Gisèle Scanlon (HarperCollins, $39.99)
Scanlon's follow-up to her bestseller, The Goddess Guide (Trade Paperback, $24.99), pays homage to all her favourite things, from designer fashion to delectable food. In chatty diary-style entries, the Irish style guru explains how to find everything from an exclusive Parisian patisserie that releases two "collections" of sweets annually to a website where you can create your own customised tea. A treasure trove of ravishing illustrations and stylish secrets from around the world, The Goddess Experience is the perfect gift for serious fashionistas (that is, if you can resist the temptation to keep it for yourself).
Maggie Alderson (Michael Joseph, $32.95)
Amelia's husband, Ed, doesn't want children, which is a problem because she's becoming very clucky as she approaches 37. But help is at hand in the form of her glamorous best friend, Kiki, who's determined to see Amelia break free of her conservative life. There's snap and crackle, but no major pop in this fun - but fairly predictable - chick-lit read.
Tilar J Mazzeo (HarperCollins, $32.99)
Barbe Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin was a 27-year-old widow when she took over a struggling wine brokerage and transformed it into Veuve Clicquot - one of the most iconic champagne brands in the world. This inspiring 19th-century story charts her plucky rise to the top of a global business empire.
Anthony Capella (Sphere, $29.99)
It is 1895, and talentless poet Robert Wallis - who has just landed a job with a rich coffee merchant - finds his luck takes a turn for the better when he falls for Emily, his boss's free-spirited daughter. However, Robert is soon dispatched to Ethiopia - the birthplace of coffee - where he becomes obsessed with Fikre, a sultry African slave girl. Epic.
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