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Though we are 10 months into this year, the end still somehow feels like it’s coming too quickly. Mariah Carey has already officially dubbed it Her Season, I’m already seeing Black Friday sales, and, more relevantly, we’ve already started getting Best-Of lists (1, 2) at the end of October. All I have to say is sheesh, can’t a girl ease into things?
Conflicted feelings around the sense of time aside, many of the books our writers have highlighted as among the best of the month have such interesting premises. There’s a Jazz Age urban fantasy, a Medieval lesbian romance, an opulent murder mystery set in 1920s Vietnam, and a romance that starts from the pettiest thing. There’s also a new Murakami, which, iykyk.
Literary Fiction
The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami
A new Murakami is always going to make waves, and this is his first in six years. Fans of the author will find the Town here familiar. It’s where a Dream Reader reviews dreams and where shadows go on their own way. There’s love, noir, pop culture, jazz, libraries, and the intriguing otherworldliness that we’ve come to expect from Murakami.
Romance
All the Painted Stars by Emma Denny
Let’s start at the very beginning—or at least, at the earliest point in history for this list. This medieval romance is the second book in Emma Denny’s series that began with One Night in Hartswood. In 1300s Oxfordshire, Lily and Jo are best friends. When Jo’s hand is offered as a tournament prize, Lily enters the contest to save the day. When something happens and the women both escape, they find joy in each other on the road. But of course, there’s still the lives they left behind. — Jessica Pryde
Science Fiction and Fantasy
The Improvisers: A Murder & Magic Novel by Nicole Glover
“The Conductors and The Undertakers are two excellent historical fantasy novels in Nicole Glover’s Murder & Magic series. Now we get an exciting standalone novel in that world, about magic investigator and barnstorming pilot Velma Frye. When she is put on the trail of dangerous objects across the country that cause harm, she must use her celestial magic and investigative skills to find out who is behind their evil enchantments.” — Liberty Hardy
Mystery and Thriller
Darkly by Marisha Pessl
“For fans of reading about a past mysterious death, gaming, and puzzle mysteries!
Louisiana Veda was known for her game-making business, Darkly, until her mysterious death. Now, Darkly has opened up a summer internship program where Arcadia “Dia” Gannon and six other teens from around the world have won a slot. Quickly, the coveted spots lead to questions without answers, starting with “What is truly behind this summer internship program?”
Backlist readers should definitely pick up Pessl’s Neverworld Wake and Special Topics in Calamity Physics!” — Jamie Canavés
Nonfiction
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer
“Potawatomi author Robin Wall Kimmerer made her name with Braiding Sweetgrass, the bestselling book full of stunning nature writing that ruminates on the wisdom human beings can learn from the natural world. Now, Kimmerer is back with The Serviceberry, a book that examines what the land gives to humankind and how we should be more than willing to give back in return.” — Kendra Winchester
Historical Fiction
Those Opulent Days by Jacquie Pham
“In the elite society of 1920’s French-colonial Vietnam, four friends—Duy, Phong, Minh, and Edmond—run some of Vietnam’s biggest and most formidable businesses. But when one of them is murdered, the twisted threads of secrets, motives, and truth begin to unravel. As each of them become more suspect in the days leading up to the murder, it becomes clear that the real force of evil at work here is the colonialism that has overtaken and reshaped Vietnam in France’s image.” — Rachel Brittain
Graphic Novel/Manga
Semantic Error Volume One by Angy and J. Soori
“Ever get stuck working on a group project with folks who don’t pull their weight? Sangwoo did, and he took the only action he thought was fair: accepting full credit and throwing his classmates under the bus. In the process, Sangwoo derails the academic career of Jaeyoung, a design student who now decides to get revenge…only for both him and Sangwoo to realize that they might sort of like each other after all.” — Eileen Gonzalez
Young Adult
When Mimi Went Missing by Suja Sukumar
“For fans of YA, missing-person mysteries, and the “no memory” trope!
Tanvi and Mimi are cousins and were best friends until Tanvi’s dad was killed by her mom and Mimi became part of the “it” crowd. While spying on a party, Tanvi took an incriminating photo of Mimi, then Mimi went missing and Tanvi woke up with no memory of how her body got so many bruises…” — Jamie Canavés
Children’s
The Doll Test: Choosing Equality by Carole Boston Weatherford & David Elmo Cooper
“This memorable and uniquely told nonfiction picture book tells the story of school desegregation through the eyes of the dolls that were used in the doll test. If you’ve never heard of the doll test, it was developed by Black research psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark in the 1940s. They presented children in segregated schools with two dolls, one Black and one white, and asked them questions about the dolls, like which doll they liked best, which doll was “nice,” which doll was “bad,” etc. The heartbreaking results showed that Black children in segregated schools thought of themselves as bad, and were ashamed of their skin color. This research was integral in the Brown v. Board of Education case that helped put an end to segregated schools. This picture book depicts both the doll test and the fight to end desegregation in schools in simple, accessible, and moving prose, accompanied by striking sepia illustrations. The decision to tell the story from the dolls’ perspective is especially striking. It’s a great conversation starter.” — Margaret Kingsbury
Other Book Riot New Releases Resources:
- All the Books, our weekly new book releases podcast, where Liberty and a cast of co-hosts talk about eight books out that week that we’ve read and loved.
- The New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books out this week that are getting buzz.
- Finally, if you want the real inside scoop on new releases, you have to check out Book Riot’s New Release Index! That’s where I find 90% of new releases, and you can filter by trending books, Rioters’ picks, and even LGBTQ new releases!
