Happy August! We hope you’re having a wonderful summer and have managed to read some fabulous books in the sunshine. We're so excited to introduce you to our six August subscription picks 📚
August is Women in Translation Month, a month dedicated to celebrating incredible women writers from around the world, and we've got three books in translation in our selection, spotlighting talent from South America, Asia and Europe. There's the queen of Argentine crime, a Korean novel capturing the reality of IVF, and a French mystery about a woman working through her late aunt's cassette tapes to discover why she faked her own death.
Alongside them, we've got three English-language picks we can't stop talking about: a dystopian thriller set in Britain in 2040 that feels a little too real, a kidnapping that pulls a mother back into the Hong Kong underworld, and a sultry Athens summer that goes terribly wrong.
Read on to find out more about each book and why we chose it, and take the quiz on our homepage to discover which pick is perfect for you!
Our Hardback Picks
Tata by Valérie Perrin (Translated from French by Hildegarde Serle)
Tata begins with a mystery—Agnès is asked to identify the body of her beloved aunt Colette—who, as far as she knows, died three years earlier.
From this phone call, Valérie Perrin crafts a compelling blend of family saga and literary suspense. As Agnès searches for the truth, long-buried secrets and hidden lives come to light, revealing an unforgettable cast of characters and the extraordinary story of the woman she thought she knew.
At the heart of the novel is Colette, Agnès's beloved aunt, whose decision to fake her own death sets in motion a richly layered tale of resilience, identity, and reinvention. Told with warmth, humour, and emotional depth, Tata is a captivating story about the mysteries that shape a life and the courage that is required of women who choose to forge one's own path.
Why we chose it: You know the feeling when you read a chunky book, but it feels like a breeze to get through? Sitting at 672 pages, Tata is the perfect example. From the very first page we were drawn into this story where Agnès is called by the police to be notified of the death of her Aunt Colette, who she actually buried three years ago. But did she really? All Agnès is left with is a suitcase of full of cassettes, and her aunt's voice slowly unveiling the truth of her own faked death. An ambitious, multi-layered story of identity, hidden secrets and reinvention. A real treat!
The Quickening by Claire McGowan
The Hope Party's new laws have transformed Great Britain: the countryside rewilded, children's rights prioritised, and births on the rise. But freedom is fading.
Karen has learned to navigate this new world, keeping her head down as her fertility is constantly monitored. As her husband's career thrives, while hers stalls. As her son is drawn into misogynist groups. Like everyone else, she's too frightened to speak up.
Until her teenage daughter reveals a life-changing secret: she's pregnant. With abortion and contraception banned, her future has gone up in flames. But Karen won't let this happen - Charlotte is going to have the life she lost.
Karen turns to her sister Isobel, a doctor who's initially reluctant to help. But when they learn Charlotte's pregnancy is ectopic and life-threatening, the stakes skyrocket. The three women go on the run, getting deeper into danger with every hour that passes. With powerful enemies on their tail, they will risk everything in a desperate fight for freedom, and for life.
Why we chose it: Claire McGowan is a best-selling thriller author with over two million books sold worldwide, and this might be her most frightening yet. Why? Because it's one of those dystopian novels that doesn't feel too far-fetched at all, especially with the shocking shift towards women's reproductive rights all over the globe. It's fast paced, it gets under your skin, and you feel completely united with the women at the centre of the book. If you loved The Handmaid's Tale or Red Clocks, this is the perfect pick for you.
The Devoted by Catherine Cho
Eunha grows up in a quiet village in Hong Kong with little knowledge of the reputation of her father, a Dragon Head and the leader of a criminal organisation infamous in the city. While her grandmother does her best to shield her from the violence that underpins their lives, Eunha only has her brother Solomon and their one permitted companion, a boy named Kai, for company.
But when Eunha marries into a supposedly respectable Hong Kong family, the veneer of her sheltered life begins to crack. After her young son is kidnapped, she is cast back into the city’s criminal underground and into the orbit of Kai, now a Dragon Head himself. In this world, love and loyalty are stalked by fear and betrayal. Will Eunha finally give in to the life she has strived so hard to rise above or was her future always fated?
Why we chose it: The Devoted is one of our favourite books of the year, and it has all the components we think you will love: a decades-spanning family saga about crime dynasties, a slow-burn forbidden romance, and underneath it all, a story that explores motherhood, power and women's lives shaped by men's violent choices. We loved the setting of the gritty underworld and the two timelines. A fabulous read!
Our Paperback Picks
Cathedrals by Claudia Piñeiro (translated from Spanish by Frances Riddle)
In a quiet middle-class neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, the body of a teenage girl is found burned and dismembered. Decades later, the crime still casts a shadow over the lives of those left behind.
Lía, the dead girl’s sister, has fled to Spain but cannot escape the rage and grief that continue to shape her life. Carmen clings to religion and certainty. Their widowed father remains haunted by the daughter he lost and the family that fractured in the aftermath.
As buried secrets begin to surface, Claudia Piñeiro unravels a devastating portrait of family, repression and silence. Dark, gripping and emotionally charged, Cathedrals is a razor-sharp exploration of religion, gender violence and the truths families refuse to face.
Why we chose it: Claudia Piñeiro is an award-winning Argentine novelist, playwright and screenwriter. The queen of crime, she is the third most translated Argentine author in history, and trust us, she is an author you will be delighted to discover and whose backlist you will rush to read.
We've read all of her books and Cathedrals is her best yet in our opinion. The first paragraph is one of the openings of a book we've read in a long, long time. The mystery of what happened to Ana gripped us from the start, and Marcela's section is extraordinary, a real testament to Piñeiro's talent. Published by the wonderful Charco Press, this is translated literary crime fiction at its finest.
Ruins by Amy Taylor
At a crossroads in their relationship, Emma and Julian agree to house-sit for a friend in Athens over the course of an oppressive summer. Their plans take an unexpected turn when they meet Lena, an enigmatic young Greek woman who presents an opportunity for them to explore their relationship in uncharted and thrillingly risky ways. But as the heat in the city grows stifling, Emma and Julian find themselves far more entangled in Lena's life than they'd bargained for. What follows is a highly-charged three-way struggle for control, as Emma, Julian and Lena are suddenly faced with consequences far greater - and far more dangerous - than they could have predicted.
Why we chose it: Our team have been powering through their TBRs this summer, and this book sits right at the top of our founder's list as her favourite book of the summer. It's sultry, tense and sexy, the perfect read for a heatwave of your own, and it explores desire, privilege, motherhood and power. It is a book you'll be forcing into your friend's hands, pleading for them to read so you can discuss!
Hello Baby by Kim Eui-kyung (translated from Korean by Sora Kim-Russell)
In a group chat called ‘Hello Baby’, six women share the anxieties and absurdities of undergoing IVF. They first met at Baby Angel Hospital, an elite fertility clinic in Seoul. Outside the chat, each woman is different – a journalist, a police officer, a vet, a lawyer and two housewives – but inside it, they’ve come to confide in one another. They know it is unlikely they will all get their happy ending, but while messaging, anything seems possible. So, when 46-year-old Jeong-hyo suddenly announces she has stopped treatment and goes silent, it rocks them all.
One year later, on Lunar New Year, Jeong-hyo sends a message announcing the birth of her daughter. As the stunned women count down to their visit to meet her and the new baby, they each reckon with their own journeys. Might this news hold fresh promise for each of them? To know that they will need to understand just how this unexpected miracle came to pass.
Why we chose it: Hello Baby is a real celebration of Korean literature. The way it captures the waiting, the wanting and all the emotional strain of IVF is beautifully done, and at just under 200 pages it does a mighty job of exploring infertility and the bond between women going through the same journey together. The mystery around the eldest member of the group and her surprise baby adds a really interesting dynamic too. One you can read in a single sitting.
Which one are you choosing? You can shop our subscription right here.