Hey friends! It’s almost time for a brilliant new year of reading! And I’m looking ahead to January for anyone who’s curious about B&N, Kobo, and Amazon hot new releases and what’s new in paperback.

Here in Chicago during the winter, there’s nothing nicer than curling up on the couch with a cup of coffee or tea (and in my case, a dog or two…or three) and a good book. This list reflects my own reading habits, so it’s heavy on romance.

And by the way, you may have seen that I drew a winner for my romcom paperback giveaway! Congratulations, Hannah K.! If you entered and didn’t win: THANK YOU for entering, and you’ll get more chances, because I’m going to do at least a couple more in the new year. You can also enter to win two of the books below: Sorry, Bro and Exes and O’s. Look them up on Goodreads and enter the Goodreads giveaways!

For each book, you can click on the title or the cover design to read more. And I made a graphic in case you want to save this post on Pinterest!

Sweeter Than Chocolate, Lizzie Shane

I’m very excited about this one, and it’s also bittersweet for me because Hallmark Publishing, the book division I pitched to the Hallmark Channel and launched, announced its closing soon after I announced my departure. But it’s only a pinch of bitter and a whole lot of sweet. Let’s say 65% dark chocolate, which is delicious. Lizzie Shane is such a witty and heartwarming writer and a fun, fascinating, and warm-hearted person besides. It was an honor and a pleasure to work with her.

I acquired this book for Hallmark Publishing, art directed the cover, pitched it to the producers, and it’s going to be a Hallmark movie premiering in February! The author messaged me a few weeks back to tell me she was on the movie set. What a thrill! So if you get the Hallmark Channel, you should read the book before the movie comes out.

Lucy is running the chocolate shop that’s been in her family for generations. Dean, a local TV reporter, is skeptical that the store’s “Cupid chocolates” really lead to romance. They follow up with three very different couples supposedly brought together by the enchanted confections, and they learn a few lessons about true love. Strong LGBTQ+ romance representation in this story, by the way!

This book releases on January 17. In the meantime, if you’re looking for a delightful royal romance, I also can’t recommend Lizzie’s A Royal Christmas Wish enough! I hope Lizzie’s career continues to grow and she becomes a mega-bestselling author. She’s ridiculously talented and she deserves it.

The Villa, Rachel Hawkins

This thriller/gothic suspense novel is by a fantastic author whom you may also know as Erin Sterling, the author of blockbuster magical romantic comedies (The Ex Hex and The Kiss Curse—I included the latter one in my giveaway!) Two women who were childhood best friends go on a trip together and stay at a villa rented out by a rock star. The end of the product description hooked me: “Inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the infamous summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castle––the birthplace of Frankenstein––The Villa welcomes you into its deadly legacy.” This book goes on sale on January 3.

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute, Talia Hibbert

I really enjoy this British author’s realistic and multifaceted heroes, entertaining prose style, and humor. This new contemporary romance is between a conspiracy-obsessed heroine who’s big on TikTok and a star football player (I assume that’s World Cup football, not Super Bowl football) who’s managing his OCD. I’m not sure how or why they become partners in a survival course, but it sounds like a lot of fun. Advance reviewers say this one isn’t very steamy. It comes out January 3!

Spare, Prince Harry

Speaking of British authors…well, we all know about this one, don’t we? I have the hardcover on pre-order because I think the first edition is going to go fast! It should be a fascinating read, and it drops January 10.

Do I Know You?, Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

Unlike most contemporary romance novels, this story features two people who have been married to each other for years. The romance in their relationship is dead…or has it just taken a long nap? When a hotel guest, believing they’re both single, introduces them to one another, they fall into that very fun role-playing game for couples: pretending they’ve just met for the first time. But can the newfound excitement last? This comes out on January 24.

Georgie, All Along, Kate Clayborn

This author is a wonderful writer (check out Love Lettering or Love at First) and gosh, does this sound like my kind of story. A personal assistant who has a habit of putting everyone before herself comes across her teenage diary, filled with possibilities she’s since abandoned. It becomes her guide to discovering a new life, and she gets some help from an “unexpected roommate” who’s a “quiet, grouchy” hero. This releases on January 24.

Hell Bent, Leigh Bardugo

Book one of this urban fantasy/supernatural thriller series, Ninth House, was a quintessential “dark academia” read. It started slow, and it definitely had disturbing elements. But as some of you know, I love secret societies! I could relate a little to the heroine’s situation—I grew up working class and went to a wealthy private liberal arts college on almost a full scholarship (though it wasn’t Yale.) I enjoyed the book.

Sorry to say, I find this cover design too upsetting to feature on my website. You may have a different reaction to it, or no reaction at all, but it literally makes me feel nauseated. If I buy the book, I’m going to order the eBook version so I don’t have that cover sitting around my house, and it’s never going to make its way onto my Instagram.

The Miniscule Mansion of Myra Malone, Audrey Burges

Speaking of being creeped out: I don’t think I’ve ever talked about this on my blog, but one year, I thought it would be fun to create a haunted dollhouse, with a different ghostly vignette in each room. You guys, it wasn’t fun. It wound up filling me with dread, and I finally took it to the curb along with the trash. Anyway, this is a story about a reclusive blogger with a beautiful dollhouse mansion filled with unexplained mysteries: music plays for no reason, rooms disappear and reappear, and so on. It’s categorized as literary fiction and magical realism, not horror, and it comes out on January 24.

The Davenports, Krystal Marquis

I don’t read a ton of young adult, but this post-Gilded Age story sounds so intriguing. In 1910, the Davenports are one of the few very wealthy Black families in the U.S., and three sisters in this family find their own individual paths in life and love. What’s even better? This is set in my beloved Chicago! (Check out that skyline on the cover…Chicago is where skyscrapers were born!) This one drops on January 31.

Exes and O’s, Amy Lea

This contemporary romance features a romance-novel-obsessed social media influencer who’s been dumped ten times for being too clingy (ouch). She revisits her exes “in hopes of securing her very own trope-worthy second-chance romance.” (And now I’m going to have the song “Exes and O’s” stuck in my head all day!) This book releases on January 10.

Sorry, Bro, Taleen Voskuni

The protagonist in this contemporary romance turns down a proposal from her boyfriend in front of his tech-bro friends, but she isn’t yet out as bisexual. The author said on Goodreads that this story features a lot of Armenian culture…food, dancing, brandy tasting, and “a steamy scene involving Armenian coffee.” According to advance reader reviews, this book does handle some heavy issues alongside the humor, which I wanted to note given its lighthearted cover design. It sounds like a great read, and it comes out on January 31.

Which of these sound good to you? Are there any books you’re looking forward to reading in the New Year—old or new? Let us know in the comments!

And for those of you who like to play along, WIP Wednesday is tomorrow! For the rest of you: this is the first Wednesday of every month, when I share a snippet of something I’ve been working on and invite you to do the same in the comments. It’s fine if it’s very rough—my excerpts usually are!

Thanks for reading (ha), and have a great rest of your week!

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