The end of the holidays are here.
Which means that in between the last few of the holiday parties, festive feasts, and the general fear of returning to work we've been trying to work our way through the "to read" pile that has been sitting beside our bed.
And while our minds are set on making it through the literary gems of 2018, our minds can't help but turn to what adventures are going to be hitting the shelves this year.
After all, there's nothing quite as nice as curling up with a good book and a mug of tea on a chilly January day, is there?
Here are 14 amazing books coming out in the first half of 2019 that we will definitely be adding to our 'must read' list.
Music Love Drugs War by Geraldine Quigley
The end of the school year is coming up, leaving siblings Paddy and Liz McLaughlin, Christy Meehan, Kevin Thompson and their friends having to soon decide what they will do with the rest of their lives.
But it's hard to focus on when there's the allure of their favourite hangout place, the dingy 'Cave'. Through a fog of marijuana, beer and budding romance, the future is distant and unreal.
But this is Derry in 1981, and they can't ignore the turmoil of the outside world. When one of their friends is killed, Christy and Paddy are stunned out of their stupor and decide to take matters into their own hands. However, choosing to fight will take hold of their lives in ways they never imagined.
Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen M. McManus
The residents of Echo Ridge - a picturesque town nestled up near the Canadian boarder - were left reeling when high school senior, Sarah Corcoran vanished while she was walking home in 1995, never to be seen again.
Five years later, Lacey Kilduff was found dead in the local (and since renamed) theme park, Murderland Halloween park.
Now, another girl has disappeared. The last two people to see her alive? Ellery, the new girl at school (and Sarah's nice), and Malcom, the brother of the prime suspect. As they work to unravel what actually happened, they begin to realise they may be closer to the truth than either of them want to believe.
Available January 10.
Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss by Rajeev Balasubramanyam
Right after his bicycle accident, Professor Chandra doesn't see his life flashing before his eyes. Instead, he sees his life's work.
He's
just missed out the Novel Prize, once again, and while he knows that he should get right back to work, he's got some other ideas.
The work, the stress, the success: it's killing him. He needs to take a break and start enjoying himself. In short, says his doctor (who is, of course, from California), Professor Chandra should just follow his bliss...
Available January 10.
My Coney Island Baby by Billy O'Callaghan
One day, on a bitterly cold winter's afternoon, Michael and Caitlin escape from their unhappy marriages and meet up to keep an illicit rendezvous - which they have been doing once a month, for the past quarter of a century, at Coney Island.
The hidden, stolen moments are normally their only nourishment. But when they get caught in the middle of an angry snowstorm, the out-of-season resort begins to feel more and more like the edge of the world.
And their lives, suddenly, are about to change – with news of serious illness on one side, and a move to the Midwest on the other. And so, after half a lifetime spent in secret, certain long-avoided facts need to be faced, consequences examined, decisions made, and – perhaps – chances finally taken.
Available January 17.
Darkest Truth by Catherine Kirwan
Solicitor Finn Fitzpatrick is approached by a distraught man to investigate the death of his daughter - but her first instinct is to refuse. The father is grieving, and unable to accept his daughter's death.
However, something about his story strikes a chord with Finn. Why did a bright, confident, beautiful young girl suddenly drop out of school and isolate herself from everyone who cared about her? Could her father's suspicions be right?
The more she investigates, the darker and more twisted the picture becomes - and soon Finn finds herself in danger.
Available January 10.
You Know You Want This by Kristen Roupenian
From the author of
Cat Person, the first short story to go viral, the book is a collection of satires about sex, dating and modern life. Which also happen to be horror stories.
Here are women at work, at home, on dates, at the doctor’s, with their families and with their friends. Here are women grappling with desire, punishment, guilt and anger.
These are stories that make you feel fascinated but repelled, scared but delighted, revolted but aroused.
Available February 7.
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
Tracker is well known for his skills as a hunter - and he always works alone. He is forced to break his own rules when he is asked to find a child who disappeared three years ago, leaving him joining a group of eight very different mercenaries working together to find the boy.
They follow the lost boy's scent from one ancient city to another, into the dense forests and across deep rivers.
But as the search continues, Tracker begins to wonder: just who is the boy and why has he been missing for so long? Why are so many people determined to keep Tracker from finding him? Most importantly, though, who is telling the truth and who is lying?
Available February 7.
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock and roll she loves most.
By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things. Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne.
And on the eve of their first tour, Billy's girlfriend, Camila, finds out that she is pregnant. With the pressures of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes wild on the road. Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realises the key to mammoth success is to put them together - and what happens next becomes legendary.
Available March 7.
The Runaways by Fatima Bhutto
Anita lives in Karachi's biggest slum. Her life will change forever when she meets her elderly neighbour, a man whose shelves of books promise an escape to a different world.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Karachi, Monty - whose father owns half the city - finds his life going in an entirely different direction when a beautiful and rebellious girl joins his school.
Sunny, whose father left India to go to England to try and give his son the opportunities he never had, doesn't quite fit in anywhere. Only when his charismatic cousin comes back into his life does he realise his life could hold more possibilities than he ever imagined.
These three lives will cross in the desert, a place where life and death walk hand-in-hand, and where their closely guarded secrets will force them to make a terrible choice.
Available March 7.
Twisted Doodles – The Newborn Identity by Maria Boyle
The illustrations of TwistedDoodles have brought a smile to the faces of parents across the country every single day - especially since they capture the unique experience of motherhood and the huge range of emotions that it brings.
Now, Maria is candidly opening up about what becoming a mum has meant for her in a warm, witty book interspersed with the beloved cartoons.
In the book, she delivers a marvellously entertaining snapshot of life as a modern-day parent: everything from thesleep-deprived early days of having newborn twins, to the reality of being a working mum; from just getting out of the house to slowly getting your social life back.
Available March 7.
Lost and Wanted by Nell Feudenberger
Physics professor Helen Clapp doesn't believe in pseudo-science or time travel - and especially not ghosts. So, understandably, she thinks it is a mistake when she gets a missed call from Charlie, her closest friend from university with whom she hasn't spoken in over a year. Because Charlie died two days ago.
But she begins to have doubts when her young son, Jack, claims to have seen Charlie in their house the other day.
Through the grief of the husband and daughter she left behind, Helen becomes drawn into Charlie's world as she slots in the missing pieces of her friend's life. And, as she delves into the web of their shared past, Helen finds herself entangled in the forgotten threads of her own life.
Available April 2.
The Fire Starters by Jan Carson
Dr Jonathan Murray is worried that his newborn daughter may not be as harmless as she seems.
And Sammy Agnew, wrestling with his own dark past, fears the violence in his blood may lurk in his son, too.
Belfast is in flames and the authorities are losing control. As the city falls into frenzy, and as the lines between fantasy and truth, right and wrong, begin to blur, who will these two fathers choose to protect?
Available April 4.
The Porpoise by Mark Haddon
A newborn baby is the sole survivor of a terrifying plane crash.
She's raised by an over protective father, in wealthy isolation, and knows nothing about the rumours of a beautiful young woman, hidden from the world.
When a suitor visits, he understands far more than he should. Forced to run for his life, he escapes aboard The Porpoise, with an assassin on his tail...And so the wild adventure begins.
Available May 9.
Elsewhere: One Woman, One Rucksack, One Lifetime of Travel by Rosita Boland
Ever since her first life-changing solo trip to Australia, Rosita Boland has been fascinated by travel.
In the last thirty years she has visited some of the most remote parts of the globe carrying little more than a battered rucksack and a diary.
Documenting nine journeys from nine different moments in her life, her book reveals how exploring the world – and those we meet along the way – can dramatically shape the course of a person’s life
Available May 30.
A good book can do just about anything; from taking you on a wild and fantastical adventure to making you feel like an all-knowing super sleuth (if you figure out the killer twist).
Every week at #Bookmarked, we will be taking you through some of our all-time favourite books - as well as the newest novels hitting shelves in Ireland.
