Catherine Coles
Coles’ Notes
Even with a relatively mild winter, it feels like spring has been a long time coming. Mercifully, the days are starting to lengthen, the birds are chirping, and the literary world has turned its attention to some very exciting book releases on the horizon.
Leigh Bardugo’s dark fantasy novel Ninth House has not waned in popularity since its release in 2019. Readers who enjoy Bardugo’s tales of power, privilege, and dark magic will be thrilled to know the author has a historical fantasy novel titled The Familiar due in April. Set in Madrid during the Spanish Golden Age, The Familiar follows a servant versed in minor miracles hoping to use magic to improve her social position all whilst avoiding the wrath of the Inquisition.
In a shocking and ironic turn of events, acclaimed author Salman Rushdie was violently attacked at an August 2022 event where he was speaking about the United States being a safe-haven for exiled writers. Having shied away from the spotlight during his recovery, Rushdie is back in April with a new memoir titled Knife in which he addresses the horrific assault, its aftermath, and the irreversible impact of the fatwa ordered against him decades ago.
One of the biggest rising stars of the literary world in the last five years is Emily Henry. Known for her dreamy modern love stories – which often feature a nod to the literary world – Henry seems to be keeping things consistent with Funny Story. Due in April, it follows a down-on-her-luck librarian who finds herself thrown into an intriguing opposites attract scenario.
Erik Larson is the king of narrative non-fiction, known for delving into history and painting a detailed picture of time, place, and social context. His new book, The Demon of Unrest, to be released in late April, focuses his attention on the five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the shelling of Fort Sumter that kicked off the Civil War. It is said to offer an on-the-ground look at life in a dangerously unsettled America with some unnerving parallels to the present day.
Kevin Kwan of Crazy Rich Asians fame is back in May with a standalone novel that is sure to offer the glamorous locales, social climbing characters, and cutting social satire he is known for. Lies and Weddings is described as a comedy of manners set on a tropical island.
This Summer Will be Different by Canadian contemporary romance writer (and rapidly rising literary star) Carley Fortune is a steamy summer romance set on Prince Edward Island – and is sure to be chock full of oysters, long walks on the beach, and great character chemistry.
Nicole Yoon is a bestselling YA novelist who is trying her hand at adult fiction with her debut this June. Described as an intriguing mix of Get Out and The Stepford Wives, One of Our Kind focuses on the dark secrets that underpin a new utopian Black community in California.
Set in the summer of 1975, The God of the Woods by Liz Moore is the story of Barbara Van Laar—the thirteen-year-old daughter of one of the region’s wealthiest families—who vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, and of the unearthed secrets of both her complicated family and the working-class community that operates in their shadow. Moore has become known for her psychologically intense literary fiction focusing on family dynamics and this new novel, to be released in June, seems true to form.
Get ahead of the curve and place a hold on any of these books at your branch of the County of Lennox & Addington Libraries or online at CountyLibrary.ca.