Books – Hottest new releases

FLING

by Joseph Murray Tara loved Colin at first sight. Colin loved Tara at first fight. That’s when they knew they were meant for each other. After six years, their marriage has started to crumble. Unable to recapture the spark they once, it seems it’s all over. Until they meet their 100 percent match on a controversial new dating app - Fling. At once heartfelt and hilarious, Fling by Joseph Murray is the story of a fateful - and faithful - affair to remind us all that sometimes, what you’re looking for might just be closer than you think. *Pan Macmillan, RRP $34.99.

LOVE, CLANCY: DIARY OF A GOOD DOG

by W. Bruce Cameron From the international bestselling author of A Dog’s Purpose and A Dog’s Way Home comes Love, Clancy: Diary of a Good Dog. You’ve probably never met someone like Clancy. He’s keeping a diary, he’s falling in love, there are rivals for his affections, he lives with his best friend and his worst enemy – even taken together, these factors are maybe not that unusual, except that Clancy is a dog. His point of view is therefore perhaps . . . different. *Pan Macmillan, RRP $29.99.

BECKY

by Sarah May Becky Sharp is determined. Determined to get away from the dead-end town where she grew up, determined to make a place for herself in high society, and determined to reach the top of the career ladder. She doesn’t care how many lives she ruins in the process. Set in 90s tabloid-era London, Becky charts the rise and fall of a very modern heroine as she inveigles her way into the highest society, where tabloid millionaires mingle and trade favours and fortunes with royalty and aristocracy, pushes her way up through the ranks at the Mercury newspaper with manipulative scoop after scoop, and eventually orchestrates her own dramatic downfall. * Picador, RRP $34.99.

THE GIFTED SON

by Genevieve Gannon A Sydney family’s picture-perfect life is upended in an unputdownable new novel from the bestselling author of The Mothers. What if the worst day of your life turns out to be the making of you? With two bright children, a beautiful home and a husband she’s always depended on, Lillian Hogarth considers herself blessed. Until, on her son Jamie’s final day of high school, he fails to come home. Hospitalised by a coward’s punch, Jamie has been the victim of a muck-up day celebration that went too far. A son whose fate hangs in the balance, a teenage witness who refuses to name the one who threw the punch, and a husband who’s hiding a secret that could destroy their marriage. *Allen & Unwin, RRP $32.99.

THE SHARDS

by Bret Easton Ellis A sensational new novel from the bestselling author of Less Than Zero and American Psycho that tracks a group of privileged Los Angeles high school friends as a serial killer strikes across the city. Gripping, sly, suspenseful, deeply haunting and often darkly funny, The Shards is a mesmerising fusing of fact and fiction that brilliantly explores the emotional fabric of Bret’s life at 17 - sex and jealousy, obsession and murderous rage. *Swift Press, RRP $32.99.

THE STOLEN HEIR

By Holly Black. A Novel of Elfhame, from the author of The Folk of the Air series. Return to the opulent world of Elfhame, filled with intrigue, betrayal, and dangerous desires, with this first book of a captivating new duology from the number 1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black. 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. *Bonnier, RRP $27.99.

THE CLOISTERS

By Katy Hays. The Secret History for a new generation, an instant New York Times bestseller. An ambitious young art historian is drawn into a clique of researchers working in the rarefied, gothic surroundings of New York’s Cloisters Museum - an idyll that’s shattered by a mysterious death and the revelation of the existence of a rare deck antique Tarot cards. Deeply researched, lushly and thrillingly told, The Cloisters explores the blurred line between what is real and imagined, the magical melding of the modern and the arcane - and the power we have to defy what is written in the stars in order to shape our own destinies. *Bantam Press, RRP: $32.99.

SPARE

by Prince Harry With its raw, unflinching honesty, Spare is a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief. With the proceeds of his book, Prince Harry will support British charities and other causes. The Duke of Sussex has donated $1,500,000 to Sentebale, an organisation he founded with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in their mothers’ legacies, which supports vulnerable children and young people in Lesotho and Botswana affected by HIV and AIDS. Prince Harry will also donate to the non-profit organisation WellChild in the amount of £300,000. *Bantam, RRP $59.99.

WE LOVE…

THE LIGHT WE CARRY: OVERCOMING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

by Michelle Obama Published in 14 languages worldwide, this is Michelle Obama’s follow up to her best-selling memoir, Becoming. In The Light We Carry, Michelle Obama offers readers a series of fresh stories and insightful reflections on change, challenge, and power, including her belief that when we light up for others, we can illuminate the richness and potential of the world around us, discovering deeper truths and new pathways for progress.

Drawing from her experiences as a mother, daughter, spouse, friend, and First Lady, she shares the habits and principles she has developed to successfully adapt to change and overcome various obstacles—the earned wisdom that helps her continue to “become.” She details her most valuable practices, like “starting kind,” “going high,” and assembling a “kitchen table” of trusted friends and mentors. With trademark humor, candour, and compassion, she also explores issues connected to race, gender, and visibility, encouraging readers to work through fear, find strength in community, and live with boldness.

“We become bolder in brightness,” she writes. “If you know your light, you know yourself. You know your own story in an honest way. In my experience, this type of self-knowledge builds confidence, which in turn breeds calmness and an ability to maintain perspective, which leads, finally, to being able to connect meaningfully with others—and this to me is the bedrock of all things. “One light feeds another. One strong family lends strength to more. One engaged community can ignite those around it. This is the power of the light we carry.” *Viking, RRP $55.