This post may include Amazon links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I don’t think there anyone will be sad to see 2020 come to an end. As a humanity, we all shared in getting through a global pandemic that until last winter seemed more like fiction than reality. Sadly, it was real, but even as we’re in the midst of the worst surge yet, hope is on the horizon. Vaccines are just beginning to roll out and maybe by mid-year life will be getting a little closer to normal. In the meantime we’ll still need to hunker down in out homes this winter and what better way to do it than with a great book? I’ve found SO MANY winter 2021 books that I’m truly excited about, but have manage to cull my list down to the sixteen featured here in my Winter Preview 2021. Enjoy!
January Releases
What Could Be Saved by Liese O’Halloran Schwarz
Publisher: Atria (1/12)
Length: 448 pages
The Draw
– I already read and loved this book.
– A dual timeline family drama.
– A lost brother, found after 40+ years.
The Divines by Ellie Eaton (debut)
Publisher: William Morrow (1/19)
Length: 320 pages
The Draw
– I already read and thoroughly enjoyed this book.
– Coming-of-age story with a dual timeline.
– A solid mystery to the story.
Bride of the Sea by Eman Quotah (debut)
Publisher: Tin House Books (1/26)
Length: 312 pages
The Draw
– A mother takes her daughter and disappears.
– A father’s desperate search.
– The daughter’s own coming-of-age story.
Faye, Faraway by Helen Fisher (debut)
Publisher: Gallery Books (1/26)
Length: 304 pages
The Draw
– Woman goes back in time and befriends her mother.
– A different sort of mother/daughter story.
– Themes of grief and identity.
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
Publisher: Harper (1/26)
Length: 368 pages
The Draw
– A retelling of the Trojan War
– Done from an all female perspective.
– Other mythology retellings have really worked for me.
February Releases
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press (2/2)
Length: 464 pages
The Draw
– Hannah’s The Nightingale made me a forever fan.
– Texas during the Great Depression & the Dust Bowl.
– A woman in search of a better life.
Landslide by Susan Conley
Publisher: Knopf (2/2)
Length: 288 pages
The Draw
– A husband injured far from home,
– His wife left alone with 2 teenage sons.
– A family at odds, tradition vs. the modern world.
The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson (debut)
Publisher: William Morrow (2/9)
Length: 336 pages
The Draw
– A woman struggling with her own past.
– Family secrets uncovered.
– Examines the divide between Black and White America.
We Run the Tides by Vendela Vida
Publisher: Ecco (2/9)
Length: 272 pages
The Draw
– The San Francisco pre-tech setting.
– Teenage best friends have a falling out.
– Suspense assured after one girl vanishes.
Dark Horses by Susan Mihalic (debut)
Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press (2/16)
Length: 352 pages
The Draw
– Another coming-of-age story!
– An equestrian prodigy training for the Olympics.
– Ruled by strict father, inappropriate relationship.
Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers (debut)
Publisher: Park Row Books (2/23)
Length: 304 pages
The Draw
– A #OwnVoices coming-of-age story.
– A woman torn between family expectations and what she wants.
– Impromptu wedding in Vegas to a woman she barely knows.
Infinite Country by Patricia Engel
Publisher: Avid Reader Press (2/23)
Length: 208 pages
The Draw
– A family divided between Columbia and the U.S.
– A daughter’s decision of when, and if, to flee her life.
– In a month of lots of books, it’s short!
Early March Releases
The Baddest Girl on the Planet by Heather Frese (debut)
Publisher: Blair (3/2)
Length: 304 pages
The Draw
– Described as hilarious, edgy, heartwarming.
– Smart, sassy narrator with a history of bad decisions.
– A woman coming to terms with her choices and trying to change.
Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi
Publisher: William Morrow (3/2)
Length: 464 pages
The Draw
– I’ve read and loved all of Hashimi’s books.
– An Afghan American woman returns to Kabul.
– Her search for answers to the long ago assassination of her family.
Come Fly the World by Julia Cooke – nonfiction
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (3/2)
Length: 288 pages
The Draw
– “The jet-age story of the woman of Pan Am.”
– A look back at Pan Am “stewardesses” in their heyday!
– Love the 60’s & 70’s eras. This sounds fun!
Last Call by Elon Green – nonfiction
Publisher: Celadon Books (3/9)
Length: 272 pages
The Draw
– “A true story of love, lust, and murder in queer New York.”
– A serial killer preying on gay men in the 80’s and 90’s.
– I tend to enjoy good true-crime books.
Which winter releases are you most looking forward to?
WINTER PREVIEW 2021 PIN ⇓
Kristin Hannah’s new book is high on my list!
I just finished it and loved it!
So much good reading to look forward to. Thank you, Susie.
These sound so promising! I’m very interested in Infinite Country and Come Fly the World sounds like so much fun!
I’m so curious about A Thousand Ships!
My post.
I’ve already finished A Thousand Ships and liked it very much.
Thank you for including the info about dual timelines for those books. I’m kind of tired of both that and alternating points of view. I’m just looking for one point of view and a single timeline.
Those are frequently used tropes. So far, I’m still good with dual timelines, but can see how they might get old.
Ohh, some interesting opportunities! The Kristin Hannah definitely goes on my list. Thanks for the heads up.
Seeing how we’ll probably be hunkered down for the first couple of months of 2021, it’s nice to see some new and interesting reads coming down the pike.
I’ve now read 6 2021 books and rated each one at least 4 stars on Goodreads.
Many of these look good! Love the preview posts. Kristin Hannah is sure cranking out the books these past few years. I liked The Nightingale. I have also read Susan Conley before (her last one was okay) but perhaps this one will be better? Thx for the heads up on these books.
I haven’t read Susan Conley before, but am hoping Landslide works for me. I just finished The Four Winds and really liked it. The Dust Bowl and The Great Depression are parts of US history I don’t know enough about, so truly appreciated that. I’d say it compares favorably to The Nightingale. (I liked it much more than The Great Alone.)
A Thousand Ships sounds so good.
My post.
It is!
I really want to read Last Call. Thanks for sharing all these.