10 Anticipated Releases of 2022 (January to July)

Hey everyone! Today, I’m bringing you my first official post of 2022 and first post after my long hiatus.

I want to thank you all for the support on my comeback post. I didn’t expect to get much likes immediately after coming back, but I’ve received over 20 as of now. It may not be much to some but to me it means that you still want to read my content and that fills me with joy.

Something you may also have noticed is that the blog looks a little… different 👀 it makes me so excited to redesign my blog after two years, and though it’s still a work in progress I’m so happy and excited for this change!

As you have already guessed by the title of this post, I will be talking about some of my most anticipated releases of 2022. I have to admit that being away for so long made me feel *very* lost once I was back and trying to keep up with all the upcoming releases, but once again, you can always trust the book blogging community to lead you towards the most amazing hidden gems of literature. So here are some posts I also suggest you to check out if you wish to discover more 2022 releases of all genres. These are blog posts I loved, and some of them made me discover some of the books you’ll see in my list today.

• 2022 Diverse YA Debuts by Birdie’s BookTopia
• My Most Anticipated YA Books of 2022 by Drizzle and Hurricane Books
• 50+ Anticipated Book Releases: January through June by Forever and Everly
• My Most Anticipated 2022 Releases (January – March) by Books Real When Shared

I wanted to keep this list short just to show you which are the books I really, really want to read once they’re out. Of all the new releases I’ve come across, these caught my attention the most. But there are more amazing books that will be released this year, most of them featured on the lists above, so check them out if you don’t want to miss those releases. And if you want to increase your TBR pile for, like, 100 more books.

Without further ado, let’s start! In the list (which doesn’t have a particular order) I’ll include the book’s title, author, release date summary and some comments of my own on why you should read them.

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1. Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf (April 19th)

CATALYST
13 points
noun: a person or thing that precipitates an event or change

When Najwa Bakri walks into her first Scrabble competition since her best friend’s death, it’s with the intention to heal and move on with her life. Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to choose the very same competition where said best friend, Trina Low, died. It might be even though Najwa’s trying to change, she’s not ready to give up Trina just yet.

But the same can’t be said for all the other competitors. With Trina, the Scrabble Queen herself, gone, the throne is empty, and her friends are eager to be the next reigning champion. All’s fair in love and Scrabble, but all bets are off when Trina’s formerly inactive Instagram starts posting again, with cryptic messages suggesting that maybe Trina’s death wasn’t as straightforward as everyone thought. And maybe someone at the competition had something to do with it.

As secrets are revealed and the true colors of her friends are shown, it’s up to Najwa to find out who’s behind these mysterious posts—not just to save Trina’s memory, but to save herself.

This story seems to be tremendously original, in my opinion. I’ve always loved murder mysteries and the fact that it all happens in a Scrabble competition is enough reason to have it be way up on my TBR list. That plus the Malaysian + hijabi rep! I’ve never read a book with Malaysian rep before so I’m definitely eager to know more about the culture.

2. One for All by Lillie Lainoff (March 8th)

Tania de Batz is most herself with a sword in her hand. Everyone in town thinks her near-constant dizziness makes her weak, nothing but “a sick girl”; even her mother is desperate to marry her off for security. But Tania wants to be strong, independent, a fencer like her father—a former Musketeer and her greatest champion.

Then Papa is brutally, mysteriously murdered. His dying wish? For Tania to attend finishing school. But L’Académie des Mariées, Tania realizes, is no finishing school. It’s a secret training ground for a new kind of Musketeer: women who are socialites on the surface, but strap daggers under their skirts, seduce men into giving up dangerous secrets, and protect France from downfall. And they don’t shy away from a swordfight.

With her newfound sisters at her side, Tania feels for the first time like she has a purpose, like she belongs. But then she meets Étienne, her first target in uncovering a potential assassination plot. He’s kind, charming, and breathlessly attractive—and he might have information about what really happened to her father. Torn between duty and dizzying emotion, Tania will have to lean on her friends, listen to her own body, and decide where her loyalties lie…or risk losing everything she’s ever wanted.

Now this is way, way up in my list. The three musketeers reverse retelling? Sign me up. Give me all the strong female heroines and take all my money. The last Three Musketeers reverse retelling I saw was the Barbie movie version… I definitely need an update.

3. Turning by Joy L. Smith (March 1st)

Genie used to fouetté across the stage. Now the only thing she’s turning are the wheels to her wheelchair. Genie was the star pupil at her exclusive New York dance school, with a bright future and endless possibilities before her. Now that the future she’s spent years building toward has been snatched away, she can’t stand to be reminded of it—even if it means isolating herself from her best friends and her mother. The only wish this Genie has is to be left alone.

But then she meets Kyle, who also has a “used to be.” Kyle used to tumble and flip on a gymnastics mat, but a traumatic brain injury has sent him to the same physical therapist that Genie sees. With Kyle’s support, along with her best friend’s insistence that Genie’s time at the barre isn’t over yet, Genie starts to see a new path—one where she doesn’t have to be alone and she finally has the strength to heal from the past.

But healing also means confronting. Confronting the booze her mother, a recovering alcoholic, has been hiding under the kitchen sink; the ex-boyfriend who was there the night of the fall and won’t leave her alone; and Genie’s biggest, most terrifying secret: the fact that the accident may not have been so accidental after all.

This feels like a very emotional coming-of-age story to reflect upon. I’ve always been very intrigued about those situations that just erase life as we used to know it, and this story definitely addresses that with Genie’s “accident”.

4. Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li (April 5th)

History is told by the conquerors. Across the Western world, museums display the spoils of war, of conquest, of colonialism: priceless pieces of art looted from other countries, kept even now.

Will Chen plans to steal them back.

A senior at Harvard, Will fits comfortably in his carefully curated roles: a perfect student, an art history major and sometimes artist, the eldest son that has always been his parents’ American Dream. But when a shadowy Chinese corporation reaches out with an impossible—and illegal—job offer, Will finds himself something else as well: the leader of a heist to steal back five priceless Chinese sculptures, looted from Beijing centuries ago.

His crew is every heist archetype one can imagine—or at least, the closest he can get. A conman: Irene Chen, Will’s sister and a public policy major at Duke, who can talk her way out of anything. A thief: Daniel Liang, a premed student with steady hands just as capable of lockpicking as suturing. A getaway driver: Lily Wu, an engineering student who races cars in her free time. A hacker: Alex Huang, an MIT dropout turned Silicon Valley software engineer. Each member of his crew has their own complicated relationship with China and the identity they’ve cultivated as Chinese Americans, but when Will asks, none of them can turn him down.

Because if they succeed? They earn fifty million dollars—and a chance to make history. But if they fail, it will mean not just the loss of everything they’ve dreamed for themselves but yet another thwarted attempt to take back what colonialism has stolen.

This seems to be booktwitter’s most anticipated release of 2022. I’ve always trusted booktwitter’s gut and I’ve only read good reviews of those who have had the luck to read an ARC of this book. A cultural heist? I never read a book on it, thouh it was something that happened a lot in real life back in the day. I definitely will read this once it’s out.

5. The Charmed List by Julie Abe (July 5th)

After spending most of high school as the quiet girl, Ellie Kobata is ready to take some risks and have a life-changing summer, starting with her Anti-Wallflower List—thirteen items she’s going to check off one by one. She’s looking forward to riding rollercoasters, making her art Instagram public (maybe), and going on an epic road-trip with her best friend Lia.

But when number four on Ellie’s list goes horribly wrong—revenge on Jack Yasuda—she’s certain her summer has gone from charmed to cursed. Instead of a road trip with Lia, Ellie finds herself stuck in a car with Jack driving to a magical convention. But as Ellie and Jack travel down the coast of California, number thirteen on her list—fall in love—may be happening without her realizing it.

Contemporary Romance books are my comfort books. The Charmed List is a book I have high expectations on -enemies to lovers, road trip, a bucket list… it feels like a perfect read for spring or summer. I just have the feeling tat it’ll make me laugh and cry about the boyfriend I don’t have yet but I wish I would.

6. Siren Queen by Nghi Vo (May 10th)

It was magic. In every world, it was a kind of magic.

“No maids, no funny talking, no fainting flowers.” Luli Wei is beautiful, talented, and desperate to be a star. Coming of age in pre-Code Hollywood, she knows how dangerous the movie business is and how limited the roles are for a Chinese American girl from Hungarian Hill—but she doesn’t care. She’d rather play a monster than a maid.

But in Luli’s world, the worst monsters in Hollywood are not the ones on screen. The studios want to own everything from her face to her name to the women she loves, and they run on a system of bargains made in blood and ancient magic, powered by the endless sacrifice of unlucky starlets like her. For those who do survive to earn their fame, success comes with a steep price. Luli is willing to do whatever it takes—even if that means becoming the monster herself.

Okay, this one!!! It’s WAY up in my list. I have the feeling I’ll begin reading it the day it comes out. I LOVE books that feature fame and celebrities and how that life changes them and they fight against said change breaking stereotypes inside Hollywood and making a name for themselves. This story seems to reflect just that but with darker undertones which makes it even more intriguing to me. I just can’t wait to read this one.

7. The City of Dusk by Tara Sim (February 22nd)

The Four Realms—Life, Death, Light, and Darkness—all converge on the city of dusk. For each realm there is a god, and for each god there is an heir.

But the gods have withdrawn their favor from the once vibrant and thriving city. And without it, all the realms are dying.

Unwilling to stand by and watch the destruction, the four heirs—Risha, a necromancer struggling to keep the peace; Angelica, an elementalist with her eyes set on the throne; Taesia, a shadow-wielding rogue with rebellion in her heart; and Nik, a soldier who struggles to see the light— will sacrifice everything to save the city.

But their defiance will cost them dearly.

I haven’t read Sim’s Scavenge The Stars yet, but I haven’t forgot that it’s still in my TBR. Sim brings a new, intriguing premise with The City of Dusk -four realms and characters with original and very dark powers. It just seems like my perfect cup of tea.

8. Only A Monster by Vanessa Len (February 2nd)

It should have been the perfect summer. Sent to stay with her late mother’s eccentric family in London, sixteen-year-old Joan is determined to enjoy herself. She loves her nerdy job at the historic Holland House, and when her super cute co-worker Nick asks her on a date, it feels like everything is falling into place.

But she soon learns the truth. Her family aren’t just eccentric: they’re monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers. And Nick isn’t just a cute boy: he’s a legendary monster slayer, who will do anything to bring them down.

As she battles Nick, Joan is forced to work with the beautiful and ruthless Aaron Oliver, heir to a monster family that hates her own. She’ll have to embrace her own monstrousness if she is to save herself, and her family. Because in this story . . .

. . . she is not the hero.

I think that by now, you can tell I’m very drawn to books with dark undertones, and this one is not an exception. Enemies to lovers and a fight against one’s own darkness, this is a book I also have high expectations on.

9. Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid (June 7th)

A gruesome curse. A city in upheaval. A monster with unquenchable appetites.

Marlinchen and her two sisters live with their wizard father in a city shifting from magic to industry. As Oblya’s last true witches, she and her sisters are little more than a tourist trap as they treat their clients with archaic remedies and beguile them with nostalgic charm. Marlinchen spends her days divining secrets in exchange for rubles and trying to placate her tyrannical, xenophobic father, who keeps his daughters sequestered from the outside world. But at night, Marlinchen and her sisters sneak out to enjoy the city’s amenities and revel in its thrills, particularly the recently established ballet theater, where Marlinchen meets a dancer who quickly captures her heart.

As Marlinchen’s late-night trysts grow more fervent and frequent, so does the threat of her father’s rage and magic. And while Oblya flourishes with culture and bustles with enterprise, a monster lurks in its midst, borne of intolerance and resentment and suffused with old-world power. Caught between history and progress and blood and desire, Marlinchen must draw upon her own magic to keep her city safe and find her place within it.

The main point that captivates me from this story is that the enemy here is closer than in most books: Marlinchen’s own father is the one she has to confront. Besides this conflict, she also has to batle against the monster threatening her city, so this looks like a story with a strong female heroine that I hope to love once I dive into this story.

10. Love Somebody by Rachel Roasek (January 11th) (Out now!)

Sam Dickson is a charismatic actress, ambitious and popular with big plans for her future. Ros Shew is one of the smartest people in school–but she’s a loner, and prefers to keep it that way. Then there’s Christian Powell, the darling of the high school soccer team. He’s not the best with communication, which is why he and Sam broke up after dating for six months; but he makes up for it by being genuine, effusive, and kind, which is why they’re still best friends.

When Christian falls for Ros on first sight, their first interaction is a disaster, so he enlists Sam’s help to get through to her. Sam, with motives of her own, agrees to coach Christian from the sidelines on how to soften Ros’s notorious walls. But as Ros starts to suspect Christian is acting differently, and Sam starts to realize the complexity of her own feelings, their fragile relationships threaten to fall apart.

This fresh romantic comedy from debut author Rachel Roasek is a heartfelt story about falling in love–with a partner, with your friends, or just with yourself–and about how maybe, the bravest thing to do in the face of change is just love somebody.

A love triangle that involves two people who had a relationship in the past? Now that’s new. I was impressed at this premise when I first read it, and having the story be centered about love is something that intrigues me a lot. I always like to read books that have different perspectives on love, and this feels like the perfect book to reflect on the subject.

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So that’s it for today! I hope that you liked the post and that you added some of these books to your TBR. Which is your most anticipated release of 2022? Which books releasing this year would you recommend me? What genre are you looking forward to read the most this year? Let’s talk in the comments!