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Readers' Most Anticipated Books of December
At the beginning of each calendar month, Goodreads’ crack editorial squad assembles a list of the hottest and most popular new books hitting shelves, actual and virtual. The list is generated by evaluating readers’ early reviews and tracking which titles are being added to Want to Read shelves by Goodreads regulars.
Each month’s curated preview features new books from across the genre spectrum: contemporary fiction, historical fiction, mysteries and thrillers, sci-fi and fantasy, romance, horror, young adult, nonfiction, and more. Think of it as a literary smorgasbord. Check out whatever looks tasty.
New in December: Rebecca Ross blends fantasy, romance, and history in Ruthless Vows. Douglas Preston chronicles real-life dead people weirdness in The Lost Tomb. And Lauren E. Rico details the awkward consequences of a surprising genealogy test in Familia.
Also on tap this month: Computer nerds in love, bookshop owners in trouble, and the final writings of the late Anthony Veasna So.
Add the books that catch your eye to your Want to Read shelf, and let us know what you're reading and recommending in the comments section.
The Best Books of December:
The mother-daughter relationship is a notoriously treacherous patch of psychological real estate. For Brooklyn 30-something Flores, it’s especially complicated. Flores’ mom, Paula, a Peruvian immigrant, is still mourning the death of her husband, Flores’ dad. When a mysterious note is discovered under a funeral urn, the two women must find a new way to care for themselves—and for each other. Early readers are praising the deep empathy at the core of author Melissa Rivero’s second novel.
Irish author Louise Kennedy earned great reviews and a blossoming readership with her 2022 debut novel, Trespasses, set in and around Belfast during the Troubles. Her follow-up short story collection explores similar territory with various Irish characters navigating a complex society in which the political is always personal. Bonus trivia: Author Kennedy didn’t start writing until relatively late in life; she worked as a chef for 30 years before turning to fiction at age 47.
The sequel to the YA fantasy romance Divine Rivals from earlier this year, Rebecca Ross’ Ruthless Vows concludes the enemies-to-lovers historical epic. Set in a kind of alternative universe circa World War I, Ross’ Letters of Enchantment series features cruel gods, trench warfare, rival journalists, twisty twists, and perhaps the fate of all humankind. Readers are pretty much bananas over this series, which is often described as Alexandra Bracken’s Lore meets Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone series.
Alice Oseman’s crazy popular Heartstopper graphic novel series returns! This fifth installment of Britain’s favorite boy-meets-boy coming-of-age story finds Nick and Charlie still very much in love. But changes are afoot, with Nick planning to leave for university soon. Featuring Oseman’s lovely two-color artwork, the latest book brings the story arc near to conclusion. Word is that a final sixth installment is planned for early next year. Oh, and don’t forget about the live-action adaptation on Netflix!
British author Katherine Faulkner taps into simmering parental anxieties with this thriller about a very posh, very strange London neighborhood. Young mother Tash is thrilled to be accepted into the local playgroup of kids and moms in a nearby wealthy neighborhood. But when one of the regular nannies turns up dead, the mood turns dark. When another dead nanny is found, things get really sinister. Faulkner’s suspenseful mystery probes some universal sore spots around parenthood and class resentment.
Veteran author Lauren E. Rico specializes in books for and about women, whether she’s working in romance, thrillers, or straight contemporary fiction. Her latest story features two women brought together by a genealogy DNA test. When Gabriella discovers she has a sister in Puerto Rico, she’s positive it must be a mistake. When Isabella gets the news, it conjures painful memories of her baby sister, who disappeared from the streets of San Juan 25 years ago. Bonus trivia: Author Rico is also a classical music broadcaster on Sirius XM.
Historical fiction wrapped around a central mystery story, Ariel Lawhon’s The Frozen River is based on the extensive diaries of the real-life 18th-century midwife and healer Martha Ballard. When a frozen corpse is pulled from the Kennebec River in Maine, 1789, Ballard uses her medical skills to link the murder to a brutal sexual assault four months earlier. As the trial date nears, Ballard takes a courageous stand to make sure that justice is served. Lawhon’s novel is ultimately a tribute to a little-known American heroine.
This one looks particularly interesting: A coming-of-age story set in postwar Paris (initially), Asha Lemmie’s latest slice of historical fiction follows aspiring author Delphine Auber. Determined to find the father she’s never known, Delphine embarks on a quest that will take her from France to Harlem, Key West to Havana. If those last destinations seem significant, that’s because they are: Delphine’s dad, according to family lore, is Ernest Hemingway. Bonus trivia: Lemmie is the author of the acclaimed 2020 debut Fifty Words for Rain.
This intriguing debut novel from author and New York native Gabrielle Korn takes dead-eye aim at several of our 21st-century anxieties. In the year 2050, Ava and her girlfriend are just trying to stay afloat as climate change threatens the last Brooklyn holdouts. Meanwhile, billionaire activist Jacqueline Millender is helping complete city-size, weatherproof arcologies for the select few. Time is running out. Korn’s take on dystopian eco sci-fi folds in elements of queer love, branded feminism, and end-stage corporatocracy.
Set in the English countryside just after World War I, The Curse of Penryth Hall introduces heroine and rare bookshop operator Ruby Vaughn. When Ruby is asked to make a special delivery to said Hall, she finds a shadowed manse with gothic vibes and an unsettling past. It’s also home to Ruby’s former best friend Tamsyn and her husband, Sir Edward Chenowyth, recently found dead in the orchard. Uh-oh. New Orleans author Jess Armstrong recently won the Minotaur First Crime Novel Competition from the Mystery Writers of America.
Author Evie Dunmore is back with The Gentleman's Gambit, the fourth and reportedly final installment in her popular historical romance series, The League of Extraordinary Women. The gist: Oxford scholar and dedicated suffragist Catriona Campbell is too busy for love affairs. But her resolve falters when a new colleague from the Middle East, Elias Khoury, initiates a rather persuasive program of seduction. Dunmore’s series is noted for its historical details and interesting dilemmas, like the hazards of bathing in Scottish lochs.
Pearl Harris loves her job. As acting director of OurCode, she’s helping inspire a new generation of high schoolers to love computer science. But things get weird when the newest member of her board of directors turns out to be Pearl’s old flame Cord Matthews. Sparks are flying again, but going public with their romance could cause a complete system failure. Author Denise Williams (How to Fail at Flirting) details a tricky workplace romance with plenty of computer/romance metaphors.
The tragic death of author Anthony Veasna So stunned the book world in late 2020, coming just months before the publication of his acclaimed debut short story collection, Afterparties. Praised for their unique blend of sharp wit and deep empathy, So’s stories addressed issues of race, queer culture, and the immigrant experience in America—California in particular. The posthumous Songs on Endless Repeat is a collection of So’s essays and writings, reportedly including segments of an unfinished novel.
Egyptian burial chambers! Honduran jungle tombs! Hauntings in Venice! Restless author Douglas Preston (The Lost City of the Monkey God) returns to his nonfiction wanderings with this journalistic expedition through the hidden world of buried treasure, prehistoric ruins, lost tombs, and pirate treasure. The stories are true and the details are bizarre—remember the Money Pit of Oak Island? Bonus trivia: Preston is the coauthor of the popular Pendergast series of thrillers with author Lincoln Child.
The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of British History at Hampton Court
by Gareth Russell
by Gareth Russell
Celebrity historian Gareth Russell—they have those in Britain—invites readers to explore the amazing past of England’s Hampton Court Palace. In fact, Russell’s new book covers more than 500 years of history as seen through the arches and windows of the world-famous castle. Queen Elizabeth II held her coronation ball here, and lore suggests that King Henry VIII did all kinds of strange and terrible things. The Palace is recommended for history nerds and readers of Alison Weir, Philippa Gregory, and Andrew Lownie.
Which new releases are you looking forward to reading? Let's talk books in the comments!
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Law
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Nov 30, 2023 03:36AM
Two words: Ruthless. Vows.
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It made me ridiculously happy to see Heartstopper in that image
Same N. Same. I am not going to be able to contain myself when this book finally arrives at my house of December 19th.
The only one of these I'd even heard of is Technically Yours.Here's my December list:
When WE Were Enemies by Emily Bleeker
This Spells Love by Kate Robb
The Kingdom The Power and The Glory by Tim Alberta
Emerald Heart by Grace Greene
The Second Chance Year by Melissa Wiesner
Following Caesar by John Keahey
Pray For Her by Holly S. Roberts
Our Sister's Grave by B.R. Spangler
The Vacation by John Marrs
Two Dead Wives by Adele Parks
The Weekend Retreat by Tara Laskowski
On The Plus Side by Jenny L. Howe
So excited for Heartstopper. Here for it !!!!!!!!!!
SCREAMING FOR RUTHLESS VOWS.
Law wrote: "Two words: Ruthless. Vows."too real
So interesting to see another book by Anthony Veasna So. Truthfully, I'm not sure how I feel about the news of this book. I was so sad to learn of his death after reading Afterparties. An incredible voice that was lost too soon. But do we have a right to his unpublished work? I will definitely need to sit with my feelings for a while before I can read this.
Eva Hattie wrote: "So interesting to see another book by Anthony Veasna So. Truthfully, I'm not sure how I feel about the news of this book. I was so sad to learn of his death after reading Afterparties. An incredibl..."To be fair, both Rachel Held Evans' and Matthew Mathers' families released the books they had been working on at their deaths posthumously, with the help of co-authors coming in to complete them out.
In both cases, it actually worked out decently well. It was clear there was another voice, but the recently deceased author's original intent and voice was also preserved.
Law wrote: "Two words: Ruthless. Vows."Amen
Ruthless vows es simplemente lo más esperado de este mes. ¡NO PUEDO ESPERAR MÁS, MUERO DE ANSIEDAAAAD!
First of all, hearing Divine Rivals described as "enemies to lovers" when they're barely even rivals was hilarious, what?!Second, the two books I'm the most excited for in December are Where The Dead Wait by Ally Wilkes and Dazzling by Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ. The horror pickings are much slimmer this month than they have been all year, but there's still some very nice things to choose from!
