Independent Bookstore Day is arguably the best day of the year. What better way to support small businesses than to take your overflowing TBR list to your favorite local indie and go on a shopping spree?
And if you don’t have a list handy and need recommendations, I’ve come prepared. Please find a wonderful assortment of new releases to buy when you’re celebrating this Saturday either in person at an independent bookstore near you or online at Bookshop.org!
The Charlie Method by Elle Kennedy
Elle Kennedy is arguably one of the reigning queens of hockey romance so if this is your romance subgenre of choice, you have to pick it up this independent bookstore day!
Synopsis:
The third in the steamy, hilarious Campus Diaries series by New York Times bestselling author Elle Kennedy, set in the same world as Off Campus and Briar U.
College senior Charlotte Kingston is living two lives–and she’s nailing both of them. By day, she’s the perfect sorority girl, a STEM student in biomedical engineering, and the adopted daughter of an overachiever family. At night, she’s Charlie: a risk-taking daredevil looking for fun who finds herself chatting on a dating app with two anonymous hotties.
Will Larsen may seem like the breezy boy next door, but his congressman father is a constant thorn in his side. After a scandal hits another Division 1 hockey program, Will’s dad determines to distance his son from it, hiring a journalist to prove how squeaky-clean Will and his team are. Which means the last thing Will wants is for anyone to find out he and his best friend Beckett Dunne–a laidback Aussie shielding secret heartache–sometimes share girls in the bedroom.
When Charlie finally meets them in person and realizes she’s been chatting with two gorgeous Briar U hockey players, things get steamy–fast. But all their messy secrets are piling up, and real life soon threatens to shatter the fantasy. With Charlie, Will, and Beckett all coming to terms with what they want and what others want for them, difficult decisions must be made.
Especially when lust starts to look a lot like love.
On Sale Now via Berkley. Order here.
Bonus Recs: If you’re on the hunt for more steamy romance, add Ali Hazelwood’s Deep End to your list.
Ruthless Creatures by J.T. Geissinger
If you’re curious about dark romance or mafia romance and haven’t tried it yet, J.T. Geissinger is an author to check out this independent bookstore day. Steamy and with characters with instant chemistry, this could be your perfect way to dip into the uber popular Queens & Monsters series.
Synopsis: From BookTok sensation J.T. Geissinger comes Ruthless Creatures, a scorchingly hot mafia romance about two people bound together by a debt that must be collected. No matter the cost. Five years ago, my fiancé disappeared. He left me with a wedding dress I’d never wear. Left me with the kind of scars that can’t be healed. The man I built my future on vanished like a ghost. All that remained were my broken heart and a million unanswered questions.
Until a mysterious stranger arrives in town. Tall, dark, and dangerous, Kage is as full of secrets as he is sex appeal. Though I know he’s hiding something, I’m drawn to him like a moth to flame. Heat crackles between us with every look, desire flares into passion, and I fall hard, helpless to resist.But then I discover he’s been sent to collect on an unpaid debt from my missing fiancé….And that debt is me.
Available now via Bramble. Order here.
The Life Cycle of The Common Octopus Emma Knight
A big hearted, hilarious and charming coming-of-age novel, Emma Knight’s debut has already garnered exciting buzz in the literary community and proves Emma is a writer to watch. A great buy for independent bookstore day!
Synopsis: Arriving at the University of Edinburgh for her first term, Pen knows her divorced parents back in Canada are hiding something from her. She believes she’ll find the answer here in Scotland, where an old friend of her father’s–now a famous writer known as Lord Lennox–lives.
When she is invited to spend the weekend at Lord Lennox’s centuries-old estate with his enveloping, fascinating family, Pen begins to unravel her parents’ secret, just as she’s falling in love for the first time . . . As Pen experiences the sharp shock of adulthood, she comes to rely on herself for the first time in her life. A rich and rewarding novel of campus life, of sexual awakening, and ultimately, of the many ways women can become mothers in this world, The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus asks to what extent we need to look back in order to move forward.
Available now via Pamela Dorman Books. Order here.
Babylonia by Costanza Casati
Historical fiction and lovers of mythology rejoice, Costanza Casati is back with another thrilling release for you to add to your Independent Bookstore Day cart. If you loved Clytemnestra, you’ll love her latest.
Synopsis: Babylonia across the centuries has become the embodiment of lust, excess, and dissolute power that ruled Ancient Assyria. In this world you had to kill to be king. Or, in the case of Semiramis, an orphan raised on the outskirts of an empire:
Queen.
Nothing about Semiramis’s upbringing could have foretold her legacy. But when she meets a young representative of the new Assyrian king, a prophecy unfolds before her, one that puts her in the center of a brutal world and in the hearts of two men – one who happens to be king.
Now a risen lady in a court of vipers, Semiramis becomes caught in the politics and viciousness of ancient Assyria. Instead of bartering with fate, Semiramis trains in war and diplomacy. And with each move, she rises in rank, embroiled in a game of power, desire, love, and betrayal, until she can ascend to the only position that will ever keep her safe.
On sale now via Sourcebooks. Order here.
Bonus Recs: If this release excites you, add Mother of Rome by Lauren J.A. Bear to your TBR list as well. This re-imagining is fierce and full of rage and lets the often overlooked Rhea, mother of Romulus and Remus, have her own voice. Additionally, Everything is Poison by the incomparable Joy McCullough is a novel in verse and prose that tells the story of a young woman in 17th Century Rome with an apothecary that serves as a last resort for desperate wives.
The Crash by Freida McFadden
If you’re a thriller fan, you’ve probably read Freida. Known for her page-turning quick reads with abundant twists that leave readers open-mouthed at the last page, Frieda has gained popularity the TikTok and Book Club set. The Crash is a psychological thriller bound to keep you glued to your seat as you race to an unexpected conclusion and a perfect pick for this independent bookstore day.
Synopsis: Tegan is eight months pregnant, alone, and desperately wants to put her crumbling life in the rearview mirror. So she hits the road, planning to stay with her brother until she can figure out her next move. But she doesn’t realize she’s heading straight into a blizzard.
She never arrives at her destination.
Stranded in rural Maine with a dead car and broken ankle, Tegan worries she’s made a terrible mistake. Then a miracle occurs: she is rescued by a couple who offers her a room in their warm cabin until the snow clears.
But something isn’t right. Tegan believed she was waiting out the storm, but as time ticks by, she comes to realize she is in grave danger. This safe haven isn’t what she thought it was, and staying here may have been her most deadly mistake yet.
And now she must do whatever it takes to save herself–and her unborn child.
On Sale: January 28, 2025 via Sourcebooks. Order here.
Bonus Rec: If you love thrillers and stories of mothers desperate to do anything for their children, you’ll definitely want to keep an eye out for Close Your Eyes and Count to Ten by Lisa Unger. Set against the backdrop of a storm ravaged island and a deadly game of hide-and-seek, I can’t recommend a better companion novel to The Crash to read one weekend.
The Rainfall Market by You Yeong-Gwang and translated by Slin Jung
If you’re buying a book this independent bookstore day based on the cover alone, this one is it. And there’s something so cozy about the title and general packaging of the book that I knew I wanted it before I even read the synopsis. The fact that there’s a magic cat also sealed the deal.
Synopsis: On the outskirts of Rainbow Town, there is an old, abandoned house. They say that if you send a letter detailing your misfortunes there, you could receive a ticket. If you bring this ticket to the house on the first day of the rainy season, you’ll be granted entrance into the mysterious Rainfall Market–where you can choose to completely change your life. No one is more surprised than Serin when she receives a ticket. Lonely and with no real prospects for a future, Serin ventures to the market, determined to create a better life for herself.
There, she meets a magical cat companion named Issha and they search through bookstores, perfumeries, and fantastical realms while Serin tries to determine what her perfect life will look like. The catch? Serin only has one week to find her happiness or be doomed to vanish into the market forever. And all the while, a shadow follows quietly behind them…
Available now via Ace Books. Order here.
Bonus Rec: Speculative fiction fans can also enjoy The Last Bookstore On Earth, a sapphic apocalyptic novel about two girls together at the end of the world and the abandoned bookstore they take refuge in.
Go Luck Yourself by Sara Raasch
Does the idea of the prince of St. Patrick’s Day falling in love with the prince of Christmas sounds delightful? It does to me! I am all in for this fun and charming series and you should be to this independent bookstore day!
Synopsis:
Someone has been stealing Christmas’s joy, and there’s only one clue to the culprit—a single shamrock. With Coal busy restructuring Christmas—and their dad now having a full midlife crisis in the Caribbean—Kris volunteers to investigate St. Patrick’s Day. His cover: an ambassador from Christmas to foster goodwill. What could go wrong?
Everything, it seems. Because Prince Lochlann Patrick, Crown Prince of St. Patrick’s Day, happens to be the mysterious student that Kris has been in a small war with at Cambridge. They attempt to play nice for the tabloids, but Kris can’t get through one conversation without wanting to smash Loch’s face in—he’s infuriating, stubborn, loud, obstinate, hot.
Wait—hot?
Kris might be in some trouble. Especially when it turns out that the mystery behind Christmas’s stolen magic isn’t as simple as an outright theft. But why would a Holiday that Christmas has never had contact with, one that’s always been the very basis of carefree, want to steal joy? Can a spare prince even hope to unravel all this, or will Kris lose something way more valuable than his Holiday’s resources—like his heart?
Available now, via Bramble. Order here.
After Life by Gayle Forman
Gayle Forman is my instant buy author and you need to add her books to your independent bookstore day shopping cart! And if you haven’t read her, you desperately need to pick this up and find out why you should buy everything she writes. And bring tissues.
Synopsis: One spring afternoon after school, Amber arrives home on her bike. It’s just another perfectly normal day. But when Amber’s mom sees her, she screams.
Because Amber died seven years ago, hit by a car while on the very same bicycle she’s inexplicably riding now.
This return doesn’t only impact Amber. Her sister, Melissa, now seven years older, must be a new kind of sibling to Amber. Amber’s estranged parents are battling over her. And the changes ripple farther and farther out: Amber’s friends, boyfriend, and even people she met only once have been deeply affected by her life and death. In the midst of everyone’s turmoil, Amber is struggling with herself. What kind of person was she? How and why was she given this second chance?
This magnificent tour de force by acclaimed author Gayle Forman brilliantly explores the porous veil between life and death, examines the impact that one person can have on the world, and celebrates life in all its beautiful complexity.
Available now via Quill Tree Books. Order here.
The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith
If you’re looking for a YA romantasy to get this independent bookstore day, Sasha Peyton Smith’s latest should be at the top of your list. Victorian inspired, this is the perfect pairing with your Bridgerton binge watch. Sip on some tea, finger sandwiches and scones while you devour this one weekend.
Synopsis: London, 1848—For four hundred years, England has been under the control of an immortal fae queen who tricked her way onto the throne. To maintain an illusion of benevolence, Queen Mor grants each of her subjects one opportunity to bargain for their deepest desire.
As Ivy Benton prepares to make her debut, she knows that not even a deal with the queen could fix what has gone wrong: Her family’s social standing is in shambles, her sister is a shadow of her former self, and Ivy’s marriage prospects are nonexistent. So when the queen announces a competition for Prince Bram’s hand, Ivy is the first to sign her name in blood. What a bargain can’t fix, a crown certainly could.
Ivy soon finds herself a surprising front-runner—with the help of an unexpected ally: Prince Bram’s brother, the rakish Prince Emmett, who promises to help Ivy win his brother’s heart…for a price. But as the season sweeps Ivy away, with glittering balls veiling the queen’s increasingly vicious trials, Ivy realizes there’s more at stake than just a wedding. Because all faerie bargains come with a cost, and Ivy may have discovered hers too late.
Available now via HarperCollins. Order here.
Bonus Recs: If you were as captivated by Kristin Ciccarelli’s Heartless Hunter last year, you’ll be eagerly awaiting the release of the sequel, Rebel Witch. Enemies to lovers romance fans need to add this series to their TBR. And if you love your romantasy with a side of pirates, you must check out Capitana by Cassandra James. Another new release out this February to look forward to is Upon A Starlit Tide, a historical romance that combines elements from Cinderella and A Little Mermaid.
I Lived To Tell The Story: A Memoir of Love, Legacy and Resilience by Tamika D. Mallory
This important memoir by trailblazing social justice leader and Women’s March co-founder Tamika D. Mallory is necessary and essential reading this independent bookstore day.
Synopsis: In this candid and defiant memoir, a follow-up to her “masterful” (Marc Lamont Hill, New York Times bestselling author) response to the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, State of Emergency, Tamika D. Mallory holds nothing back as she shares hers, the activist’s life.
From early days as daughter to Black civil rights activists in Harlem, New York, to a young Black woman’s first battles against the physical and political violence she’d fight all her life, to the never-before-shared personal and professional crises launched by those forces intent on keeping her silent, this is a work of activism in motion and an unflinching story of America at the turn of the 21st century.
Ultimately, I Lived to Tell the Story celebrates the profound truth that our hearts grow closest when we discover that the values we share ground themselves in personal truths as well as high-minded aspiration.
Available now via Atria. Order here.
Safe Harbor by Padma Venkatraman
I adore novels in verse and Padma Venkatraman writes some of the most beautiful middle-grade verse. If you haven’t experienced a novel in verse, she would be a great author to start with this independent bookstore day.
Synopsis: When Geetha and her mom move from India to Rhode Island after her parents’ divorce, they leave everything Geetha loves behind—her family, her friends, her dog, and all that’s familiar. As if that’s not hard enough, Geetha faces bullies at her new school over her clothes, her food, and her English (who knew so many English words could be spelled or pronounced differently in the US—or just be altogether different!). She finds some solace in playing her flute and writing poetry, and even more when she meets Miguel, a kid with whom she has a lot in common, and the two of them help rescue an injured harp seal stranded on the beach.
But Geetha can feel her anger building over lots of things—careless people who pollute the sea and hurt animals, and her mom for making her move. She’s never been so sad and angry. She can see a lot of her fears mirrored in the injured seal when she visits it at the Marine Mammal Rehabilitation Center, and this broadens her understanding of survival skills. When she and Miguel start a beach-clean-up venture, it surprises her to find how many kind kids are out there. Geetha is torn as the time comes to let the seal go, knowing she’ll miss him, but wanting the best for him. She’s learning to live with mixed feelings and accept that while there will always be rough waters, there are plenty of safe harbors too.
Available now via Nancy Paulsen Books. Order here.
I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I’m Trapped In A Rom Com
Another romance to be on the lookout for this independent bookstore day, Kimberly Lemming’s latest promises to be as hilarious and spicy as her other novels.
Synopsis: A hilarious and sexy romance about a woman who gets dropped on a strange planet only to fall for not one, but two, aliens, from the author of I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf.
Dorothy Valentine is close to getting her PhD in wildlife biology before a lion attacks her. On the bright side, she’s saved! On the not-so-bright side, it’s because they’re abducted by aliens. In her scramble to escape, Dory and the lion commandeer an escape pod and crash-land on an alien planet that has…dinosaurs?
Dory and her new lion bestie, Toto, are saved in the nick of time by a mysterious and sexy alien, Sol. On their new adventure, they team up with the equally hot, equally dangerous Lok, who may or may not be a war criminal. Whether it be trauma, fate, or intrigue, Dory can’t resist the attraction that’s developing in their trio….
As this ragtag group of misfits explore their new planet, Dory learns more about how and why they’ve all ended up together, battles more prehistoric creatures than she imagined (she imagined…zero), and questions if she even wants to go back home to Earth in this hilarious and steamy alien romance adventure comedy romp.
Available now via Berkley. Order here.
Bonus Recs: If you’re looking for more speculative romance to treat yourself to this independent bookstore day, I recommend Slaying The Vampire Conquerer by Carissa Broadbent, a standalone novel in her addictive Crowns of Nyxia series. And if you’re searching for a series to lose yourself in, Penn Cole’s third installment, Heat of the Everflame is available.
What will you be buying for Independent Bookstore Day?
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.
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