7 best new books this week: From The Help author's new novel to steamy cowboy romance

If you're looking for some hot new books to sink your teeth into, Radio Times has got you covered.

In this weekly list, we've compiled the best new releases that you're going to want to add to your TBR, including the latest novel from the author of The Help. The Calamity Club sees an immersive and expansive tale of some female friends where an act of defiance will have terrible consequences.

Similarly thought-provoking is Matt Haig's The Midnight Train, which sees a man take a trip down memory lane (quite literally) as he approaches death, only to be confronted with everything he would've changed once upon a lifetime ago.

For something completely different, you can't go far wrong with a good old romance story, packed with hot and steamy action, a "new book boyfriend" and plenty of twists. Fever Dream is the book for you, with the so-called "Queen of Cowboy Romance", Elsie Silver, telling the story of the excellently named Emmett Bush and his accidental journey of love.

Without further ado, read on for the best books released this week.

1. Hunger and Thirst– Claire Fuller (Fiction Reading, Radio 4)

It’s 1987 and 16-year-old Ursula finds herself with a job in the post room of a local art school after years of childhood trauma. All seems to be going well until she meets wild-child friend, Sue. As Sue's demands grow in extremity, Ursula, who only wants to be loved and liked, carries out a terrible dare for her friend with decades-long consequences. Thirty-six years later, Ursula is now a renowned artist living under a pseudonym, until she has her identity exposed by a true crime documentary-maker, forcing her to reconcile with the demons of her past to work out who she really is today.

Hunger & Thirst, Penguin Books Ltd, out now

2. Weimar – Katja Hoyer (Book of the Week, Radio 4)

The German city of Weimar holds an important place in the history of the country, both a site of democracy and dictatorship. It was home to some of history’s great thinkers, like Nietzsche, and gave its name to the ambitious Weimar Republic in the aftermath of World War One. It was also where fascism took hold. Hoyer displays a wealth of archival research to bring a story of a town and its people on the brink of catastrophe from 1919 to 1939 and tells the story of the folk who lived through the republic and Hitler’s regime.

Weimar, Penguin Books Ltd, out now

3. The Calamity Club – Kathryn Stockett

In 1933 Mississippi, 11-year-old Meg Lefleur fights every day to keep going after her mother failed to return home one Christmas. Her fortunes take a turn when she meets Birdie, a woman determined to improve things for Meg, but in turn, Birdie’s life may have been built on lies. When another woman haunted by loss comes into the fray, the women find unexpected kinship among darkness, in a town packed with hypocrisy where one act of defiance has terrible consequences... This latest novel from the author of The Help is immersive and expansive from one of the greatest writers around today.

The Calamity Club, Penguin Books Ltd, published 21 May

4. The Midnight Train – Matt Haig

The author of The Midnight Library is back with another life-changing novel. In The Midnight Train, Wilbur’s life is flashing before his eyes, and he of course, turns to Maggie, the love of his life. When Wilbur finally approaches the end of his days, he is invited on a special train that can take him back to relive some of his most important moments – and he realises just how much he would change if he could. Haig’s thought-provoking novel will have everyone asking what they would do in the same position and encourages readers to live each day to the full.

The Midnight Train, Canongate Books, published 21 May

5. Take Me with You – Steven Rowley

Steven Rowley brings wit and emotion in this epic love story centred around Jesse del Ruth, a college professor who’s been abandoned by his husband, Norman, who disappeared into a strange beam of light. Jesse must try and understand where his partner went while piecing together a new life without him. Will he return? Or should Jesse take this as a chance to start a new life? Rowley’s heartwarming and poignant prose will have you laughing and crying as you learn to love his very real characters in an unusual setting.

Take Me with You, GP Putnam's Sons, published 19 May

6. Inheritance – Jane Park

Anne Kim is a New York lawyer and has built a career from being able to forget her past. However, when her father dies, she must return to her hometown for the funeral and uncovers a secret about her dad that changes everything. As she dives into letters her father wrote to his brother, she is transported back into her childhood in the 1980s and 1990s, where she recalls the struggles her parents faced as immigrants. Park’s Inheritance explores the immigrant experience, generational trauma and familial sacrifices in this bold and lingering novel.

Inheritance, Pegasus Books, published 21 May

7. Fever Dream – Elsie Silver

For something entirely different, you can’t go wrong with a good romance story – and no one really does it better than Elsie Silver, the so-called “Queen of Cowboy Romance”. Emmett Bush is a professional bull rider, and he needs a pay cheque to save his family farm from bankruptcy. While he isn’t looking for love, Romance Ranch seems like a good option to give him the financial boost he needs. His plans go up in smoke when he accidentally falls in love with someone consulting on the show rather than a contestant…

Fever Dream, Little Brown Book Group, published 19 May

For all the latest RT Book Club news, interviews, Q&As with the authors, reviews of previous books and more, visit The Radio Times Book Club.