1. Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

This is the new novel from the author of the phenomenally successful thriller, The Girl on the Train. Details so far are scarce about Into the Water, but we do know it will be another thriller with a gripping, multi-layered story, most likely with a shocking twist. Expectations are high so here’s hoping Hawkins scores another hit.

Release date: May 2

2. A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

This is the final novel in V.E. Schwab’s incredibly popular Shades of Magic series. If you have yet to experience this amazing fantasy world, populated by witty and flawed characters, you are seriously missing out. Schwab is one of the best fantasy authors writing today and her sharp, glittering prose is a joy to read. A Conjuring of Light will bring to a close this epic series about alternate Londons and dangerous, addictive magic.

Release date: February 21

3. The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley

Pulley’s debut novel, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, was one of my favourite books of 2016, so to hear I’ve got less than a year to wait until her second novel comes out is truly exciting news. The Bedlam Stacks is set in 1859 and follows ex-East India Company smuggler Merrick Tremayne as he travels to Peru on an expedition. It sounds just as original and fantastical as Pulley’s first book, and I can’t wait to read it.

Release date: August 1

4. In the Name of the Family by Sarah Dunant

I’ve read a few books by Dunant now and her brilliant historical novels bring characters both real and fictional to vivid life. In the Name of the Family is the sequel to Dunant’s Blood and Beauty, and continues to follow the lives of the Borgias. With characters ranging from the ambitious Pope Alexander VI to the ruthless Niccolo Machiavelli, I can’t wait for Dunant to take me back to the Italian Renaissance.

Release date: March 2

5. How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

Very little is known about Haig’s new book except for the fact that it will be for adults and will be published in July. As the author of Reasons to Stay Alive, one of my favourite books of 2016, I look forward to seeing what Haig will come up with next. Whether fiction or non-fiction remains to be seen.

Release date: July

6. The Winds of Winter by George R.R. Martin

This has got to be one of the most highly anticipated books of the past few years. No one knows when the elusive Martin will finally announce that the sixth book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series is finished. It was intended to come out before the release of the sixth series of Game of Thrones, but that series has been and gone and the seventh is now on the horizon. With Martin teasing two huge battles in the opening of The Winds of Winter, his fans will continue to hope that 2017 is the year they finally get to read this novel.

Release date: Unknown