8 Books You Need To Pick Up This Week
Happy 2023 fellow readers! A brand new year means new book releases. Tuesdays have become our favourite day, for that reason. Every week there are new books that are fresh off the press, for everyone to enjoy.
Books have a way of finding a special place in our hearts and sometimes we can connect with books that we least expect to. That’s the magic of reading and it’s always interesting to see which books have that effect on you.
Here are the 8 new books released from the first week of January!
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
Synopsis: Geeta’s no-good husband disappeared five years ago. She didn’t kill him, but everyone thinks she did — no matter how much she protests. But she soon discovers that being known as a “self-made” widow has some surprising perks. No one messes with her, no one threatens her, and no one tries to control (ahem, marry) her. It’s even been good for her business; no one wants to risk getting on her bad side by not buying her jewellery.
The Bandit Queens sounds like a fun mystery with an independent woman at the forefront. The synopsis alone has a personality, so naturally, Geeta will as well. There will be a different perspective on marriage and how Indian women can be perceived in their culture as well. It sounds like a nice mixture of agency and traditional values.
The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
Synopsis: As kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable. But by their 30s, their bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. So when Chess suggests a girls’ trip to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend. Villa Aestas in Orvieto is a high-end holiday home now, but in 1974, it was known as Villa Rosato and rented for the summer by a notorious rock star, Noel Gordon. As Emily digs into the villa’s complicated history, she begins to think there might be more to the story of that fateful summer in 1974.
This sounds like such a fun read to bring the summer to readers during the winter months. The 70s was a wild time, and truly anything could have happened. So Rachel Hawkins dives into a famous rock star’s past, only to discover how interesting his life truly was.
The Stolen Heir by Holly Black
Synopsis: Eight years have passed since the Battle of the Serpent. But in the icy north, Lady Nore of the Court of Teeth has reclaimed the Ice Needle Citadel. There, she is using an ancient relic to create monsters of stick and snow who will do her bidding and exact her revenge.
Everyone needs a new fantasy book and Holly Black has written something intriguing. This is the first book of a captivating new duology, which will make readers return to the world of Elfhame.
Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor
Synopsis: This is the age of vice, where money, pleasure, and power are everything, and the family that binds can also kill. New Dehli, 3 a.m. A speeding Mercedes jumps the curb and in the blink of an eye, five people are dead. It’s a rich man’s car, but when the dust settles there is no rich man at all, just a shell-shocked servant who can’t explain the strange series of events that led to this crime. Nor can he foresee the dark drama that is about to unfold.
Age of Vice sounds like an action-packed mystery set in New Delhi to show the cultural status of the country. Deepti Kapoor takes a different approach and it could very well pay off in regard to this perspective of wealth.
The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes
Synopsis: Armed with only hazy memories, a woman who long ago witnessed her friend’s sudden, mysterious death, and has since spent her life trying to forget, sets out to track down answers. What she uncovers, deep in the woods, is hard to be believed. Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they’d been spending time all summer.
A mystery novel that will dive into the bonds of female friendship and the mysterious death of her best friend. Ana Reyes could very well peel back layers of how men treat younger women and how women are treated in general through this mystery.
Queen of Thieves by Beezy Marsh
Synopsis: An electrifying historical adventure about a ring of bold and resourceful women thieves in post-World War 2 London. London, 1946. The city struggles to rebuild itself after the devastation of the Blitz. Food is rationed, good jobs are scarce, and even the most honest families are forced to take a bit of “crooked” just to survive. Alice Diamond, the Queen of Thieves, rules over her all-female gang with a bejewelled fist. Their lucrative business of stealing and fencing luxury goods always carries the threat of violence.
Beezy Marsh wanted to highlight a group of women and this sounds like a very engaging historical fiction. Marsh explores what women had to go through in the 40s, all while making them powerful in their own right.
Sam by Allegra Goodman
Synopsis: What happens to a girl’s exuberance and wonder as she becomes a woman? This unforgettable portrait of coming-of-age offers a powerful reflection on class, addiction, parenthood, longing, and ambition. There is a girl, and her name is Sam. She adores her father, though he isn’t around much. Her mother, Courtney, struggles to make ends meet, and never fails to remind her daughter that her life should be different. Sam doesn’t fit in at school, where the other girls have the right shade of blue jeans and don’t question the rules.
This sounds like a powerful coming-of-age story that will be such a beneficial read for young adults. Even as adults we are all still struggling to find our way, and through different mediums, we can see ourselves. As Sam grows, readers can grow as well and learns something new from Allegra Goodman’s perspective.
Code Name Blue Wren: The True Story of America’s Most Dangerous Female Spy—and the Sister She Betrayed by Jim Popkin
Synopsis: This is the incredible true story of Ana Montes, the most damaging female spy in US history. Just days after the 9-11 attacks, a senior Pentagon analyst eased her red Toyota Echo into traffic and headed to work. She never saw the undercover cars tracking her every turn. As she settled into her cubicle on the 6th floor of the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, FBI Agents and twitchy DIA officers were hiding in nearby offices. For this was the day that Ana Montes — the US Intelligence Community superstar who had just won a prestigious fellowship at the CIA — was to be arrested and publically exposed as a secret agent for Cuba.
If you are someone who enjoys reading non-fiction and trying to understand how the legal system works, then this book is for you. Jim Popkin dives into the past of Montes and everything that leads up to her arrest. Being an investigative journalist himself, Popkin remains unbiased and explores the truth in this case.
