Welcome to our mid-month update on what’s hot, noteworthy and frankly unputdownable in the world of books … Read on for exclusive access to some of the best books being published in May selected by our team of editorial experts, news of the most prestigious award for debut writers… The Desmond Elliott Prize and much more.
This is our unique category, where you can
discover and start reading spellbinding books before they are published. Books like:
When I Was Invisible – New from author of
That Girl from Nowhere. An absolute page turner of a novel, at times uncomfortable, yet powerful and oh so compelling.
The Desmond Elliott Prize was founded in 2007 to celebrate the best 1st novel by a new author and to support writers just starting what will be long and glittering careers. It has succeeded in its mission in a manner that would make Elliott proud.
And we are very excited to introduce the longlist to you, which includes titles like
The Butcher’s Hook,
The Trouble with Goats and Sheep and
Spill Simmer Falter Wither that our Experts and Reader Review panel rated so highly. See them all
here, rest assured every title is well worth reading. The shortlist is due 6 May with the winner announced 22 June.
Yep! Yet more handpicked,
like-for-like recommendations lovingly selected by the Lovereading team so that you can be introduced to new authors similar in feel to authors that you love! For instance:
| If you like Dorothy Koomson, Cathy Kelly or Marian Keyes, you’ll love The Way We Were by Sinead Moriarty – A gorgeous cathartic family tale, with a unique narrative. |
 |
If you like Nadine Dorries, you’ll love A Family Scandal by Kitty Neale – A Sunday Times bestselling, gritty and emotional family drama. |
|
If you like Katie Fforde you’ll love A Good Catch by Fern Britton. Perfect feel good reading. |
 |
 |
 |
| If you like Victoria Hislop or Rosie Thomas, you’ll love Eden Gardens by Louise Brown – A vivid striking and captivating colonial tale layered with beauty and pain. |
|
If you like The Girl on the Train (Paula Hawkins) you’ll love When She Was Bad by Tammy Cohen… A hypnotic, at times harrowing and frightening, compulsive read. |
  |
  |
Gotland-dwelling Jonas Jonasson has a unique perspective on storytelling with engaging characters in madcap situations.
His first two titles:
The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared and
The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden won him industry accolades and a delighted international following.
The latest title to get his trademark treatment is
Hitman Anders and the Meaning of it All, a relentlessly riotous, unholy whirlwind of a read. Charming yet dark, humorous and immersive, it’s a gorgeously addictive walk on the light and darker sides of life! See more
here.
As always, we have the best in downloadable stories for the digitally dexterous.
Click here to see all of this month’s books available as eBooks. Our two favourites this month are:
The enthralling and quite wonderful historical thriller
Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor, well-timed given the Fire of London was 350 years ago this year.
Or the distinctive, powerful and engrossing
Tastes Like Fear by Sarah Hilary, 3
rd in the DI Marnie Rome series.
An 11 year old boy turns up on the doorstep of a 104 year old lady and the ensuing story,
The One in a Million Boy, has had our book experts and Reader Reviewers fighting over the copies in the office.
With reviews like ‘vibrant and real’, ‘a story that made me smile, laugh, cry and hug my children tightly’, ‘One of those books that you race to finish but at the same time don’t ever want to finish’ maybe it’s time for you to find out more for yourself especially if you have read
Elizabeth is Missing or
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.
Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror fans take note
Hands up, we admit that our editorial expertise in the area of
Fantasy,
Science Fiction and
Horror was not as strong as we would have liked –
BUT with the renowned Simon Spanton now on board that is
no longer the case. Simon has 25 years experience in the publishing business, including as Publisher for the prestigious imprint Gollancz where he worked with greats such as Ben Aaronovitch, Peter F. Hamilton, Scott Lynch and Richard Morgan. Fans will now appreciate the 3 new categories of
Fantasy,
Science Fiction and
Horror rather than all being combined in one and the regular expert selections.
Discover more today and do spread the word to all those you know who like a bit of otherworldly reading.
After over 200 years in print, Jane Austen is just as popular as ever. So much so, that some of our favourite authors have taken up the challenge to create new versions of her stories. There are currently four to choose from and many of you will already have enjoyed them!
The latest addition to the party is
Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld, which brings
Pride and Prejudice to modern day Cincinnati in a giddy, glam-ridden and hearty tale from the bestselling author of
American Wife.
Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave. Sarah Broadhurst said of this WW2 story… the writing is brilliant, the dialogue sharp, the changing attitudes that the war imposes on folk beautifully realised. And our Reader Review Panel members concurred with glowing reviews… ‘Clever and compelling wartime novel’ and ‘one of my top books of all time. It is stunning…’
The French Lesson by Hallie Rubenhold. Another favourite of Sarah Broadhurst… lots of drama and intrigue and a fast, compulsive pace. It is a pure charmer. Followed suit by our Reader Reviewers… ‘a delightful book that absolutely grips from the first word’ and ‘a wonderful gallop through the Revolution with dry humour, spies and plenty of passion.’
What are you waiting for?
Since her tightly woven, stylish debut thriller,
Black Water Rising, Attica Locke has gripped fans and gong-givers alike with her atmospheric stories. With her debut shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction, she is at the top table of tale-tellers in our book!
Her third title
Pleasantville, a (highly topical) political thriller and murder mystery, is a stonkingly good read, a Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction longlister and out NOW in paperback! Learn more about Attica’s novels
here.
This Spring’s Literary Festivals are covering all the bases –
Whitlit Festival (11-15 May) is long on Fleming,
Boswell Book Festival (6-8 May) goes large on biography (
we’re proud to be sponsoring Loyd Grossman’s event) and Bristol sees a surge in crime writers at
Crimefest (19-22 May). Don’t miss your special
10% discount on all tickets to Chiddingstone Castle Literary Festival (1-3 May).
More of our March highlights
And if we have still not grabbed you then why not try one of our pick and mix titles, all of which were selected by our editorial experts but also recently read and loved by one or more members of staff:
And that is April at Lovereading! We’ll be back in May with more reading recommendations.
P.S. See our
Book Awards category for the recently announced Baileys Women’s Prize Shortlist.
P.P.S. Maybe you saw Decca Aitkenhead’s tragic story in the newspapers? Even if you didn’t we highly recommend reading her memoir
All at Sea which is an entrancing love story; a horrifying death story; a book about class, family, growing up, taking risks and learning how to be strong.
Happy ‘Love’reading.
Comments (0)
Leave A Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.