Can you believe it’s 2024 already? (Where has the time gone?) But anyway, Happy New Year and welcome to my January book club 2024. So let’s kick off the year by checking out these buzzworthy new books from edge-of-your-seat thrillers to love stories
January can seem a little compared to December with the excitement that comes with the build-up to Christmas long gone, but what January lacks in excitement, is filled with optimism and a whole fresh take on what this year hopefully has in store for us. There for sure being something for everyone, so cosy up on the sofa with a new book in hand, chill out and recoup from last month’s excitement.
IN DEAD WATERS | JACK CARTWRIGHT
The rising tide waits for no man…
When the body of a teenage girl is found submerged in coastal marshland it falls to DI Freya Bloom and DS Ben Savage to roll their sleeves up and dig for the truth.
With no evidence to go on and no team to help them, the pair find themselves heading further into deep water until they are faced with just one option – break the rules, and swim for the shore.
In Dead Water is the unforgettable ninth book in the Wild Fens Murder Mystery series by Jack Cartwright. Filled with twists, peppered with romance, and flavoured with humour, the Wild Fens Murder Mystery series is perfect for fans of JD Kirk, JM Dalgliesh, Ann Cleeves, and Rachel McClean.
OH MIRIAM!
From declaring my love to Vanessa Redgrave to being fed cockroaches by Steve Buscemi, from turnip-based comedy with Blackadder to being farted on by Arnold Schwarzenegger, from Graham Norton’s sofa to Alan Cumming’s camper van, my life has been (and continues to be) an uproarious adventure.
Oh Miriam! has been such a constant refrain in my life, said in all kinds of tones – laughs, surprised gasps and orgasmic sighs (I’m hoping for all of those from you as you read on!) – that it had to be the title of this book. And with a cast list that stretches from Churchill to DiCaprio, Dahl to Dietrich, Princess Margaret to Maggie Smith, I’ve so much more to tell you and so much more to say.
My chapters range from ‘How to Stay Married’ to ‘Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down’. Discover how to break the thickest conversational ice; why swearing is actually good for you (though not on the Today programme); the unexpected things I learned at school and what my Spice Girl name would be. Not to mention my Tale of the Unexpected and my very own Vagina Monologue.
Buckle up and join me on another unforgettable adventure, but this time through my heart and head . . .
YELLOWFACE | REBECCA F. KUANG
White lies
When Athena dies in a freak accident, June steals her unpublished manuscript and publishes it as her own under the ambiguous name Juniper Song.
Dark humour
But as evidence threatens June’s stolen success, she will discover exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.
Deadly consequences…
What happens next is entirely everyone else’s fault.
THE WAKE-UP CALL | BETH O’LEARY
Two sworn enemies. One failing hotel. Love is the last thing they need . . .
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and Forest Manor Hotel is quite literally falling apart. So when sworn enemies Izzy and Lucas are given the same shift on the hotel’s front desk, they have no choice but to put their differences aside.
The hotel won’t stay open beyond Christmas without some sort of miracle. But when Izzy returns a guest’s lost wedding ring, the reward convinces management this might fix everything. With four rings still sitting in lost property, the race is on for Izzy and Lucas to save their beloved hotel – and their jobs.
As their bitter rivalry turns into something much more complicated, Izzy and Lucas begin to wonder if there’s more at stake here than the hotel’s future. Can the two of them make it through the season with their hearts intact?
HAPPY PLACE | EMILY HENRY
Two exes. One pact.
Could this holiday change everything?
Harriet and Wyn are the perfect couple – they go together like bread and butter, gin and tonic, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.
Every year, they take a holiday from their lives to drink far too much wine with their favourite people in the world.
Except this year, they are lying through their teeth, because Harriet and Wyn broke up six months ago. And they still haven’t told anyone.
But the cottage is for sale so this is the last time they’ll all be here together. They can’t bear to break their best friends’ hearts so they’ll fake it for one more week.
But how can you pretend to be in love – and get away with it – in front of the people who know you best?
THE WOMEN IN ME | BITNEY SPEARS
The Woman in Me is a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope.
In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice—her truth—was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others. The Woman in Me reveals for the first time her incredible journey—and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history.
Written with remarkable candour and humour, Spears’s ground-breaking book illuminates the enduring power of music and love—and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms, at last.
IT ALL COMES BACK TO YOU | MELISSA WIESNER
An absolutely unforgettable and heart-shattering romance, perfect for fans of Colleen Hoover, Lucy Score and Carley Fortune, that asks: does keeping secrets destroy true love?
Anna works two jobs to get herself through college and never, ever talks about her family. It’s easier to keep her distance from everyone until she can finally leave her old life behind. That is, until chance throws her together with Gabe…
Gabe is top of the class, in a fancy fraternity, and has a big, perfect, warm-hearted family. He is everything Anna is not. Their connection is undeniable. His silver-blue eyes pierce right through her, and he makes her laugh in ways she never thought possible. But Anna would do anything to stop Gabe from discovering her darkest secret, and the real reason she goes home every night to a cold, silent apartment…
When Gabe and his family get close to the truth, Anna runs, vowing to never see them again. But forever is a long time…
Years later. Tragedy brings Anna back to the town she grew up in—a place she escaped a decade ago. When Gabe wraps his strong arms around her, it’s like finally finding home.
But when the truth comes out after all these years, will both their worlds come crashing down? Gabe is the one person Anna trusts most: but what if he has secrets, too? And how much pain can two hearts endure, before they are torn apart forever?
DON’T FORGET TO REMEMBER ME. NEVER NEVER | COLLEEN HOOVER
Forgetting is terrifying. Remembering is worse…
Charlie Wynwood and Silas Nash have been best friends since they could walk. They’ve been in love since the age of fourteen. But as of this morning… they are complete strangers. Their first kiss, their first fight, the moment they fell in love… every memory has vanished.
Now Charlie and Silas must work together to uncover the truth about what happened to them and why. But the more they learn about the couple they used to be… the more they question why they were ever together to begin with.
Forgetting is terrifying, but remembering may be worse.
What are you currently reading? And what is your favourite book?
