A new year means new books, and we’re excited about every last one of them, but we’re most excited about these. It’s time to freshen up your TBR and submit your preorders and library holds! You do not want to miss Book Riot’s most anticipated reads, so click through and check them out!
Sponsored by Tor Books
An explosive return to the library leaves the six Alexandrians vulnerable to the lethal terms of their recruitment.
Old alliances quickly fracture as those who remain within the archives wrestle with the ethics of their astronomical abilities. Elsewhere, an unlikely pair from the Society cohort partner to influence politics on a global stage, and still the outside world mobilizes to destroy them, while the Caretaker himself, Atlas Blakely, may yet succeed in his world-breaking plan.
The six Society recruits must decide what they’re willing to betray for limitless power—and who will be destroyed along the way.
It’s no secret that BookTok has been a major wildcard in driving book sales and reading trends over the past couple of years. Love it or hate it (or just deeply confused by it), today we’re celebrating BookTok’s influence on readers! Come and explore ways to diversify your BookTok feed, recommendations on who to follow, a breakdown on BookTok vs. Bookstagram, and more! Come on in for the scroll!
Are you ready to read harder? The 2024 Challenge, sponsored by ThriftBooks, is up! And it’s new and improved this year — we’re adding a community aspect to the newsletter, where we can share our progress and recommendations with like-minded readers all in one place. Get all the details (and the Challenge itself) right here!
Sponsored by STARS AND SMOKE by Marie Lu
Winter Young is an international pop sensation whose star power has smashed records. Sydney Cossette is the youngest and most ambitious spy in her covert ops group. When a major crime boss invites Winter to perform a private concert for his daughter’s birthday, Sydney and Winter’s lives suddenly collide. Tasked with infiltrating the crime organization’s inner circle, unlikely partners Winter and Sydney (posing as Winter’s bodyguard) are on a collision course with danger – and Cupid’s arrow – in the next sensation from #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu.
Music and Literature have been some of humanity’s favorite forms of storytelling for thousands of years, often inspiring and building off each other. So we thought we’d celebrate the magic of music and literature with a full day devoted to them! We’re exploring books about musicians, bookish playlists, magical music in fantasy, lyrics as literature, music and the poets, and more. Press play and dive in!
Sponsored by Flatiron Books publisher of HELL BENT by Leigh Bardugo
Wealth. Power. Murder. Magic. Alex Stern is back and the Ivy League is going straight to hell in this sequel to Ninth House, the smash bestseller by Leigh Bardugo. Thick with history and packed with Bardugo’s signature twists, Hell Bent brings to life an intricate world full of magic, violence, and all too real monsters.
It’s Dark Academia Day here at Book Riot, a celebration of the gothic, the intellect, and the aloof. You’ll find us sitting in the corner of the drafty hall, sipping black coffee, clothed in tweed, brooding over demonic prep boys, Dark Academia tropes, Dark Academia in science fiction and fantasy, horror, YA, and even manga, and of course contemplating the reasons Dark Academia is so perennially popular. Grab your cardigan and pull up a chair, the library’s open all night and there’s plenty to read.
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We’re exploring the wide-ranging world of thrillers and mysteries this week, and you’re invited to join the adventure! From “gentle thrill” cozies to the best procedural series, mystery books about dogs to those involving treasure hunts, BookTube channels to TikTok creators to follow, and much more. Or perhaps you’re new to thrillers and mysteries? We got you. We’ll have posts going live each day this week that are sure to explode your TBR. The game is afoot!
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Sponsored by Macmillan Audio
This collection of audiobooks features classic stories and favorite fairy tales and reimagines them with modern flair. Marissa Meyer takes on Rumpelstiltskin in Gilded, Lauren Blackwood gives an Ethiopian-inspired fantasy twist to Jane Eyre in Within These Wicked Walls, Alix E. Harrow puts her own spin on Sleeping Beauty in A Spindle Splintered, and more. Hear them all now!
There’s never been a better time to be a fan of retellings — from the Mahabharata to King Arthur, the Odyssey to Peter Pan, Arabian Nights to Anne Shirley, writers are exploring beloved older stories and finding ways to make them their own. Today we’re celebrating all of these different retellings, from Asian myths and the many (many!) takes on Cinderella, to the importance of retellings by queer and BIPOC authors, retold tales for kids, and then thinking about the ones we hope to see next. Because there can never be enough, as far as we’re concerned. Come join us!
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Sponsored by Nightfire.
Launched in 2019, Nightfire, the new horror imprint from Tor, encompasses the breadth of horror, from short story collections to novellas and novels, from standalone works to series, from dark fantasy to the supernatural, from originals to reprints of lost modern classics. Nightfire’s novels are now appearing on shelves in bookstores and libraries near you. Do you dare stretch the spines on these terrifying titles this autumn?
Oh, you thought the season of scare ended on October 31? HA. Welcome to Dark Reads Day, friends! From dark novels in verse to wintery thrillers, horror literary magazines to Goosebumps, we got you covered. We’ve even included a roundup of bookish goth goods this year, perfect for holiday gifting.
As one Rioter shares in their piece, YA Horror Books Inspired my Love of Reading: “To this day, as an avid young adult books reader, I still gravitate to the dark… these type of books paved the way to today’s most chilling and entertaining slasher lit. I thank these authors for letting me be the reader I am today, and for not letting me be afraid of the dark.”
Cheers to that, and happy (dark) reading!
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Sponsored by Sourcebooks
Bestselling authors Natalie D. Richards and Darcy Coates bring us stories that chill us to the bone and keep us up all night reading—haunting reads perfect for Halloween!
A hitched ride home in a snowstorm turns sinister when one of the passengers is plotting for the ride to end in disaster in New York Times bestseller Five Total Strangers.
From USA Today bestselling gothic horror author Darcy Coates comes The Haunting of Leigh Harker, a chilling story of a quiet house on a forgotten suburban lane that hides a deadly secret…
Welcome back, ghosts, ghouls, and goblins, to the Haunted Riot! Whether you’re looking for full-on spine-tingling reads, just a touch of hair-raising horror, or are a spooky season novice, our writers have been brewing up posts that should suit.
Want some feel-good horror, or perhaps books rated Safe For Scaredy-Cats? Perhaps you need read-alikes for your favorite horror movies, or a travel guide to the most haunted bookish places around the world. Maybe you’ve got your thinking cap on and want to contemplate the popularity of gothic horror, or the enduring appeal of Stephen King to teenagers. Perhaps haunting queer tales are more likely to float your (ghostly pirate) boat. Pick your poison, and enter if you dare!
Sponsored by Flatiron Books, publisher of Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
From the author of the beloved national bestseller Migrations, a pulse-pounding new novel set in the wild Scottish Highlands.
“So damn good. A page-turner that makes you think and has a huge emotional impact.” -Jeff VanderMeer, New York Times bestselling author of Annihilation (via Twitter)
Calling all nature-lovers, whether you’re a camping pro, always down to get dirty, or prefer to enjoy the view from a distance and ideally indoors, thanks very much! Today we’re exploring everything from ecofiction to sustainability, hopepunk to Indigenous nature-writing, environmental themes for kids to murder in the wild, and beyond. Come along for the ride, won’t you?
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