It’s nearly the shortest month of the year, but that isn’t stopping authors from publishing their exciting new work! Below is a list of the 10 books I’m most excited for that are debuting in February 2024, the month of love. Many of these are memoirs, nonfiction pieces, and short stories, which is a bit off brand from my usual recommendations, but I’m sure you’ll find these delightful nonetheless.
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Alphabetical Diaries
Author: Sheila Heti
Release Date: February 6th, 2024
Genre: Memoir / Essays
Find the Book: Goodreads | StoryGraph | Bookshop
For over ten years, author Sheila Heti kept record of her thoughts in single sentences. Then, she arranged them alphabetically. This genre-defying book is the alphabetical arrangement of all of these sentences. I’m super intrigued to read this—sometimes reading other people’s journals is incredibly powerful, and other times it’s just confusing, so it will be intriguing to see where this one falls.
Sex Romp Gone Wrong
Author: Julia Ridley Smith
Release Date: February 6th, 2024
Genre: Short Stories
Find the Book: Goodreads | StoryGraph | Bookshop
At a moment where I’m trying to get into watching short films, you’d think it would be natural for me to get into short stories as well. I am, however, finding it difficult to keep reading short stories. I read one and then I just stop! I’m hoping Ridley Smith’s debut collection will change that with her sexy, romantic tales.
Fourteen Days: An Unauthorized Gathering
Author: Margaret Atwood & Others
Release Date: February 6th, 2024
Genre: Short Stories Anthology
Find the Book: Goodreads | StoryGraph | Bookshop
Anything from Margaret Atwood or Celeste Ng needs to be on this list, and Fourteen Days includes both! This collection of stories is edited together by Atwood herself and tells the story of a Lower East Side tenement that comes together during the early days of Covid-19 lockdowns. I’m extremely excited to read this, especially with all of the big names who are writing chapters!
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde
Author: Tia Williams
Release Date: February 6th, 2024
Genre: Romance / Historical Fiction
Find the Book: Goodreads | StoryGraph | Bookshop
Ricki Wilde is the daughter of a powerful Atlanta dynasty, but that doesn’t mean she fits in with her sisters. While they are natural socialites, she is artistic and wild. When she gets the opportunity to rent a brownstone in Harlem, she enters a new life during the Renaissance, and quickly falls in love with an equally artistic and attractive man. This book look so romantic and the perfect addition to my early-20s-find-yourself collection.
The Gilded Ones #3: The Eternal Ones
Author: Namina Forna
Release Date: February 13th, 2024
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Science Fiction
Find the Book: Goodreads | StoryGraph | Bookshop
I haven’t read the earlier books in The Gilded Ones series, but I hear they’re excellent, and the trilogy is coming to a conclusion in February with The Eternal Ones. If you’re a fan of YA SSF and love a completely series, this one is for you. Deka is forced to confront the Gilded Ones, her own mortality, and the world as she knows it before losing everything.
End of Story
Author: A.J. Finn
Release Date: February 20th, 2024
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Find the Book: Goodreads | StoryGraph | Bookshop
Sebastian Trapp, a reclusive mystery novelist, has just a few months left to live when he invites fellow author Nicky Hunter to his mansion. Sebastian wants Nicky to write his life story, and in the process Nicky uncovers a series of Sebastian’s own mysteries. Sebastians wife and teenage son both disappeared twenty years earlier without a trace, and it looks like now Nicky will be the one to find out the truth.
After Annie
Author: Anna Quindlen
Release Date: February 27th, 2024
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Find the Book: Goodreads | StoryGraph | Bookshop
This book looks so incredibly dark and sad. When Annie Brown dies, the rest of her family, including her husband and children, are left to figure out what to do in her absence. I already know I’m going to need to be in the exact right mindset going into this to make it through, but I cannot wait to read Quindlen’s latest work.
The Partner Plot
Author: Kristina Forest
Release Date: February 27th, 2024
Genre: Romance / Contemporary
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Violet, a celebrity stylist, is living the dream life on paper—but her personal life isn’t quite as good. That is, until she runs into her high school sweetheart, Xavier, on a trip to Vegas. They party together, and then wake up and realize they got married the night before. They decide to go with it, but when they start catching real feelings, they can’t figure out what’s real and what’s pretend. This looks so cute and I love a fake to real dating plot, so I’m definitely adding this to my TBR.
Grief is For People
Author: Sloane Crosley
Release Date: February 27th, 2024
Genre: Memoir / Self-Help
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After losing one of her closest friends, Sloane Crosley wrote this book, a mix of her personal life and self-help aimed to talk about loss and what it’s like to lose someone close to you. She looks for answers to what it means to lose someone to suicide, and how you can move on from the inevitable stages of grief. This is yet another book on the list that I’m sure is going to be painfully hard to get through because of how sad it is.
Wandering Stars
Author: Tommy Orange
Release Date: February 27th, 2024
Genre: Historical Fiction / Literary Fiction
Find the Book: Goodreads | StoryGraph | Bookshop
This dual time period book spans from 1864 Colorado in the aftermath of the Sand Creek Massacre to 2018 Oakland in the aftermath of a school shooting. The Native American main characters all suffer from PTSD and generational trauma from their history, and struggle to get to a safer, more accepting place.
What books are you looking forward to reading this month?
