8 books to add to your spring reading list
BY Maya Fernandes
2nd Apr 2026
Ahead of the Easter bank holiday weekend, we've gathered a selection of brilliant recent releases from our talented alumni. Whether you’re out in the sunshine or savouring a quiet long weekend at home, there’s something here for every reader – from heartfelt family stories to richly imagined fantastical worlds.
Gloria Don't Speak by Lucy Apps
Heart-breaking and beautiful, Gloria Don't Speak is an insightful portrait of a woman dealing with vulnerability, violence – and the desire for connection.
Nineteen-year-old Gloria, a young woman with a learning disability, spends her days wandering local parks, searching for company and trying to stay out of trouble. Jack needs Gloria's company, but he’s unpredictable and angry at the world. After an act of violence, their friendship has to end. When word spreads that Jack has been released from prison, Gloria’s world begins to fracture, and the past threatens to resurface.
Lucy was a student on our London Writing Your Novel – Six Months course in 2017. Read our interview with Lucy here.
Gloria Don't Speak is longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2026 – out now.
We Call Them Witches by India-Rose Bower
A spellbinding debut of horror and desire, We Call Them Witches draws on Pagan folklore to conjure a post‑apocalyptic world stalked by ravenous eldritch beings.
In the ruins of civilization, Sara and her family survive by clinging to ancient rituals – the only force that seems to hold the creatures at bay. When a mysterious young woman named Parsley appears, Sara finds herself drawn towards her. But when Sara’s brother is taken, they must cross a landscape steeped in terror and loss, and Sara is forced to question whether trust is a risk she can afford in a world where humanity itself is vanishing.
India studied on our Discoveries Writing Development course after her debut was longlisted for the Discoveries Prize in 2023. Read our interview with India here.
We Call Them Witches is out now.
Belgrave Road by Manish Chauhan
Belgrave Road is a modern tale of love blossoming in unlikely circumstances, for fans of Colm Tóibín and Monica Ali.
Mira’s days are filled with duty and little freedom. In a new country, living with a husband she barely knows, she longs to discover all that her life in England might offer. Then there’s Tahliil: quiet, beautiful, and full of questions – the first person in this unfamiliar world who truly listens to her hopes and dreams.
Bound by duty and the homes they are trying to build, Mira and Tahliil must navigate turbulent waters. Can they find a way to be together, and will finding each other set them free?
Manish was a student on our Writing Your Novel – Three Months course in 2019 and our Writing TV Drama – Three Months course in 2022. Read our interview with Manish here.
Belgrave Road is out now.
The Last Starborn Seer by Venetia Constantine
The Last Starborn Seer was an instant Sunday Times bestseller! It is a thrilling debut from an exciting new voice in romantasy, for fans of love triangles, epic quests and intricate worldbuilding.
Leilani Stellarion is cursed. The last of her bloodline, she is shunned for her volatile Starborn magic and blamed for the Sickening that fractured the realms of Arcelia. When her mother’s health declines and a forced marriage looms, Leilani seizes a chance to reclaim her fate through a prophecy that promises a relic capable of ending the curse.
Hunted by a vengeful spectre and haunted by her magic, Leilani must decide what she's willing to sacrifice in the name of redemption – before her powers consume her.
Venetia was a student on our Edit & Pitch Your Novel in 2019 and Writing YA & Children’s Fiction – Three Months course in 2020. Read our interview with Venetia here.
We're so excited for Venetia to be a masterclass speaker on our upcoming Writing Fantasy course (alongside her editor Aubrie Artiano, Editorial Director at Aria, Head of Zeus). Find out more and apply by 20 April.
The Last Starborn Seer is out now.
Inconceivable by Rebecca Coxon
Inconceivable is a timeless memoir about our place in history and the universe – and a love letter to family in all its forms.
When Rebecca Coxon uploaded her genetic data to an ancestry website, she never imagined it would unravel the very story of who she was. The results set off a chain reaction of revelations, beginning with the discovery that her father was not, in fact, her biological parent.
In this deeply personal memoir, Rebecca, a donor‑conceived IVF triplet who has both donated her eggs and undergone fertility treatment herself, traces the web of secrets, shame and resilience that shaped her life.
Rebecca was a student on our Writing a Memoir course in 2022. Read our interview with Rebecca here.
Inconceivable is out now.
Family Drama by Rebecca Fallon
Family Drama is a story of love, legacy and ambition, for fans of Ann Napolitano and Celeste Ng.
It's the 1990s. Susan Bliss is trying to make it all work. In LA, she’s a rising star with big hair and tight jeans, smouldering on the nation’s favourite TV drama. But in quiet New England, she’s a wife and mother of twins, trying to keep her family on track.
It's the 2000s. As Susan's children grow up in the shadow of her all-consuming absence, Sebastian clings to her memory, while Viola wrestles with resentment and longing. When Viola meets her mother’s former co-star, Orson Grey, the fragments of Susan’s complicated life begin to fall into place.
Everyone has their family secrets, but what happens when you aren't there to tell your story?
Rebecca was a student on our London Writing Your Novel – Three Months course in 2019. Read our interview with Rebecca here.
Family Drama is out now.
The Barbecue at No.9 by Jennie Godfrey
Witty, tender, and sharply observed, The Barbecue at No. 9 explores the fragile ties of family and friendship, and the shared humanity beneath them.
Set over twelve hours in the summer of 1985, The Barbecue at No. 9 brings the residents of Delmont Close together to watch Live Aid – a day that will quietly change all their lives. At number nine, Lydia Gordon is determined to host the perfect gathering. But as neighbours arrive, long‑buried secrets begin to surface: Rita, newly arrived from Australia, is shadowed by her past; Steve, a young Falklands veteran, struggles with unseen wounds; and Lydia’s daughter Hanna is on the brink of revealing a truth that could upend everything.
Jennie studied on several of our online courses, including our How to Write Your Novel series and our online Writing Your Novel – Three Months course in 2020. Read our interview with Jennie here.
The Barbecue at No.9 is out now.
We're excited to be hosting an event with Jennie later this month! Join us for a lively evening on Zoom in which Jennie will discuss the inspiration behind The Barbecue at No. 9 and her major bestselling debut The List of Suspicious Things, her writing process and the things she learnt during her time studying with us.
A Sociopath’s Guide to a Successful Marriage by M.K. Oliver
A Sociopath’s Guide to a Successful Marriage is a whip-smart, darkly funny thriller for fans of My Sister, the Serial Killer and The Maid.
Meet Lalla Rook. Lalla has a lot on her plate: she needs to guarantee her husband makes partner, secure her dream house in Hampstead and get her daughter into a prestigious prep school. And on the afternoon she stabs a stranger seven times after he breaks into her living room, she has a four-year-old’s birthday party to host.
Funny, calculating and ambitious, Lalla is your next favourite antiheroine. Just don’t mention it to her mother-in-law.
M.K. Oliver was a student on our Writing a Psychological Thriller course in 2022 and our Writing Crime & Thrillers – Advanced course in 2023. Read our interview with M.K Oliver here.
A Sociopath's Guide to a Successful Marriage is out now.
The books linked in this blog can be found on our Bookshop.org shop front. Curtis Brown Creative receive 10% whenever someone buys from our bookshop.org page.