Autumnal Book Recommendations
For all the seasonal readers out there who like to match their books with the season, here are some amazing books you should pick up this coming autumn. Ranging from cute and cosy to dark and spooky, there is a book for all of you.
Babel by R.F. Kuang is an academic, historical fantasy epic that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British Empire. Set in the 1800s we follow Robin Swift, a young boy orphaned by cholera, who is brought to London by a mysterious professor to train in languages, preparing for the day he enrolls in Oxford University. When the day finally arrives, Robin finds Oxford like a dystopia comitted to the pursuit of knowledge. He finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organisaton dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. Robin must soon decide which side of the war he is on.
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Sutano follows sixty year old, self-proclaimed tea expert, Vera Wong who enjoys nothing more than a good cup of Wulong and doing a little bit of detective work in her spare time, meaning she’s following up on her son to see if he’s dating anyone yet. One morning Vera wakes up to find a dead man in the middle of her shop and knowing she’ll do a better job than the police, decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.
His & Hers by Alice Feeney, nothing beats a good thriller in the lead up to spooky season. His & Hers follows newsreader, Anna Andrews and Detective Jack Harper. They are both following the same murders. Someone is lying and every step they take in discovering the killer, makes them even more of suspicious of the other. They can trust no one and as they dig deeper, secrets are being revealed, some of them worth killing over. This psychological twister will keep you guessing until the very last page.
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julie Armfield is an unsettling, salt-water soaked story that sinks deeper than you would think. Leah finally returns from a deep sea mission and Miri thinks she has her wife back but it soon shows that Leah is not the same. Whatever happened down there, whatever they ran into in the dark abyss of the ocean, Leah brought something back with her and Miri can feel it, Leah slowly slipping away and becoming someone else. Something else. Part tender love story, part nerve-clanging submarine thriller, this book will keep you on the edge of your seat.
The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn, the historical fiction set in 1928 that is a transporting and irresistible debut novel that takes it’s heroine, Cristabel Seagrave, from a theatre in the gargantuan cavity of a beached whale into undercover operations during World War II. This is a story of love, family, bravery, lost innocence, and self-transformation. You won’t be able to help falling in love with Cristabel and the journey she takes.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Noemi Taboada recieves a frantic letter from her newly wed cousin begging to be saved. Noemi heads to the distant house in the Mexican countryside, unsure of what she’ll find when she arrives. There are many secrets behind the walls of High Place and as Noemi digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness that had been hidden by the families once colossal wealth.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, this whimsical book will take you on an adventure of love, magic and competitiveness. The circus arrives without warning or announcement. It is callex Le Cirque des Reves and is open only at night. Behind the scenes there is a fierce competition, a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, both trained since childhood with their sole purpose being to win the competition and glory for their tutors. Only one can be left standing, but the competition isn’t the problem. Marco and Celia fall headfirst into a deep and magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm. However the game must go on, there must be a winner, a sacrifice made for the game. Who will it be?
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow, a heartwarming tale of sisterhood, feminism and the power we all have within us to take life in our hands and change it for the better. The Eastwood Sisters join the suffragists movement in New Salem and begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways of the witch’s that might just turn the women’s movement into a witch movement. Stalked by shadows, hunted by forces who will not allow a witch into their town. The sisters will have to delve into the oldest of magics, draw new alliances and heal the bond between them to survive.