New year, new you, so many new books!
What better way to welcome 2023 than by immediately putting a major dent in your goal to read more? Fortunately, January's list of new releases is a stacked one, including Prince Harry's sure-to-be-filled-with-royal-bombshells memoir, cheekily titled Spare, as well as Pamela Anderson's highly anticipated autobiography.
If celebrity reads aren't your thing, don't worry, we've still got you covered, whether you are into psychological thrillers that will keep you up at night—like Rachel Hawkins' The Villa and Stephen Amidon's Locust Lane—or charming rom-coms that will have you swooning. Come on, how can you resist a book called A Guide to Just Being Friends? Plus, Leigh Bardugo is back with Hell Bent, the sequel to Ninth House her fans have been eagerly awaiting.
So, New Year's resolution to read more, prepare to be crushed.
Here are 15 books to add to your January reading list:
The Wife Upstairs author is back with another thriller that will have you hitting snooze multiple times in the morning after you're up all night finding out what the twist is. Centering on a girls trip to Italy between two childhood friends who have been drifting apart, Hawkins cleverly weaves elements of real-life stories—including Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the infamous summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castle that inspired Frankenstein—to tell two mysteries that will have your pulse racing. (January 3)
Well, this is Reese Witherspoon's book club pick of the month, so need we say more? Okay, fine: Seven years after her high school best friend mysteriously dropped dead in front of an enigmatic man they had been spending time with, Maya's carefully curated life is thrown for a loop when she comes across a recent YouTube video. In it, a young woman dies in a diner while sitting across from the very same man. Yes, that was just your chills getting goosebumps. (January 3)
They say any press is good press, and Geeta initially finds that to be true after the rumor that she killed her no-good husband proves surprisingly useful. But she gets more than she bargained for when other women in her remote Indian village start asking for help to get rid of their own partners, with her reputation becoming a dangerous double-edged sword. Prepare to laugh and gasp during this witty and wry dazzling debut novel. (January 3)
Although Oprah infamously asked Meghan Markle if she "was silent or silenced," Prince Harry is refusing to keep quiet about what life is really like in the royal family. After several bombshell interviews and the headline-making Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, the Duke of Sussex is spilling the last drops of tea in his memoir, with his publisher promising "raw, unflinching honesty" from Harry about his childhood and life in the monarchy. (January 10)
In the second installment of Bardugo's popular Alex Stern series, the Ivy League is still going straight to hell in this spell-binding sequel to 2019's Ninth House. Picking up from the compelling cliff-hanger, Hell Bent brings readers back into the mystical secret societies of Yale University with darker magic, all-too-real monsters and even more twists and turns. (January 10)
From the very beginning, Kubica's twisty mystery will have its hooks in you, wondering what happened to Nina's loyal husband, Jake, and what their friends Lily and Christian know about his disappearance. The Local Woman Missing author explores themes such as loyalty, friendship and marriage, all while maintaining a hum of suspense that lingers throughout the novel. (January 10)
Listen, January is bleak, especially after the comedown from the holiday high. So let this sweet enemies-to-lovers debut rom-com, filled with Chinese astrology and delicious banter, fill you with some much-needed feel-good feels. (January 10)
The only thing that can haunt you better than a creepy house is your family. That's the main takeaway in Hendrix's harrowing and heartbreaking tale of two estranged siblings who reunite to sell their childhood home following the death of their parents. Too bad the dwelling has other plans. Gulp. (January 17)
Emerson, Mass., is the idyllic small town where nothing bad has seemingly ever happened. So, naturally, when a young woman is found dead, the wealthy families begin locking their doors and turning on one another. And when three teenagers who were partying with the murdered girl all become suspects, their parents will do anything to protect them in this taut, twist-filled thriller. (January 17)
Sure, her marriage ended in just 608 days, she's broke and her graduate thesis is going nowhere, 29-year-old Maggie is totally fine. And by that, we mean she is barreling her way through her first year of single life by taking up random hobbies and with the support of her group chat. Prepare for a charmingly messy and relatable reflection of modern love and the elusive search for happiness in Heisey's heartfelt and hilarious debut novel. (January 17)
Everyone loves a revival, except for Liv and Ransom, two former teen stars who are forced to reconnect at the reunion for their hit TV show 20 years after their epic falling out. But as the shoot goes on, sparks begin to fly, while new rivalries emerge as a potential reboot threatens the entire project. Is it too meta to ask for an adaptation of this ASAP? (January 17)
If When Harry Met Sally and 500 Days of Summer had a baby, it would be A Guide to Just Being Friends, a cute AF rom-com about two people who absolutely, 100 percent do not have any interest in dating right now. Of course, that means they just can't stay away from each other in this playful and surprisingly emotional story from the Ten Rules For Faking It scribe. (January 17)
You will find yourself smiling throughout Begin Again, thanks in large part to the cozy friend group and the unexpected romance Lord has created in her charming follow-up to You Have a Match. College student Andie dreams of becoming an iconic self-help guru, but when she begins to discover her voice as the anonymous Squire on her school's legendary pirate radio station, she finds the best-laid plans aren't always the right ones for you. (January 24)
The Baywatch bombshell is ready to drop some of her own, telling her story in her own words for the first time. While the public may think they know Anderson, thanks to Hulu's buzzy Pam & Tommy miniseries, the star is opening up about her childhood on Vancouver Island, her time as a tabloid fixture and her journey of self-discovery. The intimate memoir is being released the same day her Netflix documentary, Pamela, A Love Story, premieres. (January 31)
What would make a mother abandon her newborn child? That is the question federal agent Aaron Falk is still trying to answer one year after the disappearance of Kim Gillespie. That mystery follows the investigator as he heads to a small town deep in Southern Australian wine country for the christening of Kim's baby, where he is welcomed into her tight-knit circle of family and friends who just might just be harboring even more secrets than what really happened to Kim. (January 31)