New Releases Tuesday: The Best Books Out This Week

On a January morning in 1938, Samir Vij first locks eyes with Firdaus Khan through the rows of perfume bottles in his family’s ittar shop in Lahore. Over the years that follow, the perfumer’s apprentice and calligrapher’s apprentice fall in love with their ancient crafts and with each other, dreaming of the life they will one day share. But as the struggle for Indian independence gathers force, their beloved city is ravaged by Partition. Suddenly, they find themselves on opposite sides: Samir, a Hindu, becomes Indian and Firdaus, a Muslim, becomes Pakistani, their love now forbidden. Severed from one another, Samir and Firdaus make a series of fateful decisions that will change the course of their lives forever. As their paths spiral away from each other, they must each decide how much of the past they are willing to let go, and what it will cost them.

Lush, sensuous, and deeply romantic, The Book of Everlasting Things is the story of two lovers and two nations, split apart by forces beyond their control, yet bound by love and memory. Filled with exquisite descriptions of perfume and calligraphy, spanning continents and generations, Aanchal Malhotra’s debut novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.

Reasons to read it: The parts of this book that talk about the ancient practices of calligraphy and perfumery give it a kind of wondrous feel, but the main draw of the story may be the firsthand account of Partition. In Malhotra’s hands, this critical time in history is given a personal touch, which only serves to show just how much was lost and changed.

Stevie Bell solved the case of Truly Devious, and now she’s taking her detecting skills abroad when she becomes embroiled in a mystery from 1990s England. Another pulse-pounding and laugh-out-loud stand-alone mystery from New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson.

Senior year at Ellingham Academy for Stevie Bell isn’t going well. Her boyfriend, David, is studying in London. Her friends are obsessed with college applications. With the cold case of the century solved, Stevie is adrift. There is nothing to distract her from the questions pinging around her brain — questions about college, love, and life in general.

Relief comes when David invites Stevie and her friends to join him for study abroad, and his new friend Izzy introduces her to a double-murder cold case. In 1995, nine friends from Cambridge University went to a country house and played a drunken game of hide-and-seek. Two were found in the woodshed the next day, murdered with an ax.

The case was assumed to be a burglary gone wrong, but one of the remaining seven saw something she can’t explain. This was no break-in. Someone’s lying about what happened in the woodshed.

Seven suspects. Two murders. One killer still playing a deadly game.

Reasons to read it: Stevie Bell, the quirky amateur sleuth, is back! And this time she’s in the land of scones. The overseas aspect adds an interesting element to the story, and the new characters who are introduced — although they are legion — have intriguing backstories and realistic character development. The mystery itself gives Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None–type teas and its conclusion is satisfying.

From the globally recognized personal finance educator and the TikTok star behind Her First $100K, an inclusive guide to all things money — from managing debt to investing and voting with your dollars — for the financial feminist in you. 

Tori Dunlap was always good with money. As a kid, she watched her prudent parents balance their checkbook every month and learned to save for musical tickets by gathering pennies in an Altoids tin. At the age of 9, she started a vending machine business, and sold it at the end of high school before going off to college — where she discovered that her experience with money was pretty unusual, especially among her female friends.

It wasn’t their fault. Investigating this financial literacy and wealth gap, Tori found that girls are significantly less likely to receive a holistic financial education; they’re taught to restrain their spending, while boys are taught about investing and rewarded for pursuing wealth. In adulthood, women are hounded by an unfounded image of them as frivolous spenders whose lattes are to blame for the wealth gap. They’re paid less, perceived more negatively than men when they negotiate for more, and, predictably, end up with less capital to invest. Then when something like, say, a global pandemic happens, they’re the first to have jobs cut and the last to re-enter the workforce.

Believing there’s no equality without financial equality, Tori founded Her First $100K to teach women to overcome the unique obstacles standing in the way of their financial freedom. In Financial Feminist, she distills the principles of her shame- and judgment-free approach to paying off debt, figuring out your value categories to spend mindfully, saving money without monk-like deprivation, and investing in order to spend your retirement tanning in Tulum. Featuring journaling prompts, deep-dives into the invisible aspects of the financial landscape, and interviews with experts on everything money — from predatory credit card companies to the racial wealth gap and voting with your dollars — Financial Feminist is the ultimate guide to making your money work harder for you than you do for it.

Reasons to read it: Living in a capitalistic society unfortunately means participating in capitalism, but what if capitalism wasn’t made for you? People who fall under that umbrella seem to be exactly who Dunlap wrote this book for. I haven’t read this book yet, so I don’t know how well it adheres to Dunlap’s promises of inclusivity, but more books need to be written to help marginalized people get ahead financially, so I’m all for its premise.

Two-time International Latino Book Award-winning author Aya de León brings her unique blend of commercial fiction, timely social commentary, and sexy, page-turning storytelling in a novel of climate change in which the personal and the political collide for one woman torn between her own survival and the survival of the planet.

Marrying a billionaire will fulfill this struggling artist’s dreams — and enable her to make a difference. But exposing the truth will put all her convictions on one dangerous line…Coming from a troubled youth, Morgan Faraday grabs every opportunity to up-level her life. So she definitely plans to keep oil company heir Sebastian Reid interested…all the way to the altar. He’s brilliant, supportive, and is turning his billion-dollar company green to make up for his ancestors’ exploitation. With him, Morgan can have love, money, and the power to make the world better. And securing her future is far more important than the attractive environmental activist she suddenly has unexpected feelings for. But once Morgan gets a glimpse of Sebastian’s secret allies and confidential emails, she’s stunned to find he’s only talking a good game. His company is responsible for several ecological disasters, and a chance encounter makes it clear to Morgan the lengths he’ll go to stay on top. To gather enough evidence to expose him, Morgan will have to rely on her quick wits and new friends to stay one step ahead of a corporate conspiracy. But as the danger comes closer, will Morgan put herself first and run — or face down the risk, even at her cost of her life?

Reasons to read it: Okay, so love interest turned person protagonist spies on is a trope I don’t come across often, and this story adds other interesting things to it, like environmental activism and romance. Pick this one up for a fast, fun read that has some intriguing plot points.

SOMEONE HAD TO MAKE HIM PAY. SOMEONE HAD TO TAKE HER DOWN.

Brandi Maxwell is living the dream as an intern at prestigious New York fashion house Simon Van Doren. Except “living the dream” looks more like scrubbing puke from couture dresses worn by hard-partying models and putting up with microaggressions from her white colleagues. Still, she can’t help but fangirl over Simon’s it-girl daughter, Taylor. Until one night, at a glamorous Van Doren party, when Brandi overhears something she shouldn’t have, and her fate becomes dangerously intertwined with Taylor’s.

Model and influencer Taylor Van Doren has everything…and is this close to losing it all. Her fashion mogul father will donate her inheritance to charity if she fails her next drug test, and he’s about to marry someone nearly as young as Taylor, further threatening her stake in the family fortune. But Taylor deserves the money that’s rightfully hers. And she’ll go to any lengths to get it, even if that means sacrificing her famous father in the process.

All she needs is the perfect person to take the fall…

Reasons to read it: And I oop! Is exactly the energy I had when I read the title. The story hinges on something Brandi, the intern, hears at a party at Simon Van Doren’s house. What follows is a fast-paced thriller that will admittedly have you frustrated as it contends with racism and privilege. It’s also got some spice to it for good measure.

From author Lisa Rayne comes an #OwnVoices historical mash-up of Dirty Harry in a kilt with Mr. and Mrs. Smith. This banter-laden historical romance proves kilts have never been more fun!

Warrior Duff Kallum MacNeill has long guarded the secret of his late-night avenger campaigns. When the Highlander sets out to free the latest group of Moors enslaved in the King’s court and kidnaps a servant lass without the good sense to know she needs freeing, his plans to drop her at the England border and keep hidden his double life go awry.

While attending court three years ago, Ailsa Connery got separated from her escort and forced into servitude despite her claim of being a free woman of the Highlands. Unaware that her separation was no accident, the enterprising lass plots her escape only to be interrupted by a misguided skelpie-monger set on playing hero. Unsure whether her unwanted savior is friend or foe, she must find a way to guard her identity yet convince him to lead her to the edge of her homeland.

With his progress constantly hindered by Ailsa’s refusal to cooperate, Kallum’s left with no choice but to take her with him to the Highlands. By the time they get to the dangerous border of MacNeill-Connery land, Kallum’s well aware he’s not the only one keeping secrets. But he’s ill prepared for the crushing realization that his heart’s been stolen by a feisty hellion with family ties to his fiercest enemies and at least one of those enemies may not, in fact, plan to welcome her home.

Reasons to read it: Did I know there were Black Highlanders in Scotland way back when? No. Am I overjoyed to read about them doing a little of ye olde Netflix and chill with a bonnie lass? Absolutely. And the slow build up to the steamy scenes add to the payout. Get ready for a more gritty historical romance that centers Black people.