Top ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. The official Top Ten Tuesday topic for this week was around cozy reads, however, I decided to instead move up my quarterly post about the best upcoming books to read (TBR) for the following three months. This is a regular post I do at the start of each season, and as this Tuesday is just before Summer (Winter for folks in the Northern Hemisphere), this is the ideal time to put this up.
For this list, I have come up with 10 of the most anticipated novels that are coming out between 1 December 2022 and 28 February 2023. There are quite a few very cool novels set for release in the next few months that I am extremely excited for, including some of my most highly anticipated reads for the end of 2022 and the start of the New Year. Due to how impressive some of these upcoming books are, it took me a little while to finalise my list but I was eventually able to whittle it down into a Top Ten list (with a few honourable mentions). I have primarily used the Australian publication dates to reflect when I will be able to get these awesome novels, and these might be somewhat different to the rest of the world. I have previously discussed a number of these books before in prior Top Ten Tuesdays and Waiting on Wednesday articles and I think all of them will turn out to be pretty incredible reads.
Honourable Mentions:
Three-Edged Sword by Jeff Lindsay – 6 December 2022
The third book in a super fun heist thriller series by the author of the Dexter novels. Three-Edged Sword follows on from Just Watch Me and Fool Me Twice and is a guaranteed thrill ride.
Amazon Book Depository
Red Dirt Road by S. R. White – 5 January 2023
One of the more intriguing pieces of Australian fiction in the new year, Red Dirt Road follows on from the outstanding 2021 read, Prisoner, and presents a compelling and unique murder mystery in the Australian bush.
Amazon Book Depository
The Last Kingdom by Steve Berry – 28 February 2023
There is no way that I am going to miss the next Steve Berry book, The Last Kingdom. The latest entry in Berry’s long-running Cotton Malone series (which has featured such great books as The Malta Exchange, The Warsaw Protocol and The Kaiser’s Web), The Last Kingdom will see Cotton Malone roped into a deep historical conspiracy regarding the Bavarian royal family and sounds pretty damn fantastic.
Amazon Book Depository
City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita – 28 February 2023
Iris Yamashita will be bringing in one of the most compelling and highly anticipated debuts of 2023 with her great book, City Under One Roof, which will pit a detective against a mysterious community in Alaska.
Amazon Book Depository
Top Ten List:
Warhammer 40,000: Witchbringer by Steven B. Fischer – 14 December 2022
The first book I need to highlight on this list is the fantastic upcoming Warhammer 40,000 read, Witchbringer by Steven B. Fischer. Set deep in the battlefields of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, Witchbringer will follow an Imperial psyker, a living weapon who is reviled and barely tolerated by the rest of humanity, who is forced to return to her old unit and help them on a deadly mission. Sure to be extremely exciting, while also diving into the dark side of humanity in the future, Witchbringer sounds extremely awesome and I can’t wait to end my year with another top Warhammer book.
Amazon Book Depository
Star Wars: The High Republic: The Battle of Jedha by George Mann – 3 January 2023
The new year is already looking pretty good, especially as one of the first books coming out is the fantastic Star Wars: The High Republic audiobook, The Battle of Jedha. Part of the second phase of the excellent High Republic series, The Battle of Jedha will see an all-out war break out on the planet of Jedha and promises to be one of the more exciting pieces of recent Star Wars fiction, especially when read out by a full cast of talented narrators.
Amazon Book Depository
Son of the Poison Rose by Jonathan Maberry – 10 January 2023
I am exceedingly excited that one of the first books I will be reading in 2023 will be the fantasy epic, Son of the Poison Rose by one of my favourite authors, Jonathan Maberry. The sequel to Maberry’s exceptional 2022 novel, Kagen the Damned, Son of the Poison Rose will continue the outstanding dark fantasy storyline contained in his first book as a failed royal guard attempts to save the remnants of his fallen kingdom from a dark ruler determined to destroy everything he loves. Son of the Poison Rose will easily be one of the best books of 2023 and I cannot wait to check it out, especially in its audiobook version narrated by the always epic Ray Porter.
Amazon Book Depository
Downfall by Louise Carey – 10 January 2023
I will definitely be grabbing a copy of Downfall by Louise Carey early next year, which sounds extremely awesome. The final book in Carey’s Inscape series, Downfall will follow on from Inscape (one of my favourite debuts of 2021) and Outcast, and will take the reader back into a technologically controlled dystopian future. This time the protagonists will have to take down the company they have long served after it uses its insidious technology to take control of everyone they know and love. I have had an incredible time with this great science fiction series, and I cannot wait to see how it comes to an end, especially after that cool cliff-hanger at the end of Outcast.
Amazon Book Depository
Unnatural History by Jonathan Kellerman – 14 February 2023
I have been having a lot of fun getting into Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series over the last few years, with such great and compelling murder mystery books as The Wedding Guest, The Museum of Desire, Serpentine and City of the Dead, and I am quite excited to read another one of his books in 2023. This new book, Unnatural History, will see Kellerman’s compelling protagonists investigate another complex case, this time involving a dead photographer who made a living exploiting homeless people. I am going to have an amazing time with Unnatural History and it will probably end up being one of the more impressive mystery novels of the new year.
Amazon Book Depository
The Last Orphan by Gregg Hurwitz – 14 February 2023
Few spy thriller series have been more impressive in the last few years that Gregg Hurwitz’s Orphan X books. Following a former elite government assassin turned vigilante, the Orphan X books form an action-packed and powerful series that I have really grown to love, especially with great entries like Out of the Dark, Into the Fire, Prodigal Son and Dark Horse. Naturally, I am pretty excited to see how the series continues and I only have to wait until February to find out. The next book in the series, The Last Orphan, will see the protagonist dragged back into government service and must choose whether to return to his assassin roots or risk the lives of everyone he loves. This is set to be an extremely moving and exciting entry in the Orphan X series, and I cannot wait to see what will happen to Hurwitz’s brilliant and complex protagonist next.
Amazon Book Depository
The Shadow Casket by Chris Wooding – 16 February 2023
After years of waiting, we are finally going to get a sequel to Chris Wooding’s outstanding fantasy epic, The Ember Blade. The Ember Blade was a particularly impressive fantasy novel that saw a group of desperate freedom fighters steal a legendary blade to inspire their country into rebellion. The Ember Blade was something very special, and I have been eagerly waiting for the sequel, The Shadow Casket, which is set to feature even more blood, rebellion and heroics. This is definitely going to be one of the top fantasy books of 2023 and I cannot wait to dive into its elaborate and addictive narrative.
Amazon Book Depository
Dead of Night by Simon Scarrow – 16 February 2023
Few historical mystery books have more potential than the upcoming Dead of Night by Simon Scarrow. The sequel to Scarrow’s excellent novel Blackout, Dead of Night will return to wartime Berlin and follow a police detective’s attempt to solve a terrible murder while going up against the corrupt Nazi Government. I am very excited to see how this amazing mystery unfolds, and I know I am going to have a wonderful time reading this book.
Amazon Book Depository
Burner by Mark Greaney – 21 February 2023
Mark Greaney returns with another amazing entry in his bestselling Gray Man spy thriller series, which has already featured outstanding reads like The Gray Man, Mission Critical, One Minute Out, Relentless and Sierra Six. The new book, Burner, will see impressive protagonist Court Gentry, go up against both the CIA and the Russian mafia to try and save a man’s life. However, he will also have to compete with his love interest, as they try to work out why so many people want their target dead. I have no doubt that this is going to be another epic novel from Greaney and I look forward to see the next chapter of the incredible Gray Man series unfold.
Amazon Book Depository
Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 38: The Green Dragon by Stan Sakai – 21 February 2023
The final upcoming book I need to highlight is the next volume in the awesome Usagi Yojimbo series by Stan Sakai, The Green Dragon. Usagi Yojimbo still remains one of my favourite comic series of all time, and I am always extremely eager to get my hands on a new volume as soon as it becomes available. This next volume will see Usagi and his companions go up against ghosts, ninjas and other dangerous foes, as they continue to journey around their chaotic version of Feudal Japan. I already know that I am going to love this comic when it comes out, and I am very, very excited to get my hands on it.
Amazon Book Depository
Well, that is the end of my Top Ten list. I think it turned out pretty well and it does a good job of capturing all my most anticipated books for the next three months. Each of the above should be extremely epic, and I cannot wait to read each of them soon. Let me know which of the above you are most excited for and stay tuned for reviews of them in the next few months. In the meantime, it looks like I have quite a few books to get through soon and they should all be pretty awesome.
The Unseen Library 