5 new books to read this week

The reviews are in for Irish author Sally Rooney’s hotly anticipated new novel…

Fiction

1. Honeybee by Dawn O’Porter is published in hardback by HarperCollins, priced £20 (ebook £9.99). Available September 26

Honeybee by Dawn O’Porter is a fantastic coming-of-age novel which perfectly illustrates the excitement, confusion and chaos of early adulthood. In this book, life throws old friends Renée and Flo back together in their childhood hometown of Jersey. Despite their differences, they support each other through every trial and tribulation that comes their way. Taboo topics such as adultery, addiction and menopause are addressed throughout the pages in a thoughtful but realistic way. Honeybee is a glorious celebration of the power of female friendships and is full of heartwarming and relatable moments.

9/10

Derry illustrator releases first Christmas Eve book where kids can be part of the story

Why right now is the time to buy a new electric car - and some of the bargains we spotted, with £13k off a Jeep and £21k off a Porsche

(Review by Camilla Foster)

2. Guide Me Home by Attica Locke is published in hardback by Viper, priced £18.99 (ebook £11.99). Available now

Texas Ranger Darren Mathews hands in his badge, but his plans to leave the force are shattered when his mother pleads with him to investigate the strange disappearance of a Black college student from an all-white college. He is reluctant to take up the case because of an ongoing rift with his mother and denial by the college police and the girl’s father that she is missing. The discovery of a bloodstained shirt in a woodland clearing, coupled with continued attempts by the girl’s family to stop any search only empowers Darren to try to unravel a web of lies and obstruction. Attica Locke’s writing skills shine through in this crime thriller.

7/10

(Review by Alan Jones)

3. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney is published in hardback by Faber & Faber, priced £20 (ebook £12.99). Available now

Normal People author Sally Rooney puts the spotlight on two brothers who have just lost their father in her hotly anticipated new novel. Intermezzo flicks between the perspectives of Peter, a high flying 32-year-old lawyer who’s stuck between his ex-girlfriend, who broke up with him after suffering an accident, and his much younger current partner; and Ivan, a 22-year-old awkward chess prodigy who falls for an older woman. The brothers are chalk and cheese and just can’t understand or like each other – even when they find themselves in the similar scenario of dating someone a decade or more apart from them in age. As with all Sally Rooney novels, much of the action is spent with the characters ruminating on the meaning of life, with impossibly bleak and overtly philosophical outlooks. While the two brothers are well-drawn and you’re interested in what happens to them (although the same can’t be said for some of the smaller female characters), the amount of time spent on pseudo philosophy and thinking about the pain of life gets a bit self-indulgent and unrealistic.

6/10

(Review by Lily Rose)

Non-fiction

4. Saints by Amy Jeffs is published in hardback by riverrun, priced £30 (ebook £12.99). Available now

Saints sees Amy Jeffs turn her attentions from ancient Britain to the ancient Church, repeating a successful formula that blends fictional retellings of  saints’ lives with non-fiction analysis of what the stories meant and, in some cases, what the real story behind the their lives were. Several of the stories provide an opportunity for an interesting discussion of the role of the cults of saints in the early church and how they were eroded by the Reformation. The problem is the stories themselves lack the variety of those from her previous work, as they’re often very similar tales of piety and suffering. Jeffs breaks things up a bit with stories from the perspective of the saints’ followers – a pilgrim tricked into mutilating himself or worshippers learning the danger of being granted wishes – but there isn’t quite enough variety to keep things interesting throughout.

6/10

(Review by Christopher McKeon)

Children’s book of the week

5. The Idea In You by Questlove, illustrated by Sean Qualls, is published in hardback by Abrams Books for Young Readers, priced £13.99 (ebook £13.99). Available now

Questlove’s The Idea Of You is a beautiful reminder that we all have a purpose buried deep in our ideas; the keys needed to unlock a better future. We just need to reach out and look within ourselves. The writing is pure, rhythmic, heartfelt and reads like a type of love letter to the young people still finding their feet in the world. Even though this book, thoughtfully illustrated by Sean Qualls, is intended for children, the message is also simple and necessary for adults who are feeling a little lost and looking for redirection. If you’re a parent in desperate need of a new and inspiring bedtime read, The Idea Of You is a book that will light up your young one’s mind.

10/10

(Review by Yolanthe Fawehinmi)

BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 21

HARDBACK (FICTION)

1. We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

2. Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood

3. Frankie by Graham Norton

4. Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout

5. Think Again by Jacqueline Wilson

6. All The Devils by Catelyn Wilson

7. The Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer

8. Precipice by Robert Harris

9. What A Way To Go by Bella Mackie

10. The Black Loch by Peter May

(Compiled by Waterstones)

HARDBACK (NON-FICTION)

1. Want: Sexual Fantasies by Anonymous, compiled by Gillian Anderson

2. The Siege by Ben Macintyre

3. Guinness World Records 2025

4. Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari

5. The Golden Road by William Dalrymple

6. Henry V by Dan Jones

7. Rick Stein’s Food Stories by Rick Stein

8. A Beginner’s Guide To Dying by Simon Boas

9. Ottolenghi COMFORT by Yotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller & Tara Wigley

10. Now What? by Carol Vorderman

(Compiled by Waterstones)

AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NON-FICTION)

1. We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

2. The Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer

3. Murder By Candlelight by Faith Martin

4. Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari

5. Atomic Habits by James Clear

6. Precipice by Robert Harris

7. The Siege by Ben Macintyre

8. The Fellowship Of The Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien

9. The Life Impossible by Matt Haig

10. The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer

(Compiled by Audible)