Most Anticipated Book Releases for January 2024
From a Nostalgic trip back to the 90s to Greek Islands, January is full of must reads!
Where did 2023 go? I feel like I blinked, and it was over. In reflection, it was one of my best years of reading. Somehow, I magically made it through 58 books! Still not sure how that happened when I think about how busy and overwhelming the fall was for me and my family.
However, here we are. 2024! The year my son graduates high school and goes off to college. The year my daughter gets her driver’s license. I honestly don’t know which one is scarier. It is also the year of more books to add to my never ending TBR. I’m so excited to see what this year holds...the new authors I will discover, the new worlds I will visit, the new characters I will love and hate or love to hate!
Here is my top ten list of books coming out in January. I found it really difficult to narrow it down to just the top ten, so I have a top ten with a plus one and then the honorable mentions. Regardless of the list, there are plenty of releases, so you are bound to find something exciting to read.
What are you looking forward to? Did I miss anything? Leave me a comment and say hi!
Midnight by Amy McCulloch (January 2)
I feel that there are some really enticing thrillers coming out this month; this being one of them. What initially drew my interest was the setting - a cruise ship in Antarctica. I love the locked room trope, and find it one of the most terrifying environments for a thriller. BLURB: Olivia Campbell has always dreamed of spending a sunlit night on the frigid Antarctic continent. But as an actuary who assesses risk for a living, she never imagined she would have the chance. So when her career takes an unexpected detour, and her boyfriend—a high-powered art dealer with a taste for the finer things in life—decides to stage an ostentatious, career-making auction on a luxury liner to Antarctica, Olivia is thrilled. That is, until things start to feel a bit strange. In addition to the scores of wealthy patrons and potential buyers, they'll also be traveling alongside a small group of beleaguered employees of Pioneer Adventures—the company responsible for managing the ship—and their charismatic, divisive CEO. When the first bodies are discovered, it's easy enough for Olivia to write it off as a terrible accident. But as the situation heats up and the temperatures continue to plummet, she begins to wonder whether she might have booked a one-way ticket to her own demise.
Sky’s End by Marc Gregson (January 2)
This is one of the few fantasy books that made my list this month. There is great potential in the world building, and I am always intrigued by the competition type plot lines. We also typically see a lot of female MCs, and it’s nice to see a male MC in this one. I’m eager to see what the reception is when this book hits the shelves. BLURB: Exiled to live as a Low, sixteen-year-old Conrad refuses to become heir to his murderous uncle. But Meritocracy is a harsh and unforgiving rule on the floating island of Holmstead, and when his ailing mother is killed by monstrous gorgantauns, Conrad cuts a deal to save the only family he has left. To rescue his sister from his uncle's clutches, Conrad must enter the Selection of the Twelve Trades. Hunter, the deadliest of all the Trades, gains a fresh recruit with Conrad. Now he must endure vigorous training, manipulative peers, and the Gauntlet—a brutal final test that yields riches and status to whichever skyship crew kills the most gorgantauns. Forced to serve in the lowest of stations and unseen by all, Conrad overhears whispers of rebellion in the dark. Conrad had never known anything existed below the toxic black clouds of the Skylands . . . until now.
Argylle by Elly Conway (January 9)
I first learned about this book when I saw the trailer for the movie based on it. How is there a movie based on a book that’s not even out yet when I am waiting for about 23 adaptions to be made!?!? Argylle is a troubled agent who must pair up with CIA spymaster to save the world. Well, that’s the watered down version. Still, I love the globe crossing, high energy missions that have more layers than an onion! BLURB: A luxury train speeding towards Moscow and a date with destiny. A CIA plane downed in the jungles of the Golden Triangle. A Nazi hoard entombed in the remote mountains of South-West Poland. A missing treasure, the eighth wonder of the world, lost for seven decades. One Russian magnate's dream of restoring a nation to greatness has set in motion a chain of events which will take the world to the brink of chaos. Only Frances Coffey, the CIA's most legendary spymaster, can prevent it. But to do so, she needs someone special. Enter Argylle, a troubled agent with a tarnished past who may just have the skills to take on one of the most powerful men in the world. If only he can save himself first...
The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan (January 9)
There is just so much about this one that jumped out at me. I love the setting and the idea that story revolves around a tragedy that occurred 100 years ago. I feel like I should be waiting until October to read it! BLURB: Akbar Manzil was once a grand estate off the coast of South Africa. Nearly a century later, it stands in ruins: an isolated boarding house for eclectic misfits, seeking solely to disappear into the mansion’s dark corridors. Except for Sana. Unlike the others, she is curious and questioning and finds herself irresistibly drawn to the history of the mansion: To the eerie and forgotten East Wing, home to a clutter of broken and abandoned objects—and to the door at its end, locked for decades. Behind the door is a bedroom frozen in time and a worn diary that whispers of a dark past: the long-forgotten story of a young woman named Meena, who died there tragically a hundred years ago. Watching Sana from the room’s shadows is a besotted, grieving djinn, an invisible spirit who has haunted the mansion since her mysterious death. Obsessed with Meena’s story, and unaware of the creature that follows her, Sana digs into the past like fingers into a wound, dredging up old and terrible secrets that will change the lives of everyone living and dead at Akbar Manzil. Sublime, heart-wrenching, and lyrically stunning, The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years is a haunting, a love story, and a mystery, all twined beautifully into one young girl’s search for belonging.
Recipe for a Charmed Life by Rachel Linden (January 9)
A sweet, heartwarming story about a chef who randomly, one day loses her sense of taste. Clearly, that could put a damper on her gaining her dream job in Paris. I love foodie books, and books that revolve around family. This has them both. BLURB: American chef Georgia May Jackson has one goal—to run her own restaurant in Paris. After a grueling decade working in Parisian kitchens, she is on the cusp of success. But in one disastrous night, Georgia loses her sous-chef position, her French boyfriend, and her sense of taste! Renowned for her refined palate and daring use of bold flavors to create remarkable dishes, Georgia is devastated to discover her culinary gift has simply...vanished. When she receives a surprising invitation from her estranged mother, Georgia flees to a small island near Seattle hoping the visit will help her regain her spark in the kitchen. As she tentatively reconnects with her mom, a free-spirited hippie eager to make up for her past mistakes, Georgia realizes there is something about the enigmatic island she just cannot piece together. Good luck charms start appearing in the oddest places. Her neighbor is a puzzlingly antagonistic (and annoyingly handsome) oyster farmer. And her mom keeps hinting at a mysterious family legacy. With the clock ticking and time running out to win her dream job in Paris, Georgia begins to unravel some astonishing secrets that make her wonder if the true recipe for a charmed life might look—and taste—very different than she ever imagined.
The Fury by Alex Michaelides (January 16)
This little gem has been floating around bookstagram for a couple months now as people have been reading ARC copies. I don’t read a ton of thrillers, but I love them when they are intriguing, done well, and not formulaic. Plus, as mentioned earlier, I’m a sucker for locked-room plots and here we go again. The Greek island setting is also perfect. Naturally, I can’t really think of a good reason not to look forward to this one. BLURB: This is a tale of murder. Or maybe that’s not quite true. At its heart, it’s a love story, isn’t it? Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex–movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island. I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time ― it caused a real stir in the tabloids, if you remember. It had all the necessary ingredients for a press sensation: a celebrity; a private island cut off by the wind…and a murder. We found ourselves trapped there overnight. Our old friendships concealed hatred and a desire for revenge. What followed was a game of cat and mouse ― a battle of wits, full of twists and turns, building to an unforgettable climax. The night ended in violence and death, as one of us was found murdered.
Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherworlds by Hannah Fawcett (January 16)
As a sequel to a book I haven’t read, it’s unusual to be in my top ten, but I’m so intrigued and interested in the series in general. As soon as I read the words “curmudgeonly professor,” I knew I had to get to know this Emily character. I have a million series I need to finish, but I’m determined to start this one in 2024. BLURB: Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore who just wrote the world’s first comprehensive encyclopedia of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Ones on her adventures . . . and also from her fellow scholar and former rival Wendell Bambleby. Because Bambleby is more than infuriatingly charming. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother and in search of a door back to his realm. And despite Emily’s feelings for Bambleby, she’s not ready to accept his proposal of marriage: Loving one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and dangers. She also has a new project to focus on: a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by his mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambleby’s realm and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans. But with new relationships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors and of her own heart.
Light of the Fire by Sarahlyn Bruck (January 23)
This is a must for my list. We welcome Sarahlyn to our podcast later in 2024 to discuss this book. I’m really excited to read it when we get a little closer to our interview. As a soccer mom, I am also secretly excited knowing there will be some soccer references. BLURB: Twenty years ago, an out-of-control prank ended in an accident that destroyed the high school gym and threatened the futures of star athletes Beth and Ally. They move on with their lives carrying their secret while someone else is blamed, but the years reveal that no one truly comes out unscathed. Now, both women are at a crossroads: Beth returns to her hometown after a concussion ends her professional soccer career, and a surprise pregnancy disrupts Ally’s idyllic family. The only thing either of them are sure of is their desire to mend their estranged relationship. But the old friends aren’t just battling new problems when their former classmate Jordan begins to investigate the crime for which his father was convicted. As their secret comes back around to threaten their futures once more, Beth and Ally will have to decide whether to run away from the truth again or face it once and for all.
The Mysterious Case of Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett (January 23)
A fiction book revolving around a true crime journalist and a rival trying to break the story about a girl and a cult. Sign me up! I’m thinking this might be a re-release since there are already over 1200 Amazon reviews. But, it matters not! I’m still leaving it here as it is a new to me book! :) BLURB: Everyone knows the story of the Alperton Angels: the cult who brainwashed a teenage girl into believing her baby was the anti-Christ. When the girl came to her senses and called the police, the Angels committed suicide and mother and baby disappeared. Now, true crime author Amanda Bailey is looking to revive her career by writing a book on the case. The Alperton baby has turned eighteen; finding them will be the scoop of the year. But rival author Oliver Menzies is just as smart, better connected, and also on the baby’s trail. As Amanda and Oliver are forced to collaborate, they realize that the truth about the Angels is much darker and stranger than they’d ever imagined, and in pursuit of the story they risk becoming part of it.
Midnight on Beacon Street by EMily Ruth Verona (January 30)
This is the classic 90s babysitter horror movie in a modern book format. It’s like my life, minus the horror part. The 90s nostalgia is probably the most exciting part for me. I really, really want to read this one. BLURB: October 1993. One night. One house. One dead body. When single mom Eleanor Mazinski goes out for a much-needed date night, she leaves her two young children—sweet, innocent six-year-old Ben and precocious, defiant twelve-year-old Mira—in the capable hands of their sitter, Amy. The quiet seventeen-year-old is good at looking after children, despite her anxiety disorder. She also loves movies, especially horror flicks. Amy likes their predictability; it calms the panic that threatens to overwhelm her. The evening starts out normally enough, with games, pizza, and dancing. But as darkness falls, events in this quaint suburban New Jersey house take a terrifying turn—unexpected visitors at the door, mysterious phone calls, and by midnight, little Ben is in the kitchen standing in a pool of blood, with a dead body at his feet. In this dazzling debut novel, Emily Ruth Verona moves back and forth in time, ratcheting up suspense and tension on every page. Chock-full of nods to classic horror films of the seventies and eighties, Midnight on Beacon Street is a gripping thriller full of electrifying twists and a heartwarming tale of fear and devotion that explores our terrors and the lengths we’ll go to keep our loved ones safe.
Plus One:
The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins (January 9)
I got to read this one as an ARC back in late summer. It was my first Rachel Hawkins’ book, and I really enjoyed it. It’s a great little family mystery with some interesting twists along the way. BLURB: When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge Mountains. But in the aftermath of her death, her adopted son, Camden, wants little to do with the house or the money―and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past. Ten years later, his uncle’s death pulls Cam and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but the legacy of Ruby is inescapable.
So, that’s my list. I’m surprised that there are so few fantasy books on the list this month. I get that one of the biggest releases of the month is a fantasy and isn’t in my top 10, but I haven’t read any of SJM’s books. With that said, these are the honorable mention books that I’m sure will be popular releases this month:
Mercury by Amy Jo Burns (January 2)
Ok, Cupid by Mason Deaver (January 2)
Pizza and Taco: Wrestling Mania by Stephen Shaskan ( (January 2)
So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole (January 16)
The Curse of Pietro Houdini by Derek B. Miller (January 16)
Only if You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham (January 16)
Family, Family by Laurie Frankel (January 23)
The Clinic by Cate Quinn (January 23)
No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall (January 23)
Clover Hendry’s Day Off by Beth Morrey (January 30)
House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J Maas (January 30)
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