Happy New Year book lovers!
If your resolution is to read more books in 2019, there are many exciting titles set for release this year.
I have searched the web and literary news pages to bring you some of the most highly anticipated upcoming titles, and a few that I’m personally excited about, to add to your resolution reading list.
Here are my top picks for the first half of 2019:
January
- Golden Child by Claire Adam – January 29
A new novel from Sarah Jessica Parker’s imprint, SJP for Hogarth. It is a deeply affecting debut novel set in Trinidad, following the lives of a family as they navigate impossible choices about scarcity, loyalty, and love.
- That Churchill Woman by Stephanie Barron – January 22
A story about the fascinating life of Winston Churchill’s mother – Jennie Jerome. She was a major and controversial player in Britain’s society scene. This book identifies how Jennie was much more fierce and independent than history has given her credit for.
February
- Bowlaway by Elizabeth McCracken – February 5
At the turn of the 20th century a woman is discovered unconscious and nearly frozen in a New England cemetery with only a bowling ball, a candlepin, and 15 pounds of gold on her. The National Book Award finalist’s exuberantly weird and wonderful book unravels the mystery.
- Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts – February 12
If you’ve ever wanted to know the story behind The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, here’s a great opportunity for some insight. This historical novel is written through the eyes of author L Frank Baum’s intrepid wife Maud, who has a lot of secrets to share.
March
- The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See – March 5
A new novel from Lisa See, the New York Times best-selling author of The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, about female friendship and family secrets on the small Korean island of Jeju. The fierce free-diving women on the island are the subject of Lisa See’s new historical novel that celebrates women’s strengths – and the strength of their friendships.
- Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson – March 5
Psychological thriller fans take note because here’s the next novel set to be a big hit. The storyline follows a suburban housewife who becomes convinced her next-door neighbour is a murderer.
April
- The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates – April 23
A book that is aligned and well-timed for release when numerous female empowerment campaigns have made headlines across the globe. This shares how one of the most powerful, richest women in the world, uses her blessings. Among other good works, sharing the stories of women who are lifting themselves out of poverty while explaining how she emerged from her husband’s shadow.
- Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly – April 9
A beautifully written step back in time to when World War I began, from the author of New York Times best-selling author of Lilac Roses. In the author’s previous book the main protagonist was Caroline Ferriday and in Lost Roses we meet her mother Eliza and discover how the war dramatically impacted the lives of her and friends.
May
- Harper Lee by Casey Cep – May 7
This promises to be a highly-anticipated release with such an iconic name at its core. Harper Lee loved a good true-crime story – witness her vital contributions to Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. It is the stunning true story of an Alabama serial killer and the case that obsessed the author of To Kill a Mockingbird in the years after the publication of her classic novel – a complicated and difficult time in Harper Lee’s life that, until now, has been largely neglected.
- Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin – May 21
A book that promises to be fascinating, it is about a real-life woman who secretly worked for the French Resistance during World War II.
June
- City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert – June 4
This coming of age story set in 1940s New York is the newest book from the Eat Pray Love author. At the centre of the novel is 19-year-old Vivian Morris who arrives in New York with her suitcase and sewing machine, after being exiled by her despairing parents.
- The Gone Dead by Chanelle Benz – June 25
Billie James’ inheritance isn’t much: a little money and a shack in the Mississippi Delta. Upon returning to her father’s home 30 years after his accidental death, she uncovers some buried truths.