This time of year is always exciting for book lovers, as the period between Father’s Day and Christmas sees the release of new titles from some of the biggest names in publishing. Whether it be the latest Lee Child (or is it Andrew now? I have lost track) or David Baldacci, the new Chris Hammer or Richard Osman, the long-awaited next Audrey Niffenegger or the much longed for new Pip Williams, late September through to late November are THE months for publishing. December might be a little quiet, but no doubt there’ll still be a few good reads waiting under the Christmas tree!
There are long, languid days of reading in the shade of an umbrella on a beach or by the side of the pool on the horizon, but the question is, what books will The AU Review books team be adding to their summer TBRs? Let’s find out!
When Dark Worlds Rise – Zena Shapter
Midnight Sun Publishing | Pub date: October 1 | Find a copy HERE
Jodie: I devoured the first two books in Zena Shapter’s dystopian sci-fi/fantasy series, and to say I’m excited to return to this hugely inventive world of giant ants, murderous trees, and an increasingly high stakes struggle for technology and power would be… well, a bit weird to say out loud, but also a total understatement. Catch yourself up with the first two and then gear up for another ride through Palude – you won’t regret it.
You can find our reviews of When Dark Roots Hunt and When Dark Waters Burn HERE and HERE
Quaint Folk – Bitter Karella
Hachette | Pub date: October 6 | Find a copy HERE
Annie: I love a good horror read, so as you might imagine, there are a lot of October releases that have me excited. One of the most promising comes from Hugo-nominated author Bitter Karella, and offers an unsettling tale of queer folk horror.
Jessica lives a life many would call perfect, complete with a stay-at-home-mum schedule, a young son, and a husband who works a respectable job. She’s the only one who knows things are not quite as they seem. A move to a remote island away from all the faults of the modern world promises to fix that, but as Jessica tries her best to fit in, she discovers she’s not the only one merely pretending to be perfect. I don’t know quite what horrors lies beneath this idyllic island’s surface yet, but I do know it sounds like a good spooky read for October.
Peck & Peck – Bonnie Garmus
Bonnier | Pub date: October 13| Find a copy HERE
Emily: Many of you probably expected to see this novel on the list, but I don’t care if choosing it makes me a cliche. Lessons in Chemistry was one of the best books I have read in recent years, featuring a surprising, inspiring heroine who perseveres despite a thinly veiled layer of rage and frustration running through her veins. It featured the kind of detailed world building in regards to time and place that exemplify why historical fiction remains one of my favourite genres. Garmus’s follow up was always going to be hotly anticipated by the book world, but she’ll be up against other huge returns, including the final Thursday Next novel by Jasper Fforde and the sequel to Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife.
Set in the world of New York City poetry journals – ‘something that alienates some people and bores most’ – Peck & Peck follows a young man named Batter Gray, downtrodden and named after his mother’s more accomplished dog, and promises the same sort of quirky underdog journey that readers followed Elizabeth Zott through. I’m quietly hopeful that this will be another absorbing read.
No One’s Looking – Brooke Davis
Hachette | Pub date: October 13| Find a copy HERE
Emily: I am informed by those who have already had the privilege of reading it that from the moment this book opens – when a large purple… object… falls out of its spot in the cupboard, this book is something special. The story of two sisters in their forties navigating the ups and downs of their lives together, and the invisibility of being a woman of that age, No One’s Looking is the newest novel from Australian literary darling Brooke Davis. While we haven’t had a full length book from Brooke since 2014’s Lost and Found took the best seller lists by storm, fans of Davis’s charming, heart-wrenching narrative style that blends the hard truths of life with love and lightness, will know that a new book from her is well worth the wait. Brooke is embarking on a book tour in October, and you can catch her in conversation at one of the events listed here.
Dream Girls – Hannah Goldstein
Allen & Unwin | Pub date: November 2| Find a copy HERE
Emily: A Shakespeare tragic and an Instagram baker try to kill one another at a wedding. It sounds like the set up to one of those ‘a horse walks into a bar’ type jokes, but I’m paraphrasing the opening line of the blurb for this book, and I’d be extremely surprised if anyone said that sentence didn’t intrigue them. Described as being part Romeo + Juliet (the Baz Luhrmann version), part Lena Dunham’s Girls, part Neapolitan quartet, and part 10 Things I Hate About You, this novel sounds perfect for anyone whose favourite subject in year 12 was English Lit, or those who love a quirky lit-fic about the particular weirdness of female friendship.
Monsters of Ohio – John Scalzi
Tor | Pub date: November 10| Find a copy HERE
Annie: Scalzi’s ridiculous sci fi novels never fail to make me laugh – his previous works Kaiju Preservation Society and more recent Starter Villain had me grinning the entire way through. This new novel promises even more strange delights, as the people of a seemingly-sleepy Ohio town deal with a corporate threat in a rather unorthodox way… a way which involves way more tentacles than anyone expected. I can’t wait to see what weird direction Scalzi takes this already intriguing premise.
Our TBRs continue to expand, but we’re not complaining, even if we do still have some catching up to do with all the other amazing releases from throughout the year. And, before we know it, it’ll be time to compile our list of best books of the year! We’ve got a few months reprieve before then though, giving us plenty of time to work through those stacks – and, of course, to make room on our bookshelves to do it all again in 2027!
Images supplied by publishers.
