As you know, reading books and blogging about them is a large chunk of this blog. I recently attended a virtual book event where I got to hear about some of the must-read books coming out in 2023, and then I got to request which ones I'd like to read!
As the advanced reader copies have started coming in, I wanted to share with you what I'll be reading in 2023 and what book reviews you can expect to read in the new year.
Moonrise Over New Jessup by Jamila Minnicks (Algonquin, Pub date: January 10, 2023)
In 1957, Alice Young leaves her home for New Jessup, Alabama, an all-colored town where integration has been rejected. But people like Alice's new boyfriend, Raymond Campbell, are challenging the status quo no matter the cost. How can Alice continue to support her boyfriend's efforts while also protecting the town from upheaval?
The House Is on Fire by Rachel Beanland (Simon & Schuster, Pub date: April 4, 2023)
I've actually already read this one, and I can't believe you guys have to wait another few months for it to come out! I'll post a review a few weeks before the pub date, so stay tuned for that! This is a historical fiction novel based on a real occurrence in Richmond, Virginia in 1811. Beanland imagines the very real theater fire through the eyes of four different characters: a newly widowed white woman, a colored slave, the colored slave's uncle, and a young stagehand. It's interesting how the fire impacts all of their lives.
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson (Mariner Books, Pub date: January 17, 2023)
Billed as Knives Out meets Clue, this novel from stand-up comedian and author Stevenson is about a family where everyone has killed someone, sometimes more than once. When a body is found at the ski resort where the main character's family is having a reunion, our narrator doesn't know who to trust. And can we trust him?
Travelers to Unimaginable Lands by Dasha Kiper (Random House, Pub date: March 28, 2023)
I was invited to read this work of non-fiction because I had read and reviewed Amy Bloom's In Love, a book about her husband's dementia and death. Travelers to Unimaginable Lands melds science and storytelling to uncover the inner workings of the mind - both the mind of the person with dementia and the mind of the person caring for them.
Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose (Ballantine Books, Pub date: April 4, 2023)
There are three characters in this novel: the perfect wife and mother, the "hot mess", and the outcast. When the perfect wife is found murdered, the curtain falls on the perfect facade. And in order to avoid the blame, everyone starts airing their enemies' dirty laundry.
Earth's the Right Place for Love by Elizabeth Berg (Random House, Pub date: March 21, 2023)
Any book set in Missouri is going to be a must-read for me. This novel takes place in Mason, Missouri (which is a real place) and follows a friendship between Nola and Arthur. When Arthur wants more than friendship, Nola has to break his heart - she's in love with Arthur's older brother, Frank. Soon, tragedy strikes and Arthur has to learn how to move forward through his grief. This actually tells the story of how Arthur Moses becomes the wise and compassionate person readers loved in Berg's other novel The Story of Arthur Truluv.
The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner (Park Row, Pub date: March 21, 2023)
From the author of The Lost Apothecary comes a new novel about a female spiritualist who conjures spirits and identifies who killed them, and a woman seeking answers about her sister's death. The two end up working as a team, partnering with the powerful men's Seance Society. However, are the women solving a crime or getting entangled in one?
Hang the Moon by Jeanette Walls (Scribner, Pub date: March 28, 2023)
I've never read Walls' The Glass Castle, but I remember my mom liking it. In this new novel, readers meet Sallie Kincaid, daughter of the biggest man in town. After an accident, Sallie leaves town, but nine years later returns to reclaim her place in the family.
The Lost English Girl by Julia Kelly (Gallery Books, Pub date: March 7, 2023)
It's 1935 and Viv knows what's expected of her: marry a Catholic man and have his babies. However, when she finds herself pregnant after a fling with a Jewish man named Joshua, Viv plans to wed Joshua. That is, until her makes a life-changing choice on their wedding day, leaving his family behind in England for big dreams in New York City. World War II separates their family even further, until eventually they must put it back together again.
What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez (Grand Central, Pub date: March 7, 2023)
In her debut novel, Jimenez tells the story of a Puerto Rican family who discovers that a long-missing sister is alive and on a reality TV show. The sister disappeared when she was 13, and now 12 years later, her sister Jessica spots a woman who looks like Ruthy catfighting on TV. Only the woman's name is Ruby. Jessica, her other sister Nina, and their mother Dolores drive from Staten Island on a family road trip to retrieve their missing family member and confront the family's past.
Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea (Little, Brown and Company, Pub date: May 30, 2023)
Taking inspiration from his mother's own Red Cross service, this novel tells the tale of Irene Woodward, a woman who abandons an abusive fiance in NYC to enlist with the Red Cross and head to Europe. The novel delivers an overlooked story of women's heroism in World War II.
The Snow Hare by Paula Lichtarowicz (Little, Brown and Company, Pub date: January 31, 2023)
A woman at the end of her life reminisces about her childhood in Poland, her early days of marriage, the birth of her daughter, and how the Soviets transformed her Polish village, dooming her family to the frigid work camps of the Siberian tundra. Buried in all that snow is the most haunting memory of all: an extraordinary new love.
Awaken a Better You by BJ Thompson (Waterbrook & Multnomah, Pub date: January 10, 2023)
What better way to start the new year than by unlocking the person you've always wanted to be? In this book, life coach BJ Thompson guides readers through four practical steps that help you make lasting change.
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer (Ballantine Books, Pub date: May 30, 2023)
Be careful what you wish for. In this new novel, Lucy Hart wins a contest to visit the private island of a famous yet reclusive novelist. It's a competition to win the only copy of his new novel. It's everything a young book-reading Lucy could dream of, and it's everything a grown-up Lucy could want. The money from selling that manuscript could make all her dreams come true. Except she has to compete with the others chosen for the competition, and the author has a twist that will change everyone's lives.
Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing by Emily Lynn Paulson (Row House, Pub date: May 30, 2023)
Sure, Paulson made lots of money at the top of an MLM pyramid. But she did so at the expense of relationships with friends and family. Being part of an MLM made her realize just how much MLMs exploit other women. So she wrote this book to speak out against the pseudoscience, white supremacy, and racism that infiltrates MLM life.
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