Fiction:

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

A gun-slinging Wild West set in an Arabian desert featuring a plucky 16-year-old heroine who is determined to get out of her deadbeat town and make something of her life. This fantasy adventure for young adults has flickers of A Thousand and One Nights. Faber and Faber, February 4

The Ballroom by Anna Hope

Set in the hot summer of 1911, a doctor of an asylum decides it would be good for the male and female inmates to be brought together for a dance every Friday. This unusual love story also looks at how 100 years ago society treated people who were suffering from mental-­health issues. Doubleday, February 11

Thus Bad Begins: Javier Marías

Juan de Vere takes a job that will change his life. Eduardo is a famous film director, while his wife is an enigma. But who is Dr Jorge Van Vechten and what happened during the war? Tale of a marriage disintegrating and the long, toxic legacy of the Spanish Civil War. Penguin, February 25

Incarnations: India in 50 Lives by Sunil Khilnani

From movie star Raj Kapoor to the painter M F Husain, a look at the human side of the world's largest democracy. It accompanies a BBC radio series and explores the lives of warriors, poets, emperors and more. Allen Lane, February 25

The Morning They Came for Us by Janine di Giovanni

Personal accounts of innocent people jailed by the Syrian regime; stories of pool parties held by the elite while shelling goes on nearby; and the fate of everyone caught in the middle. A searing look at the Syrian catastrophe. Bloomsbury, Publishing February 25

Approaching Ali by Davis Miller

Fascinating look at Muhammad Ali after the ring. Miller turned up on Ali's doorstep in 1988 and so began an unlikely friendship. It also looks at an unseen side of the boxing great, such as showing inner-city children the sea for the first time. Norton, February 23