We present you with books that are worth the read. We specifically curated these selections with our LOCAL Life audience in mind. Browse our bookcase below. All selections by Denise Friday.
Early 2025 Book Releases
Add these upcoming releases to your 2025 reading list.
Voice Like A Hyacinth By Mallory Pearson
Release date: Jan. 7
A horror story that also is a tale of great friendship. College students Jo, Caroline, Finch, Amrita and Saz are one another’s muses and the closest of friends. They are in a cutthroat art department where they are all competing for one solo exhibition at the end of the semester. When one suggests a ritual to help them be their most creative selves, they naively resort to the occult, with devastating results. They soon learn the horrible price to be paid for such a ritual. Love, horror, the occult and art come together in this well-crafted second novel by Pearson.
The Charlie Method By Elle Kennedy
Release date: Feb. 25
Charlotte Kingston is a college senior and a perfect sorority girl. She is a STEM student in biomedical engineering and an over-achiever. She seeks out fun on a dating app where she engages with two very cute guys. Things heat up quickly when she meets them in person. What are the odds these two are not only teammates on the college hockey team but roommates as well? The secrets pile up real fast. A fun new romance to add to author Elle Kennedy’s list.
More or Less Maddy By Lisa Genova
Release date: Jan. 14
Harvard-trained neuroscientist and New York Times bestselling author Genova has written another moving novel that helps explain complicated brain issues. Maddy is just like any other stressed-out freshman at NYU. Between schoolwork, exams, navigating life in the city and a recent breakup, it’s normal to be feeling overwhelmed. But Maddy’s latest low is devastatingly low, and she goes on an antidepressant. She begins to feel good, incredibly so, and she soon spirals high into a wild and terrifying mania that culminates in a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, an illness so commonly misunderstood.
Fundamentally By Nussaibah Younis
Release date: Feb. 25
Main character Nadia needs to make some changes in her life after a breakup and a fallout with her mother. She gets a job at the UN helping to rehabilitate ISIS women. She meets a fellow Londoner, Sara, who joined ISIS at age 15. They are very similar and form a great friendship. Yet when Sara tells her a secret, Nadia has to make a very hard decision. Younis writes in a hilarious and witty manner that will keep you engaged until the end.
Madame Matisse By Sophie Haydock
Release date: March 6
Based on the true story of Henri Matisse, this historical fiction novel is set during the 1930s art movement on the French Riviera. It revolves around three very important women in Matisse’s life: his wife, Amelie, who has given up everything to support her husband for 40 years, their daughter, Marguerite, who is caught between her parents, and Lydia, a Russian emigree who has fled her homeland and finds work with the Matisses. A drama involving betrayal, glamour, tragedy and, of course, art.