Nightclubs, bad romance and self discovery: Nila is a 19-year-old student, the daughter of Afghan refugees and a certified party girl who can’t quite escape her own history.

Set in Berlin, this novel charts Nila’s life in the city and her relationship with an American writer, Marlowe Woods, whom she meets along the way. This is one of my favourite recent discoveries; it’s so beautiful. I’ve never read someone articulate the complicated emotions of shame that can come with identity, familial history and a culture you’re born into but don’t necessarily belong to.

Shop Good Girl by Aria Aber at Bookshop.org, £16.99

Confessions traces the arc of three generations of women as they experience, in their own time, the gravity of the past: love and tragedy, mystery and redemption and the beauty and terrible shade of the things we do. These are gorgeously written and nuanced women that I adored sitting with and getting to know throughout the course of this novel, and it’s a story I can see working for the screen, too.

Shop Confessions by Catherine Airey at Bookshop.org, £16.99

The Persians follows five women from three generations of a once important and legendary Iranian family as their lives are turned upside down in the US. As the synopsis reads: “Meet the women of the Valiat family. In Iran, they were somebodies. In America, they’re nobodies.” The characterisation in this novel and the writer’s ability to separate and distinguish between so many voices but immerse the reader into their stories is brilliant.

Shop The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji at Bookshop.org, £16.99

Exploring themes of sacrifice and heartbreak, Bethnal Green is a powerful and moving story of building a life of your own, against all the odds.

When Suyin Lim is offered the opportunity of a lifetime as a trainee nurse in Bethnal Green Hospital in London, she jumps at the chance to leave her job as a seamstress and unite with her sister, who left for the same path a year before. Suyin soon finds herself starting a new life in London, falling in love with the city and its people, and as she immerses herself in the gruelling but rewarding work of caring for her patients, she begins to understand what she really wants for her life.

Shop Bethnal Green by Amélie Skoda at Bookshop.org, £16.99

Drawing on a rich history of myth and legend, Hero is a story about what it means for women to be supporting characters in a world written by men. How can you be yourself when you are a product of other people’s imaginations? How can you love another person and be free? I really enjoyed the writing style and flow of this novel, especially as it’s written in the form of a letter to the protagonist’s lover (called Hero). A real and exquisite exploration of love, relationships and identity.

Shop Hero by Katie Buckley at Bookshop.org, £16.99

Vi Liu’s life is a mess. She’s stuck in a job she hates at a local hotel, her ex-boyfriend has blocked her and she’s lashing out at her family and friends. One night outside a club, Vi finds a mysterious sentient blob. After her initial confusion, she takes it home and begins to look after the blob, which she names Bob. Over time, she realises she can shape Bob into her perfect man, but is this blob the answer to her problems? A strange but uniquely beautiful concept of a love story that delves into care, compassion and what it is to be human.

Shop Blob by Maggie Su at Bookshop.org, £16.99

I’m sure we’re all aware of how bad the rental market is right now, but in this new novel, renting becomes a horrifying, even haunting, experience. A ghost story set in the rental crisis, the story follows a couple, Áine and Elliot, who move in together in a new flat in London. However, from the moment they move in, Áine can’t shake the sense that there’s something not quite right about the place. A stunning debut that’s eerie, dark and an insightful exploration of the UK’s housing crisis. (Out 20 March 2025.)

Shop I Want To Go Home But I’m Already There by Róisín Lanigan at Bookshop.org, £16.99 

A love story wrapped up in the nostalgia and intricacies of music, Deep Cuts follows the story of Percy and Joe, and what happens when one person in a romance becomes a star but because of the other person’s talents and input. As Percy swallows her jealousy towards Joe and throws herself into collaboration, transforming Joe’s songs into indie hits with her blistering critiques.

But there’s something bubbling under the surface of the music they’re making. As Joe steps into the spotlight, can Percy bear to watch on in silence? And can he exist there without her? (Out 13 March 2025.)

Shop Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley at Bookshop.org 

Set in the fairgrounds of Scotland in 1910, The Show Woman charts the formation of an all-female show and the complications the four women face in getting their show off the ground. There’s Lena, who is dealing with the disappearance of her mother and the sudden death of her father. Violet, known to all in the fairgrounds as “the greatest trapeze artist that ever lived” and is outspoken in her refusal to marry. Rosie is the bareback horserider who is on the run from her abusive father. And Carmen, whose rainbow ribbons act hides the darkness of her past. Beautifully written, engaging plot and thoroughly researched. (Out 1 May 2025.)

Shop The Show Woman by Emma Cowing at Bookshop.org, £16.99

Charlie is 23, single and the new publicity assistant at the independent London publishing house Winden & Shane. Richard Aveling is 56, married, and the author who defined his generation. Charlie has long idolised the charming, illustrious writer, who also represents a link to her late mother, who loved his work. But as they embark on an illicit and all-consuming affair, Charlie is forced to hide the relationship from everyone she cares about.

And when the success of Richard’s latest book launches him to a new level of fame where all anonymity is lost, she realises she might just be in too deep. (Out 3 July 2025.)

Shop Bitter Sweet by Hattie Williams at Waterstones, £16.99