At the start of the year, I often take an interest in the books coming out over the next 12 months. I usually end up buying a bunch, reading a selection, and finding myself no longer interested in the rest. But, for now, here are the ones that have caught my attention for one reason or another. There’s 32 in total and there’s something for everyone. Books marked with *** are the ones I’m most excited for.
1. The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan (January 9)
Start the year off strong with Reese Witherspoon’s January 2025 book club pick. Cate Kay is the most famous author on the planet, but nobody knows her real name. Anna Marie Callahan is known only to the people she left behind–and there’s no one around to connect the dots anymore between the girl who ran away and the famous novelist. If you asked, she’d say her name was Cass Ford. Three names, three lives. But Cate Kay is finally ready to tell you who she is, and once the truth is out, will everyone’s favourite novelist hold onto her place in our hearts, or are some betrayals impossible to forgive? The Three Lives of Cate Kay is a multi-layered novel which explores the cost of ambition, the longs of first (and second) love, and how it’s never too late to go home.
2. City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim (January 9)
Prima ballerina Natalia Leanova was once celebrated across the world–but at the top of her career, an accident forces her into sudden retirement. Injured and alone, she turns to pills to numb the pain of her past, still haunted by her relationship with gifted dancers Dimitri and Alexander. Both men were responsible for her soaring highs and darkest hours, playing their part in her downfall. So when Dimitri resurfaces with a tantalising offer for Natalia, she must decide what she is willing to sacrifice in order to dance again–for the chance to return to the great love of her life. City of Night Birds paints a vivid portrait of a world in which ruthless ambition, desire, and sublime artistry collide. A Reese Witherspoon book club pick in December 2024.)
3. The Favourites by Layne Fargo (January 16)***
Katarina Shaw has always known she’s destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating–and each other–to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating fans with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style, and rollercoaster relationship. Until, at the Olympic Games, a shocking incident instantly destroys their partnership. Ten years later, an unauthorised tell-all documentary reignites public interest in Shaw and Rocha. Forced to tell her story, Kat’s account of her dramatic rise and fall alternates with scandalous interviews from the film in another exploration of a life dedicated to a cutthroat, competitive sport.
4. And He Shall Appear by Kate van der Borgh (January 16)***
Hailed as a gothic masterpiece, And He Shall Appear is for fans of The Secret History and Saltburn. When a young man arrives in Cambridge as a first-year student, he finds himself an outsider. There’s the punting and the politics, the wine and the waistcoats, all familiar to everyone to him. But then he falls under the spell of the magnetic Bryn Cavendish, a notorious party boy and skilled magician. To be in his circle is to revel in the clouds of ecstasy, untouched by the rules. To be exiled to haunt the peripheries of campus life like a ghost. As the academic year intensifies and Bryn’s magic tricks become more sinister, the unnamed narrator wonders if Bryn’s charisma is the source of his influence, or if he wields a much darker and more dangerous power.
5. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix (January 19)
While I find that Grady Hendrix’s writing, plotting, and characterisation often grows boring, that man certainly knows how to create an intriguing premise. In the sweltering summer of 1970, 15-year-old Fern arrives in Florida, pregnant and alone. She’s to stay at Wellwood House, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, give them up for adoption, and pretend the whole thing never happened. There, under a strict regime, Fern meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. But everything changes when a librarian gives Fern an occult book about witchcraft, allowing the girls to feel power for the first time in their lives… but it comes at a cost.
6. Sweat by Emma Healey (January 30)
All Liam ever wanted was to help Cassie reach her full potential; exercise, determination, being the optimum versions of themselves together forever. And Liam always knew what was best. Nothing could break their intense love for one another, not Liam’s obsessive desire for physical perfection or his relentless control of every aspect of Cassie’s life. Until the day he pushes Cassie far beyond her limits and she walks away from their toxic relationship for good. Two years on and Cassie is stronger, fitter, and healthier than ever before. And then she sees him–those green eyes, those stirring muscles. Something inside her flips. But Cassie holds the power now, and it’s Liam’s turn to sweat. Sweat is a psychological thriller about revenge, self-discipline, and control which many are describing as tense and unsettling.
7. Death Upon a Star (An Evelyn Galloway Mystery #1) by Amy Patricia Meade (February 4)
It’s 1939 and Evelyn Galloway can’t believe her luck! On her first day in Los Angeles, she lands her dream job of script supervisor on Hitchcock’s adaptation of Rebecca. But her good fortune quickly changes when a legendary actor cancels their lunch the following day and is found murdered at home. Evelyn realises she could be a witness to the crime. Who was the man looking upset in the gazebo? And why was movie starlet Madeleine Nabors running wildly away from the scene? When the tabloid reports contradict what Evelyn saw with her own eyes, She soon finds herself pitted against powerful studio bosses and unethical journalists as she races to uncover the truth.
8. Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito (February 13)***
When Winifred Notty arrives at Esnor House, she is prepared to play the perfect Victorian governess, dutifully tutoring and caring for her charges, Drusilla and Andrew. But the longer Winifred stays within the estate’s dreary confines and the more she learns of the perversions and pathetic preoccupations of the Pounds family, the more trouble she has sticking to her plan. Whether creeping across the moonlit lawns in her undergarments or gently tormenting the house staff, Winifred struggles at every turn to stifle the horrific compulsions of her past. From the author of Mrs March, Victorian Psycho carries Virginia Feito’s signature sardonic wit while being gorgeously macabre. A24 has acquired the rights to adapt this novel into a psychological thriller starring Margaret Qualley and Thomasin McKenzie.
9. We Pretty Pieces of Flesh by Colwill Brown (February 20)***
Set in Doncaster and written entirely in Yorkshire dialect, We Pretty Pieces of Flesh tells the story of Rach, Shaz, and Kel, who have been best friends since childhood. Their friendship is as indestructible as they are, but when they grow up and away from one another, a long-festering secret threatens to rip the trio apart. Bringing to life Doncaster in the same vein as Trainspotting and Shuggie Bain did for Edinburgh and Glasgow, respectively, Colwill Brown takes you by the hand and leads you through Doncaster’s schoolyards, alleyways, and nightclubs, laying bare the intimate treacheries of adolescence and the ways we betray ourselves when we don’t trust our friends.
10. Autopsy (of an Ex-Teen Heartthrob): poems of rage, love, sex, and sadness by Avan Jogia (March 13)
Another celebrity poetry collection, from who? Avan Jogia grew up as a teen idol during the birth of the internet, the early days of Instagram and Twitter. He spent his time in that spotlight writing, observing the cult of celebrity, the hilarity, the absurdity, and sometimes sinister side of being idolised before you’ve even had the chance to decide who you are for yourself. In his most revealing and honest work to date, Autopsy is a book of poems serving as self-dissection. Jogia examines his relationship with ego, idolatry, love as an act of worship, rage as an act of prayer, and sadness as confession. He cuts himself open and exhumes a version of himself that looks like someone we all know: a person searching for the means to cure pain, mend the wounds of insecurity, and satiate cravings for love.
11. The Divine Flesh by Drew Huff (March 4)***
Jennifer Plummer and the Divine Flesh have exactly three things in common: 1) they’re trapped inside Jennifer’s body; 2) they despise each other; and 3) they’re in love with Daryl Plummer, Jennifer’s ex-husband. But when Jennifer takes an experimental drug to free herself from the Divine Flesh’s control, it only makes matters worse. Expelled from Jennifer’s body, the Divine Flesh can now “love” everyone in existence to death, which in this case, means being assimilated forever into the beast. It’s somehow up to Jennifer and Daryl to save the universe from complete and total destruction, but time is running out. Can a dysfunctional drug mule and an electrician from rural Idaho stop the cosmic abomination that is the Divine Flesh before it’s too late? Jennifer is willing to give it a go.
12. Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley (March 13)
Described as Daisy Jones and the Six meets One Day meets Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Deep Cuts has to contain a very special story for it to be advertised under these comparisons, and I’m not sure it’s going to live up to them–but it has potential. The first time Joe plays Percy one of his songs in his college room in 2000, she instantly realises three things: One, she is watching a star in the making. Two, she can shape his music into something extraordinary. Three, she will always be on the sidelines. She swallows her jealousy and throws herself into collaboration, transforming Joe’s songs into indie hits with her blistering critiques. But there’s an undercurrent to the music they’re making–something undeniably electric, hurtling towards love. And then, almost inevitably, towards heartbreak. As Joe steps into the spotlight, can Percy bear to watch on in silence? And can he exist there without her?
13. Sunrise on the Reaping: A Hunger Games Novel by Suzanne Collins (March 18)
In this prequel to The Hunger Games, Haymitch’s name is called in District 12 to take place in the 50th annual Hunger Games. This year, in honour of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes. Torn away from his family and his love, Haymitch is shuttled to the Capitol with three other tributes from District 12: a young friend who’s like a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight… and he wants that fight to reverberate far beyond the confines of the deadly arena. Sunrise on the Reaping is already being adapted for the screen with Mike Faist currently rumoured for the role of Haymitch.
14. Retreat by Krysten Ritter (March 25)***
More than seven years ago, actress Krysten Ritter stunned us all with her debut novel, Bonfire, and is now treating us to another thriller. Liz has always had a knack for charming people and gaining their trust. That’s what makes her such a talented con artist. But lately the pressure is rising and Liz’s past crimes have started snapping at her heels. So she leaps at the chance to escape to the Mexican coast to decorate a socialite’s new villa, planning to lie low, enjoy paradise, and behave herself for once. When Liz is mistaken for her absent employer, Isabelle, she can’t help getting drawn into the glamorous seafront community. But dangerous secrets lurk beneath the surface, and it’s not long before Liz realises that this time, she might be in over her head. Spoiler: It’s going to be carnage.
15. Sick to Death by Chris Bridges (March 27)
Emma is sick. She can’t work because of a neurological condition, so is stuck in her family’s tiny council house. Emma is sick of being told to ‘get over it.’ Her stepfather, her doctors, strangers–everyone has an opinion. Emma is sick of being the other woman. Her boyfriend Adam is perfect: he’s got a great job and an amazing home. His wife Celeste is the problem. Emma is sick of being underestimated. All she needed was a target and now she has Celeste. Emma is sick. Just not in the way you thought. This tense and gripping debut novel from Chris Bridges has been described as having a twist to rival Gone Girl, according to author Katy Brent.
16. The Coven Tendency by Zoe Hana Mikuta (April 1)
18-year-old Vanity Adams is destined to lead a lavish life under the patronship of the Museum, someday taking her mother’s place at its premiere necromantic Spectacle and the weekly soirees thrown for the City’s elite. But until that day, Vanity (and the other young witches of the Museum) is isolated from the outside world and purged of her magic as it is particularly unstable for teenagers, often leading to antisocial conduct, mood swings, bloodlust, and, most concerning, a habitual, violent obsession with one another. This is, Vanity thinks, better than being confined to the Sanatorium with the less fortunate witches, who are imprisoned in a chemically induced coma with their blood harvested to make World, the City’s favourite designer drug.
17. Sweet Fury by Sash Bischoff (April 3)
When does the acting stop and the deception begin? Famous film star Lila Crayne is America’s Sweetheart: she’s generous and kind, gorgeous and magnetic. A golden girl. She and her fiancé, visionary filmmaker Kurt Royall, have settled into a stunning New York apartment, and are embarking on a new movie: a modern feminist adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night. To prepare for the leading role, Lila begins working with Jonah Gabriel, a charming and accomplished therapist, to dig into the trauma of her past. Soon, Lila’s impeccably manicured life begins to unravel on the therapy couch–and Jonah is just the man to pick up the pieces. But everyone has a secret, no one is quite who they seem, and before long, careers, reputations, and lives are in danger of being irrevocably destroyed. Apparently, familiarity with Fitzgerald’s work is beneficial for this read.
18. Bitter Texas Honey by Ashley Whitaker (April 15)***
It’s 2011 and 23-year-old Joan West is not like the rest of her liberal peers in Austin, nor is she quite like her Tea Party Republican, God-loving family. She might listen to conservative talk radio on the way to and from her internship at the Capitol, but she was once an American-hating leftist who kissed girls at parties, refused to shave, and had plenty of emotionless sex with jazz school friends–that is until a drug-induced mania forced her to return to her senses. Above all, Joan is a writer–or at least she desperately wants to be. Always in search of inspiration for her next novel, she catalogues details of her relationships with men, her dysfunctional family, and her former muse/current arch nemesis, Roberto. But Joan’s worldview is cracked wide open when her credit card debt-racked cousin Wyatt finds himself in crisis and everything comes crashing down. This funny, whip-smart, and often tender novel has unforgettable and contradictory characters, and explores complex themes including addiction, politics, loss, and dysfunctional families.
19. Audition by Katie Kitamura (April 17)
Two people meet for lunch in a Manhattan restaurant. She’s an accomplished actress in rehearsals for an upcoming premiere. He’s attractive, troubling, and young—young enough to be her son. Who is he to her, and who is she to him? Challenging our preconceptions of love, art, and selfhood–even the very idea of how a novel should unfold–Audition presents two competing narratives which rewrite our understanding of the roles we play every day—partner, parent, creator, muse—and the truths every performance masks, especially from those who think they know us most intimately. “If the world’s a stage,” author Hernan Diaz says, “Kitamura reminds us that we never stop auditioning for our parts.”
20. Matriarch by Tina Knowles (April 22)
Tina Knowles, the mother of iconic singer-songwriters Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Solange Knowles, and bonus daughter Kelly Rowland, is known as Matriarch with a capital M: a determined, self-possessed, self-aware, and wise woman who raised and inspired some of the greatest artists of our time. But this story is about so much more than that. It’s about Tina’s life, a black girl growing up as the youngest of seven and dealing with the realities of race and the limitations of girlhood, and then going on to raise and nurture superstar daughters, including the formation of Destiny’s Child, amongst everything else life has dealt her. Matriarch is a page-turning chronicle of family love and heartbreak, of loss and perseverance, and the kind of creativity, audacity, and will it takes for a girl from Galveston, Texas, to change the world.
21. Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry (April 24)
While Emily Henry’s books need better titles, her popularity is still going strong. When Margaret Ives, the famously reclusive heiress, invites eternal optimist Alice Scott on the balmy Little Crescent Island, Alice knows this is it: her big break. The catch? Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud, Hayden Anderson, is sure of the same thing. The proposal? Alice and Hayden must compete during a one-month trial to unearth the truth behind one of the most scandalous families of the 20th century, after which Margaret will choose who’ll tell her story. The problem? Margaret is only giving each of them tantalising pieces they can’t put together because of an ironclad NDA. There’s also the inconvenient attraction growing between them every time they’re in the same room. Their idiotic romance better not get in the way of learning more about the heiress.
22. The Summer I Ate the Rich by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite (April 24)
Brielle Petitfour loves to cook. But with a chronically sick mother and bills to pay, becoming a chef isn’t exactly a realistic career path. When Brielle’s mother suddenly loses her job, Brielle steps in and uses her culinary skills to earn some extra money. The rich families who love her cooking praise her unique flavours and textures, which keeps everyone guessing what’s in Brielle’s dishes. The secret ingredient? Human flesh. This bone-chilling temporary young adult horror is inspired by Haitian zombie lore that scrutinises socioeconomic and racial inequality.
23. Made for You by Jenna Satterthwaite (April 29)
Synth Julia Walden was designed for one reason: to compete on The Proposal and claim the heart of bachelor Josh LaSala. Her casting is controversial, but Julia seems to get her fairy-tale ending when Josh gets down on one knee. Fast-forward fifteen months, and Julia and Josh are married and raising their baby in smalltown Indiana. But with haters around every corner, Julia’s life is a far cry from the domestic bliss she imagined. Then her world shatters: Josh goes missing, and she becomes the prime suspect in his murder. With no one left to trust, Julia takes the investigation into her own hands. But the explosive truth she uncovers will drive her to breaking point–and isn’t that where a person’s true nature is revealed? That is… if Julia truly is a person. Made For You is described as The Bachelor meets Black Mirror.
24. A Sharp Scratch by Heather Darwent (May 29)
Thoughts: We can fix you. It’s a promise that Betsy has heard far too many times. From the child psychologist, from her husband, and from the wellness trends that scream at her from her screen. So far, it’s been a lie. But this time, she believes it. Because Betsy has been offered a place at Carn—a luxurious, unorthodox retreat, where healing really is possible. At Carn, she discovers that her imperfections make her unique, not weak. She isn’t broken, just special. All Betsy has to do is follow the rules…
Thoughts: A dark and deliciously twisted new thriller about the dark underbelly of wellness culture. As someone who is always looking for something to “fix” me, I am eager to read a deeper exploration into our current wellness landscape which too many of us have fallen victim to. Surely something will fix me, right? Maybe it will be this book.
25. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid (June 3)
Set in the summer of 1980, astrophysics professor Joan Goodwin begins training to become an astronaut at Houston’s Johnson Space Center. Her fellow candidates include Top Gun pilots Hank Redmond and John Griffin; mission specialist Lydia Danes; warm-hearted Donna Fitzgerald; and the mysterious and magnetic aeronautical engineer, Vanessa Ford. During their training, Joan finds a passion and love she never imagined and begins to question everything she believes about her place in the observable universe. Then, on a mission in December 1984, everything changes in an instant. More lesbianism from Taylor Jenkins Reid will be a strong start to the summer.
26. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab (June 10)
Santo Domingo de la Calzada, 1532. London, 1837. Boston, 2019. Three young women, their bodies planted in the same soil, their stories tangling like roots. One grows high, one grows deep, and one grows wild. And all of them grow teeth. A very short but intriguing blurb. Alright then, V. E. Schwab, keep your secrets.
27. With a Vengeance by Riley Sager (June 12)
Summary: Riley Sager delivers his rendition of Murder on the Orient Express. In 1942, six people destroyed Anna Matheson’s family. Twelve years later, she’s ready for retribution. Under false pretences, Anna has lured those responsible for her family’s downfall onto a luxury train from Philadelphia to Chicago, an overnight journey of fourteen hours. Her goal? Confront the people who’ve wronged her, get them to confess their crimes, and deliver them into the hands of the authorities waiting at the end of the line. But Anna’s plan is quickly derailed by the murder of one of the passengers. Anna is forced to hunt the killer in their midst while protecting the people she hates the most.
28. Make Me Famous by Maud Ventura (June 19)***
Ever since she was a child, Cléo, the French-American daughter of two academics, had only one obsession: becoming a famous singer. Over the years, to everyone’s surprise but her own, she overcomes every obstacle and becomes a global superstar with millions of dollars, countless awards, and several Los Angeles villas to her name. But as any celebrity will tell you, getting to the top is one thing; staying there is another. Now 33, Cléo is taking her first real vacation in years, on a remote island away from people and the paparazzi, to work on her fourth album in peace—but she can’t help ruminating on her past, including how, just six months earlier, things started to go very, very wrong… Maud Ventura’s debut novel, My Husband, is an utterly intoxicating and hilarious read with phenomenal character work, so Make Me Famous–an addictive and intense deep dive into the machinations of one woman’s complicated mind and her relentless pursuit of fame–is sure to be the book of the summer.
29. Snotgirl Volume 4: Make It Make Sense! by Bryan Lee O’Malley and Todd McFarlane (June 24)***
Everyone’s favourite queer, messy girl with terrible allergies is black! Fashion disaster Lottie Person is finally dating the girl of her dreams, but is she ignoring red flags? Romance, mystery, and comedy collide in this thrilling continuation of Snotgirl. The artwork is so beautiful and the story is highly entertaining. There’s plenty of time to read volumes 1-3 before the new installment comes out this summer.
30. Havoc by Rebecca Wait (July 3)***
In this 1980s tragicomedy, 16-year-old Ida Campbell flees Scotland in the wake of family disgrace and secures a scholarship at a failing girls’ boarding school on a remote part of the south English coast. Despite the eccentricities of her new Headmistress, who warns her of the dangers of the Cold War and the ever-present threat of the bomb, St Anne’s seems like a refuge to Idea. But all this is about to change. For a start, her new roommate is the infamous Louise Adler, potential arsonist and hardened outcast. Meanwhile, geography teacher Eleanor Alston faces the new term with weary resignation following a disastrous love affair. But the fragile ecosystem of the school is disrupted by the arrival of new teacher Matthew Langfield. Eleanor has an uneasy feeling he is not who he says he is. And things only get worse when a mysterious sickness starts to spread throughout the school, causing strange limbs to jerk and seizures among the pupils? What is happening to the girls at St Anne’s?
31. Rumoured by Kelly Mancaruso and Kristina Mancaruso (July 3)
Harlow Hayes: the pop star. I’m a global sensation adored by millions, and my star only seems to keep rising. The icon. My fans say I speak directly to them through my music, that I know who they are. How else could I write such visceral, personal lyrics? They love me, and I love them right back. The murderer. Then, at the height of my fame, I was arrested on suspicion of murder. The world thinks they know who I am. But they have no idea. This exhilarating thriller is told from the perspective of Naomi Barnes, an investigative journalist with a personal interest in the case.
32. Katabasis by R.F. Kuang (August 26)***
R. F. Kuang, author of The Poppy War, Babel, and Yellowface returns with a book about katabasis: the story of a hero’s descent to the underworld. Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality: her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes, the greatest magician in the world, at Cambridge. That is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault. Grimes is now in hell and Alice is going in after him to save his soul, as his recommendation is key to the future she has envisioned for herself. Joining her is rival Peter Murdoch, who has come to the very same conclusion. And so, they set off across Hell to save a man they don’t even like… but Hell is not like the storybooks say. Getting there was easy. Surviving it–and each other–is another thing entirely.
Which upcoming releases are you looking forward to reading this year?
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