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March is a special month because not only do we organize our first Book Club with an author (Megan Lally!), we also both have our birthdays this month! We might do something small in the shop so check our socials from time to time ;) And now… it’s time for some new books this month, are you ready for our little list?
Contemporary
Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh (27/03)
Steve Cavanagh's books are on my list to read! They always sound sooo fascinating! Ruby Johnson is a nanny and maid to wealthy families in Manhattan's West 74th Street. She knows their routines. Their secrets. One night, on her way home, Ruby witnesses a neighbour's murder. She knows the victim. She knows the killer. She makes an anonymous call to the police and names the murderer. But Ruby didn't tell the truth... Because there's something wrong with Ruby Johnson. Eddie Flynn, conman turned trial lawyer, must defend an innocent man accused of this terrible crime. As Ruby's deadly game begins, one thing is certain. It won't be the last murder this witness is involved in...
The Strawberry Patch Pancake House by Laurie Gilmore (13/03)
The fourth book in the Dream Harbor series! As a world-renowned chef, single dad Archer never planned on moving to a small town, let alone running a pancake restaurant. But Dream Harbor needs a new chef, and Archer needs a community to help raise his daughter, Olive. Iris has never managed to hold down a job for more than a few months. So when it’s suggested that Archer is looking for a live-in nanny, she almost runs in the opposite direction. Now, Iris finds herself in a whole new world. One where her gorgeous new boss lives right across the hall and likes to cook topless… Keeping everything strictly professional should be easy, right?
Spoilt Creatures by Amy Twigg (27/03)
I love discovering debut novels, this one caught my eye. They thought they knew everything about us. The kind of women we were. Iris is adrift when she meets the beguiling Hazel, who lives on a women's commune. As she is drawn into commune life, Iris is soon seduced by the possibility of a new start away from a world of men who have only let her down. At Breach House the women are free to live and eat abundantly, to be loud and dirty, all whilst under the leadership of their gargantuan matriarch, Blythe. But is Breach House truly the haven it seems? And just how much can Iris trust her new family? When an unforgivable transgression threatens the commune's existence, Iris and the other women find themselves hurtling towards an act of devastating violence.
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (27/03) To me, this is a book talking about our society and MORE. An interesting read indeed.
A civil servant is offered a lucrative job in a mysterious new government ministry gathering 'expats' from across history to test whether time-travel is feasible. Her role is to work as a 'bridge': living with, supporting and monitoring expat '1847' - Commander Graham Gore, a former Victorian polar explorer. Gore, an adventurer by trade, soon adjusts to this bizarre new world of washing machines, feminism and Spotify; and during a long, sultry summer the pair move from awkwardness to friendship to something more. But as the true shape of the project that brought them together begins to emerge, Gore and the bridge are forced to confront their past choices and imagined futures. Can love triumph over the histories that have shaped them? And how do you defy that history when it is living in your house?
YA Book Recommendations
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (18/03)
A book that does not need an introduction! One lots of book dragons are waiting for. When you've been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for? As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honour of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes. Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves. When Haymitch's name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He's torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who's nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he's been set up to fail. But there's something in him that wants to fight . . .
Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross (13/03)
Number 2 in the Letters of Enchantment series. Two weeks have passed since Iris returned home bruised and heartbroken from the front, but the war is far from over. Roman is missing, lost behind enemy lines, with no memory of his past, or Iris. Hoping his memories return, he begins to write again – but this time for the enemy. When a strange letter arrives through his wardrobe door, he strikes up a correspondence with a penpal who seems at once mysterious… and strangely familiar. As their connection deepens, the two of them will risk their very hearts and futures to change the tides of the war.
The Notorious Virtues by Alwyn Hamilton (27/03)
A new duology to discover! At sixteen, Honora 'Nora' Holtzfall is the daughter of the most powerful heiress in Gamanix; her family controls all the money - and all the magic - in the entire country. But when her mother is found murdered in an alley, the family throne and fortune are up for grabs, which means Nora will be pitted against her cousins in the deadly Veritaz trials to determine the rightful inheritor. But there's a surprise rival in the form of Ottoline, aka Lotte, the illegitimate daughter of Nora's aunt, who was left with nuns as a baby. Thrown into the Veritaz, she is suddenly surrounded by a hostile family she never knew she had. But as the Holtzfalls wage their battles of privilege, something bigger and more sinister bubbles beneath the surface, and revolution is in the air. Incredible tests, impossible choices, and deadly odds await both girls. But there can only be one winner.
The Grandest Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (13/03)
New series in the world of The Inheritance Games. Seven tickets. An island of dreams. The chance of a lifetime. Welcome to the Grandest Game, an annual competition run by billionaire Avery Grambs and the four infamous Hawthorne brothers, whose family fortune she inherited. Designed to give anyone a shot at fame and fortune, this year's game requires one of seven golden tickets to enter. With millions on the line, those seven players will do whatever it takes to win. Some of the players are in it for the money. Some for power. Some for reasons all their own. Every single one of them has secrets. Amidst it all is Grayson Hawthorne, tasked with a vital role in this year's game. But as tensions rise and the mind-bending challenges push the players to their limits-physically, mentally, and emotionally-it soon becomes clear that not everyone is playing by the rules.
Children’s Books
You and Me and the Land of Lost Things by Andy Griffiths (27/03)
New series by the author of The 13-Storey Treehouse. In our first adventure You and Me trek to the Land of Lost Things in search of my lucky rabbit's foot. Along the way we meet some wacky new friends, the Knucklehead brothers, a wristwatch that’s lost its flock, a talking book, hundreds of snapping turtles and a pirate rabbit!Did we find my lucky charm? You already know that, YOU were there! If you've forgotten you'll just have to read the book!Join us on an exciting new adventure through Adventures Unlimited, and lose yourself in The Land of Lost Things. You'll never want to be found!
The Green Kingdom by Cornelia Funke (06/03)
And a new adventure by the author of Inkheart. Caspia‘s summer is transformed when she discovers a bundle of letters containing ten botanical riddles in this enchanting adventure. Twelve-year-old Caspia hates big cities, especially one as busy as New York. So she isn’t thrilled by the news that her parents are taking her to stay in Brooklyn. But everything changes when Caspia discovers a bundle of letters, hidden in an old chest of drawers. Each letter contains a ‘green’ riddle, with clues leading to a different plant. Caspia sets out to solve the riddles and, as she does, she meets friends she could never have imagined and discovers that anywhere can feel like home, if you are just brave enough to put down new roots.
The Flower Thief by Alice Hemming (13/03)
Spring is almost here: the Snow Thief is now the Flower Thief! Squirrel is so excited. It's spring and the most perfect flower has started to blossom. But Squirrel is worried there's a FLOWER THIEF about. After what happened to the leaves in autumn (THEY ALL DISAPPEARED), Squirrel's not taking any chances... He MUST keep the flower safe, and he needs his best friend Bird to help him! But perhaps Squirrel wants to protect the flower a little too much... After all, even flowers want a little space sometimes. Join Squirrel and Bird as they discover and explore the wonderful nature of spring.
Letters to a Monster by Patricia Forde (13/03) Perfect for kids who are afraid of the dark and monsters under their bed. It’s a dark and stormy night, and Sophie knows that there is a MONSTER hiding under her bed. So, like any sensible child, she decides to send him a letter. Dear Monster,I know you are hiding under my bed. I hear you breathing. This is your last warning. Leave now or I will call THE MONSTER POLICE. I have their number. Yours truly, Sophie. As the letters fly back and forth, Sophie begins to wonder if Monster isn’t as scary as she thought. What if he’s the friend she’s been looking for all along?
We hope you enjoyed our little list and that it gave you some book inspiration!
This blog post is written by The Little Bookshop, your bookshop for English books in Rennes.