11 New Book Releases We Loved And Why You Should Read Them

With a fresh list on Tuesdays.

Hello, book lovers! Each week, dozens and dozens of new releases hit the shelves. Below are some of the reads BuzzFeed Books writers and contributors loved the most:

1. The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans

Riverhead Books

The women who populate the short stories in this new collection by Evans are frequently unsure of themselves, even if they act brasher and more worldly than they actually are. In “Boys Goes to Jupiter,” a young white college student doubles down on a decision to use Confederate flag imagery, at the risk of alienating everyone around her. In “Why Won’t Women Just Say What They Want,” a genius male artist apologizes to the women in his life, referred to only by their relationships to him from the High School Sweetheart to the Longsuffering Ex-wife, to the Soon-to-Be Shortsuffering Second Ex-wife. But it’s the title story, a novella, that really shows Evans’ capabilities: A Black woman living and working in gentrifying Washington, DC, embarks on a mysterious historical mission that dredges up old wounds, both personal and national. It’s the most astonishing thing I’ve read this fall. — Tomi Obaro

2. The Fires of Vengeance by Evan Winter

Orbit

The second installment of Evan Winter’s dark epic fantasy series, The Burning, opens with a desolate Tau mourning all those he lost in book one. When the Queen asks him to become her champion, a new chance at vengeance presents itself. But with a large force of the indigenous Xidda threatening to attack, and a false queen and her champion dividing the Omehi, his quest for vengeance is fraught. And in the meantime, correcting the social injustices against the Lessers may prove a more important goal and the key to saving them all. This gritty series set in a South African–inspired fantasy world is an intense reading experience, and the second book is just as phenomenal as the first. — Margaret Kingsbury

3. At Night All Blood Is Black by David Diop

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

This haunting tale of a Senegalese man’s experience in WWI is a poetic look at the horrors of war and its effect on mental health. When Alfa Ndiaye’s best friend dies in battle, he begins sneaking into enemy territory and picking off Germans one by one, until even his own men think him a dark sorcerer. How far will Ndiaye go to get vengeance for his friend — and will he lose himself in the process? — Kirby Beaton

4. The Kingdom by Jo Nesbo

Knopf Publishing Group

Carl and Roy are brothers who couldn’t lead more different lives: Roy stayed in the rural Norwegian village where he was born and enjoys a modest life, while the more impulsive Carl left for a new start as an entrepreneur in Canada. But when Carl returns to his hometown with his new wife and a plan to build a hotel and spa on their family’s property, family secrets from the brothers’ childhoods begin to resurface and threaten the life that Roy has built for himself. The Kingdom is a complex and simmering standalone novel from the author of the popular Harry Hole detective series, and it dives deeply into the psyches of its characters. Twisty, violent, gripping, and very disturbing, it’s Nordic noir at its best. — Dana Vogel

5. After All I’ve Done by Mina Hardy

Crooked Lane Books

Diana Sparrow wakes up in the hospital after a car accident with no memory and two broken collarbones. During her recovery, she’s in the care of her mother-in-law Harriet — whom Diana hates, although she can’t remember why — and she discovers that her best childhood friend is sleeping with her husband. Diana also begins to have recurring nightmares about the accident in which she hits something...or someone. As her life unravels and she tries to piece together what happened the night of the crash, Diana can’t help but wonder if she’s losing her mind. This domestic thriller is a modern day take on the classic film Gaslight, and it will make you question what’s real and what’s not. It’s a dark, unpredictable, and twisty look at friendship and betrayal, and it will surprise you right up until the end. — Dana Vogel

6. They’re Gone by E.A. Barres

Crooked Lane Books

They’re Gone starts with the murder of two men from different backgrounds who are killed in the same way on the same night, and follows their widows’ search for answers. Deb Linh Thomas, the wife of successful professional Grant Thomas, is devastated by his death and becomes more distraught when she learns her husband was under investigation by the FBI. Meanwhile, Cessy Castillo is relieved that her abusive ex-cop husband Hector Ramirez is gone — until she learns he was deeply in debt to some bad people and she’s expected to pay up. So Deb and Cessy join forces to learn the dark truth about their husbands while trying to avoid a similar fate. E.A. Barres — a pen name of seasoned thriller writer E.A. Aymar — has written a hard-boiled crime thriller in which the women fight back. It’s expertly plotted and action-packed, but it also features a diverse cast of characters — including two strong women of color as protagonists — and offers biting social commentary. — Dana Vogel

7. A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem by Manda Collins

Forever

It's bad enough that Lady Katherine Bascomb spends her time as a newspaper columnist, something frowned upon for women in her station in England 1865. But to make matters worse, she's good at her job, with one of her articles even helping to capture the murderer terrorizing London. To get out of the spotlight, she travels to the country, only to witness a murder upon her arrival. She enlists the help of the annoyingly handsome Detective Inspector Andrew Eversham, who is frustrated at her involvement in yet another one of his cases. But, she proves to be helpful and soon he realizes they may work well together at more than just catching criminals. — Shyla Watson

8. The Cul-de-Sac War by Melissa Ferguson

Thomas Nelson

Bree Leake has had her fair share of jobs and when the curtain closes on her latest one — a small stage role at the oldest live performance theater in the US — she's going to be on the job hunt again. But then her parents make her an offer she can't refuse — the keys to her grandmother's house in exchange for committing to her job for a full year. It's not going to be easy though, especially given her nightmare of a neighbor, whose handsomeness and stubbornness irk her equally. When a prank war ensues, she thinks she can get him to leave the cul-de-sac, but the lines between love and hate are blurrier than either of them realize. — Shyla Watson

9. Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur

Avon

Set up by her brother, no-nonsense and analytical Darcy goes on a terrible blind date with Elle, a popular astrologer and hopeless romantic. But, to keep her brother from playing matchmaker again, she lies and says the date went great. When she gets caught in the lie, she begs Elle to play along and pretend that they're dating. Under the condition that Darcy helps her navigate her own overbearing family during the holidays, Elle agrees. For the next several weeks, the pair fake a relationship neither ever dreamed would turn real. — Shyla Watson

10. Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Rent a Boyfriend contains the beloved fake-boyfriend trope, and I cannot stress how excited I am. Chloe Wang hires Drew Chang from "Rent for Your ’Rents" to pretend to be her boyfriend so that they'll stop pushing her to pursue Hongbo, a wealthy, yet sleazy, bachelor in their tight-knit Asian American community. But what happens when Chloe begins to fall for Drew? — Farrah Penn

11. The Butchers’ Blessing by Ruth Gilligan

Tin House Books

The Butchers’ Blessing centers on the Butchers, a group of men who spend most of the year traveling from farm to farm in the Irish countryside to perform an ancient method of cattle slaughter. In 1996 — one of the book’s two timelines, along with the present day — the method (and men) are seen as remnants of an ancient folklore that most believe should be left in the past. To photographer Ronan, the Butchers are a sort of muse, and he travels the countryside capturing their world — but when he discovers one of the Butchers gruesomely murdered, it changes the trajectory of his life. It’s gripping, Gothic, and moody, following not only Ronan and the Butchers, but also their families and neighbors. — Arianna Rebollini

For more new-release recommendations from this month, click here, or catch up on all of our weekly favorites on Bookshop. What's the best book you read this week? Tell us in the comments!