Carrie Soto Is Back – the new novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid – may be one of the most hotly-anticipated novels of 2022, following hot on the heels of Malibu Rising. It is a powerful story about greatness against the odds, the inside of an athlete’s psyche and the beauty of ageing.

Carrie Soto has retired from tennis as one of the best players the world has ever seen, now her record of twenty Grand Slam titles stands under threat from newcomer Nicki Chan. Seeing her record on the verge of falling, she decides to make a comeback, with the aid of her father and coach Javier. At thirty-seven years old she is one of the oldest players in the game and so this comeback is anything but easy – even picking her hitting partner turns out to be an ordeal given her past as ‘the Battle-Axe.’

Even for those who are not fans of tennis, there is a beauty and spellbinding grace in the way that Jenkins Reid speaks of the game and narrates the matches that Carrie Soto wins and loses. It’s an intoxicating story that will appeal to fans of Jenkins Reid and newcomers to her writing.

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For any lovers of family-centric novels, like The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, comes Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson – the phenomenal new debut novel that is as propulsive as it is touching and moving.

When their mother Eleanor dies, estranged siblings Byron and Benny reunite for her funeral in California. Once there, they are given a strange inheritance – an eight hour voice recording in which Eleanor narrates her extraordinary family history, alongside a traditional Caribbean black cake. Across the length of the voice recording, Eleanor narrates a tumultuous story about a headstrong young woman who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder – finding a life in England eventually. The story is full of revelations for the siblings, making them question their relationship with their mother and their own heritage.

Black Cake is an extraordinary story, showcasing a lyrical and thoughtful writer, who characterises her protagonists with amazing sensitivity, dealing with broad issues from race to motherhood, the environment and family ties. It is without a doubt one of the most extraordinary novels of the year, positioning Wilkerson as an exciting new voice in the cultural zeitgeist.

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Amanda Montell’s deeply insightful book Cultish – The Language of Fanaticism –  is out everywhere now. It’s a fascinating look into the language of cults and the power of language as a persuasive tool. Cults have always been both intriguing and frightening in equal measure for most people – and the prevailing question remains what are their appeal for so many people to get people to enter. From the Manson cult to Heaven’s Gate, Jonestown and QAnon, Montell provides an immensely well-researched exploration of the language of cults, showing how the language can be similar with cults and MLMs.

Juicy and compelling in equal measure, Montell exposes the verbal elements that make a wide spectrum of communities “cultish,” revealing how they affect followers of groups as notorious as Heaven’s Gate, but also how they pervade our modern start-ups, Peloton leaderboards, and Instagram feeds. The book is incisive, darkly funny taking on the fanatical language applied to so many areas of modern-day society and groups. Montell’s thesis and structure is compelling and propulsive and this is one of the most readable non-fiction books we’ve read in recent years.

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Sarah J. Maas’ new series Crescent City kicks off with the first novel – House of Earth and Blood – the second novel in the series, House of Sky and Breath, is out now too. The novel revolves around Bryce Quinlan, a notorious party girl. Her life is torn to shreds when her closest friends are savagely murdered, leaving her utterly devastated. When the murders start happening again, Bryce is asked to be the centre of the investigation, taking up the offer to avenge their deaths. Hunt Athalar, a notorious Fallen angel now enslaved to the Archangels, is roped in to act as her protector and partner in the investigation. As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into the root of the investigation, they uncover the underbelly of the city and its power, one based on corruption to the very centre.

It’s a blazing, passionate story that moves at a breathless speed, including searing romance, twists and turns and suspense. It’s as richly inventive as we have come to expect from Maas, though with perhaps less likeable characters than we have come to expect from Maas.

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The last book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series is out now – A Court of Silver Flames. For the first time, Sarah J. Maas pivots away from Feyre’s storyline and this novel instead focusses on Nesta Archeron. Since being forced into the Cauldron and becoming High Fae, Nesta has struggled to find her place in this new world, haunted by the horrors she endured in the last battle. Cassian, the Illyrian warrior, ignites her temper. When Feyre decides on an intervention to combat Nesta’s self-destructive behaviour, the two are forced to keep close quarters with each other. Meanwhile, the human queens who returned to the Continent after the last ware have forged a dangerous new alliance, the key to halting them may well rest in Nesta’s hands. As Cassian trains Nesta up, her powers both inherited from the Cauldron, and within herself, become clearer. Whilst at The Night Court though, Nesta begins to forge alliances with the women she encounters.

This latest instalment in the Sarah J. Maas series is dark and sultry, as propulsive a read as the others in the series and continues to be as intricately woven as her previous novels in the series. In Nesta, Maas paints one of the most intricately painted and compelling character arcs in the series thus far, wetting appetites yet further for the final novels in the series.

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Lucy Foley’s The Hunting Party and The Guest List were two of the best mystery thrillers from the last decade, now Foley returns with her new novel The Paris Apartment, one of the most eagerly anticipated novels of 2022. The Paris Apartment centres around Jess who makes a spur of the moment decision to visit her brother Ben in his apartment in Paris. When she arrives, there is no sign of Ben and the longer he stays missing, the more questions Jess has around Ben’s life in Paris and the apartment building in which he lives.

The Paris Apartment is much slower moving than Foley’s previous novels, but no less chilling. Foley has a unique ability to build an utterly creepy atmosphere from the off, in an utterly cinematic way. Her writing flows and is layered, twisting and turning in such a way that you remain unsure of the plot and the ending of the novel, almost through to the bitter conclusion. This novel is much more predictable than her previous thrillers (in our opinion) but no less enjoyable in the picture that it paints. What is the most compelling part of this mystery in particular is possibly the unique and distinctive cast of characters that Foley has created. It’s an immensely enjoyable read for any fans of the mystery thriller genre, but there was something missing that did not match the immense standard of her previous thrillers – still a worthwhile read.

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In March, Lizzie Damilola Black burn will release her new novel – Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? – a delicious, hilarious and relatable romantic comedy of a novel. The novel revolves around Yinka – a thirty-something, Oxford-educated, British Nigerian woman with a well-paid job, good friends, and a mother whose constant refrain is “Yinka, where is your huzband?” Yinka’s Nigerian aunties frequently pray for her to find a man, but Yinka has always believed that true love will find her when the time is right. However, when her cousin gets engaged, Yinka commences Operation Find-A-Date for Rachel’s Wedding. Aided by a spreadsheet and her best friend, Yinka is determined to succeed. Yinka is an unconventional and flawed heroine, but is that which makes her so immensely likeable. Blackburn writes with so much tenderness and wit in equal measure. It is a love story that explores just what it means to traverse two cultures and two ages.

Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? is a hilarious and addictive comedy that shines a light on the experience of modern dating. Yinka is a tenderly painted character, yet the vast range of characters at play are painted with a similarly detailed brush that allows for layers of complexities in the story, not just taking on the theme of love, but of family, the trials of friendship and most of all self-love and empowerment. It is an addictive read from start to finish and a space to embrace the messy sides of yourself.

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Torrey Peters released her whipsmart debut novel – Detransition, Baby – in 2021 that earned immense critical acclaim. The novel revolves around three women – Reese, Amy and Katrina – grappling with impending motherhood. Reese nearly had it all in her loving relationship with Amy, but the only thing missing was a child. Then everything fell apart and three years on Reese is still in self-destruct mode, avoiding her loneliness by sleeping with married men. When Reese calls to ask if she wants to be a mother to his unplanned child, Reese finds herself intrigued. After being attacked in the street, Amy de-transitioned to become Ames, changed jobs and, thinking he was infertile, started an affair with his boss Katrina. Now Katrina’s pregnant. The three of them decide to form an unconventional family and raise the baby together. The novel centres around the complexity of these relationships, particularly how these manifest in discussions of gender.

Detransition, Baby is an immensely charming novel – funny, smart and messy. Above all, it is full of emotion, showcasing the complexity of these kinds of relationships but it is not contrived. Peters delivers the novel with immense tenderness. More than anything, the novel will broaden public understanding of transness without “teaching”. The novel is filled with wonderful and joyful characters and it is overall an immensely enjoyable and delightful book.

Pick up a copy here.

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Even though The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones and the Six have earned widespread acclaim and viral success, one of her earlier backlist titles is well worthy of recognition. One True Loves is a startlingly powerful novel about loss, heartache and the true meaning of love. The novel centres around Emma Blair who marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, leaving their hometown in Massachusetts and pursuing a life of adventure and travel. On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Emma is heartbroken, quitting her job and moving home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.. until Jesse is found – alive. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect both men who she loves deeply. 

One True Loves is a novel of immense power, unpicking the depths of heartache and the true meaning of love, including what it really means to let someone go. It’s beautifully and propulsively written, as ever, by Taylor Jenkins Reid who is a master of these kinds of works.

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Written by bestselling author Rachel Hawkins – writing as Erin Sterling – The Ex Hex has become a viral TikTok sensation. The novel centres around Vivienne Jones, a young witch. While she was nursing her broken heart, drowning her sorrows in bubble baths and vodka, ‘accidentally’ places a curse on her ex-boyfriend with her cousin Gwen. Now, nine years later, Rhys Penhallow has returned to Graves Glen, Georgia to quickly recharge the town’s key lines. However, once multiple calamities befall Rhys, Vivi quickly realises that their may have been something behind that supposedly harmless ‘Ex Hex.’ Whilst trying to unravel the curse and lift it from Rhys and the town, Vivi and Rhys find it nigh impossible to deny their chemistry as they work together.

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling is a very quick read, but for those expecting something clever from Rachel Hawkins, this is not it. The Ex Hex feels childish at times, not just with the content but the writing itself. Whilst an enjoyable and easy read, the characters feel quite surface level and so the reader is not suckered in in the way they have been in her other works. Honestly, we’d give this one a miss, despite its TikTok viral crown.

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