10 amazing books we’ve been LOVING this month

October is already upon us and we can’t believe how quickly the months are flying by. As summer is well and truly over, we’re starting to accept that autumn is here to stay, with darker evenings, rainier days and fires lighting, there’s only one thing needed- a good book to curl up on the couch with to pass the time. 

We love reading on the beach or on the plane as we jet off somewhere sunnier, but nothing beats being tucked up under some blankets on the couch in front of the fire, with some autumnal candles lit, and a hot chocolate in hand. Just the thought of it brings us pure joy!

The only thing left to do is pick a wonderful book to enjoy these dreary evenings with, but, look no further! To save you time traipsing through the book shop or searching online for hours to find a book you’ll fall in love with, we’ve created a list of our top 10 books we’ve been loving this month that we think you will enjoy too. From romance to autobiographies to crime, there’s something for everyone. So, check out our list below to find the perfect October read!

Before I Do by Sophie Cousens

Published by Hodder & Stoughton: Out now

Audrey is marrying Josh; lovely, dependable Josh, the love of her life. But as the big day approaches, Audrey’s found herself wondering if they are missing that spark. So, when Josh’s sister Alice arrives at their rehearsal dinner with Fred – Audrey’s ‘What If? guy’, the man she met five years ago for one amazing day, who she was convinced fate had been leading her to – Audrey finds herself yearning for ‘the one who got away’. Surely Fred’s appearance the night before Audrey’s wedding can’t be a coincidence. Audrey has to wonder: could fate be trying to stop her from making a huge mistake?

Poster Girl by Veronica Roth

Published by Hodder & Stoughron on October 18

Sonya Kantor has been locked in the Aperture, a single city block, for ten long years – ever since the totalitarian regime she supported as a child fell. But now the new government is offering a chance at redemption, if she can find a missing girl, someone the Delegation cruelly displaced. But that girl could be anywhere. And the cost of finding her might be more than Sonya is willing to pay.

Soft Lady by Nick Grimshaw

Published by Hodder & Stoghton on October 27

The debut life tales from BBC radio royalty, Nick Grimshaw. In Soft Lad, Grimmy will share his outlooks and personal experiences with the world, including his 14-year career climbing to the helm of the Radio 1 breakfast show. He’ll discuss everything from his love of music through to self-care, coming out, love, loss, dogs, ADHD, Catholicism, and his journey from Oldham, Lancashire to the bright lights of London to pursue his dream. These are Grimmy’s very best stories, learnings about himself, and surprising obsessions that will make readers laugh, feel completely nostalgic and shine a whole new light on him.

A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo

Published by Hodder & Stoughton: Out Now

Aria Tang West thought she’d be spending one last summer on Martha’s Vineyard with her friends before starting MIT. But after topless photos of her are posted online, she’s abruptly uninvited from her friends’ summer homes. Aria’s parents send her to stay with her grandmother in Northern California. Although Aria has never been attracted to girls before, she finds herself drawn to the gardener, Steph. The only problem? Steph isn’t single; she lives with her girlfriend, Lisa. But the chemistry between Aria and Steph

The Thirty-One Doors by Kate Hulme

Published by Hodder & Stoughton on October 20

If these walls could talk… Scarpside House is famed for its beauty, its isolation, and its legendary parties. Tonight, it hosts the Penny Club soiree. An annual gathering of lucky men and women from all walks of life, coming together to celebrate their survival against the odds. But this year their luck is running thin. Accidents do happen, after all… And some are long overdue…

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

Published by Little Brown: Out now

Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving but broken father, a former linguist who now shelves books in Harvard’s library. For a decade, their lives have been governed by laws written to preserve ‘American culture’ in the wake of years of economic instability and violence. To keep the peace and restore prosperity, the authorities are now allowed to relocate children of dissidents, especially those of Asian origin, and libraries have been forced to remove books seen as unpatriotic – including the work of Bird’s mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet who left the family when he was nine years old.

Bird has grown up disavowing his mother and her poems; he doesn’t know her work or what happened to her, and he knows he shouldn't wonder. But when he receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, he is drawn into a quest to find her. His journey will take him through the many folktales she poured into his head as a child, through the ranks of an underground network of librarians, into the lives of the children who have been taken, and finally to New York, where a new act of defiance may be the beginning of much-needed change.

The Secret Diaries of Chance Ignatius Sanchez by Paterson Joseph

Published by Dialogue Books: Out now

Meet Charles Ignatius Sancho: his extraordinary story, hidden for three hundred years, is about to be told. It’s 1746 and Georgian London is not a safe place for a young Black man, especially one who has escaped slavery. After the twinkling lights in the Fleet Street coffee shops are blown out and the great houses have closed their doors for the night, Sancho must dodge slave catchers and worse. The man he hoped would help – a kindly duke who taught him to write – is dying.

Sancho is desperate and utterly alone. So how does Charles Ignatius Sancho meet the King, write and play highly acclaimed music, become the first Black person to vote in Britain and lead the fight to end slavery? It’s time for him to tell his story, one that begins on a tempestuous Atlantic Ocean, and ends at the very centre of London life. And through it all, he must ask: born amongst death, how much can you achieve in one short life?

Closing In by E.D Thomson

Published by Hachette Books Ireland: Out now

Christmas is coming and Caroline is in the thick of things with her job as a local newspaper journalist. Craft fairs. Tree festivals. Prize draws. Parties. Her home situation is more complicated – but whose isn’t? There will be quality time with her beloved family during the holiday, and all will be well. Then out of the blue, a figure in the crowd jolts her shockingly back to a previous life – one beset by secrets. The past rushes in like a wrecking ball, threatening to blow apart everything she cherishes. What will it take to protect her loved ones and her carefully constructed world? And how far is she prepared to go to prevent the past from closing in?

Livid by Patricia Cornwell

Published by Sphere on October 25

Forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta has just inherited one of the most notorious cases of her career. Two years ago, a former beauty queen’s body washed up on the shore of Wallops Island, Virginia. She was last seen on a boat with her fiancé, who has since been held in jail while awaiting trial. Scarpetta must act as the expert witness for the case – an investigation previously botched by another forensic pathologist. After a gruelling cross-examination by the prosecutor, Scarpetta leaves the court only to discover that the sister of the judge on her case has been found dead. Scarpetta ultimately finds herself facing a powerful, invisible enemy – who’s planning the unthinkable…

All Wrapped Up by Ally Bunbury

Published by Hachette Books Ireland on October 27 

Christmas-phobic, commitment-phobic Holly has left her fiancé at the altar in London. Desperate to escape the repercussions of her decision, she flees home to Ireland to work as personal assistant to the incorrigible Serena Harper – the ageing, still glamorous proprietor of Knockboden, a beautiful but crumbling country house in the foothills of the Dublin mountains. What Holly doesn’t expect is that Knockboden is to be the location for a Reality TV Christmas Special, in which high profile social media couple Jake Lyford and Olivia Stack plan to live stream their wedding on Christmas Eve.

Holly has six weeks is to get the house ‘Insta-ready’; Serena’s handsome, tetchy and recently divorced son Tyrone strongly disapproves of the house being farmed out for showbiz. While Holly wrestles with the irony of working on a Christmas wedding show, she realises that, even with the TV cameras rolling, her new boss Serena can no longer afford the upkeep of her beloved home. As the Wedding Day approaches, and plans for the wrap party crescendo, both Holly and Serena are about to discover that Jake and Olivia might not be the only ones about to get their happy ever after.