Whether you’re curled up on the couch with your cat or unwinding after a long walk with the dog, there’s nothing quite like a good book to help you reset.
This September, Macmillan is serving up a beautifully varied line-up of reads, sweeping historical romance, deeply human fiction, and a cookbook built around connection and community. These are the books that invite you to slow down, savour the storytelling, and enjoy a little escapism as we head into spring.
Rules of the Heart by Janice Hadlow
Inspired by real history, Rules of the Heart is the sweeping new novel from the bestselling author of The Other Bennet Sister, Janice Hadlow.
Propriety of conduct was never my forte, so that if any lady chooses to make observations, they will always have enough to find fault with. Lady Henrietta Bessborough seemingly has it all: wife to a lord and sister to a duchess, she is welcomed in all the most fashionable circles.
Yet she yearns for something her marriage has failed to offer: true love.
When she meets the captivating Lord Granville, twelve years her junior and a famous heartbreaker, she at first dismisses his advances as opportunistic flattery. But then she sees another side to him – a side she realises she cannot resist.
As she plunges into an all-consuming affair, Henrietta finds herself torn between her duty and her deepest desires. For in a world where appearances are everything, each anxious but besotted step she takes leads her ever closer to scandal and ruin.
Life, and Death, and Giants by Ron Rindo
John Irving meets Where The Crawdads Sing in Life, and Death, and Giants, an astonishing story of family, faith and second chances.
In the rolling farmland of America’s Midwest, Gabriel Fisher is exceptional from the moment he is born, weighing in at an impossible eighteen pounds. He walks at eight months, possesses extraordinary athletic abilities and a gentleness that draws people and animals to him.
For a while, Gabriel is taken in by his devout grandparents and lives quietly in the Amish community. But it’s hard to hide forever when you’re nearly eight feet tall, and at seventeen, he is spotted labouring in a hay field by the local football coach.
What happens next transforms not only Gabriel’s life but the lives of everyone he meets. Life, and Death, and Giants is an unforgettable story of faith, family, buried secrets and everyday miracles, for fans of Elizabeth Strout and John Irving.
Linger by Hetty Lui McKinnon
The author of cult classic Community returns with a cookbook about making friends and forging connections over salad.
From her salad-delivery days in Sydney to her current career as a food writer and bestselling cookbook author in New York, Hetty Lui McKinnon has long known the power of salads to connect and create community. Salads are meant to be shared; they are what you bring to a gathering of friends or family, the ultimate comfort food.
With Linger, Hetty has come full circle. Rather than delivering salads to members of her community, this time, she has invited friends into her home to share salads, sweets and stories around her dining room table.
Linger documents these intimate gatherings, with vegetable-laden, loosely seasonal menus enjoyed and photographed in real time. Through her inventive recipes for meal-worthy salads, small bites and simple sweets, Hetty invites you to be part of an unforgettable shared experience of community, food and friendship.
Each of these September releases offers its own world to step into, whether it’s the emotional tension of a forbidden affair, the extraordinary life of a gentle giant finding his place, or the comforting joy of meals shared around a table. Together, they remind us why stories matter: they help us connect, unwind and see life through a fresh lens.
If you’re looking for some new reads to pair with a quiet afternoon and a furry companion by your side, these Macmillan picks are well worth adding to your list.
