New Releases to add to your TBR (3rd November)

This week we've got a highly anticipated guide to moths and butterflies, some brand new fantasy and romantasy series, a cookery course in cookbook form, some christmas romance, celebrity memoirs, philosophical musings, fresh middle grade adventures, and a new installment in our series about reliving November 18th. As always, there's pretty much a book for everyone - read on to see what's for you (and to see what I'm picking out for me!).

If you love local Kiwi authors and historical fiction about women doing amazing things, you need to check out Olivia Spooner. Her new book, The Flying Girls, is about the pioneering female pilots who served in World War II, in high risk conditions. Shirl wrote this week about why we love historical fiction, and Olivia's novels are a perfect example of what makes them so fascinating and powerful.

Fans of John Gwynne and his epic fantasy will be stoked to see the first book in a new series inspired by Slavic history and folklore, The Wolves of War. It sounds incredible, and like one that my husband will be choosing - whilst the novel I am excited to see popping up this week is Volume V in On The Calculation of Volume. I am still at the start of the series but I am already completely enamoured with this incredibly unique series that explores memory and time passing, through the story of a woman trapped in November 18th.

A big new romantasy novel out this week is Cassandra Clare's absolutely breathtakingly beautiful The Last King of Faerie. This is the first book in the final trilogy of the Shadowhunters - a saga that began years ago with The Mortal Instruments. She remains one of the OG Romantasy Queens for a reason, and this looks spectacular. Another Queen of the genre is Danielle L. Jensen and I'm ashamed to say I haven't read any of hers but this one might be my first because it sounds incredible. Defy the Dusk is the first of a post-apocalyptic fantasy romance duology (sold). I've seen this pitched as Mad Max meets Snowpiercer, and again the cover is beautiful which is often enough to sway me. Another brand new series starts with Crown of Olympus by Kate Asher, a Greek mythology inspired romantasy series about deadly trials, prophecies, and champions competing for more than just a crown. 

For this week's cowboy romance Paisley Hope is releasing the first in her new series, Grosvenor Ranch, Wanted - where a bunch of rugged cowboy brothers are as wild as the land they love and take care of. The FMC in this series has the same surname as me which I think means I need to read it (oh no!). She's the long-lost sister of our MMC's ex (took me a minute to work that one out), he's a single dad, there's an age gap and some forced proximity. Tick, tick, take my money, tick.

Another cowboy romance expert, Elliot Rose, gifts us with not one but two books this week. Saving the Rain is the fourth book in the Crimson Ridge series, a darker take on your average small town romance, with a little more spicy but also a bit more taboo as well. We also have A Crimson Ridge Christmas, with two steamy novellas about forbidden love during the holiday season. I think I may be adding this one to my Christmas TBR.

For the crime and thriller readers out there Jo Nesbo is back with a new Detective Hold thriller, Kill Shot. This is soon to be a Netflix series and sounds like something worth picking up if, like me, you are a little obsessed with Jack Reacher but looking for your next high octane series. Our queen of the thrillers, Freida McFadden is gifting us with a new short story, The Gift. It's a Christmas themed short story about the trade off for a perfect gift, and would make the perfect bookish stocking stuffer...

The Odessa Assassin is the blockbuster new novel from Frederick Forsyth along with Tony Kent, a political thriller about a catastrophe threatening a nation and a deadly game of cat and mouse. Or if historical political thrillers are more your style, The Sword of Rome by Simon Scarrow sounds fun - a thrilling action adventure set in Ancient Rome and apparently the 25th in a hugely popular series called the Eagles of the Empire which is not my usual thing at all but even has me intrigued.

I am SO excited to finally have my hands on the newest beautiful book from Liv Sisson, Butterflies and Moths of Aotearoa. If the striking book design looks familiar it's because Liv Sisson is behind one of my other favourite non-fiction books, Fungi of Aotearoa, but this time she's back with a field guide to the moths and butterflies found around the motu. A visual feast of a book, this is also packed with stunning photography and information about spotting them, understanding them, and supporting them to continue to thrive in te taiao. With Christmas around the corner, both of these beautiful books would make stunning gifts for any nature lover you know.

When I saw that Nix Adams was releasing a memoir, I knew it would be an incredible mix of both her humour and honesty, and her life story that is both incredibly difficult but also inspiring. She's a big name on instagram and you can't check out her reels without cracking up inappropriately at work, so I'm really looking forward to reading her story, Nothing to Lose. Another survivor who is sharing her story is Jelena Dokic with her memoir Live Free which looks like it also includes some self-help advice aroud the four pillars she used to reclaim her life.

Any Lord of the Ring's fan (Tim!) is going to need to pick up a copy of My Pressures, the new memoir from Gollum, I mean Andy Serkis. He's of course beloved for so much more, and is a fascinating human so I have no doubt his memoir will also be incredibly fascinating and weirdly wonderful. This would make a great gift for any LOTR lover in your life too!

Speaking of gifts, another great one that's arrives is People Watching by one of New Zealand's iconic illustrators, Toby Morris. I love Toby's cartoons, and I love his interactions with strangers (and non-strangers) across Aotearoa - so this love letter to our country is glorious and it's also the perfectly timed reminder that with an incredibly important and polarized election literally around the corner, the most important thing for us to remember is to stay curious and connected to the people around us. This would make a lovely gift, for anyone really.

As an essay lover, In Search of Lost Thoughts by Emily Crane is right up my alley - a collection of reflections on sex, religion, motherhood, and storytelling from an Instagram sensation in the UK. When looking into her I found out that she worked for Yuval Noah Harari which ties in nicely because the newest edition of Harari's Sapiens Graphic History also arrives this week, the final installment in a really rather incredible adaptation of his book, Sapiens.

In the world of cookbooks we have three new ones this week to check out! Butter & Spice is a fascinating sounding guide to blending together traditional French cooking techniques with instinctive, flavour packed recipes -  brought together by foodie couple Manu and Clarissa. I love Manu and the sound of the structure of this book (divided into a her section, a his section, and an ours section) is intriguing to me!

Today We Are Cooking by Tini Younger is the perfect guide to cooking comforting dishes that are approachable and failproof, from a social media sensation. And of course, we all know Rick Stein who is back with his Cookery Course in book form. This is one I need - it's Rick Stein's lifelong love of food and cooking distilled into a complete cookery course. It looks gorgeous too!

There are two books in particular that I'm excited for in the children's section this week. Astrid and the Accidental Slip Between Worlds by Jaclyn Moriarty is a beautiful hardback (perfect for a gift!) about a young girl who falls between worlds without her older sisters, and its full of magic and whimsy and mystery, ideal for a fantasy loving 11-14 year old like me. 

The Thieves beneath the Floorboards by Mikey Please is one I've been waiting for, ever since the publishers shared some examples of the incredible illustrations with us. This is an unexpected picture book, and one that parents will love as much as their tamariki. It's rhyming which I love, but it's also just so incredibly imaginative in its story about visitors who are discovered under the floorboards at the Cafe at the Edge of the Woods. This is part of a series of beautifully unique picture books, but feel free to jump in now like I am with this new installment.

This week we've also got a new Bluey and Bingo Search-and-Find book (my girl loves these even though they do have a tendency to drag out bedtime because she has to find absolutely every item on absolutely every page), and a new Peppa Pig story too, all about Peppa's New House. 

One Kid's book that I am always recommending is B.J. Novak's The Book with No Pictures, and now we have a board book version, The Little Book with No Pictures. These books are hilarious and fun to read aloud together with your little ones. I'm a huge fan of Jon Klassen who just creates the most stylishly designed and illustrated picture books, and he's got a new board book for toddler's and babies with Your Horse. There's something magically minimalist about his kids books and they make gorgeous gifts.

For our older readers and YA audience, we've already mentioned Volume 4 of Sapiens, but there's also Book 5 (Dangerous Impulses) in The Naturals series by Jennifer Lynne Barnes (a great crime/thriller series for readers aged 12+) and then A Conspiracy of Charming Monsters by Holly Black which is a gorgeous colour illustrated tales set in the world of the Faerie.