New year, new books…
Fiction
1. Someone Had To Do It by Danielle & Amber Brown is published in paperback by Piatkus. Available now
This debut thriller about Brandi, a fashion intern in New York, grabs the reader until the very last page. It follows Brandi during her internship with Simon Van Doren, an exclusive designer, and Van Doren’s daughter, Taylor, who dislikes Brandi and wants to steal her boyfriend. Their lives collide when Brandi overhears something she shouldn’t have at a fashion party, putting her in a dangerous situation. Someone Had To Do It explores racism in an interesting way, with Brandi – a black woman – feeling out of place in the fashion world. The fresh and at times exceptionally funny dialogue, as well as the lively characters, add to the book’s fast pace.
9/10
(Review by Miriam Kuepper)
2. Age Of Vice by Deepti Kapoor is published in hardback by Fleet). Available now
Phwoar #AgeOfVice out 2 Jan, Succession meets The Godfather in New Delhi 🔥 pic.twitter.com/AmakD3sR9C
— Fleet (@FleetReads) December 15, 2022
Age Of Vice is epic in all senses of the word – it’s long (clocking in at nearly 600 pages), spans different continents, and tells the stories of people living in extreme poverty as well as the super-rich. It begins in Noughties Delhi with a deadly car crash – a rich man’s car does the damage, but it’s lowly servant Ajay who takes the blame. Kapoor expertly weaves together the tales of various characters, focusing on Ajay – born into poverty and sold as a young boy, he soon works for the wealthy Sunny in Delhi before going to prison; Sunny, the swaggering son of a gangster who can’t quite figure out his place in life; and Neda, a young journalist who falls for Sunny. It paints a picture of greed, crime, violence and corruption in India, building to a towering crescendo. The ending doesn’t feel entirely satisfying and at times the writing is slightly overwrought, but it’s still a captivating crime caper with realistic characters.
8/10
(Review by Prudence Wade)
3. Sugar Street by Jonathan Dee is published in hardback by Corsair. Available now
A man drives for days, trying to avoid CCTV road cameras, busy restaurants, chain stores and being seen by anyone. The mysterious male narrator is trying to escape his past, so you would think having 168,000 US dollars stuffed in an envelope would help. But he finds it’s not easy buying a car, staying in a hotel, renting a room or getting food if you need to stay anonymous. He slowly reveals clues about why he’s running away from his past – he didn’t ruin anyone, but something happened which ruined him. The unnamed central character keeps the reader guessing about his secret past – and how he will spend the money he can only keep in an envelope, because he would need ID to open a bank account.
7/10
(Review by Alan Jones)
Non-fiction
4. A Message From Ukraine by Volodymyr Zelenskiy is published in hardback by Hutchinson Heinemann. Available now
The words of a man. The message of a people.
Bringing together a new introduction by Volodymyr Zelensky with his most powerful war speeches, this book recounts Ukraine's story through the words of its president.https://t.co/cpQuDmjrRG pic.twitter.com/SCK9jXjsKz— Hutchinson Heinemann (@HutchHeinemann) December 20, 2022
This short book was always going to be remarkable, if not for its content then at least for its context. Just a year ago, its author was relatively unknown on the global stage, a small footnote to Donald Trump’s “do us a favour” scandal. Now, the Ukrainian President is a hero to many in the world’s democracies. It’s a fame he did not seek, and this is a book he says he wishes was never published. A collection of Zelenskiy’s speeches, it tells the story of Ukraine in a fateful year – at times forcing the reader to put down their copy and remember the pictures and news reports they saw at the time, and sparking moments of reckoning with the grim reality of the largest war in Europe for decades. Ukraine will now continue through a tough winter – and the book can help, with the president’s proceeds of the sales going to help his country. The nation’s future still rests on Zelenskiy’s prediction and rallying cry: “We used to say ‘peace’. Now we say ‘victory’.”
9/10
(Review by August Graham)
Children’s book of the week
5. Five Survive by Holly Jackson is published in hardback by Electric Monkey. Available now
Five Survive by @HoJay92 is out today!
When six friends find themselves off road and in the crosshairs of a deadly sniper, one thing is certain: not all of them will survive the night💥
Read the explosive new thriller, out now: https://t.co/MY7aaeZKRD @EMTeenFiction pic.twitter.com/uTv9X9Yw7w— HQ Stories (@HQstories) December 8, 2022
Eight hours. Six friends. One sniper. Who will survive? When a group of friends take a road trip in an RV and end up with a flat tyre, the last thing they’re expecting to face is a sniper waiting for them in the dark. Over the next eight hours, these friends are forced to confront each other’s deeply hidden secrets if they want to survive. Five Survive is an exciting, captivating thriller – written by bestselling author Holly Jackson – and a delight to read. The secrets, suspense and action pushes you to read the entire book in just one sitting, proving yet again Jackson is the queen of young adult novels.
9/10
(Review by Maryam Munir)
Book charts for the week ending December 31st
Hardback (Fiction)
1. Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
2. It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover
3. Babel by R.F. Kuang
4. Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
5. The Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka
6. The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman
7. She And Her Cat by Makoto Shinkai & Naruki Nagakawa
8. The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake
9. The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
10. Fairy Tale by Stephen King
(Compiled by Waterstones)
Hardback (Non-fiction)
1. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
2. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse: The Animated Story by Charlie Mackesy
3. Madly, Deeply by Alan Rickman
4. Private Eye Annual: 2022 by Ian Hislop
5. Beyond The Wand by Tom Felton
6. One by Jamie Oliver
7. Pinch Of Nom: Enjoy by Kay Allinson & Kate Allinson
8. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse by Charlie Mackesy
9. The Story Of Art Without Me by Katy Hessel
10. Dear Dolly by Dolly Alderton
(Compiled by Waterstones)
Audiobooks (Fiction & non-fiction)
1. Spare by The Duke of Sussex
2. The Sound Of Laughter by Peter Kay
3. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
4. Atomic Habits by James Clear
5. Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspe
6. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
7. The Racketeer by John Grisham
8. Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch
9. The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman
10. Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
(Compiled by Audible)
