2020 Releases I’m Excited to Read

Ever since the end of November, I’ve seen endless lists of people’s most anticipated 2020 releases and I’ve been thinking about making a list of my own ever since then. I’ve only got five anticipated releases, though, and two of those are by the same author. I’m just always completely out of the loop when it comes to new books coming out – I’m still catching up on books that were published three years ago.

So, while these are the books I’m excited to read, there will probably be more books coming out that I really want to pick up – they’re just not on my radar yet because I haven’t been paying enough attention and tend to forget things. If you have any recommendations for new releases you think I might like, let me know in the comments!

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The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson – January 21

This is the third and final book in the Truly Devious series, and I’ve been waiting for it ever since I read The Vanishing Stair (book two) last year. Of course, in true Anne fashion, it’s already come out and I haven’t read it yet. I listened to the first two books on audio and I’ve got the third one lined up in my audiobook app, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet. Soon, though! The Truly Devious series is a YA mystery series that focuses on Stevie, who wants to be a detective. Her already pretty refined detective skills come in handy at her new school, a private boarding school for the brightest kids in the country, as a student winds up dead there in the first book. This murder story is intertwined with another murder case that happened shortly after the school was founded in the early twentieth century. Stevie is determined to solve the old case but now has to deal with the frightening stuff happening in the present as well. I enjoyed the first book in the series, but wasn’t wholly invested then, but I loved book two, so now I can’t wait to see how it all ends!

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Heartstopper Volume 3 by Alice Oseman – February 6

I read volumes 1 and 2 of this graphic novel series last year and I absolutely fell in love. Heartstopper is about two boys, Charlie and Nick, who go to the same high school and fall in love with each other. It’s a story about discovering who you are and what you want, and it’s so incredibly cute! Everybody seems to adore this series and I’m right there with them. Charlie and Nick are the sweetest, as are many of the side characters, and you just can’t help but root for them. The art style is wonderful as well; the drawings look simple, but you can see that every single detail in the panel has been carefully thought through. I love the way Alice Oseman draws facial expressions, too: you can just feel the emotion. In this third volume, the gang goes on a school trip to Paris, which sounds like a great setup for more adorable things to happen. If all goes well, my copy of this should be arriving next week. I can’t wait to dive in!

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Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon – February 18

This is the first book in a new series by Sandhya Menon, who’s already published three books so far (I think), all YA contemporary romcoms. I’ve only read one of those three, her debut novel When Dimple Met Rishi, but I really enjoyed that one, and this new book sounds wonderful. It’s a contemporary retelling of Beauty and the Beast, set in a boarding school. I’m not actually sure if there will be any magic (Goodreads has put in the Fantasy section as well as Contemporary, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true), but magic or not – I’m looking forward to it! I follow Sandhya Menon on Instagram and she’s such a delight, always giving out writing tips and keeping us up to date on her own writing progress. All of her updates on this novel have made me excited to pick it up.

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Loveless by Alice Oseman – July 9

Another Alice Oseman book! This one’s a novel, but it’s also YA and also features an LGBTQIA main character. The story’s about Georgia, who thinks she’s an anomaly because she never falls in love or has crushes on people. I’m pretty sure Alice Oseman has already said that Georgia is actually an asexual and/or aromantic character. I’m excited to read about her! Apart from that, I don’t really know anything about the plot of the book, but I’m sure Alice Oseman will do something great with it. Of her novels, I’ve only read Radio Silence, but I really liked that one and I enjoyed her writing style a lot. As a side note, I also really want to read Solitaire, which is Alice Oseman’s debut novel, featuring Charlie and Nick from Heartstopper as side characters. Is this going to be the year of Alice Oseman for me? Who knows!

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The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab – October 6

This one doesn’t actually have a proper cover yet and the release date was only announced this week! I read my first two V.E. Schwab books last year (the Monsters of Verity duology) and I absolutely loved those. This year, I want to read the Shades of Magic series, and I’m also very excited about this new release. I’ve been following V.E. Schwab on Instagram and Twitter for a while, and she’s been pretty open about writing this book and how difficult it was. I’ve grown more and more curious, and now I can’t wait to read it. It’s about a young woman, Addie LaRue, who, at the start of the 18th century, makes a ‘Faustian bargain’ to live forever. The flipside to this bargain: she’s immediately forgotten by everyone she meets. This sounds fascinating and I’m sure V.E. Schwab has made something amazing out of it. Out of these five books, I think this is the one I’m most hyped about!

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Those are the 2020 releases I’m really excited about! How about you? Are you excited about some of the same books? Are there other books coming out in 2020 that you can’t wait to read? Let me know in the comments and we can chat about it!