Good books gift guide: romance and contemporary

Books for fans of Rachel Joyce, Jodi Picoult and more

Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult (Hodder & Stoughton, R279.90)

Leaving Time's central character is Jenna Metcalf, who has never stopped thinking about her mother, Alice, who disappeared in the wake of a tragic accident. A scientist who studied grief among elephants, Alice wrote her research among the animals she so loved in Botswana. Desperate to find the truth, Jenna enlists Serenity Jones, a psychic who rose to fame finding missing persons - only to later doubt her gifts - and Virgil Stanhope, a jaded private detective.

The Woman Who Stole My Life by Marian Keyes (Michael Joseph, R279.90)

Stella Sweeney is an ordinary woman living an ordinary life with her husband, Ryan, and their two teenage kids in Dublin. But one day Stella is involved in a car accident and connects with a handsome stranger who is also involved. She hardly gives it much thought afterwards, but karma is hovering and is about to swoop in and change Stella's life. For better or worse. Suddenly Stella has a life - a thrilling and glamorous one.

Blood Magick by Nora Roberts (Little, Brown, R279.90)

If you have faithfully followed the tragedies and romances of the O'Dwyer clan, make sure you get this last one in the trilogy. County Mayo is rich in the traditions of Ireland, legends that Branna O'Dwyer fully embraces in her life. But there's a single missing link in the chain: love. She had it once - with Finbar Burke - but a shared future is forbidden. And though they succumb to the heat between them, there can be no promises for tomorrow.

Pegasus by Danielle Steel (Bantam Press, R289.90)

The centre of this latest Steel saga is a magnificent stallion. During World War 2, Nicolas von Bingen and Alex von Hemmerle, titled members of the German aristocracy, are best friends and widowers raising their children together. But Nicolas is forced to flee to America when it's discovered he has Jewish blood. The two friends are forced to make decisions that will change the rest of their lives, as well their children's.

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks (Little, Brown, R159.90)

Another best-selling romance from Sparks, which has also been made into a film. In 1984 in Oriental, North Carolina, high-school students Amanda and Dawson fall in love - but events tear them apart. Twenty-five years later, they're summoned back home for the funeral of their friend Tuck. As Amanda and Dawson carry out the instructions Tuck left behind for them, they realise that everything they thought they knew - about Tuck, themselves, and the dreams they held dear - was not as it seemed.

A Girl Walks into A Blind Date by Helena S Paige (Delta, R109.90)

First it was a bar, then it was a wedding, now the third Girl Walks In book is based on Internet dating - which, as anyone who has done it can attest, is basically a lottery. But in this book, you, dear reader, might just get lucky. Like the previous editions, this is also a choose-your-own-sexual-adventure and there are superhot men on offer: a rugged fireman in New York, an Italian count or a sculptor in Venice.

Us by David Nicholls (Hodder & Stoughton, R289.90)

For fans of One Day, this novel does not disappoint. Nicholls (pictured) tackles the bonds of marriage and the demands of parenthood. Douglas Petersen's son is about to leave for college - and his wife of 21 years is about to leave him. He resolves to make their last family holiday the trip of a lifetime - and a journey to gain back his wife's love and the respect of his son.

Tales of The Metric System by Imraan Coovadia (Umuzi, R249.90)

Coovadia's much anticipated new novel measures South Africa's recent history in 10 days. He links the lives of ordinary and extraordinary people, brilliantly illustrating seminal events on the nation's timeline. Beginning in 1970, when South Africa replaced the imperial system of measurement with the modern metric system, the book traces the anti-apartheid struggle, the rise of the post-1994 political elite, even the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The narrative finally returns to the seminal political year of 1976, with the shadow of repression and death looming large. Together the cast of characters - which includes white activists, an Indian rock guitarist, security policemen, members of the Black Consciousness Movement, a worker whose dompas has been stolen and a presidential spokesman - weave a compelling story of our complex history.

Watch the dark, unsettling trailer:

The Children Act by Ian McEwan (Jonathan Cape, R299.90)

 This latest novel from the master finds him exploring the world of law, specifically a judgment in the Family Court about the fate of a teenage boy. When his Jehovah's Witness parents refuse the boy a blood transfusion, the judge must decide whether to overrule their authority and force him to have the treatment. Her decision sparks a slow-burning drama that changes lives irrevocably.

The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce (Doubleday, R289.90)

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was one of the biggest word-of-mouth hits in recent years, selling upwards of two million copies. Rachel Joyce insisted that she wouldn't write a sequel but, she says, "there I was in the kitchen with my children when Queenie's story arrived, it came in a flash, fully dressed". She explains that it is more of a companion story than a sequel, "a book about dying that is full of life. You can't really write about one without the other".

Note: some books will be available in CNA stores from the end of November.