Are you looking for your next great read? Why not try out the books from across the pond? Despite from what governments say, books are essential and are needed now, more than ever. So if you are need of a variety and want to read diverse stories, then I suggest you try out some British and Irish titles!
We may have left 2025 behind, but the pain and struggles of last year are still being faced, especially independent bookstores. Continue to support indie bookstores by shopping on Bookshop.org and Hive.co.uk.
Waterstones currently ships to the United States but there will be an international shipping fee. You can also try with the British bookstore, Blackwell’s. Now on with the recommendations!
Featured Book of the Month
Auntie’s Bangles: A Story About Love and Loss by Dean Atta and illustrated by Alea Marley
Expected Publication Date: January 15
A heartfelt story about love, loss and the joy a person leaves behind, written by multi-prize winning poet Dean Atta and illustrated by the award-winning Alea Marley.
Auntie’s bangles used to jingle-jangle as she laughed, read and made delicious dishes, and especially as she danced. But everyone is so sad since Auntie died. It feels . . . quiet.
Slowly, Theo and his cousin, Rama, learn to celebrate their memories of Auntie, even after she’s gone.
This gentle and sensitive exploration of grief will open up important conversations and help little ones find their own way to remember and celebrate someone they’ve lost. (Credit: Hachette Children’s Group)
Your Every Move by Sam Blake
YOU THINK YOU’RE SAFE. BUT SOMEBODY’S WATCHING…
Irish estate agent Rosie Kinsella loves her job selling high-end properties in London. But when she’s targeted by a mysterious stalker her amazing life is turned upside down.
Who is ‘Michael’, and why does he seem to think he and Rosie are in relationship? How does he know where she lives and where she works? And how has he managed to take photos inside her house?
Rosie’s colleagues and friends rally round to protect her. But who can she really trust? (Credit: Atlantic Books)
Mixed Up: An Irish Boy’s Journey to Belonging by Leon Diop
A groundbreaking memoir about growing up mixed-race in Ireland, by the Irish Book Award-winning author and media personality Leon Diop.
Mixed-race experience in Ireland has never been described so honestly. Diop, a charismatic public figure and strong positive male role-model for young Irish people, tells his story from his first day as the only brown boy in school to his powerful recent experience reconnecting with his African roots in Senegal.
Growing up, Diop struggled with his identity, got into trouble, and lost his way, before turning his life around and finding his mission: helping Black and mixed-race Irish people tell their own stories. He founded Black & Irish and developed it into an advocacy group, a podcast with RTÉ, and an award-winning book (published by Little Island in 2023).
Now it is Diop’s turn to tell his own story, his journey from mixed-up kid to embracing his own identity, one that will inspire young Irish people and help counter dangerous political narratives in Ireland today. (Credit: Little Island)
Return To My Trees: Notes from the Welsh Woodlands by Matthew Yeomans
When and how did we humans lose our connection with nature – and how do we find it again?
Matthew Yeomans seeks to answer these questions as he walks more than 300 miles through the ancient and modern forests of Wales, losing himself in their stories (and on the odd unexpected diversion, too).
Return to My Trees weaves together history and folklore with tales of industrial progress and decay. On his journey, he visits landmarks that once were home to ancient Druids, early Celtic saints, Norman Lords and the great mining communities that reshaped Wales. He becomes immersed in the woodlands that inspired the country’s great legends. At one point he even stumbles upon a herd of television-watching cows.
As Yeomans walks, he reflects on these woods’ uncertain future, his own relationship with nature and the global problems we need to solve if humans are to truly make peace with the natural world. from tree-planting in ways that are actually beneficial to the environment and local communities to embedding the value of nature into our financial and economic systems.
The result is a fascinating and funny adventure that offers insight into the past, present and future of Wales’s woodlands and shows what the rest of the world can learn from them. (Credit: University of Wales Press)
Her Secret Service: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence by Claire Hubbard-Hall
Since the inception of the Secret Service Bureau back in 1909, women have worked at the very heart of British secret intelligence – yet their contributions have been all but written out of history. Now, drawing on private and previously-classified documents, leading historian Claire Hubbard-Hall brings their gripping true stories to life.
From encoding orders and decrypting enemy messages to penning propaganda and infiltrating organisations, the women of British intelligence played a pivotal role in both the First and Second World Wars. Prepare to meet the true custodians of Britain’s military secrets, from Kathleen Pettigrew, personal assistant to the Chief of MI6 Stewart Menzies, who late in life declared ‘I was Miss Moneypenny, but with more power’, to Jane Archer, the very first female MI5 officer who raised suspicions about the Soviet spy Kim Philby long before he was officially unmasked and Winifred Spink, the first female officer ever sent to Russia in 1916. In Her Secret Service, Hubbard-Hall rescues these silenced voices and those of many other fascinating women from obscurity to provide a definitive account of women’s contributions to the history of the intelligence services. (Credit: Orion Publishing Co)
The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani
This is a work of fiction. This is not a confession.’
Lucas Cole is a bestselling writer. A quiet and unassuming man, he’s a beloved celebrity in his small town. Lucas Cole is also a serial killer.
Nathan Cole has always known the truth about his father. But it isn’t until Lucas is found dead that Nathan discovers The Midnight King, his father’s fictionalised account of his hideous crimes, hidden in a box of trinkets taken from his victims. Trinkets that include a ribbon belonging to a missing girl who disappeared only days before Lucas’s death.
Now, Nathan must deal with the consequences of keeping his father’s secret. But The Midnight King holds Nathan’s secrets as well as Lucas’s, and he is not the only one searching for the truth… (Credit: Profile Books)
Welcome to the Neighbourhood by Jane Fallon
Expected Publication Date: January 15
No one’s secrets are safe…
Kitty thought moving to London would spice up her life. Unfortunately, she ended up on Ashdown Close, where the hottest topic of gossip is a missed bin collection.
That was before the arrival of Sian and Rich at number 8. They are cool and glamorous, and Kitty is perfectly willing to be dazzled by their company.
But when she spots a mysterious woman furtively leaving their house, she realises they might not be the magnetic couple she thought. Aided and abetted by best friend Grace, Kitty feels she needs to investigate.
Do Sian and Richard really have something to hide, or are Kitty and Grace just being nosy neighbours?
And if they are, perhaps they are not the only ones.
Because on this street’s nobody’s business might just turn out to be everybody’s business . . . (Credit: Penguin Books)
The Mysterious Affair Of Judith Potts by Robert Thorogood
Expected Publication Date: January 15
A killer is on the loose. The bodies are piling up. And Judith is hiding a deadly secret …
Someone from Judith’s past has turned up in Marlow and is stirring up trouble. With all the murders that the Marlow Murder Club have had to solve and her work setting crosswords, Judith’s been too busy to give her old life much thought. But now it’s knocking on her door and won’t go away.
On top of that, Marlow’s celebrities are getting murdered! When a footballer and a thriller writer are found dead, Judith, Suzie, and Becks must untangle a web of scandal to find the killer. But with Judith keeping secrets, the Marlow Murder Club find themselves drifting apart.
The pressure is on in more ways than one …
Can they find the killer and help Judith in time, or could this be the end of the Marlow Murder Club? (Credit: HarperCollins UK)
Sadie Jones and the Ball by Sally Nicholls and illustrated by Ashley King
Expected Publication Date: January 15
Sadie Jones, the smallest kitchen maid in the palace, is determined that no one should be left out of Prince Charming’s ball in this funny Cinderella retelling from Sally Nicholls.
Everyone knows the story of Cinderella and how she and Prince Charming danced the night away at the ball. But what happened to all the other girls who were invited?
Sadie Jones, kitchen maid at the palace, is furious when everyone else is left standing around with no one to dance with while Prince Charming and Cinderella have a wonderful time.
So when Cinderella disappears and Prince Charming flounces off in a huff, it’s up to Sadie to save the day! (Credit: HarperCollins UK)
Sister Wake by Dave Rudden
Expected Publication Date: January 15
For three hundred years the wild island of Croí has been subject to the Empire of the Answering. Clans have been subjugated, their language outlawed, their religion reduced to the whisper of fugitive priests.
Until Croí’s prayers are answered. The Gods return. Feral and majestic, they stride the land as colossi, throwing the Empire into chaos.
The dispossessed and the vengeful struggle for power. A ruthless priestess rallies the faithful, offering a simple choice – believe, or die – even as the empire’s Queen makes the first moves in a long and dangerous game.
But for all their machinations, one woman will decide the fate of them all . . . Sister Wake, unwilling saint of the Goddess of Death. (Credit: Hodder & Stoughton)
The Wrath by Martina Murphy
Expected Publication Date: January 22
You will not know the day, or the hour, but I am coming for you…
When DS Lucy Golden discovers an abandoned car showing signs of a recent and bloody escape, the race is on to find the injured occupant, who must be somewhere close by on the Irish island of Achill. But when an anoymous threatening note is found in a pool of blood, the search team is briefed to look for a body, rather than a survivor.
Once the victim is revealed as a retired police officer, Lucy and her team are on edge… was the brutal killing an act of personal revenge? Or is the killer making a statement against the wider Gardaí?
Tensions rise as bizarre clues, conflicting witness testimony, viral videos and family feuds send Lucy and her partner Detective Dan Brown across Ireland on the hunt for a vicious murderer. They’re feeling the pressure at work and at home… Lucy’s son Luc is in a stormy relationship with a wannabe social media influencer, Dan’s mother-in-law is conducting a steamy affair under his roof, and Lucy fears that a recent case that got a little too personal could be the cause of her boss DI William’s noticeable coldness towards her.
Meanwhile, the killer is only just getting started… (Credit: Little, Brown Book Group)
A Year of Nothing by Emma Gannon
Expected Publication Date: January 22
After years of writing about work, wellness and productivity, Emma Gannon hit a wall: chronic burnout left her unable to get out of bed. Something had to change.
A Year of Nothing follows Emma’s quiet rebellion against the cult of doing. Over four seasons, she steps away from the noise and rediscovers joy in life’s simplest pleasures, from dog borrowing and dopamine dressing to relearning how to swim and embracing a child-free life.
This is a gentle, hopeful guide to what happens when you stop trying to fix everything and choose to feel instead. (Credit: Whitefox Publiashing)
Esther Is Now Following You by Tanya Sweeney
Expected Publication Date: January 29
You have one new follower.
Esther first sees Ted walking in a park in London. They lock eyes and for a fraction of a second, she feels something she’s never felt before.
She starts by reading up about his life in Canada and his work as an actor. Then she watches every interview with him online. It isn’t long before she’s joined Ted’s fan site online where her and the ‘Tedettes’ stalk his every move.
When Ted gets a new celebrity girlfriend, Esther decides that things have gone far enough. She leaves her husband, takes all their savings, and buys a one-way ticket to Canada.
After all, Ted might not know it yet, but they are meant to be together – he just needs a little bit of persuading.
Esther is Now Following You is an irresistible debut novel about obsession and celebrity fandom. (Credit: Transworld Publishers Ltd)
Brigid by Kim Curran
Expected Publication Date: January 29
In a wild, ancient grove at the edge of winter, a desperate girl prays to the gods for her freedom.
Born to a slave mother, sold in marriage to a brutal husband, none have ever listened to Brigid’s prayers.
But this time, a goddess answers . . . with a vision that will transform Brigid’s path forever.
Ireland lies on the precipice of change. The new Christian god is coming, a faith that Brigid can bend to her will, building a sisterhood and sanctuary for women with nowhere else to turn. As their numbers grow, so too do the rumours – of just what powers women can hold when they come together.
But power, like a flame, consumes as it grows. As Brigid rises, challenging kings, defying bishops, soon she must reckon with what she herself has become.
And as her enemies draw closer, eager to reclaim all she has taken from them, what – or who – will she sacrifice to hold on to her legacy?
A radical reimagining of Ireland’s most beloved saint, Brigid is the story of a woman who could never be caged – by men, by gods, or even by history itself. (Credit: Penguin Books)
Last Orders by Denzil Meyrick
Expected Publication Date: January 29
DCI Jim Daley is charged with murder – and everyone saw him do it – in the gripping final thriller in the series, from the bestselling author Denzil Meyrick.
In the middle of the night in Kinloch, the phone rings…
Detective Sergeant Brian Scott answers. It’s a message from his old friend and partner, DCI Jim Daley, which chills him to the bone:
‘She’s dead, Brian. I couldn’t take it anymore – I killed her! You have to help.’
Daley has been arrested for murder, and everyone saw him do it. The police have all the evidence they need to put him behind bars for life, but Scott still believes he’s innocent.
Is someone trying to frame him?
The search for answers takes Daley and Scott on a dark journey into their past, putting the people closest to them in immediate danger. And as the heartbreak takes its toll, Scott begins to wonder if this might be the end of the road.
Is it time to call last orders? (Credit: Transworld Publishing)
Chosen Family by Madeline Gray
Expected Publication Date: January 29
Books about friendship are not often described as love stories, but this is one.At the age of twelve, Nell has accepted that hers will likely be a friendless existence. She’s not interested in boys or makeup or competing to see who can eat the least – so fitting in at her all-girls’ school feels impossible.
But then, a new girl arrives at school.
Eve has short hair like a boy’s, a wicked sense of humour and an unshakable confidence that she will find her place in the world. And the moment they meet, Nell begins to rethink the whole friendless existence thing.
As they grow into themselves, Nell and Eve will love each other and hurt each other – through the chlorine-scented savagery of adolescence; long, drunken nights in share houses and gay bars; the highs and lows of parenthood.
And always, despite unspoken feelings and sexual confusion, they will choose each other. Again, and again. As friends, as lovers, as family. (Credit: Orion Publishing)
The Girl Who Raced The World by Nat Harrison
Expected Publication Date: January 29
You must take every day, every hour, every minute one tick at a time.
It is 1872 and, when Maggie Appleton’s beloved mother dies, she is left with nothing but a letter for a mysterious stranger called Passepartout. With nowhere else to turn, Maggie seeks out Passepartout and, in doing so, is drawn into an adventure beyond her wildest dreams. Together with Passepartout’s employer, the enigmatic Mr Phileas Fogg, Maggie journeys to Italy, India, Hong Kong, Japan and America, in a daring race against time to win the wager Mr Fogg has accepted.
But with a bank robber on the loose, an angry Inspector on their tail and unread secrets in her mother’s letter, Maggie soon discovers that there is much more at stake than keeping on schedule to win the bet. Who can she really trust – and will she ever find out where she truly belongs? (Credit: Bonnier Books)
Silverbrook: Yumna and the Golden Horse by Yassmin Abdel-Magied
Expected Publication Date: January 29
In this quiet town, a magic awakens . . .
Thirteen-year-old Yumna lives in a sleepy town where nothing ever happens. So when her friends start sneaking into the woods at night, curiosity gets the better of her and she follows. There, she discovers something unbelievable. Kareem can turn into a golden horse. Sami can touch fire without burning. Even her cousin Nafisa has a strange new power. Everyone’s changing . . . except Yumna.
But when Kareem vanishes and a mysterious new family, the Maidstones, seem to be hiding something, Yumna is the only one asking the right questions. As secrets unravel and danger creeps closer, it’s up to Yumna to rally her friends and uncover the truth. (Credit: Hachette’s Children Group)
Everybody Loves Our Dollars: How Money Laundering Won by Oliver Bullough
Expected Publication Date: January 29
From the bestselling author of Moneyland and Butler to the World, a revelatory new anatomy of global money laundering, the crime that makes crime pay
Without money laundering, few crimes of acquisition would be worth the trouble. South America’s drug cartels would be stuffed without it, as would Nigerian kleptocrats, Afghan terrorists, American tax evaders and a whole bestiary of human (and animal) traffickers the world over.
And yet, estimates of the dirty portion of world GDP have held steady at 2%-5% for decades. All efforts at legislation, diplomacy, prosecution and compliance have been a complete flop. It’s not a lack of will to stamp it out. It’s a lack of insight. So join bestselling investigative journalist Oliver Bullough on a perspective-altering adventure through the flipside of the global economy.
In the criminal world, cash is still king (in fact, crime might now be the main thing cash is good for, and even why it still exists). Barter is pretty good too: vast, continent-wide exchanges of everything from luxury handbags to baby eels support a triangular drug trade linking Europe to the Far East. Cryptocurrencies flow through paper ledgers that would make a Florentine merchant feel at home.
And the system works. Whether you’re a fraudster, a cartel boss, a corrupt politician, a kleptocrat or a terrorist mastermind, your options to move and hide your money are more secure and more impenetrable than they have ever been. There has never been a better time to be a criminal. It’s time that changed. (Credit: Orion Publishing)
Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth
Expected Publication Date: January 29
Once a slag, always a slag?
It’s the 1990s. Sarah is 15, obsessed with sex, getting drunk on Malibu, and her teacher, Mr Keaveney.
Fast forward: Sarah is 41, the last of the party girls. But the mad nights out are losing their shine.
Craving adventure, she sets off with her sister Juliette on a whisky-fuelled campervan trip across Scotland.
They know all the dark corners of each other’s history – and it’s time to dig up some demons, kicking and screaming.
Because the things that once defined us shouldn’t define us forever… should they? (Credit: HarperCollins)
We Feed The King by Rebecca Perry
Expected Publication Date: January 29
She is a curator, who spends her time dressing the rooms of historic buildings to bring them to life. But in the lush private quarters of a medieval palace, she finds herself so transfixed by the reign of an almost-forgotten King that the edges of her life begin to blur.
He is a reluctant ruler with no hunger for power, rushed to the throne after the untimely deaths of his older brothers. But it isn’t long before whispers begin to fly around the court. And with the growing belief that the King is not fit for the throne comes the idea that another might rule in his stead.
May We Feed the King dances between the lives of a historical subject who risks the future of his kingdom and a woman who turns to the past to hide from her present. Laced with desire and longing, it is a playful, stirring meditation on history and storytelling: on what makes a King ‘Great’, and a life meaningful. (Credit: Granta Books)
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