The end of 2023 marks the beginning of a new year of incredible books to delve into!
Scroll down to read about the VERVE team’s most anticipated reads being released in 2024:
SARAH
Small Hours by Bobby Palmer
Bobby Palmer’s debut novel Isaac and The Egg was an unexpected favourite for me in 2023. I came across it in a local bookshop and was intrigued when I learned that Bobby had grown up in the same town as me. What followed as an incredibly hilarious, tender and insightful story of processing grief and life after loss. I’ve since recommended Isaac and The Egg to 10+ friends who have all read and were equally moved by it – it’s the ultimate crowd pleaser. With such a strong start to his writing career, I’m absolutely itching to get my hands on a copy of Bobby’s next novel, Small Hours which hits the shelves next spring. From the semi-ambiguous blurb, the story looks to centre on an intergenerational family with dysfunctional relationships – and a fox of all things. All I know with certainty is that I’ll be heading straight to the bookshop come March to nab myself a (hopefully signed!) copy.
ELLIE
Private Rites by Julia Armfield
I can’t wait for Julia Armfield’s sophomore novel, Private Rites, which is due out next June. It’s billed as ‘King Lear meets Station Eleven’ (immediately sold!) and follows three estranged sisters – Isla, Irene and Agnes – as they navigate queer love and faith in the wake of their elusive father’s death. The blurb hints at a futuristic setting in which the elements have reclaimed the earth, ‘the lands have reshaped themselves’ and the end of the world draws near. As with Armfield’s debut, Our Wives Under the Sea (which was itself a captivating mix of horror, queer romance and domestic thriller), Private Rites is sure to blend genres, blur the lines of what’s real and imagined and defy all expectations. I’ve already got my copy on pre-order!
LISA
The Night Alphabet by Joelle Taylor
I was lucky enough to read an early manuscript in my previous job and was immediately captivated and can’t wait to get my hands on the finished hardback in February. It is a visceral and bold novel from award-winning poet Joelle Taylor, told in interweaved stories, rich in language and imagery, which moves across time and continents. The novel takes the reader from 19th Century coal mines in Lancashire, to a futuristic Hackney and a gay bar in the US, to a genetic modification factory, as one woman traces the history behind the genesis of each of her tattoos. It is an extraordinarily vivid and important novel in its exploration of violence against women and feels so completely fresh and original.
DEMI
Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
Saara El-Arifi is the bestselling author of The Final Strife series and is back with an even more exhilarating trilogy, with Faebound kicking it off. I came across this book during a TikTok scroll and ran to add it to my Goodreads in preparation for January 2024. It follows a pair of Elvish sisters that are cast out from their tribe, forcing them into a terrifying wilderness where they discover the Fae in their history books are in fact not extinct but very much alive. Think A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas but make it queer and set in an Afro-Arabic inspired world. El- Arifi has a talent for creating well thought-out settings, detailed and believable magic systems and excellent character dynamics. This book is a win for the sapphic romantasy lovers!
SOFIA
Time of the Flies by Claudia Piñeiro
I’m super excited about the upcoming release of Time of the Flies by Claudia Piñeiro, author of the best-selling novel Elena Knows. Piñeiro is renowned for her gripping crime novels and has won multiple international prizes including the LiBeraturpreis. Scheduled for release in August, Time of the Flies delves into themes of culpability, fallibility and the complex responsibilities that bind women together. It follows the life of Inés, who is released from prison fifteen years after killing her husband’s lover. As she endeavours to rebuild her life, Inés embarks on an unconventional venture with an old friend – MMM, a business specialising in private investigation for women. Things takes an unexpected turn when a client enlists the duo’s unique set of skills, fuelled by their criminal pasts. Judging by the depth and intricacy showcased in Piñeiro’s earlier works, Time of the Flies promises to be a compelling read. I can’t wait to get my hands on it!