Inspire Great Reading for Winter 2019

Is there anything better than relaxing indoors on a chilly winter day? You can snuggle up with your favorite blanket, pull back the window curtains, watch the snow fall gently (or sometimes wildly) from the sky, and sip hot cocoa while enjoying a captivating book. Don't worry about the stresses in your life. Instead, spend time with a good book and fall in love with new characters.

Every season, I offer a list of five newly released books that deserve your attention. These books are sometimes by up-and-coming authors who will certainly bring incredible talents to the literary community.

Enjoy these five reading suggestions--because they're definitely worth reading this winter season.

1. "More Than Words" - Jill Santopolo 

Jill Santopolo's More Than Words 
(photo/Penguin Random House).

Fans of Jill Santopolo's breathtaking 2017 novel The Light We Lost are rejoicing. The author has returned with another highly-anticipated novel, More Than Words. Judging from Santopolo's previous work, we should be expecting another tender, moving novel about characters who face life-altering decisions.

Nina Gregory has always known her future and where she wants to go in life. She's always known who she was and she's been a good daughter to her father, owner of New York City's glamorous Gregory hotels. She's an heiress to her own little kingdom and she was taught that family, reputation, and legacy are the three most important values of life.

So, when her father unexpectedly dies, Nina must quit her job as a speechwriter for a political star and run her father's business. She's expected to marry her childhood best friend/boyfriend and come to terms with her new "normal." Is this what she really wants out of her life? Soon, Nina finds herself caught between the world she always knew and the future she thought she could have.

Santopolo has written another moving story about love, grief, self-discovery, and life-changing decisions. You won't want to miss More Than Words, available February 5.

Tim Johnston's "The Current"
(photo/Amazon.com).

2. "The Current" - Tim Johnston 

Tim Johnston's The Current is one of the most anticipated mystery novels of 2019. Johnston's previous novel, Descent, was praised as "unforgettable" by critics, and it appears his follow-up novel will receive similar remarks.

Caroline and Audrey are college roommates and they're on a road trip one winter night when they have a devastating car accident. Caroline dies instantly and Audrey is badly injured. However, this isn't your typical car accident. Townspeople remind Audrey of a similar case years ago, in which another woman was killed in a car accident and her killer is still free.

What follows is Audrey's desperate attempt to make sense of both accidents, uncovering all of the clues she can find to determine who not only killed the first woman but also her best friend. But once she begins searching for answers, she realizes she's edging closer and closer to dangerous truths.

Johnston has written another captivating, suspenseful thriller about the fragility of life, the power of the past, and the desperate need to always fight back. Mystery fans won't want to miss The Current, available January 22.

3. "I Owe You One" - Sophie Kinsella 

Sophie Kinsella's "I Owe You One"
(photo/Amazon.com).

Sophie Kinsella, best-selling author of My Not So Perfect Life, has returned with another irresistible story of love and a chance encounter between two strangers. I Owe You One tells the story of Fixie Farr, who can't help but fulfill favors. She's always fixing (hence the nickname) other people's problems without asking for anything in return. It's simply not in her nature to say no to people.

So, when a handsome stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop while he leaves a moment, she immediately agrees. She even saves the laptop from a water disaster. The computer's owner, Sebastian, thanks Fixie with an IOU and leaves his business card. If she needs a favor, she knows who to call. Fixie doesn't think anything of it--knowing she doesn't need favors from others. That's her job, remember?

But when her childhood crush, Ryan, walks back into her life, without a job, Fixie wonders if she can ask Sebastian, an investment manager, for a favor and try to find Ryan a job. This leads to a series of IOUs exchanged between Fixie and Sebastian. But could it possibly lead to something more?

Fixie has never relied on anyone in her life, but suddenly things are changing. Kinsella has written another fun story with quirky characters that has been described as "pure joy." You won't want to miss I Owe You One, available February 5.

Dani Shapiro's "Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy,
Paternity and Love" (photo/Amazon.com).

4. "Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity and Love" - Dani Shapiro

Dani Shapiro is one of the most prominent nonfiction authors of the 21st century. She's the best-selling author of previous memoirs, including Slow Motion, Devotion, and others. She has returned with one of the most widely anticipated books--fiction or nonfiction--of the year. Her new memoir, Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity and Love, is on several lists of books we need to read this year.

The memoir discusses Shapiro's experience while taking a DNA test at age 54. She wasn't expecting these results: her Orthodox Jewish father isn't her biological father. Shapiro describes the drama that followed the discovery, including her identity crisis and her desperate attempt to figure out what happened before her birth. Because both of her parents are now deceased, it's a difficult journey. But she's not going to give up until she learns who her "real" father was and why he wasn't present in her life.

Shapiro's memoir is a fascinating meditation of the meaning of parenthood and family. You won't want to miss Inheritance, now available.

5. "The Only Woman in the Room" - Marie Benedict 

Marie Benedict's "The Only Woman in the Room"
(photo/Goodreads).

Marie Benedict is a lawyer, but she has quickly proven she has a knack for creative writing, as well. The best-selling historical fiction author (of The Other Einstein and Carnegie's Maid) has returned with a story about a woman with stunning beauty and incredible intelligence. Her beauty saved her from the rising Nazi party and led to a marriage with an Austrian arms dealer. An underestimated genius, she devised a plan to flee, along with her husband, to the United States, where she eventually arrived in Hollywood.

This woman would become the legendary actress Hedy Lamarr.

Benedict's powerful novel, The Only Woman in the Room, perfectly captures Lamarr's unique story, in which a Hollywood beauty had both the looks and brains to be one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. Benedict has written another masterpiece and if you're a fan of Old Hollywood stars (like myself), you'll especially enjoy this historical piece. You won't want to miss The Only Woman in the Room, now available.

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These are only five reading recommendations to consider this winter 2019 season. There are so many talented writers emerging (or returning) to the literary scene this season, and I couldn't be more excited to witness their potential. All five of these suggestions are captivating, powerful stories about "real-life" emotions: family, love, female empowerment, mystery, and more. You won't want to miss these books--because everyone will be talking about them. You don't want to be left out of the loop, do you?

No, I didn't think so.

-KJL-