The Best New Books Out in January, According to Indie Booksellers

This is the #1 January Indie Next List Pick!

Grady Hendrix is always at the top of my to-read list whenever he has a new book out, so of course I couldn’t wait till 2025 to dig into this one. This might be Hendrix’s longest book yet at 496 pages, but it still just flew by. The Wellwood Home in St. Augustine, Florida is a place where girls go when they get pregnant outside of wedlock. When 15-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the summer of 1970, she’s pregnant and afraid. But then she meets a librarian who gives her a strange occult book that changes everything for her and her new friends. —Emily Martin

This new, soft fantasy is the perfect companion to a fuzzy blanket and a comfortable chair: enter a delightful (but still dangerous) world of paper-lantern wishes and origami secrets. Hana has just inherited the family’s pawn shop from her father. It’s an unusual place where people go to pawn their regrets—which are then pawned off to frightening, uncrossable creatures. When Hana’s father goes missing alongside a valuable pawned item, Hana is tasked with finding him—or else—alongside an unexpected ally, a customer who had just wandered into their shop that day. —Leah Rachel von Essen

This is the fictional memoir of Cate Kay, author of the most famous book series in the world—who has spent most of her professional life anonymous, even as her books were turned into movies, musicals, and theme parks. Now, she’s telling all, with help from chapters by other people in her life: her childhood best friend’s little sister, the love of her life, her former manager (and ex-girlfriend), and more. There are also excerpts from her books included. This is a twisty, engrossing read perfect for fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

Alice Feeney’s thrillers are always such a fun time, filled with well-earned twists and surprises. And Beautiful Ugly might just be her best one yet. It follows the story of author Grady Green who calls his wife Abby to share some exciting news, only to hear his worst nightmare: the screeching of car tires. A crash. Then nothing. When he locates Abby’s car, she’s nowhere to be found. A year later, Grady still has no idea what happened to Abby. Desperate for relief from his constant, all-consuming grief, he travels to a tiny Scottish island to escape everything. Only to find a woman there who looks exactly like his missing wife. —Emily Martin

In this literary novella, Bonita meets a stranger while on vacation in Mexico who says that she knew her late mother, a famous artist there. But Bonita’s mother wasn’t an artist and never lived in Mexico…did she? As this Trickster figure leads her through what may or may not have been her mother’s life, Bonita confronts the truth and lies of their relationship.

A lot of this new romantasy—with its cold setting and old European ways that are being threatened by Christianity—sounds like The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden, the first book in a series I devoured one winter. It is a little different, though. For one, it has Finnish folklore, compared to Arden’s book’s Russian, and there is also a journey to the underworld. Our protagonist, Siiri, journeys there to save her friend Aina, who was dragged there by a death goddess. Question is, is Siiri a match for the underworld, or even the perilous journey it’ll take to get there? —Erica Ezeifedi

Nila has finally found a place she feels at home. Daughter to Afghan refugees, she’s always felt disappointing to them. But in the underground clubs of Berlin, she’s able to find freedom like never before. When she meets American writer Marlowe, she’s drawn into his artistic world—only to find he’s controlling, and racial tensions are building in Germany. After a year of self-discovery, she’ll have to decide what she wants next for her life.

Drawing comparisons to Emily St. John Mandel, this debut dystopian novel is about trying to preserve human history in a dying world. Noni, her family, and a group of researchers live in a world where the melting of the glaciers has flooded the world. She and the others live in an empty (and so far, dry) NYC. They work to save all the collections in the Natural History Museum, where they also reside on the roof, to help preserve some record of humankind’s past. But when the water breaches the barriers of the city, they must hurry to save what they think is most important before it is lost to the water. At the end of the world, what will they consider the most important things? — Liberty Hardy

This darkly funny mystery explores the secrets and dangers at the top of the pyramid scheme. Here’s the bookseller recommendation: “I absolutely loved this twisty thriller! Centered in the world of a women’s beauty brand multi-level marketing company, this book had me guessing from the get-go and made me laugh out loud more times than I can count. An incredibly strong debut!” —Val Partenheimer, Books Are Awesome!, Parker, CO