Cooler weather is fast approaching (thank God). Think cosy jumpers, warm mochas in cute cafes and falling leaves. Actually, that’s all sounding a bit Christian Girl Autumn.
Maybe you’re dreading the arrival of autumn. The wild rain, not being able to go to the beach and the cold draft in your shitty sharehouse are all pretty grim.
But let’s be real: curling up under a cosy blanket with a great new book is the perfect way to bring in the new season.
It’s time to start romanticising autumn again, babes. So here are our top picks for the best new autumn reads!
February Releases
Only A Monster by Vanessa Len
About the book:
This YA novel is a bit of a slow burn, but once you’re hooked you’ll be staring at your ceiling for days.
Every family has its secrets, but the summer Joan Chang-Hunt goes to stay with her Gran in London, she learns hers is bigger than most. The Hunts are one of twelve families in London with terrifying, hidden powers. Joan is half-monster. And what’s more, her summer crush Nick isn’t just a cute boy – he’s hiding a secret as well; a secret that places Joan in terrible danger.
When the monsters of London are attacked, Joan is forced on the run with the ruthless Aaron Oliver, heir to a monster family who are sworn enemies of her own. Joan is drawn deeper into a world that simmers with hostilities, alliances and secrets. And her rare and dangerous power means she’s being hunted. She’ll have to embrace her own monstrousness if she is to save herself, and her family. Because in this story… she is not the hero.
Category: Young Adult Fantasy
Release date: February 1
Price: $14.99 (down from $22.99)
House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas
About the book:
Bada-bing, bada-boom, smut-faerie queen Sarah J. Maas’ uber-anticipated second book in her Crescent City series is here!
Bryce Quinlan and Hunt Athalar have made a pact. As they process the events of the Spring they will keep things . platonic . until the Solstice. But can they resist when the crackling tension between them is enough to set the whole of Crescent City aflame?
And they are not out of danger yet. Dragged into a rebel movement they want no part of, Bryce, Hunt and their friends find themselves pitted against the terrifying Asteri — whose notice they must avoid at all costs. But as they learn more about the rebel cause, they face a choice: stay silent while others are oppressed, or fight. And they’ve never been very good at staying silent.
Category: New Adult Fantasy
Release date: February 15
Price: $22.50 (down from $29.99)
The Cane by Maryrose Cuskelly
About the book:
A haunting new thriller, perfect for fans of Jane Harper’s The Dry.
Quala, a North Queensland sugar town, the 1970s.
Barbara McClymont walks the cane fields searching for Janet, her sixteen-year-old daughter, who has been missing for weeks. The police have no leads. The people of Quala are divided by dread and distrust. But the sugar crush is underway and the cane must be burned.
Meanwhile, children dream of a malevolent presence, a schoolteacher yearns to escape, and history keeps returning to remind Quala that the past is always present. As the smoke rises and tensions come to a head, the dark heart of Quala will be revealed, affecting the lives of all those who dwell beyond the cane.
Category: Crime Fiction
Release date: February 1
Price: $26.90 (down from $32.99)
The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea by Axie Oh
About the book:
This beautifully written novel that reads wondrously like Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away. The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea is an enthralling feminist retelling of the popular Korean fairytale, The Tale of Shim Cheong.
For generations, deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curse them with death and despair. To appease him, each year a maiden is thrown into the sea, in the hopes that one day the ‘true bride’ will be chosen and end the suffering. Many believe Shim Cheong – Mina’s brother’s beloved – to be the legendary true bride.
But on the night Cheong is sacrificed, Mina’s brother follows her, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead. Swept away to the Spirit Realm, Mina finds the Sea God, trapped in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man and a motley crew of demons, gods and spirits, Mina sets out to wake him and bring an end to the storms once and for all.
Category: Young Adult Fiction
Release date: February 22
Price: 18.62 (down from $22.99)
In The Shadow of the Mountain by Silvia Vasquez-Lavado
About the book:
Soon to be a major motion picture, starring none other than our gal, Selena Gomez. Gomez will play Silvia Vasquez, the first LGBT woman to complete The Seven Summits, a challenge that involves climbling seven of the highest mountains in the world.
Despite a high-flying career, Silvia Vasquez-Lavado knew she was hanging by a thread. Deep in the throes of alcoholism, and hiding her sexuality from her family, she was repressing the abuse she’d suffered as a child. When her mother called her home to Peru, she knew something finally had to change. It did. Silvia began to climb.
Something about the sheer size of the mountains, the vast emptiness and the nearness of death, woke her up. And then, she took her biggest pain to the biggest mountain: Everest. The ‘Mother of the World’ allows few to reach her summit, but Silvia didn’t go alone. Trekking with her to Base Camp, were six troubled young women on an odyssey that helped each confront their personal trauma, and whose strength and community propelled Silvia forward.
Category: Memoir
Release date: February 8
Price: 24.74 (down from $32.99)
The Trivia Night by Ali Lowe
This spicy mystery is set around a fancy Sydney primary school — so fans of Big Little Lies, here’s one for you.
It’s a community where everyone knows each other – and secrets don’t stay secret for long. The big date in the calendar is the school’s annual fundraising trivia night, but when the evening gets raucously out of hand, talk turns to partner-swapping. Initially scandalised, it’s not long before a group of parents make a reckless one-night-only pact.
In the harsh light of day, those involved must face the fallout of their behaviour. As they begin to navigate the shady aftermath of their wild night, the truth threatens to rip their perfect lives apart – and revenge turns fatal.
Category: Fiction
Release Date: February 22nd
Price: $26.90 (down from $32.99).
March Releases
All That’s Left In The World by Erik J. Brown
A queer, YA adventure romance set in virus-riddled dystopian future? I’m already sold!
When Andrew stumbles upon Jamie’s house, he’s injured, starved, and has nothing left to lose. A deadly pathogen has killed off most of the world’s population, including everyone both boys have ever loved. And if this new world has taught them anything, it’s to be scared of what other desperate people will do . . . so why does it seem so easy for them to trust each other?
After danger breaches their shelter, they flee south in search of civilization. But something isn’t adding up about Andrew’s story, and it could cost them everything. And Jamie has a secret, too. He’s starting to feel something more than friendship for Andrew.
Category: Young Adult
Release Date: March 8 2022
Price: $15.47 (down from $17.99)
Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
This classic murder mystery has Knives Out vibes, if you’re still not over Chris Evans in his cableknit jumper.
I was dreading the Cunningham family reunion even before the first murder. Before the storm stranded us at the mountain resort, snow and bodies piling up. The thing is, us Cunninghams don’t really get along.
We’ve only got one thing in common- we’ve all killed someone.
My brother. My step-sister. My wife. My father. My mother. My sister-in-law. My uncle. My stepfather. My aunt. Me.
Category: Mystery
Release Date: March 8 2022
Price: $22.99 (down from $32.99)
The First Astronomers: How Indigenous Elders read the stars by Duane Hamacher, with Elders and Knowledge Holders
The First Astronomers is the first book of its kind: exploring the wealth of knowledge First Peoples around the world have about the sky and stars. A great pick if you enjoy the odd spot of stargazing!
Our eyes have been drawn away from the skies to our screens. We no longer look to the stars to forecast the weather, predict the seasons or plant our gardens. Most of us cannot even see the Milky Way. But First Nations Elders around the world still maintain this knowledge, and there is much we can learn from them.
Guided by six First Nations Elders, Duane Hamacher takes us on a journey across space and time to reveal the wisdom of the first astronomers. These living systems of knowledge challenge conventional ideas about the nature of science and the longevity of oral tradition.
Indigenous science is dynamic, adapting to changes in the skies and on Earth, pointing the way for a world facing the profound disruptions of climate change.
Category: Non-Fiction
Release Date: March 1 2022
Price: $26.60 (down from $34.99)
Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson
It’s a collab I never knew I needed but God, I’m glad it exists. Dolly Parton (yes, THE Dolly Parton) worked with legendary thriller writer James Patterson for this new release. Plus, you can snag an accompanying album written by Dolly herself!
Every song tells a story. She’s a star on the rise, singing about the hard life behind her.
She’s also on the run. Find a future, lose a past. Nashville is where she’s come to claim her destiny. It’s also where the darkness she’s fled might find her. And destroy her.
Category: Thriller
Release Date: March 7 2022
Price: $22.95 (down from $32.99)
Smile And Look Pretty by Amanda Pellegrino
This novel explores harassment and sexism in the modern workplace, so if you’re looking for a new fighting feminist read, this one’s for you.
Best friends Cate, Lauren, Olivia and Max are overworked and underpaid assistants to some of the most powerful people in the entertainment industries. Like the assistants who came before them, the women know they have to pay their dues and abide the demeaning tasks and verbal abuse from their bosses in order to climb the ladders to their dream jobs.
But as they are passed over for promotions and the toxic office environments reach a breaking point, the women secretly start an anonymous blog detailing their experiences, which snowballs into hundreds of others coming forward with stories of their own. Confronted with newfound viral fame and the possibility of their identities being revealed, the assistants have to contend with the life-changing consequences of speaking out against those who refuse to share the power.
Category: Fiction
Release Date: March 8 2022
Price: $33.90
The Mother by Jane Caro
Walkley award-winning journo Jane Caro tries her hand at novel writing with this domestic thriller.
Recently widowed, Miriam Duffy is a respectable North Shore real estate agent and devoted mother and grandmother. She was thrilled when her younger daughter Ally married her true love, but as time goes by Miriam wonders whether all is well with Ally, as she moves to the country and gradually withdraws, finding excuses every time Miriam offers to visit.
Their relationship has always had its ups and downs, and Miriam tries to give her daughter the distance she so clearly wants. But is all as it seems?
When the truth of her daughter’s situation is revealed, Miriam watches in disbelief as Ally and her children find themselves increasingly vulnerable and cut off from the world. As the situation escalates and the law proves incapable of protecting them, Miriam is faced with an unthinkable decision. But she will do anything for the people she loves most in the world. Wouldn’t you?
Category: Thriller
Release Date: March 1 2022
Price: $22.95 (down from $32.99)
Litty Committee is Pedestrian.TV’s twice-monthly book column. Every month, we’ll take you through the newest reads and spotlight a novel we think you might like.
You can catch up on our other Litty Committee recommendations here.
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