Cosy up With a Good Book

By Steph Carroll, Rebecca Weigler, Charlotte Horsfield and Georgia Wells

The Christmas Wish by Lindsey Kelk

9 November, Harper Collins

Lindsey Kelk returns with a warm-hearted and humorous festive romance, perfect for the Christmas season.

Desperate to bury her woes, newly single Gwen Baker is craving a family Christmas full of festive films, country walks and, of course, as much chocolate as one can consume at Christmas time. Upon returning to her childhood village, Gwen discovers that Dev, her teenage crush, is also back and is as handsome as ever. He is still as kind and funny as he was back in the day, but now he has a fiancée.

Then something strange happens… she wakes up and it’s Christmas Day all over again. Trapped in a snowy Groundhog Day full of family arguments and eggnog, Gwen finds herself engaging in multiple meet-cutes with Dev. Is that really so bad? After all, Gwen does need to find a way to put her heart back together again. But how can you have a second chance at love if he can’t remember you from one day to the next?

This festive rom-com is not one to miss. Follow along with Gwen’s story to see if she’ll finally get her second chance at love with her childhood crush.

Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree

9 November, Pan MacMillan

Following the huge success of the cosy and whimsical Legends and Lattes, Baldree returns with another wholesome tale set against the backdrop of magical creatures and the mundane happenings of coffee shops and small towns.

Bookshops and Bonedust follows Viv in the same world of Legends and Lattes, as she navigates her new environment in the town of Murk and its second-hand bookshop, which provides more adventures than Viv could have expected – on and off its pages. Filled with the same touch of magic as the first smash hit, Baldree explores relationships, community and the sense of home in this next fantasy tale about the loveable, and now iconic, orc and the cast of fabulous characters that join her along the way.

The Altar Girls by Patricia Gibney

9 November, Bookouture

The final instalment in Gibney’s thriller series doesn’t disappoint. When Detective Lottie Parker hears that the body of a young child has been found in the frozen grounds of a cathedral, she experiences great anxiety that it could be the body of the missing girl, Willow Devine. The body is identified as that of another eight-year-old girl named Naomi, whom Lottie discovers was a fellow altar server alongside Willow. Lottie fights to work out the connection between the two vulnerable girls.

Lottie remains desperate to find Willow before she meets the same fate as Naomi, but she is devastated when Willow’s body is also found lying at a different church in the town. Lottie remains committed to solving the crime that leaves her questioning everything and everyone. Anyone could be guilty. But just who is to blame for murdering these innocent girls?

She considers both sets of parents whose stories fail to add up. And what of the charming priest who holds an irrefutable alibi that appears to protect him from all accusations? Lottie’s search for the perpetrator gains momentum when a young boy from the choir also vanishes without a trace. She must find this sadistic killer before another child loses their life. Has Lottie got what it takes to untangle the evidence?

This thriller proves as scary as it is readable. Gibney’s latest novel is the perfect read to snuggle up with on the sofa during these dark nights.

Day by Michael Cunningham

14 November, Penguin Random House

5 April 2019: In a charming Brooklyn brownstone, the facade of a happy home starts to crumble. Dan and Isabel, a married couple, find themselves drifting apart, and both, it seems, are a little bit in love with Isabel’s younger brother, Robbie, who lives in the attic loft. Robbie, the family’s free spirit, lives through a glamorous online persona but now must leave the house, risking the family’s unity. Meanwhile, ten-year-old Nathan explores independence, while five-year-old Violet tries to ignore her parents’ growing divide.

5 April 2020: The home turns into a confinement as the world goes into lockdown. Violet fears leaving the windows open, obsessed with her family’s safety. Communication between Isabel and Dan is reduced to veiled insults and frustrated sighs. Robbie is stuck in an Icelandic mountain cabin, with only his thoughts and his secret Instagram life for company.

5 April 2021: Emerging from the crisis, the family confronts a changed reality, reflecting on what they’ve learned, what they’ve lost and how they can move forward.