Colleen Hoover is back with the hotly-anticipated sequel to It Ends With Us…
Fiction
1. No Plan B by Lee and Andrew Child is published in hardback by Bantam Press, priced £22 (ebook £9.99). Available now
The words ‘new Jack Reacher book’ always get fans of the series looking forward to another thrilling adventure, and No Plan B won’t disappoint. The latest book by the prolific Lee Child, written with his younger brother Andrew, contains more chases than James Bond could manage, a plot to keep the reader guessing until the final pages, and enough bad guys to test Reacher’s strength and guile. The story starts with a woman knocked down and killed by a bus, with Reacher the only witness to what really happened. The incident leads to a hunt for a group of men in positions of power, making a lot of money out of evil acts. You’ll devour No Plan B in no time at all, with the several different strands of the story seamlessly merging into a dramatic finale. It’s surely destined to be another bestseller.9/10(Review by Alan Jones)
2. It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover is published in hardback by Simon & Schuster UK, priced £14.99 (ebook £7.99). Available now
It Starts With Us is the tearful happy ending to first book and TikTok sensation It Ends With Us. The sequel will thrill fans of characters Atlas and Lily, who finally get the opportunity to heal after being victims of abuse in the past. Lily is a young mother navigating life and co-parenting after divorcing her abusive ex-husband, while rekindling a romance with her teenage sweetheart Atlas, who used to be homeless and found shelter with Lily. With flashbacks via journal entries to the blossoming romance of their youth, as well as revelations about their past, Hoover intertwines Lily and Atlas’s love story in the past and present. This soft and fluffy sequel isn’t an emotional roller coaster like the first book, but it doesn’t have to be. This is very much a book for the fans who want to see their beloved characters happy.8/10(Review by Miriam Kuepper)
3. The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy is published in hardback by Picador, priced £20 (ebook £9.99). Available now
Lonely salvage diver Bobby Western is sent to inspect a plane that has crashed just off the Gulf Coast, but when he reaches the watery grave, the pilot’s flight bag and a passenger are missing. The sunken plane doesn’t make the news, and with a growing sense of unease, Western finds himself followed and questioned, apparently under a cloud of increasingly pervasive suspicion. McCarthy’s troubled protagonist lays low, but he is also on the run from his past – his dead father, who helped develop the atom bomb, and the sister he remains futilely in love with. McCarthy’s first novel in 16 years – to be followed shortly by a sequel – is a challenging and claustrophobic tale of irretrievable loss, an elegy that rests heavy on its pages.6/10(Review by Jemma Crew)
Non-fiction
4. Dickens And Prince: A Particular Kind Of Genius by Nick Hornby is published in hardback by Viking, priced £9.99 (ebook £5.49). Available now
Nick Hornby’s return to non-fiction writing presents an ambitious historical connection that makes perfect sense. The author, impressed by the huge volume of work produced by the titular men, succinctly summarises their shared traits in a convincing manner. In under 100 pages, Hornby offers a refreshing perspective on both Charles Dickens and Prince that does not feel overly-elaborate or forced, instead identifying the key personal components – sacrifices, absences, quirks and fallibilities – that informed their oeuvres. A sprinkling of his own critical opinion is woven with detailed and precise historical analysis that examines exactly how the two men used these nuances to endure in the public consciousness. An enjoyable and educational read that will leave fans of either figure positively enlightened.8/10(Review by Harry Stedman)
Children’s book of the week
5. You Are History by Greg Jenner, illustrated by Jenny Taylor, is published in hardback by Walker Books, priced £14.99 (ebook £14.99). Available November 3
Cleverly taking you through a school child’s day – from an alarm clock to wake you up, to a comfy bed to sleep in, Greg Jenner – the Horrible Histories historian – considers the history of many of our everyday objects and activities. With poo and toilets appearing near the beginning, it’s clear Jenner understands the audience he’s aiming at. It’s packed with fascinating facts – did you know that paperclips were once worn as jewellery to symbolise resistance to the Nazis in Norway, or that a Roman doctor would zap some patients with an electric eel? Colourful illustrations and terrible groan-worthy jokes make it perfect to dip into. Thanks to Jenner’s ability to make history digestible, any child reading it will soon be quoting facts to amaze their family and friends.8/10(Review by Bridie Pritchard)
BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 29HARDBACK (FICTION)1. No Plan B by Lee Child & Andrew Child2. The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer3. It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover4. The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake5. A Heart Full Of Headstones by Ian Rankin6. The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman7. The Boys From Biloxi by John Grisham8. The Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka9. The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy10. Babel by R.F. Kuang(Compiled by Waterstones)
HARDBACK (NON-FICTION)1. Beyond Supervet by Professor Noel Fitzpatrick2. One by Jamie Oliver3. Guinness World Records 2023 by Guinness World Records4. Beyond The Wand by Tom Felton5. Diddly Squat by Jeremy Clarkson6. Madly, Deeply by Alan Rickman7. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy8. Private Eye Annual: 2022 by Ian Hislop9. Waypoints by Sam Heughan10. TommyInnit Says… The Quote Book by Tom Simons & Will Gold(Compiled by Waterstones)
AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NON-FICTION)1. No Plan B by Lee Child & Andrew Child2. The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer3. Geneva by Richard Armitage4. Fire And Blood by George R.R. Martin5. The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman6. The Blood Tide by Neil Lancaster7. Beyond The Wand by Tom Felton8. Parenting Hell by Rob Beckett & Josh Widdicombe9. Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry10. Spare by The Duke of Sussex(Compiled by Audible)
