a place where the extraordinary stories of ordinary residents unfold. Situated at the heart of rapidly gentrifying district of Seoul, it’s a haven of peace and reflection for many locals.
And when a notebook is left behind there, it becomes a place that brings people together. One by one, customers start jotting down candid diary entries, opening their hearts and inviting acts of kindness from neighbours who were once just faces in the crowd.
But there is a darker story behind the notebook, and before long the laundromat’s regulars are teaming up to solve the mystery and put the world to rights.
Instantly capturing the hearts of Korean readers, this is a novel about the preciousness of human relationships and the power of solidarity in a world that is increasingly cold, fast-paced, and virtual.
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Emma's Biblio Treasures 