The most anticipated books of fall 2018

A chill in the air, the crackle of a fire and steaming hot cocoa in a mug – all of this can only mean one thing: Fall is coming! Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. There is nothing like crawling under a warm blanket in your coziest pair of socks and losing yourself in a great book. The titles that are releasing over the next few months are fantastic and I can’t wait to read them! Settle in book lovers, and prepare to expand your TBR list with these most anticipated books of fall.

The Air You Breathe by Frances de Pontes Peebles

I love reading lush epics that are so sweeping in scope that you lose yourself completely in the narrative and in the lives of the characters. Set against the backdrop of a Brazilian sugar plantation in the 1930s, The Air You Breathe promises to deliver just that. This is the story of two young girls from extremely different backgrounds who form an unbreakable bond over their love of music. While their shared passion for music is initially their ticket out of Brazil to experience the world, it will also ultimately be the source of their rivalry – for only one of them can be a star.

Vox by Christina Dalcher

You had me at feminist dystopia. This book takes place in a frightening, futuristic America where the rules have drastically changed. Women can no longer have jobs, read or write and they also no longer have a voice. If you are a female, you may only speak 100 words a day and if you exceed that limit, you are punished. If you could only express yourself in 100 words, what would you say? How would you find a way to reclaim your voice? I am eager to see how this premise plays out and what the characters do to protect themselves and their daughters.

The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle

We have all played the game when we were younger where you ask your friends, “If you could pick five people to have dinner with, living or dead, who would you choose?” Young Sabrina makes a list of her own just as many of us have. The difference is when she arrives to her 30^th birthday dinner years later, everyone on her list is seated around the table, including Audrey Hepburn. This book sounds like a light-hearted, imaginative read and I am anxious to see who Sabrina has chosen to have dinner with and why.

Whiskey in a Teacup by Reese Witherspoon

Do I want to sit in a rocking chair on the front porch sipping sweet tea and talking books, life and fashion with Reese Witherspoon? Yes, yes, I do. Oprah could drop by for some homemade apple pie and then after a long evening of girl talk, Reese would send me on my way with some leftovers in one of her Draper James “Totes Y’all” bags. I am so excited to read her tips on decorating, dinners and what I hope will be a sweet, sassy, love letter to the South.

An addition by She Reads Editors

Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny

Armand Gamache is just rebounding from a difficult cartel case when he is named one of three executors of an elderly woman’s will. Simply believing the woman is crazy, Gamache and his associates don’t think too much of the task… until someone is murdered, turning the entire situation on its head. Can Armand get to the bottom of the mystery and how will his past come back to haunt him?

Tragedy + Time:  A Tragi-Comic Memoir by Adam Cayton-Holland

I love the memoir genre and I think this one is going to get me right in my feelings. Written by comedian Adam Cayton-Holland, this is his story of life with his younger sister whose struggle with mental illness resulted in her ultimately taking her own life. It has been called a “moving tribute to a lost sibling and an inspiring guide to navigating grief and pain.” Hopefully, this book will be a catalyst for very important conversations and help in chipping away at the stigma surrounding mental illness and suicide.

Putney by Sofka Zinovieff

In Zinovieff’s latest work she examines the tough topics of consent, sexual grooming and complicity in this Lolita-esque novel. Ralph is an ailing, successful musician who, years ago, was obsessed with his friend’s young daughter, Daphne. She becomes his musical muse and eventually his young lover after they begin a controversial affair when she becomes a teenager. Now all grown-up, Daphne reconnects with a childhood friend who forces her to see her relationship with Ralph through a different lens. I think this book will be a powerful yet provocative work as the reader is given the story from all three perspectives – the abuser, the victim and the witness.

An addition by She Reads Editors

The Brightest Stars by Anna Todd

Karina has grown up around the difficulties of war and broken soldiers and in this new novel, she tries to pick up the pieces for her family as best she can. Doing her best to keep the family together, she finds herself distracted by a new man who has gone through his own trauma after surviving two tours in Afghanistan. Can she take the pressure of healing another soul or will his mysterious be enough to crack her fragile heart?

Life on the Leash by Victoria Schade

When I saw this cover, I swooned – I love everything about it. Then I read that the main man in the protagonist’s life is a rescue dog and that sealed the deal for me. Cora runs a thriving dog training company, but she has zero time for a social life. Her love life is also nonexistent until the day that she falls for one of her clients. I think this will be the perfect feel-good read to lose myself in on a chilly afternoon while I am snuggled up under a blanket with my own pup.

The Golden State by Lydia Kiesling

I am a huge fan of debut novels and discovering new authors. The Golden State was long-listed for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel prize so I am excited to get my hands on it. With her Turkish husband unable to return to the U.S. due to issues with his paperwork, Daphne struggles to work and raise her infant daughter all alone. As she begins to spiral out of control, she decides to pack everything up and seek refuge in her grandparent’s former home in the desert. Once there she befriends several women in the small town and soon is forced to face the harsh reality of class and cultural divides and how the world views her and her child. I think Kiesling’s story of a young mother on the edge of a total breakdown is going to be a compelling read.

Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan

“We feasted on love; every mode of it, solemn and merry, romantic and realistic, sometimes as dramatic as the thunderstorm, sometimes comfortable and unemphatic as putting on your soft slippers. She was my pupil, my teacher, my subject and my sovereign, my trusty comrade, friend, shipmate, fellow-soldier. My mistress, but at the same time all that any man friend has ever been to me.” Well readers, if that doesn’t make your heart skip a beat, I am not sure what will. I am really looking forward to reading Patti Callahan’s intimate look at the life and love shared between C.S. Lewis and his wife, Joy Davidman.

The Winters by Lisa Gabriele

Liv Constantine and Sarah Pinborough are calling this modern day retelling of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, “brilliant” and “a must read.” The author said in an interview that The Winters “became an exercise in demonstrating how much women have changed in contemporary times, and how some men, especially rich and powerful ones, really have not.” She also said that the ideal spot to read her haunting, new thriller is “on a deep front porch… sipping sweet tea.” Consider it done.

An addition by She Reads Editors

Nell and Lady by Ashley Farley

Ashley Farley’s Nell and Lady is a touching story of friendship and the sacrifices we make when we least expect it. Growing up as close as sisters, Nell and Lady had a catastrophic falling out over a heavy secret. Years later, they’ll be brought together by a mother’s dying wish as they figure out how to banish their rocky past.

Little by Edward Carey

Orphaned, eccentric and now celebrated artist, Little is the fantastic re-imagining of the life of the famous wax sculptor, Madame Tussaud, and I am 100 percent here for it.

An addition by She Reads Editors

Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake

As the third book in the Three Dark Crowns series, this new YA release from Kendare Blake continues the saga of three sisters competing for the throne. Katharine has successfully taken the crown and earned her place as queen but she can’t help but wonder if her sisters are actually dead and if they are, where are they? Blake’s latest novel is a story of magic, sisterhood and mystical curses that is bound to be a bestseller.

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Now I realize that mid-November falls in the winter months so this book should not be classified as a fall read, but IT’S MICHELLE OBAMA’S MEMOIR. It will be on all my lists forever and I absolutely can’t wait to read it.

An addition by She Reads Editors

Gem & Dixie by Sara Zarr

Now in paperback, Gem & Dixie is the story of two sisters and their unbreakable bond. Gem and Dixie grew up knowing that they had a responsibility to look out for one another when their mother wouldn’t. Now, after the unexpected arrival of their estranged father, the sisters embark on a short trip where Gem will have to make a decision that will forever change her life.