Time for our regular look ahead to the new releases we’re most looking forward to reading over the next few weeks. There’s a pretty good selection of new books this October, although as usual, there’s no way we can fit them all in. Hopefully there’s something here that’ll tickle your fancy!
We love hearing from you about which of these titles you plan to read, or which books you’ve waiting for that aren’t on our list, so please do stop by for a chat in the comments!
Releasing week of 3rd Oct 2022
Releasing week of 10th Oct 2022
Releasing week of 17th Oct 2022
Releasing week of 24th Oct 2022
Wasn’t sure where I should post this observation/question: here or “it’s hard for a blog out here”. Possible that parts of any resulting discussion is pertinent in both places?
I notice that both Colleen Hoover and Ana Huang have new books coming out in October but do not appear the list above. I know that not everything can be included, but both of these authors have one or more titles in the top 10 + bestseller fiction list at NYT and/or fiction and romance bestseller lists at B&N. Hoover seems to be everywhere in the media at the moment as a popular romance writer. I’ve never read either of them; although a number of friends (knowing I read romances) assume I have read Hoover. Neither author appears to have been reviewed at AAR (power search and beta search produce no results for either name).
Does anyone here at AAR read them, particularly Hoover? Is Hoover a romance writer? Or a writer whose books combine genres in ways that violate the HFN/HEA rules and would better fit some other category (e.g. suspense with romantic elements)? Thanks for any feedback.
Well, one reason we probably don’t review Hoover is her books are not always easy to get review copies of. I’ve never heard of Huang. I’ve downloaded her September release and will get back to you about it.
I think a reviewer here does read Hoover, however. If I see one of her books is available for review, I’ll pull it.
Thanks for the info, Dabney! And only pull for review if you have someone who wants to read her work! Mostly I was curious about these two authors, and to know if any AAR readers had already read either. I’ll be curious to hear what you think of Huang when you get to it.
I’ve never read Hoover, I’m not sure why—I love angsty stories, but I’ve read some reviews of Hoover’s books that make me think her work often tips over into melodrama (sort of like Mia Sheridan—a writer I can only read intermittently). Please correct me if my perception is wrong. On the other hand, I have enjoyed Ana Huang’s Twisted series, especially TWISTED GAMES, a bodyguard-princess romance. If you look at my post below, you’ll see that I have Huang’s upcoming KING OF WRATH on my October tbr. I’m generally not a big fan of N/A, but I enjoy Huang’s heroines who tend to be less flighty and more level-headed than many N/A heroines; plus, I like the fact that they (and the heroes) are from various ethnic backgrounds.
As usual DDD you are font of helpful information! Thank you. And like you, when I’ve looked at Hoover, I just haven’t been compelled to open the book at the moment and haven’t seemed to get back to her later either. Ana Huang is completely new to me. I’m generally not a fan of NA either so thanks for your input. I may give the Twisted series a look, based solely on your rec. ;-)
As far as I know (and I haven’t read Hoover either) she IS a romance writer, although sometimes leans to the WF genre, and also to suspense. She’s in the media at the moment, I believe, because of something on TikTok whereby some people were saying that the big Booktockers (?) tend only to review 5 different authors, and she’s one of them! (Or something like that!)
Also, this list is something that we collate from info we get from NG, Amazon, author’s newsletters and other sources, so, as I always say at the end, it’s not a comprehensive list. I know your comment is in no way a complaint or criticism, but there’s no Big Button that we can press that will churn out a list of all the new/upcoming releases for us, we look for them “manually” (as it were) and although we do try to include the big name titles and authors in the lists, sometimes they just aren’t on our radar. I’m probably only familiar with the name of Colleen Hoover because one of my fellow reviewers at AudioGals often included her books in out monthly new releases list (if you care to search there, you will find a few of her books reviewed, which might answer your questions about which genres she writes in!) – she might have passed me by otherwise. This isn’t an excuse – just to try to explain why we might miss things sometimes.
Absolutely not a criticism! So thank you for not taking it that way. Just curious about an author with many books on various best seller lists at the moment. The first person to mention/recommend Hoover to me is a 20-something who’d been reading her for a while – and this was several years ago. So she has been a longtime fan. Re all the attention lately, I think you are right about the Booktokers influence. . . But it isn’t a format that works for me. I’ve tried listening to people review books and I really don’t like the format. I’m a faster reader than listener and they either take too long to get to a final point, or they just squee. Neither is an enjoyable way to find a book I might like to read. But I will go check out Audio Gals to see what readers think about her books.
I have 4 of these from NetGalley – Extra Witchy, You’re a Mean One Matthew Prince, The Belle of Belgrave Square and The Stand-Up Groomsman. (I haven’t read any of them yet, I’m still trying to finish my September books!). I also have Two Christmases by Suleena Bibra (also a NetGalley book, Carina Press) releasing Oct 25th.
The Alisha Rai sounds appealing, partly because of my fondness for the Agatha Christie book of the same name, about Tommy & Tuppence Beresford.
Tommy and Tuppence were the best! They were my favorites followed by Miss Marple.
I will give this new book a try, I loved her, but her last series was a bit of a miss for me, so I hope that this will work for me as well as her older books did.
The CS Poe is also at the top of my list for next month!
Shameless Puckboy (Puckboys, #3) by Eden Finley on October 31st
Widow of Wildwood (Gothic Fairytales #3) by Ann Aguirre on October 31st
I didn’t realize the next Puckboys book was coming out. I like this series too so thanks for letting me know!
I think I found Puckboys on GoodReads scanning recommended related reads for one of the books in the Game Chambers series. Enjoying this series!
I’m looking forward to Subway Slayings by C.S. Poe and Sass by Jay Hogan but I am dying for Unstable Connections by Nicky James.
Lily Morton releases Short Stack Vol. 2 on Oct 11, a collection of short stories featuring characters from her Close Proximity series (M/M romance). Most have been previously released through her newsletter, etc but there are 4 new stories. It’s nice to have the whole collection in one place.
Sarina Bowen, Rebecca Yarros and Devney Perry have written a series called Madigan Mountain with books releasing Oct 4 (Bowen), Oct 11 (Yarros) and Oct 16 (Perry). Looks like M/F small town romances featuring siblings, taking place in Colorado. I really like Bowen and Perry.
Other books I look forward to are:
Bad Deal by Annabeth Albert (Oct 6, M/M romance) – the 3rd in her A-list security series. I thought the first in the series was OK but liked the 2nd much better.
Love and History by Lane Hayes (Oct 11, M/M romance) – this is the 6th in her Script Club series about nerdy professors who get involved with jocks.
Dead Serious Case #2: Mrs. Delores Abernathy by Vawn Cassidy (Oct 31, M/M romance) – the 2nd in a paranormal mystery/romance series about a pathologist who can see ghosts. I love this author’s Belong To Me series but I did like book 1 of this paranormal series and want to see where it goes. Warning – I think the author self publishes because there are often editing errors but I live with them because I really like her writing.
Lastly, the title You’re A Mean One, Matthew Prince makes me smile every time I see it. This is the author’s 2nd book and the first (Never Been Kissed) was on sale recently so I bought it but haven’t read it yet (both are New Adult M/M romcoms).
I reviewed the audio of Dead Serious #1 by Vawn Cassidy, and it didn’t work for me at all. I found the plot too simplistic and too meandering and the romance was really lacklustre It needed trimming by at least a third.
I’ve reviewed Matthew Prince so watch this space!
If you are willing to give Vawn Cassidy another chance, I think her other series (contemporary M/M) is better. The first is Suddenly Beck and I just liked it so much. However, it also might not be angsty and complex enough for you, Caz!
The problem I had with Dead Serious wasn’t that it was fluffy or not complex enough – it was that it was so poorly focused and that the author seems never to have met something she couldn’t describe three times. The mystery wasn’t mysterious and the romance wasn’t romantic. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to argue with you – we all like different things, of course – I just want to offer a different perspective. My review, for anyone interested: https://www.audiogals.net/2022/08/dead-serious-by-vawn-cassidy/
I’d forgotten about the new Short Stack collection. I’ll definitely read that at some point. The stories are great light reading before bed.
I read the first of Annabeth Albert’s A-List Security and it wasn’t my favorite, but I’m glad to hear you liked the second book better. I’ll give it a try. Thanks for the reminder.
I’m not familiar with some others you mentioned, but I’ll definitely look them up! And I look forward to Caz’s review of Matthew Prince.
If you have never read Lane Hayes, I don’t recommend starting with the Script Club series as I don’t think it is her best. I have enjoyed many of her Out in College series (New Adult M/M; novella length) but would suggest starting with either her Better Than or A Kind Of series (contemporary M/M).
Right off the bat I know I’ll be downloading Subway Slayings and Unstable Connections as soon as they come out. Both are highly anticipated releases.
Sass sound good so I’m hopeful that one will work for me. I’m struggling with Strut, having started and stopped it twice already, but I’m trying again right now. I just don’t feel the connection between the leads as much as I want to, and I think it’s because we missed out on their original encounter a year or so before the book begins. Of course it probably doesn’t help that I just relistened to the Painted Bay series on audio and while I enjoy most of Jay Hogan’s work, that series is a stand out.
I haven’t read Dead Draw by Layla Reyne, so I will probably wait on Bad Bishop. In fact, given that there is an overarching plotline, I may wait until the series finishes.
Rachel Grant has proven to be hit and miss with me, but I might give Into the Storm a try.
Josh Lanyon’s Lament at Loon Landing should be out this month. Here’s hoping.
I’m reading Bad Bishop right now, so watch this space!
I love seeing what new releases are coming up. Thanks so much for this post.
Rachel Grant’s Into the Storm is at the top of the list for me; she’s really good at putting together interesting suspense plots with intelligent and imperfect characters.
I’m also happy that this is the beginning of a newish series. The later Evidence books leaned too much into characters and plotlines from earlier books and while I know this will be linked, the prequel and excerpt seemed like a promising restart.
I’m a big RG fan, too and am looking forward to this, but I’m going to be listening rather than reading, as she has two fantastic narrators on board.
RG’s books work well for me in audio. Who are the narrators?
Greg Tremblay and Nicol Zanzarella. Nicol narrated most of the books in the Evidence series and Greg did the Flashpoint books. They teamed up in Broken Falcon and the partnership is continuing, which is good news.
As of today, this is what I have on my October TBR:
OUT OF LOVE by Ruth Cardello (October 4): The second book in Cardello’s The Switch duet about twin brothers (separated at birth) who reunite and, briefly, switch places. The hero here is a farmer pretending to be a businessman and falling in love with the daughter of one of his brother’s most important clients.
COWBOY, KISS ME AT CHRISTMAS by Genevieve Turner (October 6): You only have to say, “Enforced proximity in a snowstorm with only one bed,” and I am so there! However, I do have to question why the 5th book of Turner’s Cowboy Homecoming series is going to be released before the 4th book (COWBOY, LOVE ME FOREVER due on October 22).
BILLIONAIRE BUTT DIAL by Annika Martin (October 11): Martin’s Billionaires of Manhattan series continues with the story of a butt dial that results in a billionaire hearing the less than complimentary things the heroine says about him.
VELVET CRUELTY by Eve Dangerfield (October 11): Part of the multi-author Midnight Dynasty series of dark romances, this book is a poly-am/why choose? story between the heroine and the four different men who kidnap her. This is Dangerfield’s first Midnight Dynasty book, and I expect it to be very, very hot and very, very dark.
EXTORTION by Amelia Wilde (October 18): The second book in Wilde’s Controlling Interest series about a young woman who attempted to embezzle money from her boss and her boss’s suggestion that she “repay” him in a way that does not involve him going to the authorities.
KING OF WRATH by Ana Huang (October 18): Billed as a “steamy billionaire romance”, I can’t find much else about the book, but I enjoyed Huang’s previous Twisted series, so I’ll give this one a try.
COWBOY, HOLD ME FOREVER by Genevieve Turner (October 22): As noted above, this is the fourth book in Turner’s Cowboy Homecoming series. It’s the story of two hurt & lonely people teaming up to rescue an abandoned horse…and growing closer in the process.
MERRY CHIRSTMAS, COWBOY by Maisey Yates (October 25): The latest in Yates’s Four Corners Ranch series, this one features an unplanned pregnancy.
BRUTAL PLAY by Alison Rhymes (October 25): Rhymes’s debut romance, BROKEN PLAY, a sensitive exploration of marital infidelity, made my Best of 2022 list. I’m curious about her follow-up which features two people who were secondary characters in the earlier book, including the heroine who was the woman with whom the hero in the first book cheated on his wife. I’ll be interested to see if Rhymes can make “the other woman” a sympathetic character here.
NOVEMBER by Sybil Bartel (October 29): The next in Bartel’s Alpha Elite romantic-suspense series. This one features a hacker hero. I fully expect the publication date of this book to be postponed because Bartel’s most recent book, ZULU, was only released a few weeks ago after multiple postponements.
I await a review of Marmee with interest. No doubt nearly every romance reader read Little Women very early on in their reading career. I have disliked most Austenian spin-offs (hate that expression) so I am curious about what this one will be like – better, worse, huge mistake or big hit?
I wonder how it will compare with Geraldine Brooks’ March, which is about Mr. March and what happens during his time as chaplain in the Union Army.
I’ve never read LW. I tried once or twice, but it didn’t work for me.
Little Women was originally 2 books. The first was Little Women and the second called Good Wives then they later became packaged together in one book. I have read Little Women multiple times and actually feel the 2nd half is much more interesting – it has more heartbreak and romance. The first part is more wordy and I am not surprised you couldn’t get into it. I like the book but it isn’t my favorite Louisa May Alcott story – that would be either Eight Cousins or An Old Fashioned Girl.
I’m looking forward to Sass by Jay Hogan and Subway Slayings by CS Poe, which was delayed from last month. I’m reading Gregory Ashe’s A Fault Against the Dead in email installments and am already hooked at 3 chapters in.
I’m also excited for an Audible-only release by KJ Charles – One of the MCs in A Thief in the Night is the elder (half?)-brother of Robin and Marianne from The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting, who had abandoned them.
I’ve already got the KJC in my Audible Plus list to pounce on on 13th October! The print version, for anyone interested, will be out six months after tha audio.
Me too. The narrators look intriguing!
I’ve heard good things about James Joseph, but am not familiar with the other chap (sorry, have forgotten his name!) I plan to review it at AG.
As neither of these narrators are KJC’s usual narrator I looked them up to check that Audible had done right by her!
Ryan Laughton – seems new to audiobooks but has done a lot of video games. He’s English and seems to be able to do regional accents so I’m hopeful!
James Joseph has done quite a lot of audiobooks and appears to be part of the Lauren Blakely group of elite narrators……
Also some others that are fantasies(?) I listened to some samples and I’ll just say that it’s all there in the name!
Yes, he certainly sounds like another JJ! ;)
I also have A Thief in the Night in my Audible library waiting to go. And I can’t wait for Subway Slayings! I’m struggling through Strut right now, but Sass sounds more like my type of book.
I waited longer than usual to read a Jay Hogan book with Strut but finally did and liked it, although I don’t think it is one I will re-read. Like you, I look more forward to Sass. However, as it is part of the same series, I am worried it will also deal with tough topics and I just don’t know it yet!
Jay Hogan is always good, but maybe Strut wasn’t the best place to start. The Painted Bay series contains some of her best work to date (IMO). I don’t think Sass will be on a similar tough topic, although I really hope it’s not all fluffy bunnies.
Sorry, I realize now that my post wasn’t clear! I have read all of Jay Hogan’s books. What I meant is that I usually read the latest book right away but I waited several weeks to read Strut because of the subject matter.
I don’t think Jay Hogan is capable of fluffy bunnies, ha ha!
Oh, I see! Sorry, I got the wrong end of the stick! I really hope JH never goes the fluffy bunny route!
I agree. I’m currently reading her first book, Digging Deep, as this is the only book of hers that I haven’t read and it’s been on my TBR for ages. Featuring a gay male MC with Crohn’s Disease in your first book is certainly a choice!
That’s the first book of hers I read (and reviewed) – I was impressed from the get go and it made me want to read more.
Digging Deep wasn’t the first JH book I read but it was amongst the earlier ones. What impressed me is that it dealt with a medical illness that wasn’t miraculously cured during the course of the book. Rather, it was a chronic condition that had to be factored into the main characters’ relationship, particularly so because they were gay. She treated a medical illness similarly with Off Balance and that impressed me too.
I agree, I don’t think JH is going to suddenly write no-angst books. I’m not a lover of too much angst, but I genuinely love most of Jay Hogan’s books. She just writes so well and handles topics with good sense and research. That said, I just finished Strut, and while I began to really enjoy it about partway through, it isn’t my favorite. It wasn’t the difficult topic, it was a slow start and the fact that in reality the relationship between Alec and Hunter happened really quickly and then, except for numerous sex scenes, took a backseat the rest of the book.
That was my only real issue with the book, too – I liked that the romance was very mature, but it did happen a bit fast because it needed to for the sake of the plot.