As a publicist and a reader, it’s brilliant to see publications like Stylist and The Guardian beginning to carry more coverage of paperback releases. Surely that’s how most of us get our literary fix? I know they’re covetable (and I’m a sucker for a fancy finish of any kind) but some of those hardbacks would drown a person in the bath. Here are the new paperbacks I either loved or am looking forward to.

The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel

With grim predictability, I will probably end up buying the whole Cromwell trilogy in paperback because my set are so mismatched. Upsetting. I’m a swivel-eyed loon for her writing and this series in particular.

Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers

I so loved this wry, breezy yet heart-squeezing novel about a journalist investigating a purported virgin birth. The suburban 1950s setting, the characterisation and the writing style were all absolutely perfect. This is one I’ve given as a gift because I’m such a huge fan and the paperback is as stunning as the hardback.

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

This poetic and beautiful novel achieves such a lot despite its slimness, telling a multi-generational story with nuanced characters in a series of vignettes.

The Revolt by Clara Dupont-Monod

This vivid retelling of the story of Richard the Lionheart and his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine is beautifully translated from the French by Ruth Diver. It’s thoughtful, poetic and a useful primer on a period of history I’m a bit hazy on. I was thirteen in 1991 though, so it did make me hanker after a rewatch of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

I loved The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and was curious to see how Stuart could follow such a dazzling, original debut, but by god he delivered with this. Another intricate, atmospheric, ambitious trickster novel, this time set on board the Saardam, a ship apparently under attack from a vicious demon called Old Tom.

Our Fathers by Rebecca Wait

I worked on the publicity for this book and Rebecca is an exceptional writer - one of those whose books I will always read. Tommy - the only survivor when his abusive father kills his family - and his uncle Malcolm speak haltingly to each other through grief, guilt, fear and love. The landscape of the Hebridean island of Litta - weather-buffeted, hostile, remote yet claustrophobic - is brilliantly evoked.

And a few more buzzy books that are out in paperback this spring…

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