Monique

Our Science Fiction and Fantasy expert. Also likes Manga and Romance novels.

Get to know more about Monique and her taste in books below:

More about me

1. Who are your auto-buy (you'll buy absolutely anything they write - even their shopping list) authors?

Chloe Liese, Marissa Meyers, Helen Hoang and Shannon/S.A Chakraborty.

2. What's your favourite genre/s?

Fantasy - especially retellings and books based on mythology

Science Fiction - particularly dystopias

Romance - more so rom-coms

3. Do you judge a book by its cover?

Yes! I will read a book I'm interested in no matter what the cover looks like but it makes my heart glad when the cover is as beautiful as the book. I will also be more drawn to a book and likely to pick it up if the cover is stunning. What can I say... I have no shelf-control.

4. What's your most anticipated releases of 2024?

The Hurricane Wars book 2 - Thea Guanzon

Amina Al-Sarafi books 2 and 3 - Shannon Chakraborty

Dancers of the Dawn - Zulekh'a Afzal

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands - Heather Fawcett

A Fate Inked in Blood - Danielle L. Jensen

Thief of Night - Holly Black

The Darkness Within Us - Tricia Levenseller

My Salty Mary - Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows

The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years - Shubnum Khan

5. How do you organise your personal bookshelves?

My organisation of my books might bring some people to tears, but here it is...

I seperate my books by genre, themes and format.

I have all my magazines, manga, comics, textbooks, cookbooks and coffee books (i.e. books you either read in one sitting or continually reference and flick through) on one bookshelf.

Another bookshelf is dedicated solely to books with Autistic (ASD) and mental health representation, both fiction and non-fiction and is organised by colour.

My third bookshelf is dedicated to fantasy, historical, contemporary romance and ocean books (all colour co-ordinated) with a dedicated shelf to books about books and some very (one book dating to 1835) old books (not colour co-ordinated but rather by size).

A fourth bookshelf holds all my children's books (from my childhood and some from my mother and grand-mother), Greek mythology, Norse mythology, books set in Africa and the Middle-East and my collection of Arabian Nights (these are not organised by colour or size but rather grouped in kind).

My fifth bookshelf holds all my sci-fi, crime/thrillers (mainly spy books and romantic suspense) and some non-fic (these are all colour co-ordinated).

I then have crates filled with arcs (uncorrected advance reader copies courtesy of working in a bookshop) borrowed books, colouring books, journals, travel books, language books and religious texts.

Hey it makes sense to me!

6. What books are high on your TBR (to be read pile) this year?

Holly Black's YA novels

A Brandon Sanderson novel

Blake Crouch's backlist

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet - Becky Chambers

Wakers - Orson Scott Card

Speed of Dark - Elizabeth Moon

Norse Ancient Origins, Stories of People and Civilization - J.K Jackson

Assistant to the Villain - Hannah Nicole Maehrer

Curious Tides - Pascale Lacelle

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman

Sword Catcher - Casandra Clare

Aurora Rising - Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride - Roshani Chokshi

The Last Namsara - Kristen Ciccarelli

Zoro - Isabel Allende

Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match - Sally Thorne

Favourites of 2024 so far:

The North Wind, Alexandria Warwick

A lush and enchanting fantasy romance, inspired by Beauty and the Beast and the myth of Hades and Persephone. Beloved by readers on TikTok.

Wren of Edgewood is no stranger to suffering. With her parents gone, it is Wren’s responsibility to ensure she and her sister survive the harsh and endless winter, but if the legends are to be believed, their home may not be safe for much longer.

For three hundred years, the land surrounding Edgewood has been encased in ice as the Shade, a magical barrier that protects the townsfolk from the Deadlands beyond, weakens. Only one thing can stop the Shade’s fall: the blood of a mortal woman bound in wedlock to the North Wind, a dangerous immortal whose heart is said to be as frigid as the land he rules. And the time has come to choose his bride.

When the North Wind sets his eyes on Wren’s sister, Wren will do anything to save her – even if it means sacrificing herself in the process. But mortal or not, Wren won’t go down without a fight.

The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion

The international bestseller. Over three million copies sold worldwide.

Don Tillman is getting married. He just doesn't know who to yet.

But he has designed the Wife Project, using a sixteen-page questionnaire to help him find the perfect partner. She will most definitely not be a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.

Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also fiery and intelligent and beautiful. And on a quest of her own to find her biological father—a search that Don, a professor of genetics, might just be able to help her with.

The Wife Project teaches Don some unexpected things. Why earlobe length is an inadequate predictor of sexual attraction. Why quick-dry clothes aren't appropriate attire in New York. Why he's never been on a second date. And why, despite your best scientific efforts, you don't find love: love finds you.

'An extraordinarily clever, funny, and moving book about being comfortable with who you are and what you're good at. I'm sending copies to several friends and hope to re-read it later this year. This is one of the most profound novels I've read in a long time.' Bill Gates

Winner, Australian Book Industry Awards, Book of the Year, 2014
Winner, Australian Book Industry Awards, General Fiction Book of the Year, 2014
Winner, Victorian Premier's Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript, 2012
Shortlisted, ABA Nielsen BookData Booksellers Choice Award, 2014
Shortlisted, Fiction Book of the Year, Indie Awards, 2014
Shortlisted, Waverton Good Read Award, 2014
Longlisted, International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, 2015

Whispers of the Deep, Emma Hamm

One of the many engineers that keeps Beta, the city under the sea, running, Mira only wants to make her family proud and to prove herself worthy. She knows the mysterious city better than anyone and it’s her dream to help it flourish.

But then, on a solo job in an abandoned section of the city, she encounters a monster of legend. An undine. A dangerous merman from an ancient civilization, long forgotten.

Arges has fought his entire life for his people. With deadly creatures under his control, he plans to eradicate Beta once and for all to protect his kind and their peaceful way of life. But when a human woman saves him, she unknowingly creates a bond between them, one he can’t ignore. Even though her flaming red hair haunts his dreams, he needs her for information on the undine’s enemies.

So he steals her. Keeps her. Feeds her. Only to realize their bond is far deeper than captor and captive. He cannot let her go—but he cannot keep her under the sea. In a battle to determine if love can survive a war beneath the waves, it will be their decision that changes the tides.

Emily Wilde's Map Of The Otherlands, Heather Fawcett

'Forget dark academia: give me instead this kind of winter-sunshined, sharp-tongued and footnoted academia, full of field trips and grumpy romance' Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light
An intrepid professor must uncover faerie secrets in the delightful and heart-warming second instalment of the Sunday Times bestselling Emily Wilde series.
Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore, and has catalogued many secrets of the Hidden Folk in her encyclopaedia with her infuriatingly charming fellow scholar, Wendell Bambleby, by her side.
But Bambleby is more than just a brilliant and unbearably handsome scholar. He's an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother, in search of a door back to his realm.
By lucky happenstance, Emily's new project, a map of the realms of faerie, will take them on an adventure to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambleby's realm, and the key to freeing him from his family's dark plans.
But with new friendships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors, and of her own heart.
Praise for this series:
'A darkly gorgeous fantasy that sparkles with snow and magic, this book wholly enchanted me' Sangu Mandanna, author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
'A thoroughly charming academic fairy tale, complete with footnotes and a low-key grumpy romance' Guardian
'Enchanting in every sense of the word. . . This book is real magic' H. G. Parry, author of The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep
'A book so vividly, endlessly enchanting, so crisply assured, so rich and complete and wise and far-reaching in its worldbuilding that you'll walk away half ensorcelled, sure Fawcett found Emily Wilde's journal in some sea-stained trunk' Melissa Albert
'The ideal book to curl up with on a chilly winter's evening. . . this book is an absolute delight.' Megan Bannen, author of The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy
'A charmingly whimsical delight. . . Five dazzling, gladdening stars' India Holton, author of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels
'I enjoyed every word of this gorgeously written fairy tale featuring a grumpy heroine and an utterly charming love interest' Isabel Ibanez, author of Woven In Moonlight

Belladonna, Adalyn Grace

'A deliciously deadly Gothic romance' Stephanie Garber
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
For as long as Signa Farrow has been alive, the people in her life have fallen like stars . . .
Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each more interested in her wealth than her wellbeing - and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy.
Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family's waning reputation and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother's restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger, and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer.
Signa's best chance of uncovering the murderer, though, is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he's made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful - and more irresistible - than she ever dared imagine.
From New York Times bestselling author Adalyn Grace, Belladonna brings to life a highly romantic, gothic-infused world of wealth, desire, and betrayal.
PRAISE FOR BELLADONNA
'This book is a true pleasure to read from beginning to end' Jennifer L. Armentrout
'A darkly romantic tale' Adrienne Young
'Utterly original and completely addictive' Rachel Griffin
'Darkly twisted and deliciously gothic' Renee Ahdieh
'Decadently atmospheric' Kerri Maniscalco

TBR (want to read list):

A Fate Inked In Blood, Danielle L. Jensen

From TikTok sensation and bestselling author of The Bridge Kingdom series comes this Norse-inspired fantasy romance, perfect for fans of Ava Reid, Katee Robert and Sarah J Maas.

A shield maiden blessed by the gods battles to unite a nation under a power-hungry king - while also fighting her growing desire for his fiery son - in this Norse-inspired fantasy romance from the bestselling author of The Bridge Kingdom series.

Bound in an unwanted marriage, Freya spends her days gutting fish, but dreams of becoming a warrior. And of putting an axe in her boorish husband's back.

Freya's dreams abruptly become reality when her husband betrays her to the region's jarl, landing her in a fight to the death against his son. To survive, Freya is forced to reveal her deepest secret- she possesses a drop of a goddess's blood, which gives her magic capable of repelling any attack. A
magic that was foretold would unite the fractured nation of Skaland beneath a king-the one who controls the shield maiden's fate.

Believing he's destined to rule Skaland, the fanatical jarl binds Freya with a blood oath and orders his son, Bjorn, to protect Freya from their enemies. Desperate to prove her strength, Freya must train to fight and learn to control her magic, all while facing perilous tests set by the gods. Except the greatest test of all may be resisting her forbidden attraction to Bjorn. If Freya succumbs to her lust for the charming and fierce warrior, she risks not only her own destiny but the fate of all the people she swore to protect.

Earthlings, Sayaka Murata, Ginny Tapley Takemori

Mind blowing, dark and wild, the new novel from Sayaka Murata - author of bestseller Convenience Store Woman - asks: how far would you go just to be yourself?

Natsuki isn't like the other girls. She has a wand and a transformation mirror. She might be a witch, or an alien from another planet. Together with her cousin Yuu, Natsuki spends her summers in the wild mountains of Nagano, dreaming of other worlds. When a terrible sequence of events threatens to part the two children forever, they make a promise: survive, no matter what.

Now Natsuki is grown. She lives a quiet life with her asexual husband, surviving as best she can by pretending to be normal. But the demands of Natsuki's family are increasing, her friends wonder why she's still not pregnant, and dark shadows from Natsuki's childhood are pursuing her. Fleeing the suburbs for the mountains of her childhood, Natsuki prepares herself with a reunion with Yuu. Will he still remember their promise? And will he help her keep it?

Fathomfolk, Eliza Chan

'Prepare to be engulfed. Chan has superbly created a world as real and complex as our own, where oppression has no easy solutions and there is no success without sacrifice. Fast-paced action combined with true social depth make this an unforgettable, must-read fantasy'
Shelley Parker-Chan
Revolution is brewing in the semi-submerged city of Tiankawi, between humans and the fathomfolk who live in its waters. This gloriously imaginative debut fantasy, inspired by East Asian mythology and ocean folk tales, is a novel of magic, rebellion and change.
Welcome to Tiankawi - shining pearl of human civilization and a safe haven for those fleeing civil unrest. Or at least, that's how it first appears. But in the semi-flooded city, humans are, quite literally, on top: peering down from shining towers and aerial walkways on the fathomfolk - sirens, seawitches, kelpies and kappas - who live in the polluted waters below.
For half-siren Mira, promotion to captain of the border guard means an opportunity to help her downtrodden people. But if earning the trust and respect of her human colleagues wasn't hard enough, everything Mira has worked towards is put in jeopardy when Nami, a know-it-all water dragon and fathomfolk princess - is exiled to the city, under Mira's watch. When extremists sabotage a city festival, violence erupts, as does the clampdown on fathomfolk rights. Both Nami and Mira must decide if the cost of change is worth paying, or if Tiankawi should be left to drown.
'A vivid, textured tale of migration, prejudice and change. Wonderful and breathtaking'
Aliette de Bodard
'Life is better down with the fathomfolk. I was dazzled by this novel, which has as many turns as the tide, and hope to see much more of this world and this author'
Sarah Rees Brennan
'A richly envisioned world and finely crafted tale, Fathomfolk is a luxurious and thrilling story full of political intrigue, heart-wrenching characters and edge-of-your seat tension. A glittering and magical novel from a glorious new voice in fantasy'
Bea Fitzgerald
'From the glittering city heights to the criminal underbelly on the seafloor, the world of Fathomfolk feels deeply plausible and satisfyingly complex. If you want scheming sirens and snarky sea dragons then this is the book for you'
Thomas D. Lee
'Fathomfolk is a compelling tale about cultures colliding, set against a city backdrop that feels familiar yet fresh. Eliza Chan deftly and compassionately writes about the depths we'll plunge to, to change our world'
G. V. Anderson, World Fantasy Award winner

Iron Flame, Rebecca Yarros

Discover the instant #1 New York Times bestseller! Now optioned for TV by Amazon Studios.

Accolades for Fourth Wing
Amazon Best Books of the Year, #4 - Apple Best Books of the Year 2023 - Barnes & Noble Best Fantasy Book of 2023 (Fourth Wing and Iron Flame) - NPR "Books We Love" 2023 - Audible Best Books of 2023 - Hudson Book of the Year - Google Play Best Books of 2023 - Indigo Best Books of 2023 - Waterstones Book of the Year finalist - Goodreads Choice Award, semi-finalist - Newsweek Staffers' Favorite Books of 2023 - Paste Magazine's Best Books of 2023

"The first year is when some of us lose our lives. The second year is when the rest of us lose our humanity." --Xaden Riorson

Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College--Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky.

Now the real training begins, and Violet's already wondering how she'll get through. It's not just that it's grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it's designed to stretch the riders' capacity for pain beyond endurance. It's the new vice commandant, who's made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is-unless she betrays the man she loves.

Although Violet's body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else's, she still has her wits--and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules.

But a determination to survive won't be enough this year.

Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College--and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.

The Empyrean series is best enjoyed in order.
Reading Order:
Book #1 Fourth Wing
Book #2 Iron Flame

Mania, Lionel Shriver

'Seldom is a book as funny, important and timely … I was laughing out loud at the same time as my blood was running cold' JOHN CLEESE

‘Viciously funny… an exhilarating satire’ THE TIMES

What if calling someone stupid was illegal?
In a reality not too distant from our own, where the so-called Mental Parity Movement has taken hold, the worst thing you can call someone is 'stupid'.

Everyone is equally clever, and discrimination based on intelligence is 'the last great civil rights fight'.

Exams and grades are all discarded, and smart phones are rebranded. Children are expelled for saying the S-word and encouraged to report parents for using it. You don't need a qualification to be a doctor.

Best friends since adolescence, Pearson and Emory find themselves on opposing sides of this new culture war. Radio personality Emory – who has built her career riding the tide of popular thought – makes increasingly hard-line statements while, for her part, Pearson believes the whole thing is ludicrous.

As their friendship fractures, Pearson's determination to cling onto the 'old, bigoted way of thinking' begins to endanger her job, her safety and even her family.

Lionel Shriver turns her piercing gaze on the policing of opinion and intellect, and imagines a world in which intellectual meritocracy is heresy. Hilarious, deadpan, scathing and at times frighteningly plausible, MANIA will delight the many fans of her fiction and journalism alike.

Seven Days In June, Tia Williams

A REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
'A sexy, modern love story to start the summer off right' Reese Witherspoon
'A smart, sexy testament to Black joy ... I absolutely loved it' Jodi Picoult
'A vision of life as it truly is: complications and difficulties punctuated by profound joy' Rumaan Alam
Seven days to fall in love, fifteen years to forget, and seven days to get it all back again...
Eva Mercy is a single mother and bestselling erotica writer who is feeling pressed from all sides. Shane Hall is a reclusive, enigmatic, award-winning novelist, who, to everyone's surprise, shows up unexpectedly in New York.
When Shane and Eva meet at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their buried traumas, but also the eyebrows of the Black literati. What no one knows is that fifteen years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one crazy, torrid week madly in love. While they may be pretending not to know each other, they can't deny their chemistry - or the fact that they've been secretly writing to each other in their books through the years.
Over the next seven days, amidst a steamy Brooklyn summer, Eva and Shane reconnect - but Eva's wary of the man who broke her heart, and wants him out of the city so her life can return to normal. Before Shane disappears though, she needs a few questions answered . . .
With its keen observations of creative life in America today, as well as the joys and complications of being a mother and a daughter, Seven Days in June is a hilarious, romantic, and sexy-as-hell story of two writers discovering their second chance at love.
'Deliciously witty' Zoella Book Club
'Hilarious, romantic and incredibly sexy' Hello!
'Electric and alive' Kirkus
'A captivating love story' Melan Mag

The Book Of Doors, Gareth Brown

These books are like weapons. And possession is power. . . With a perfect combination of dark magical books, unforgettable characters, and a storyline that grabs the reader and simply doesn't let go, this is the heart-stoppingly exciting contemporary fantasy debut of 2024.

'A stunning fever dream of a story.' LEE CHILD

'Full of magic, wonder and heart.' ANITA FRANK

'A beautiful, unputdownable love letter to books.' BETH LEWIS

'A magical, mesmerising adventure from the very first page.' A. J. WEST

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Because some doors should never be opened.

New York bookseller Cassie Andrews is not sure what she's doing with her life. She lives quietly, sharing an apartment with her best friend, Izzy. Then a favourite customer gives her an old book. Full of strange writing and mysterious drawings, at the very front there is a handwritten message-

This is the Book of Doors. Hold it in your hand, and any door is every door.

Cassie is about to discover that the Book of Doors is a special book - a magic book. A book that bestows extraordinary abilities on whoever possesses it. And she is about to learn that there are other magic books out there that can also do wondrous - or dreadful and terrifying - things.

Because where there is magic there is power and there are those who will stop at nothing to possess it.

Suddenly Cassie and Izzy are confronted by violence and danger, and the only person who can help them is Drummond Fox who has a secret library of magical books hidden in the shadows for safekeeping, a man fleeing his own demons. Because there is a nameless evil out there that is hunting them all . . .

Because this book is worth killing for.

Addictive, brilliantly written and utterly irresistible, The Book of Doors is the spell-binding, mind-bending, heart-pounding new adventure that is perfect for fans of The Binding, The Midnight Library and A Discovery of Witches . . .

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'A clever and beautiful novel about the power of book.' SUNYI DEAN

'A real page-turner - incredibly ambitious and inventive.' ROSIE ANDREWS

The Engraver's Secret, Lisa Medved

Two women, a mysterious map, and a family secret spanning hundreds of years ... A stunning art history thriller set around the life, times, and feuds of the artist Peter Paul Rubens.

'An inspired blend of history and suspense ... This wonderful debut novel will inhabit your dreams' Dominic Smith, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Painting of Sara de Vos and Return to Valetto

'Art and history collide in this sumptuous novel of dark secrets, family, violence and treachery' Karen Brooks, bestselling author of The Good Wife of Bath, The Brewer's Tale and The Escapades of Tribulation Johnson

Innocence and delight, guile and misapprehension, the hint of indifference, even disdain on her pretty features. Fickle, he called her, a mixture of surprise and confidence. She is all that and more, brought to life with the ink strokes of a genius.

Spanish Netherlands, 1620s: raised by her father Lucas to know her mind, Antonia Vorsterman sees everything that goes on in her world - all the rivalries and jealousies that course through the artists' studios and workshops of Antwerp.

Drawn into the lively household of the artist Peter Paul Rubens, whose work her father engraves for a living, Antonia begins to see a life of colour and possibility for herself - until Lucas entrusts her with a terrible secret that will alter the course of their family's future.

Belgium, present day: haunted by the recent loss of her mother, art historian Charlotte Hubert moves to Antwerp to research her hero, the Baroque master Rubens, and to seek answers about the father she's never met.

But a startling discovery hidden inside an ancient map folio turns Charlotte's quiet academic life into a dangerous hunt for long-lost treasures, missing for 400 years. In the shadowy cloisters of the university, where ambition, obsession and violence run deep, nothing is as it seems.

Charlotte is certain of one thing - no one can be trusted.

Centuries apart, Charlotte's and Antonia's lives intertwine as they unearth long-buried secrets about a master and his engraver where theft, betrayal and the fallout of family loyalty run rampant.

What do you do when the weight of betrayal grows too heavy to bear?

PRAISE

'The Engraver's Secret is an inspired blend of history and suspense, braiding two stories of fathers and daughters and family secrets across time. Lisa Medved conjures Rubens' house and his world so vividly that Antwerp and this wonderful debut novel will inhabit your dreams.' Dominic Smith, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Painting of Sara de Vos and Return to Valetto

'Perfect for fans of dark academia, The Engraver's Secret is a richly woven tale of intrigue, with two very determined women at its heart. A captivating debut that brings the art and history of the Baroque era to life on the page' Evie Woods, author of the #1 Wall Street Journal and Amazon Kindle bestseller The Lost Bookshop

'Art and history collide in this sumptuous novel of dark secrets, family, violence and treachery. Two extraordinary women, set apart by time, are beholden to a past and the men who shaped it. For the talented Antonia, it's the conflict between the magnificent artist, Peter Paul Rubens, and her frustrated engraver father that tears her life apart. Then, there's Charlotte, the brilliant Rubens'

The Italian Marriage, Jenna Lo Bianco

'The heir to the D'Adamo Family Trust must be the youngest, legal-aged, married male.'
- 15th century inheritance clause

The time has come. In order to secure the future of his family estate and fix his broken relationship with his father, workaholic lawyer Matthew D'Adamo needs a wife.

Enter Sarah Browne, a free-spirited event manager, who is looking for an escape from the emotional and physical toll of her endometriosis, and the incessant buzzer of her biological clock. With an ironclad prenuptial agreement, Matthew and his 'wife', Sarah, are moving to Florence to fulfil the D'Adamo inheritance clause.

There are just two problems. One: they've never met. Two: there's another claimant on the D'Adamo estate.

Matthew and the other potential heir will have to compete for the inheritance. 'Faking it' from their first meeting at Sydney airport, Matthew and Sarah's resolve will be tested at every turn. Will they have what it takes? And who said anything about love?

The Last Murder At The End Of The World, Stuart Turton

Solve the murder to save what's left of the world.

Outside the island there is nothing: the world destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched. On the island: it is idyllic. 122 villagers and 3 scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they’re told by the scientists.

Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And they learn the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay.

If the murder isn’t solved within 92 hours, the fog will smother the island – and everyone on it.

But the security system has also wiped everyone’s memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer – and they don’t even know it…

The outstanding new high concept murder mystery from the Sunday Times bestselling and Costa Book Award winning author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. An ingenious puzzle, an extraordinary backdrop, an audacious solution.

Currently Reading:

Cities Of Smoke And Starlight

By Alli Earnest

Two lost souls. One dangerous mission.

Kase is a screw up, and when he takes the blame for nearly killing a fellow pilot, he faces serious charges. Seeking to clear his name, he flies a ragtag crew to establish trade with a hostile race and help his nation avoid the looming war. If only he didn't have to work with the infuriating bookshop attendant who insulted him with Shakespeare...

After Hallie loses her bookshop job and the promise of school tuition, she's desperate to avoid the ghosts of the past awaiting her return home. When offered a substantial sum to negotiate an alliance for her country, she says yes before the nice government agent can finish his sentence. Now if she could just ignore the ungrateful, arrogant prat of a pilot...

In a world of hoverships and crumbling First Earth artifacts, Hallie and Kase must accomplish the impossible: secure an alliance with an elusive, mystical race to help defend against a kingdom with dangerous technology and ancient magic. If they fail, the war will be lost before it even begins.

Cities of Smoke and Starlight is a science fantasy novel perfect for fans of Dune, Pride and Prejudice, and anyone who believed Rogue One needed a romantic subplot.