The only Autumn Preview you need

The books you should be looking forward to at the end of 2017.

Hurrah for Gin: The Daily Struggles of Archie Adams (Aged 2 ¼) by Katie Kirby

Life is hard for Archie. It often seems like the world is out to get him. People are always telling him what to do… ‘Eat your tea Archie!’, ‘Don’t lick the bus stop Archie!’, ‘Stop putting Mummy’s phone in the bin Archie!’
And then one day his heart is shattered when he learns his parents are to replace him with a younger sibling – the utter bastards!

The only comforts he finds are in his best friend Amelie who teaches him all the good swear words, and the sweet relief he gets from sinking his teeth into other people’s limbs.

From naked protests to dealing with other people looking at YOUR THINGS! This is a no-holds-barred account of life told through the eyes of Archie – a creatively stifled, modern day toddler.

Sunday Times bestseller Hurrah for Gin has delighted fans with its honest, emotional and laugh-out-loud account of parenting. Brilliantly illustrated with Katie Kirby’s unique stick man drawings and told in the same outrageously funny way, The Daily Struggles of Archie Adams, Aged 2 ¼ once again takes on the highs and lows of family life, this time it’s one opinionated boy having his say.

Pre-order now

Get Fit, Get Happy by Harry Judd

Get Fit, Get Happy isn’t about just transforming the way you look.
It’s about transforming the way you feel.

Harry Judd is a member of the hugely successful bands McFly and McBusted who have headlined Hyde Park, notched up 19 hit singles – of which 7 went to number one – and 2 number-one albums. He is a much-loved former Strictly Come Dancing champion and has been crowned the nation’s favourite ever winner of the show.

And yet in spite of this success, there have been times when Harry has been prone to anxiety and other mental health issues. He’s not alone. Today, anxiety, depression and other mental health problems affect more of us than ever before and we are all looking for ways to adapt, cope and survive the pressures of daily life.

The one thing that Harry has turned to time and time again to redress the balance in his life is fitness. Now, using a combination of exercise and dance, Harry makes the mood-boosting benefits of fitness accessible for everyone. Young or old, male or female, small or large, tall, short, thin, fat or somewhere in the middle: anyone will be inspired by Get Fit, Get Happy. Without any need for expensive kit or lots of time, Harry’s approach is fun, fast, free.

Part memoir in which Harry tells the life lessons that he has learned, and part richly researched fitness plan to get you feeling more positive, Get Fit, Get Happy is a fitness revolution to help people find a little more happiness in their lives.

Pre-order now

Year of Wonder by Clemency Burton-Hill

Classical music for everyone – an inspirational piece of music for every day of the year, celebrating composers from the medieval era to the present day, written by award-winning violinist and BBC Radio 3 presenter Clemency Burton-Hill. A little piece of musical mindfulness every day.

Pre-order now

My Mother’s Shadow by Nikola Scott

A perfect summer. A young woman in love. And a shocking secret kept for decades…

Addie thinks she knows everything about her mother. But when a stranger appears claiming to be her sister, she realises that her life so far has been a lie. But why?

Pre-order now

Sketchy Muma by Anna Lewis

The moving, funny and utterly endearing illustrated diary of what it means to be a mother.

This gorgeous little book charts the various bewildering stages of becoming a mother, from those tell-tale blue lines in the pregnancy test, to labour, birth, coming home and venturing out. Breastfeeding nightmares, eating dinner with one hand, soft play hell and chronic sleep deprivation – but also the sheer beauty of falling in love again and the amazing discovery of what it’s like to have a family –  these are all captured in Sketchy Muma’s glorious drawings.

This is the perfect gift book for both young and experienced parents. Anna Lewis understands the light and shade that comes with motherhood, and it is those universal truths that will connect all those parents who delight in her sketches.

‘Anna’s sketches never fail to put a smile on my face and make my heart a little warmer.’ GIOVANNA FLETCHER

Pre-order now

The Eternal City by Domenica de Rosa

A heart-warming tale of sibling rivalry, secrets, love and death, steeped in local colour and noise and tender in its depiction of family at their worst, and at their best from Domenica de Rosa, author of the bestselling Dr Ruth Galloway series under the name Elly Griffiths.

Gaby, the youngest of the de Angelis sisters, always secretly knew she was her father Enzo’s favourite; so when Enzo dies on the day her own daughter is born, her life is turned upside down.

In the emotional aftermath of the funeral, it emerges that her father has asked that his ashes be taken back his native city, Rome. Suddenly, Gaby and her new family are thrown headfirst into the wider de Angelis clan, and all of their conflicting ideas and opinions.

As the family journeys to Rome to say a final goodbye to Enzo, emotions run high; but none higher than Gaby’s, as she comes face to face with the man she once thought she would marry, and is forced to question everything of which, until now, she was so sure.

‘Witty and as light as a tiramisu but with tart insight on sibling rivalry’ Nottingham Evening Post

Pre-order now