January Releases! What are you excited about?
Coming Soon – The Books We’re Most Looking Forward to Reading in January 2025
We would love to hear which books you’re looking forward to in the coming weeks. Here are a few from our AAR reviewers.
Releasing the week of 6th Jan 2025
She Came With a Warning by Kelly Moore (January 4)
Beg, Borrow or Steal by Sarah Adams (January 7)
Dark Hope by Christine Feehan (January 7)
For One Night Only by Jessica James (January 7)
Goaltender Interference by Ari Baran (January 7)
Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan (January 7)
Into the Woods by Jenny Holiday (January 7)
Reckless Hearts by Jax Calder (January 9)
Remember When by Mary Balogh (January 7)
Shattering Dawn by Jayne Ann Krentz (January 7)
Single Player by Tara Tai (January 7)
Starlight Heir by Amalie Howard (January 7)
Temple of Swoon by Jo Segura (January 7)
The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan Reissue (January 7)
The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight (January 7)
The Lodge by Kayla Olson (January 7)
The Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young (January 7)
The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan (January 7)
The Unexpected Diva by Tiffany Warren (January 7)
This One Life by Amanda Prowse (January 7)
Wish You Weren’t Here by Portia Macintosh (January 7)
Releasing the week of 13th Jan 2025
Accidentally Amy by Lynn Painter Reissue (January 14)
Bad Seed by Sharon Sala (January 14)
Let’s Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan (January 14)
First Love Language by Stefany Valentine (January 14)
Flirting With Disaster by Naina Kumar (January 14)
Once Smitten Twice Shy by Chloie Liese (January 14)
Some Like it Hott by Serena Bell (January 14)
The Duke’s Guide to Fake Courtship by Jade Lee (January 16)
The In-Between Bookstore by Edward Underhill (January 14)
Work in Progress by Kat McKenzie (January 14)
Releasing the week of 20th Jan 2025
Better Than Friends by Jill Shalvis (January 21)
Brewing Up a Bad Boy by Katherine Garbera January 21
Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti (January 21)
Give Me Butterflies by Jillian Meadows (January 21)
My Inconvenient Duke by Loretta Chase (January 21)
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (January 21)
The Indigo Heiress by Laura Frantz (January 21)
The Power of Persuasion by Stacy Abrams (January 21)
The Legend of Meneka by Kritaka H Rao (January 21)
The Rival by Emma Lord (January 21)
Releasing the week of 27th Jan 2025
A Lady Would Know Better by Emma Theriault (January 28)
Barbarian’s Heart by Ruby Dixon, Reissue (January 28)
Book People by Jackie Ashenden (January 28)
Dream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey January 29
Famous Last Words by Gillian Mc Allister (January 30)
Here Beside the Rising Tide by Emily Jane (January 28)
I Think They Love You by Julian Winters (January 28)
One Last Night by Lauren Ford (January 30)
Order of Swans by Jude Deveraux (January 28)
Spiral by Bal Khabra (January 28)
Strike and Burn by Taylor Hutton (January 28)
The Heir by Ava Rani (January 28)
The Little Island Flower Stall by Tilly Tennant (January 29)
The Southern Charmer by Janice Maynard (January 28)
Wedding Dashers by Heather McBreen (January 28)
Happy to see that Loretta Chase has a new book coming out in January!
I look forward to seeing the Loretta Chase review!
Ari Baran’s GOALTENDER INTERFERENCE (January 7) is the latest book in her Penalty Box series of gritty m/m hockey romances. This is a second-chance romance between two older MCs: one a retired hockey player, the other a team captain with his share of injuries. I’ve enjoyed all the books in this series (the previous book, HOME ICE ADVANTAGE, was one of my favorites of 2024) and have high hopes for this one.
Another m/m hockey romance arrives January 9 with Jesse H. Reign’s POETRY ON ICE. It begins a new series called Totally Pucked. This one features antagonists-to-lovers between teammates.
Postponed from December, Jax Calder’s RECKLESS HEARTS (January 9), the second in her Rainbow Redemption series, is an m/m romance between a man and his best friend’s brother. The first book in the series, BEAUTIFUL HEARTS, was another favorite of 2024; I’m hoping this one is equally good.
Serena Bell’s SOME LIKE IT HOTT (January 14), the next book in her Hott Springs Eternal series about a family (last name Hott) running a destination spa. I’ll let the search-engine optimization subtitle of the book describe its contents: “A spicy, grumpy-sunshine, fish-out-of-water, billionaire, opposites attract, workplace relationship standalone romantic comedy set in the beloved small town of Rush Creek.” Given Bell’s track record of excellent writing with plenty of heat & heart, I expect SOME LIKE IT HOTT to be more individualized than the marketing blurb would indicate.
Kati Wilde’s ONLY ONE BED is currently showing a publication date of January 15. This is an antagonists-to-lovers/snowbound in a cabin/only one bed story…and I am so here for it.
Jackie Ashenden’s BOOK PEOPLE (January 28) looks like a change of pace for Ashenden (one of my Harlequin Presents Queens of Angsty Heartache), at least judging by the illustrated cover. Rival, antagonistic bookstore owners find common ground and, eventually, love.
Julia Connors’s CROSS-CHECKED (January 31), the third book in her Boston Rebels series of hockey romances, features an antagonists-to-lovers between the Boston Rebels team captain and the team’s general manager—who is first female GM of a professional hockey team.
We liked the latest Hott book–Kayne’s review will run on the pub day.
There’s another hockey romance coming out on the 17th (or thereabouts) also called Goaltender Interference by Brigham Vaughn which I’ll probably pick up. I recently read the author’s Head Game, which was pretty good – better than I expected – so I’m going to try this new series. I’d have thought BV might have come up with a different title, though – the Baran was announced months ago.
One hates to be cynical (lol), but is it possible that Vaughn decided to keep the title for that very reason? I guarantee, there will be some readers who, based on the title alone, will purchase the wrong book by mistake.
BV also has a book titled Unwrtten Rules, which is the same title as one by m/m author KD Casey which came out a year earlier, although Casey’s is about baseball, not hockey.
Hmmmm. As the old saying goes, once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times it’s enemy action.
That was definitely “cynical me”‘s first thought ;) I’ve read and reviewed the Baran and while I enjoyed it, it’s a very … ‘serious’ book.
I have read many of Brigham Vaughn’s hockey series books and enjoyed them. I also subscribe to her newsletter. I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt about the titles. Unwritten Rules is 4th in a 6 book series called The Rules of the Game. Each title is a common phrase with the word “rules” such as Bending the Rules. There is probably a limit to how many phrases would fit this category. Goaltender Interference is first in a series called Scoring Chances so I expect the other titles to be hockey situations that lead to scoring. And I believe one of the main characters is a goalie. Her books are standalones but I feel the experience is richer if you have read the previous in the series. Goaltender starts with a new team in a different city but one of the mains was introduced in a book in the previous series. I plan to read it.
I really liked Head Game – it seemed like it might be a bit predictable, but she handled the premise really well. I am going to try to get around to reading the rest of that series. I wish the series was available in audio – I find it easier to catch up with backlists that way – I can see an earlier one is so I might give it a try.
I liked that entire series but my favorites were The Husband Game and The Home Game.