January is flying by and because I skipped my January BOTM box (gasp), I’m not so patiently waiting for February releases to drop! Even with February being the shortest month of the year, the list of books I’m excited for releases in February is not short. February is Black History Month and Valentine’s Day falls within the month as well, so I expect to see a solid romance pick for the holiday, and potentially a handful of new releases by African American authors or even repeat authors would be nice. So far I’ve read only 1 of my predictions, but I do have quite a few ARCs to get through, so be sure to come back and check out my reviews.
Whether or not these are actually picks, only time will tell. Even if they are not, all or most of these are on my February Most Anticipated New Releases list and my Winter 2023 Most Anticipated.
FEBRUARY 2023 MOST ANTICIPATED
WINTER 2023 MOST ANTICIPATED
When the picks are announced and you find you have space in your box still, make sure to also check out my most recent version of BOTM Add-On recommendations HERE, because who couldn’t use even more books!
Keep in mind that these are simply predictions and books I hope get chosen. I could get these completely wrong but the anticipation and guessing is part of the fun right?!
Mystery & Thriller
I have copies of all but one of these, and I’m so sad to not have gotten a copy of Rebecca Makkai’s newest release. I adored The Great Believers, and so this is my top pick hopefully as a BOTM pick. It’s a mix between women’s fiction and a mystery, so I think it would be a great pick!
Stone Cold Fox and The Writing Retreat are both debuts and would also make great picks for February. I have copies of both and I’m hoping to get to them soon!
The Angel Maker is Alex North’s newest release and it’s darker than his previous two books. I’d be happy with this as an add-on and I did enjoy the book. But it’s had a slow start and might be too dark for BOTM.
The Angel Maker Review
Literary & Contemporary Fiction
I believe Maame is already a confirmed pick for February, which I’m pretty excited about. I LOVED this book. It was a little slow to start but it gave me all the feels and was wonderfully written. I’ll also add that Heather Agyepong who narrates Maame is great, and she also has narrated Beth O’Leary’s The No-Show
Maame Review
What Napoleon Could Not Do and The Unfortunates are two debuts by African authors. They’re different but both sounds fabulous. I actually have a copy of What Napoleon Could Not Do and hope to get to it soon.
Big Swiss, I don’t believe is a comedy but it sounds quirky and funny. If BOTM picked a book about swinging, they could pick a book about a sex transcriptionist who falls in love with a client. Why not?! I hear it’s also already being made into a TV series, so might be a suprise from BOTM.
Romance
For a traditional romance, The Neighbor Favor is my top pick. It has great reviews already and I mean books (or at least writing & editing) is involved. I have an ARC of this one as well and can’t wait to read it.
The Love Scribe is my second romance pick and is more of an emotional romance. Either way it sounds amazing and I wouldn’t mind it being a BOTM pick.
The Chemistry of Love also sounds like a perfect BOTM pick. It’s a Prime First Read pick though, and is already available for Prime members, which makes it unlikely to be a pick. I wanted to include it though, because it sounds great and to remind everyone to go pick their January First Reads books. You get 2 this month! Learn more about FIRST READS HERE.
Historical Fiction
All of my Historical Fiction picks are completely different! I have copies of all 4 and though I haven’t read any of them yet, they all sound like perfect BOTM picks for very different reasons.
Fantasy & Science Fiction
Again my picks for Fantasy & Science Fiction are extremely different and once again I have copies of all of these. I have yet to read them, but be on the lookout for my reviews soon, maybe. The Shadow of Perseus being a mythology book seems like the best pick for February’s BOTM pick. But Victory City is a combination of fantasy and historical fiction, so we could very well see it as a pick.
VenCo, I don’t think will be a pick, but I love a good book about witches so I wouldn’t be mad if they did decide to pick it.
Past BOTM Authors with Books Coming Out in February
I hope you found a book that you are truly excited about in this post. Let me know which other new releases you are excited for this month or that you’re hoping are BOTM picks, by commenting below or by messaging me on Instagram @speakingof.books. Don’t forget to follow me to get weekly updates and new reviews!
Happy Reading!
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I think I look forward to your predictions almost as much as actually finding out what the BOTM selections are! 🤣
All the mystery/thriller ones you predicted are high on my anticipated list—I hope at least a couple are options!!