Make room on your bedside table, you’ll need it.
Let it be known: October 2024’s book releases look good. Very good.
Like September and August, this month’s slew of exciting new novels comes from a wide range of best-selling and debut authors, with mystery thrillers, fantasy and rom-coms leading the charge.
So, if you’re in need of a fresh read (or five), scroll on to discover 10 must-read books arriving this October. Clear some space on the bedside table – you’re going to need it.
1. The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden
Out: 1 October 2024
From the author of the addictive book series The Housemaid, Freida McFadden’s latest novel has all the keep-you-on-the-couch twists synonymous with her best-selling thrillers. In The Boyfriend, Sydney Shaw seems to have finally found the New York dating unicorn: a handsome and charming doctor who appears infallible – until she finds out a serial killer is murdering the women he dates. Unable to shake the feeling that she is being watched and her prince charming might not be as perfect as he seems, she knows she has to find the truth – or she will wind up the next victim.
2. The Crescent Moon Tearoom by Stacy Sivinski
Out: 1 October 2024
If you’re craving something cosy and heartwarming, Stacy Sivinski’s debut novel The Crescent Moon Tearoom deserves a spot on your nightstand. A tale of three clairvoyant sisters in the 1800s, Anne, Beatrix, and Violet run a tea-reading shop where they divine others’ futures. All seems well until the Council of Witches announces that the city Diviner has lost her powers and a mysterious family curse threatening to separate the sisters simultaneously begins taking effect. Each hurtling in different directions, with time fast escaping them, the trio must rewrite their futures before it’s too late.
3. The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins
Out: 10 October 2024
By the best-selling author of The Girl on the Train, this spellbinding mystery thriller takes place on a remote Scottish island called Eris, accessible by the mainland for only 12 hours a day. Formerly the residence of Vanessa Chapman – a famous artist whose notoriously unfaithful husband disappeared after visiting her 20 years ago – the island is now solely home to Grace, a recluse who rather likes living in isolation. But Grace’s solitude is disrupted when a London gallery calls following a shocking discovery, sending an unexpected visitor – and the threat of Eris’ secrets surfacing – her way.
4. What Does It Feel Like? By Sophie Kinsella
Out: 8 October 2024
Dubbed “The bravest book you’ll read” by Jodie Picoult, best-selling author Sophie Kinsella’s newest novel is both heart-breaking and life-affirming. A work of fiction inspired by Kinsella’s real life, it follows Eve, a successful author who wakes up in a hospital without any memory of how she wound up there or why. Wrestling with a life-altering diagnosis as she learns to walk, talk, and write again, she begins to remember what’s most important in life. Told through short anecdotes dipped in warmth and humour, each one is an attempt to answer the impossible questions that come with navigating grief. Our tip? Keep the tissues close for this one.
5. Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy
Out: 15 October 2024
An enemies-to-lovers tale set to become a trilogy, Sorcery and Small Magics is perfect if you like your fantasy on the lighter side. The story centres around Leovander Loveage, an impulsive sorcerer and master of small magics (think: turning someone’s hair pink). Having long vowed never to perform powerful magic after years of attempts royally backfiring, Leo finds himself stuck when a mix-up involving a forbidden spell puts him at the mercy of an exceptionally talented sorcerer and his longtime nemesis: Sebastian Grimm. Requiring a counterspell to erase their exploits with forbidden magic, the rivals commence a dangerous quest to find a fix – only to discover magic might not be the only thing bringing them together.
6. Heir by Sabaa Tahir
Out: 1 October 2024
With its rich world-building and rapid pace, Heir is a book you’ll lose yourself in from the very first page. Taking place in an oppressed and war-stricken world, an orphan, an outcast and a prince must grapple with their desires for vengeance, justice, and love, as the choices they make will mould the fate of the Empire, its people and potentially cost them their lives. Set in the same world as Sabaa Tahir’s #1 New York Times best-selling An Ember in the Ashes quartet, you don’t need to have those books to enjoy Heir, but it will be extra appealing for those who have already delved into that series.
7. Perfect Fit by Claire Gilmore
Out: 29 October 2024
If you're on the hunt for a cute rom-com to curl up with, consider this the Perfect Fit (pun intended). The story follows Josie, the ambitious fashion CEO of a fashion brand in Austin, who’s thrown for a loop when she's forced to work with Will, the twin brother of her ex-best friend. Old tensions resurface – but so do unexpected sparks, despite both of them having reasons not to put romance on the table. Juggling burnout and her long-distance connection with Will, Josie’s faced with a choice: keep pushing full-speed ahead, or slow down and make room for love.
8. The Stone Witch of Florence by Anna Rasche
Out: 8 October 2024
A historical fantasy brimming with intrigue, The Stone Witch of Florence unfolds in 1348 Italy during the devastating Black Plague. Invited back to the city by the very men who condemned her as a witch, Ginevra di Gasparo – a healer with the rare ability to harness the power of gemstones – returns from exile to a city desperate for her help. But instead of tasking her with healing the sick, she is sent on a mission to use her powers and jewels to find a ruthless thief who has been plundering Florence’s churches for priceless relics – the city’s only hope for protection. Should she succeed, she’ll be recognised as a physician and never accused of being a witch again. But as her expedition continues, Ginevra discovers she’s entangled in a much more dangerous scheme than the one she signed up to solve.
9. The City in Glass by Nghi Vo
Out: 1 October 2024
There are fantasies, and then there are otherworldly stories so stunning, they feel like long-lost mythology. The City in Glass is very much the latter. A lyrical epic, the story sees the demon Vitrine, a powerful and capricious immortal who created the dazzling city of Azril, enter a rageful mourning when the angels burn her beloved city to the ground. She is left with nothing but memories – and an angel now bound by her grief-stricken curse to haunt the city he burned. Seemingly destined for eternal opposition as they unearth and rebuild the lost city, instead, the pair find themselves drawn to one another with a fascination that will change them – and the city’s fate – forever.
10. Best Hex Ever by Nadia El-Fassi
Out: 1 October 2024
Like a sweet treat in book form, Best Hex Ever is ideal if you need a fun and frothy distraction from life. In it, Dina Whitlock, a talented kitchen witch, runs the magical Serendipity Café in London, using her powers to infuse her pastries with love. However, her past haunts her – she accidentally cursed herself to harm anyone who falls for her (a spell that backfired when she tried to hex her ex-girlfriend). Now, Dina avoids romance to protect others. Enter: Scott Mason, a British Museum curator, who stirs emotions she’s long repressed. Thrown together as the maid of honour and best man at a mutual friend’s wedding, Dina and Scott’s chemistry grows despite the curse looming over their potential relationship.
