The Best New Books
Fiction Ed Claire shares her favourite new releases
COASTLINE COSY ANNIE STANLEY, ALL AT SEA by Sue Teddern Mantle, HB, £16.99. Out now. Annie Stanley needs to leave her duvet behind and face up to life. After the recent death of her beloved dad (and mum years ago) Annie digs deep to face some home truths. What better way than travelling the coastline of Britain with her dad’s ashes visiting the 31 sea areas that make up the shipping forecast – his first love. Aa Annie searches for the perfect place to say goodbye, the journey provides the perfect opportunity for soul searching.
Filled with humour and colourful, loveable characters, Annie weaves her way deep into the reader’s heart. With knitting needles in hand and a ball of wool at every port, Annie’s blanket illustrates how poignant life’s journey is. The “will she, won’t she” narrative will occasionally frustrate, but undeniably inspire you to cheer Annie on in her journey of a lifetime. A tale of discovery – of what really matters in love and loss. How to live your life to its fullest. An entertaining staycation novel. Breathe in that sea air, climb up on deck and set sail – think the QE2 of books. A must summer read.
SUBURBAN SENSATION
WHERE THE GRASS IS GREEN by Lauren Weisberger
Harper Collins, £12.99. Out August 5
From TheDevilWearsPrada author comes another novel brimming with attitude. Centred in Paradise, the fictional suburb of New York where the modern reality of the tiger mum who will do anything for her children and the dire consequences that erode the heart of the family are magically fictionalised.
Think a cross between the inner TV studio workings of Jennifer Aniston and Reece Weatherspoon’s TV hit The MorningShow, coupled with the battlefields of HousewivesOf… transporting you to a world where appearances are everything, parents are out of control and kids are just trying to do their own thing! Weisberger shines a spotlight on the upper echelons of society, an out of reach lifestyle to most of us, and one switch at a time turns out the lights, leaving the unsavoury bits of those who seem to have everything. Thought provoking, entertaining and pure escapism.
DAZZLING DEBUT
WOULD I LIE TO YOU? by Aliya Ali-Afzal
Head of Zeus, HB, £18.99
Faiza’s husband is made redundant. One lie and now £75,000 in debt. Can Faiza put it all right when all she did is try to protect her family?
REGENCY ROM-COM REPUTATION by Lex Croucher
Zaffre, PBO, £8.99
When Georgina Ellers moves to a new town to live with her aunt and uncle, life is pretty dull. That is until she meets high society Frances who leads her into a life of debauchery! Regency Society life will provide giggles, scandal and some serious messages in a time when women had few rights. Perfect for fans of Bridgerton and Jane Austen.
HEARTWARMING FRIENDSHIP HOPE NICELY’S LESSONS FOR LIFE by Caroline Day
Zaffre, HB, £12.99
Hope has Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and is on a mission to discover her birth mum, who she hopes will answer the difficult questions of why she was abandoned as a baby. Hope’s character and dialogue are so well crafted by Day. A book of acceptance, kindness and ultimately hope.
THRILLER
I KNOW WHAT YOU’VE DONE by Dorothy Koomson Headline, HB, £12.99
From Queen of the Big Reveal, her 17th novel is the best yet. A neighbour’s diary lands on your doorstep? A neighbour that’s now dead, killed by someone in the diary. What would you do? Snappy chapters each from different viewpoints, and choppy parts, filled with chills, twists, make this the pacey domestic noir read.
MOST ANTICIPATED SONGBIRDS by by Christy Lefteri
Manilla Press, HB, £14.99 From author of TheBeekeeper ofAleppo comes this novel set in Lefteri’s Cyprus. Written from the heart, influenced by true events, a story of migration and the human spirit, a mother’s love, prejudice, and the juxtaposition of searching for a better life only to find yourself trapped. A book powerful in its message: to see others as we see ourselves.
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