Her’s most-anticipated books for the upcoming year
2024 is here and a bundle of new books are set to land in bookshops across the next 12 months.
I cannot wait to start reading more this year and what better way to get inspired than checking out the new releases for 2024?
Bookworms will be spoiled for choice this year with novels from Kiley Reid and Emily Henry heading our way.
Closer to home, emerging Irish authors are also gearing up to publish their first novels and we’re in for a real treat.
I’ve gathered up a list of titles you need to keep an eye on this year.
There’s no doubt these books will be swiped off the shelves of your local indie bookstore and reserved until Christmas at your library so get those pre-orders in.
Trust me, these are the books everyone will be talking about in 2024.
My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes (Published on April 11th)
The Queen of Irish Fiction (her official title, obviously) returns with another incredible novel this April. My Favourite Mistake is bound to soar to the top of the bestsellers list. Everything feels that little bit better when you’ve got a new Marian Keyes book to look forward to.
Anna Walsh had a dream life – according to everybody else. She lived in New York, had a long-term boyfriend, and had The Best Job In The World working as a highly successful beauty PR. So why did she decide to take a flamethrower to the lot? Because now she’s back in Dublin, living with her parents. She’s undeniably forty- eight, with no partner, no job, and no direction. Anna’s lost her purpose. She needs a new challenge to help her fall back in love with life again. When an opportunity arises to solve a PR crisis in the tiny town of Maumtully, Anna leaps at the chance. But will the appearance of an old love interest derail her plans?
Come and Get It by Kiley Reid (Published on January 30th)
Kiley Reid finally returns to the bookish world after the major success of her debut Such a Fun Age. Kiley Reid’s work is something you need to pay attention to because her work will undoubtedly stand the test of time. Her second novel Come and Get It is at the top of our reading lists this month.
Everything comes at a price. But not everything can be paid for… Millie wants to graduate, get a job, and buy a house. She’s slowly saving up from her job on campus, but when a visiting professor offers her an unusual opportunity to make some extra money, she jumps at the chance. Agatha is a writer, recovering from a break-up while researching attitudes towards weddings and money for her new book. She strikes gold when interviewing the girls in Millie’s dorm, but her plans take a turn when she realises that the best material is unfolding behind closed doors. As the two women form an unlikely relationship, they soon become embroiled in a world of roommate theatrics, vengeful pranks, and illicit intrigue – and are forced to question just how much of themselves they are willing to trade to get what they want. Sharp, intimate, and provocative, Come and Get It takes a lens to our money-obsessed society in a tension-filled story about desire, consumption, and bad behaviour.
In Her Place by Edel Coffey (Published on March 21st)
Is there anything better than curling up with a thriller and switching off from the world? You need to add Edel Coffey’s upcoming novel In Her Place to your 2024 reading list because you won’t be able to put this book down, trust me. Her books never fail and her 2024 release is something special.
Ann devoted years to her mother’s care. Now, in a bid to escape her grief and the emptiness of her old flat, Ann finds herself in a bar upstate. She has been so good for so long, she deserves a little fun. Justin is also grieving, but his wife is still alive. Deborah has been in a coma for a long time and she doesn’t have long left. He deserves a little fun, too. Justin asks Ann to move in just a few weeks after their chance encounter. A million miles away from her lonely life in New York, here Ann finds a home where she is loved and needed by Justin and his little girl, Sophie. But just as Ann receives the best news, Justin receives the worst. Unexpectedly, Deborah’s drug trial has been a success. She is coming home. Ann doesn’t know what to do. All she knows is that she finally likes her life, and she plans to keep it.
Long Island by Colm Tóibín (Published on May 23rd)
May seems so far away but I already can’t wait for it to get here so I can delve into the Brooklyn sequel. The Colm Tóibín novel has to be one of my favourite ever books so knowing a sequel is on the way is incredibly exciting. We finally get to reunite with Eilis and Tony in this highly-anticipated sequel. I’m counting down the days already.
A man with an Irish accent knocks on Eilis Fiorello’s door on Long Island and in that moment everything changes. Eilis and Tony have built a secure, happy life here since leaving Brooklyn – perhaps a little stifled by the in-laws so close, but twenty years married and with two children looking towards a good future. And yet this stranger will reveal something that will make Eilis question the life she has created. For the first time in years, she suddenly feels very far from home and the revelation will see her turn towards Ireland once again. Back to her mother. Back to the town and the people she had chosen to leave behind. Did she make the wrong choice marrying Tony all those years ago? Is it too late now to take a different path?
One of the books we're really looking forward to in 2024 is the new Colm Tóibín. Long Island is the sequel to his bestselling novel Brooklyn, and will be published as a Kennys Limited Edition – hardback, signed and with exclusive dustjacket and content. https://t.co/VxrPeWAhFL pic.twitter.com/gnEzv4II99
— Kennys Bookshop & Art Gallery (@KennysBookshop) January 2, 2024
The Life Impossibly by Matt Haig (Published on August 29th)
Matt Haig has become one of the most celebrated, and popular, writers of our time. His honesty about his mental health struggles in his non-fiction work caught my attention, but his novels are something special. How To Stop Time by Matt Haig remains one of my favourite books, and one you should read before his next novel is released this summer.
The Life Impossible is a story of wild adventure, deep transformation, and gloriously heart-warming characters. It shows how a new outlook can burst into life at any moment and change everything.
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams (Published on February 6th)
The New York Times bestseller returns with another gripping read you won’t want to put down. Tia Williams is back and bookworms around the world couldn’t be happier about it.
Ricki Wilde has many talents, but being a Wilde isn’t one of them. As the impulsive, artistic daughter of a powerful Atlanta dynasty, she’s the opposite of her famous socialite sisters. In her bones, Ricki knows that somewhere, a more exciting life awaits her.
So, when she is invited to rent the bottom floor of a Harlem brownstone, Ricki jumps at the chance for a fresh start. She leaves behind her wealth and chaotic romantic decisions to realize her dream of opening a flower shop. And just beneath the surface of her new neighbourhood, the music, stories and dazzling drama of the Harlem Renaissance still simmer.
Then one evening in February, as the heady scent of night-blooming jasmine fills the air, Ricki encounters a handsome stranger who knocks her world off balance in the most unexpected way.
Reality Check by Vicki Notaro (Published on May 9th)
The Irish journalist is entering the bookish world and I couldn’t be more excited. Vicki Notaro’s debut novel is set for release this year and there’s no doubt it’s going to be swiped off the shelves. Vicki’s debut isn’t released until this summer, but this has to be your summer 2024 holiday read. It is joyous and addictive and has everything you need in a summer read.
Portia Daniels’ life is sorted. She has a perfect man (Jason, a hot TV producer from Ireland), a perfect apartment (in lower Manhattan), and a perfect job (writing for TV). Best of all for her, unlike the rest of her family, she lives in perfect obscurity. On the other hand, it’s all drama with her mother, Dessie, Kerry-born queen bee of the hit reality show, Ladies of Los Angeles, and sisters, Vinnie, a supermodel-turned-Insta-guru, and Ariel, a Tik-Tok teen sensation. When Jason drops a bombshell that leaves her life in tatters, Portia flees to be with her family. Her timing could not be worse though as the scandal engulfs Vinnie’s empire and Ariel’s bratty behaviour gets out of hand. As for Dessie, she is clearly hiding something. It seems like the glamour and gossip on which Dessie built her empire might just be its downfall. But maybe Portia has been fooling herself about living a ‘real’ life. She might be about to get as big a wake-up call as her mother and sisters.
Funny Story by Emily Henry (Published on April 25th)
Emily Henry’s novels are my one and only. The American author manages to create a gripping, slightly cheesy, but romantic story every single time. I cannot wait for her upcoming novel. Her books are the ultimate tonic, and Funny Story will be no different.
Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it… right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.
This is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (who barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak. Scruffy and chaotic – with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads – Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned-up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection.
The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?
But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex… right?
Whatever Happened To Birdy Troy? by Rachael English (Published on February 1st)
Rachael English will forever be one of my favourite Irish authors. I fell back in love with reading after picking up a copy of The American Girl. Her upcoming novel is bound to be a huge hit with Irish readers, just like her previous books.
In the early 1980s, The Diamonds – Ireland’s trailblazing all-woman rock band – were on the brink of international success. Their debut single ‘Too Much Not Enough’ was soaring the British charts. Then, as suddenly as they’d arrived, they vanished. It was the last anyone would hear of songwriter, guitarist and legend-in-the-making Birdy Troy.
Stacey Nash becomes fascinated with the band that broke up before she was born. How could four young women with so much promise just disappear? As problems mount in her own life, Stacey is drawn deeper into unravelling the mystery. After 40 years, and with the band’s members reluctant to cooperate, is it too late for the truth to emerge?
Hundreds of new books are set for publication this year, but I’ve shared my personal favourites here, but do let us know what books you can’t wait to get your hands on in 2024.
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- Her’s Book of the Month for December is a must-read for The Holiday fans
- Irish author Marian Keyes announced huge book news for 2024
- Her’s Book of the Month: The witty and moving break-up novel you need to read
