Arno, Andron, Berling, Calluna, LTC Cloister, Erato; … Novel/Novel Sans … –?

http://new.myfonts.com/search/tag%3Avenetian/fonts/

I’ve heard good rumors about Bliss. Also, P22’s Underground Pro is a true gem. Dutch, but a little less expensive: Ourtype

Paula, an indication of your budget could be useful - there are many contemporary serif (and sans to pair with) typefaces that could work well in book environment, and knowing - approximately - how much you may spend could be a starting point. Moreover, how much do you want to differ from Minion? Are you after an historically inspired font or a more original interpretation?

Thanks a lot.

Our budget is 400 euros per item (roman, italic, bold, bold italic)

Minion works fatally well!
Weight, purity, legible, perfect italics, etc.
Is just that we need a second choice (we use Ehrhadt, Janson, Joanna, etc) but we want a new one.
Collis sounds very interesting...

With a budget like that I guess you'll be able to license some very nice typeface families. Here are some suggestions:

Athelas by José Scaglione

Sabon Next by J. F. Porchez

Lyon Text by Kai Bernau

Fresco by Kai Bernau

And I can't forget to mention Cycles, by Sumner Stone, a great typeface performing well in book environment, which is available by contacting him.

Fresco is by Fred Smeijers, not Kai Bernau. (I’m sure Nicola knows that and just mis-typed.)

I like to think of Whitman as a nice alternative to Joanna. (More info and specimen also here.)

Yep! I cut and pasted the wrong text. And I endorse Kent Lew's excellent Whitman, one of the best typeface I've ever used - and much more than an alternative to Joanna.

With such a budget, by the way, one could even afford some weights of, say, Lexicon by Bran De Does - a typesetter's dream come true.

Cycles is an really great typeface, I have to say I am very content with it. I obtained it, when it was still under the normal license and it is to me a really perfect balanced serif font for extended text. It has a classic, old style inspired, appearance, a reasonable proportioned x-height, and the letters seem to harmonize well on a page. It does not have any too fancy features, as some old-style revivals or interpretations have (Garamond Premiere, Arno for example – they are beautiful, but a different category). Yet it is not as cold and sterile as some other typefaces are, like Times New Roman or according to some maybe even Sabon. I have to say I find it hard to find a classic looking text-face that would compete.

Having said that, I can only say that I have no experience how any font would behave in a professional environment, as I am not working in such. Although I printed with Cycles in ink, laser and offset, I am not the person who could evaluate its performance in a way that would matter to you.

Personally I like as well: Andron (which has similar qualities to the mentioned cycles, but an almost universal character-set, on the other hand no optical sizing variations, like cycles), Lyon, Rawlinson and Edita. All are a bit wider set than Minion, which I find a tad to condensed and tight.

If you publish as well in the German, Swedish, Brasilian or other language markets with diacritic marks, then have a look at this issue before you decide on a typeface:
http://typophile.com/node/40439
The before mentioned typefaces in my post all avoid this problem.

I'm not sure what you are looking for, but as you mention the new Bembo, I assume that's Bembo book, you might have a look at Williams Caslon Text. It is also intended to capture the look of a classic metal font, in this case the "dark but open" look that Caslon, well printed in metal, had. I just recently went through the exercise of comparing it and Minion as far as economy. I was pleasantly surprised that used somewhat smaller size, it could match Minion in economy. Because it is a little wider, lighter, and a little looser spaced, it is equally as readable at the smaller size—well, more readable, but I am prejudiced.

If you are looking for a clean and modern look, I am also a huge fan of Whitman.

In addition to what William said, his Caslon also works very well under the conditions in the mentioned thread http://typophile.com/node/40439 judging by the font preview on the web site.