I’ve been diving into the latest releases for February, and let me tell you, there are some absolute gems coming our way! Whether you're into history, romance, fantasy, or edge-of-your-seat thrillers, there’s something to add to your TBR pile. I love discovering new books and authors, so if you're like me and crave fresh stories, you're in the right place. Let’s take a look at what’s hitting the shelves this month!
Historical Fiction
Historical fiction lovers, you’re in for a treat this February! From the heart of the Harlem Renaissance to espionage in WWII Lisbon, these books bring history to life with compelling characters, deep secrets, and breath taking storytelling. If you love stories about resilience, forbidden love, and hidden truths, these will be right up your alley.
Title: Harlem Rhapsody
Author: Victoria Christopher Murray
Publisher: Berkley - US
Pages: 4100
About Book: In 1919, a high school teacher from Washington, D.C arrives in Harlem excited to realise her lifelong dream. Jessie Redmon Fauset has been named the literary editor of The Crisis. The first Black woman to hold this position at a preeminent Negro magazine, Jessie is poised to achieve literary greatness. But she holds a secret that jeopardizes it all. W. E. B. Du Bois, the founder of The Crisis, is not only Jessie's boss, he's her lover. And neither his wife, nor their fourteen-year-age difference can keep the two apart. Amidst rumours of their tumultuous affair, Jessie is determined to prove herself. She attacks the challenge of discovering young writers with fervour, finding sixteen-year-old Countee Cullen, seventeen-year-old Langston Hughes, and Nella Larsen, who becomes one of her best friends. Under Jessie's leadership, The Crisis thrives... every African American writer in the country wants their work published there. When her first novel is released to great acclaim, it's clear that Jessie is at the heart of a renaissance in Black music, theatre, and the arts. She has shaped a generation of literary legends, but as she strives to preserve her legacy, she'll discover the high cost of her unparalleled success.
Title: Last Twighlight in Paris
Author: Pam Jenoff
Publisher: Park Row
Pages: 329
About Book: London, 1953. Louise is still adjusting to her postwar role as a housewife when she discovers a necklace in a box at a secondhand shop. The box is marked with the name of a department store in Paris, and she is certain she has seen the necklace before, when she worked with the Red Cross in Nazi-occupied Europe —and that it holds the key to the mysterious death of her friend Franny during the war. Following the trail of clues to Paris, Louise seeks help from her former boss Ian, with whom she shares a romantic history. The necklace leads them to discover the dark history of Lévitan—a once-glamorous department store that served as a Nazi prison, and Helaine, a woman who was imprisoned there, torn apart from her husband when the Germans invaded France. Louise races to find the connection between the necklace, the department store and Franny’s death. But nothing is as it seems, and there are forces determined to keep the truth buried forever. Inspired by the true story of Lévitan, Last Twilight in Paris is both a gripping mystery and an unforgettable story about sacrifice, resistance and the power of love to transcend in even the darkest hours.
Title: The Librarians of Lisbon
Author: Suzanne Nelson
Publisher: Zando
Pages: 338
About Book: Lisbon 1943. As two American librarians are drawn into a city of dangerous subterfuge and unexpected love affairs, they are forced to choose between their missions and the men they love. Inspired by real historical figures, award-winning author Suzanne Nelson pens a captivating story of two remarkable women, their bravery and heartache, and a friendship that withstands the ravages of war.WWII rages Europe. Lisbon stands alone as a glamorous city on the brink of chaos, harboring spies trading double-edged secrets. Among them are Selene Delmont and Beatrice Sullivan, Boston librarians turned Allied operatives. Officially enlisted to collect banned books, both women are undercover agents tasked with infiltrating the Axis spy network.Victory is not guaranteed.Soon, they’re caught up in games of deception with two of Lisbon’s most notorious men—the outcast Portuguese baron, Luca Caldeira, and the lethal spy, code name Gable. As Selene charms her way through lavish ballrooms with Luca, the more bookish Bea is plunged into Gable’s shadowy world of informants. But when a betrayal unravels a carefully spun web of lies, everything they’ve fought for is thrown into jeopardy. As Selene and Bea are pushed to their breaking points can their friendship, and their hearts, survive the cost of war?
Title: The Sable Cloak
Author: Gail Milissa Grant
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pages: 311
About Book: Jordan Sable, a prosperous undertaker turned political boss, has controlled the Black vote in St. Louis for decades. Sara, his equally formidable wife, runs the renowned funeral establishment that put the Sable name on the map. Together they have pushed through obstacles in order to create a legacy for their children. When tragedy bursts their carefully constructed empire of dignity and safety, the family rallies around an unconventional solution. But at what cost? Set in the Midwest in the 1940s, The Sable Cloak is a rarely seen portrait of an upper middle class, African American family in the pre-Civil Rights era. This deeply personal novel inspired by the author's own family history delves into legacy and the stories we tell ourselves, and celebrates a largely self-sustaining, culturally rich Missouri community that most Americans may not be aware of.
Romance
February is the month of love, and this year’s romance releases have everything from second-chance love to swoon-worthy slow burns. Whether it’s a fake engagement that might just turn real or a ghost writer caught in the whirlwind of literary fame, these love stories promise to warm your heart.
Title: The Perfect Rom Com
Author: Melissa Ferguson
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Pages: 301
About Book: She’s written dozens of smash-hit romance novels. Too bad no one knows it.
Aspiring author Bryony Page attends her first writers conference bursting with optimism and ready to sell her manuscript with long-shot dreams of raising awareness for The Bridge, her grandmother’s financially struggling organization where she teaches ESL full-time. But after a disastrous pitch session, she stumbles into correcting another author’s work in a last-ditch attempt to make a good impression with the agent. And she, as it turns out, is spot on.
No one is more surprised than Bryony when the agent offers her the opportunity to be a ghost writer for Amelia Benedict, popular rom-com novelist. Bryony agrees on one condition: she’ll write books for this vain, demanding woman just as long as Jack Sterling, literary agent of the legendary Foundry Literary Agency, works to sell her own book too.
What nobody predicted, however, was that Bryony’s books would turn Amelia Benedict into the Amelia Benedict, household name and bestselling author with millions of copies sold around the world.
And just like that, the Foundry Agency can’t let her go.
But on a personal note, Jack is realizing he can’t either.
Title: There’s Something about Mira
Author: Sonali Dev
Pages: 317
About Book: Mira Salvi has the perfect life―a job she loves, a fiancé everyone adores, and the secure future she’s always imagined for herself. Really, she hasn’t a thing to complain about, not even when she has to go on her engagement trip to New York alone.
While playing tourist in the city, Mira chances upon a lost ring, and her social media post to locate its owner goes viral. With everyone trying to claim the ring, only one person seems to want to find its owner as badly as Mira does: journalist Krish Hale. Brooding and arrogant, he will do anything to get to write this story.
As Krish and Mira reluctantly join forces and jump into the adventure of tracing the ring back to where it belongs, Mira begins to wonder if she is in the right place in her own life. She had to have found this ring for a reason…right? Maybe, like the owner of the lost ring, her happy ending hasn’t been written yet either.
Title: A Forty Year Kiss
Author: Nickolas Butler
Publisher: Source books Landmark
Pages: 352
About Book: Charlie and Vivian parted ways after just four years of marriage. Too many problems, too many struggles, even though the love didn't quite die. When Charlie returns to Wisconsin forty years later, he's not sure what he'll find. He is sure of one thing -- he must try to reconnect with Vivian to pick up the broken pieces of their past. But forty years is a long time. It's forty years of other relationships, forty years of building new lives, and forty years of long-held regrets, mistakes, and painful secrets. A brave and triumphant exploration of redemption and sunset triumph, A Forty Year Kiss is a once-in-a-lifetime love story, written with dazzling lyricism and remarkable clarity of spirit, from a celebrated author at the top of his game. It's a literary valentine that promises to be a love story for the ages.
Title: Deep End
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Publisher: Sphere
Pages: 467
About Book: Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A junior at Stanford and a student athlete who specializes in platform diving, Scarlett prefers to keep her head down, concentrating on getting into med school and on recovering from the injury that almost ended her career. She has no time for relationships - at least, that's what she tells herself. Swim captain, world champion, all-around aquatics golden boy Lukas Blomqvist thrives on discipline. It's how he wins gold medals and breaks records: complete focus with every stroke. On the surface, Lukas and Scarlett have nothing in common. Until a well-guarded secret slips out, and everything changes. So they start an arrangement. And as the pressure leading to the Olympics heats up, so does their relationship. It was supposed to be just a temporary, mutually satisfying fling. But when staying away from Lukas becomes impossible, Scarlett realizes that her heart might be treading into dangerous water...
Mystery & Thrillers
If you love a good whodunit, February’s line up of mysteries and thrillers is packed with tension, dark secrets, and shocking twists. From a matchmaker with a dangerous enemy to a woman uncovering her own forgotten past, these books will keep you up late into the night, turning pages furiously.
Title: The Matchmaker
Author: Aisha Saeed
Publisher: Bantam
Pages: 320
About Book: Business has never been better for Nura Khan, a third-generation matchmaker in Atlanta. Her exclusive clientele benefits from her impeccable track record. And while a single thirty-one-year-old matchmaker would normally raise some perfectly threaded eyebrows in the community, Nura's childhood best friend, Azar, is willing to double as her pretend fiancé at her clients' weddings--even though Nura's feelings for him might not be so pretend.
But all that glitters isn't gold. While it's not uncommon to get the occasional hate mail from rejected prospective clients, Nura is blindsided after a couple's carefully constructed wedding implodes, the first in a cascading chain of suspicious and increasingly terrifying events. Someone is taking things too far, and with Azar and her matchmaking team by her side, Nura embarks on a dangerous cat-and-mouse game that threatens not only her safety but everything she's worked so hard to build.
Title: The Antique Hunters Death on the Red Sea
Author: CL Miller
Series: The Antique Hunters Guide to Murder
Publisher: MacMillan
Pages: 352
About Book: When a painting vanishes from a maritime museum – and a dead body is found nearby – the newly established Lockwood Antique Hunter’s Agency, Freya Lockwood and her Aunt Carole, are called to investigate. Following a lead that takes them aboard a glamorous antiques cruise sailing toward the Red Sea in Jordan, they quickly discover that the ship's art gallery is filled with stolen antiquities. Each and every one of them is also listed in Freya’s late mentor’s journals detailing unsolved cases. In chasing a murderer with a stolen painting, they may have found something more sinister than they could’ve imagined . . .Their hunt soon turns deadly when they learn that the enigmatic and dangerous art trafficker named The Collector could be on board. But on a ship full of antiques enthusiasts – plus some unexpected familiar faces – will Freya and Carole be able to discover The Collector’s identity and stop his murderous plans before the ship docks? Or will the killer strike again?
Title: Into The Fall
Author: Tamara L Miller
Publisher: Thomas and Mercer
Pages: 250
About Book: For better or for worse, Sarah Anderson has it all: a thriving career, a nice home in Ottawa, two young kids…and a marriage coming apart at the seams.
Then her husband, Matthew, vanishes without a trace during a family vacation up north. Sarah and her children are nearly lost among the slumbering lakes, treacherous cliffs, and brooding forests of the Canadian Shield. A glacier-scraped realm of ancient beauty and terror, it’s a world away from the safety of the suburbs. And a big storm is brewing.
A kind rural lawman comes to their aid and takes an interest in the case. The trail goes cold, however, launching Sarah into a yearlong odyssey to find her husband. On the way, she must reconnect with her estranged sister and duck the suspicions of a slick city police officer. But that’s nothing compared to unearthing the dark secrets buried deep in the granite of her marriage—and in herself.
Title: A Killing Cold
Author: Kate Alice Marshall
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Pages: 294
About Book: A whirlwind romance. When Theodora Scott met Connor—wealthy, charming, and a member of the powerful Dalton family—she fell in love in an instant. Six months later, he’s brought her to Idlewood, his family’s isolated winter retreat, to win over his sceptical relatives. Stay away from Connor Dalton. Theo has tried to ignore the threatening messages on her phone, but she can’t ignore the footprints in the snow outside the cabin window or the strange sense of familiarity she has about this place. Then, in a disused cabin, Theo finds something impossible: a photo of herself as a child. A photo taken at Idlewood. I’ve been here before. Theo has almost no recollection of her earliest years, but now she begins to piece together the fragments of her memories. Someone here has a shocking secret that they will do anything to keep hidden, and Theo is in terrible danger. Because the Daltons do not lose, and discovering what happened at Idlewood may cost Theo everything.
Fantasy
Magical worlds, vengeful spirits, and time-warping love stories—this month’s fantasy releases have it all! Whether you’re looking for a sweeping epic, a hauntingly beautiful YA fantasy, or a mysterious tale of past lives and destiny, there’s something to transport you beyond reality.
Title: The Dark Mirror
Author: Samantha Shannon
Series: The Bone Season Book 5
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Pages: 576
About Book: Everything is about to change. Paige Mahoney is outside the Republic of Scion for the first time in more than a decade - but she has no idea how she got to the free world. Half a year has been wiped from her memory. As she makes her way back to the revolution, her journey takes her to Venice, where she learns a dangerous secret - one that could change the face of the war between humans and immortals. Before she can return to London, she must help the Domino Programme unravel the sinister Operation Ventriloquist. And it soon becomes clear that the one person who could recover her memories - Arcturus Mesarthim - might also hold the key to saving Italy.
Title: Our Infinite Fates
Author: Laura Steven
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 416
About Book: ‘Maybe that’s all love is, in the end. An endless tempting of fate.’ Evelyn can remember all her past lives. She can also remember that in every single one, she’s been murdered before her eighteenth birthday. The problem is that she’s quite fond of the one she’s in now, and more importantly, her sister needs her for bone marrow transplants to stay alive. So now she has to:
1. find the centuries-old enemy who hunts her through each life and destroy them forever
2. figure out exactly why she’s being hunted in the first place,
3. try quite hard not to fall in love with them
Title: These Vengeful Wishes
Author: Vanessa Montalban
Publisher: Zando Young Readers
Pages: 298
About Book: When her stepfather is arrested, aspiring artist Ceci moves back to her mother’s hometown of Santa Aguas, an eccentric small town steeped in the legend of La Cegua, the specter of a wronged witch who appears on lonely roads at night, luring untrustworthy men to their deaths. Ceci and her mother take up residence in the abandoned manor of the Sevilla family, rumoured to have been cursed by La Cegua, where she begins to uncover a past connected to her mother. The more she learns of the Sevillas, the more Ceci finds herself forming a strange affinity with the feared Cegua, who she suspects is the one inspiring her paintings of a mysterious door in the forest. When the very door Ceci has been painting appears in the woods, she ventures through it with her new friend, and maybe crush, Jamie. Together, they discover a well for granting wishes. The well of La Cegua. After learning others are also searching for the well, Ceci must confront the truth of her mother’s past and prevent La Cegua’s wishes from being used for the wrong reasons. Every wish has its price, and La Cegua never forgets the ones who have wronged her.
Title: Black Woods Blue Sky
Author: Eowyn Ivey
Publisher: Tinder Press
Pages: 497
About Book: Birdie's keeping it together, of course she is. So she's a little hungover on her shifts, and has to bring her daughter to the lodge while she waits tables, but Emaleen never goes hungry. It's a tough town to be a single mother, and Birdie just needs to get by. And then Birdie meets Arthur, who is quieter than most men, but makes her want to listen; who is gentle with Emaleen, and understands Birdie's fascination with the mountains in whose shadow they live. When Arthur asks Birdie and Emaleen to leave the lodge and make a home, just the three of them, in his off-grid cabin, Birdie's answer, in a heartbeat, is yes. Out in the wilderness Birdie's days are harsher and richer than she ever imagined possible. Here she will feel truly at one with nature. Here she, and Emaleen, will learn the whole, fearful truth about Arthur.
Final Thoughts
February 2025 is shaping up to be a fantastic month for book lovers! No matter what genre you enjoy, there’s a new release waiting to sweep you away. I can’t wait to hear which ones you’re adding to your TBR—let me know in the comments! Happy reading!
Love Alis x
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