I have always been someone who enjoys looking at what books are coming out and planning what to read almost as much as I love reading, so for the past several years since I started this blog, I always like to bring you a list of my most anticipated books of the next year. (And I’m happy to report that I managed to read every single book on my Anticipated Books of 2021 list.)
This past year, I have taken a different approach and also brought you monthly posts about my most anticipated books of the following month. I will definitely continue doing that next year. But there are just so many books I’m super-excited about coming out in 2022 that I thought I’d still give you a preview of some of the top books I’m looking forward to. It was so hard to narrow it down that these are all books by authors who I’ve already read and loved, though there are definitely some great sounding debuts coming next year too! To narrow it down, I also only included a book if it had a set release date and a cover, which eliminated some potential books allegedly coming towards the end of the year. There are literally dozens of more books I’m already looking forward to besides those listed here, just another reason I’ll also continue my monthly posts about anticipated books.
But in the meantime, here are the 2022 releases that I’m most looking forward to, so you can go ahead and request from Netgalley/get on the library waitlist/pre-order them if they interest you too! I am lucky enough to have ARCs of a few of these, but since I decided to hold all my 2022 advanced copies of books until 2022 to get through some of my backlog, I haven’t read any yet!
Here they are, listed in order of currently scheduled US publication date, which is listed in parentheses after the title and author of each book.
The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis (1/25/22) - I have read all 5 of Fiona Davis’s previous books, and she’s one of my favorite authors of dual time period historical fiction, and her book The Dollhouse was on my top 10 list of 2014. Her books always revolve around a significant building in NYC, and her latest is set in 1919 at the Frick Mansion, and the 1960s when it has become the Frick museum.
Finlay Donovan Knocks Em Dead by Elle Cosimano (2/1/22) - I loved the first book in this series, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, and am looking forward to the return of the comedic adventures of single mom, author, and accidental semi-hit woman Finlay Donovan. Can’t wait to see what happens in this one!
With Love From London by Sarah Jio (2/8/22) - I’ve been a big fan of Sarah Jio since all the way back to her first book in 2011, and her book The Last Camellia was on my top 10 list of 2015. She hasn’t published anything in a few years, so I’m excited for her return. The publisher’s blurb describes this one as follows: “A librarian inherits a bookshop from her estranged mother, leading her halfway across the world on a journey of self-discovery that transcends time and honors the unbreakable bonds of love and family.” I mean, what book lover doesn’t dream about owning a bookshop, so sign me up to read this one!
One Night on the Island by Josie Silver (2/15/22) - Loved Josie Silver’s first two books, One Day in December and The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, so I’m ready to read her latest romance. It’s about two people who go away seeking time alone - but are accidentally double-booked in the same cabin. I’m guessing romance ensues!
The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James (3/15/22) - I loved Simone St. James’ atmospheric gothic mysteries The Broken Girls and The Sundown Motel, and am looking forward to her new one which promises more of the same. According to the publisher, “A true crime blogger gets more than she bargained for while interviewing the woman acquitted of two cold case slayings in this chilling new novel.”
The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn (3/29/22) - Who doesn’t love Kate Quinn’s terrific historical fiction? Her latest is a World War II novel based on a true story, about a Russian woman who becomes history’s deadliest female sniper, and then after the war finds herself dodging danger in the U.S.
Sister Stardust by Jane Green (4/5/22) - I have loved many of Jane Green’s chick lit/contemporary women’s fiction novels, but her new book sounds like quite the departure, her first foray into historical fiction. It’s about a young woman who ends up living in a commune of sorts in Morocco with various rich and famous people.
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (4/5/22) - Emily St. John Mandel’s most famous book, Station Eleven, is one of my all time favorites (on my Top 20 of 20 Years list). Her new book is described by the publisher as “a novel of art, time, love, and plague that takes the reader from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a dark colony on the moon three hundred years later, unfurling a story of humanity across centuries and space.” Sounds sort of like a cross between Station Eleven and one of my favorites of this year, Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr, and I am here for it!
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan (4/5/22) - I absolutely loved Jennifer Egan’s interlinked short-story collection A Visit From the Goon Squad, a five star read for me on my top 10 of 2011 list and one of my favorite short story collections. So I am super-excited for her latest, another linked set of short stories, this one about a fictional technology that allows you to access and share with others all the memories you’ve ever had, and how this changes society and various individual characters. I understand some characters from Goon Squad may even be making an appearance, though I must admit that ten years later I will not necessarily remember them!
Year on Fire by Julie Buxbaum (4/12/22) - Julie Buxbaum is one of my top must-read authors, who went from one of my favorite writers of contemporary women’s fiction to one of my favorite writers of realistic young adult fiction. She’s been on my top ten of the year list a whopping four times! Her latest is about friendship and romance about a group of high school friends - not to mention a case of arson at their school.
Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez (4/19/22) - Abby Jimenez is one of my favorite rom com writers, and her book The Happy Ever After Playlist was on my top 10 of 2020. Her new book is getting absolutely rapturous reviews, so I can’t wait! It sounds like an opposites attract story about a woman from a privileged background who meets a younger, small town guy, and starts to question what is really important to her.
Marrying the Ketchups by Jennifer Close (4/26/22) - I love Jennifer Close’s character-driven contemporary fiction, and her book the Smart One was on my top 10 of 2014 list. Her new book sounds like another character-driven family drama told from multiple points of view, described by the publisher as "An irresistible comedy of manners about three generations of a Chicago restaurant family.”
Everything Must Go by Camille Pagan (4/26/22) - I love Camille Pagan’s funny yet touching books about women grappling with issues with friends, family, love, and their own identity. (Though interestingly, her book to make one of my top 10 lists was her only book written from a male POV, Forever Is the Worst Long Time, which made my top 10 of 2017.) Her latest is about a professional organizer whose love life and family life devolves into chaos.
By the Book by Jasmine Guillory (5/3/22) - I just love Jasmine Guillory’s rom com books and have read and loved them all. Her new book appears to be her first one that doesn’t include the linked characters from her Wedding Date books. Instead, it’s a loose modern re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, about a publishing assistant who has to go to the mansion of a grumpy author and coax a book out of him.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry (5/3/22) - Like so many others, I loved Emily Henry’s rom coms Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation, and I’m sure everyone will be reading Book Lovers this summer too! Sounds like another enemies to lovers tale, about a literary agent and a book editor who run into each other on vacation.
The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner (5/10/22) - I am an OG Jennifer Weiner fan - she is a must-read author for me and I’ve read all 16 of her adult novels, several of which have been on my top ten lists over the years. Her latest, set on Cape Cod, is about three generations of women preparing for an upcoming wedding at the family beach house. No one has an early copy of this one yet, so I am crossing my fingers that I’ll be able to snag one!
Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman (5/17/22) - I just love Abbi Waxman’s warm and witty contemporary fiction, and 3 out of 4 of her previous books have made my top 10 lists of years past. This one is about a woman who moves to LA for a fresh start on life and makes a new crew of friends. And apparently Nina from the book The Bookish Life of Nina Hill is a character too!
Something Wilder by Christina Lauren (5/17/22) - I was late to the Christina Lauren party as I only discovered their adorable rom coms a little over a year ago, and I am working on catching up on their backlist. But I’ll definitely be reading all their new books as they publish them as well. (If you didn’t know, they’re an author duo writing under one name.) Their new book is about a woman who guides tourists on fake treasure hunts, and a guy she once dated who comes on one of her trips, which then goes wrong.
Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone (5/24/22) - I have read and loved all four of Chris Pavone’s international/spy thrillers. His latest is about a woman who wakes up in Lisbon and her husband has disappeared, and she tries to find him - and figure out how much she really knows about him.
Meant to Be by Emily Giffin (5/31/22) - Emily Giffin is another of my must read OG chick lit/contemporary women’s fiction queens! Her latest, which looks from the description like it might be set in the 1970s or 1980s, is about a young man from a privileged political family and a young woman who came from a modest background who have to see if they can conquer their differences to make a relationship work.
The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz (5/31/22) - I have loved all four books I have read by Jean Hanff Korelitz, so I never miss a new book by her. This one is about triplets on the verge of leaving for college, whose lives are thrown into disarray by their parents deciding to have a fourth child - the leftover embryo from their own in vitro birth.
This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub (5/31/22) - I just love Emma Straub’s books, and her book Modern Lovers was on my top 10 list of 2016. Sounds like she is taking things in a new direction with her new book, adding a time travel twist to her usual family drama! It’s about a woman on the verge of her 40th birthday who somehow wakes up back in her life as her 16 year old self.
Tracy Flick Can’t Win by Tom Perrotta (6/7/22) - I read Tom Perrotta’s book Election all the way back in 1998! You may remember it from the 1999 movie adaptation with Reese Witherspoon playing super-intense high school student Tracy Flick. In this decades-later sequel, Tracy Flick is now the assistant principal of a suburban high school, vying to be principal of the school while juggling her personal life.
A Shoe Story by Jane L Rosen (7/5/22) - A lot of people discovered Jane L. Rosen last year with the excellent Eliza Starts a Rumor, but I’ve been a fan since I read the adorable Nine Women, One Dress back in 2016. The description of her new book is that seven years after her plan to move to Manhattan after college was derailed by a personal tragedy, the main character “is offered an opportunity to house-sit for a stranger while taking care of her dog and closetful of designer shoes in Greenwich Village for the month of August. … As Esme retraces her steps, one pair of borrowed shoes at a time, making new friends and reconnecting with an old love, she tries on versions of herself she didn't know existed.”
From the Jump by Lacie Waldon (7/5/22) - I loved Lacie Waldon’s adorable rom com debut From the Jump, so can’t wait to check out her sophomore novel. Her new one is about a woman who after years of always doing what she feels she should do, spontaneously quits her job to go on vacation with her friends, then works to keep her friendship group together while looking for love.
The It Girl by Ruth Ware (7/12/22) - I just love Ruth Ware’s mystery/thrillers; I’ve read all of her books and she’s one of my favorite authors in the genre today. In her new book, ten years after a woman was murdered in college, new evidence comes to light that the man who was convicted of killing her may have been innocent, causing her best friend to question everything - including their mutual friends.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (7/12/22) - While I haven’t read all of Gabrielle Zevin’s books, the two I have read, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry and Young Jane Young, both ended up on my top ten of the year lists the years I read them. Her new book is described by the publisher as “a glorious and immersive novel about two childhood friends, once estranged, who reunite as adults to create video games, finding an intimacy in digital worlds that eludes them in their real lives.”
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center (7/19/22) - I love Katherine Center and am almost caught up on all her old books, with my favorite being the 5 star Things You Save in A Fire which was on my top 10 of 2019. Her new book is about a female bodyguard hired to protect a famous actor from his stalker - except he doesn’t want his family to know so when he unexpectedly has to go home, he asks her to pretend to be his girlfriend. Will the fake relationship turn into a real one?
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Phew - I’m exhausted just looking at this list, though I’m also super-excited to read these!
Any of these that you’re excited for? Or are there other books coming out in 2022 that you’re looking forward to that I didn’t mention?
Wow so many of these sound great! I'm excited for (allegedly) a new Leigh Bardugo book in 2022 -- and maybe another season of Shadow and Bone!
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