What do women really want from men? I delved into romantasy and found a good few clues
In these novels, the heroes are – to borrow a term from the fandom – cinnamon rolls: soft-hearted, sweet and, yes, delicious, says writer Max Fletcher
‘Taut’, ‘extraordinary delight’, ‘absolutely bonkers’: the best Australian books out in March
Each month Guardian Australia editors and critics pick the upcoming titles they have already devoured – or can’t wait to get their hands on
The best recent science fiction and fantasy – review roundup
The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica; Dissolution by Nicholas Binge; The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar; When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi; The Foot on the Crown by Christopher Fowler
Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa review – favours for furikake
The narrator muses on everything from pornography to David Lynch, in this gloriously transgressive debut from Japan
Jennifer Johnston obituary
Prizewinning author who wrote elliptical, needle-sharp novels about family, Irish history and the Troubles
Time Together by Luke Horton review – old friends, new tensions in this compelling study of middle age
A beach holiday is narrated by four different characters as they struggle to slough off their personal ghosts
Flesh by David Szalay review – brilliantly spare portrait of a man
From youthful curiosity to midlife resignation, the protagonist is buffeted by forces beyond his control in this thrilling exploration of what it means to be alive
The Antidote by Karen Russell review – a magical realist Dust Bowl tale
A ‘prairie witch’ who can remove unwanted memories is at the centre of this 1930s-set parable about climate refugees, amnesia and the ethnic cleansing of Native peoples
Women’s prize for fiction reveals longlist ‘overflowing with compelling stories’
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Miranda July and Elizabeth Strout are among the 16 writers in contention for the £30,000 prize
The Chimamanda effect: Nigerians’ delight at first novel in a decade from their beloved daughter
‘Rock star’ author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Dream Count has been hotly anticipated by her fans
The Cafe With No Name by Robert Seethaler review – a cup of tea and a slice of life
A humble neighbourhood eatery in Vienna is the hub for a moving exploration of everyday urban existence in a new novel by the International Booker-shortlisted Austrian author
Madeleine Watts: ‘Climate change should be in everyone’s writing right now’
In her second novel Elegy, Southwest, the Australian author writes into the climate crisis from a millennial perspective with a mixed sense of melancholy and hope
Soft Core by Brittany Newell review – highly strung strippers and cranky madams
The writer’s impressive second novel about an erotic dancer and newbie dominatrix straddles thriller and satire in its depiction of desire and longing
Dark Like Under by Alice Chadwick review – the kids aren’t all right
Against a backdrop of Thatcher and the Falklands, this sharp debut punctures the facade of life at a middle-England grammar school
In brief: The Curious Life of the Cuckoo; The Dream Hotel; The Rising Down – review
An extensive hymn of praise to a springtime songbird; a gripping tale of a none-too-distant dystopia; and a history of the land and people of a small part of Sussex