It's a quiet week in publishing. Let's tip-toe as we slink around the bookcases and check out this week's new releases. Some of them might be snoozing. Let's not startle them.
Nestled over here, almost hidden among all her other books, is a new title from Colleen Hoover. This is Heart Bones, and guess what? It's a romantic story about two people from very different backgrounds who find each other. But before they can really connect, they are ripped apart. Can love bring them back together?
It's almost Nicholas Sparks territory here, gang. Anyway, this is the one with the pinwheel on the cover, and not the red and blue one. Or the blue and red one. Or the yellow and blue one that comes after the pink and purple one.
[Ed. note: This is actually a re-issue of a 2020 title with a fancier cover.]
Wait. What? Whatever.
Alternately, we have a new Cassandra Clare book. This one is Chain of Thorns, the latest Shadowhunters book, and it follows Cordelia Carstairs in the wake of a) her father being murdered, b) her secret plans with her bestie being crushed, and c) her marriage to the hottest guy ever falling apart. Naturally, she goes to Paris to forget the disappointments in her life, but while she is away, all the secrets back in London get revealed. It's up to Cordelia (and her bestie) to save everyone before they get devoured by a demon army.
Look. All relationships are hard. Some just have more, you know, demon invasion and fancy dress parties.
Meanwhile, Jane Harper is back with another riveting character-driven mystery about a missing mother, an abandoned child, and a detective who can't seem to take a vacation without stumbling over a mystery. Exiles is the latest book to feature Harper's laconic and endearing detective Aaron Falk, and we're eager to peel back the layers on this onion.
And speaking of lingering mysteries, here is As Good as Dead, the finale to Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series. It's podcasts and cold cases, as Pip tries to put the past behind her. Sure, the killer is in jail, but who keeps sending her threatening texts? Did they put the wrong guy in prison? Since the police don't seem to care, it's up to Pip to figure out the mystery—once and for all. We know you've been glued to this series, and we're delighted to see the story come to a rousing conclusion.
And speaking of noisy protagonists we love, Finlay Donovan is back this week in Elle Cosimano's Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun. Finlay is in debt to the Russian Mob (it's a long story), and the Russians want Finlay to find a contract killer. The problem is that the hit man might be a police officer. The only way they can find this guy is go undercover. What? It's "research"—the excuse every writer uses to do something totally out of character. Anyway, Cosimano's series is quirky and charming, and we always enjoy the Finlay's hijinks as she attempts to crack a case.
And speaking of exploring relationships, Jay Shetty is back this week with 8 Rules of Love: How to Find It, Keep It, and Let It Go. Shetty argues that our to-go guide for understanding relationships is modern romantic comedies and pop culture, and as guides go, those aren't very helpful. We'll grant him some leeway here, but only because we're between seasons of The Hunk Next Door and How To Mate Your Perfect Match. Shetty draws on his background as a former monk—no, wait, his background in studying Vedic wisdom—hang on . . . He looks to modern science to explain how love is supposed to . . . ah, there's an approach for everyone! That's it!
Quick! Look! Cats are evil and they are plotting to steal our breath! We knew it. And the hamsters are in on it too!
Meanwhile, C. J. Tudor is back with The Drift, a quiet little book about redemption at the end of the world. It starts with three characters who are trapped in isolated storylines, and as a catastrophic winter storm tightens around them, the lives of these three all converge in an earth-shaking climax. Tudor knows how to build atmosphere and layer on the dread, and The Drift is perfect for a night stuck at home, listening to the wind howl outside.
And here is Annalee Newitz's The Terraformers, an engaging and thought-provoking science fiction book about climate change, family, and the complicated histories we leave behind. Destry is part of an Environmental Rescue Team, charged with terraforming a planet into something suitable for human habitation. Her mission goes awry when she discovers an entire city of people hidden inside a massive volcano. Suddenly, everything she knows is called into question and Destry finds herself contemplating life choices that will reverberate through generations to come.
And finally, here is The Snow Hare, a new novel by Paula Lichtarowicz. It's the story of a woman who once dreamt of becoming a doctor until the war took that choice away from her. Her village was overrun, and she and her family were forced to work in camps in the Siberian tundra. She survived that ordeal, naturally, but what sacrifices did she have to make along the way? And why? It's all about love and consequences, dear readers. We're all suckers for that sort of thing.
And speaking of guilty pleasures, Pamela Anderson has a biography out this week. Plan accordingly.
