A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING de K. L. Walther

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer of Broken Rules comes a fun new coming-of-age romance full of dating disasters, powerful firsts, and the importance of family.

A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
by K. L. Walther
Sourcebooks, May 2025

Madeline has always been extremely close to her family, so she is shocked when her older brother gets engaged without including them (or even giving them a heads up!). Mads has never been the biggest fan of his fiancée, Katie, so in order to remain one happy family, she is determined to bond with Katie before the big day, which includes reluctantly agreeing to be a bridesmaid.

During a late-night bridesmaids-only game of « Truth or Dare » Mads is cornered into revealing she has never been kissed or even been on a date, which spurs the other girls to unite on a quest to find Mads the perfect plus-one for the wedding. Next thing she knows she’s navigating a series of disastrous dates that include some major misunderstandings and mishaps.

All of a sudden Mads finds her heart tugged in different directions: to Connor, the boy next door who knows her best. To Marco Álvarez, the former classmate who knows how to push all her buttons. And to some of the new suitors who surprisingly aren’t all bad.

As the wedding draws nearer, Mads has to figure out who she wants most as a forever dance partner, while also making sure her brother isn’t making the biggest mistake of his life.

K. L. Walther grew up Pennsylvania surrounded by family, dogs, and books. Her childhood was spent playing ice hockey, watching romantic comedies, and singing along to Taylor Swift. She earned a B.A. in English from the University of Virginia, where she fell in love with writing and completed the first version of What Happens After Midnight, her third young adult novel. She is also the author of Maybe Meant To Be and The Summer of Broken Rules.

REJUVENATE de David Cox

We are living unhealthier lives, and unleashing planetary devastation in our wake. These two crises are marching inexorably onward, hand-in-hand. But can science help us fight back? And can we live not just better lives, bot longer ones too – just through the power of food?

REJUVENATE:
The New Science of Eating Well, and Living Longer
by David Cox
Fourth Estate, late summer 2025
(via Randle Editorial & Literary)

Over the course of a lifetime, the average human will chomp their way through around 36 tons of food. Roughly speaking, this is the equivalent of about six whole elephants, each digested, converted into fuel, and working their way through our bodies over the course of the eight decades we can expect to spend on Earth.

The problem, however, is both the source of this food, and its content. Food production is the thin end of the wedge when it comes to the climate crisis – what we eat, and when we eat it, is going to be the most obvious short-term day-to-day change to many living in the global North, protected from the worst of the climate crisis by economic inequities. And the food we eat, in an increasingly globalised manner, is by far the largest driver of another crisis: one of health, which is impacting us all.

The same human ingenuity which has enabled our species to design vaccines and medicines to eliminate disease, and sanitation systems to vastly improve our hygiene, has also created both a land of ubiquitous processed food and an ecosystem of industrial meat production on a colossal, world-changing scale.

In REJUVENATE, science journalist David Cox takes us to the cutting edge of the technological and scientific fightback against these combined crises, and how food can make us live better, longer lives. He argues that we have reached a tipping point in the intersection between food, and our world – both our personal world, and the world we all live in – where the same creative drive, scientific advancements and rampant capitalism which has instigated many of the problems, may now be able to save us.

Through unprecedented access to the movers and shakers at the cutting edge of the food world – from the CEOs of tech start-ups, to the leaders of vast hedge funds, from Middle Eastern princes to policymakers and academics – Cox takes the reader on a journey of discovery, leading her down the rabbit hole in order to explore how the way we eat is changing, how it can make us healthier, live longer, and how perhaps it can save the planet in the process.

Dr. David Cox is a freelance health journalist and broadcaster, and has a PhD in neuroscience from the University of Cambridge. He is a regular contributor to the likes of the BBC, the Guardian, New York Times, The Atlantic, The Times and Sunday Times, The Telegraph, New Scientist and many, many more. He lives in Brighton, England with his partner.

SUPER NINTENDO de Keza MacDonald

The first major cultural history of the biggest form of entertainment on the planet– video games – by the world’s pre-eminent video games journalist, with unique never-before-granted access to Nintendo HQ.

SUPER NINTENDO:
How One Innovative Japanese Company Helped the World Have Fun
by Keza MacDonald
Faber, summer 2025
(via Randle Editorial & Literary)

Whether it’s Mario or Animal Crossing; Tetris on the Game Boy or The Legend of Zelda on the Switch; almost everybody who’s ever held a controller has been touched by a Nintendo game.

For most of its 130-year history, Nintendo, the Kyoto-based entertainment giant, made playing cards. But in 1981, after a few years experimenting in the burgeoning world of electronic toys, it created an arcade game called Donkey Kong. Since then, Nintendo has delighted hundreds of millions of people all over the world with their fizzily creative, brilliantly weird, and enormously fun video games, that issue forth from its secretive Japanese headquarters.

Nintendo is now as ubiquitous and culturally relevant as Marvel, Apple or Disney. Like Disney, it has become a cross-generational treasure, as the kids who were captivated by Super Mario Bros on the SNES now play Nintendo classics with their own children, and proud parents who once doodled pictures of Pikachu on their class notebooks chaperone their offspring to the Pokémon World Championships.

A lot has changed since 1981, but kids still know who Mario is.

Using Nintendo’s most iconic and recognisable games (alongside a smattering of fascinating but less-well-known ones) as a way in, SUPER NINTENDO will tell both a cultural history of video games and posit a narrative about how fun is our primary desire when we consume media.

Taking readers through Nintendo’s history – as so through the history of the medium itself – it will tell the stories of some of the millions of people whose lives have been touched not only by Nintendo games, but gaming more generally: from real-life Pokémon masters to video game developers, parents of autistic children to ordinary players on the sofa, the bus, or the school playground.

Using the story of Nintendo, and its games, to examine how and why the world has moved toward video games as its pre-eminent form of fun, SUPER NINTENDO is the first book to truly examine the dominant cultural medium of the 21st century.

Keza MacDonald played her first Nintendo game at the age of 6; when she was 11, her dream was to go to the Pokémon World Championships. (She finally achieved this aged 25. It was magical.) She is the Video Games Editor at The Guardian, and was previously UK Editor of IGN and Kotaku, two of the biggest specialist games websites in the world, read by over 100 million unique users. She lives in Glasgow, Scotland, with her husband and two sons.

THE BRIGHT SIDE de Sumit Paul-Choudhury

 

In the bestselling tradition of Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now and Yuval Noah Harari’s Homo Deus, an engaging and interdisciplinary look at the history, philosophy, and psychology of optimism, and why being optimistic is a moral obligation—even in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges.

THE BRIGHT SIDE:
Why Optimists Have the Power to Change the World
by Sumit Paul-Choudhury
Canongate, January 2025
(via Randle Editorial & Literary)

Scrolling through our daily newsfeeds we see war, political unrest, the swift rise of artificial intelligence, and a looming climate crisis – just a few of the tragedies fostering pessimism. So, in the face of such glum events, how do we stay optimistic? And, more important, why should we?

In THE BRIGHT SIDE, Sumit Paul-Choudhury tackles these pressing questions, arguing that optimism is not only essential for overcoming the obstacles ahead but also fundamental to human resilience and progress. Drawing on a wide array of evidence across diverse fields, Paul-Choudhury delves into the underappreciated philosophical roots of optimism, examines its impact on mental health and professional success, and discusses how an optimistic outlook supports a scientific and rational world view.

Beyond theoretical discussions, THE BRIGHT SIDE shows how we can apply the principles of optimism to address complex challenges, particularly the environmental crisis. Through visits to innovative projects like the futuristic LINE city in Saudi Arabia, the Faslane Peace Camp in Scotland, initiatives related to the New Green Deal, and anecdotes covering everything from Ernest Shackleton to Bitcoin mania, the book illustrates optimism in action.

A salve for dark times, THE BRIGHT SIDE is a lens through which we can identify and solve the problems we face and create a better future for ourselves and generations to come.

“An expansive tour de force that … helps readers understand what drives us to imbue ourselves with optimism and how to use it to create a better future. Paul-Choudhury’s own voice shines through – he is witty, empathetic and a beautiful writer… We’re born optimists, Paul-Choudhury argues; if you’re no longer one, this title will give you a way back – and a lot more besides.” — The Observer

Sumit Paul-Choudhury writes, thinks, and dreams about science, technology, and the future. He is the former Editor-in-Chief of New Scientist, a trained astrophysicist, and a former business journalist covering financial engineering and technology. Currently, he devotes most of his time to his creative studio Alternity, developing speculative histories and social experiments. A Sloan Fellow at London Business School and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, he lives, works, and problem solves in London with his wife and young twins.

THE GODS BELOW d’Andrea Stewart

In this sweeping epic fantasy comes a story of magic, betrayal, love, and loyalty, where two sisters will clash on opposite sides of a war against the gods.

THE GODS BELOW
(The Hollow Covenant, Book 1)
by Andrea Stewart
Orbit, September 2024
(via Mushens Entertainment)

A divine war shattered the world leaving humanity in ruins. Desperate for hope, they struck a deal with the devious god Kluehnn: He would restore the world to its former glory, but at a price so steep it would keep the mortals indebted to him for eternity. And, as each land was transformed, so too were its people changed into strange new forms―if they survived at all.

Hakara is not willing to pay such a price. Desperate to protect herself, and her sister Rasha, she flees her homeland for the safety of a neighboring kingdom. But when tragedy separates them, Hakara is forced to abandon her beloved sister to an unknown fate.

Alone and desperate for answers on the wrong side of the world, Hakara discovers she can channel the magic from the mysterious gems they are forced to mine for Kluehnn. With that discovery comes another: her sister is alive, and only the rebels plotting to destroy the God Pact can help rescue her.

But only if Hakara goes to war against a god.

‘Andrea Stewart is one of the best fantasy writers I’ve read in a long time’ —Sarah J. Maas

‘An epic and heart rending struggle between gods and mortals, lovers and siblings . . . Stewart is a writer of genius and brilliance’ —Hannah Kaner

‘Stewart’s worlds are some of the most exceptionally inventive in modern fantasy. A must read!’ —Shannon Chakraborty

‘THE GODS BELOW is as breathtaking as its magic system promises. Expect old gods, altered beings, magic stones, fighting, romance, and rollicking good fun. Stewart’s newest series cements her as a bright voice in the fantasy genre’ —L. R. Lam

‘This awe-inspiring trilogy-starter is everything fans of high fantasy have been looking for. Its characters are compelling, its world is vivid, new, and visceral’ —Booklist (starred review)

Andrea Stewart is the Chinese American daughter of immigrants, and was raised in a number of places across the United States. When her (admittedly ambitious) dreams of becoming a dragon slayer didn’t pan out, she instead turned to writing books. She now lives in sunny California.