Wondering what to read now? Here are all the hot new January 2022 book releases for you. I’ll let you know what I’ve read, what I can’t wait to read, and what’s getting all the attention this month.
In case you’re new to Booklist Queen, every month I cover all the hottest new book releases. I try to read as many new book releases as I can to give you an honest perspective on what to read and what to skip.
However, I realize that my to-read list might not exactly match yours. That’s why I’ve also included some of the most popular January 2022 book releases from your favorite authors.
Enough from me. Let’s get on to the January 2022 book releases so you can fill up your to-read list.
Top January 2022 Book Releases
A Flicker in the Dark
Stacy Willingham
When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls disappeared from her small Louisiana town and she was the crucial witness that convicted her father as a serial killer. As her wedding approaches, Chloe fears the past is repeating when teen girls start vanishing. Is she imagining the parallels to her past or is the past truly coming back to haunt her?
A Flicker in the Dark is a great psychological thriller to kick off the new year. Chloe serves as an excellent unreliable narrator, perfectly toeing the line on believability. Are the meds and anxiety and trauma causing her to read too much into coincidences or is everything connected? Willingham times the revelations to heighten the tension, leaving you with plenty of twists and turns to give you a fast-paced read.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 11 January 2022
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No Land to Light On
Yara Zgheib
Hadi and Sama, a young Syrian couple living in Boston, are thrilled that their child will be born in America. When Sama is five months pregnant, Hadi’s father unexpectedly passes away in Jordan. After attending the funeral, Hadi is detained upon his return to Boston, caught up in a nightmarish limbo caused by the newly issued travel ban.
I loved Zgheib’s tale of anorexia, The Girls at 17 Swann Street, so I really wanted to enjoy her newest book. Despite the importance of the topic, No Land to Light On was a struggle for me to read, mostly because of the lyrical writing style. The composition jumps from past to present with endless descriptions in flowing language. The story stayed ethereal when I wanted this tragedy to be brought down to earth.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 4 January 2022
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The Good Son
Jacquelyn Mitchard
Three years ago, Stefan was sentenced for the drug-fueled murder of his girlfriend Belinda. When Stefan is released from prison, his mother Thea struggles to support him as he tries to make amends to a community that wants nothing to do with him. As threats escalate, Thea wonders how well she truly knows her son and questions what actually happened the night Belinda died.
Mitchard’s January release starts as a strong character study of a mother trying to process her son’s release from prison. Thea loves her son, yet questions her parenting, his temper, and state of mind. At times, The Good Son is thought-provoking and at other times utterly dull.
Sadly, the story completely misses the mark when it adds a thriller subplot. Suddenly the story isn’t about facing the consequence of a crime, but a “thriller” that’s not very thrilling. In all, The Good Son is a novel that has so much potential but ends up being rather mediocre.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from MIRA Books. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 18 January 2022
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The Magnolia Palace
Fiona Davis
After her mother’s death, Lillian Carter finds herself without a purpose. Previously one of New York City’s most requested artist models, Lillian decides to take a job as a private secretary to the socialite Helen Frick. As Lillian gets caught up in the family’s drama in the 1920s, a present-day English model finds clues to the notorious murder in the former Frick mansion.
Reckless Girls
Rachel Hawkins
It seems like a chance of a lifetime when Lux McCallister and her boyfriend Nico are hired to sail two women to a remote Pacific island. Yet, when they arrive, another boat is already anchored there, piloted by a golden couple. The party of six gets along great until another stranger arrives and the perfect vacation turns deadly.
Reckless Girls is the perfect guilty pleasure beach read. It has all the markers – exotic setting, gorgeous people, complicated relationships, and over-the-top plot twists. You know it’s not realistic, but you get sucked in anyways because it’s escapist reading at its finest.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 4 January 2022
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The Maid
Nita Prose
Although she struggles to interact with people, her love of order and cleanliness makes Molly Gray an excellent maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. When Molly discovers a wealthy guest dead in his hotel bed, the police peg her as the prime suspect due to her unusual behaviors. With the help of her friends, Molly must investigate the murder to prove her innocence in this locked-room mystery.
Chosen as the GMA book club pick for January, The Maid is an adorable cozy mystery. You’ll instantly fall in love with Molly as the neurodivergent protagonist, with her keen observations and lovable personality. If you are in the mood for a cute book, The Maid delivers: the twists and turns are intriguing but not shocking and everyone gets their happily ever after.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 4 January 2022
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Book of the Month – January 2022
Receiving my blue box from Book of the Month Club is a highlight of every month.
Here’s how it works – each month, they pick 5 books and you get to choose one book or skip until the next month. If you want to add any extra books, then you get them at a discounted price.
Each month is usually a mix of new releases and advance copies of unreleased books. If you are interested in joining, right now you can use my Book of the Month Club affiliate link to get your first book for $5!
The January Book of the Month selections are:
See the Complete List of Upcoming Releases!
Jenna Bush Hager’s January 2022 Pick
The School for Good Mothers
Jessamine Chan
Frida Liu’s life is not what she expected it to be. She can’t seem to live up to her Chinese parents’ expectations and she can’t convince her husband to give up her mistress. The one perfect thing in her life is her daughter Harriet. Until one lapse in judgment lands Frida in a new government reform program, a Big-Brother-like institution that will determine if Frida may retain custody of her daughter.
Reese’s Book Club January 2022
Honor
Thrity Umrigar
Indian American journalist Smita reluctantly accepts an assignment to cover a story in India. Meena, a Hindu woman, was attacked in her own village by her own family when she married a Muslim man. As Smita encounters a society where tradition is more important than love, she must face secrets from her family’s past. At the same time, Smita’s own attraction to a Muslim man brings out the stark contrast of her situation vs. Meena’s.
The Most Anticipated January 2022 Book Releases
One Step Too Far
Lisa Gardner
After debuting in last year’s Before She Disappeared, missing persons investigator Frankie Elkin returns with a case of a young man missing in a national forest. Sensing the father’s desperation, Frankie agrees to take on the case. Quickly, she realizes something dark is going on when more people disappear.
To Paradise
Hanya Yanagihara
From the author of A Little Life, comes three stories spanning three centuries about different versions of the American experiment. In an alternate version of 1893, a person from a distinguished family wants to marry a lowly music teacher. Amid an AIDS epidemic in 1993 Manhattan, a young Hawaiian man keeps secrets from his much older and weather partner. Lastly, a woman grieves the death of her grandfather and searches for her husband in a totalitarian regime in 2093.
Anthem
Noah Hawley
A group of unlikely heroes set out on a quest in this modern-day fairy tale. Grieving from his sister’s death, Simon Oliver breaks out of the Float Anxiety Abatement Center to join a woman named Louise and a man called The Prophet. The trio is searching for the Wizard, a man who sparked Louise’s collapse and is holding captive another impregnated woman.
The Last House on the Street
Diane Chamberlain
After Kayla’s husband dies while building their dream house, Kayla and her young daughter are grief-stricken as they move into the now-finished house. One neighbor warns her not to move into the house while the other, Ellie, is more welcoming. However, Ellie holds her own secrets, tied to her work as a volunteer to help register Black voters in 1965.
Violeta
Isabel Allende
As she turns one hundred, Violeta Del Valle writes a letter to her true love telling how the upheavals of the last century have shaped her life. Born in 1920 as the Spanish flu ravages her South American homeland, Violeta’s childhood is marked by the Great Depression. As she grows older, Violeta’s life is shaped by the world events that rage around her – the struggle for women’s rights, the rise and fall of dictators, even a second pandemic.
Her Hidden Genius
Marie Benedict
Based on the life of English chemist Rosalind Franklin, Her Hidden Genius tells the story of the forgotten heroine of DNA. Rosalind Franklin has always felt at home in the laboratory, whether in Paris or in London. When her x-rays unlocked the double helix structure of DNA, her male colleagues, Watson, Crick, and Wilkins, hide her contributions.
Greenwich Park
Katherine Faulkner
With a baby on the way, Helen is thrown for a loop when she befriends a reckless single mother-to-be at a prenatal class. Rachel is the opposite of maternal but at least she makes Helen laugh. When Rachel’s erratic behavior becomes unsettling, Helen realizes Rachel holds a secret that will threaten Helen’s idyllic life.
The Fields
Erin Young
A young woman is found dead in an Iowa cornfield, the daughter of one of the few farmers still able to compete with Big Agriculture. As Sergeant Riley Fisher begins to investigate the death of her former childhood friend, she worries it will bring up buried secrets from their past. As more people are found dead, Fisher suspects the motive is much larger than her small town.
The Final Case
David Guterson
From the author of Snow Falling on Cedars comes a new legal drama about privilege, power, and family. A conservative Christan couple, Delvin and Betsey Harvey, are charged with murder when their adoptive Ethiopian daughter dies just feet from the back door of their home. In the final days of his storied career, a Seattle criminal attorney agrees to take the case with the help of his son.
From the premise, The Final Case sounds like it will be an interesting legal story, but it isn’t. The book starts and ends with the mindless laments of an aging writer. The middle section describes the trial, a legal case that is transparent from start to finish because everyone and his brother knows this couple is guilty of child abuse. The entire book was pointless and I highly suggest skipping it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Knopf. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 11 January 2022
Amazon | Goodreads | More Info
Popular January Upcoming Releases
What January 2022 Book Releases are You Most Excited to Read?
What books can you not wait to get your hands on this month? Did I miss any January 2022 book releases that you are anticipating? As always, let me know in the comments!
More New Book Releases:
Ann says
Rachael, I am excited for these 2022 books too!
I beat the crowd and I am on wait lists at the library for Honor, The Maid, The Good Son, The School For Good Mothers & The Magnolia Palace.
I had not realized The Magnolia Palace releases so much later.
Hoping to get the others soon. Hope there is no supply/chain issues.
As you can see by my choices, I follow some Celebrity clubs (Reese, Jenna & GMA). That can be fun, but my reading resolution for 2022 is to try and read more books in addition to those club picks. I also enjoy seeing what author Ann Patchett recommends at Parnassus Books.
Another resolution is that I need to curtail my time reading these blogs (that I absolutely love & let’s admit it is half the fun!!!!) and actually reading books more. It is a fine line (also spending less time watching Harry Styles reels/guys, he is so cute ) and I need to work on a balance.
Need- to -walk -more! The image in my head is me with outstretched arms, walking like Frankenstein, lol!!!
Find balance between reading & exercise. Reading new releases & also keeping my TBR pile under control and not letting it get so large it topples and falls on me and buries me
I want to read some classics and great older authors.
I made a daring move and after hemming and hawing (I am in Texas, lol ) and much debate, I cancelled my BOTM. I felt okay about it when I saw the January picks. I would have chosen The Magnolia Palace & probably gotten it faster thru BOTM, but it is okay bc I will get it from the library. Which is why in the end, as much as I enjoyed it, I could no longer justify buying the books. They are offering some enticing comebacks though, so we shall see.
The book from Snow on Cedars author sounds good. I heard it here, from you first, so thanks for that! I’ve reached my request limit at the library for now. I am going back to curbside pick up with this variant floating around. Good time to hunker down with immediate family and read people!!
Ready for my reading challenge!! I’ve pledged 50 again on Goodreads.
Hey, did anyone read Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone?
Tina B says
Yes I read it sometime ago and I loved it
Deanna Neil says
I just finished “Pachinko”, which was chosen for my book club in February. I was a bit worried about the length thinking I might not be able to finish it, so I started early and whipped right through it in about 2 weeks! It actually was an easy read and I really enjoyed it!!
I’m now waiting for our next book, choice for April, from the library. The book chosen is “The Woman They Could Not Silence” by Kate Moore, which sounds fascinating to me even though I’m not much of a nonfiction reader.
In the meantime, I’m reading some guilty pleasure books! Always try and fit one or two in between my book club books. The first one is “Ickabog” by J.K. Rowling and the 2nd book is “The Problem Child” by Tess Thompson (an author friend of mine).
I’m so sorry you had to deal with a cyber bully, that’s just not right! As my Grandmother always said, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”!! I love reading your blog and your suggestions and sometimes I agree with them and sometimes I may not, but that’s part of having your own opinion! People like that have other issues and we still love you!! ❤️
Happy Reading and Happy 2022!
Rachael says
I really disliked reckless girls. I thought it was headed in an interesting direction then got weird. I wasn’t impressed. Looking forward to some of the others!