BOOKS RECEIVED FROM PUBLISHERS & AUTHORS IN OCTOBER

I received a few review copies and eARCs this month, which I am really excited to get to! Two of them have been on my list for months now and I am just so happy to finally have them in my hands.

Many thank-yous to those who sent books my way! I appreciate them more than you know and they all have a special place on my shelf.

Without further ado, let us look at the books I received.

FROM JONATHAN BALL PUBLISHERS

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

It’s 200 years since Cinderella found her prince, but the fairytale is over.

Sophia knows the story though, off by heart. Because every girl has to recite it daily, from when she’s tiny until the night she’s sent to the royal ball for choosing. And every girl knows that she has only one chance. For the lives of those not chosen by a man at the ball . are forfeit.

But Sophia doesn’t want to be chosen – she’s in love with her best friend, Erin, and hates the idea of being traded like cattle. And when Sophia’s night at the ball goes horribly wrong, she must run for her life. Alone and terrified, she finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s tomb. And there she meets someone who will show her that she has the power to remake her world.

Nick and Charlie (Solitaire #1) by Alice Oseman

A short novella based on the beloved characters from the graphic novel Heartstopper and Alice Oseman’s debut novel Solitaire, which was praised as ‘The Catcher in the Rye for the digital age’ by The Times.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

CHARLIE: “I have been going out with Nick Nelson for two years. He likes rugby, Formula 1, dogs, the Marvel universe, the sound felt-tips make on paper, rain and drawing on shoes. He also likes me.”

NICK: “Things me and Charlie Spring do together include: Watch films. Sit in the same room on different laptops. Text each other from different rooms. Make out. Make food. Make drinks. Get drunk. Talk. Argue. Laugh. Maybe we’re kind of boring. But that’s fine with us.”

Everyone knows that Nick and Charlie are the perfect couple – that they’re inseparable. But now Nick is leaving for university, and Charlie will be left behind at Sixth Form. Everyone’s asking if they’re staying together, which is a stupid question – they’re ‘Nick and Charlie’ for God’s sake!

But as the time to say goodbye gets inevitably closer, both Nick and Charlie question whether their love is strong enough to survive being apart. Or are they delaying the inevitable? Because everyone knows that first loves rarely last forever …

Welcome to the New World by Jake Halpern & Michael Sloan

Now in a full-length book, the New York Times Pulitzer Prize–winning graphic story of a refugee family who fled the civil war in Syria to make a new life in America

After escaping a Syrian prison, Ibrahim Aldabaan and his family fled the country to seek protection in America. Among the few refugees to receive visas, they finally landed in JFK airport on November 8, 2016, Election Day. The family had reached a safe harbor, but woke up to the world of Donald Trump and a Muslim ban that would sever them from the grandmother, brothers, sisters, and cousins stranded in exile in Jordan.

Welcome to the New World tells the Aldabaans’ story. Resettled in Connecticut with little English, few friends, and even less money, the family of seven strive to create something like home. As a blur of language classes, job-training programs, and the fearsome first days of high school (with hijab) give way to normalcy, the Aldabaans are lulled into a sense of security. A white van cruising slowly past the house prompts some unease, which erupts into full terror when the family receives a death threat and is forced to flee and start all over yet again. The America in which the Aldabaans must make their way is by turns kind and ignorant, generous and cruel, uplifting and heartbreaking.

Delivered with warmth and intimacy, Jake Halpern and Michael Sloan’s Welcome to the New World is a wholly original view of the immigrant experience, revealing not only the trials and successes of one family but showing the spirit of a town and a country, for good and bad.

Many, many thank yous to the team at Jonathan Ball Publishers for surprising me with these gorgeous review copies!

FROM NETGALLEY

Film for Her by Orion Carloto

With both pen and camera lens, Orion Carloto captures the dreamlike beauty of memory.

Film for Her is a story book of people, places, and memories captured on film. Through photographs, poetry, prose, and a short story, Orion Carloto invites readers to remember the forgotten and reach into the past, find comfort in the present, and make sense of the intangible future. Film photography isn’t just eye candy; it’s timeless and romantic—the ideal complement to Carloto’s writing. In Film for Her, much like a visual diary, word and image are intertwined in a book perfect for both gift and self-purchase.

September Love by Lang Leav

A book that will change the way you think about love, relationships, heartbreak, and self-empowerment. Breaking the rules, challenging perceptions, and exploring the secret desires we keep hidden from the world.

Beautifully composed and written by international bestselling author Lang Leav, this new collection of poetry and prose will positively influence your life.

September Love captures the magic of each passing season, a pearl of wisdom waiting to be discovered with every page turned. A book that will inspire you to reach for the stars.

Talk to Me Always: Poetry, Prose and Photography by Alexi Lubomirski

Dive into the high-profile world of celebrity fashion photographer Alexi Lubomirski, who shot the iconic images of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s engagement and wedding, as he explores the themes of love, loss, family, fatherhood, hope, courage, and inspiration.

From bestselling author Alexi Lubomirski comes Talk to Me Always. Pairing his iconic photography with his hypnotic and dreamy poetry, this book is an ode to all art-lovers. With an incredibly curated platform, those interested in poetry and those interested in the high-growth artistic medium of “Photopoetry” and fashion photography will find Talk to Me Always mesmerizing.

These three were available for download on NetGalley and so, I just had to get them in my hands. I love Orion Carloto and Lang Leav’s writing and the third poetry book really captured my attention. Looking forward to read them so much!