If you’re like me and are behind on your very ambitious reading goal for the year, you might be looking for books to read to achieve it. This December, stack up your TBR with the best books to read before the new year with a varied and truly wonderful list of books to enjoy.
Under Loch and Key by Lana Ferguson
If you like Scotland and a wee bit of magical realism in your romance, Under Loch and Key by Lana Ferguson is definitely one of the best books to read before the the New Year. The “angry Scotsman” descriptor for our male main character is a major selling point. I can’t resist a grumpy hero.
Synopsis: Keyanna “Key” MacKay is used to secrets. Raised by a single father who never divulged his past, it’s only after his death that she finds herself thrust into the world he’d always refused to speak of. With just a childhood bedtime story about a monster that saved her father’s life and the name of her estranged grandmother to go off of, Key has no idea what she’ll find in Scotland. But repeating her father’s mistakes and being rescued by a gorgeous, angry Scotsman–who thinks she’s an idiot–is definitely the last thing she expects.Lachlan Greer has his own secrets to keep, especially from the bonnie lass he pulls to safety from the slippery shore–a lass with captivating eyes and the last name he’s been taught not to trust.
He’s looking for answers as well, and Key’s presence on the grounds they both now occupy presents a real problem. It’s even more troublesome when he gets a front row seat to the lukewarm welcome Key receives from her family; the strange powers she begins to develop; and the fierce determination she brings to every obstacle in her path. Things he shouldn’t care about, and someone he definitely doesn’t find wildly attractive.When their secrets collide, it becomes clear that Lachlan could hold the answers Keyanna is after–and that she might also be the key to uncovering his. Up against time, mystery, and a centuries old curse, they’ll quickly discover that magic might not only be in fairy tales, and that love can be a real loch-mess.
On Sale: December 3, 2024, via Penguin Publishing Group. Order here.
The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt by Chelsea Iversen
With comparisons to Sarah Addison Allen and Alice Hoffman, this book is definite must-read. It features magical gardens, lush Victorian houses, and a woman fighting the men who want to take it from her.
Synopsis: Harriet Hunt is completely alone. Her father disappeared months ago, leaving her to wander the halls of Sunnyside house, dwelling on a past she’d rather keep buried. She doesn’t often venture beyond her front gate, instead relishing the feel of dirt under her fingernails and of soft moss beneath her feet. Consequently, she’s been deemed a little too peculiar for popular Victorian society. This solitary life suits her fine, though – because, in her garden, magic awaits.
Harriet’s garden is special. It’s a wild place full of twisting ivy, vibrant plums, and a quiet power that buzzes like bees. Caring for this place, and keeping it from running rampant through the streets of her London suburb, is Harriet’s purpose.
When suspicion for her father’s disappearance falls on her, she marries a seemingly charming man, the first to see past her peculiarities, in order to protect herself. It’s soon clear, however, that her new husband might be worse than her father and that she’s integral to a dark plot created by the men around her. To free herself and discover the truth, she must learn to channel the power of her strange, magical garden.
On Sale: December 3, 2024, via Sourcebooks. Order here.
Glow of the Everflame by Penn Cole
If you like romantasy, this is definitely one of the best books to read before the new yea. Penn Cole’s latest is a favorite of booktok and bookstagram and a stunning continuation of a fan favorite series.
Synopsis: The threat of war has arrived at Diem’s doorstep, along with a new discovery that could save her people. To use it, she must survive the next thirty days by bargaining with the people she hates most: the royal family of House Corbois. But as she dives into the world of the Descended elite, Diem quickly realizes good and evil aren’t as black and white as they seem. Old prejudices are challenged, and new loyalties blur the line between friend and foe. With her mother still missing, the secrets she left behind can no longer be ignored–and neither can the Guardians and their demands. Caught between an old flame and a sizzling new spark, Diem must confront the truth about who she is and what she wants before time runs out.
On Sale: December 3, 2024, via Atria. Order here.
Keep Me by Sarah Cate
A steamy marriage of convenience romance between a tough New Yorker and a broody Scottish playboy, Keep Me is a perfect addition to our best books to read before the New Year. Not only does it have Scottish love-interest (my favorite!) but the chemistry between Killian and Sylvie is electric.
Synopsis: All Killian Barclay wants is to be left the hell alone. He’s had enough heartache to last a lifetime, and he has no more need for love–earning him the reputation of a broody Scot and eventually turning his famous ancestral home into a den of iniquity. It doesn’t take long for tales of his raunchy house parties to reach the rest of his family, though, inspiring them to hatch a plan to shake Killian out of his routine.
New Yorker Sylvie Devereaux is tough as nails–as the daughter of famous yet neglectful parents, she’s grown a hard shell and keeps everyone at arm’s length. So when she sneaks into Barclay Manor during a trip to Scotland to get a glimpse of a famous heirloom, she doesn’t anticipate facing off against the brutish, maddening highlander who lives there. And she certainly didn’t expect to ever see the bastard again.
Yet just weeks later, she’s approached by Killian’s family with a proposal–move to Scotland and marry Killian to improve his playboy reputation, and after one year, she’ll walk away with ten million dollars. Sylvie agrees, even knowing that their plan is more deceptive than he realizes. But as she grows closer to Killian and the end of their year together, she has to decide: Is the love of a good man with a dark soul worth keeping, or is she willing to break Killian’s heart now that it’s well and truly hers?
On Sale: December 3, 2024, via Sourcebooks Casablanca. Order here.
PS: I Hate You by Lauren Connolly
The brother’s best friend trope is in a bittersweet display in this heartfelt romance about a woman carrying out her brother’s last wishes with the man who broke her heart.
Synopsis: Maddie Sanderson would be proud to honor her older brother’s dying wish, that she scatters his ashes over eight destinations that the adventurous 29-year-old never got to visit before he died from cancer. But in his will, Josh assigned her an impossible partner to help complete the mission–Dominic Perry. Seriously, if Maddie weren’t already at her brother’s funeral, she would have killed him for this.Sure, Dom was Josh’s life-long best friend. He’s also the infuriating man who broke Maddie’s heart back when she was naïve enough to give it to him.
But since Dom insists on following the rules and Josh didn’t leave much room for Maddie to argue the matter, they embark together on a series of farewell trips that span thousands of miles, exploring new places and revisiting their complicated history along the way.After a snowstorm leads to a shared bed, Maddie starts to wonder if her brother might be matchmaking from the grave. But when grief also reopens old wounds between them, Maddie will need more than Josh’s ghostly guidance to trust Dom again.
On Sale: December 3, 2024, via Berkley. Order here.
Quicksilver by Callie Hart
I have seen this all over bookstagram and tiktok and I can’t wait to read it. In one of the best books to read before the New Year, a thief binds herself to a fae king. If you love your romantasy with a side of action and fun banter, this book is for you.
Synopsis: Do not touch the sword. Do not turn the key. Do not open the gate.Twenty-four-year-old Saeris Fane is good at keeping secrets. No one knows about the strange powers she possesses, or the fact that she has been picking pockets and stealing from the Undying Queen’s reservoirs for as long as she can remember. In the land of the unforgiving desert, there isn’t much a girl wouldn’t do for a glass of water. But a secret is like a knot. Sooner or later, it will come undone. When Saeris comes face-to-face with Death himself, she inadvertently reopens a gateway between realms, transporting to a land of ice and snow.
The Fae have always been the stuff of myth, of legend, of nightmares…but it turns out they’re real, and Saeris has landed right in the middle of a centuries-long conflict that might just get her killed.The first of her kind to tread the frozen mountains of Yvelia in over a thousand years, Saeris mistakenly binds herself to Kingfisher, a handsome Fae warrior, who has secrets and nefarious agendas of his own. He will use her Alchemist’s magic to protect his people, no matter what it costs him… or her. Death has a name. It is Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate. His past is murky. His attitude stinks. And he’s the only way Saeris is going to make it home. Be careful of the deals you make, dear child. The devil is in the details…
On Sale: December 3, 2024, via Forever. Order here.
What The Woods Took by Courtney Gould
Synopsis: Devin Green wakes in the middle of the night to find two men in her bedroom. No stranger to a fight, she calls to her foster parents for help, but it soon becomes clear this is a planned abduction―one everyone but Devin signed up for. She’s shoved in a van and driven deep into the Idaho woods, where she’s dropped off with a cohort of equally confused teens. Finally, two camp counselors inform them that they’ve all been enrolled in an experimental therapy program. If the campers can learn to change their self-destructive ways―and survive a fifty-days hike through the wilderness―they’ll come out the other side as better versions of themselves. Or so the counselors say.
On Sale: December 10, 2024, via Wednesday Books. Order here.
Not In My Book by Katie Holt
A swoon-worthy enemies to lovers romance about competitive writers in a writing workshop is totally up my alley and easily one of the best books to read before the New Year. This reads like your favorite hallmark movie complete with banter and bookish references.
Synopsis: Rosie writes romance novels and listens to Taylor Swift on loop. Aiden is a literary fiction writer who doesn’t believe in happy endings. They’re about to write a book together–what could go wrong?The Hating Game meets Beach Read in this sexy and hilarious enemies-to-lovers romance from a debut Peruvian-Tennessean voice.
Rosie, an idealistic and passionate Peruvian American, leaves her Tennessee hometown to pursue her dream of making it in New York as a writer. But her plan derails when she ends up in class with her archnemesis and ex-crush, Aiden Huntington–an obnoxious, surly, and gorgeous literary fiction writer who doesn’t have much patience for the romance genre or for Rosie.Rosie and Aiden regularly go to verbal battle in workshop until their professor reaches her breaking point. She allows them to stay in her class on one condition: they must cowrite a novel that blends their genres.
The reluctant writing duo can’t help putting pieces of themselves into their accidentally steamy novel. Their manuscript-in-progress provides an outlet for them to confess their feelings–and explore their attraction toward each other.When Rosie and Aiden find themselves competing against each other for a potentially career-changing opportunity, the flames of old rivalry reignite, and their once-in-a-lifetime love story is once again at risk of being shelved–unless they can find a way to end the book on their own terms.
On Sale: December 10, 2024, via Alcove Press. Order here.
The Little Puppy by Nicola Krillen
If horror novels are on your TBR, you have to add Courtney Gould’s latest. Part Yellowjackets, part Girl, Interrupted, this thrilling book about teens trying to survive a wilderness program is an pulse-pounding read.
A sweet beautifully illustrated picture book about a little puppy and a loving grandma. Whether you’re five or fifty five, this adorable book is the sweetest gift and one of the best books to read before the New Year with the little ones in your life.
Synopsis: When Grandma comes for a special Valentine’s visit with her puppy, Milo, Ollie spends a special day playing with her new friend.
On Sale: December 17, 2024 via Simon & Schuster. Order here.
Brianna Robinson is a book publicist and Sarah Lawrence College alum. She lives in New York with too many books and two enthusiastic dachshunds. You can find her on twitter @blrobins2.
