Sometimes we need something different from the typical romance books, especially in February. The Must Read Books Team have come up with a list of books that covers non-romantic relationships, thrillers that will keep you up, fantasy that will engross you and some non-fiction to inspire you.
Galantine’s Day – Books for non-romantic occasions
Books About Non-Romantic Relationships
The Women of Tehran
9781398546899 | Simon & Schuster | PB
Marjan Kamali
From the author of The Stationery Shop of Tehran, a heartfelt, epic new novel of friendship, betrayal and redemption set against three transformative decades in Tehran, Iran.
Your Neighbour’s Table
9781035416479 | Wildfire | TPB
Gu Byeong-mo
From the award-winning Korean author Gu Byeong-mo and International Booker-nominated translator Chi-Young Kim, comes a thought-provoking story of community and the cultural expectations of motherhood.
Playing Flirty
9781538768389 | Forever | TPB
Shameez Patel
The game is on for two nerds who love to outplay each other . . . even when their hearts are on the line, in this charming and geeky romantic comedy perfect for fans of Olivia Dade and Jen DeLuca.
Technically, this is a romance but the friendship between Rose and Neema is worth mentioning
Sweet Vidalia
9780349147000 | Abacus | TPB
Lisa Sandlin
For readers of Elizabeth Strout and Anne Tyler, a life-affirming novel about marriage, friendship and the powerful dignity of a woman forced to rebuild her life – unexpectedly and alone – in 1960s Texas.
Daughters of the Nile
9781800183124 | Unbound | PB
Zahra Barri
Following the lives of three women from the Bin-Khalid family, Daughters of the Nile is an original and darkly funny novel that examines the enduring strength of female bonds. These women are no strangers to adversity, but they must learn from the past and relearn shame and shamelessness to radically change their futures.
The Book of X
9781800183124 | Unbound | PB
Sarah Rose Etter
From the author Ripe comes a surreal exploration of one woman’s life and death against a landscape of meat, office desks and bad men.
Coming February 2025
Clever Little Thing
9781035421480 | Headline | TPB
Helena Echlin
Told through a singular, chilling voice, Clever Little Thing holds light to the blurred lines of diagnosis in children and to the vital power of maternal instinct. Kaleidoscopic and tense, pulse-pounding and genuinely creepy, this is an ode to motherhood and a page-turner that will haunt readers long after its epic finale.
Coming February 2025
Society of Lies
9781408723838 | Constable | PBO
Lauren Ling Brown
THE REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK
How far would you go to belong?
Maya has returned to Princeton for her college reunion – it’s been a decade since she graduated, and this visit is special because she will also be attending the graduation of her little sister, Naomi.
But what should have been a dream weekend becomes Maya’s worst nightmare when she receives the news that Naomi is dead. The police are calling it an accident, but Maya suspects that there is more to the story than they are letting on.
As Maya pieces together what happened in the months leading up to her sister’s death, she begins to realise how much Naomi hid from her. Despite Maya’s warnings, Naomi had joined Sterling Club, the most exclusive social club on campus – the same one Maya belonged to. And if she had to guess, Naomi was likely tapped for the secret society within it.
Maya knows that her sister isn’t the first person in the society to turn up dead. Now every clue is leading Maya back to the past . . . and to the secret she’s been keeping all these years.
Coming February 2025
The Lotus Shoes
9781408730317 | Sphere | TPB
Jane Yang
Love and loss. Sisterhood and betrayal. Little Flower and Linjing’s fates are bound together.
Coming February 2025
Death of the Author
9781399622967 | Gollancz | TPB
Nnedi Okorafor
Nnedi Okorafor, a New York Times bestselling and award-winning author, presents a sweeping tale about family, culture and identity, and a breathtaking examination of the relationship between writer and reader . . . and robots. Death of the Author is heartfelt, tender, and an ambitious meta-drama about what makes us human.
Coming February 2025
The Players
9781805463160 | Allen & Unwin | TPB
Minette Walters
Compelling and powerful, The Players is a story of guile, deceit and compassion during the dark days of The Bloody Assizes. Secrets are kept and surprising friendships formed in a dangerous gamble to thwart a brutal king’s thirst for vengeance…
Coming February 2025
It Comes From the River
9781526672650 | Bloomsbury Circus | TPB
Rachel Bower
The three women flinch: feel something pass outside. A reek of singed fur, scorching damp. Flaming eyes. A creature. It knows these women. They feel its wanting.
From the river it comes.
To the river it always returns.
As each woman’s world spirals from her grasp, they feel it getting closer, revealing the truth of what binds them together, and what must be done to set each of them free . . .
Coming February 2025
Books To Thrill You
The Profiler
9780008533564 | HarperCollins | PB
Helen Fields
The million-copy bestseller is back with a dark, terrifying journey into the mind of a psychopath that will keep you riveted until the very last page.
Coming February 2025
Quick and the Dead
9781915798886 | Bedford Square Publishers | TPB
Emma Hinds
It is 1597 and Kit and Mariner have just robbed the wrong grave.
Thrust into the shadowy world of dark alchemy they will learn it matters not who you are born to but where you are made.
Dark, compelling and atmospheric.
Coming February 2025
The Last Days of Kira Mullan
9781398524149 | Simon & Schuster | TPB
Nicci French
How do you prove a murder when nobody believes it happened?
Nancy North and her boyfriend Felix are making the move across London to Harlesden. A new flat, a new area, a new start. Because while Nancy is fine now, she wasn’t fine before. But settling into the new flat and meeting the new neighbours isn’t helped by Felix’s hovering concern. She is all right. She is sticking to her breathing exercises and doctor-prescribed help.
So, when their new neighbour Kira Mullan is found dead by suicide, Felix is understandably worried about Nancy’s frame of mind. But Nancy saw Kira the day before she died and she didn’t strike her as someone who was suicidal – she was upset and angry, yes, but was she upset and angry enough to take her own life?
Nancy is the only one convinced that there’s more to Kira’s death than has been discovered. But all the police and the neighbours see is a vulnerable woman who isn’t sure of what she saw, and might even be imagining things . . .
Is Nancy imagining things, or are there more questions that should be asked about the last days of Kira Mullan?
Coming February 2025
The Opposite of Murder
9781529352962 | Hodder & Stoughton | TPB
Sophie Hannah
What if the only way you could prevent a murder was by confessing to it?
Jemma Stelling has confessed to a murder.
She is the police’s lead suspect.
She couldn’t have committed the crime.
She has an unshakeable alibi: at the time of Marianne Cass’s brutal murder, Jemma was at the police station, confessing to a murderous obsession with Marianne.
Is Jemma Stelling innocent? Or is she an ingenious, cold-blooded killer?
Can you be guilty of the opposite of murder?
Coming February 2025
Fantasy Books To Whisk You Away
Breath of the Dragon
9781399723442 | Hodderscape | TPB
Fonda Lee
A young warrior dreams of proving his worth in the elite Guardian Tournament, fighting not only for himself but the fate of everything he loves in this breath-taking YA fantasy from award-winning author Fonda Lee.
Here and Beyond
9781526678270 | Bloomsbury Publishing | TPB
Hal LaCroix
An intergenerational epic populated by pioneers and chroniclers, enemies and friends, leaders and legends, Here and Beyond is an intricate and imaginative exploration of the arc of human endeavour.
Coming February 2025
Non-Fiction To Inspire Personal Growth
The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life
9780008623210 | William Collins | TPB
Sahil Bloom
No matter where you are on your path – a recent graduate, new parent, retiree or anything in between – The 5 Types of Wealth will help you act on your priorities to create an instant positive impact in your daily life, make better decisions, and design the life you’ve always dreamed of. It’s a journey that can start today – and change your world faster than you thought possible.
Coming February 2025
Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Cost of the Perfect Playlist
9781399718851 | Hodder & Stoughton | TPB
Liz Pelly
An unsparing investigation into Spotify’s origins and influence on music, weaving unprecedented reporting with incisive cultural criticism, illuminating how streaming is reshaping music for listeners and artists alike.
A timely exploration of a company that has become synonymous with music, Mood Machine will change the way you think about and listen to music.
Coming in February 2025
Power Manifesting: The New Science of Getting What You Want
9781035428298 | Headline Welbeck Non Fiction | TPB
Paul Mckenna
Would you like to have the life of your dreams?
Great health
Amazing relationships
A fantastic career
Significant wealth
Real happiness
Then this book is for you!
The brand new book from million-selling author Paul McKenna, looking at how, through the power of manifesting, you can create the life you want.
Coming February 2025
House of Huawei: Inside the Secret World of China’s Most Powerful Company
9780349146485 | Abacus | TPB
Eva Dou
House of Huawei holds a mirror up to one of the world’s most mysterious companies as never before.
Based on wide-ranging interviews and painstaking archival research, House of Huawei tells an epic story of familial and political intrigue that presents a fresh window on China’s rise from third-world country to U.S. rival, and shines a clarifying light on the security considerations that keep world leaders up at night.
Coming February 2025
Brooke Shields is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on ageing as a woman
9780349441931 | Piatkus | TPB
Brooke Shields
From generational icon Brooke Shields comes an intimate and empowering exploration of ageing that flips the script on the idea of what it means for a woman to grow older.
By turns inspiring, moving, and galvanising, Brooke’s honesty and vulnerability will resonate with women everywhere, and spark a new conversation about the power and promise of midlife.
Coming February 2025
Motherland: A Journey through 500,000 Years of African Culture and Identity
9781398707375 | W&N | TPB
Luke Pepera
Motherland is a ground-breaking exploration of African culture and identity, told via Luke Pepera’s journey through 500,000 years of history to connect with his extraordinary heritage. Pepera tackles the questions many people of African descent ask – Who are we? Where do we come from? What defines us? And how might knowledge of deep history affect our understanding of our identity?
Coming February 2025
