9 Must-Read New Releases Coming Out in February
It’s snowy.
It’s cold.
It’s the longest feeling 28 day month, ever.
It’s February.
Between the blustery conditions and the Hallmark holiday smack-dab in the middle, it’s easy to hate on February.
But, really, I don’t have a burning dislike for this doldrums-heavy month.
Why?
Because I’ve got books.
I like to spend most of my February — or, as I sometimes call it, January 2: The Revenge — snuggled up under a blanket, a hot beverage to make me warm... or an alcoholic beverage to make me feel warm…in one hand, and a book in the other.
Check out the 9 books I absolutely adored spending my February cuddling with, below.
1. The Hiding Place
by CJ Tudor
Release Date - February 5, 2019
Genre - Thriller/Horror
Joe Thorne’s life in the small British village of Arnhill was, if not overtly happy, at least typical.
Until his sister, Annie, went missing.
But, as if in an answer to an unsaid prayer, just 48 hours after disappearing without a trace, she returned.
You would probably guess that this is where the story ends… but you would be wrong.
It doesn’t take Joe long to see that the Annie who has come back to them isn’t the same Annie who vanished into the night.
While adults around him try to explain away the changes he’s seeing in his beloved sister — reminding him that her time away from her family certainly left her with wounds that will take time to heal — he knows that it’s more than just some residual trauma.
Annie is forever changed.
And he needs to know why.
But once he discovers the truth about what happened to Annie, he realizes there is no going back.
So when adult Joe — a broken man who survives on a steady diet of alcohol and gambling — discovers that Arnhill’s dark history has somehow been resurrected, he has no choice but to return to his hometown and try to save its current residents from the dark fate that derailed him decades prior.
2. The Dead Ex
by Jane Corry
Release Date - February 5, 2019
Genre - Thriller
Vicki hasn’t seen her ex-husband, David, in years. So, needless to say, she’s surprised when the police show up at her front door to inform her that:
Davis is missing and
She is a suspect in his disappearance
Who else could be responsible for David vanishing, after all?
It couldn’t possibly be his new wife, Tanya. Not only were they purportedly happy, she’s the one who reported him missing, which certainly isn’t something someone who is guilty would have done.
Add to this already complex situation 8-year-old Scarlet and her mother Zelda. Perpetually down on their luck, Zelda will try anything to make ends meet — including tasking Scarlet with dealing drugs. But when Zelda is taken away, Scarlet is thrust into the notoriously rough foster care system, putting her on a path that will impact the rest of her life.
So where did David go?
To answer this question, authorities will have to determine how these four women’s lives connect.
Because it is at this intersection where the truth lies.
3. The Night Olivia Fell
by Christina McDonald
Release Date - February 5, 2019
Genre - Thriller
Like most mothers, Abi Knight thinks that she knows her daughter, Olivia.
But then, a late night phone call changes everything.
Abi is dutifully informed that her daughter has fallen off of a bridge.
And the news gets worse.
The fall has left Olivia brain-dead.
But Abi doesn’t have time to mourn. She’s immediately informed that Olivia is pregnant.
As her daughter lies in the hospital, being kept on life support to allow time for the baby she carries to reach viability, Abi begins to search for answers.
When the police hastily rule Olivia’s fall an accident, Abi’s resolve is strengthened and she becomes even more determined to find out what really happened on the night Olivia fell.
4. The Girls at 17 Swann Street
by Yara Zgheib
Release Date - February 5, 2019
Genre - Women’s Fiction
The girls at 17 Swann Street all bring with them distinctive backstories. But there is one thing they share in common: all are struggling with eating disorders.
When Anna Roux first began to shun food, she did so for a logical reason — or, at least, in her eyes. A ballet dancer trying to stand out in a sea of pink tutus, she figured, if she could just lose a few more pounds, she would finally be able to shine.
But as the list of foods she would eat shrunk — along with her waistline — what started out as a temporary dietary change — a quick way to drop 10 or so pounds — became something so much more.
As with many who experience a similar affliction, eventually Anna reached a point where the existence of a problem can’t be explained away — the weight loss becomes so severe there’s just no way to justify it.
When the number on the scale dips below 90 lbs, she is forced to join the ladies at 17 Swann Street and, along with them, confront her past, regain control of her eating and prepare for a future of healing and growth.
5. A Danger to Herself and Others
by Alyssa Sheinmel
Release Date - February 5, 2018
Genre - Young Adult
Hannah might not have known exactly how she wanted to spend her senior year, but she did know how she didn’t want to spend it: institutionalized
#GoesWithoutSaying
#HospitalGownsAreNoOnesIdeaOfSeniorChic
But when Hannah’s actions have dire consequences for her summer program roommate, she’s forced to leave behind the world she’s known and finally confront her demons.
At first, she’s resistant.
That changes when a new girl, Lucy, arrives.
Now Hannah has a project. Though she’s still convinced she doesn’t need the support the hospital is offering — okay, forcing upon her — she feels like she can help Lucy deal with her obvious baggage.
As Hannah moves closer to Lucy, though, she’s made to confront her own life experiences and truly acknowledge the issues that lead to her confinement in the first place.
6. Forget You Know Me
by Jessica Strawser
Release Date - February 5, 2019
Genre - Women’s Fiction / Thriller
Like many friends, Liza and Molly’s relationship has evolved as their lives have changed. Though once almost inseparable, the realities of life — paired with the fact that they now live far from each other — often stand in the way of their friendship.
Despite the struggles, though, the duo is committed to keeping in contact.
So, when Molly’s husband heads off on a business trip, Liza decides to keep Molly company in the best way she can — via video chat.
Not long into their scheduled chat, Molly is called from the room by a crying child.
As Liza waits, she gets more than she bargained for.
What she’s certain she saw flash across her computer screen is something that will change everything.
Knowing Molly desperately needs her help, Liza rushes to her home.
But, when she arrives, Molly is less than enthusiastic about her BFF’s pop-in visit.
This leaves Liza — and, TBH, the reader — wondering what actually is going on between these two women and whether what started out as such a strong friendship is destined to not just end, but implode.
7. The Hunting Party
by Lucy Foley
Release Date - February 12, 2019
Genre - Thriller
A group of thirty something professionals — connected only by friendships they forged long ago at Oxford — have made a tradition of vacationing together every Christmas season.
This year, they will travel from New York to the secluded Scottish Highlands.
But, while the trip starts out like any other, it soon goes awry.
When the group wakes up on New Year’s Day, they find that one of them is dead, leaving the only logically deducible conclusion that one of the remaining members of the group is a killer.
And if there is one type of person you don’t want to be trapped in a secluded house in the Scottish Highlands with, it’s a murder-y one…
#JustSaying
8. The Good Friend
by Jo Baldwin
Release Date - February 21, 2019
Genre - Thriller / Women’s Fiction
To any outsider, Jenny would appear to have an enviable life.
A swimming star — with Olympic gold medals to attest to her skill — she has spent the last eight years living in Australia with her father, dedicating her every waking hour to training and honing her skill.
But she had a life before she moved to Australia.
When she left England almost a decade prior, she left behind a best friend, Kath, and a boyfriend, Tom.
Now tired of living under her father’s thumb and maintaining a myopic interest in swimming, she decides to go visit her old friend, Kath, and her long-lost love, Tom.
Conveniently — or inconveniently — enough, Kath and Tom are now married and living, with their daughter, in France.
When Jenny arrives in France, what she had hoped would be an opportunity to catch up becomes a complex reconnection in which old feelings re-emerge and questions about what actually happened years ago arise.
9. American Duchess
by Karen Harper
Release Date - February 26, 2019
Genre - Historical Fiction
Consuelo Vanderbilt doesn’t have the luxury of marrying for love.
When she arrives at the church to marry the Duke of Marlborough, Consuelo, then just 18 years old, does so out of obligation.
Raised in high society, she was taught to obey her parents. And what her parents insist she do now is marry.
Her parents’ — more specifically, her mother’s — eagerness for her to marry makes sense. Upon Consuelo’s marriage, her family will gain a title and all of the prestige that comes along with it.
But, for Consuelo, marriage will mean tying herself forever to a man she not only doesn’t love now, but also can’t see herself ever loving.
Fortunately for Consuelo, times are changing.
As the suffrage movement heats up and the idea that women might actually deserve some rights begins to gain traction, she finally sees a light at the end of the dark tunnel in which she previously felt trapped.
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