STARRED REVIEW

January 2023

BookPage’s most anticipated books of 2023

Oh, the possibilities that await in a new reading year! For readers who like to plan ahead, the editors of BookPage spotlight some of the books they’re most looking forward to this year.

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Fiction

Fiction

2023 preview: Most anticipated fiction

Feature by the editors of BookPage

Thanks to new releases from Colson Whitehead, Lauren Groff, Abraham Verghese, Mary Beth Keane, Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Acevedo and more, we can’t wait for 2023 reading to begin.

The Faraway World by Patricia Engel

Avid Reader | January 24

When it came out in 2021, Colombian American writer Patricia Engel’s fourth novel, Infinite Country, got a ton of positive attention (from Reese’s Book Club, Book of the Month and more) and instantly hit the New York Times bestseller list. This cool follow-up collection includes nine of Engel’s best short stories, all previously published, and one new tale that’s never been published before.

The World and All That It Holds by Aleksandar Hemon

MCD | January 24

Bosnian American author, screenwriter and critic Aleksandar Hemon has been a finalist for the National Book Award twice (for Nowhere Man and The Lazarus Project), collaborated with Lana Wachowski and David Mitchell on The Matrix Resurrections, frequently writes for The New Yorker and has earned a whole host of literary awards and prizes. His next novel, which opens with the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, is an epic saga centered on two lovers who do their best to survive the trenches of World War I.

Maame by Jessica George

St. Martin’s | January 31

This debut novelist comes to us from the editorial department of Bloomsbury UK, which means she’s got industry know-how to back up her Queenie-style novel about a Ghanaian British woman who’s making a life for herself amid familial difficulties, workplace racism and the day-to-day ups and downs of friendship and love.

Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree, translated by Daisy Rockwell

HarperVia | January 31

Tomb of Sand was the first Hindi novel to even be nominated for the International Booker Prize, which makes Geetanjali Shree’s win even more wonderful. At more than 600 pages, it’s an absolute door stopper that follows the story of an 80-year-old woman whose children do their best to shake her from her depression after the death of her husband. Nothing helps—until a cane covered in butterflies seems to work magic, pulling Ma into a series of adventures.

Essex Dogs by Dan Jones

Viking | February 7

The bestselling author and historian (Powers and Thrones, Crusaders, The Templars) makes the leap to fiction with a novel about the Hundred Years’ War. The first installment of a trilogy, it promises to be a well-researched, intimate look into medieval warfare from the perspectives of the soldiers themselves.

Someone Else’s Shoes by Jojo Moyes

Pamela Dorman | February 7

British author Jojo Moyes’ 2019 historical novel, The Giver of Stars, transported readers to Depression-era Kentucky for a heartwarming story about packhorse librarians. For her next book, she’s returning to the realm of escapist contemporary fiction—and more specifically, the flirty world of Paris for One. An adaptation of a story from that collection, Someone Else’s Shoes follows two women whose lives are changed when they accidentally swap gym bags and literally have to walk in each other’s shoes.

A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀

Knopf | February 7

Nigerian author Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀’s 2017 debut novel, Stay With Me, was shortlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction (now called the Women’s Prize for Fiction) and received the 9mobile Prize for Literature and the Prix Les Afriques. We’ve been looking forward to her follow-up for a long time, even putting it on last year’s list of most anticipated fiction in an attempt to manifest it. Finally, it’s here! Adébáyọ̀ takes us back to Nigeria for a story of two families divided, the two young people who connect them and the power structures of the political system that surround them.

Victory City by Salman Rushdie

Random House | February 7

The next novel from literary icon Salman Rushdie comes bittersweetly, as a horrifying attack on the author’s life last autumn will undoubtedly cast a shadow over the publication. Victory City is nevertheless a welcome return to the realm of the fantastical (like in Midnight’s Children and Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights) after Rushdie dabbled in contemporary satire for his last few works. Styled after classic Sanskrit epics, it tells the story of a woman who, with help from a goddess, calls forth the existence of Bisnaga—literally “victory city.”

I Have Some Questions for You book cover

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

Viking | February 21

Rebecca Makkai’s previous novel, The Great Believers, received a lot of positive attention in 2018 and even earned a Stonewall Book Award. Her fourth novel pursues questions of memory and complicity through the story of a film professor and podcaster who has been asked to teach at her former New Hampshire boarding school. Upon her return, she is drawn back into the 1995 murder of a classmate, for which the school’s athletic trainer, Omar, was convicted.

Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

FSG | March 7

Eleanor Catton MNZN (that’s right—she has a New Zealand Order of Merit) is the author of the internationally bestselling The Luminaries (winner of the Man Booker Prize) and The Rehearsal (winner of the Betty Trask Prize, which is awarded to first novels written by authors under the age of 35 who reside in a current or former Commonwealth nation). As a screenwriter, she adapted The Luminaries for a miniseries and Jane Austen’s Emma for feature film (the one starring Anya Taylor-Joy’s nosebleed). Her next novel is a work of climate fiction about a guerrilla gardening group invited to work some abandoned farmland that has been purchased by a billionaire who claims he’s building an end-times bunker.

The Farewell Tour by Stephanie Clifford

Harper | March 7

Considering that Daisy Jones & The Six was so obviously a nod to Fleetwood Mac, we have been hoping for a few more books in the music novel trend to honor the old timers, the originals, the classics. Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and other grand dames of country music come to mind when we think about Lillian Waters, the singer at the heart of the next novel from Stephanie Clifford, the author of Everybody Rise. Set in the 1980s, The Farewell Tour follows Lillian on her final tour—and through the many events of her life, all the way back to her humble beginnings.

Old Babes in the Wood by Margaret Atwood

Doubleday | March 7

Soothsayer Margaret Atwood returns to short fiction with her first collection since 2014’s Stone Mattress. Six of the 15 stories have been previously published (some having appeared in The New Yorker and the New York Times Magazine), and the collection is anchored by seven tales that follow married couple Tig and Nell, who at this point are old friends to longtime readers of Atwood.

Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

Algonquin | March 14

Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai is a literary luminary in Vietnam, and now she’s making waves stateside, beginning with her critically acclaimed English-language debut, The Mountains Sing (2020). Inspired by the author’s own work reuniting Amerasian children with their family members, her next novel moves between past and present Vietnam to explore the long-term effects of the Vietnam War through the stories of two Vietnamese sisters, an American GI and the child of a Black American soldier and a Vietnamese woman.

The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner

Park Row | March 21

Sarah Penner’s first novel, The Lost Apothecary, was a huge hit, earning bestseller slots in both hardcover and paperback, and the rights have already been sold to Fox. Her highly touted second book returns to London for a Victorian mystery filled with seances, mediums, cults and secret societies.

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Pantheon | April 4

It’s a big deal when a short story collection becomes an instant New York Times bestseller, and doubly so when it’s a debut, as in the case of Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s devastating and surreal Friday Black. One of the National Book Foundation’s “5 Under 35” honorees, Adjei-Brenyah will publish his first novel this spring, and the premise is everything we could hope for: Two female gladiators fight for their freedom from a private prison system modeled after our own American system.

The House Is on Fire by Rachel Beanland

Simon & Schuster | April 4

The author of Florence Adler Swims Forever, winner of the National Jewish Book Award for Debut Fiction, returns with a second novel that’s been building buzz for almost a year. The House Is on Fire follows four characters over the course of three days in the aftermath of the real-life 1811 theater fire in Richmond, Virginia—the deadliest disaster in American history at that time.

Panther Gap by James A. McLaughlin

Flatiron | April 4

James A. McLaughlin’s debut novel, Bearskin, won the 2019 Edgar Award for Best First Novel, and for his sophomore outing, he’s sticking with wilderness-set literary thrillers. Panther Gap follows two adult siblings who are brought back to the Colorado ranch of their childhood by the prospect of an inheritance from their grandfather, and they’re quickly sucked into a dangerous game that involves drug cartels, domestic terrorism and more.

Homecoming by Kate Morton

Mariner | April 4

Every single Kate Morton novel has been a bestseller, so five years is a long time for her fans to wait for a follow-up to The Clockmaker’s Daughter. Morton’s upcoming family saga has been compared to The Lake House, her “most successful book to date,” because of the crime at the story’s center. It’s about a woman who discovers a connection between her family history and the fictional “Turner Family Tragedy of Christmas Eve, 1959.”

Greek Lessons by Han Kang, translated by Deborah Smith and Emily Yae Won

Hogarth | April 18

From the South Korean author of The Vegetarian, winner of the International Booker Prize, comes another haunting slim novel, this one about the bond that forms between a man losing his sight and a woman losing her voice.

Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal

Pamela Dorman | April 18

Doubling down on the down-home Midwestern goodness of his first two novels, Kitchens of the Great Midwest and The Lager Queen of Minnesota, bestselling author J. Ryan Stradal spins another yarn to warm the heart. It’s the story of a married couple who come from two very different restaurant families, so we’re expecting stick-to-your-stomach casseroles, wild rice and walleye, polka bands and lots of feelings.

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

Grove | May 2

Readers who loved Abraham Verghese’s major word-of-mouth hit, Cutting for Stone, have waited more than a decade for this follow-up, and its ambitious length (700+ pages) and epic premise certainly provide some context as to why it took so long to appear. Drawing early comparisons to Pachinko, The Covenant of Water spans from 1900–1977 and follows three generations of a family living in the coastal town of Kerala, India. But this family has a particular problem: In every generation, at least one member of the family dies by drowning.

The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane

Scribner | May 2

With her novel Ask Again, Yes, Mary Beth Keane solidified her place among the family drama greats like Celeste Ng, Emma Straub, Brit Bennett, Laurie Frankel and Dani Shapiro. Keane’s next novel unfolds during one week in the life of a married couple whose partnership has hit rough waters. He’s the new owner of the Half Moon bar, and she’s grappling with the possibility that, after years of trying to conceive, she may not get to be a mother. And then a bar patron goes missing and a blizzard hits the town. We expect great characters, sharp detail and emotional devastation.

The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece book cover

The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks

Knopf | May 9

Sure, Tom Hanks is the Academy Award-winning actor and the best 1990s rom-com hero (fight me, Hugh Grant), but more importantly, he’s also the bestselling author of the short story collection Uncommon Type. Hanks’ first novel, the ambitiously titled The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece, moves from 1947 to 1970 to the present day as it follows the process of transforming a little comic book into a “star-studded, multimillion-dollar superhero action film.” The novel will include three eight-page comic books, all written by Hanks and illustrated by Robert Sikoryak.

The Guest by Emma Cline

Random House | May 16

Emma Cline followed up her bestselling 2016 debut novel, The Girls, with a story collection in 2020 (Daddy) that got a ton of attention, so we expect similar excitement for her second novel, The Guest. Con artists, hustlers and social media scammers continue to be hot right now, particularly in film and TV (think Elizabeth Holmes, that Fyre Festival bro, Anna Delvey and Adam Neumann), and this is the kind of character at the heart of Cline’s next book, though refreshingly, it seems like she might not be a total sociopath.

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

William Morrow | May 16

We really love an angry publishing novel (The Other Black Girl was one of the best in this, the era of the Great Resignation), so we’re looking forward to R.F. Kuang’s shift into contemporary literary fiction after her mind-blowing work in fantasy. (Babel was one of our Top 10 Books of 2022, and her Poppy War series continues to get tons of love.) The brilliantly titled Yellowface is the story of a bestselling author who is pretending to be Asian American and who stole her masterwork from an actual Asian American woman.

The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor

Riverhead | May 23

Brandon Taylor’s 2020 debut, Real Life, rocketed him into the center arena of literary fiction, and he has maintained his spot through his brilliant voice, which he shares via his viral Substack newsletter, “Sweater Weather.” In 2021 he followed up that first book with a bestselling story collection, Filthy Animals, and now he’s delivering another novel, The Late Americans, which follows a group of friends and lovers living in Iowa City, Iowa.

Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea

Little, Brown | May 30

We’ve been fairly patient about getting another novel from Luis Alberto Urrea, whose 2018 novel, The House of Broken Angels, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Urrea’s next novel shifts away from his typical terrain of first- and second-generation stories centered on the U.S.-Mexico border to explore a different element of his heritage. Good Night, Irene is inspired by the author’s mother’s experiences during World War II, when she worked with the American Cross and was present for the liberation of Buchenwald.

I Am Homeless if This Is Not My Home book review

I Am Homeless if This Is Not My Home by Lorrie Moore

Knopf | June 20

Lorrie Moore has kept us well-fed with her acclaimed short stories, but we’re excited to check out her first novel since A Gate at the Stairs (2009). I Am Homeless if This Is Not My Home is a ghost story spanning three decades, exploring grief and the unseen through “A teacher visiting his dying brother in the Bronx. A mysterious journal from the nineteenth century stolen from a boarding house. A therapy clown and an assassin, both presumed dead, but perhaps not dead at all.”

Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur

Avid Reader | July 11

Adrienne Brodeur, author of the bestselling memoir Wild Game, kicked off her publishing career by founding the fiction magazine Zoetrope: All-Story with filmmaker Frances Ford Coppola, so it was only a matter of time before she ventured into fiction. Her first novel, Little Monsters, draws from the biblical tale of Cain and Abel to explore the complicated family dynamics of an oceanographer father and his two grown children, all of whom live on Cape Cod.

Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead

Doubleday | July 18

Colson Whitehead, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, could write a grocery list and we’d elbow your grandma out of the way to be the first to read it. His 2021 novel, Harlem Shuffle, was a heist novel that also dedicated plenty of space to appreciating midcentury furniture, and we’re over the moon that it’s also the first in a trilogy. Whitehead’s Ray Carney is back this summer in Crook Manifesto.

Somebody’s Fool by Richard Russo

Knopf | July 25

Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Russo takes us back to the town of North Bath in upstate New York for the third time, 10 years after the death of Donald “Sully” Sullivan from Nobody’s Fool and Everybody’s Fool. Gentrification and the appearance of a dead body now plague North Bath, where Sully’s now-adult son, Peter, remembers his father’s legacy and grapples with his own relationship to parenthood.

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo

Ecco | August 1

Elizabeth Acevedo became a superstar of young people’s literature after her YA novel The Poet X won the National Book Award, the Michael L. Printz Award, the Pura Belpré Award and the Carnegie Medal, among other awards. The adult fiction realm welcomes her with open arms this summer, when she’ll publish a family drama that spans past and present, Santo Domingo and New York City, to tell the epic story of a Dominican American family.

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

Riverhead | August 8

James McBride can do it all—short stories, biographies, a National Book Award-winning novel—but we’re especially partial to this big-hearted fiction kick he’s on. Following Deacon King Kong, McBride is sticking with stories of community secrets, this time in a small-town novel inspired by his own upbringing.

Prophet by Helen Macdonald and Sin Blaché

Grove | August 8

Beloved naturalist writer Helen Macdonald (H Is for Hawk, Vesper Flights) ventures into fiction along with first-time novelist Sin Blaché, and their collaboration has a creepy plot unlike anything we could’ve predicted. Set in England and America, Prophet follows a former MI6 agent and an American intelligence officer who join forces to investigate an ominous substance called Prophet, which seems to be using people’s memories against them.

Evil Eye by Etaf Rum

Harper | September 5

It seemed like everyone was talking about Etaf Rum’s debut novel, A Woman Is No Man, in the summer of 2019. Her follow-up returns to themes originally explored in her first book: the expectations and demands placed on Palestinian American women. This time, she’s focusing closely on the life of one wife and mother who must reconcile with her conservative family’s past.

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

Riverhead | September 5

Lauren Groff clearly loves us and wants us to be happy, because we’ve only had to wait two years since Matrix for her next novel, this one “a nail-biting survival story and a penetrating fable about trying to find new ways of living in a world succumbing to the churn of colonialism.”

Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang

Riverhead | September 29

C Pam Zhang’s daringly original debut novel, How Much of These Hills Is Gold, completely transformed the Western fiction genre with its magical tale of two Chinese American siblings trying to survive amid the American gold rush. We have high hopes for her follow-up: Set in the near future (just a bit further along in our planet’s demise), this speculative cli-fi novel follows a chef who takes a job on a decadent mountaintop colony.

Family Meal by Bryan Washington

Riverhead | October 10

No one captures the sorrow and beauty of a coming-of-age love story quite like Bryan Washington, so we are thrilled to hear that the author of Lot and Memorial is back this fall with another intimate novel that focuses on the lives of two young men.

Discover all of BookPage’s most anticipated books of 2023.

A year of great fiction is just around the bend! Discover the 38 books we’re most excited to read.

Nonfiction

Nonfiction

2023 preview: Most anticipated nonfiction

Feature by the editors of BookPage

Among these 33 nonfiction books we can’t wait to read, you’ll find gems from old favorites and delights from debut authors who just might become your new favorites.

B.F.F. by Christie Tate

Avid Reader | February 7

If you haven’t yet read Christie Tate’s 2020 memoir, Group, let me begin by saying that you are missing out. Tate’s chaotic yet heartwarming first book was all about the unconventional group therapy setting that helped her work through her issues with intimacy. In it, she depicted her journey toward healing by telling a room full of near-strangers the messy, brutal truth about her relationships to sex, food, relationships and everything in between. In her second memoir, B.F.F.: A Memoir of Friendship Lost and Found, Tate focuses on the elusive intimacy of friendship, recounting the tumultuous, emotional and funny process of learning how to have and be a friend. It yet again strikes that perfect balance of an author spilling the dirt and baring her soul.

Dinner With the President by Alex Prud’homme

Knopf | February 7

In addition to being Julia Child’s grandnephew and the co-author of her memoir, My Life in France, Alex Prud’homme is also a lively writer in his own right. In Dinner With the President: Food, Politics, and a History of Breaking Bread at the White House, he veers from the French food beat to offer anecdotes, stories and hidden histories about 26 U.S. presidents and their particular tastes for food and drink. If you’ve ever wondered which dishes reminded Abraham Lincoln of his childhood on the Kentucky frontier, or which president had a weakness for butter pecan ice cream, Dinner With the President will satisfy your every curiosity.

Drama Free by Nedra Glover Tawwab

TarcherPerigee | February 28

Therapist Nedra Glover Tawwab is the reigning queen of setting boundaries. Her 2021 book, Set Boundaries, Find Peace, as well as her popular Instagram account, have helped thousands of people better navigate sticky situations at work, at home and in their communities. Her second book, Drama Free: A Guide to Managing Unhealthy Family Relationships, focuses on what to do when your family of origin is a source of strife, stress and conflict rather than support, security and confidence. It’s a great resource for readers who are just beginning to understand the dynamics within their families of origin and the effects those relationships have had on their development. It’s also a helpful how-to manual for readers who are well aware of the issues in their families but are unsure how to improve their situations. As always, Tawwab is a sound and trustworthy guide.

Enchantment by Katherine May

Riverhead | February 28

Katherine May’s 2020 book, Wintering, is one of those works you return to year after year, a cold weather ritual nearly as important as taking your vitamin D supplements. Her books are a wonder—and speaking of wonder, Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age is all about getting in touch with this feeling when everything around you is swirling with fear, change and unpredictability. By harnessing the magic of attention, ritual and the natural world, May shows readers how to find stillness and awe in their disordered day to day. But Enchantment is more than mere self-help. May’s chops as a beautiful writer and original thinker elevate her books to pure poetry.

The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley cover image

The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley by David Waldstreicher

FSG | March 7

Biography lovers are in for several treats in 2023, starting with The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet’s Journeys Through American Slavery and Independence. Historian David Waldstreicher draws parallels between Wheatley’s personal story and Homer’s “The Odyssey,” emphasizing both her mastery of the classics and the epic scale of Wheatley’s life: She was born in 1753 in West Africa; enslaved and taken to North America, where she learned to read and began to write poetry; became the first African American author of a book of poetry, after which her enslavers emancipated her; died at the age of 31, having written some of the most influential verse about the American Revolution. Waldstreicher fills in this sketch with all the fascinating detail of a proper page-turning biography.

Saving Time by Jenny Odell

Random House | March 7

Since the release of her 2019 book How to Do Nothing, the cult of Jenny Odell has spread far and wide. Her call to resist the efficiency-obsessed and technology-dependent constraints of modern life has resonated with thousands of people limping through late-stage capitalism—and her appeal only grew once work collided with a global pandemic in 2020. Odell’s next book, Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock, expounds on the ideas established in How to Do Nothing and drills even deeper to question the cultural construction of time itself. If you recoil when you hear the phrase “time is money,” this book will be a liberating, stimulating, challenging delight.

Once Upon a Tome by Oliver Darkshire

Norton | March 14

Debut author Oliver Darkshire gives bibliophiles plenty to rejoice over in Once Upon a Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller, his memoir of stumbling backward into a job at Henry Sotheran Ltd. in London. Full of cozy charm, pointed humor and a clumsy sense of adventure, it’s a coming-of-age tale about trying to find your footing in those first few precarious years after graduating from college. It’s also an ode to the dying art of antiquarian bookselling as Darkshire learns the ropes of his new role and joins the line of professionally bookish types who have kept the shop running since 1761. Readers who are fans of “books about books” definitely won’t want to miss this one in 2023.

Paris by Paris Hilton

Dey Street | March 14

If you were alive in the 2000s, you likely have hundreds of memories (many of them involuntary) of Paris Hilton, the blond, bejeweled hotel heiress who took “famous for being famous” to new heights. However, given what we now know about the punishing media machine of the early aughts—in addition to the revelations of the 2020 documentary This Is Paris—it’s reasonable to wonder how much of what we think we know about Hilton is true. Hopefully her memoir, aptly named Paris: The Memoir, will clear up the smoke and mirrors. It seems there may be more to the DJ, model and reality TV star than purse chihuahuas and low-rise velour track pants after all.

Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond

Crown | March 21

Winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction Matthew Desmond is back with more searing sociological commentary. Poverty, by America builds on the groundbreaking storytelling in Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, zooming out from that book’s focus on housing insecurity to encompass the broader issues that contribute to America’s poverty epidemic, such as low wages and wealth inequality. Ultimately, Poverty, by America tackles the question: Why does the richest nation on Earth have more poverty than any other advanced democracy? It’s an unwieldy question, but Desmond is just the man to tackle it.

The Best Strangers in the World by Ari Shapiro

HarperOne | March 21

Broadcaster, journalist and host of the NPR news program “All Things Considered” Ari Shapiro adds “author” to his string of credits this March. The Best Strangers in the World: Stories From a Life Spent Listening is a memoir in essays that goes behind the scenes of his exciting professional life (riding on Air Force One with the president, reporting on the Syrian refugee crisis) as well as his personal life (his childhood, his marriage and his love of musical theater). In both spheres, Shapiro is charming and personable, sharing his life with a mixture of earnestness and panache. If you’re a fan of “All Things Considered,” you’ll likely hear his voice in your head while reading; we bet the audiobook for this one will be stellar.

The Wounded World by Chad L. Williams

FSG | April 4

Armchair historians with an interest in World War I should mark their calendars for April. Brandeis University professor of history Chad L. Williams’ The Wounded World focuses on the evolution of W.E.B. Du Bois’ stance on the First World War and Black Americans’ role within it. After the great thinker, sociologist and author originally came out in support of the Allied cause, he came to regret this decision and struggled for two decades to write a definitive account of Black Americans’ involvement in the war, which he never finished. Williams chronicles Du Bois’ attempt to write that history, illuminating new insights into Black people’s experiences during the 20th century along the way.

A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan

Viking | April 4

National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Timothy Egan has a stunner in store for history fans this year. A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them is another narrative, page-turning history from the author of The Worst Hard Time and The Big Burn, this time zeroing in on 1920s America at the height of the Ku Klux Klan’s terror. Egan tells the story of D.C. Stephenson, the Grand Dragon of Indiana, who had governors, judges and pastors in his pocket and who even claimed to have a phone that provided a direct line to the president. This was a time when the KKK baldly broadcasted its message of white supremacy to the whole nation, and A Fever in the Heartland reveals how one woman changed that forever.

A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung

Ecco | April 4

In her bestselling 2018 memoir, All You Can Ever Know, Korean American author Nicole Chung grappled with the ways she benefitted from and was wounded by growing up in a white adoptive family. In her second memoir, A Living Remedy, Chung digs deeper into the dynamics of family, class and how guilt mixes with gratitude when one generation becomes more successful than the last. When her father died from kidney disease at age 67, Chung had to face the wealth and health care inequalities that hastened his death—inequalities she knew that she and her children would not face. It’s a tender personal story with powerful social and political ramifications.

This Isn’t Going to End Well by Daniel Wallace

Algonquin | April 11

The beloved author of Big Fish and five other novels will publish his first work of nonfiction this April. This Isn’t Going to End Well: The True Story of a Man I Thought I Knew is a memoir about Daniel Wallace’s late brother-in-law, William Nealy, who died by suicide in 2001. From the time Wallace was 12, he admired his big sister’s impossibly cool boyfriend, and later husband. Nealy was a cartoonist, mountain rescue specialist, professional drummer, author, sculptor, construction worker, civil rights activist and a dozen other things—the definition of “larger than life,” up until his death at age 48. After that, Wallace began to uncover the secrets Nealy had kept hidden all his life, and This Isn’t Going to End Well outlines the complicated, tender truth about one mythical man.

You Could Make This Place Beautiful cover image

You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith

Atria | April 11

In 2020, poet Maggie Smith released the much-needed book Keep Moving, a bracing collection of quotations and essays about life after divorce and what comes next. In You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir, Smith unfurls the full story for the first time, dispatching scenes from before and after her marriage to create a kaleidoscope of a memoir. Along the way, Smith vies with patriarchy, motherhood and work as she carves a path through loss and seismic change. This book will be a lifeline to readers looking for ways to pick up the pieces and turn them into a beautiful collage.

Alexandra Petri’s US History by Alexandra Petri

Norton | April 11

Humorist Alexandra Petri, a columnist for The Washington Post and author of Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why, has more laughs up her sleeve. Alexandra Petri’s US History: Important American Documents (I Made Up) is like a compilation of McSweeney’s best listicles and articles, except they’re all about American history, and they’re all written by one very funny person. Spanning 500 years of real history, each of the book’s entries constructs a fake historical document: Francisco de Coronado’s letter to Charles V; an toy ad for Puritan parents; John and Abigail Adams’s sexts; and many even more ridiculous entries from the satirical archives. This book is a must-read for history buffs with a sense of humor.

The Wager by David Grann

Doubleday | April 18

The bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon—the film adaptation of which, directed by Martin Scorcese, will be released this year—returns with another gripping, twisty narrative history. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder tells the story of a British ship that washed up on Brazilian shores in 1742 after months of being marooned off the coast of Patagonia. The crew was welcomed and celebrated—until another ship washed ashore in Chile six months later and those on board accused the first group of being not heroes but mutineers. If you’ve ever wondered how Lord of the Flies might have played out if it had been adults instead of children stranded on that island, David Grann has the shocking answer.

Honey, Baby, Mine by Laura Dern & Diane Ladd

Grand Central | April 25

Actor and cultural icon Laura Dern teams up with another icon—her mom, actor Diane Ladd—for their first book. Honey, Baby, Mine: A Mother and Daughter Talk Life, Death, Love (and Banana Pudding) records conversations between mother and daughter on work, love, relationships, professional success and more, born out of the long walks they took together while Ladd was recovering from a sudden life-threatening illness. The book will include photos, recipes and other familial tidbits, ultimately creating a rich mosaic of two legendary women as they formed a deep friendship.

Our Migrant Souls by Héctor Tobar

MCD | May 9

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and novelist Héctor Tobar (The Last Great Road Bum) showcases his social science expertise in Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino”. As a Los Angeles native and the son of Guatemalan immigrants, Tobar understands all the ways that the label “Latino” fails to capture the huge and hugely diverse swath of people who identify themselves with that term. Using both his own experiences and the stories of his Latinx students at the University of California, Irvine, Tobar crafts a galvanizing portrait of Latinx people’s humanity, anger and beauty, crisscrossing the terrain of pop culture, history and identity with singular dexterity.

Better Living Through Birding by Christian Cooper

Random House | May 9

Remember in 2020 when a white woman called the police on a Black guy who was just bird-watching in Central Park? (Of course you do.) That man was Christian Cooper, and his memoir is called Better Living Through Birding: Notes From a Black Man in the Natural World. Cooper likes to observe the migratory birds who stop in Central Park every spring on their journey back home, and his book will explore what all that time looking at the skies has taught him about safety, self-acceptance and life as a gay Black man in America. In addition to revealing more about Cooper’s life, including his work as a writer for Marvel Comics, Better Living Through Birding will also serve as a handy how-to for aspiring birders.

King: A Life by Jonathan Eig

FSG | May 16

A new biography of Martin Luther King Jr. is coming this May from Jonathan Eig, who has previously written biographies of Muhammad Ali, Al Capone, Lou Gehrig and Jackie Robinson. Eig writes in the book’s introduction that his biography is the first to make use of several recently released resources, including FBI documents, White House telephone recordings, materials that belonged to King’s personal archivist and an unpublished memoir by King’s father. Chances are high that within King: A Life’s 688 pages, new revelations will come to light, and a complicated, admiring, honest portrait of an American icon will emerge.

Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby

Vintage | May 16

Humorist, essayist and TV writer Samantha Irby expands her repertoire of hilarious writings (and animal-themed book covers) with Quietly Hostile: Essays. Now that Irby has entered the big leagues as a writer for shows like “And Just Like That” and “Shrill,” her life must be glamorous and refined. Just kidding! If you’re a fan of her other collections (Wow, No Thank You., We Are Never Meeting in Real Life. and Meaty), you already know that her life is just as busted as ever. (The marketing copy for this book mentions poison teeth, diarrhea and QVC, if that’s any indication.) But this is good news for readers, because once the calamities of Irby’s life have been processed through her singularly twisted mind, they become something funny, endearing and endlessly relatable.

Raw Dog by Jamie Loftus

Forge | May 23

Comedian and podcaster Jamie Loftus (“The Bechdel Cast,” “My Year in Mensa,” “Lolita Podcast,” et al.) turns her attention to the illustrious hot dog in her debut book, Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs. Part memoir and part social critique, the book follows Loftus’ summer 2021 cross-country road trip as she documented the myriad forms of this quintessential American food. Along the way, Loftus delves into all the ways hot dogs embody issues of class and culture in the United States, illuminating the complex history of this backyard barbecue staple with her signature mix of intellect and unhinged humor.

Why Fathers Cry at Night by Kwame Alexander

Little, Brown | May 23

Acclaimed children’s and young adult author Kwame Alexander (The Door of No Return) will serve up a hybrid memoir for adult readers later this year. Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir in Love Poems, Recipes, Letters, and Remembrances spans Alexander’s experiences as a son, husband and father, sharing intimate glimpses of missteps and triumphs throughout his life as he has worked to understand what love is and how to share it with those he cares for. Interspersed throughout these personal stories are original poems, family recipes and other unexpected offerings, making for a uniquely varied reading experience.

Women We Buried Women We Burned cover image

Women We Buried, Women We Burned by Rachel Louise Snyder

Bloomsbury | May 23

Journalist Rachel Louise Snyder, author of the acclaimed 2019 book No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us, will tell her own story for the first time in Women We Buried, Women We Burned: A Memoir. When Snyder was 8, her father joined a strict evangelical church after her mother’s untimely death. This inspired a rebellious streak in Snyder, who eventually found herself kicked out of high school and living in her car. From there, Snyder recounts her jagged path to becoming the renowned journalist she is today, through years of reporting abroad and honing her understanding of women’s unique precarity in the world. It promises to be a gripping memoir of learning to survive and defending others’ right to do the same.

Pageboy by Elliot Page

Flatiron | June 6

Oscar-nominated actor Elliot Page, who has portrayed so many beloved characters’ stories over his career, now shares his own story in Pageboy: A Memoir. Page wrote in an Instagram post that until recently, he never felt like it was the right time to write a memoir, especially as he wrestled with gender dysphoria before his transition. But once he felt at home in his body, he could finally carve out the space to tell the truth about his life and experiences. Those truths can be found in Pageboy, which recounts Page’s journey toward coming out as queer and trans, and the ways that stardom both fulfilled and delayed his dreams for his life. We expect it to be the kind of book you cheer for by the end, as the author learns how to be true to himself at last.

Moby Dyke by Krista Burton

Simon & Schuster | June 6

Krista Burton’s first book, Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest to Hunt Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in America, chronicles a road trip for the ages: visiting the last 21 lesbian bars in the United States (down from 206 in 1987). Creator of the blog Effing Dykes, Burton set out to discover where all these bars went, what the remaining ones have to offer and what queer spaces, places and rituals have been lost as LGBTQ+ communities have become more accepted by the dominant culture. Some of Burton’s personal narrative is also woven into her cultural analysis, such as coming out to her Mormon parents and traveling cross-country with her husband, who is transgender. It all sounds like a wild, wonderful ride.

The Questions That Matter Most by Jane Smiley

Heyday | June 6

Beloved novelist Jane Smiley (A Thousand Acres, Golden Age, Perestroika in Paris) dips back into nonfiction for the first time since 2005 with The Questions That Matter Most: Reading, Writing, and the Exercise of Freedom. Touching on the aesthetic, ethical and contextual aspects of reading and writing, Smiley’s 18 essays reflect on favorite authors, famous works from the English canon, the writing life and more. The Questions That Matter Most offers a peek into a great literary mind as it puzzles over the tricks and triumphs of other masterful writers, from Franz Kafka to Alice Munro.

A Most Tolerant Little Town by Rachel Louise Martin

Simon & Schuster | June 13

Historian Rachel Louise Martin (Hot, Hot Chicken) continues her work of documenting the politics of memory across the South in A Most Tolerant Little Town: The Explosive Beginning of School Desegregation in America. Martin’s second book recounts the events of September 1956 when a small town in Tennessee became home to the first school to undergo court-ordered desegregation after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. There were death threats, violence and protests. The National Guard had to intervene. And in the years that followed, townspeople were reluctant to talk about it. Martin seems to have gotten through to them at last, however, because her book is based on interviews with over 60 of the town’s residents, resulting in a patchwork portrait of a pivotal moment in civil rights history.

How to Stay Married by Harrison Scott Key

Avid Reader | June 13

Harrison Scott Key, whose first book, The World’s Largest Man, won the Thurber Prize for American Humor in 2016, is back with another funny and deeply felt memoir. How to Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told tells the harrowing (but also somehow hilarious) story of Key’s realization that his wife was having an affair with a family friend. As he tangles and untangles faith, forgiveness and fidelity, Key takes readers along for a memorable caper, trying to right past wrongs, reckon with his failings and pave a better path forward, all with his sense of humor intact.

100 Places to See After You Die cover image

100 Places to See After You Die by Ken Jennings

Scribner | June 13

“Jeopardy!” champion and author Ken Jennings (Planet Funny) has written a travel guide we hope you won’t need anytime soon. 100 Places to See After You Die: A Travel Guide to the Afterlife splits the difference between an informative compendium of afterlife legends and locales, and a satirical travel guide for anyone crossing the river Styx (or descending into Sheol, or ascending to Valhalla). So go ahead. Study up on the customs of potential future resting places, learn the lingo and figure out what to expect when you get there—or how you should behave now to ensure your entry—all while having a laugh at Jennings’ witty descriptions.

Adult Drama by Natalie Beach

Hanover Square | June 20

In 2019, Natalie Beach published an essay in The Cut about her dysfunctional friendship with full-time social media influencer and part-time grifter Caroline Calloway. In the days and weeks that followed, no one with a smartphone could talk about anything else. That viral essay leaned heavily on Calloway’s actions and difficulties, but in Adult Drama: And Other Essays, Beach tells her own story. This memoir in essays seeks to capture the absurdist humor of becoming an adult, with all of its professional, romantic, personal and existential crises. We’re excited to hear more from Beach, and to find out what kinds of sharp observations she’ll make about finding your footing in a world off its axis.

August Wilson: A Life by Patti Hartigan

Simon & Schuster | August 15

Patti Hartigan is a theater critic who knew legendary playwright August Wilson personally, and we’re eager to get her authoritative take on his life and work in August Wilson: A Life. Wilson is responsible for some of the most revered plays of the 20th century, including Two Trains Running, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Fences. His work explored Black Americans’ experiences over the last century and made him a key figure in the Post-Black Arts Movement. Based on interviews with Wilson’s friends, family and colleagues, Hartigan’s biography will shine a welcome light on this essential American artist.

Discover all of BookPage’s most anticipated books of 2023.

Masters of history, memoir, biography, social science and more reach for new heights in 2023.

Mystery & Suspense

Mystery & Suspense

2023 preview: Most anticipated mystery & suspense

Feature by the editors of BookPage

A mystery told through iPhone voice transcripts, Jacqueline Winspear’s first standalone novel in nine years and the very first release from Gillian Flynn’s new imprint: 2023 will be a year for the record books when it comes to mystery and suspense.

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett

Atria | January 24

Janice Hallett’s debut mystery, The Appeal, used emails, texts and letters to track a drama club tearing itself apart—to the point of murder. For her next trick, Hallett tells a story entirely through fictional audio transcripts, voice notes recorded by Steven “Smithy” Smith as he tries to unravel the secrets of a mysterious children’s book and its connection to the disappearance of his former English teacher.

Exiles by Jane Harper

Flatiron | January 31

After a couple of standalones, Jane Harper returns to Aaron Falk, the sleuth who starred in her first two mysteries. Aaron is searching for a woman who vanished one summer night, leaving her baby tucked safely inside a pram, and his investigation may reveal terrible truths about his best friend and his best friend’s family.

Unnatural History by Jonathan Kellerman

Ballantine | February 7

Milo Sturgis and Alex Delaware’s latest case delves into sticky questions of art, exploitation and activism as they hunt for the murderer of a wealthy photographer whose portraits of homeless people may have resulted in his death.

The Cliff’s Edge by Charles Todd

William Morrow | February 14

Nurse Bess Crawford is still adjusting to life after World War I and considering whether she has deeper feelings for her friend, Simon Brandon. But that task becomes even more difficult when she is drawn into a vicious family feud in the Yorkshire countryside with unforeseen consequences for the people closest to her.

Murder at Haven’s Rock by Kelley Armstrong

Minotaur | February 21

Kelley Armstrong’s bestselling Rockton series has one of the most creative premises in mystery fiction: The secret town of Rockton exists completely off the grid in the Alaskan wilderness, the perfect place for criminals, fugitives and anyone in need of a second chance. In this spinoff series, Rockton’s erstwhile police chief, Casey Duncan, is building a second town to improve upon Rockton’s success—and then a body is discovered in the woods outside the worksite.

Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy

Gillian Flynn Books | February 21

Even if poet Margot Douaihy’s debut mystery weren’t the first book released under Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn’s imprint, we’d still be itching to get our hands on it. A whodunit set in New Orleans starring a queer, chain-smoking, tattooed nun? Send it to us immediately.

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay

Minotaur | March 7

The acclaimed author of Every Last Fear and The Night Shift is back with another tale of past horrors reaching into the present. Five former residents of Savior House, a group home for teenagers that was shut down 25 years ago after the disappearances of some of its inhabitants, reunite after someone begins hunting them down.

A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn

Berkley | March 7

Beloved Victorian sleuths Veronica Speedwell and Stoker Templeton-Vane return in their eighth adventure. This time, they’re trying to save the life of Stoker’s brother Tiberius, whose group of friends are being stalked and killed for reasons unknown. In a move that will especially please historical fiction fans, Tiberius plans to hold a house party at his ancestral estate to lure the killer out of hiding. If drama is what you seek, a house party is where you will surely find it.

I Will Find You by Harlan Coben

Grand Central | March 14

Harlan Coben is one of our greatest living thriller writers, and instantly engaging hooks like the one in I Will Find You are a big reason why. To wit, David Burroughs didn’t kill his son, Matthew, but he was convicted and is now serving a life sentence for the terrible crime. When he receives evidence that Matthew is still alive, he has no choice but to break out of prison to clear his name and find out what actually happened.

Red London by Alma Katsu

Putnam | March 14

Well-known for her historical horror novels, Alma Katsu is also the author of espionage thrillers inspired by her previous career as a senior intelligence analyst. Red London will reunite readers with Red Widow’s Lyndsey Duncan, whose latest mission is to ferret out Russian assets in London.

So You Shall Reap by Donna Leon

Atlantic Monthly | March 14

There’s something of a holy trinity of wholesome, modern male sleuths. Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache, Martin Walker’s Benoît “Bruno” Courrèges, Chief of Police and Donna Leon’s Commissario Guido Brunetti are all cultured, empathetic, complicated detectives who solve crimes while enjoying lives that fill readers with envy. Of late, Leon’s been giving readers snippets of Guido’s past, and this latest investigation is no different: The murder of a Sri Lankan man, found in one of Venice’s canals, has a startling connection to Guido’s student days.

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Berkley | March 14

Jesse Q. Sutanto, the bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties, returns with a mystery sure to please fans of The Thursday Murder Club and all the similarly clever tales starring older characters that followed in its wake. When Vera Wong finds a dead body in her tea shop, she decides to embark on her own investigation by closely observing her customers, certain that the man’s killer will eventually return to the scene of the crime.

A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas

Berkley | March 14

The Lady Sherlock series is one of the best spins on the Sherlock Holmes canon and a wonderful historical mystery series in its own right. Sherry Thomas’ saga follows Charlotte Holmes, a brilliant detective who solves crime while pretending to be her fake brother Sherlock’s assistant, and in this seventh installment, she is on the hunt for an important dossier aboard the RMS Provence. Of course, someone is murdered on the ship, but Charlotte must hold back from solving the crime in order to continue her search for the dossier (and protect her identity—she’s recently had to fake her death, you see). Does Charlotte stand a chance at resisting such a tantalizing case? Most likely not.

The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear

Harper | March 21

After 17 acclaimed historical mysteries starring British sleuth Maisie Dobbs, Jacqueline Winspear is introducing a new character for her fans to adore. The White Lady follows Elinor White, a 41-year-old former spy living in a small English village in 1947. When her neighbors are threatened by a powerful gang, Elinor will have to call on all her training to protect her new life.

The Last Heir to Blackwood Library jacket image

The Last Heir to Blackwood Library by Hester Fox

Graydon House | April 4

If you love gothic novels, you probably already know and love the deliciously gloomy work of Hester Fox. Her fifth book takes place after World War I and follows Ivy Radcliffe, a woman who is shocked to learn that she’s inherited a crumbling estate in Yorkshire that contains an epically creepy library.

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

St. Martin’s | April 4

Sally Hepworth’s 2022 thriller, The Younger Wife, was a marvelous combination of complicated character dynamics and soapy thrills a la Big Little Lies. So there are high hopes for her next novel, which will take on a time-honored trope of female-driven suspense novels: What if my perfect, beloved husband was actually a murderer?

The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda

Marysue Rucci | April 11

Bestselling thriller author Megan Miranda’s latest novel follows a group of former classmates who all survived the same tragic event. As they gather to mark the 10th anniversary of the incident, one of the classmates disappears. Knowing Miranda, the plot will be perfectly constructed, the characters endearingly spiky and the twists shockingly prescient.

The Last Word by Taylor Adams

William Morrow | April 25

Taylor Adams hit it big with No Exit, which is now a movie on Hulu, and topped himself with the superb Hairpin Bridge. The Last Word’s premise will be hilariously, uncomfortably familiar for any book lovers who are perhaps . . . a bit too online. A woman who posts a negative review of a famous author’s latest horror novel gets into a fight with said author on the internet—and then disturbing incidents start happening around her isolated home.

The Way of the Bear by Anne Hillerman

Harper | April 25

Tony Hillerman’s Leaphorn & Chee mysteries are finally getting the prestige TV adaptation they deserve in AMC’s “Dark Winds,” which means a whole new audience will find their way to Anne Hillerman’s continuation of her father’s work. Her eight installment will see Jim Chee and Bernadette Manuelito investigating two mysterious deaths that seem to be tied to the Bear Ears area, one of the most beautiful places in the Navajo Nation.

For You and Only You by Caroline Kepnes

Random House | April 25

America’s favorite stalker is back, and he has another outrageously named woman to hunt. The new love of Joe Goldberg’s life is named Wonder, the setting is Harvard University, but Joe himself will never change. Thank goodness.

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

Harper | April 25

It’s been six years since the acclaimed author of Mystic River and Shutter Island released a new novel, and Small Mercies sounds like a doozy. Set in Boston in 1974, this suspenseful novel will follow Mary Pat Fennessey, whose search for her missing daughter sets her on a collision course with the Irish mob as the city teeters on the brink of violence over the desegregation of its public schools.

Sing Her Down by Ivy Pochoda

MCD | May 23

Ivy Pochoda’s new thriller sounds like a Western version of “Killing Eve,” which is something we never knew we needed but now need desperately. It follows two incarcerated women, one of whom insists that the other isn’t as innocent as she pretends to be, sparking a deadly game of cat-and-mouse.

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

Flatiron | June 6

S.A. Cosby never shies away from the darker corners of crime fiction, exploring morally gray characters and challenging situations with a humane, clear-eyed intelligence. His next book will be no different: All the Sinners Bleed follows Titus Crown, the first Black sheriff in a small Southern town who must reckon with all the contradictions of his position when a teacher’s murder uncovers a tangle of corruption, crimes and secrets.

Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge by Spencer Quinn

Forge | July 25

Spencer Quinn has already gifted readers with the Chet & Bernie series, which follows a PI and his German Shepherd as they solve crimes and enjoy being each other’s best friend. (It is exactly as adorable as it sounds.) But now he’s starting a new series that could become just as beloved: Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge will be the first adventure of Loretta Plansky, a widow in her 70s, who, after losing her savings to a scammer pretending to be her grandson, sets out to track him down and recover her funds.

Prom Mom by Laura Lippman

William Morrow | July 25

Laura Lippman’s novels combine careful plotting with extremely messy character behavior, resulting in singularly page-turning reads. True to form, her latest thriller begins with a plot straight out of the trashiest of tabloids: When she was a teenager, Amber Glass was accused of killing her baby on prom night after her date, Joe Simpson, abandoned her. With something like that in your past, you’d get the hell out of dodge too. So why is Amber back in town, and why are she and Joe circling each other once again?

Evergreen by Naomi Hirahara

Soho Crime | August 1

The author of Clark and Division, one of our best mysteries of 2021, returns with Evergreen, her second Japantown Mystery. It’s 1946, and Aki Ito and her family have finally returned to their home in Los Angeles after being incarcerated in a detention center and resettled in Chicago. Aki’s next case puts her in an extremely delicate position: Her husband’s best friend, Babe Watanbe, is suspected of elder abuse, and it turns out that’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential crimes of the Watanabes.

Discover all of BookPage’s most anticipated books of 2023.

Complicated new cases and twisty plots await in the 26 mysteries and thrillers we’re itching to read.

Romance

Romance

2023 preview: Most anticipated romance

Feature by the editors of BookPage

Ambitious historicals, creative rom-coms and a new wave of angsty romances are ready for their meet cute with readers in 2023.

Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn

Kensington | January 24

Kate Clayborn’s gorgeously written romances are a perfect counterbalance to the current wave of high-concept rom-coms. Down-to-earth and achingly realistic, her novels catch people in the moments when their lives are starting to change for the better. Her latest book follows Georgie Mulcahy who, after being uprooted from her life in Los Angeles and returning to her small hometown, decides to check off all the items on her teenage self’s wishlist.

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

Berkley | January 24

After making their adult debut with The Roughest Draft, YA author duo Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka are back with another multilayered second-chance romance. This time, it’s between unhappily married couple Eliza and Graham, who, while on a weeklong trip for their fifth anniversary, find themselves enjoying each other’s company once again when they pretend to be strangers.

Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey

Avon | February 7

After completing the Pacific Northwest-set Bellinger Sisters duology, which earned her a spot as one of BookTok’s favorite authors, Tessa Bailey is taking her magic touch down to Napa, California, for A Vine Mess, a series that follows two heirs to a family winery. First up is Julian Vos, a buttoned-up professor who finds himself falling head over heels for gorgeous gardener Hallie Welch.

Radiant Sin by Katee Robert

Sourcebooks Casablanca | February 7

Katee Robert’s marvelous Dark Olympus series, which reimagines and remixes the most famous love stories of Greek mythology, continues with Radiant Sin, a modern take on the story of Apollo and Cassandra. Apollo is the secret-keeper of the isolated city of Olympus, and he goes on an undercover mission with his employee Cassandra—and they have to pretend to be a couple. That’s right, it’s a workplace romance plus fake dating!

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen jacket image

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles

Sourcebooks Casablanca | March 7

A highly prolific, critically adored self-publishing phenomenon, KJ Charles writes gay historical romances that vary in tone, genre and era, but all display her signature wit and cunningly constructed characters. Her first novel with a major publisher in several years is, therefore, a cause for celebration in itself. Add a plot described as “Bridgerton” meets “Poldark,” and we might just be looking at the next romance phenomenon.

Something Wild & Wonderful by Anita Kelly

Forever | March 7

Anita Kelly’s cooking show rom-com, Love & Other Disasters, was one of the most impressive debuts of 2022 and one of our favorite romances of the year. But it looks like Kelly might outdo themself with their more emotional sophomore novel, which follows two men who fall in love while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.

The Portrait of a Duchess by Scarlett Peckham

Avon | March 7

It’s been three whole years (an eternity in Romancelandia) since Scarlett Peckham released The Rakess, a formally ambitious Regency romance starring a fiery proto-feminist. The long-awaited follow-up will return to the radical Society of Sirens, a group of convention-defying heroines advocating for women’s rights, and tell the love story of radical painter Cornelia Ludgate and Rafe Goodwood, a man who’s just inherited a dukedom and intends to use his new fortune and position to advocate for social reform.

Infamous by Lex Croucher

Griffin | March 21

If we are to have a wave of “Bridgerton”-esque takes on historical fiction that play fast and loose with accuracy, please let some of them be as entertainingly nasty and gleefully unrestrained as Lex Croucher’s Reputation. Her sophomore novel, Infamous, sounds like a chaotic spin on a beloved historical romance trope: the house party. When Edith “Eddie” Miller and her best friend, Rose, get an invite to scandalous poet Nash Nicholson’s country estate, Eddie finds herself torn between dreams of literary success and her friendship with Rose, all while struggling to untangle her increasingly complicated feelings for both Rose and Nash.

Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller

Griffin | March 28

Diana Biller’s lush and intricately detailed books are especially notable for their unique settings. Rather than the familiar milieu of Regency or Victorian England, Biller has given readers a gothic love story in Gilded Age New York City, a second-chance romance in late 19th-century Paris and now Hotel of Secrets, an exciting tale of spies and luxury hotels in 1870s Vienna.

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

Random House | April 4

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some of us got into baking; Curtis Sittenfeld got into “Saturday Night Live.” Following on the heels of her bestselling Rodham, her latest novel wonders: What would happen if “SNL” had a female writer who wrote a sketch that lampooned the generations of male writers who have brought their female celebrity girlfriends on as hosts? And what if the female writer ended up falling for a male host in turn?

The Plus-One by Mazey Eddings

Griffin | April 4

The wedding from hell drives two childhood enemies into each other’s arms for a round of fake dating in the new rom-com from Mazey Eddings, the author of A Brush With Love and Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake. It sounds very hijinks-heavy, but based on Eddings’ previous novels, there will be a lot of heart underneath all the shenanigans.

To Swoon and to Spar by Martha Waters

Atria | April 11

Viscount Penvale thinks he has established an excellent marriage of convenience with Jane Spencer. But unbeknownst to him, Jane is plotting to stage a haunting of Trethwick Abbey, the home they just inherited together, to get him to abandon the property and let her live her life as she pleases. This plan will obviously go very well, and Penvale and Jane will not in any way fall in love.

Verity and the Forbidden Suitor jacket image

Verity and the Forbidden Suitor by J.J. McAvoy

Dell | April 11

J.J. McAvoy’s Aphrodite and the Duke introduced readers to her “Bridgerton”-inspired take on the Regency and the delightful Du Bell family. In Verity and the Forbidden Suitor, the Du Bells play host to the titular character, a duke’s sister who falls in love with a dashing doctor who’s unfortunately a deeply unsuitable match for her on account of his being an illegitimate child.

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

Forever | April 11

The marvelous Abby Jimenez writes romances that strike a seemingly impossible balance between sweet comedy and emotional angst. Her latest follows two doctors who overcome a truly terrible first impression to become workplace besties and maybe something more.

The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur

Avon | April 18

After completing her fan-favorite Written in the Stars trilogy, Alexandria Bellefleur is giving her readers a delightfully genre-specific literary love story between a bookseller and a romance cover model.

Happy Place by Emily Henry

Berkley | April 25

What is there to say about Emily Henry that hasn’t already been said? Her gorgeously written, achingly sexy romances live up to the hype and then some (even that feels like an understatement). This spring will see her pen her first second-chance romance, between a married couple who haven’t told their close-knit friend group that they’ve broken up and must now endure one last summer vacation to Maine while trying to keep their secret under wraps.

The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren

Gallery | May 16

The beloved author duo behind The Soulmate Equation and The Unhoneymooners are heading to Hollywood! Romance novelist Felicity “Fizzy” Chen has a terrible secret: She’s never actually been in love. But filmmaker Connor Prince thinks that’s actually the perfect hook for a dating show, one that, in a twist that will thrill reality TV fans and romance readers alike, Fizzy demands be cast according to romance novel archetypes.

Once More With Feeling by Elissa Sussman

Dell | May 30

Speaking of Hollywood, Elissa Sussman’s adult debut, Funny You Should Ask, was one of the best Los Angeles-set love stories we’ve seen in years. In the same style as her first novel, her follow-up will move back and forth in time in the lives of a pop star and a boy band member, from the height of their fame to when they’re reunited years later, when both blame the other for destroying their career.

Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey

Avon | June 6

That’s right, Tessa Bailey fans—you’re getting not one but two new books this year! The second A Vine Mess romance will center on a modern marriage of convenience between Napa heiress Natalie Vos and vineyard owner August Cates. It can be difficult to create meaningful stakes in a marriage of convenience in a world where women have, you know, rights and the ability to more easily divorce their husbands, but Bailey is a pro at crafting rom-com hijinks underpinned by relatable emotion.

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian

Avon | June 6

You’d think that the 1950s would be a prime setting for historical romance, especially given that today’s romance authors are just as interested in unpacking intersections of race, class and sexuality as they are in reveling in glamorous period trappings. It’s still a sea of Regency and Victorian love stories out there, but maybe Cat Sebastian, who is also in the midst of a series set in the Georgian era, can start a trend with We Could Be So Good, a love story between two men who both work in midcentury New York City’s newspaper industry.

A Dish Best Served Hot by Natalie Caña

MIRA | June 27

Natalie Caña’s absolutely marvelous debut, A Proposal They Can’t Refuse, left us hungry for more. Thankfully, she’ll soon be back with another romance featuring the restaurant-owning Vega family. This time, oldest brother Saint is the one about to fall—for his young daughter’s teacher.

It Happened One Fight by Maureen Lee Lenker

Sourcebooks Casablanca | July 11

Maureen Lee Lenker’s column in Entertainment Weekly is one of the best places (other than here, obviously) to read romance reviews, so it’s especially intriguing to see that she’ll be writing a love story of her very own. It Happened One Fight is set in the golden age of Hollywood and follows two movie stars who, after accidentally getting married during a prank gone wrong, head to Reno, Nevada, to both complete their latest film together and get a divorce.

Say Yes to the Princess by Charis Michaels

Avon | July 11

Charis Michaels finished her absolutely adorable, fairy tale-inspired Awakened by a Kiss series last year, and her next series will have another theme near and dear to historical romance fans’ hearts: royalty! Say Yes to the Princess, the first book in the Hidden Royals series, will follow a French princess who escaped the French Revolution and the fixer who falls in love while trying to keep her from uncovering the British government’s secrets.

How to Tame a Wild Rogue by Julie Anne Long

Avon | July 25

Despite its grandiose name, the Grand Palace on the Thames is more snuggly than sophisticated, a cozy boarding house where rogues and nobility alike can let their guard down, sink into a comfortable chair and maybe find love. The latest star-crossed pair is privateer Lorcan St. Leger and Lady Daphne Worth, who must pose as a married couple to find refuge in the boarding house’s only available suite.

Kiss the Girl by Zoraida Córdova

Hyperion | August 1

The Meant to Be series has already given readers Julie Murphy’s take on Cinderella (If the Shoe Fits) and Jasmine Guillory’s take on Beauty and the Beast (By the Book), and now Zoraida Córdova will take a turn with Kiss the Girl, a modern spin on The Little Mermaid. In her reimagining, Ariel is a world-famous pop star who runs away to join an up-and-coming singer on the road for his latest tour.

Codename Charming by Lucy Parker

Avon | August 15

Beloved, critically acclaimed rom-com author Lucy Parker will continue her Palace Insiders series with Codename Charming, an opposites-attract romance between a prince’s stoic royal bodyguard and that same prince’s happy-go-lucky personal assistant.

Discover all of BookPage’s most anticipated books of 2023.

The 26 love stories we can’t wait to swoon over this year

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Science Fiction & Fantasy

2023 preview: Most anticipated science fiction & fantasy

Feature by the editors of BookPage

2023 will see the return of some of the internet’s favorite writers (Samantha Shannon! TJ Klune!), the genius behind the Murderbot Diaries heading back to fantasy and Chuck Tingle (!!!) releasing his debut novel.

The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz

Tor | January 31

It’s a delight to be alive at the same time as Annalee Newitz, author of equally brilliant fiction and nonfiction. Newitz is returning to sci-fi after their marvelous Four Lost Cities, a historical exploration of ancient metropolises, with The Terraformers. The epic novel will explore the conflict between nature and capitalism on the planet Sask-E, which a powerful corporation transforms over the centuries into a world suitable for human life.

Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones

Saga | February 7

Horror-obsessed teen Jade Daniels is back, and unfortunately, her town of Proofrock, Idaho, is once again in danger in this sequel to My Heart Is a Chainsaw. Another killer is on his way to the town, a man obsessed with getting revenge for 38 Dakota men who were hanged by the United States government in 1862, and it will take all of Jade’s survival skills and genre knowledge to stop him.

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez, translated by Megan McDowell

Hogarth | February 7

Only two story collections from Mariana Enriquez, an acclaimed Argentinian writer of speculative fiction and horror, have been translated into English (Things We Lost in the Fire and The Dangers of Smoking in Bed). Our Share of Night is her first translated novel, and this frightening tale of a father desperate to protect his son from the cult his son’s mother belonged to could be Enriquez’s big breakout.

The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry

Redhook | February 21

If you’re the type of SFF reader who loves fantasy as much as historical trivia, you probably already know about H.G. Parry’s gloriously nerdy Shadow Histories duology. The series suffused the Enlightenment and the age of revolution with magicians who, in addition to arguing about civil liberties, debated whether restrictions should be placed upon sorcery. Parry’s next novel, while still a historical fantasy, is noticeably more whimsical in tone: The Magician’s Daughter is the story of a sheltered orphan who lives on Hy-Brasil, a secret island off the coast of Ireland, and must venture into the outside world after her guardian goes missing.

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

Bloomsbury | February 28

The Priory of the Orange Tree, one of the internet’s very favorite fantasy novels, has everything a genre fan could want: an intriguing world with fascinating historical parallels, a gorgeous love story and unbelievably cool dragons. Priory was said to be a standalone novel when it was first released, but apparently, author Samantha Shannon just couldn’t resist. Fans are wild with anticipation for A Day of Fallen Night, which is set in the same world as Priory but almost five centuries earlier.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

Harper Voyager | March 7

Shannon Chakraborty’s Daevabad series is one of the best fantasy trilogies of recent years (and a well-deserved BookTok favorite). She returns with what looks to be a rollicking good time: a fantasy adventure following the titular pirate, who comes out of retirement to rescue a former crewmember’s kidnapped daughter.

The Curator by Owen King

Scribner | March 7

Owen King (yes, son of that Stephen) has written short stories, horror and literary fiction, but his latest novel is best described as a high-concept intellectual experiment, filtered through the lens of fantasy. Set in a vaguely Dickensian city that has recently undergone a revolution, The Curator follows former maid Dora as she searches for answers about her brother’s mysterious death, which she believes has something to do with the Museum of Psykical Research.

Lone Women by Victor LaValle

One World | March 21

The idiosyncratic author of The Changeling goes west with the frightening story of Adelaide Henry, a woman in turn-of-the-century America who flees to the frontier to hide a terrible secret. As with all of Victor LaValle’s novels, the less you know going in, the better.

A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

Tor Nightfire | March 28

T. Kingfisher hops back and forth between fantasy and horror, bringing her gift for endearing characters and spiky wit to each genre. Her next horror novel, A House With Good Bones, is a Southern gothic drama that will mix scares with family secrets.

One for My Enemy by Olivie Blake

Tor | April 4

Olivie Blake’s Atlas series made the jump from self-publishing phenomenon to bestseller, and there’s more where that came from, with book after book being released from Blake’s archives. First there was the contemporary romance Alone With You in the Ether, and now there’s One for My Enemy, a modern fantasy set in a New York City where two rival witch families teeter on the edge of all-out war.

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune

Tor | April 25

“Pinocchio but with robots” pretty much sounds like the perfect plot for TJ Klune, he of the adorable characters and perfectly measured whimsy. Throw in a Swiss Family Robinson-esque home in the trees, and we’re sold.

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin

Ballantine | May 2

It’s been seven years since Justin Cronin brought his bestselling Passage trilogy to a close with City of Mirrors. This spring, he returns with another tale of sci-fi apocalypse, but this time with a heady metaphysical twist. On the isolated island of Prospera, safe from the world beyond, citizens live long and happy lives until they are “retired.” Their memories are wiped, their bodies are restored and they return to the island to live a new life. But of course, as it is with most so-called utopias, things aren’t what they seem, and Prospera isn’t the paradise its people think it is.

Witch King by Martha Wells

Tordotcom | May 30

Martha Wells, the gleeful genius behind the Murderbot Diaries, pivots to fantasy for the first time in years with the story of a powerful mage who gets murdered, gets resurrected and is faced with a world that has changed a lot while he’s been gone.

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

Saga | June 27

The iconic, bestselling writer of various speculative genres, Tananarive Due turns once again to horror in this novel set at a segregated reform school in 1950s Florida, where a young boy realizes that the spirits of other children who have died there are haunting the property.

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

Tor Nightfire | July 18

Is Chuck Tingle the opposite of a milkshake duck? The mysterious, wildly prolific erotica author’s outrageous oeuvre has been delighting those in the know for years, and that was before we learned that Chuck Tingle is: 1) a real person who really does love writing erotica and isn’t just doing it for the bit, 2) a hilarious troll who firmly rejected the reactionary movements that attempted to game the Hugo Awards and 3) an advocate for freedom, love and LGBTQ+ rights. The gay conversion camp-set horror novel Camp Damascus is his first full-length book, and will introduce him to audiences that are not terminally online but still sorely need his earnest, joyful perspective on life and love.

Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong

Saga | July 25

Young adult author Chloe Gong looked to Romeo and Juliet for her first two books, As You Like It for her third and now Antony and Cleopatra for her adult fantasy debut, Immortal Longings. Her Cleopatra stand-in is Princess Calla Tuoleimi, who takes part in a magical contest with the hopes of assassinating her reclusive uncle, who will make an appearance to greet the winner of the games. Along the way, she forms an alliance and then a relationship with aristocrat Anton Makusa, and must decide between her quest and her new love.

Masters of Death by Olivie Blake

Tor | August 8

Within Olivie Blake’s impending flood of new books, Masters of Death sounds like the most lighthearted: It’s a romance between Viola Marek, a vampire real estate agent, and medium Fox D’Mora, to whom Viola turns for help in figuring out who murdered a man haunting a house she really needs to sell.

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Tor | August 29

Sci-fi author John Scalzi gifted readers with the absolute romp that was The Kaiju Preservation Society last year, and it looks like he’s still in his “screw interplanetary politics, let’s have some fun” phase. Starter Villain will follow a protagonist who inherits their uncle’s supervillain business, a hilarious concept made even funnier by the fact that this business is apparently staffed by “sentient . . . computer-savvy cats.”

Discover all of BookPage’s most anticipated books of 2023.

Discover 18 books we can’t wait to escape into.

Children's & YA, YA

Children's & YA YA

2023 preview: Most anticipated YA books

Feature by the editors of BookPage

The YA books we’re most looking forward to in 2023 will push boundaries, revisit beloved characters and, above all, remind us why we love reading.

These Infinite Threads by Tahereh Mafi

HarperCollins | February 7

National Book Award-nominated author Tahereh Mafi’s first YA high fantasy novel, This Woven Kingdom, was everything you could want from a writer known for her deep grasp of character psychology and world building. A retelling of “Cinderella” that became an instant bestseller, This Woven Kingdom ended on what BookPage reviewer Annie Metcalf called a “whopping cliffhanger,” so we’re eager to resume the story in These Infinite Threads.

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

Bloomsbury | February 28

If you haven’t heard the buzz about this debut horror novel by now, you might want to plant more bee balm in your yard. The cover reveal for Trang Thanh Tran’s haunted-house tale basically broke the bookternet last fall—and deservedly so, because artist Elena Masci’s cover art is both stunning and deeply unnerving. As creepy as the novel’s cover is, we suspect it’s nothing compared to the nightmares that await within its pages.

Stateless by Elizabeth Wein

Little, Brown | March 14

Raise your hand if you’ve gasped and/or sobbed while reading one of Elizabeth Wein’s historical fiction masterworks. We know we’re far from alone in this, which is why we can’t wait to soar away with Stateless, which follows a group of top-notch pilots on a weeklong race all over Europe in 1937. After a detour into code breaking in her previous novel, The Enigma Game, we hope Wein’s incredible knowledge and passion for flying retakes center stage in Stateless.

The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores

Wednesday | March 21

We’ll be honest: Francesca Flores’ debut fantasy novel had us from the title, but when we learned that it was a queer reimagining of “Rapunzel” with a friends-to-enemies-to-lovers story arc, we started counting the days until The Witch and the Vampire’s late March publication date. Witches, vampires and all things paranormal are having another moment in YA, and we couldn’t be happier about it.

The Quiet and the Loud by Helena Fox

Dial | March 28

Australian author Helena Fox’s debut YA novel, How It Feels to Float (2019), has become a quintessential BookTok success story. Videos hashtagged with its title have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times, and many BookTokkers praise Fox’s depiction of her protagonist’s mental illness and grief. Readers have been patiently waiting almost four years for Fox to publish another book, and The Quiet and the Loud—which explores similar themes of mental health, family and hope—promises to be worth the wait.

Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu

Roaring Brook | March 28

If there’s one thing we love, it’s an author with range, and at this point, we’re beginning to wonder if there’s anything that bestselling author Marie Lu can’t do. Dystopian thrillers? Check. Cyberpunk sci-fi? Check. Historical fantasy? Check. With Stars and Smoke, Lu adds “espionage thriller” to this list, as the novel follows a pop superstar-turned spy and the gifted agent posing as his bodyguard.

Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker

Tor Teen | April 4

A deadly curse, a magical New Orleans family, twins setting out to heal intergenerational trauma and solve a 30-year-old cold case—if you’re thinking that debut author Terry J. Benton-Walker packed a lot into Blood Debts, you’re not wrong. Benton-Walker’s narrative and world building both seem incredibly ambitious and intriguing, and we can’t wait to see how he untangles it all.

Funeral Songs for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimaline

Tundra | April 4

Vancouver-based Métis author Cherie Dimaline’s 2017 dystopian YA novel, The Marrow Thieves, was an acclaimed bestseller in Canada, while her first book for adults, Empire of Wild, was one of our favorite debuts of 2020. Dimaline followed these with a Marrow Thieves sequel in 2021 (Hunting by Stars), but Funeral Songs for Dying Girls will be her first standalone YA novel in seven years. Although it contains similar speculative elements as her previous works (in this case, ghosts), its contemporary setting marks an intriguing departure from the Marrow Thieves world, and we love to see writers as gifted as Dimaline setting themselves new challenges.

Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken

Knopf | April 4

Alexandra Bracken initially found success during the dystopian YA boom of the early 2010s with The Darkest Minds, the first volume in a four-book series that was eventually adapted into a movie co-produced by “Stranger Things” producer Shawn Levy. In the years since, Bracken has built on her early success with time-travel romances, a supernatural middle grade duology and 2021’s Greek mythology-inspired blockbuster Lore. With Silver in the Bone, Bracken brings her considerable talents for breakneck pacing and complex world building to a new arena: Arthurian legend.

The Making of Yolanda la Bruja by Lorraine Avila

Levine Querido | April 11

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but . . . just look at the incredible cover of Lorraine Avila’s debut YA novel and its gorgeous illustration by artist Blane Asrat. As soon as we saw it, we couldn’t wait to learn more about The Making of Yolanda la Bruja, the story of a teen girl who, as she waits to be initiated into her family’s magical brujería traditions, begins having upsetting visions about the son of a prominent local politician.

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli

Balzer + Bray | May 2

Becky Albertalli’s 2015 William C. Morris Award-winning debut novel, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, helped to usher in a welcome wave of LGBTQ+ YA fiction that readers are still happily surfing today. Albertalli could have coasted on Simon’s success for the rest of her career, but instead, she’s explored new dynamics across three solo novels, a novella and three co-authored novels and established herself as one of contemporary YA fiction’s most beloved writers in the process. Imogen, Obviously draws on some of Albertalli’s own experiences to tell a story about identity, honesty and, of course, falling in love.

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley

Holt | May 2

Angeline Boulley’s Firekeeper’s Daughter was one of the most exciting debut YA novels of 2021. Readers loved its gripping, twisty mystery and breathless prose, and the novel was optioned to be adapted into a Netflix TV series by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company. This year, Boulley returns with another thriller, which she has described as starring “an Indigenous Lara Croft” named Perry Firekeeper-Birch. Warrior Girl Unearthed also features a gorgeous cover illustration by Caldecott Medalist Michaela Goade.

Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi

Balzer + Bray | May 9

Few authors combine vibrant, word-perfect prose and a keen grasp of narrative pacing the way Zoboi does, let alone across as many genres and categories as Zoboi has worked in: The author has written acclaimed bestsellers in every category of children’s publishing, from picture books (The People Remember, a Coretta Scott King Honor book) to YA novels (American Street, a National Book Award finalist) to nonfiction (Star Child). The titular character in Nigeria Jones is the daughter of Black separatists, and she begins to question the very foundations of her life when her mother disappears.

The Grimoire of Grave Fates, created by Hanna Alkaf and Margaret Owen

Delacorte | June 6

The Grimoire of Grave Fates isn’t a short story anthology as we usually think of them: a collection of contributions on a common theme. It’s more like listening in as 18 of our favorite YA authors play a role-playing game inspired by Clue, each contributing a chapter about the magical Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary, where students are trying to solve the murder of a professor. Hanna Alkaf and Margaret Owen lead a contributor list that includes Darcie Little Badger, Julian Winters, Kat Cho, L.L. McKinney, Mason Deaver, Tehlor Kay Mejia and more.

Everyone Wants to Know by Kelly Loy Gilbert

Simon & Schuster | June 13

Ever since her debut novel, Conviction (a finalist for the 2015 William C. Morris Award), Kelly Loy Gilbert has been on our auto-read list—as in, we automatically want to read everything she writes. All of her books (and there are only three of them, so you could catch up between now and June) combine achingly beautiful prose with subtle storytelling that always leaves us in awe and often in tears. Everyone Wants to Know explores the impact of reality TV fame through the story of a teen girl who has grown up in the spotlight gets burned when a private conversation draws public ire.

Discover all of BookPage’s most anticipated books of 2023.

Discover the 15 YA titles we’re resolved to devour this year.

Children's, Children's & YA

Children's & YA Children's

2023 preview: Most anticipated children’s books

Feature by the editors of BookPage

2023 will yield a bumper crop of books for readers small and not-so-small, including new releases from Newbery Medalists Jerry Craft and Kwame Alexander, and collaborations between Mac Barnett and Christian Robinson, Grace Lin and Kate Messner, and Kelly DiPucchio and Loveis Wise.

Once Upon a Book by Grace Lin and Kate Messner

Little, Brown | February 7

It’s difficult to imagine an author-illustrator dream team more thrilling than Kate Messner and Grace Lin, both of whom have proven their authorial expertise in picture books and novels alike. Their collaboration is an ode to imagination and the sheer joy of reading as only they could create together.

On Air With Zoe Washington by Janae Marks

Katherine Tegen | February 14

Any new release from acclaimed middle grade author Janae Marks is cause for celebration, but a sequel to her bestselling debut novel, From the Desk of Zoe Washington, the story of a girl who dreams of becoming a successful baker and sets out to discover whether her father was wrongly incarcerated, has us doing happy dances in our office chairs. On Air With Zoe Washington finds the titular hero juggling new family dynamics and new challenges at the bakery.

Finally Seen by Kelly Yang

Simon & Schuster | February 28

Kelly Yang burst onto the middle grade scene in a big way with her 2018 debut, Front Desk, which spent more than six months on the New York Times bestseller list and won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature. What’s even more impressive, though, is the momentum Yang has maintained ever since, publishing four more middle grade novels, two YA novels and a nonfiction picture book, Yes We Will: Asian Americans Who Shaped This Country, featuring artwork by 15 illustrators. Yang shows no signs of slowing down in 2023, with two books on the way: Finally Seen, which follows a girl who immigrates to America from China five years after her parents and little sister, is coming in February; and Top Story, the fifth book in Yang’s Front Desk series, is scheduled for publication in the fall.

My Baba’s Garden by Jordan Scott, illustrated by Sydney Smith

Neal Porter | March 7

Author Jordan Scott and illustrator Sydney Smith’s first picture book together, 2020’s I Talk Like a River, was an extraordinary depiction of the bond between a young boy who stutters and his empathetic father. We loved it so much, in fact, that we named it one of our 10 best picture books of the year. Repeat collaborations between authors and illustrators tend to be exceptions in picture book publishing rather than the norm, so we were surprised and delighted to learn that Scott and Smith have created another picture book together, this one a sensitive exploration of the relationship between a boy and his grandmother.

The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams cover image

The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams by Daniel Nayeri, illustrated by Daniel Miyares

Levine Querido | March 7

Daniel Nayeri’s 2020 middle grade novel, Everything Sad Is Untrue, broke him out in a big way, and for good reason. His mostly true story about an Iranian refugee named Khosrou who journeys to Oklahoma by way of Italy was inventive, hilarious and deeply moving. Among the honors it received were the Michael L. Printz Award and the Middle East Book Award for Youth Literature. Everything Sad Is Untrue took Nayeri 13 years to write, so we’re a little relieved that we only had to wait two and a half years for his next book, The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams, which follows a boy who travels the Silk Road with a fast-talking merchant.

Twenty Questions by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Christian Robinson

Candlewick | March 14

We would be here all day if we offered a comprehensive list of all the awards and honors garnered by these two talented creators. Instead, we’ll just say that they’re two of the most successful and interesting people working in children’s literature today, and we’re over the moon that they’re making another book together after 2015’s Leo: A Ghost Story. We look forward to discovering Twenty Questions, and to the thoughtful and imaginative conversations it will surely inspire.

Remember by Joy Harjo, illustrated by Michaela Goade

Random House Studio | March 21

Muscogee writer Joy Harjo, the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States, has published two picture books in addition to her many acclaimed collections of poetry and works of nonfiction, but it’s been awhile—14 years, to be exact. Although the text of Remember is not a new composition (the poem was originally published in Harjo’s 1983 collection, She Had Some Horses), the boundaries between poems and picture book texts can be blurry, and Harjo’s imagery-laden verse seems perfect for adapting. We fully expect that 2021 Caldecott Medalist Michaela Goade’s illustrations will leave us breathless.

School Trip by Jerry Craft

Quill Tree | April 4

In 2020, Jerry Craft’s New Kid became the first graphic novel to win the Newbery Medal. Craft followed New Kid with a sequel, Class Act, which saw Jordan and his friends Drew and Liam take on eighth grade at Riverdale Academy Day School. In School Trip, the trio will face their biggest adventure yet: traveling to Paris.

Big Tree by Brian Selznick

Scholastic | April 4

Brian Selznick‘s best-known books are also his biggest. The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the longest book ever to win the Caldecott Medal, clocks in at 544 pages. Add in Wonderstruck and The Marvels and you’re at a whopping 1,824 pages, many of which are illustrated in Selznick’s signature soft graphite. But young readers don’t love Selznick because he writes big books. They love him because of how he dives, seemingly without fear, into big ideas. Big Tree sees Selznick take on a whopper even by his own standards: It’s an entire novel told from the point of view of a sycamore tree seed whose name is, naturally, Louise.

How to Write a Poem by Kwame Alexander and Deanna Nikaido, illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Quill Tree | April 4

We adored How to Read a Book, the first picture book that Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander created with Caldecott Honor illustrator Melissa Sweet. New books from either of these gifted creators always go onto our TBR lists immediately, but the prospect that Alexander might share some insights into his creative processes in How to Write a Poem has us even more excited than usual.

The Firefly Summer by Morgan Matson

Simon & Schuster | May 2

Since publishing her debut YA novel, Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour (2010), Morgan Matson has become known as one of the most thoughtful writers of contemporary YA fiction. Across six books, she has offered grounded and relatable depictions of friendships, families and first loves. We’re eager to see Matson try her hand at middle grade fiction with The Firefly Summer, which follows a girl getting to know her late mother’s large extended family for the first time.

Big by Vashti Harrison

Little, Brown | May 2

Bestselling author-illustrator Vashti Harrison’s luminous digital art is irresistibly appealing, whether it’s in Harrison’s own Little Leaders biography series or in picture books written by former NFL player Matthew A. Cherry (Hair Love), Academy Award-winning actor Lupita Nyong’o (Sulwe) or Questioneers author Andrea Beaty (I Love You Like Yellow). Big is Harrison’s first fiction picture book as both author and illustrator, and it follows a young girl’s evolving relationship to her body.

Becoming Charley by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Loveis Wise

Knopf | May 2

At their best, Kelly DiPucchio’s picture books have a perfect balance between laugh-out-loud humor and just the right amount of heartfelt sweetness. Over the years, DiPucchio has also worked with some of our favorite illustrators, including Greg Pizzoli (Dragon Was Terrible), Stephanie Graegin (Super Manny Stands Up!) and Claire Keane (Not Yeti). Becoming Charley, the story of a nonconformist caterpillar, features illustrations by Loveis Wise, who has quickly become known for their bright color palettes and engaging artistic style in picture books such as Jeanne Walker Harvey’s Ablaze With Color and Ibi Zoboi’s The People Remember.

The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro

Disney Hyperion | May 2

2023 will bring so many delights for longtime fans of middle grade fantasy superstar Rick Riordan that we hereby declare it a Riordanaissance! Riordan’s boutique imprint, Rick Riordan Presents, will publish at least five new novels inspired by myths and legends from China, Korea, Mesopotamia and more. May will bring The Sun and the Star, a new novel co-authored with Mark Oshiro and starring fan-favorite characters Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades, and Will Solace, the son of Apollo. Then in The Chalice of the Gods, coming in September, Riordan will revisit Percy Jackson himself as he tackles his biggest quest yet: getting into college. Although the first season of the Disney+ Percy Jackson adaptation won’t be released until 2024, we bet that Riordan and the show will continue to drop all sorts of tantalizing tidbits throughout the year.

Martina Has Too Many Tías by Emma Otheguy, illustrated by Sara Palacios

Atheneum | June 20

After starting her career by writing nonfiction picture books, then transitioning to middle grade novels, Emma Otheguy published her first fiction picture book in 2021. With illustrations by Ana Ramírez González, A Sled for Gabo was a warmhearted tale of a boy experiencing his first snowy day and finding creative ways to join in the wintry fun. Martina Has Too Many Tías features illustrations from Pura Belpré Honor illustrator Sara Palacios, whose work we’ve loved in picture books such as Rajani LaRocca’s I’ll Go and Come Back and Mitali Perkins’ Between Us and Abuela.

Discover all of BookPage’s most anticipated books of 2023.

These 15 picture books and middle grade novels are at the top of our TBR lists as we begin a new year of reading.

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Hell Bent

Review by Chris Pickens

Rejoice, Bardugo fans and dark academia lovers: You’ll get much more of the spooky stuff you crave in the extraordinary Hell Bent.

After her first brush with the dark underworld of Yale University—in this world, the school’s infamous secret societies are called houses, and their members are practitioners of magic—Alex Stern deserves a sabbatical. But as firmly established in author Leigh Bardugo’s excellent Ninth House, Alex isn’t built for rest, especially when there’s still work to do. Alex is a member of Lethe, the ninth house, which monitors the other houses to make sure they don’t go too far. She’s capable and cantankerous, but in Hell Bent she’s also desperate. Darlington, the wunderkind of Lethe, Alex’s mentor and maybe something more, is gone, presumed dead after the events of Ninth House. Alex vows to bring him back to the world of the living, but things are never that simple in New Haven, Connecticut.

Without Darlington to guide her and back her up, Alex is overwhelmed and vulnerable, which makes each new challenge she faces even more riveting for the reader. She’s already investigating a series of strange murders of faculty members, and to make matters worse, Alex and her friend Dawes make a horrific discovery in Darlington’s family home: a demonic presence, restrained by magic—for now. Together, they must find a way to bring Darlington back while keeping whatever’s in his house from being unleashed on the world. Can Alex survive all that Hell and Yale throw at her?

Once again, Bardugo shows she’s one of the best world builders in the business. Her version of Yale and its people is so richly rendered, it’s difficult to tell what’s real and what’s imagined. Not a page goes by without a line from Yeats or a fact about the architectural history of New Haven or a bit of biblical allusion. And yet, the book whizzes along, marvelously balancing these details with The Da Vinci Code-esque clue-hunting, demonic rituals and lectures from a particularly uptight school administrator.

Gut-wrenching and deeply human, this book will tug at your heartstrings even as it chills you to the bone. In spite of all of its magic, world building and shenanigans, Hell Bent stays true to its characters, never compromising them for the sake of genre thrills or expectations. Standing head and shoulders above the already impressive Ninth House, Hell Bent is one of the best fantasy novels of the year.

Gut-wrenching and deeply human, Leigh Bardugo’s sequel to Ninth House will tug at your heartstrings even as it chills you to the bone.

Legends & Lattes

Review by Mya Alexice

by Mya Alexice

After a lifetime as an archetypal fantasy hero—embarking on quests, slaying monsters, collecting loot, etc.—Viv the orc is ready to settle down. Inspired by a revolutionary gnome creation called coffee, all she wants is to open a cafe in the bustling city of Thune. Starting a brand-new business, however, is a lot harder than it looks, even for someone in possession of a legendary artifact and a sack full of silver. A mafia-esque group is looking for a “monthly involuntary donation” from every business on the block, figures from Viv’s past life as a warrior keep popping up and, worst of all, students are taking up the seating without even buying a cup of coffee. Ugh. Thankfully, Viv has buddies Cal, Tandri and Thimble to help her on her most arduous journey yet.

This cozy slice-of-life adventure (which was originally self-published and quickly went viral on BookTok) is Stardew Valley meets Dungeons & Dragons; it’s perfect for fantasy fans who don’t always want their stories grimdark and bloody. Legends & Lattes keeps a sedate pace as it follows the rise of Viv’s cafe, letting the reader spend quality time in its endearing world while Viv tries out various strategies to introduce a populace to a drink they’ve never heard of and get them to come back for more. In the process, Baldree casts a light on the lesser-seen elements of a fantasy world: its everyday citizens and more commonplace happenings that deserve attention just as much as high-born heroes and epic quests.

Some readers may find Viv’s adventures a little too low stakes and the plot predictable, but that’s part of Legends & Lattes’ atmospheric allure. It feels like a book to read by the fireplace (especially if that fireplace happens to be at an inn where heroes rest on their way toward the next stage of a quest). Those looking for a more peaceful story set in a world reminiscent of the fantasy landscapes they love will adore Legends & Lattes—and keep an eye out for Baldree’s next charming tale.

Legends & Lattes, Travis Baldree’s cozy slice-of-life adventure, is Stardew Valley meets Dungeons & Dragons.

Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Science Fiction & Fantasy Historical Fantasy Fantasy

Even Though I Knew the End

by Chris Pickens

Despite being a book about augurs and warlocks, angels and demons, C.L. Polk’s stylish magical noir Even Though I Knew the End is distinctly and heartbreakingly human.

It’s the late 1930s in grimy Chicago. Helen Brandt, a brilliant wizard who was exiled by her order and now works as a detective, has a terrible secret: She offered her soul to a demon to save her family from a car crash. Her part of the bargain is due on Jan. 13, 1941—Helen’s last day on Earth.

After taking photographs of the crime scene of a horrific murder that she’s investigating, Helen brings her evidence to Marlowe, an underworld crime boss and bona fide femme fatale. Marlowe confirmes what Helen already suspects: The murder is the work of the White City Vampire, the most dangerous villian in the city. Marlowe wants Helen to find the vampire and is willing to pay handsomely. The prize? “A thousand dollars cash . . . and your soul.” As it turns out, Marlowe is a demon, and this job can give Helen the thing she thought she’d never have: salvation and a chance to live a full life with her lover, Edith.

Even Though I Knew the End rockets along from the very first page, and Polk’s ability to enrich the story while upping the pace is impressive. Their alternate Chicago reveals itself efficiently, each detail woven into the narrative exactly when it’s required. A sense of mystery and discovery is ever present, which is quite fitting for a detective story.

Fans of John Constantine, the occult PI of DC comic books and film fame, will find a lot to like in Polk’s fantastically rendered depiction of a celestial war. With corrupt motivations on both sides, it’s often unclear which is more dangerous. Mortals aren’t defenseless, especially if they can wield magic (enchanted bullets make more than one appearance), but there’s still a constant sense of danger, and humans often end up as collateral damage.

Despite the aforementioned fantastical elements, Even Though I Knew the End is, at its heart, a love story. Helen and Edith’s tender relationship is immediately compelling, and, as befits a noir, Edith’s importance to the story grows as Helen’s investigation deepens. Helen’s past choices weigh heavily upon her, and we see how tightly she clings to Edith, especially in the gripping final chapters. To be without her would be hell on Earth, Helen thinks. But Even Though I Knew the End ultimately poses a torturous question: Is the price ever too high to be with the one you love?

Even Though I Knew the End is a stylish magical noir with a heartbreakingly human love story at the center.

Uncanny Times

Review by Noah Fram

by Noah Fram

Siblings Rosemary and Aaron Harker rarely get mail, and when they do, it’s usually to alert them that some Uncanny creature has eaten its mundane human neighbor. As Huntsmen in 1913 New England, Rosemary and Aaron’s role is to hunt those dangerous supernatural beasts alongside their alarmingly large and faithful hound, Botheration, who can transform into a gargantuan hellhound when the situation calls for it. When they receive a letter from their cousin’s widow requesting they investigate his death, the two Huntsmen pack a trunk full of various deadly implements and, along with Botheration, board a train to the small milling town of Brunson in upstate New York. Once there, they find an unexpected morass of savaged bodies, unionization and the occult that will lead them past the typically abnormal to the stubbornly impossible.

The author of several fantasy series, Laura Anne Gilman is a practiced storyteller, and her expertise shows in Uncanny Times. She doles out answers to her plot’s puzzles with a miserly hand and tempered foreshadowing, spinning Rosemary and Aaron’s investigation into a parable of greed, vengeance and love gone horribly awry. The Harker siblings are more akin to proxies for the reader than protagonists: This story belongs to Brunson itself, and the Huntsmen’s role is to unravel the secrets of the town and its vibrant cast of inhabitants.

Gilman is clearly building an arc meant to span several books, so a number of key questions are left unanswered. The specific mystery plot of Uncanny Times is concluded cleanly, if not necessarily happily for all involved, but the book itself still ends on a cliffhanger. Important characters with extensive backstories relevant to the Harker family history flit in and out within single chapters, bringing tantalizing glimpses of a broader cataclysm unfolding just outside the atmospheric environs of Brunson. It feels like watching the first season of a slow-burn show and hoping it doesn’t get cancelled, both because the show is enjoyable and well crafted and because the remaining loose ends would forever weigh on your mind.

Uncanny Times may be a small story. But, like Botheration at the start of an Uncanny hunt, it is poised to explode into a much, much larger one. And Gilman is far too canny a writer to waste such a tempting start.

A tantalizing start to a new historical fantasy series, Uncanny Times follows siblings Rosemary and Aaron Harker as they hunt supernatural monsters in 1913 New York.

A Restless Truth

Review by Stephanie Cohen-Perez

by Stephanie Cohen-Perez

Freya Marske’s follow-up to her acclaimed debut, A Marvellous Light, is a stunning, sensual companion novel that follows the threads of the same overarching mystery: a threat to the magical community in Edwardian England. A Restless Truth focuses on Maud Blyth, sister to A Marvellous Light’s Robin, as she discovers her own strengths and explores her sexuality in this magical murder mystery.

Maud is working as a lady’s companion for the older and sometimes aggravating magician Elizabeth Navenby aboard the transatlantic ocean liner Lyric. When Mrs. Navenby is found dead in her room with several valuable items missing, Maud suspects foul play. As Maud learns more about her employer’s life, she realizes the murder may be connected to the mission Robin and his partner, Edwin, pursued in the first book in the series: to protect three artifacts so powerful they can affect all of the magic in the world.

A delightfully brash and boisterous cast of possible suspects and allies drives the story. There’s Lord Hawthorne, a gentleman with a reputation for sexual prowess; Alan Ross, a shady journalist with a keen ear for gossip; and Violet Debenham, an alluring actor-turned-heiress whose scandalous past only makes her all the more enticing. As they turn the decks of the Lyric upside down in their search for the killer and the objects they stole, Maud is the relatable center of the storm. She’s an immediately engaging protagonist, both because of her desire to prove herself to her brother and the magician community and because of her evolving understanding of her sexuality. Marske conjures yet another spellbinding romance, this time between Maud and Violet, who is as sharp-tongued and adventurous as Maud is wide-eyed and curious. Sparks fly between the two young women upon their first meeting, but will their connection last after the murder is solved?

A Restless Truth is a thrilling mystery and a lush historical fantasy that will leave readers breathless—both from its exciting plot twists and its captivating romance.

Freya Marske’s follow-up to A Marvellous Light is a stunning, sensual love story wrapped in an exciting murder mystery.

Ocean’s Echo

Review by Laura Hubbard

by Laura Hubbard

Tennal Halkana is a problem. He’s a problem for his family because he prefers drinking in gambling dens to fulfilling the demands of being part of one of the most prominent political families on the planet Orshan. He’s a problem when it comes to relationships, flitting from one affair to another in rapid succession. But most of all, he’s a problem for society: Tennal is a reader, a person with telepathic abilities that were genetically engineered by the Orshan Fedstate. When Tennal breaks one too many rules, his aunt conscripts him into the army and orders him to sync, or completely merge his mind, with an architect, a person who can mentally control other people.

Lieutenant Surit Yeni, the architect ordered to link his mind to Tennal, is everything Tennal is not. The child of a notorious traitor, Surit ensures that his every move is thoughtful, controlled and—above all else—principled. Thanks to that last quality, Surit refuses to sync with the unwilling Tennal. The two men fake the bond instead, all while looking for a way to get Tennal out of the army and to the safety of the wider galaxy.

Ocean’s Echo is a slow burn that eventually blazes into a supernova, a novel constrained in its location but massive in its ambition. Its opening scene in a gambling den is exciting, but that action-packed sequence is paltry compared to what’s to come. Set in the same universe as author Everina Maxwell’s debut, Winter’s Orbit, this standalone novel layers intrigue atop intrigue, ratcheting up the stakes one excruciating notch at a time. Maxwell uses her space station settings as pressure cookers, creating close-proximity environments that force her main couple to change and bond with each other. Tennal’s sharp edges bring Surit’s stoicism into relief, while Surit’s rule-abiding nature clashes with Tennal’s chaotic inability to tell the truth. All the while, the pair is wrapped in a world built with care by Maxwell, a writer with a keen eye for detail and nuanced social interactions. Rather than getting lost in the weeds of the mechanics of faster-than-light travel or how exactly readers and architects were made, Maxwell zeroes in on the small moments of soldiers’ daily lives, from tokens that communicate fellow officers’ genders or the politics of getting a second slice of cake from the mess hall vending machine.

This isn’t to say that there isn’t a massive amount of world building to absorb: Between various branches of the military, syncing, readers and architects, the wealth of vocabulary and protocol to wade through can be overwhelming at first. The learning curve will be less steep for readers who loved Maxwell’s first foray into this universe, but rest assured that this is still a standalone novel that reads like one. Perfect for lovers of science fiction served medium-hard, Ocean’s Echo is the optimal blend of emotional maelstrom and suspenseful military drama.

Ocean’s Echo is the optimal blend of emotional love story and suspenseful military sci-fi.

Sign Here

Review by Ralph Harris

by Ralph Harris

In her debut novel, Sign Here, author Claudia Lux presents a modern vision of hell as a capitalist bureaucracy of the most inane, obnoxious variety.

Souls arrive in Hell on different levels, depending on how badly they sinned in their former lives. The worst of the worst head to what is known as Downstairs. Some sent there become line workers, tasked with applying various methods of torture. In other cases, they’re the ones on the rack. Protagonist Peyote Trip, however, is a resident of the fifth floor of Hell, so his afterlife is a little less bleak: He lives in an apartment and works in an office as a caseworker. Peyote tracks the plights and problems of mortals, and when one of them has a dire need, to the point that they’re willing to do anything to achieve what they desire, he arrives to make a deal via infernal contract. The mortal gives up their soul, and Peyote uses his abilities to make all their earthly dreams come true.

Despite being an agent of Hell, Peyote tries to treat both his “clients” and his co-workers with dignity and honor, especially when it comes to helping his new co-worker, Calamity, adjust to the myriad annoyances of life on the fifth floor. Peyote and his peers bring five pens everywhere, because the first four will never work. If a soul hates country music, it will be the only station available on their radio and it cannot be turned off. No food is truly hot or cold, and neither is any living space. Lux’s Hell is the epitome of absolute discomfort, like an itchy wool sweater on a humid day.

How Claudia Lux found humanity in an infernal bureaucracy.

Calamity soon gets involved in Peyote’s ultimate career goal: securing his fifth and final contract from the wealthy Harrison family. Attaining five souls from the same family, also known as a Complete Set, will grant Peyote an important promotion. Lux tells much of this story from the perspectives of three members of the Harrison family: Silas; his wife, Lily; and Mickey, their daughter. Lux takes the reader deep into each Harrison’s point of view, highlighting their dark temptations, shame and awkwardness in equal measure and creating such a high level of empathy for her painfully realistic characters that it borders on uncomfortable. It all adds to the ever-growing, nearly palpable feeling of imminent disaster. With their desires on such clear display, it’s impossible to forget that any one of the Harrisons could be Peyote’s next victim.

Lux’s unique iteration of hell is consistently engaging, grounded in relatable discomforts yet spiked with surrealist imagery, but readers will also be enthralled with the sheer humanity displayed on each page. No character comes off as mostly good or evil; they’re all just products of their natures and upbringings. With surgical precision, Sign Here captures the difficulties of morality in a complicated modern world.

Sign Here is both a hilarious reimagining of hell as a corporate nightmare and a painfully realistic exploration of morality in the modern world.

Science Fiction & Fantasy Horror

Lone Women

Victor LaValle

By Laura Hubbard

A powerful study in setting and character with a healthy dose of horror, Lone Women will forever change the way you think about the Wild West.

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