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
The Quiet Girls by Dorothy Koomson
Expected Publication Date: March 12
When MJ Hudson, an old work acquaintance, shows up at Dr Kez Lanyon’s house in the middle of the night, Kez knows she has no choice but to help.
At the prestigious boarding school that MJ’s daughter attends, a teacher has been killed and a pupil is missing. And it seems that the same thing happens every few years. Only this time, the school haven’t been able to cover things up and MJ’s daughter and her group of nice, quiet friends are right at the heart of the scandal.
Undercover as the new school therapist, Kez quickly realises there are some seriously powerful, well-connected forces at play. And by continuing to investigate the mystery, perhaps even stepping outside the law to do so, Kez risks putting her own family in serious danger.
Because no one wants their secrets aired. And some will go to any length to keep them buried. (Credit: Headline Publishing)
We Are Not Numbers: The Voices of Gaza’s Youth by Ahmed Alnaouq and Pam Bailey
A teenage girl stares at her roof, hoping it won’t collapse over her head. A young student searches the Internet for photos of libraries around the world, hoping he’ll be able to visit them one day. Another walks around the city, taking notes of all the buildings she dreams of repairing.
These are the stories of young people from Gaza, born under Israeli occupation and blockade. They are people who have endured unspeakable struggles and losses, who keep fighting to be recognised not as numbers, but as human beings with hopes, dreams and lives worth living.
We Are Not Numbers was founded in 2014 to give voice to the youth of Gaza. In this collection, vital, urgent and full of heart, spanning over ten years to the present moment, we gain an unparalleled insight into the past, as well as the current and next generation of Palestinian leaders, artists, scientists and scholars and imagine where we might go from here. (Credit: Cornerstone)
The Woman In The Water by Henrietta McKervey
THEY WERE BEST FRIENDS. NOW THEY ARE MURDERER AND WITNESS.
At the heart of the classic novel Rebecca lies a mystery …
Pearl Day has always lived in the background – companion to her childhood friend, the dazzling and unpredictable Lady Eleanor Nicholson. Their bond was forged at Alderleigh, Eleanor’s crumbling country estate, but now they share a sleek London home where Eleanor’s life of indulgence is spiralling into chaos.
When Eleanor shoots her lover in a drunken rage, Pearl becomes the key witness in a scandalous murder trial. But she knows more than she’s revealed – and with Eleanor behind bars, she sees a chance to escape her quiet desperation. Their connection, once rooted in friendship, is now warped by grief, envy and power. And Eleanor’s reach is long.
Set between 1930s London and the windswept Cornwall coast, this taut, gothic thriller dares to answer one of literature’s abiding questions: in Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, who is the woman in the water? (Credit: Hachette Books Ireland)
Kill Me Now by Helen Price
School golden boy Riley North had it all – talent, charm and a stellar future. Now he’s dead.
Guy ‘Reaper’ Mortimer, the funeral director’s son, stands accused of his murder.
Keen to clear his name, Reaper teams up with cute new girl, Samira; sweet but naïve Betty; and Riley’s two best mates, Bunsen and Snake. Together, they unravel the twisted layers of school, where secrets hide and deception is rife. But what starts as a search for answers soon becomes a fight for survival.
Because the killer knows the truth and is determined to expose it – one deadly sin at a time.
And Riley North is just the first ..(Credit: Chicken House)
Endgame Will Take You Down by Melinda Salisbury
Ruby, Freya and Ivy are all survivors of the Ash Tree Foundation, an organisation that claimed to help teenagers deal with technology addiction but which was a front for a dangerously addictive augmented-reality platform, Novo Reality.
Novo Reality was the brainchild of tech-baroness Dagmar Nilsson, who disappeared without trace when the Foundation was busted. But now, a year later, just as the girls are all preparing to start a new chapter of their lives, it becomes clear that Dagmar is continuing with her aim of world domination.
Can the three friends draw her out of hiding and shut down the Foundation for good, or will Dagmar’s dream of controlling the world finally come true?
Because the Endgame is coming, and someone is going down … (Credit: HarperCollins)
The Family Friend by Claire Douglas
Expected Publication Date: March 12
When Imogen is told she’s inherited a country house near Bath, she thinks it must be a mistake. She last saw its owner, reclusive artist Dorothea Roe, sixteen years ago, during a tragic summer which changed her life for ever.
Now, with partner Josh in tow, it’s a chance for a fresh start.
But after discovering an old box with her name on it in Dorothea’s abandoned study, Imogen starts to believe the woman was trying to send her a secret message.
And when rumours begin to swirl that Dorothea was murdered, she starts to suspect that this gift might not be the life-line she thought it was.
Who would want to kill Dorothea?
Could it be tangled up in Imogen’s own dark family history?
And what if Imogen is now the one in danger? (Credit: Penguin Books)
Dead Heat by Sabine Durrant
Expected Publication Date: March 12
Former journalist Matt Grimshaw’s life is at a low ebb. He’s been ‘let go’ by the paper where he’s worked for years, and his relationship with his long-term girlfriend has come unstuck.
So when an invitation arrives from his two closest friends, Celia and Adam Murphy, to join them at their house in Greece, he jumps at it.
It may be harsh and unwelcoming on the Mani Peninsula but Matt determines to stay there for the whole summer and to write his much put-off screen-play.
But then the Murphys plus children arrive, and a wealthy newcomer to the area starts throwing loud and lavish parties in his big house across the bay.
As the nights become hotter and the parties wilder, everyone’s motivations darken. Envy rises, resentments grow – until a terrible accident stops the summer in its tracks.
At least, it looks like an accident… Credit: Cornerstone)
Likeable: How I Broke Free From The Need To Please by Fearne Cotton
Expected Publication Date: March 12
Do you worry about what other people think of you? Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why?
For too long, our value and self-worth has been tied to pleasing others. We’ve dimmed our true selves to fit in – no matter the cost. But there’s always a cost. People-pleasing and staying likeable means suppressing our feelings, words, actions, and desires, and there’s only so much we can conceal before it all unravels.
Throughout my life, I’ve morphed into who others needed me to be, taken on too much responsibility for other people’s sh*t, put myself down, and stayed quiet – all in the hope of being liked. But no more. Now, I’m asking- What do I want? … And do I even like myself?
This book holds a light up to all the times I wish I’d broken free of the worry cycle, said goodbye to the ‘good girl’ attitude, and put happiness first. I wrote it so you can do the same. You can’t please everyone. So let’s stop trying.
Fearne x (Credit: Ebury Publishing)
The Fullness of Time: Marking the Day by Birdsong, Blooms, Shadows and Stars by Cathy Haynes
Expected Publication Date: March 12
A journey into the forgotten art of marking time through signs in the world around us – from the slow sliding of sunbeams to the wheeling of the stars.
Past generations would tell time by shadows shrinking, the midday glow over a mountaintop, the crowing of the rooster in the darkness. They noticed the flowers that close at noon, sensed how the quality of light changes at dusk, and marked time at night by the motion of the stars.
Today, in our clock-bound, screen-immersed world, most of us rely on machines to mark the hours. But what riches might we gain from reclaiming the forgotten art of sensing time by events in the living world?
Roaming from ancient downland to city streets, The Fullness of Time is an adventure in search of those patterns that once shaped the rhythm of our days – and an invitation to discover the simple, sensory joys of truly paying attention. (Credit: Bloomsbury)
A Woman’s Work: Reclaiming the Radical History of Mothering by Elinor Cleghorn
Expected Publication Date: March 12
Mothers make history. For centuries, motherhood has sparked social and political change. Yet the acts of growing, birthing and nurturing children – and the power they hold – have been pushed to the margins, overlooked in our narratives of the past.
In A Woman’s Work, Elinor Cleghorn reveals the mothers, othermothers, midwives, activists, and community leaders who have shaped this extraordinary history. They include Hildegard of Bingen, the medieval nun and mystic with pioneering views about the maternal body; Mary Wollstonecraft, who laid the intellectual groundwork to release motherhood from male control; and Sojourner Truth, who drew attention to the abhorrent treatment of mothers under chattel slavery.
Beginning in the ancient world, we learn how in each era, the patriarchy constructed its own idealised notion of motherhood – from the misogynistic dogma of the early church and the stigmatisation of single mothers in 17th century England all the way through to the post-war myth of the perfectly contented housewife. But we also learn how mothers of all classes and circumstances fought back, and lobbied to be valued, respected and supported – not as reproductive vessels, but as people. (Credit: Orion Publishing)
A Woman’s Work is a radical and inspiring new history of mothering, and a timely reminder that the fight for reproductive freedom is far from over.
Scare B’n’B by Catherine Doyle
Expected Publication Date: March 12
Spooky silliness reigns in Catherine Doyle’s brand new series as Ted and Frankie team up to save their hotel from a ghostly duke and his restless spirits. Featuring hilarious illustrations from Rachael Dean.
Ted McKenley would rather live anywhere than with Frankie “spawn-of-the-devil” Stark. And Frankie wouldn’t go near a coward like Ted. Too bad – their parents just got married and blew their savings turning a creepy old mansion into a boutique hotel. At least it’s big enough for the stepsiblings to stay far apart.
But when Ted encounters a disappearing housekeeper and Frankie runs into a screaming suit of armour, their feud becomes the least of their problems.
With cranky spirits on the loose, Ted and Frankie reluctantly team up to stop the devious Duke of Snoring from turning their new home into haunted rubble.
The battle for the hotel has begun! (Credit: Bloomsbury)
Where Are You, Eddie? by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Gill Smith
Expected Publication Date: March 12
Michael’s son Eddie has died. But does that mean he has really gone?
Michael decides to go and look for him. Visiting the places they went together and speaking to his friends and siblings, he discovers how Eddie is alive in their memories. Eddie is still here.
Simply told, and with emotional honesty by the former Children’s Laureate about his own experience of losing his son Eddie, this is a vital book for children dealing with grief and loss, showing how a loved one can be kept with you through memories. Illustrated with warmth and sensitivity by acclaimed illustrator Gill Smith, and with an afterword by Michael Rosen. (Credit: Walker Books)
The Soul Catchers by Naoko Higashi
Expected Publication Date: March 19
What if you could come back after death to watch over your loved one, installing yourself in a treasured mug, for example, or perhaps your mother’s hearing aid, a diary, or even a climbing frame, to feel the clambering limbs of a beloved sister?
Eleven recently deceased protagonists find themselves floating in the afterlife where a nameless ghost offers them a joyous reunion with their loved ones.
But not as you would expect.
In a world where souls linger restlessly around after death, unwilling to depart, The Soul Catchers is a comforting, witty, and surprisingly sensual take on the Japanese folk belief that objects can be inhabited by human presences. Utterly charming and feelgood, Higashi’s classic is an original exploration of our eternal reluctance to let go. (Credit: Transworld Publishers)
Peckish: An Inspirational Collection of Winning Chicken Dinners by Ed Smith
Expected Publication Date: March 19
A collection of winning chicken dinners, for any day of the week.
Peckish is a compendium of winning ways to cook chicken: the necessary next book from, Ed Smith, the award-winning author of Good Eggs.
In Peckish, Ed Smith showcases over 80 straightforward chicken recipes that will have you coming back for more. Arranged by the different cuts of chicken (drumstick, thighs, breast, wings, etc), as well the whole bird, recipes include midweek meals such as Sherry Cherry Tomato Chicken Traybake, Lemon and Sage Piccata and Poached Chicken and Asparagus Chopped Salad, as well as dishes like Buttermilk, Honey and Mustard Roast Chicken and Chicken and Chestnut Suet Pastry Pot Pie that are worthy of weekend gatherings.
Interspersed with the recipes are suggestions of how you can change up the recipes to suit what you have available, as well as techniques for taking your chicken cookery to the next level.
Perfect for anyone who is peckish for ideas, this book is bound to sate your chicken cravings. (Credit: Quadrille Publishing Ltd)
Finding Albion: Myth, Folklore and the Quest for a Hidden Britain by Zakia Sewell
Expected Publication Date: March 19
Zakia Sewell is on a quest for another Britain. Traversing the length and breadth of our island from Somerset to Scotland, she’s seeking out a different story – one that lies beyond divisive national myths and symbols.
In Finding Albion, Zakia uncovers an alternative spirit of Britain that is vividly alive today. It is found in otherworldly folk songs, ancient legends, Celtic seasonal rites and mystic stone circles that punctuate our landscape. Her journey begins as the sun rises on the spring equinox over Glastonbury Tor, where she meets neopagans reclaiming traditions from our pre-Christian past. At summer’s peak at Notting Hill Carnival she hears cultural echoes that passed along the slave trade routes from the Caribbean. On All Hallow’s Eve she encounters the ghosts of Empire that are still haunting the nation, and in the depths of a Cornish winter she asks if today’s new folk revival could unite our increasingly divided country?
Finding Albion brings a hopeful story of Britain out from the shadows, giving us a deeper sense of who we are, and heralding the promise of a brighter future. (Credit: Hodder & Stoughton)
Why Does Everybody Hate Me?: Living and Loving with Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria by Alex Partridge
Expected Publication Date: March 24
Your boss asked you for a chat, and you just knew you were going to be fired
You didn’t sleep all weekend, and you weren’t fired
Someone answered your message with a thumbs-up emoji and you just knew they hated you.
So you stopped talking to them, they eventually stopped texting, and now you miss them like crazy
Someone went for a bathroom break mid-film, and you just knew it’s because they think your taste in films is terrible
You were so upset you missed the rest of the film, and they left early
Rejection is physically painful for you. Even the most minor criticism stings. And why wouldn’t it? By the time you were 12, you’d received 20,000 negative messages about yourself, your brain and your unique ADHD way of living life.
20,000.
Alex Partridge knows how it feels to live with Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD), the state of emotional dysregulation experienced by almost everyone with ADHD. Throughout his journey from successful entrepreneur to neurodiversity campaigner and host of the hugely successful ADHD Chatter, Alex has been haunted by the fear of rejection, labelled ‘over-sensitive’, and fought constantly against the desire to people-please and protect himself from emotional harm.
In Why Does Everybody Hate Me? Alex draws on his own experience of RSD, and shares how it’s coloured every aspect of his life, from his days as founder of the global social media content brands UniLad and LadBible, to his adult relationships, his mental health struggles and his terrible imposter syndrome. He’ll use the insights he’s gained from the world’s top experts on ADHD to share with you some simple steps to regaining your boundaries, your confidence and your self-belief.
You are not ‘too sensitive’ – nor are you broken. You were always enough.
Brielle and Bear: Project Fairytale by Salomey Doku
Expected Publication Date: March 26
A wonderfully romantic love story in a stunning, full-colour graphic novel format
Fairytale Rule No.2:
Ordinary people fall into adventures all the time – especially when they least expect it.
Brielle is living out her fairytale dream at Once Upon a Time University, but it’s exam season and with all the late-night studying and extra classes, she still hasn’t found a moment to tell Bear how she really feels about him. As Bear starts to get closer to cheerleader Sasha, and Brielle reconciles with ex Pavão, divisions begin to form between the pair.
After the summer holidays, Brielle determines to rewrite her fairytale rules and tries to reconnect with Bear. But with the Masquerade Ball fast approaching, will she be too late to spark romance?
Hope, dreams and magical secrets collide in this stunningly illustrated and irresistibly romantic coming-of-age fairytale, where the path to happily ever after is never easy …(Credit: HarperCollins)
It’s Not What You Think by Clare Mackintosh
Expected Publication Date: March 26
He has a secret. She knows he’s lying…
You think you know the people you love.
Nadeeka is certain Jamie is having an affair. She knows the tell-tale signs.
She’s been here before.
You think you know who you can trust.
When Jamie claims to be at work late, she knows he’s lying. He’s with another woman, and she’s determined to catch him in the act.
You think you know how the story ends.
But when Nadeeka arrives home to confront him, Jamie can’t explain himself. The house has become a crime scene…
Jamie is dead.
It’s not what you think. (Credit: HarperCollins)
A Murder in Eight Cocktails by Kelly Mullen
Expected Publication Date: March 26
Mix one old flame with a splash of suspicion for the perfect. . . murder.
In the seaside haven of Carmel-by-the-Sea, Willa Keane’s marriage is in a rut. As a retired interior-designer-turned-influencer, she’s sure life begins at fifty-five, whereas her husband, Marty, is more interested in watching his beloved birds.
So when Willa is invited to the opening of the chicest new cocktail bar in town, she hopes the evening will rekindle their flame. But arriving at the party, Willa is shaken to discover it’s being hosted by her charming ex-husband, Paul.
The night is thrown into even deeper chaos when the bar’s enigmatic owner is found dead on the rocks below. A suicide message suggests there’s no foul play, but Willa’s heightened senses aren’t so sure. Now she must solve the mystery together with her husband…and her ex-husband.
Can they find the killer before another victim is served their last cocktail? (Credit: Cornerstone)
The Sleepover Sabotage by Marcus Rashford with Abiola Bello and illustrated by Marta Kissi
Expected Publication Date: March 26
Join Marcus and friends as they solve a nighttime mystery in The Breakfast Club Adventures: The Sleepover Sabotage. This is the eighth exciting adventure by England International footballer, child food-poverty campaigner and bestselling author Marcus Rashford MBE. Inspired by Marcus’s own experiences growing up!
A sleepover challenge is being held at Rutherford School! Teams of four have to build a tent from sustainable materials and stay overnight in the school grounds. Everyone is excited but Marcus is feeling worried because he’s never spent the night away from his mum.
As the night of the sleepover draws closer, a strange creature is spotted roaming the school and challenge participants start to drop out putting the sleepover at risk of being cancelled! Can Marcus face his fears with his the help of his friends and save the sleepover? (Credit: Pan Macmillan)
Wild Peaks: A Journey on Foot Through England’s First National Park by Tom Chesshyre
Expected Publication Date: March 26
A journey through Britain’s first National Park on its 75th anniversary
On a spring day in 1932, 400 disgruntled ramblers embarked on a ‘mass trespass’ of Kinder Scout, a plateau in the Peak District in northern England. Their aim? To establish a right to roam across the rugged landscape, against the wishes of wealthy landowners.
The hikers were seeking respite from the smoky industrial centres of Manchester and Sheffield – and eventually they got what they wanted. In 1951, the Peak District was established as Britain’s first national park. Home to striking dragon-back ridges of rock, vast expanses of peat, farms and villages, cloughs and caverns, the Peak is much more than the ‘howling wilderness’ described by Daniel Defoe three centuries ago.
With the 75th anniversary of the park’s creation looming, how has this dramatic landscape fared since? Celebrated travel writer Tom Chesshyre hit the trails on a 363-mile ramble to find out – and to celebrate this symbolic home of hiking.
Wild Peaks follows winding paths, pausing at old inns and mountain huts, and along the way meeting a rich cast of landowners, farmers, historians, mountaineers, publicans, rangers, right-to-roamers, homeless travellers, mountain rescue members, mystics, dreamers and fellow hikers.
Don your cagoule, grab a compass, and join Tom as he explores how the land has changed, and how we have too. (Credit: HarperCollins)
To The Death by Melissa Welliver
Expected Publication Date: March 26
Welcome to Blood Island, where the struggle for survival against the bloodthirsty undead is captured on camera for entertainment.
When Bloodwatch, the shadowy organisation behind the ever-watchful cameras, descends upon the island to shoot a new high-stakes reality show, Astrid finds herself thrust into the spotlight. The prize at stake? A coveted ticket off the island. Paired with Luke, a risk-taking outsider harbouring secrets of his own, Astrid discovers the perilous costs of winning the adoration of a legion of fans.
Caught in a deadly game where the undead and other contestants close in, Astrid must navigate her developing feelings for Luke and the treacherous terrain of reality TV, where there can be only one winner.
Escaping the past is impossible when the present threatens to devour you. (Credit: Hachette Children’s Group)
How To Lose The Lottery by Jay McKenzie
Expected Publication Date: March 26
Buy a lottery ticket✅
Win your wildest dreams✅
Lose everything…?
One lucky ticket is about to change everything.
Edie and Ron have been together for nearly fifty years, keeping each other afloat by the skin of their teeth. They’ve always been ordinary – until something very extraordinary happens.
Winning the lottery is everything they’ve ever wanted – well, almost.
Because for the last twenty years, Edie and Ron have been running from a secret that tore their family apart. And when you can suddenly buy everything you’ve ever wanted, you realise that the only thing you really want is the one thing money can’t buy.
Join Edie as she finally takes control. She’s had enough of playing the hand she’s been dealt – it’s time to risk it all. (Credit: HarperCollins)
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