I will be making what will be my most disciplined attempt to curb my book buying in 2023, seeing as how I have over 100 books in my physical TBR – seriously, I stopped having sufficient bookshelf space back in 2019 😳
This means I will be utilizing my library WAY more this year, and online holding makes it so easy and simple; I just search for the book I want to “check out” on my library’s website, select my desired pick-up location, and they send me an email as soon as the book is ready for me to pick it up. It’s so convenient, I don’t know why I haven’t been reading books this way, especially new releases and books written by new-to-me authors!
But just because I won’t be spending as much money on books this year certainly doesn’t mean I’m going to be avoiding new releases! Some of these books I’m already planning on purchasing for sure, but only the ones by author’s I’ve read before and loved.
So, without further ado, let’s get into all the books releasing this year that I’m either going to be checking out from the library, or hurrying to my local independent bookstore to buy and devour 🤓
I have read three books by Emily Henry, so she is definitely not a new author to me. I actually read her debut young adult novel, The Love that Split the World, way back in 2016. Although I wasn’t a huge fan of that one (me and time travel plots have RARELY vibed), I read Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation during the summers of 2021 and 2022, respectively, and liked one and LOVED the other. (Alex and Poppy > Gus and January 😋)
Happy Place is her newest adult romance novel, set to release April 25th, about a couple who broke up months before their annual vacation with their closest group of friends. Not wanting to put a damper on their trip, our main characters Harriet and Wyn pretend to still be together since they never told their friends about their breakup.
So it’s basically a romance book about a couple who is fake dating each other after real dating each other…who might go back to real dating once more? We’ll see come April 25th!
I read Carley Fortune’s debut second-chance romance Every Summer After last June and LOVED it. It stuck with me in a way that was totally out of the blue, but I found myself thinking about Sam and Percy for weeks after finishing the book!
So it’s safe to say I’ll be on pins and needles until May 2nd when Meet Me at the Lake comes out. Funnily enough, I feel like this title also works for Sam and Percy’s love story 😉
This one’s about a 32 year-old woman named Fern, who’s life isn’t looking the way she thought it would (highly relatable? oh yeah). Earlier in her twenties, she spent one magical day with a man named Will, who vowed to meet up with her a year later – but he never showed. Not until now, 10 years after their original meet-cute, does Will show up, but not as the Will Fern remembers. Can they rekindle that first spark? We’ll have to wait and seeeee!
Jenny Jackson is a debut author, and this book is already getting so much hype online! Her book is about three sisters belonging to a wealthy New York family, and apparently “sparkles with wit.” I don’t know why, but I love reading/watching stories about rich people who prove that having money does not mean you have an easier life; if anything, it’s usually the opposite! Not to mention the drama of it all.
So excited to check this one out from the library when it comes out March 7th!
Also dropping March 7 is another new-to-me author, Stephanie Clifford’s The Farewell Tour. I am a sucker for stories about bands/musicians (forever a Daisy Jones & the Six fangirl to my CORE) because I, myself, am a music writer/lover/listener/breather. So anything to do with music is something I’m immediately interested in!
So this book’s about a woman named Lillian Waters who is going on her final, “farewell” tour after a long and successful career in the year 1980 (one of my favorite decades for stories to be set it!!). We follow her from childhood up through her rise in the male-dominated country music scene, all the while reminiscing on her past mistakes before her final concert in her Washington hometown.
I think this one could be a favorite of 2023 for me!
Coming super soon (Feb. 21), this one is about a film professor and podcaster who gets invited back to the New Hampshire boarding school she attended as a student – which also happens to be the place her roommate was murdered. The man convicted, the school’s athletic trainer, may not be the murderer, and Bodie, our main character, thinks she may even have something to do with the murder.
This one sounds so juicy and entertaining and riveting. I’ve never read a book by Rebecca Makkai before, but depending on how this one goes for me, I’d definitely be interested in reading more of her work!
Another Feb. 21st release, this one is a “psychological suspense debut about a young author at an exclusive writer’s retreat that descends into a nightmare” (simonandschuster.com).
The gist of the novel is a horror writer, Roza Vallo, hosts this month-long writing retreat with a seven-figure publishing deal granted to the first person to write an entire novel from scratch over the course of the next month. But then one of the writer’s at this retreat goes missing, our main character Alex begins to grow suspicious of Roza and the alleged haunting of the mansion retreat itself.
This one is so out of my comfort zone, but for some reason I *need* to read it.
Set to release April 4, this book is about three friends who go on a summer vacation in Greece, but only two come home…
The remaining two friends spent the next ten years being the target of murderous accusations, with one of them becoming a motivational speaker (Joni) while the other one makes her life as small and insignificant as possible (Bess).
Our story starts with Joni being a part of a crime that’s eerily reminiscent of Evangeline’s death all those years ago. Joni asks Bess to help her out, which leaves quiet Bess with an important decision to make.
Another juicy little plot I can’t wait to dive into when it comes out!
Alright, those are seven books coming out in 2023 I’m most excited about!
Let me know in the comments which books coming out in 2023 you’re most anticipating!