Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2019

Book birthdays (AKA release dates) are a big deal here at Frostbeard. We may have just spent an embarrassing amount of time marking up our calendar so that we’ll know when it’s time to pick up the latest hardcovers. After all, we never know what will spark a new book inspired candle – but also, we just really love good stories. Check out some of our most anticipated books to read in 2019! 

Wicked Saints

Emily A. Duncan’s Wicked Saints promises thrilling battles, dangerous secrets, and three main characters set to steal – and possibly eat – our hearts. Split that winning mix between two countries inspired by Russia and Poland, and you have all the key elements of creative worldbuilding that we love in a YA fantasy. Wicked Saints is the first book in the Something Dark and Holy trilogy, and we can’t wait to dig into it! One thing to note – Duncan has been vocal about the mentions of parental abuse and past self-harm in her book, so you may want to skip this one if those subjects aren’t for you.

The Last Stone

True crime literature has the power to both captivate and horrify, intrigue and repel. Despite the grisly details – or maybe because of them – we can’t look away. Mark Bowden’s The Last Stone, a painstaking account of a 1975 cold case, promises an especially upsetting narrative. Decades ago, two little girls disappeared from a shopping mall in Washington, D.C. Eighteen-year-old Lloyd Welch told police he’d seen a man bothering the girls at the mall, but his statement was dismissed as a play for attention. Over thirty years later, police interview Welch, who is now in prison for child molestation.

Miracle Creek

Author Angie Kim’s stories have appeared in publications from The New York Times to Vogue, so we’re itching to get our hands on her first novel. Miracle Creek is a courtroom drama set in small-town Virginia that slowly unveils the lies that people tell each other – and themselves. When an experimental medical device operated by a Korean immigrant couple explodes, killing and injuring multiple people, prosecutors and defense attorneys struggle to bring the truth to light. But what, exactly, is the truth? Who is responsible? The couple, who could be relying on an insurance payment to put their daughter through college? The single mother, now accused of murdering her eight-year-old autistic son? We’re ready to find out!

Children of Virtue and Vengeance

Tomi Adeyemi’s sequel to Children of Blood and Bone promises to be just as thrilling as her debut. If you haven’t read the first novel in the Legacy of Orïsha trilogy, we won’t spoil it for you – but suffice it to say that this is the West African-inspired YA fantasy series we’ve always wanted. Familial tragedy, a unique magic system, a bloodthirsty king, a rogue princess, and a main character struggling to unlock and control her own power are just a few of the elements that make up this rich world, and we’re so ready to hop back on this thrilling ride in June.

The Toll

Spooky stories never get old, particularly when they’re imbued with a kind of Southern Gothic charm and penned by award-winning sci-fi author Cherie Priest. In July, we’re treating ourselves to The Toll, a creepy tale set in the swamps of Georgia. The premise is simple enough: a honeymooning couple leaves the hotel and drives over an old bridge on the way to go canoeing. Something horrifying happens – but we don’t know what. What we do know is that a tow-truck driver later finds the man lying in the middle of the road, with his wife nowhere to be found.

The Testaments

More than three decades after the publication of The Handmaid’s Tale, we’re getting a sequel! In the first installment, Margaret Atwood introduces us to Gilead, a nation that has fallen prey to puritanical extremism. Women have no rights, and the ones who are still fertile are passed around from house to house in the hopes that they’ll bear children for the men who control the country. We’re dying to know what happened to Offred at the end of Handmaid, but The Testaments may make us work for the knowledge when we crack it open in September. The novel picks up the tale 15 years later, revealing more about the workings of Gilead through the titular “testaments” of three female narrators.

Beard Necessities

Romance is such a varied genre that there’s something for – just about – everyone. Whether the novel is historical or contemporary, comedic or dramatic, tame or trashy, we’ll devour it. Beard Necessities is the sixth and final book in Penny Reid’s Winston Brothers series, itself a spinoff of her Knitting in the City series. Compulsively readable, Reid’s lengthy romances suck you in and make you not only empathize with, but care about the characters. And in the following book, you find out you also inexplicably care about the character’s brother or second cousin or next-door neighbor! Beard Necessities follows Billy Winston, one of six bearded brothers, as he looks for love. We’ll be snagging this one when it drops in October!

Ninth House

The month of October can’t come soon enough, because it’s also bringing us Ninth House, YA fantasy author Leigh Bardugo’s first adult novel. We’re sad to leave her Grisha universe but eager to find out what she has in store for Alex Stern, a high school dropout who finds herself attending Yale University – thanks to some mysterious benefactors. Tasked with keeping an eye on the school’s secret societies, Alex finds herself drawn into the occult activities of Yale’s elite. Ninth House promises more of Bardugo’s engaging prose, complex characters, and fast-paced plot, so we’re ready to leap in with no hesitation. Also, “Alex” is short for “Galaxy,” and that’s maybe the best character name we’ve ever heard.

Which Story Has You Running to the Bookstore?

Some of these promising page-turners have us wishing we could fast forward to their release dates. But until then, our to-be-read pile is beckoning. You can find us curled up on the couch on any given day with a great read, a warm drink, and a book themed candle suffusing the air with literature-inspired scents. Tell us about the last book you picked up so we can make our TBR list even longer!