I tend to only read a handful of new releases every year. For most I like to hear others’ perspectives and let a year or two pass before I commit. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have releases on my radar. The potential of a story can be its own kind of excitement.
1 The Effort – Claire Holroyd : January 12th
My lone Sci-fi pick about the end of the world. Well, maybe. A comet is hurtling towards Earth and a group of professionals have to come up with a plan. The vibe I’m getting is more Station Eleven than Amageddon, which is part of the appeal to me.
2 The Gulp – Alan Baxter : January 12th
I really like short horror stories, especially ones that are all loosely connected. This collection is five stories all set in the small isolated town of Gulpepper aka The Gulp (Australia!). I actually haven’t read much of anything from Australia, so if this is solid I might have to check out his other books.
3 A Dowry of Blood – S.T. Gibson : January 31st
A Dracula reimagining from the point of view of one of his ‘brides’. The author asked a few questions and mentions that all four leads are bisexual. Party! I love me some bi rep. I think the crux is going to be the interpretation of Dracula, since he is such an iconic character.
4 The Project – Courtney Summers : February 2nd
This is about a woman trying to get her sister out of a cult by exposing that it’s not a charitable organization. You know I love cults, didn’t take much to convince me to add this to the ‘anticipated’ list.
5 The Last House on Needless Street – Catriona Ward : March 18th
The Goodreads summary got to me this time:
“You think you know what’s inside the last house on Needless Street. You think you’ve read this story before. That’s where you’re wrong.”
This hits the part of me that just wants to prove it wrong. LOL. I know that I’m playing right into its hands, but dang it, this time it might have worked.
6 The Chosen and the Beautiful – Nghi Vo : June 1st
With The Great Gatsby entering the public domain I’ve been preparing for the onslaught of sequels and ‘reimagings’ we’re going to get. I was surprised to actually be interested in the first book to capitalize on this property.
The book centers around Jordan Baker, Daisy’s aloof childhood friend, prior to the events of the Great Gatsby as she maneuvers through the world as a queer asain woman of means. Also… magic?
7 For the Wolf – Hannah Whitten : June 15th
This is a book that sounds so interesting but I know could go south real quick. I think this is always the case in ‘monster boyfriend’ type plots. It can so easily veer into creepy and uncomfortable territory. This Red Riding Hood retelling looks like it dances right on the line, so this is one I’ll definitely do more research on in June.
8 The Witness for the Dead – Katherine Addison : June 22nd
I just finished The Goblin Emperor and loved it, but was weary about a sequel. From what I gather this isn’t a direct sequel, but rather follows a character who moved to a different part of the kingdom at the end of the original book. I think personally I would enjoy this route, following an interesting character from the original that didn’t get a ton of focus there.

So many good books on this list! I love finding people who enjoy horror and darker books!
Here’s my TTT: https://stuckinthestacks.com/2021/01/05/top-ten-thursday-most-anticipated-releases-edition-part-i/
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Yeees! I love books that tread on the darker side 😀
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I didn’t list it, but The Project is on my TBR list for this year. I also looked into For the Wolf and kinda getting the sketchy vibes. Great list!
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Yeah, that For the Wolf… I’m hoping for the best but I know a couple of early reviewers had some issues. So just gonna wait before I get too excited lol
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The Effort sounds interesting! There’s a lot of great books coming out this year.
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Yeah, while doing research I started to get pumped for 2021 🙂
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I haven’t heard of any of these So many exciting titles coming out this year 😀 Happy reading! https://readwithstefani.com/most-anticipated-book-releases-of-2021/
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Thanks! I hope you have a great year of reading too.
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A Dowry of Blood sounds great.
My post.
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The Witness for the Dead is on my list as well! I loved The Goblin Emperor, so I’m super excited about it! I agree with you about new releases though. I’m always slightly wary until I’ve seen a few reviews! Nothing worse that shelling out for a hardback and then it’s terrible!
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Yeah, there’s very few authors that I buy hardbacks of their work. I’ve been burned too many times by hype. lol
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Ahaha same!
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I’m never up with the new releases. *sigh* Red Riding Hood retellings are a favorite of mine, so For the Wolf has me interested.
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
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I have such high hopes for For The Wolf, but I think its the one thats most likely to disappoint. *Cross fingers*
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These honestly all sounds so good, I think I need to go add quite a few to my TBR! I recently read The Project and thought it was a really interesting take on cults!
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Yay!! I so happy to hear that. Can’t wait to read The Project. ❤
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The Gulp hasn’t been on my radar at all, but I absolutely love the sound of it. And that cover! I’m getting classic horror paperback vibes, which is exactly what I’ve been looking for lately.
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Yeah, that cover is amazing and stop me dead while researching releases. I’m really hoping the content matches! 🙂
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All of these look like they’re going to be great reads. I hope you enjoy them.
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Thank you!
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I’m so excited for The Project and The Last House on Needless Street. Love a good mystery!
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
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I love a good mystery too! Very excited for both.
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