Highly Anticipated Books of 2015
2015 is already shaping up to be a damn fine looking year in the world of books, so I thought it might be worth taking a wander through the ones I adore and the ones I can’t wait to get my mitts on.
Published 15/01/2015
This great thriller is already tipped to be a massive hit and after reading it late last year I can say it is well deserved.
Rachel gets a glimpse into the perfect couple’s life as her train pauses outside their home almost every day. One morning she glimpses something that breaks the perfect image, it looks like the wife’s cheating. She mulls the deception over and before she knows it she’s on their street and the wife is missing.
Published 15/01/2015
This is a title I heard a small extract from at a Picador event a long time ago. If I remember right, it was a pretty graphic description of breaking bones…it’s been on my wishlist ever since.
Published 29/01/2015
This is one of the numerous books that I saw mentioned on Twitter and decided to investigate. I’m glad I did as it has an incredible lead in Millie. A seven-year-old girl with an obsession for death who is abandoned by her mother in a department store.
Published 27/03/2015
I leapt at the chance to read A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab after seeing so many fabulous reviews of her previous novel, Vicious. Schwab introduces us to Kell, a blood magician and one of the very last people who can travel to the four different Londons. Red London where skills in magic are highly regarded, Grey London, dark and dirty and without magic and White London, a violent land where anyone can murder their way to the top. Then there was a Black London, the city destroyed by magic…or is it?
Published 05/03/2015
If you’d have asked me a year ago if I was interested in reading a book about depression, it would have been a very quick ‘no thank you’ but after reading his fiction I think Matt Haig will make this an enjoyable and touching read.
TV COMEDIAN BY STEWART LEE – 05/03/2015
In my little world, Stewart Lee is one of the gods of comedy, so I know nothing about this book at all but I’m still looking forward to it.
Published 26/03/2015
Discovering Sarah Hall was one of my literary highlights of 2014. Set in the Lake District and following one woman’s attempts to reintroduce the Grey Wolf back into England, this novel is set to be one of her best yet.
23/04/2015
Following up from Tigers in Red Weather comes Liza Klaussmann’s second novel, Villa America.
Gerald and Sarah Murphy live a luxurious life of parties, style and art but when a stranger inserts themselves into that life, everything changes.
Published 23/04/2015
There is usually one celebrity autobiography a year that grabs my attention and this is my choice for 2015. I grew up loving Blink 182, Boxcar Racer, +44 and still listen to The Transplants all the time but apart from his fascinating musical life Travis Barker’s a hugely successful business owner (Famous Stars and Straps) and survived a terrible plane crash. I am sure he’s got a lot of stories to tell and I for one am looking forward to reading them.
Published 07/05/2015
When I first saw this cover online I just had to investigate, it’s stunning! After reading the brief blurb I instantly added it to my wish list.
North survives the sea flooded Earth on a circus boat, dancing with her beloved bear. She and the crew travel to the few and far between islands, trading their acts for food.
During a storm, North meet Callanish, a gracekeeper who tends the graves of those who die at sea and that chance meeting changes both their lives forever.
Published 07/05/2015
A God in Ruins is the eagerly (to put it lightly) anticipated follow-up novel to Kate Atkinson’s award-winning, Life After Life. This book follows Ursula’s brother Teddy from wannabe poet, to RAF pilot and beyond. I have a feeling this is going to break my heart just as much as Life After Life and I can’t wait.
Published 02/06/2015
I have already mentioned this re-release of Roman Dirge’s The Cat With a Really Big Head in a previous post but this graphic novel has such a place in my heart I needed to mention it in this round-up. It’s dark, funny, utterly gorgeous and has the sickest twist at the end.
Published 04/06/2015
Tanya Byrne is simply one of my favourite YA authors, so I can’t help but look forward to For Holly.
Lola Durrand’s life is a mess. Her Mother’s dead, her Father’s re-married and she’s been forced to move to France. Struggling to come to terms with grief and desperate for her Father’s help she sets out to expose her stepmother for what she truly is.
02/07/2015
This year sees the release of Last Act of Love by one of the loveliest ladies of the book world that is Cathy Rentzenbrink. This memoir concentrates on her families experiences after her sixteen-year-old brother was knocked down by a car and left in a permanent vegetative state. Described as “incredibly devastating” by Picador’s Francesca Main this book is set to be as raw as it is moving.
Published 02/07/2015
Way Down Dark is the first novel in The Australia series from James Smythe’s and his debut for YA readers. After loving all his adult work, I cannot wait for this!
The Australia abandoned a dying Earth and it’s colonists searched the universe for another planet to call home. Nothing suitable was ever found. As the humans aboard the ship fight for resources law and order breaks down. Soon The Australia becomes a ship rife with crime and gang wars. Amongst the chaos, Chan keeps herself to herself and gets on with everyday life but when she discovers a way to return to Earth she has no idea who to turn to.
Published 16/07/2015
Ready Player One has become a cult gamer novel since it’s UK release back in 2011. I have only just seen the blurb for his long-awaited follow-up so here it is:
Zack Lightman is daydreaming through another dull math class when the high-tech dropship lands in his school’s courtyard and when the men in the dark suits and sunglasses leap out of the ship and start calling his name, he’s sure he’s still dreaming.
But the dream is all too real; the people of Earth need him. As Zack soon discovers, the video game he’s been playing obsessively for years isn’t just a game; it’s part of a massive, top-secret government training program, designed to teach gamers the skills they’ll need to defend Earth from a possible alien invasion. And now…that invasion is coming.
As he and his companions prepare to enter their ships and do battle, Zack learns that the father he thought was dead is actually a key player in this secret war. And together with his father, he’ll uncover the truth about the alien threat, race to prevent a genocide, and discover a mysterious third player in the interplanetary chess game he’s been thrown into.
There you go, those are my hot picks for 2015. I am sure there will be numerous books released this year that capture my heart but these are just a few. If you think I’ve missed something amazing, let me know!