Last Updated on July 6, 2022 by BiblioLifestyle
Looking ahead to the books that will be hitting bookshelves in 2022, there are a ton of great books that we can’t wait to read! So here are the 55 most anticipated books of 2022. Whether you’re into fantasy, mystery, romance, or non-fiction, there’s something for everyone on this list. So get ready to add these reads to your TBR pile and dive into some great reading!
THE MOST ANTICIPATED LITERARY FICTION
Violeta [English Edition] by Isabel Allende
This sweeping novel from the New York Times bestselling author of A Long Petal of the Sea tells the epic story of Violeta Del Valle, a woman whose life spans one hundred years and bears witness to the greatest upheavals of the twentieth century.
To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara
From the author of the classic A Little Life–a bold, brilliant novel spanning three centuries and three different versions of the American experiment, about lovers, family, loss, and the elusive promise of utopia.
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
In this taut and explosive debut novel, one lapse in judgement lands a young mother in a government reform program where custody of her child hangs in the balance.
Vladimir by Julia May Jonas
A provocative, razor-sharp, and timely debut novel about a beloved English professor facing a slew of accusations against her professor husband by former students–a situation that becomes more complicated when she herself develops an obsession of her own.
Nobody’s Magic by Destiny O. Birdsong
In this glittering triptych novel, Suzette, Maple and Agnes, three Black women with albinism, call Shreveport, Louisiana home. At the bustling crossroads of the American South and Southwest, these three women find themselves at the crossroads of their own lives.
What the Fireflies Knew by Kai Harris
In the vein of Jesmyn Ward’s Salvage the Bones and Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees, a coming-of-age novel told by almost-eleven-year-old Kenyatta Bernice (KB), as she and her sister try to make sense of their new life with their estranged grandfather in the wake of their father’s death and their mother’s disappearance.
Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou
A Taiwanese American woman’s coming-of-consciousness ignites eye-opening revelations and chaos on a college campus in this outrageously hilarious and startlingly tender debut novel.
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan
From one of the most celebrated writers of our time, a literary figure with cult status, a “sibling novel” to her Pulitzer Prize- and NBCC Award-winning A Visit from the Goon Squad—an electrifying, deeply moving novel about the quest for authenticity and meaning in a world where memories and identities are no longer private.
The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk, Translated by Jennifer Croft
The Nobel Prize-winner’s richest, most sweeping and ambitious novel yet follows the comet-like rise and fall of a mysterious, messianic religious leader as he blazes his way across eighteenth-century Europe.
Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley
A dazzling, unforgettable novel about a young black woman who walks the streets of Oakland and stumbles headlong into the failure of its justice system–a debut that announces a blazingly original voice.
We Do What We Do in the Dark by Michelle Hart
A novel about a young woman’s life-altering affair with a much older, married woman. An enthralling debut novel, the complexities of influence, obsession, and admiration reveal how desire and its consequences can alter the trajectory of someone’s life.
Sirens & Muses by Antonia Angress
Four artists are drawn into a web of rivalry and desire at an elite art school and on the streets of New York in this magnificent debut for fans of Writers & Lovers and The Goldfinch.
THE MOST ANTICIPATED HISTORICAL FICTION
Yonder by Jabari Asim
The Water Dancer meets The Prophets in this spare, gripping, and beautifully rendered novel exploring love and friendship among a group of enslaved Black strivers in the mid-19th century.
Carolina Built by Kianna Alexander
A vivid and moving novel based on the incredible life of real estate magnate Josephine N. Leary–a previously untold story of passion, perseverance, and building a legacy after emancipation in North Carolina.
The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
The New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code returns with an unforgettable World War II tale of a quiet librarian who becomes history’s deadliest female sniper. Based on a true story.
In the Face of the Sun by Denny S. Bryce
At the height of the Civil Rights Movement amidst an America convulsed by the 1960s, a pregnant young woman and her brash, profane aunt embark upon an audacious road trip from Chicago to Los Angeles to confront a decades-old mystery from 1920’s Black Hollywood in this haunting novel of historical fiction from the author of Wild Women and the Blues.
The Scent of Burnt Flowers by Blitz Bazawule
Fleeing persecution in 1960s America, a Black couple seeks asylum in Ghana, but fresh dangers and old secrets threaten their newfound freedom in this hypnotic debut novel.
Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh
In a village in a medieval fiefdom buffeted by natural disasters, a motherless shepherd boy finds himself the unlikely pivot of a power struggle that puts all manner of faith to a savage test, in a spellbinding novel that represents Ottessa Moshfegh’s most exciting leap yet.
THE MOST ANTICIPATED NOVELS ABOUT FAMILY & FRIENDSHIP
Wahala by Nikki May
An incisive and exhilarating debut novel following three Anglo-Nigerian best friends and the lethally glamorous fourth woman who infiltrates their group–the most unforgettable girls since Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha.
Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn
Meet Yinka: a thirty-something, Oxford-educated, British Nigerian woman with a well-paid job, good friends, and a mother whose constant refrain is “Yinka, where is your huzband?”
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
In this moving debut novel, two estranged siblings must set aside their differences to deal with their mother’s death and her hidden past–a journey of discovery that takes them from the Caribbean to London to California and ends with her famous black cake.
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
For readers of Modern Lovers and Conversations with Friends, an addictive, humorous, and poignant debut novel about the shock waves caused by one couple’s impulsive marriage.
French Braid by Anne Tyler
A major new novel from the beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning author–a freshly observed, funny, joyful, brilliantly perceptive journey deep into one family’s foibles, from the 1950s up to our pandemic present.
When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
A mythic love story set in Trinidad, Ayanna Lloyd Banwo’s radiant debut introduces two unforgettable outsiders brought together by their connection with the dead.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
For fans of A Man Called Ove, a luminous debut novel about a widow’s unlikely friendship with a giant Pacific octopus reluctantly residing at the local aquarium–and the truths she finally uncovers about her son’s disappearance thirty years ago.
Neruda on the Park by Cleyvis Natera
An exhilarating debut novel about members of a Dominican family in New York City who take radically different paths when faced with encroaching gentrification, for readers of Such a Fun Age and Dominicana.
The Garden of Broken Things by Francesca Momplaisir
Following her extraordinary debut, My Mother’s House—which was compared to Toni Morrison “at the height of her power” (Harper’s Bazaar)—Francesca Momplaisir returns with a novel teetering on the fault line of history, as one family wades through the aftermath of the earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010.
This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub
What if you could take a vacation to your past?
With her celebrated humor, insight, and heart, beloved New York Times bestseller Emma Straub offers her own twist on traditional time travel tropes, and a different kind of love story.
Either/Or by Elif Batuman
From the acclaimed and bestselling author of The Idiot, the continuation of beloved protagonist Selin’s quest for self-knowledge, as she travels abroad and tests the limits of her newfound adulthood
Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
A dazzling epic of betrayal, love, and fate that spans five generations of an Indigenous Chicano family in the American West, from the author of the National Book Award Finalist Sabrina & Corina.
Dele Weds Destiny by Tomi Obaro
A novel about race, sex, class, and love–from an author at the beginning of a major career–Tomi Obaro’s sparkling debut tells the story of three once-inseparable college friends in Nigeria who reunite for the first time in thirty years at a lavish wedding in Lagos for one of their daughters.
Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley
Nobody ever talks to strangers on the train. It’s a rule. But what would happen if they did? From the New York Times bestselling author of The Authenticity Project, a heartwarming novel about unexpected friendships and the joy of connecting.
Flying Solo by Linda Holmes
A woman returns to her small Maine hometown, uncovering family secrets that take her on a journey of self-discovery and new love, in this warm and charming novel from theNew York Times bestselling author of Evvie Drake Starts Over.
Kaleidoscope by Cecily Wong
A dazzling and heartfelt novel about two sisters caught in their parents’ ambition, the accident that brings it all crashing down, and the journey that follows.
THE MOST ANTICIPATED COZIES, MYSTERIES, THRILLERS
Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
In the tradition of Long Bright River and The Mars Room, a gripping and atmospheric work of literary suspense that deconstructs the story of a serial killer on death row, told primarily through the eyes of the women in his life–from the bestselling author of Girl in Snow.
Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner
A twisty, whip-smart debut thriller, as electrifying as the #1 New York Times bestseller The Girl on the Train, about impending motherhood, unreliable friendship, and the high price of keeping secrets.
Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead by Elle Cosimano
Finlay Donovan is–once again–struggling to finish her next novel and keep her head above water as a single mother of two. On the bright side, she has her live-in nanny and confidant Vero to rely on, and the only dead body she’s dealt with lately is that of her daughter’s pet goldfish.
Cherish Farrah by Bethany C. Morrow
From bestselling author Bethany C. Morrow comesa new adult social horror novel in the vein of Get Out meets My Sister, the Serial Killer, about Farrah, a young, calculating Black girl who manipulates her way into the lives of her Black best friend’s white, wealthy, adoptive family but soon suspects she may not be the only one with ulterior motives. . . .
All the Queen’s Men by SJ Bennett
Amateur detective Queen Elizabeth II is back in this hugely entertaining follow-up to The Windsor Knot, in which Her Majesty must determine how a missing painting is connected to the shocking death of a staff member inside Buckingham Palace.
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Guest List comes a new locked room mystery, set in a Paris apartment building in which every resident has something to hide.
The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen
The Golden Couple is the next electrifying novel from Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, the #1 New York Times bestselling author duo behind You Are Not Alone, An Anonymous Girl, and The Wife Between Us.
THE MOST ANTICIPATED SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY
Moon Witch, Spider King by Marlon James
From Marlon James, author of the bestselling National Book Award finalist Black Leopard, Red Wolf, the second book in the Dark Star trilogy, his African Game of Thrones.
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
The award-winning, best-selling author of Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel returns with a novel of art, time, love, and plague that takes the reader from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a dark colony on the moon five hundred years later, unfurling a story of humanity across centuries and space.
When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
The first adult novel by the Newbery award-winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon is a rollicking feminist tale set in 1950s America where thousands of women have spontaneously transformed into dragons, exploding notions of a woman’s place in the world and expanding minds about accepting others for who they really are.
THE MOST ANTICIPATED NONFICTION
Finding Me by Viola Davis
Finding Me is Viola Davis’ story, in her own words, and spans her incredible, inspiring life, from her coming-of-age in Rhode Island to her present day. Hers is a story of overcoming, a true hero’s journey. Deeply personal, brutally honest, and riveting, Finding Me is a timeless and spellbinding memoir that will capture hearts and minds around the globe.
Miss Me with That by Rachel Lindsay
A candid, witty, and inspiring collection of essays from The Bachelor‘s first Black Bachelorette, exploring everything from relationships and love to politics and race.
Love Me as I Am by Garcelle Beauvais
The beloved Black pop culture icon, entrepreneur, Hollywood actress and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star bares her life in this frank, funny, and fearless memoir about life, love and the pursuit of true happiness.
The Crane Wife by CJ Hauser
CJ Hauser expands on her viral sensation “The Crane Wife” with seventeen further essays in this intimate, frank, and funny book about love in the twenty-first century.
The Man Who Could Move Clouds by Ingrid Rojas Contreras
From the author of the critically acclaimed novel Fruit of the Drunken Tree comes a dazzling, kaleidoscopic memoir reclaiming her family’s otherworldly legacy.
Crying in the Bathroom by Erika L. Sánchez
From the New York Times bestselling author of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, an utterly original memoir-in-essays that is as deeply moving as it is hilarious.
THE MOST ANTICIPATED ROMANCE
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
An insightful, delightful new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation.
One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn’t see coming…
Honey and Spice by Bolu Babalola
Breakout author Bolu Babalola pens her vibrant debut novel, full of passion, humor, and heart, that centers on a young Black British woman who has no interest in love and unexpectedly finds herself caught up in a fake relationship with the man she warned her girls about.
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
A New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and “one of our greatest living writers” (Shondaland) reimagines the love story in this fresh and seductive novel about a young woman seeking joy while healing from loss.
Queerly Beloved by Susie Dumond
A people-pleasing bridesmaid-for-hire falls for the crushable new lesbian in town. Will she finally find her happily ever after–and her own voice?
The No-Show by Beth O’Leary
Three women who seemingly have nothing in common find that they’re involved with the same man in this smart new rom-com by Beth O’Leary, bestselling author of The Flatshare.
Looking forward to Black Cake, The Paris Apartment, The School for Good Mothers, and Viola Davis’s memoir, Finding Me.