Did you queue up for your copy? The eagerly awaited latest book in Rebecca Yarros’ The Empyrean series has landed…
Fiction
1. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros is published in hardback by Piatkus, priced £25 (ebook £12.99). Available now
There’s a good reason fans queued from midnight ahead of the release of Onyx Storm, the third instalment of The Empyrean series from Rebecca Yarros. Ever since the release of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, fans have been waiting to see what’s next for dragon rider Violet Sorrengail. And Onxy Storm does not disappoint. Violet must journey far beyond where and what she’s ever imagined, because a storm is coming, and it’s one only she can fight – but all will be lost if she can’t muster reinforcements. The question is how far Violet will have to go to brave this one. Full of action, suspense and intrigue, Onyx Storm is the ride you’ve been waiting for. Just hold on tight.
(Review by Kathy Iffly)
8/10
2. The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji is published in hardback by Fourth Estate, priced £16.99 (ebook £8.99). Available January 30
Sanam Mahloudji’s The Persians is a perfect insight into the Iranian immigrant experience to America, and the highs and lows that came with it. The novel, driven by female storytelling, covers multiple timelines in Iran and the US, giving different points of views from three generations of the Valiat family. There’s grandmother Elizabeth and her complex journey as a young girl with a big nose, navigating a turbulent relationship with her family while finding love; her daughters, the late Seema and high-flying event planner Shirin, who finds herself in bother throughout the book; and granddaughters Bita, a law student in New York, and Niaz, who has never left Iran and decides to rebel against the Islamic state. The Valiat family’s exploits will be familiar if you’ve ever felt you’re trying to find your place, not only in the world, but also within your own family.
(Review by Sara Keenan)
8/10
3. The Boy From The Sea by Garrett Carr is published in hardback by Picador, priced £16.99 (ebook £8.99). Available February 6
Set in the Donegal fishing town of Killybegs, Garrett Carr’s debut novel starts with the seemingly miraculous arrival of a baby boy, found floating in a barrel. His arrival causes fascination within the community before he is taken in by local fisherman, Ambrose Bonnar. But while loved by his adopted parents, Brendan remains forever an outsider, struggling to find his place both at home and in the town. He is not alone as the people of Killybegs try to adjust to a changing world, in which technology and fishing quotas are rewriting the rules they grew up with. Carr writes from knowledge, having grown up in Killybegs, the son of a fisherman, and reflects on his characters’ inability to understand themselves with humour and tenderness. The Boy From The Sea is a slow burner, an undercurrent of tension lasting until the final pages, but one with plenty of emotion and feeling.
Review by Ian Parker
7/10
Non-fiction
4. What Art Does: An Unfinished Theory by Brian Eno and Bette A is published in hardback by Faber & Faber, priced £14.99 (ebook £14.99). Available now
It’s a quarter of a century since Tracey Emin’s unmade bed blazed a trail at the Tate Gallery, and no end of concrete casts and bronzed garbage bags have sent the media into meltdown since. Those who have queried the merits of such enterprises would benefit from dipping into What Art Does by Brian Eno and artist Bette A, which answers, ‘But is it art?’ in the emphatic affirmative. Sideburns. Football chants. Waterslides. Love letters. Poodle grooming: you name it, it’s art, say the authors. Their argument is not exactly new, but nor was Emin’s. Ever since Marcel Duchamp exhibited a urinal in 1917, the question has confounded artists and critics alike. It’s a colourful, coffee-table affair – a work of art, of course – which avoids heavy theorising and instead explains the role of art in individual wellbeing and bringing communities together in tumultuous times. Above all, it’s a timely reminder that art is not something that can be defined by its auction or social media value. Whether a fine oil painting, an unmade bed or a trip to the dog groomer, it is intensely personal and thrillingly unique.
Review by Mark Staniforth
8/10
Children’s book of the week
5. The Romantic Tragedies Of A Drama King by Harry Trevaldwyn is published in paperback by First Ink, priced £8.99 (ebook £4.99). Available January 30
Watch comedian Harry Trevaldywn’s videos and you’ll find him playing characters that utterly skewer certain personalities (like his ‘smug mum’ impression). But he does it with a fondness that takes the sting out, a quality he brings to 16-year-old Patch – formerly Patrick, he’s just rebranded himself don’t you know!? Trevaldwyn’s debut YA novel, The Romantic Tragedies Of A Drama King, tracks Patch’s efforts to bag his first ever boyfriend by prom. The problem is, he has a habit of tripping himself up, thanks to a blind belief in his mum’s self-help books and a passion for grand gestures, which lead to moments of excruciating cringe. Thankfully, Trevaldwyn stops you from skipping ahead by infusing those awkward interactions with a sweet silliness, and Patch with a charming guilelessness. While Patch’s love interests are a little flimsy, his core friendships are the kind every 16-year-old should experience – fun, supportive, affectionate, honest and uplifting. Supremely readable, you’ll be desperate to know what Patch gets up to next.
Review by Ella Walker
7/10
BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING JANUARY 24
HARDBACK (FICTION)
1. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
2. Quicksilver by Callie Hart
3. We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
4. Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
5. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
6. Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan
7. In Too Deep by Lee Child and Andrew Child
8. Daughter of Chaos:The Dark Pantheon by A S Webb
9. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
10. Killing Time by Alan Bennett
(Compilled by Waterstones)
HARDBACK (NON-FICTION)
1. What’s Your Dream? by Simon Squibb
2. Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins
3. The DOSE Effect by TJ Power
4. Want:Sexual Fantasies by Anonymous by Gillian Anderson
5. Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton
6. A Pawtobiography by Ted the Dog
7. Pinch of Nom: ALl In One by Kay Allinson and Kate Allinson
8. The Book of Gifts by Lucy Claire Dunbar
9.The Food For Life Cookbook by Tim Spector
10. Open When: A Companion for Life’s Twists and Turns by Julie Smith
(Compilled by Waterstones)
AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NON-FICTION)
1. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
2. What’s Your Dream? by Simon Squibb
3. Atomic Habits by James Clear
4. We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
5. Murder on the Marlow Belle by Robert Thorogood
6. Poison Garden by L J Ross
7. Make Change That Lasts by Dr Rangan Chatterjee
8. The Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer
9. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
10. I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest with You by Miranda Hart
(Compilled by Audible)
