Most of the new books I’ve been really hyped for this year were packed into autumn, so winter’s looking a little sparse… but there are still a few gems coming up! (Most notably, for a lot of people, the new Crescent City book, though I won’t be picking that one up myself…) So here are my most exciting picks for December, January & February:
[All dates are taken from Goodreads unless stated otherwise, and are correct as of 23/11/2021.]
The Coldest Touch by Isabel Sterling (7th December)
A YA sapphic romance between a girl with the unsettling ability to see the deaths of anyone she touches, and a vampire who’s been sent to help her learn to control her power. There’s a murder mystery in there, too, I believe, though naturally I’m not sure whether the mystery or the romance will be the book’s greater focus. I’m no longer as desperate for vampire romances as I was a couple of months ago, but this one looks promising (and is giving me slight Mediator vibes, which would be fun! 😁). Excitement level: 7/10
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske (9th December)
The first in a new fantasy series set in an alternative Edwardian England, following a man who’s appointed as the non-magical liaison to a hidden magical society. Again, I’m not sure what this book is really about, but I’ve been hearing glowing reviews from early readers, and apparently the magic system is based on Cat’s Cradle (which I always sucked at)! Also, this is another queer romance, which is nice to see. ☺️ Excitement level: 7/10
The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett (13th January)
The second novel from the author of The Appeal, an unusual, multi-media murder mystery… and from the sound of things, The Twyford Code will be much the same – though this time the mystery will be centred around an old book that supposedly contains a hidden code. I struggle a lot with mysteries, however original, and however interesting they sound, so I won’t be picking this one up myself, but if I hear even half as much praise for it as I have for The Appeal, I expect I’ll be buying it for all my more criminally-inclined relatives in 2022! 😅 Excitement level: 5/10
Honourable Mentions:
- Munro by Kresley Cole (25th January) – a new entry in the Immortals After Dark series.
- A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine (8th February, in paperback) – the sequel to A Memory Called Empire, for which I’ve been patiently waiting for the paperback.
Nightjar's Jar of Books 