As we barrell on into yet another quickly-moving year, the books team at AU Review have pulled together a hotly anticipated list of dramas, mysteries, romances and fresh horrors to keep you riveted to your reading seat.
Between the grissly mysteries and untimely deaths are touching stories of friendship, love and recognising our own strength in the face of change.
There’s a little something for everyone on this list – whether you’re looking for light fun reading, gripping thrillers, or emotionally moving tales, take a peek at the books that have our reviewers placing their preorders.
April
The Distance Between Dreams by Emily Paull
Fremantle Press | Pub Date: 1 April | Preorder HERE
This list could not begin any other way. The entire AU Review team are beyond thrilled for one of our own, Emily Paull, for the release of her debut novel The Distance Between Dreams. You’ve read her reviews, now its time to read her book!
A heart-wrenching romance set around WWII that was shortlisted for 2023 Fogarty Literary Award, The Distance Between Dreams follows Sarah Willis, who longs to free herself from the expectations of a privileged upbringing, and Winston Keller who can’t afford the luxury of a dream.
Despite their differences, the pair are drawn together in a whirlwind romance that defies the boundaries of class. But when a dark family secret pulls the young lovers apart, and WWII plunges the world into chaos, it seems impossible they will ever find their way back to each other – or even hold onto the dream of what might have been.
The Nightmare Sequence by Omar Sakr and Safdah Ahmed
UQP Books | Pub Date: 8 April | Preorder HERE
Simon: The Nightmare Sequence is a new collaboration by award-winning duo, the poet, novelist and essayist Omar Sakr and visual artist Safdar Ahmed. The collection is the duo’s response to the atrocities committed in Gaza and beyond since 2023. Through a combination of poetry and visual art Sakr and Ahmed bear witness to the violence and historic injustices whilst also critiquing the wider role of art and media amidst a genocide.
As you would expect The Nightmare Sequence is likely to be a challenging, confronting, but necessary and insightful read. Having read and enjoyed Sakr’s earlier work, I also fully expect it to be powerful, provocative, unabashedly passionate, and like all of his other works, to be filled with humanity.
Blood Cyprus by Elizabeth Broadbent
Raw Dog Screaming Press | Pub Date: 3 April | Preorder HERE
Jodie: When Lila’s little brother Beau disappears, no one seems to care. Even the police don’t seem interested. But Lila does, and even though the whole town knows not to venture into the swamp, she knows that’s where Beau has gone. And if no one else will go looking for him, she just might have to.
Table for One by Emma Gannon
HarperCollins | Pub Date: 30 April | Preorder HERE
Emily: I chanced upon Emma Gannon’s previous novel, Olive in the library where I was working and felt immediately connected to her portrayal of how female friendships grow and strain as women enter different phases of their lives, sometimes leaving each other behind. Though the follow up, Table For One, does seem at first glance like it might be more of the same, I’m intrigued to find out how Gannon tackles writing about a single, heartbroken woman who has to learn how to cope when the wheels fall off her perfectly planned out life. I’m hoping that this will have the same sharp insights, and might feel a little like a Dolly Alderton novel.
Willow has everything worked out. The steady partner. The successful career. The grown-up house. Until she doesn’t – and she’s cast adrift on the sea of heartbreak, grieving a future with no clear path. With her life transformed beyond recognition, and her friends busy ‘moving forwards’, Willow has never felt more alone. But she’s in good company. And when inspiration arrives from an unlikely source, she rekindles the relationship she longs for – but has long neglected… The one with herself…
May
The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
Penguin | Pub Date: 13 May | Preorder HERE
Simon: This is probably one of the books I am most looking forward to this year. I jumped on the pre-order when it was announced and wish May would hurry up and arrive already. The Emperor of Gladness is the new novel from poet, author and TikTok sensation Ocean Vuong.
On a summer evening in a post-industrial US town, nineteen year old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge ready to make the jump when he hears a voice call out from across the river. The voice belongs to Grazina, an elderly widow succumbing to dementia, who convinces him to reconsider. With limited options he becomes her carer, and over the course of the year the pair form an unlikely bond.
The Emperor of Gladness is a story of friendship, found family, and what it means to exist on the fringes of society. It also promises to do what all great American novels of the 21st century (and late 20th) seem to do – grapple with the existential questions of the American dream. All of the early reviews suggest it has all the hallmarks of Vuong’s best work – humanity, poetry, innovation and more.
The Small Museum by Jody Cooksley
Allen & Unwin | Pub Date: 6 May | Preorder HERE
Jess: Gothic Victorian creepiness has hooked me recently and the premise of this book sounds undeniably creepy with a great mystery thriller vibe to boot.
London, 1873. Madeleine Brewster’s marriage to Dr Lucius Everley should have been the answer to her family’s prayers. Lucius is a well-respected collector of natural curiosities – his ‘Small Museum’ is his life’s work, although firmly kept under lock and key. His sister Grace’s philanthropic work with fallen women also adds to the Everleys’ polished reputation.
However, Maddie begins to suspect that unimaginable horrors lie behind their respectable facade. Then she is framed for a shocking crime that would take her to the gallows. Her only hope is her friend Caroline who must prove Maddie’s innocence before the trial reaches its fatal conclusion.
Letters to our Robot Son by Cadance Ball
Ultimo Press | Pub Date: 1 May | Preorder HERE
Emily: I do love some smart, literary science fiction every now and then, and people have been whispering that this one is great for anyone who loves Becky Chambers Wayfarers books, which I do! This one is published by Ultimo, and they’re known for publishing ambitious, experimental, incredible Australian fiction, so this is sure to delight and impress, and maybe even challenge readers. You can tell from the blurb and the author’s bio that this is a book with a sense of humour and I feel drawn to this one in ways I can’t even explain. The robots! The amnesia! The kittens! I can’t wait.
An unexpected story of life, family, hope, and redemption—at the end of the world (maybe). Arto wakes up in a desolate world devoid of humanity—he’s a robot, he knows that much—but he has no memory of how he got here. With a mysterious letter and a cheeky kitten as his only companion, he embarks on a quest to understand his existence. As Arto navigates this unfamiliar landscape, he stumbles upon a cantankerous robot who claims to be his sister. And that’s a problem, because she might be the reason there are no more people.
The Vengeance by Emma Newman
Solaris | Pub Date: 6 May | Preorder HERE
Jodie: When Morgane’s mother is fatally wounded in battle, she makes a life-changing confession. Anna-Marie, pirate captain of The Vengeance and scourge of the Four Chains Trading Company, is not Morgane’s mother at all. Desperate to learn the truth about her family, Morgane leaves everything she knows behind, delving deep into a world of courts and corruption, of decadence and darkness.
June
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab
Tor | Pub Date: 9 June | Preorder HERE
Simon: This is another of the books I am most excited for this year. I see V.E. Schwab I hit the pre-order button. It’s as simple as that. Details are pretty scarce for this one – though it seems pretty clear given the puns and hints in the blurb there’s going to be some vampires. We can also probably expect some genre conventions to be played with and memorable characters to be created though.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil explores the stories of three different women from across the centuries. It also promises to explore toxic relationships, the turbulence they cause, and bears witness to those that get caught up in it all as collateral damage.
When Sleeping Women Wake by Emma Pei-Yin
Hachette Australia | Pub Date: 25 June | Preorder HERE
Emily: Emma Pei-Yin’s hotly anticipated debut historical fiction has already made it onto the list of things I’ve pre-ordered, and not just because of its beautiful cover. It covers an area of World War II history that’s not written about as often, despite that period being fertile ground for the historical genre for quite some time, and not showing any signs of waning in popularity. The book follows three women during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, who find themselves separated and must fight their way back to one another, if they can survive the challenges of being a woman in wartime.
1941. The wealthy Tang family has settled in Hong Kong after fleeing Shanghai. As the First Wife of the family, Mingzhu leads a glamorous but lonely existence mothering the son of her husband’s concubine, overseeing her daughter Qiang’s education, and directing their household of servants, including her long-time confidante, Biyu.
When the Japanese invade the island, the three women’s paths wildly diverge. Mingzhu’s affinity for languages spares her physical labour but she’s coerced into serving an enemy captain. Qiang and Biyu suffer brutal factory work and food rations until an encounter with the East River Column Resistance fighters separates them. As war rages around them, each woman holds onto the hope that the others are alive. Can they fight for their freedom and still find their way back to each other?
Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove
Bindery Books | Pub Date: 1 June | Preorder HERE
Jess: The concept for this book is wild with a mix of so many mythologies and fantasies in its science fiction setting that it sounds utterly bizarre and so much fun! I am all in for the ride.
Spaceships aren’t programmed to seek revenge but for Dracula, Demeter will make an exception. Demeter just wants to do her job: shuttling humans between Earth and Alpha Centauri. Unfortunately, her passengers keep dying and not from equipment failures, as her AI medical system, Steward, would have her believe.
These are paranormal murders, and they began when one nasty, ancient vampire decided to board Demeter and kill all her humans. To keep from getting decommissioned, Demeter must join forces with her own team of monsters: A werewolf. An engineer built from the dead. A pharaoh with otherworldly powers. A vampire with a grudge. A fleet of cheerful spider drones. Together, this motley crew will face down the ultimate evil Dracula.
Lady or the Tiger by Heather M. Hermann
Penguin | Pub Date: 10 June | Preorder HERE
Jodie: In 1886, nineteen year old Belle King turns herself in for murder. But when her husband Reginald shows up outside her Dodge City jail cell, there’s a problem. Because Reginald is supposed to be dead.
