A selection of this week’s new general, historical and romance fiction titles to 30th March – Jill’s Book Cafe
Here’s my pick of this week’s new hardback/paperback fiction titles. In some cases the eBook might already be available. My source is primarily The Bookseller, but I’ve started to include other sources to broaden the selection.
Just a reminder, I don’t have access to a complete list of titles being published, and, as I don’t see any advance copies, my choices are based on the cover, blurb, gut instinct and what takes my fancy at the time.
(NB This post features Affiliate links from which I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases)
Index
Historical (I tend to take this as pre 1960’s ie not in my lifetime!)
General/Contemporary Fiction
The Distance Between Us by Georgie Capron
Happy children, happy husband, happily ever after?
Tasha knows that she should count her blessings: married for eleven years, mother to three healthy children, she should be content with her lot. However, feelings of frustration have settled over her like a dark cloud. Despite living under the same roof and sharing the same bed, Tasha has never felt so distant from her husband, Charlie. She feels worn down by the mental load of motherhood, drowning in the never-ending chores that keep the family and household afloat. Most of all she worries that her once happy marriage is slipping away from her.
Tasha longs for something to change, but when change comes calling will it really be the answer she was hoping for? And is it possible to fall in love with the same person twice?
A modern day love story about family, marriage and risking it all to have it all.
City Girls Forever by Patricia Scanlan
The City Girls are back! And as City Girl, Devlin Delaney’s iconic gym and spa, prepares to mark a big anniversary, Devlin and her best friends Caroline and Maggie are looking forward to a fabulous party where they can all put their problems behind them and celebrate. Devlin’s past has returned to haunt her, with a shocking revelation. But she’s strong and her beloved Luke has her back. Caroline is facing up to issues she’s long suppressed, with the help of a man who’s becoming more than a friend. Will happiness finally be hers? Maggie’s family is driving her mad. Her ex, Terry, and their daughter don’t get on, and she’s made an alarming discovery about her elderly mother’s financial affairs. She wants to run far, away. Sparks are going to fly, and some people are going to get a lot more than they bargained for!
The Runaway Wives by Karen King
‘We’re leaving. And there’s nothing either of you can do about it!’
When the surprise holiday Dee thinks her husband has booked for her sixtieth birthday weekend turns out to be yet another solo golfing break – it’s the last straw.
Meanwhile her best friend Babs’s other half has decided to move to Spain and is acting like he doesn’t need to consult anyone. Not even Babs!
Well, if their husbands think they can do what they want, so can their wives. So, with that thought, the two best friends leap into Dee’s trusty car and head for the seaside, and an adventure they’ll never forget.
Back home their furious husbands want them to return immediately. But – as they begin to enjoy their newfound freedom – will either of the runaway wives ever want to come back home again?
The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits
What’s left when your kids grow up and leave home?
When Tom Layward’s wife had an affair he resolved to leave her as soon as his youngest daughter turned eighteen. Twelve years later, while driving her to Pittsburgh to start university, he remembers his pact.
He is also on the run from his own health issues, and the fact that he’s been put on leave at work after students complained about the politics of his law class – something he hasn’t yet told his wife.
So, after dropping Miriam off, he keeps driving, with the vague plan of visiting various people from his past – an old college friend, his ex-girlfriend, his brother, his son – on route, maybe, to his father’s grave in California.
What is Wrong With You? by Paul Rudnick
A tech billionaire and the flight attendant he’s marrying. A TV superhero who used to be married to the flight attendant. A Manhattan book editor and the sensitivity associate who got him fired. A twenty-three-year-old wild child prodigy who’s perhaps the savior of American literature. A vengeful Arkansas sheriff who sells a vitamin-enriched, ten-pounds-off-today demulsifier. A Wall Street bro who raps on TikTok. Two dentists–possibly stalking each other.
What do these people have in common? Invited or not, they’re all headed to the most anticipated destination wedding ever, on the billionaire’s private island, to seek romance, to cause mayhem, and to figure out everyone else’s futures and maybe even their own.
Find out what happens in Paul Rudnick’s heartfelt new novel, which dares to pose the question essential to anyone who’s ever been in love: What Is Wrong with You?
The Hotel at the Heart of the Lakes by Ellie Wood
Sometimes a holiday can change your life…
Welcome to the Lake Island Hotel, on a small island in the centre of beautiful Derwentwater, offering an escape from it all like no other destination. With a 360-degree view of the hills, and the water lapping at your feet on the private shore, you can’t help but be enchanted.
Anna bought the hotel with her husband five years ago, and has lovingly transformed it from a near-ruin to a must-visit luxury destination, with its seven stylish rooms and a sister restaurant to the renowned Hesta.
The guests who come here to unwind see only the stunning views and the five-star service – but behind the scenes are the team who work hard to make relaxing seem easy. On an island this small, it’s inevitable that tempers will fray, hearts will break, romances will bloom – and above all, if you think you’ve got a secret, it won’t stay that way for long…
On the Clock by Claire Baglin
A voice-driven, penetrating novel of the exploitation and alienation of the working class.
In one strand, a young family bumps and scrapes through life. The hapless father balances demanding factory shiftwork, while the mother constantly prioritises the needs of others over her own. But there is also happiness: a trip to the seaside; sibling squabbles, games and laughter; tenderness and support. In another strand, a young woman describes her days working in a burger chain. It is exhausting, repetitive labour, too often peopled by tricky customers and even trickier managers. Hours pass. Days, weeks, years. It is an existence that marks the body and mind and governs a life.
What emerges, alive with eloquent detail, is a compelling exploration of social inequality. Writing with nimble nuance, a sly, subtle wit, and a sharp ear, Claire Baglin marks her debut in On the Clock as a blazingly original talent.
This Bright Life by Karen Campbell
Gerard is twelve. He hates his name, but loves flying round the streets of Glasgow on his bike, or mucking about with his gang, the Broncos. He’s a bright kid, but trouble seems to follow him. No one really knows what it’s like at home for Gerard; he’s used to carrying a lot on his small shoulders.
Gerard doesn’t always make good decisions. And on one April morning, in the blink of an eye, he makes a very bad one – one that will upend his whole world.
Now, he faces a bewildering stream of concerned adults clutching files, unfamiliar streets to navigate, a strange bed to sleep in, and the very real chance he won’t see his wee brother and sister again.
Heartbreaking and yet brimful of humour, compassion and hope, This Bright Life is a story about messy lives, second chances and the many hands it takes to build a boy.
Look the World in the Eye by Alice Peterson
Bells is always writing to her sister Katie, but Katie never replies. Preoccupied with her glamorous career in fashion, her busy life and her boyfriend Sam, she just doesn’t have the time.
Then Bells announces that she’s coming to stay. She’s not a secret exactly, but. . . Sam doesn’t know she exists.
For Bells doesn’t fit into Katie’s perfect world.
But when Bells does arrive, everything changes for Katie. Perhaps her perfect life isn’t so perfect after all?
Historical
A Calamity of Noble Houses by Amira Ghenin
One fateful night in December 1935, the destinies of two prominent families are changed forever. Zubaida, the young wife of Mohsen Ennaifer, is suspected of a clandestine love affair with Tahar, a radical intellectual from humble origins. This scandalous tryst has many facets, many truths, that are recounted in the voices of the eleven different narrators who, in a feat of storytelling virtuosity, animate this spectacular novel. A complex fresco of secrets, memories, accusations, regrets, and passions set against the backdrop of a country in turmoil, in search of its modern identity.
Come In and Shut the Door by Chris Petit
THE FINAL DAYS OF ADOLF HITLER ARE SHROUDED IN MYSTERY. WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN THAT BERLIN BUNKER? AND WHAT HAPPENEND NEXT?
When Parker loses his faith and quits studying for the priesthood, he finds himself back in London, looking for employment. He accepts an offer to work as amanuensis to the sinister Robinson, who earns a living as a collector of dubious historical objects.
Parker’s duties involve meeting those who have an interest in purchasing the kinds of artefacts in which Robinson specialises. As he becomes immersed in a world of secret histories, Parker discovers things that will lead him into the darkest corners of 20th-century history and that great fault line of civilisation, institutional corruption, of which he is a victim.
With a cast of corrupt police officers, property speculators, Russian Mafiosi, abusive Roman Catholic priests, Second World War bomber pilots, Eva Braun, Martin Bormann and Adolf Hitler, Come in and Shut the Door is a bold, brave and scatological masterpiece by one of our best and most original writers.
No. 2 Whitehall Court by Alan Judd
In the glorious summer of 1914, Emily Grey, a young Cambridge undergraduate, is studying German in Heidelberg. While there she meets Hans, a philosopher with grey eyes and long lashes, who wins her heart and asks her to marry him. When the First World War intervenes, however, she is forced to return to England, leaving Hans behind to join the Imperial Navy.
A year later, Emily is recruited to serve in a recently established government department. Commander Cumming, head of His Majesty’s newly-formed Secret Service — sometimes also known as MI6 — is keen to make use of Emily’s language skills. Assigned to interview an informer known as ‘The Dane’, she learns of a plot so audacious it has the potential to change the entire course of the war.
At Rosyth in Scotland, the home of the British Grand Fleet, Emily must work undercover to locate the mole the heart of the British naval establishment. Who is the traitor known only by the codename ‘Heiffer’? And can she find him in time to prevent a military catastrophe that would spell disaster for the country she serves?
Rembrandt’s Promise by Barbara Leahy
Hanging beside the door is a painting of a wedding feast. The light is centred on the bride; the guests are banished to the shade. That is how it is when he looks at her: all others fade away.
1642.
The Dutch Golden Age is underway, with Amsterdam at the height of its powers.
Geertje, an impoverished widow from Edam, enters a melting pot of wealth and culture when she becomes nursemaid in the house of renowned painter Rembrandt.
After Rembrandt’s wife dies, Geertje is drawn deeper into his world and despite her friends’ warnings, she begins a passionate affair with the master of light and shadow, with devastating results.
Based on the true account of a wronged woman who demanded justice, with themes of feminism, loss, ambition and redemption, this is a remarkable debut, perfect for fans of sumptuous historical fiction.
A New Home at the Wartime Hotel by Maisie Thomas
Manchester, 1941
Kitty learned early on in her marriage that her husband, Bill Dunbar, isn’t reliable with money. So when they inherit the Dunbar family hotel at the start of the war, she’s hopeful that their financial worries are over… until the bailiffs turn up! With Bill now in the army, it’s up to Kitty to turn things around for her family, or risk ruin.
Lily worked as a chambermaid at Dunbar’s before the war. She met Daniel there, but their relationship was complicated by class differences and the disapproval of Daniel’s mother. Now Lily is pregnant – and with Daniel away at sea, she is all alone. When tragedy strikes, will Kitty and Dunbar’s come to her rescue?
Beatrice is in her forties, unmarried, and working in a job that exposes her to the harsh realities of poverty and sacrifice. She wonders whether the war might give her the opportunity to change lives for the better – including her own. But when she’s accused of a crime she didn’t commit, the future looks bleak… until Kitty makes a surprising suggestion.
Can the community around Dunbar’s hotel pull together and provide a beacon of hope and resilience, in the dark days of war?
Tough Times on Coronation Close by Lizzie Lane
As the war rages, the women must keep the home fires burning…
Bristol 1941
Coronation Close survives the brutal Bristol Blitz but with rationing, call up papers and new rules and regulations everyone’s lives are changed forever.
Resident do-gooder PC Percy Routledge’s obsession with rules being upheld finds him spying and reporting fellow neighbours on the slightest infraction whilst his poor brow-beaten wife, Margaret can only watch on in shameful silence. It’s whispered that one day he’ll get his comeuppance…
Times are hard for everyone and Thelma Dawson certainly has her fair share of upset. Devastating news arrives that her son Charlie’s ship has been torpedoed and sank in the Atlantic, his whereabout unknown. Will he ever return to his wife and their unborn child? Meanwhile, seventeen years old daughter Mary has had her head turned by a certain overseas soldier. But where will temptation lead them?
Tough times, it seems, are here to stay and the women of Coronation Close all have their own battles and problems to overcome. As friendships are nurtured and relationships are tested, tragedy strikes and some home truths need to be faced.
Romance
Alive and Wells by Bailey Hannah
He’s worried she won’t stay. She’s worried she will.
The last place city girl Cecily Kennedy expected to end up was a cattle ranch. But she needs a job-and refuge from her abusive soon-to-be-ex-husband.
If only her new boss, Austin Wells, would make it clear whether he hates her or wants her. His gaze makes her feel things she hasn’t in years. Though getting over her ex by getting under her grumpy boss isn’t worth the potential fallout.
Austin’s a gruff, no-nonsense rancher who’s seriously regretting letting his head cook hire her own help. As far as he’s concerned, Cecily won’t be sticking around for long. Nobody ever stays. And the wedding ring indent still on her finger makes her more trouble than she’s worth.
When Cecily’s past catches up with her, Austin discovers that she’s already placed a branding iron on his heart. He wants her to stay. But first he needs to keep her safe . . .
_____________________________
Just Our Luck by Denise Williams
Sybil Sweet has always been lucky, but lately she can’t catch a break. After years of bouncing from job to job in search of something that feels right and from man to man in search of something special, Sybil is worried that she’s the directionless, floundering daughter her family thinks she is. All she really wants now is a little financial stability and carb comfort. Lucky for her, she’s got just enough in the bank to buy a lottery ticket, and the late-night donut store is open.
Kieran Anderson put his dreams of becoming a doctor on hold to take over running his family’s bakery, and after fighting a losing battle to save the place, he’s exhausted, broke, and no closer to getting back to school. But when a whirlwind of a woman sweeps in late one night, flirty energy gives way to more…until she runs out the next morning, leaving behind her winning lottery ticket.
Lucky for Kieran, his attempt to return the ticket looks like a grand romantic gesture and goes viral, sending sales through the roof. In an effort to keep the store afloat and to convince Sybil’s family she can make good relationship choices, they agree to fake a relationship for three months. Even with hundreds of millions of dollars, finding each other might end up being the sweetest bit of luck for both of them.
The Prince and the Player by Nora Phoenix
I’m determined to win over the one guy who hates me…but I never expected to fall for him
Being a prince may seem like a fairytale, but to me, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. That’s why I’m excited when I get permission from my uncle—the king of Norway—to go undercover as a student at an American college for a year. And I’m even more ecstatic to be selected for their football team. Soccer, I mean. The only problem? Farron, the team captain, dislikes me on sight. Determined to win him over, I start a charm offensive, but nothing works. He only hates me more.
Until the animosity comes to an explosive release…and we end up kissing each other. How did that happen when neither of us has ever been attracted to a guy before? Farron wants to let it run its course and get it out of our system, but I doubt that’ll work. I’m falling for him hard, but he has no idea who I really am. I fear that if he finds out, he’ll never speak to me again…
The Prince and the Player is the first book in the Prince Pact series and features an undercover, sunshiney prince and a grumpy, handsome soccer captain, two guys who mistake hate for attraction, a double bi-awakening, and two opposites who attract each other like magnets.
Summer in the City by Alex Aster
Twenty-seven-year-old screenwriter, Elle, has the chance of a lifetime to write a big-budget movie set in New York City. The only problem? She’s had writer’s block for months, and her screenplay is due by the end of the summer.
Desperate for inspiration, Elle returns to NYC – the city she hates – and tries to throw herself into her writing. But then she meets her new neighbour: Parker Warren. He’s the city’s favourite handsome tech billionaire and he’s also the guy Elle hooked up with in a stairwell two years ago. When seeing him again turns into a night of hate-fuelled writing, Elle realises Parker might just be her twisted muse.
So, when Parker needs to fake a steady relationship during his company’s precarious acquisition and Elle needs to research a list of classic date spots in the city for her screenplay, they suddenly find they might just be exactly what each other needs.
Summers always end, and so will this agreement.
It’s all pretend.
Until it isn’t.
The Girlfriend Zone by Lauren Blakely
In my defense, I had no idea the tattooed, glasses-wearing, soulful hottie I spent one perfect day—and one unforgettable night—with was a hockey star on my father’s team.
And Miles didn’t know I was the coach’s daughter.
That’s the point of a “no-work-talk” date.
But now? He’s as forbidden to me as I am to him.
When I land a new gig as the team photographer, we vow to keep it professional. We mostly succeed…except for that time after a game when he couldn’t keep his talented hands off me. But I swear, it won’t happen again.
Too much is at stake—I can’t risk my heart or my father’s team.
But when I end up living at Miles’s place to care for his pack of rescue pups, the lines blur fast. Late nights turn into stolen moments and I discover there’s more to him than I ever imagined—a man who’s genuine, thoughtful, and irresistibly real.
He looks at me like he can’t believe his luck. Touches me like he never wants to let go. And listens to my hopes and fears.
My heart’s getting dangerously attached. But if I follow it… am I putting everyone’s dreams on the line?
One Last Summer by Kate Spencer
A second chance at a summer romance . . .
Pine Lake Camp has always played a central role in Clara Millen’s life and she returns every August. So when burnout and an awful break-up inspire Clara to quit her job, her annual vacation turns into a much-needed escape from reality.
But upon arrival, she faces yet another unwelcome change: the camp’s owners are selling Pine Lake. The news turns her plans for revelry into a night of reminiscing . . . and prompts a surprise heart-to-heart with Mack, her annoyingly handsome childhood nemesis. Soon, the campfire isn’t all that’s throwing off sparks . . .
The Last Guy You Kiss by Carla De Guzman
Love turns up when you least expect it
Love isn’t easy. Especially when everyone seems to have found it but you. For florist Mara Barretto, her love life – or lack thereof – has baffled her close-knit family for years. Now that her baby sister is getting married, however, the pressure to settle down is at an all-time high. Then she meets Jay Montinola, a fellow wedding guest who’s equally single.
And rumour has it that every girl who kisses Jay finds The One immediately after. So Mara does what any girl would do: try it for herself.
It’s only a kiss – but the moment Jay’s lips are on hers, Mara’s plan takes an unexpected turn. Will she finally find the relationship she longs for, or is true love a lot closer than she thinks?
The Last Days of Summer by Sarra Manning
Sometimes all it takes is one long summer weekend for the person you thought you hated to become something more…
After a disastrous first meeting, Cassie and Marc become arch nemeses. He might have great cheekbones and a sexy French accent but he’s a terrible person who did a terrible thing. Too bad that Cassie’s best friends Lucy and Russell think he’s wonderful.
But years later, when an unexpected tragedy strikes their friendship group, Cassie and Marc team up to give Lucy and Russell the best weekend ever so they can make new memories with all of their favourite people. Which means convincing everyone that Cassie and Marc are head over heels in love.
After hating him for so long, it takes four bittersweet days for Cassie to wonder if she got Marc all wrong. Can they let go of their troubled past and together, face whatever the future is going to throw at them?
One in a Million by Beverley Kendall
Megastar Whitney “Sahara” Richardson has everything planned – including when she’ll have kids. But a medical mix-up makes her the biological mother of a child she didn’t carry and whose father she’s never met.
World-famous Whitney “Sahara” Richardson is at the top of her game. With four Grammys, an Oscar nod, and a half-billion-dollar clothing line, her career is skyrocketing. Even her headline-grabbing dating life is looking up. And if everything goes as planned, marriage and children are just a few years away. However, a mix-up at the fertility clinic where her eggs are stored puts the cart before the horse, and Sahara suddenly has a daughter… whose biological father is reluctant to share.
Kilted Lovers by Megan Clawson
All Lady Alice Walpole wants is to be swept off her feet, but she keeps finding herself on one bad date after another. And when she’s caught partying too hard with her latest royal beau, her father banishes her to Balmoral to clean up her act.
Fraser Bell just wants to do his job as Piper to the Sovereign at Balmoral. He prefers tartan to tuxedos, and spends his days with horses rather than dealing with people, so when he’s assigned to wake Alice up to the sound of bagpipes every morning, he’s less than pleased.
But as her time in Scotland stretches on, Alice finds herself falling for the rugged landscape – and maybe even Fraser, too. Soon, returning to her glittering but empty life in London sounds less like an escape, and more like a punishment.
She wears tiaras, and he wears tartan, but for this unlikely couple, can romance ever reign?
Possessive Puckboy by Eden Finley and Saxon James
Connor
Finding out those closest to me don’t see me as the great guy I think I am not only kicks me in the gut, it makes me question everything.
Until that happened, I didn’t think I had many regrets in my life. Now, I have nothing but regrets. And when my NHL team is bought out, and the new owner makes his presence known, my existential crisis kicks up a notch. Because he might be my biggest regret of all.
Parker Duchene.
I made his life a living hell in high school, and now he’s inserting himself into my career to repay the favor.
With everything in my personal life already on the line, I can’t risk hockey too. I need to figure out a way to play nice with the new owner.
Parker
I bought Colorado’s NHL team to honor my late father. I did. Only reason.
Emotionally playing with one of my many high school tormentors is a nice bonus though.
Connor Kikishkin may be the one who made me the target for years of name-calling, but I’ve always wondered if my hatred for him bordered too much on the obsessive side to truly be classified as hate.
Infatuation is probably the right word for it.
Now his whole life is in my hands, and I can’t wait to see him beg for my mercy. Seeing Mr. Popular find his humility will definitely ease the grief from losing my dad … right? Because right now, that’s all I have, and I need to hold on to it so I don’t crumble.
Kindred Spirits at Harling Hall by Sharon Booth
Can Callie give some needy ghosts their happy-ever-afterlife, while making Rowan Vale her own forever home?
When single mum Callie visits Rowan Vale with her daughter, she is enchanted. The beautiful Cotswold village is run as a living museum, allowing tourists to see history in action. But there’s more to the place than meets the eye…
To the residents’ surprise, Callie is observed talking to several villagers she simply shouldn’t be able to see – as they’re ghosts.
The elderly owner of the village, Sir Lawrence Davenport, then makes an astonishing offer: to sell Callie the whole estate for a tiny sum, if she agrees to protect the village’s present tenants and its headstrong spirits.
With a spectral lord of the manor and his imperious wife, a naughty 1940s schoolgirl and William Shakespeare’s former tutor among them, it seems Callie’s role as owner wouldn’t be easy.
And that’s without the added complication of Sir Lawrence’s disinherited grandson, the gorgeous Brodie.
Rowan Vale and Callie may need each other. But is this a match made in heaven or hell?
Lincoln : The Billionaire Boys by VH Nicolson
Happy ever after’s don’t apply to me…
I have six weeks left of my sabbatical in LA before I go home to my family and our business. I’ve spent months traveling, surfing and working on my tan but I get bored easily and I needed more. So that’s what led me to my temporary job – and Violet West. The most hypnotically beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, whose killer curves and sharp tongue rock my world.
But the clock is ticking and my return ticket is booked. I need to be careful I don’t fall too hard. I need to keep my composure when she temps me to take a leap of faith with her, when she gets me so hot and bothered I end up in the emergency room. When she invites me into her home and convinces me to break my self-inflicted sex-ban… But the biggest risk? When she shows me what it feels like to be really loved, something I know nothing about. And now I don’t want to leave. But I know good things never last… right?
So that’s all for this week.
Happy Reading!
