The new official TOEFL books have now had their release dates (per Amazon) pushed back to February again. As a value-minded consumer, I might just wait for the three-book bundle, which has an April release date.
Meanwhile, I recently wrote a review of “IELTS 17.” It’s great that people preparing for the IELTS have seventeen different test collections to study from (though they ought to focus on numbers 6 and above as they more closely match the current version of the test).
One nice feature of the IELTS books is that readers can download necessary audio files simply by scanning the QR codes found throughout the book. Readers don’t need to input a limited-use download code to get the files. This means that people who get the books from their local library don’t have a problem accessing the audio.
In contrast, the audio accompanying the official TOEFL books can only be accessed via a limited-use download code. As a result, they aren’t as useful for library users as they could be.