19 books to look out for in 2019

Booklovers, another glorious reading year is upon us! We’ve picked 19 of the most highly-anticipated books of 2019, from stunning contemporary fiction to edge-of-your-seat thrillers. Tell us which books you're most looking forward to in the comments below. 

 

The Binding

January
The Binding by Bridget Collins

One of the most exciting debuts of 2019 for bookish booklovers. A magical and unforgettable story about a Bookbinder's apprentice, a mysterious vault, and an astonishing discovery. 100 lucky Caboodlers got the chance to read this before anyone else with Caboodle Firsts last year!

Once Upon a River

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

A spellbinding 19th century mystery from the author of The Thirteenth Tale. On a dark midwinter's night in an ancient inn on the Thames, the regulars are entertaining themselves by telling stories when the door bursts open and in steps an injured stranger. In his arms is the drowned corpse of a child. Hours later, the dead girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life. Riveting!

The Flower Girls

The Flower Girls by Alice Clark-Platts

Another book we gave you the chance to read last year with Caboodle Firsts. The Flower Girls is the suspenseful and chilling story of Lauren and Primrose. One convicted of murder, the other given a new identity. Now, nineteen years later, another child has gone missing.

One Minute Later

February
One Minute Later by Susan Lewis

With a high-flying job, a beautiful apartment and friends whose lives are as happy as her own, Vivienne Shager is living the dream. Then, on the afternoon of Vivi’s twenty-seventh birthday, one catastrophic minute changes everything… We have a free chapter for you to start reading straight away, too!

On the Come Up

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

For readers in their teens and above, The Hate U Give author Angie Thomas returns with a powerful story about hip hop, freedom of speech and fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you.

Black Leopard, Red Wolf

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

Described as an African Game of Thrones from the Man Booker Prize-winning author of A Brief History of Seven Killings. Myth, fantasy, and history come together to explore what happens when a mercenary is hired to find a missing child.

It's Not About the Burqua

It's Not About the Burqa edited by Mariam Khan

Seventeen Muslim women speak frankly about the hijab and wavering faith, about love and divorce, about feminism, queer identity, sex, and the twin threats of a disapproving community and a racist country. Nikesh Shukla, who edited The Good Immigrant, says it's an "incredibly important collection of essays".

Daisy Jones and the Six

March
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Delve into the 1970s music scene with this stunning story about the whirlwind rise of a fictional rock group and their beautiful lead singer. This is one that music fans in the team are really looking forward to. 

Lanny

Lanny by Max Porter

Set in an English village, whose inhabitants live with the shadow of something ancient, Porter's much-anticipated follow-up to Grief is the Thing with Feathers – winner of the Books Are My Bag Fiction Award in 2016 – promises something equally original, beautiful and unsettling. We can't wait to see where this unique literary voice takes us next.

Machines Like Me

April
Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan

We cannot wait to jump into this speculative story from the author of On Chesil Beach and Atonement. Set in an alternate '80s London where Britain has lost the Falklands war and Margaret Thatcher battles Tony Benn for power, a love triangle emerges between Charlie, Miranda and Adam, one of the first batch of synthetic humans.

I Know Who You Are

May
I Know Who You Are by Alice Feeney

If your heart was pounding whilst reading Alice Feeney’s Sometimes I Lie, picking up her twisted new thriller – which you can get one of 100 copies of with Caboodle Firsts this month – is a no-brainer. When Aimee comes home and discovers her husband is missing, she doesn’t seem to know what to do or how to act. The police think she’s hiding something and they’re right, she is – but perhaps not what they thought.

Little Darlings

Little Darlings by Melanie Golding

Another fabulously nail-biting thriller. A terrifying encounter in the middle of the night leaves Lauren convinced someone or something is trying to steal her children. But with every step she takes to keep her babies safe, Lauren sinks deeper and deeper into paranoia and fear.

Big Sky

June
Big Sky by Kate Atkinson

One of our favourite literary crime novelists, Kate Atkinson, returns. Jackson Brodie’s current job, gathering proof of an unfaithful husband for his suspicious wife, is fairly standard-issue, but a chance encounter with a desperate man on a crumbling cliff leads him into a sinister network—and back across the path of his old friend Reggie.

City of Girls

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

If you adored Eat, Pray, Love, you’ll have to check out Elizabeth Gilbert's latest book, a coming-of-age story set in 1940s New York.

Sweet Sorrow

July
Sweet Sorrow by David Nicholls

We're excited to read this upcoming novel from the author of One Day and Starter for Ten. One life-changing summer, sixteen-year-old Charlie meets Fran…

The Nickel Boys

August
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

The Underground Railroad is a National Book Tokens team favourite, and this is the follow-up about another strand of United States history, this time through the story of two boys sentenced to a stretch in a hellish reform school in Jim-Crow-era Florida.

The Testaments

September
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

This highly-anticipated sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale is a must-read. "Dear Readers," wrote Margaret Atwood, "everything you’ve ever asked me about Gilead and its inner workings is the inspiration for this book. Well, almost everything! The other inspiration is the world we’ve been living in."

Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas

October
Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas by Adam Kay 

Adam Kay's This is Going to Hurt was one our favourites of 2017 – and Adam was one of our first Book Doctors. We love Adam's sense of humour and passion for the NHS, so this is sure to be a brilliant second book.

The Starless Sea

November
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern 

The Night Circus author returns after eight years with a new fantasy novel. The Starless Sea is a magical, timeless and wholly original love story set in a secret underground world. Fantastic!

Win a £50 National Book Token!

Comment below, telling us which books you're looking forward to, and we’ll pick one winner to receive a £50/€60 National Book Token after Thursday 24th January 2019.

Congratulations, Phillip Edwards! You've won a book token adventure. You can still comment with your most highly-anticipated books below - we'd love to hear about them!

National Book Tokens gift cards can be bought and spent in thousands of bookshops across the UK and Ireland, including independents, Waterstones, WHSmith, Easons, and Blackwells, and can also be spent online and on eBooks. Find your nearest bookshop.

Terms and Conditions

1 x winner will receive a £50/€60 National Book Token

  • No purchase necessary.
  • Only one entry per person will be accepted.
  • The prizes are non-transferable and there are no cash alternatives. The Promoter reserves the right to amend the specification of the prize or offer an alternative prize.
  • Closing date 11:59pm, Thursday 24th January 2019.
  • The competition is open to UK and Republic of Ireland residents except employees of the Booksellers Association and Book Tokens Ltd., and employees of participating bookshops.
  • Entrants must be aged 18 or over.
  • Entrants agree to Book Tokens Ltd. using their details in post-competition publicity. Your details will not be used for any other purpose, or passed onto any third parties, unless specified. Winners’ details may be shared securely with a third-party in order to fulfil the dispatch of competition prizes.
  • We will contact winners by email. In the event of a winner not responding after 14 days, we reserve the right to allocate the prize to another winner.
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  • Promoter: Book Tokens Ltd, 6 Bell Yard, London, WC2A 2JR.

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