Most Anticipated New Releases for January 2016

The following list is comprised of books, short stories, and novellas my friends, family, and I are most looking forward to reading in January. It also consists of books by popular authors and other authors or books I've heard a lot of hype about. I am not flawless in my endeavors and sometimes I'll accidentally leave one or more books off the list that I shouldn't. Let me know if one of your favorites is missing. Sometimes my search techniques just don't work as well as I wish they did.

The list is divided into weekly releases. If you'd like to read a book's description, just click on the cover photo and you'll be magically transferred to Goodreads. Remember, a book a day keeps the boredom at bay! Happy reading.


January 1st - The Herald of Hell: A Brother Athelstan novel of Medieval London (A Brother Athelstan Medieval Mystery) by Paul Doherty
January 5th - Balto of the Blue Dawn (Magic Tree House #54) by Mary Pope Osborne and Sal Murdocca
January 5th - Big Rock: (A Sexy Standalone Contemporary Romance) by Lauren Blakely
January 5th - Blackout by David Rosenfelt
January 5th - The Cakes of Monte Cristo: A Piece of Cake Mystery by Jacklyn Brady
January 5th - Copy Cap Murder: A Hat Shop Mystery by Jenn McKinlay
January 5th - Cruel Crown (Red Queen Novella) by Victoria Aveyard
January 5th - Daisies For Innocence: An Enchanted Garden Mystery by Bailey Cattrell
January 5th - Dead Man's Float by Jim Harrison
January 5th - Dragon Knight's Shield (Order of the Dragon Knights Book 4) by Mary Morgan
January 5th - The First Order (The Sam Capra series) by Jeff Abbott
January 5th - The Force Awakens (Star Wars) by Alan Dean Foster
January 5th - Foreign Éclairs: A White House Chef Mystery by Julie Hyzy
January 5th - Forty Thieves by Thomas Perry
January 5th - Game Over (The MindWar Trilogy) by Andrew Klavan
January 5th - The Geography of Genius: A Search for the World's Most Creative Places from Ancient Athens to Silicon Valley by Eric Weiner
January 5th - A Ghoul's Guide to Love and Murder: A Ghost Hunter Mystery by Victoria Laurie
January 5th - Gone Black by Linda Ladd
January 5th - The Guest Room: A Novel by Chris Bohjalian
January 5th - To Helvetica and Back: A Dangerous Type Mystery by Paige Shelton
January 5th - The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine
January 5th - New Leaf: A Mystic Creek Novel by Catherine Anderson
January 5th - One Foot in the Grove: An Olive Oil Grove Mystery (An Olive Grove Mystery) by Kelly Lane
January 5th - Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
January 5th - Seduction in Session: The Perfect Gentlemen by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake
January 5th - Sweet Pepper Hero: A Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade by J. J. Cook
January 5th - This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp
January 5th - Truthwitch: A Witchlands Novel by Susan Dennard
January 5th - A Wee Dose of Death: A ScotShop Mystery by Fran Stewart
January 5th - What You Need: The Need You Series by Lorelei James
January 5th - What Was Mine: A Novel by Helen Klein Ross


January 12th - The Bitter Season (Kovac / Liska) by Tami Hoag
January 12th - The Dirt on Ninth Grave (Charley Davidson Book 9) by Darynda Jones
January 12th - The Girls She Left Behind: A Novel (Lizzie Snow) by Sarah Graves
January 12th - The Good Goodbye: A Novel by Carla Buckley
January 12th - I Am Your Judge: a novel (Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver von Bodenstein) by Nele Neuhaus and Steven T. Murray
January 12th - Mermaid Moon (A Sunset Cove Novel Book 2) by Colleen Coble
January 12th - The Only Pirate at the Party by Lindsey Stirling and Brooke S. Passey
January 12th - Scandalous Behavior (A Stone Barrington Novel) by Stuart Woods
January 12th - Sebring (Unfinished Heroes) (Volume 5) by Kristen Ashley
January 12th - The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu and Ken Liu


January 19th - Appealed by Emma Chase
January 19th - Feverborn: A Fever Novel by Karen Marie Moning
January 19th - The Forgotten Room: A Novel by Karen White and Beatriz Williams
January 19th - The Healer's Rune by Lauricia Matuska
January 19th - Known (A Bone Secrets Novel) by Kendra Elliot
January 19th - Medusa's Web: A Novel by Tim Powers
January 19th - Orphan X: A Novel (Evan Smoak) by Gregg Hurwitz
January 19th - River Road: A Novel by Carol Goodman
January 19th - The Rule of Three: Will to Survive by Eric Walters
January 19th - Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan


January 26th - The Bands of Mourning: A Mistborn Novel by Brandon Sanderson
January 26th - City of Blades (The Divine Cities) by Robert Jackson Bennett
January 26th - Coconut Cowboy: A Novel (Serge Storms Series Book 19) by Tim Dorsey
January 26th - The Dark Days Club (A Lady Helen Novel) by Alison Goodman
January 26th - Devoted in Death by J. D. Robb
January 26th - Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins
January 26th - Into the Fury (BOSS, Inc. Book 1) by Kat Martin
January 26th - The Knave of Hearts: Rhymes With Love by Elizabeth Boyle
January 26th - The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry
January 26th - My American Duchess by Eloisa James
January 26th - NYPD Red 4 by James Patterson and Marshall Karp
January 26th - Night Study (Study Series) by Maria V. Snyder
January 26th - Rustler's Moon (Ransom Canyon) by Jodi Thomas
January 26th - Spider Game: Ghostwalker Series (Ghostwalker Novel Book 12) by Christine Feehan
January 26th - The Spring at Moss Hill (Swift River Valley Novels Book 7) by Carla Neggers
January 26th - Staked: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book Eight by Kevin Hearne
January 26th - The Zodiac Legacy: The Dragon's Return by Stan Lee and Stuart Moore
January 31, 2016 - Beautiful Burn: A Novel (The Maddox Brothers Book 4) by Jamie McGuire

Early Review of The Bitter Season (Kovac and Liska #5) by Tami Hoag

Title: The Bitter Season (Kovac and Liska)
Classification: Adult Fiction
Genre: Thriller/Murder Mystery
Series: Kovac / Liska
Format: Hardcover; 416 pages
Publisher: Dutton (January 12, 2016)
ISBN-10: 0525954554
ISBN-13: 978-0525954552
Author's Website: http://tamihoag.com/
Notes: I received an eARC loan from the publisher for reviewing purposes.


Once upon a time in November, the bitterest of seasons, one of Minneapolis' finest was gunned down in his own backyard. There were no witnesses. There was no DNA. There were no fingerprints. There were no clues. There was nothing to track down, so the case went cold. That is until now. Detective Nikki Liska is the lead detective in charge of the new cold case unit. Against her better judgement, Ted Duffy's murder will be her first case.

Meanwhile there is no rest for the wicked. A murder investigation is underway for the recent deaths of a College professor and his wife. Detective Sam Kovac is heading up the investigation, and it has all the trappings of a gory mess. Whether the couple's murder was random or the work of a newly minted serial killer remains to be seen. The horrific nature of the killings, however, will keep the city on edge until a murder suspect is found.

This is the fifth book in the Kovac and Liska series. The two former partners are dealing with the transition of doing their jobs without having the other to rely on. The two had worked together for a long time, and while they enjoyed working together,  Liska is looking forward to spending more time with her boys who are growing into young men right before her very eyes. The cold case unit offers her the opportunity to do what she does best---solve crimes, but with a less grueling schedule. If you haven't read the previous books in the series, don't worry. I had no prior history with the series and had no problem getting into and keeping up with what was happening.

Liska is a tough cookie who rolls with the punches and deals with what life throws at her. Kovac is tough as well, but is set in his ways. He's not happy about losing his partner and isn't making it easy on anyone forced to pair with him. Two potential partners have already transferred out of the unit, and he's presently working with a third. Between the two former partners, I think Kovac is having a harder time adjusting. 

Overall, I gave this one 4 out of 5 roses. This was a story that had me wondering whodunit until the bitter end. I tried to puzzle out the connection between the two cases, but the author had me stumped. Yes, I could figure out bits and pieces, but like a good jigsaw, I didn't get the complete picture until the last piece fell into place. That is just the sort of mystery I like best. It was fast paced, kept my attention, and had a twist I didn't see coming. The characters were likable and easy to connect with. I wish there'd been a few more bread crumbs along the way, but I guess that would have given the ending away. One of the devices the author used in this book is circles--how things come full circle. How the circle of life happens. I can't help but wonder if this is some type of foreshadowing. Since the author separated her two main heroes I wonder if  this signifies that one will go bad or die, if they'll end up working together again in the future, or if the series will split off into two separate series? I checked to see if perhaps this was the end of the series, but saw no evidence to suggest it. I guess we'll have to wait and see what Ms. Hoag has up her sleeve for these two. I, for one, am looking forward to it.

Order of the series: