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New year, new you, new books!
Don't you just love January, a month filled with optimism and renewed energy. LOL JK, we are already tired! However, we are still dedicated to our resolution to read more in 2022 and helping us in our endeavor is a stacked slate of new books coming out this month. A mix of thrillers, rom-coms and a buzzworthy novel that has already been optioned to become a TV series, there's something for everyone to cozy up with.
So, rather than take down your tree and decorations, we give you permission to start buying physical copies of our picks or—because, you know, technology—pulling them up on Kindle Unlimited or through a free trial of Audible.
Here are 15 books to add to your reading list in January:
Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins
What better way to kick off the year than with a thriller from the author of The Wife Upstairs? In her latest, Hawkins will once again have you staying up too late muttering "one more chapter" with her gothic suspense story about six twentysomething travelers who visit an isolated Pacific island with a dark history of shipwrecks, cannibalism and murder. We hope it was at least all-inclusive! (January 4)
When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord
Take the chance and prepare to be charmed by the You Have a Match scribe's new coming-of-age tale that also happens to be a modern retelling of Mamma Mia! Aspiring Broadway star Millie tracks down three women and inserts herself into their lives after discovering a clue in her father's old Livejournal about her absent mothers identity. Add in a slow-burn romance and m, my, how can we resist it?! (January 4)
The Swells by Will Aitken
Dark comedy fans, this biting satire about a class war that erupts aboard a luxury cruise ship is for you. After a mutiny finds the captain of The Emerald Tranquility overthrown, the roles are reversed as the overworked and underpaid crew become the leisure class and some of the richest people in the world find themselves scrubbing toilets. (January 4)
Fiona and Jane by Jean Chen Ho
Told in alternating perspectives, Ho's surprising debut paints an intimate portrait of the fierce lifelong friendship between two Taiwanese American women. Best friends since second grade, Fiona and Jane always survived their tumultuous families and complicated romantic encounters together, but their bond is strained by distance and betrayals when one moves to New York. (January 4)
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez
Gonzalez's debut is one of the year's most anticipated new books, with Hulu already planning to turn it into your next binge obsession. Set against the backdrop of New York City in the months surrounding the most devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico's history, the story centers on a Nuyorican brother and sister who must reckon with their absent, politically radical mother and their glittering careers among the city's elite. You'll want to weather the storm with this pair. (January 4)
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
Frida Liu is having a very bad day in Chan's explosive and exhilarating debut about a new government program that seeks to correct "bad" mothering. After a mistake puts her on the state's radar and the custody of her daughter hangs in the balance, Frida must prove that she can live up to society's idea of a "perfect" mother. So, the government is basically Instagram. (January 4)
Wahala by Nikki May
If And Just Like That... isn't exactly satisfying your modern Sex and the City itch, may we present to you Wahala. This dazzling debut centers on three Anglo-Nigerian best friends and the glamorous fourth woman who infiltrates their group and slowly begins to sow chaos among the trio. We couldn't help but wonder if they might need something stronger than a cosmopolitan to survive this. (January 11)
To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara
What does paradise mean to you? This atmospheric and ambitious novel from the author of the classic A Little Life spans three centuries and three different versions of the American experiment set around the same house in New York City's Washington Square: A love story in 1893, a Hawaiian man living with his much older partner as the city is besieged by the AIDS epidemic in 1993, and a woman trying to solve the mystery of her husband's disappearance in a world plagued by totalitarian rule in 2093. (January 11)
Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover
Anyone else ready to be totally Hoovered again? In the New York Times bestseller's latest heartbreaker, a woman recently released from prison returns to the town where it all went wrong with the hope of reuniting with her 4-year-old daughter. When she's shut out by everyone who has no interest in rebuilding burnt bridges, she connects with a bar owner who represents both risk and redemption. (January 18)
The Other Family by Wendy Corsi Staub
Imagine after months and months of looking for your dream home, you finally find it and it's perfect. Well, except for one thing: It is the sight of an unsolved triple homicide. Nora Howell, her handsome husband, their two teenage daughters and lovable dog decide to take that chance when they find a dreamy Brooklyn brownstone and take the risk, only to have weird things start happening after they move in. Plus, there's a stranger watching them–only he isn't unknown to one of the family members. Gulp. (January 18)
The Good Son by Jacquelyn Mitchard
How far would a mother go to protect her child? That is the question at the center of Mitchard's gripping story about Thea, a woman who must help her son after he is convicted of a devastating crime: The drug-fueled murder of his girlfriend. Three years later, as the close-knit community continues to rally against him as he tries to make amends, Thea discovers there's a lot she doesn't know about him...or the night of the alleged murder. (January 18)
Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner
If thrillers filled with more twists than a gymnastics event are your jam, Faulkner's intoxicating take on impending motherhood, unreliable friendship, and the high price of keeping secrets is a must-read. Focusing on the strange bond between two women and the devastating past crime that connects them, you'll want to make a visit to Greenwich Park if you're looking for an ending you won't see coming. (January 25)
The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis
The Lions of Fifth Avenue author returns with another trip to the past as she takes readers inside one of New York's most impressive Gilded Age mansions that is, of course, filled with secrets, betrayal and murder. Set in 1919 and 1969, when the home has been turned into a museum, Davis delivers a high-stakes fast-paced historical thriller with two heroines to root for. (January 25)
The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
Katrina Freeling and Nathan Van Huysen were the brightest stars in the literary world until they abruptly ended their partnership on bad terms after their greatest success. While the public has no idea what caused the split and the pair had no intention of speaking ever again, they are forced to work together to deliver the final book on their contract. After three years of distance, Katrina and Nathan are forced to work through their issues while holed up in the tiny town where they wrote their last book. Did we mention they are co-writing a romance novel? (January 25)
Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
While serial killers often become the center of a story, Kukafka's searing novel centers on three women who were brought into a murderer's orbit. Set just 12 hours before Ansel Packer is scheduled to die, his mother, a sister whose twin was married to him and the homicide detective who brought him to justice must reckon with the past and the legacy of violence left behind. (January 25)
Looking to add more books to your pile? Check out our December recommendations.