OK, summer is over. We've got to face it sometime, guys. But panic not: just because you're not going to see the sun for six months doesn't mean there's no hope for your life and soul.
In fact, autumn is the perfect time to get around to reading all those books you've had languishing on your bedside table. All you need to do is make yourself a warm human nest/blanket fort, bring all the snacks to sustain your mortal body, and get stuck into heat's pick of the best new books out now...
OH - you can totally click the links to buy these books immediately. See how convenient we make your life? You're welcome.
Find Her, Lisa Gardner
Originally released last year in hardback, this edge-of-your-seat thriller is already a huge hit – and it's easy to see why. Flora Dane has just escaped after being kept in a box by a madman for 472 days. She is determined that it will never happen again – because Flora is not a victim – and so she begins learning new and deadly skills in order to protect herself.
When another college girl goes missing, Detective DD Warren soon becomes convinced that Flora could be the key to finding her, but, as she soon discovers, Flora is not an easy girl to control. As the stakes grow higher and the pace intensifies, it's a race against time for all involved – and not everyone is going to get a happy ending.
If you like your thrillers compulsive, engaging and twisty, then you'll love this.
Honeymoon Suite, Wendy Holden
If we were jilted at the altar, we'd immediately crawl under a rock with a giant Toblerone and stay there for at least three months, but when it happens to Nell, she simply grits her teeth and decides to go ahead on her honeymoon regardless – taking her best friend Rachel along with her.
The two women, plus Rachel's murder mystery-obsessed young daughter Juno, turn up at an idyllic country hotel in Edenville for a week of rest and recuperation. Before long, however, they meet a whole host of interesting characters, including the very dishy Dylan, a writer with a big secret. When a job comes up at the hotel, Nell jumps at the chance to avoid returning to her old life in London, and soon becomes thoroughly embroiled in the lives of all the locals.
With plenty of laughter, love, fun and a believable set of characters that you really care about, this colourful romp is the perfect companion for a lazy weekend spent curled up on the sofa.
The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year, Joanna Bolouri
OK, it's not even Halloween yet, but there's nothing wrong with getting into the festive spirit early – especially not when it's as enjoyable as this brilliant new book from the talented Joanna Bolouri.
Emily is 38 and enjoying her life – not least because the majority of it takes place a long way away from her crazy-as-a-box-of-frogs family. This Christmas, however, she's planning to take her boyfriend Robert home to meet them for the first time. It's a big deal, because she's been talking him up for months, so when Robert pulls the plug on their relationship just a week before the planned trip, Emily is bereft.
Unable to face another festive period of nagging from her nearest and dearest about settling down, Emily drunkenly persuades her 20-year-old neighbour Evan to come along and pose as her errant boyfriend. So far, so ridiculous – but also bloody hilarious. Give yourself an early Christmas treat and read this book over the weekend. We promise you won't regret it!
Searching For A Silver Lining, Miranda Dickinson
Mattie is left devastated when she falls out with her grandfather just before he dies. Racked with guilt and desperate to make amends somehow, she sets out to do a good deed and meets sprightly octogenarian Reenie Silver.
It turns out that Reenie was once a member of a very famous '50s band – one that Mattie's granddad was a huge fan of – and she soon confesses to her new young friend that she is the reason the group broke up. Bonded by their shared regrets, Mattie and Reenie set out on a road trip to hunt down the remaining members of the band and bring them back together for a special one-off gig, learning lots about themselves along the way.
Often touching, constantly heart-warming and beautifully crafted, Searching For A Silver Lining is a feel-good gem of a novel. We loved it.
Seven Steps To Happiness, Stella Newman
Lenny Dublonsky is happy…ish. Her job at a tech company might mean that she's surrounded by idiots most of the time, and the man she's dating might not be keen on the whole relationship thing, but she's muddling through.
Lenny's best friend Juliet, however, has gone from having it all to losing the bottom from her world, and she's in danger of falling apart. Keen to help her friend get back on her feet, Lenny agrees to trial a new HappyGuru app, which claims to "enhance happiness" in just seven steps, and persuades Juliet to help – but will it actually work?
Packed with laugh-out-loud moments (one word: burrito), delicious descriptions of grub (you will crave cheese toasties while reading) and genuine moments of incredible insight, this new novel from the author of stand-out women's fiction titles Pear Shaped, Leftovers and The Foodie's Guide To Falling In Love is another seamless return to top form, and maintains all the humour, pathos and effortless wit that we've learnt to associate with this brilliant genre star. We can't wait to see what Stella Newman comes up with next, even if reading her food-packed books does make us gain about half a stone every time.
We Were On A Break, Lindsey Kelk
Adam and Liv are on a romantic holiday in Mexico and he's planning to propose; she knows he is. In fact, she can't stop thinking about it – to the point where it's making her feel on edge and irritable. Cue one inappropriate pair of shoes and a slight distance miscalculation, and you have one proposal well and truly ruined.
Liv knows something has gone horribly wrong, but she's still blindsided when Adam later announces that he wants to take a break. Add a truly life-changing bombshell to the mix, and you end up with one confused girl. Will vet Liv forgive her carpenter boyfriend and let him back into her life, or has he simply succeeded in making her realise exactly what she's missing by being with him?
This witty, smart, bouncy and effortlessly fluid tale had us chuckling from the first few pages and didn't let up until the end. Kelk has long been one of the undisputed stars of the modern women's fiction world, and this new novel is another flawless example of her craft. We absolutely loved it!
Holding Up The Universe, Jennifer Niven
After galloping through Niven's All The Bright Places last year, we instantly crowned it one of our favourite books of 2015. There's always a slight amount of trepidation when you're approaching the latest novel of an author you adore, just in case it doesn't hit the same heights, and this was also the case with Holding Up The Universe.
However, there was happily no need to worry, because it's another brilliantly written, poignant, emotional and unforgettable story. Our two main characters are the teenage Libby, who's heading back to high school after going through the trials of not only being labelled "America's Fattest Teen", but also the death of her father. Then there's Jack, who on the surface is a normal lad, but is hiding a secret of his own: he can't remember faces. Not at all.
When the two are thrown together as part of a crazy prank, the last thing they expect is to connect on a new and deep level, but they do, and the result is as heartbreaking as it is beautiful.
The Christmasaurus, Tom Fletcher
OK, so it may still be a wee while until Christmas, but we simply couldn't resist putting this charming and very funny little tale under your noses. Tom Fletcher of McFly fame is already a bestseller thanks to his hilarious The Dinosaur That Pooped series, which he co-writes with fellow band member Dougie Poynter, and The Christmasaurus has been created in the same brilliant spirit.
However, while Pooping was more for the younger kids, this new book definitely has wider appeal, and the story is just as heart-warming and engaging to us as it would be to our seven-year-old niece.
It's packed with cute pictures, too, and an animated film version is already in the pipeline. Is there anything talented Tom can't do? It would appear not. We can't wait to read this aloud to the little members of our family.
We Need To Talk, Stephen & Chris from Gogglebox
Everyone has their favourite Gogglebox stars, but for us Brighton-based hairdressers Stephen and Chris are way up there. From their hilarious one-liners to those amazing sausage dogs that are always snuggled up on their sofa, these two never fail to amuse us on the show. But, as it turns out, their talents aren't limited to the small screen, because this new memoir from the pair is hugely entertaining, too.
Written in the form of a conversation between the two, charting everything from their early lives right through to finding fame and their doomed relationship, it's like a cross between a stand-up comedy routine and a nice night down the pub with friends.
If the snippets of these two nattering away on the sofa are never enough to satisfy your appetite, then this is the book for you. Just don't get so engrossed that you end up missing Gogglebox.
Trainwreck, Sady Doyle
Britney Spears shaved her head and lashed out at the paps with an umbrella, Whitney Houston ended up with a serious drug habit, while Amy Winehouse succumbed to an alcohol addiction at the height of her fame. The thing that all these celebrity women have in common is the moniker by which we choose to describe them: a trainwreck.
What Sady Doyle asks here is how and why this term exists, how it has changed over time, and what happened to cause these women to stray from the path of what is deemed by so many of us to be 'socially acceptable'. Intelligent, fascinating, well-researched, funny where appropriate and at times truly insightful, this is well worth a read.
Destination Chile, Katy Colins
This third instalment in the fabulous Lonely Hearts Travel Club series sees the return of jet-setter Georgia Green, who healed her broken heart in Thailand before zooming off to India, Spain, Greece and Morocco to research locations for her new travel and tour agency.
She's been a busy globetrotting bee indeed, and has even managed to fall in love with the very gorgeous Ben along the way. So far, so flawless – but throw a reality TV show, an eventful trip to Chile and some very competitive couples into the mix, and you've got a ready-made recipe for trouble.
Action-packed, funny, romantic and peppered with juicy nuggets of escapist brilliance, this gem of a novel will have you Googling flights before you reach the end of the first chapter. We can't wait to see where Georgia – and indeed, Katy Colins – heads off to next.
Undertow, Elizabeth Heathcote
The market is absolutely flooded with psychological thrillers at the moment, and it takes something really special to stand out. Take a bow, Elizabeth Heathcote, because this chilling, twisty and hugely atmospheric tale is standing head and shoulders above the rest.
It follows the character of Carmen, who is wife to city lawyer Tom and stepmother to the three children from his previous marriage. While Carmen struggles to get along with Tom's near-perfect ex-wife Laura, it's not her that she finds the most troubling. That role is reserved for Zena, the woman who had an extra-marital affair with Tom and who has now turned up dead after drowning.
When Carmen then begins her own investigation into Zena's death, she uncovers a lot more than she bargained for… This slow-burn tale sneaks up and grabs you by the throat, right when you least it expect it. Brilliant!
The Ice Beneath Her, Camilla Grebe
If you like your gritty dramas brutal and macabre, then this tense thriller will not disappoint, opening as it does with a beheaded female body being discovered in the home of a missing business tycoon.
Rewind two months, and we're introduced to sales assistant Emma, who is having a clandestine love affair with a man named Jesper. When her lover vanishes without explanation and a whole host of strange and scary things start to happen, Emma is understandably terrified – but is she running scared from the wrong person?
This Swedish novel, which is perfect for fans of Jo Nesbo, is unsettling, menacing and compulsively written. It also delivers a rewarding ending that we did not see coming – one that stayed with us long after we stopped reading.
First Comes Love, Emily Giffin
Josie and Meredith might be sisters, but they're total opposites. Rather than thriving on their chalk-and-cheese differences and supporting each other when tragedy strikes, the siblings grow distant and continue to bicker as they grow up.
Now both in their late thirties, Josie is a teacher who longs to be a mother, while Meredith outwardly seems to have the perfect marriage and daughter, but still can't seem to settle into her life. As the anniversary of the awful event from their past looms, murky secrets begin to emerge and the sisters are thrown back together. Will they finally step up and stop being so stubborn, or has too much happened to ever heal that rift?
Refreshing in its subject matter and with solid, complicated characters that continue to challenge you throughout, this women's fiction novel has plenty on offer to keep you turning the pages. We enjoyed it very much.
The Little Book Of Hygge, Meik Wiking
Happiness: it sounds like such a simple thing, doesn't it? But then why are so many of us struggling to locate it from the muddle of modern life? This enchanting and inspiring book has been put together by the CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen – yes, that really is a thing – whose job it is to study what makes people happy.
He must be doing something right, too, because Denmark is officially the happiest nation in the world and, luckily for us, they are very keen to spread the love. Featuring chapters on everything from lighting, furnishings and clothing to recipes and tips on being more mindful, this is a thorough and genuinely helpful little life bible that you'll find yourself coming back to time and again. Hooray for Hygge!