Looking for something to read this month? We’ve got you covered.
Autumn is here and honestly, I couldn’t be happier about it. It’s time to enter a quieter, cooler part of the year where our social calendars aren’t as jam-packed as they were in the summer. If like me, you’re ready to enter hibernation mode then you need to stock up on some autumn reads. We’re being spoiled for choice this month with some of the most-anticipated new releases hitting bookshops, including the latest book by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I’ve gathered up my top recommendations so why not visit your local bookshop and pick up one or two (or all, no judgment here) of these books and delve into them this autumn?
1. The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan (Available Now)
The Aylward women of Nenagh, Tipperary, are mad about each other, but you wouldn’t always think it. You’d have to know them to know – in spite of what the neighbours might say about raised voices and dramatic scenes – that their house is a place of peace, filled with love, a refuge from the sadness and cruelty of the world.
Their story begins at an end and ends at a beginning. It involves wives and widows, gunrunners and gougers, sinners, and saints. It’s a story of terrible betrayals and fierce loyalties, of isolation and togetherness, of transgression, forgiveness, desire, and love. About all the things a family can be and all the things it sometimes isn’t.
2. Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Available Now)
Taylor Jenkins Reid can do no wrong in my eyes. I was so excited about the release of this book that I actually pre-ordered it twice.
Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular. But by the time she retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Slam titles. And if you ask Carrie, she is entitled to every one. She sacrificed nearly everything to become the best, with her father as her coach. Javier- a former champion himself- has trained her since the age of two.
But six years after her retirement, Carrie finds herself sitting in the stands of the 1994 US Open, watching her record being taken from her by a brutal, stunning, British player named Nicki Chan. At 37 years old, Carrie decides to come out of retirement to reclaim her record.
3. There’s Been a Little Incident by Alice Ryan (Published September 15th)
A story of family, grief, and the ways we come together when all seems lost. Molly Black has disappeared. She’s been flighty since her parents died, but this time – or so says her hastily written note – she’s gone for good. That’s why the whole Black clan – from Granny perched on the printer to Killian on Zoom from Sydney – is huddled together in the Dublin suburbs, arguing over what to do.
Former model Lady V presumes Molly’s just off taking drugs and sleeping with strangers – which is fine by her. Cousin Anne, tired of living in Molly’s shadow, is keeping quiet, and cousin Bobby is distracted by his own issues. But Molly’s disappearance is eerily familiar to Uncle John. He is determined never to lose anyone again. Especially not his niece, who is more like her mum than she realises.
Marian Keyes has praised this gem of a book by Alice Ryan so you know it’s going to be something special.
4. The Night Ship by Jess Kidd (Available Now)
In 1628, a young girl called Mayken boards the Batavia, the most impressive sea vessel of the age, in search of her father. During the long voyage, this curious and resourceful child must find her place in the ship’s busy world, and she soon uncovers shadowy secrets above and below deck. As tensions spiral, the fate of the ship and all on board becomes increasingly uncertain.
In 1989, Gil, a boy mourning the death of his mother, is placed in the care of his irritable and reclusive grandfather. Their home is a shack on a tiny fishing island off the Australian coast, notable only for its reefs and wrecked boats. This is no place for a child struggling with a dark past and Gil’s actions soon get him noticed by the wrong people.
The Night Ship follows the lives, struggles and heartache of two children, hundreds of years apart, whose fates are inextricably bound together.
5. The Other Guinness Girl: A Question of Honor by Emily Hourican (Published September 22nd)
Honor Guinness is rich, aristocratic, shy, and awkward — nothing like her glamorous cousins Aileen, Maureen, and Oonagh.
But when she marries the charming and ambitious, American Henry ‘Chips’ Channon, together, they make the perfect couple. Determined to conquer London society, they are soon at the heart of the best social circles — including a close friendship with the prince of Wales and Mrs. Wallis Simpson. But within the marriage, all is less than perfect. Meanwhile, Honor’s best friend, the beautiful, enigmatic Doris, is focused on marrying well to provide security to her family. Born to a German-Jewish mother, she has charm and looks but not Honor’s advantages of birth and connection.
Emily Hourican is by far one of the best authors around right now. Her charming and endearing novels will completely capture your heart.
6. Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (Available Now)
On the hillside of Mount Hakodate in northern Japan, Cafe Donna Donna is fabled for its dazzling views of Hakodate port. But that’s not all. Like the charming Tokyo cafe Funiculi Funicula, Cafe Donna Donna offers its customers the extraordinary experience of travelling through time.
Four new customers enter the cafe, each of whom is hoping to take advantage of the cafe’s time-travelling offer. Readers will meet: A daughter who begrudges her deceased parents for leaving her orphaned. A comedian who aches for his beloved and their shared dreams. A younger sister whose grief has become all-consuming, a young man who realizes his love for his childhood friend too late.
Before Your Memory Fades leaves the reader wondering: what would you change if you could travel back in time?
