Asian Booklist: July 2025
Discover new books by British-Asian authors
Update from Kia
Hello,
Phew. Publication month is DONE. It has been a busy and glorious couple of weeks promoting What Happens in the Dark, one of the best thrillers of the year so far, according to the Times.
I did events with some brilliant writers and booksellers. I recorded interviews for podcasts including Coffee Break with Nadine Matheson, Read and Buried and Forthwrite (both out soon) and a Times Radio interview with the brilliant Ayesha Hazarika.
I wrote pieces for the Guardian and the Times. AND I managed to fit in a bunch of social stuff including dinner with my friend Serena, Eid with the family, movie night with my 5 sisters (and 4 of my nieces), and the launch party for Anat Deracine’s new novel, Algorithms of Betrayal.
July looks set to be super fun with six summer parties lined up (nine if you count work-ish parties at Harrogate). I find energy from being out in the world, so I’m really looking forward to it.
Those who read my January update will know that 2024 was a bruising year for me. This year will pose more challenges no doubt, but I’m grateful to have so many wonderful people and opportunities in my life.
All that’s left to say is if you haven’t bought a copy of What Happens in the Dark, then please do check it out.
Until next time.
Kia x
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Books out this month
3 July 2025
Unheard: The Medical Practice of Silencing
Have you ever felt unheard by your doctor? Been frustrated that they haven't understood your symptoms, that they have neglected your concerns? When Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan was admitted to hospital as a patient she didn’t receive the pain medication that she told them she needed, despite her being a senior doctor. It was in that moment she understood that something was deeply wrong with our healthcare system. Doctors aren’t listening, and it is making us ill. […]
3 July 2025
The Jackfruit Chronicles
From award-winning food writer and novelist Shahnaz Ahsan comes a heartfelt memoir: The Jackfruit Chronicles. With insight and love, Ahsan guides us through the vibrant flavours and captivating story of Bengali food and its place in Britain. Beginning with the arrival of her grandfather, Habib, in Manchester in the 1950s, this is a spellbinding journey not just through one family story, but also the broader tale of the Bangladeshi diaspora’s quest for a new life in Britain. […]
10 July 2025
A Thread of Light
London, 1941. As the city thrums with Blitz bombers, lonely air raid warden Ruby is drawn into the unfamiliar world of the India Forum, where a group of Londoners are working tirelessly to free India from British rule. Ruby has her own secret motives for joining the fight, but when she meets Satyajit, charming, aloof and potentially dangerous, she finds herself torn between head and heart. […]
17 July 2025
A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping
What if love is the best magic of all? A witch has a second chance to get her magical powers – and her life back on track in this feel-good, whimsical new cosy fantasy from the author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. Once, Sera Swan was one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost most of her powers, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her Guild. […]
17 July 2025
Who Will Remain
Amir has grown up in Alum Rock, Birmingham, under the care of his sensible older brother, Bilal, and his cousin Saqib, born just a few days before Amir. Alum Rock can be a troubled place, but Amir has managed to keep his head down, worked hard and stayed out of trouble... until now. When Saqib is killed in a gang fight and Bilal announces his engagement, Amir suddenly loses the two men who keep him grounded. Amir’s university grades are collapsing, he’s running out of money, and pressure mounts from every direction. […]
24 July 2025
Small Earthquakes: A Journey Through Lost British History in South America
Small Earthquakes uncovers the fascinating story of Britain’s forgotten connections with South America, from the Atacama Desert to Tierra del Fuego, Easter Island to South Georgia. Blending travel writing, history and reportage, award-winning journalist and author Shafik Meghji tells a tale of footballers and pirates, nitrate kings and wool barons, polar explorers and cowboys, missionaries and radical MPs. […]
Books out last month
12 June 2025
The Spoiled Heart
Nayan has fought hard to move on, losing himself in his political work, trying to make a better world. A fresh challenge arrives with newcomer Megha, who threatens not just his career ambitions, but his ideals. The Spoiled Heart is an explosive story of how a few words or a single action – to one person careless, to another, charged – can trigger a cascade of unimaginable consequences. […]
19 June 2025
What Happens in the Dark
Lily and Safa were best friends growing up. Now, Lily is the nation’s favourite breakfast TV presenter and Safa, once a renowned journalist, is reeling from a recent fall from grace. When news breaks about suspicious bruises on Lily’s body, Safa attempts to rekindle their old friendship. But Lily claims the bruises are nothing to worry about. And then one night the police are called to Lily’s home. […]
19 June 2025
Blue Ruin
It’s the 1990s, and Jay is an artist tipped for greatness. Shortly after graduating from his London art school, a promising career is already taking shape before him. Despite the brutal end of his intense relationship with Alice, his great love, he's destined to make his mark on the world as one of the most brilliant young creatives of the last century. Everyone is going to remember his name… It’s 2020, and Jay lives out of his car, working as a delivery driver in wealthy upstate New York. […]
19 June 2025
This Is Fine
It might not be the stuff of dreams, but Padma and Wallace have spent 10 years building a relationship that feels... fine. Until Wallace gives Padma an ultimatum about starting a family she's not sure she even wants. Padma's 15-year-old niece Myra is reaching her own crisis point. When she falls in with the wrong crowd and her life ends up in danger, it's the final straw for her parents. Now Padma will spend the summer with her niece – in a ramshackle, ivy-clad house on the Kent clifftops – running a DIY rehab of sorts. […]
19 June 2025
Determination
Jamila Shah is 29 and exhausted. An immigration solicitor tasked with running the precious family law firm, Jamila is prone to being woken in the middle of the night by frantic phone calls from clients on the cusp of deportation. Working under the shadow of the government's 'hostile environment', she constantly prays and hopes that their 'determinations' will result in her clients being allowed to stay. With no time for friends, family or even herself (never mind a needy partner), Jamila’s life feels hectic and out of control. […]
Books out last year
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