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Books I can't wait to read in 2016

I loved The Lunar Chronicles, and was excited to just find out last week about Meyer's next novel. She describes it like this: "A prequel to Alice in Wonderland, HEARTLESS will tell the tale of how a marquis’s teenage daughter became the infamous Queen of Hearts. It will be a story of whimsy and madness, passion and tragedy, ravens and writing desks."
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This WWII historical novel is based on real events and real people. It landed on my list when a bookseller in Raleigh gushed about it to me, saying this interweaving tale of three women battling Nazi Germany is impossible to put down and deeply moving.
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Pavone's third novel of international intrigue picks up where The Expats left off. Kirkus calls this "a movie waiting to happen." I enjoyed this one.
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I loved Lawhon's historical fiction debut The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress and was eager to read her next work. Her second novel puts an interesting spin on a tragic historical event: the 1937 Hindenburg disaster. This entertaining, suspenseful tale is told from multiple points of view and is based on the lives of real characters. The enigmatic setting—aboard the luxurious yet claustrophobic airship—captures your imagination. My husband surprised me by loving this. For fans of Agatha Christie and Kate Morton. Publication date February 23, 2016.
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This is the fourth installment of the Jane Austen Project, which invites contemporary authors to rework Jane Austen's novels for modern times. Sittenfeld is no Jane Austen, but she's okay with that: her snappy writing and spirit of playfulness make this such good fun for Jane Austen fans, if you're willing to go with it. (Think what 10 Things I Hate About You did with The Taming of the Shrew. Our modern tale is set in Cincinnati, where Lizzie is re-cast as an NYC-based magazine editor, Jane is a yoga instructor nearing 40, Darcy is a snooty brain surgeon, and Bingley is an ER doctor turned star of the reality show "Eligible," (which, in a running gag, all the characters watch but pretend not to). If you're revolted at the idea of on-screen sex in an Austen remake, or Darcy and Liz spewing profanity, this is NOT for you. The purists will need their smelling salts.
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From the author of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. I can't do better than Annie Barrows's description: "Helen Simonson’s characters enchant us, her English countryside beguiles us, and her historical intelligence keeps us at the edge of our seats. This luminous story of a family, a town, and a world in their final moments of innocence is as lingering and lovely as a long summer sunset."
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Several years ago, Purifoy and her family made an intentional move to a big Pennsylvania farmhouse (minus the farm) in search of a community and a home. In these pages Purifoy tells the story of their first year at Maplehurst in beautiful yet unfussy prose. A lovely memoir.
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This 2016 novel is strongly reminiscent of The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry in that its all about the power of books and the power of community. When young Swedish girl Sara arrives in small town Iowa to find things are NOT as she expected, she takes the logical next step: she opens a bookstore. The plot is a little thin, but the bookish moments make up for it.
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