After the barnstorming success of Babel, Rebecca F Kuang set herself a near-impossible task in tackling a follow-up but in Yellowface she has created a masterpiece in its own right. As unputdownable as it is wickedly funny, Kuang’s pin-sharp thriller of the machinations of the publishing world is a novel to gobble up in one, breathless sitting.

A game-changer in the history of human evolutionary biology, Eve delivers a punchy, readable and revolutionary take, peppered with references as wide-ranging as they are fascinating. American author and academic, Cat Bohannon has written a book that deserves a place on every bookshelf, shedding light not only on how we came to be, but also on what needs to change about how female bodies are studied, cared-for and included.

To write a stand-out fantasy children’s novel that feels fresh, exciting and genuinely new takes some doing but in Impossible Creatures Katherine Rundell has gone one step further and created a modern classic. Telling the story of a boy and girl from different worlds, each caught-up in a perilous adventure of hidden portals, an urgent quest and - of course – a host of impossible mythical creatures, this is a treat for children and adults alike. Read it and lose yourself in the magic.