Behind The Stack

2025 Book Preview With Renee from ItsBookTalk

• Brett Benner • Season 2 • Episode 17

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On this first ep of the new year Brett is joined once again by Renee of ItsBookTalk to discuss ten books we're looking forward to in the upcoming year. Join us for a wide range of choices that promise to make 2025 another fantastic year in publishing. 

Renee substack:
https://substack.com/@itsbooktalk

Renee instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/itsbooktalk/

Watch Behind the Stack on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@brettsbookstack

Bookshop.org page:
https://www.bookshop.org/shop/brettsbookstack

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https://www.instagram.com/bretts.book.stack

Behind the Stack email:
brettsbookstack@gmail.com

Brett Benner:

Happy new year. Everybody, thank you for being here. And I'm so happy to be joined again by Renee from it's book talk, who Literally, we started talking before I even pressed record and I was like, I have to hit record cause we will just talk and talk and talk. So I'm so happy you're back. I hope you had a good holiday.

Renee:

Yes. Hello. Well, thank you for having me back. I did have a good holiday. It's busy as I think most people can attest. It's busy. I don't even have little kids anymore and it's still busy, but it was good. And yeah. You know, I'm getting excited about 2025 releases, even though I did get some Christmas presents, some backlist Christmas presents. And I will share with you, one of my really favorite book gifts that I got from my mom was this gigantic book. It is, I don't even know how many pages are in it, but it's called 1000 Books to Read Before You Die.

Brett Benner:

Oh, I see that. Is

Renee:

you heard of it?

Brett Benner:

Yeah.

Renee:

it's, it's, it's

Brett Benner:

like a paper book, like quality paperback. And it literally, it's

Renee:

it's hot. Well, I got the hardcover.

Brett Benner:

Oh wow.

Renee:

It's very heavy. But I started browsing in that. And it's really interesting the way he has it set up. And then he also has book lists in the back. And I was like, Oh, I love a list. But I just kind of started looking. It's alphabetical. And I have already come across. two in particular books that I was like, I've never heard of this. It sounds so good. And he also like gives you a like his review of the book, but also what genre it is, the year it was published all of that. And then will also give you like try these You know, as, you know, like, yeah, comps, exactly. So I really enjoyed that. I started looking through that and as if I need to add any more books to my TBR, but I don't care. Our TBRs are unlimited.

Brett Benner:

They're totally unlimited, but tell that to my bookshelves. All right. So today it's January, the beginning of the year, each of us are going to talk about five books coming out this year that we're particularly excited about. And I'm sure we could have probably, as I was going through the list, I'm sure you were too, you could have probably said like, these are the 20 that I'm excited about.

Renee:

Oh gosh, I, more,

Brett Benner:

Yeah.

Renee:

I mean, this publishing year is going to be an embarrassment of riches. I can't wait because I feel like 2024 was average, maybe it was, it was fine. Backlist was a clear winner for me in 2024. it was 70 percent of my top reads were backlist. So I am ready. I'm ready to have some really great new releases come my way and I don't know if you had a method for how you chose your books, but I actually did not even go past June.

Brett Benner:

No, I didn't either. In

Renee:

Okay.

Brett Benner:

originally I tried to pick like one a month is how I kind of looked at it. And I don't even know if I got up to June and, as we're sitting here and I'm looking at stuff in front of me, I may alter as we go along.

Renee:

Well, I have some alternatives, just I thought, how crazy would that be if we happen to pick any of the same, but also that feels impossible based on how many new releases are coming out. Cool.

Brett Benner:

I know we were saying January alone is enough for three months.

Renee:

Oh, at least, at least, but this was fun. I always love looking ahead a little bit and I was kind of shuffling and I was like, Ooh, that sounds good. But my method for this was to bring a, a bit of a variety and I'll tell you with each book why I chose each one, but there are. I mean, boy, I mean, I could have easily picked 25 or 30 more.

Brett Benner:

I know. 100 percent. Okay, well give me your first.

Renee:

Okay. I'm excited. And this one is a, is a trusted author and a memoir, and it is Three Wild Dogs and the Truth by Marcus Zusak. And it comes out January 21st. So I'm, most of us remember that he is the author of The Book Thief, which I absolutely loved. And this one is Is his nonfiction and it's, it's about what happens when his family opens up their home to three big wild street hardened dogs. We have Ruben, who is more wolf than hound Archer, who is blonde, beautiful and destructive. And the smiling frosty who walks like a rolling thunderstorm. And it sounds like he's going to explore. And let us know what happens when he opens his home up to these dogs. And the answer is chaos. There's going to be street fights, park fights, public shamings, property damages, injuries, hospital visits, pure comedy, shocking tragedy, and carnage that must be read to be believed. I just love the sound of this. It is, it's going to be a. Look at what happens when we open our, our homes and our hearts up to animals and joy they bring, but also he's going to dive a bit into the visceral truth of the natural world. And really. If it wasn't Marcus Zusak, I, I might be a little less like, Oh, well, I've read a lot of dog books, but this just feels like it's going to be something different because he's such an amazing author. And I am very excited to see what he brings to this memoir. So it's Three Wild Dogs and the Truth, a memoir by Marcus Zusak.

Brett Benner:

Oh my god. This sounds so good. And by the way, like we've already kicked it off well because I've not even heard of this. This has not come up on my

Renee:

This didn't come up on your search.

Brett Benner:

No. So, oh my gosh already. I'm. I'm so excited.

Renee:

Well I have to tell you, I guess I should mention one of my methods, one of my priorities for 2025 is to really look at potential under the radar new releases, what might not be buzzy because that works better for me. I found out in 2024, the buzzy 2024 releases did not work great for me. So my focus, especially with these choices today, you know, might be a little more under the radar.

Brett Benner:

you know, it's funny. Cause I'm with you a hundred percent. And I was thinking about a lot of these picks because what 2024 for me and what really worked for me were debuts. And I read, I think 34 or 36 debuts last year. And. Three titles that were in my best of the year were all debuts. I just think there, there's so much excitement around that and discovering people, And, and sharing those people who are, like you just said, might fall more under the radar, but I'm the same way generally with the big, buzzy books, especially buzzy commercial fiction. I inevitably find myself disappointed.

Renee:

Yeah. Well, you just reminded me too, that don't, you might not have listened to my best books of the year episode, but. This is shameful. It's shameful, Brett. I only read five debuts in 2024. That's awful. And, and I felt it because you're exactly right about, about debuts. If there's something exciting, you never know what gem you're going to find. And I, I told Katie, I lost my way on debuts, but I'm definitely going to read more debuts in 2025.

Brett Benner:

By the way, that is a book title. I lost my way in debuts okay. Well, speaking of debuts, my first book is a debut by an author named Cynthia Weiner. And this is called A Gorgeous Excitement. First of all, it's a really cool cover for when people see the actual cover. It's a shot of New York. It's kind of looks like sheep's meadow, but it's through kind of a distorted lens, but a little bit about it. It's as a gorgeous excitement. Nina Jacobs is as bright as she is insecure, as clever as she is vulnerable and as guarded as she is lonely, making her particularly susceptible to the lure of quote, It boy, Gardner reads charms. Nina targets him to take her virginity. She's the last of her private all girl school friends. So afflicted. And with it, she imagines her feelings of shame about her tragically depressed and Baltimore mother at home about being Jewish in a world of blue eyed, blonde privilege, and for desperately wanting to accept the world. When she's introduced to cocaine by a ballsy, watergun wielding girl she meets in the park, Nina finds her courage and plunges headfirst into her pursuit of Gardner, despite the red flags that should have warned her off. Freud called cocaine, a gorgeous excitement, but a gorgeous excitement for the wrong guy can be lethal.

Renee:

love the sound of this. I almost picked this one.

Brett Benner:

Yeah, I have to say I started it this morning on audio and I was walking Immediately sucked in immediately sucked in it's drawing comparisons To Jessica Knowles, bright, young women, which I loved. Which came out, I think two years ago, or maybe it was last year, but it totally has that feel they also said it's a little bit like, bright lights, big city, but told through a female's perspective.

Renee:

interesting.

Brett Benner:

but her voice is so immediately accessible. I was excited about A Gorgeous Excitement. Like I said, I'm so excited about it.

Renee:

I love the title too. And you're right. The cover is very eye catching.

Brett Benner:

It comes out, January 21st.

Renee:

Okay. All right. My next pick is a thriller. I had to include a thriller. It is The Oligarch's Daughter by Joseph Fender. And it comes out January 28th. This is about Paul Brightman, who is a man on the run, living under an assumed name in a small New England town with a million dollar bounty on his head. When his security is breached, Paul is forced to flee into the New Hampshire wilderness, to evade Russian operatives who can seemingly predict his every move. And what we will find out is that six years ago, Paul was a rising star on Wall Street who fell in love with a beautiful photographer named Tatiana. And he was unaware that her father was a Russian oligarch and the object of considerable interest from several U. S. intelligence agencies. Now. In present day to save his own life, Paul must unravel a decades old conspiracy that extends to the highest reaches of government. I love that the publisher included that this rivals classic spy novels of the cold war and says it is a breakneck thriller that marries the dynastic opulence of succession with the tense and disorienting story. Oh

Brett Benner:

sounds really I'm also getting Total, and it's only because I'm watching it right now on, on Netflix's Black Doves.

Renee:

my gosh, Darren's been watching that. And I've just been, it's been like in my periphery, I tried a couple episodes, the problem is he started it without me and I was like, well, who is that? And who is that? Now what? And he's like, well, you need to watch it. I'm like, well, now I'm lost.

Brett Benner:

So you're doing it in reverse. No, it isn't, like, this This fall on television seems to be the fall of the spies between like Day of the Jackal and this and the, the, the agency or the Bureau, not the Bureau, the agency, the agency is based on the French, the Bureau. So, but yeah, so

Renee:

you watch the Day of the Jackal?

Brett Benner:

haven't watched Jackal yet.

Renee:

It is. It's very, it's a very spy heavy fall, which I'm all for. I love these type of TV shows and I love these type of books also. You've got to find the right story and not every spy Novel works, but, I do trust in this author and I do want to mention I have loved one of his backlist books called Judgment. If anyone wants a backlist thriller that is very bingeable, give that one a try. This one is The Oligarch's Daughter by Joseph Finder.

Brett Benner:

No, that sounds great. Okay. Well, it's weird because I'm, I'm seem to be in this, you said thriller and the both books I've read have thriller bends to them, but the next one for me is, penitence. By Kristen Koval, this comes out February 18th. When a shocking murder occurs in the home of Angie and David Sheehan, their lives are shattered. Desperate to defend their family, they turn to small town lawyer Martine Dumont for help. But Martine isn't just legal counsel, she's also the mother of Angie's first love, Julian, a now successful New York City criminal defense attorney. As Julian and Angie confront their shared past and long buried guilt from a tragic accident years ago, they must navigate their own culpability on the unresolved feelings between them, spanning decades from the ski slopes of rural Colorado to the streets of post 9 11 New York City and back again, Kristen Covel's debut novel, Penitence, is an examination of the complexities of familiar loyalty, the journey of redemption, and the profound experience of true forgiveness. When I was talking to the publicist at Celadon about this book, she said that the editor of the book had said that not since Pachinko had she been so excited about a novel that she was working on. So I was like, that's very high praise and something that's very different from Pachinko. But, I've heard some buzz from some early readers over on Bookstagram who said it's fantastic, so I'm really excited to read it.

Renee:

Did she give you any indication of what made it so

Brett Benner:

She didn't say, and I thought, well, okay, I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna go in blind because it's how I like to do it and see, but it, it, it sounds great.

Renee:

Yeah, it's definitely one. I'm excited to read also. All right, my next one is I'm moving ahead. I guess I'm skipping February because this one comes out March 11th. It's Just Want You Here by Meredith Turritz. And this one is a coming of age novel about second chances and the inextricable bonds between lovers and friends. This one is about Ari and Morgan, and the only love Ari has known is Morgan's. She is engaged and planning a life with him in New York. And Ari is shocked when Morgan sits her down one rainy afternoon and tells her their decade long relationship is over. They've been over for a long time. Time now, he says, and Ari knows he's right. So she's 28 years old and suddenly alone, and decides to throw herself into a new job in Boston, and she gets a job as an assistant to a tech CEO. Wells is British, 12 years her senior, a devoted husband and father. He's also captivated by Ari in a way neither of them can explain. And oh, here come the flags, ignoring every warning signal from friends and their own instincts. They dive into a fiery affair, which becomes more dangerous as Ari finds herself intricately tangled with his wife, Ari. Leah, can this get more messy? Nothing can prepare Ari for the choices she must make as she tries to uncover what's right for herself and for the people she can't let go. As a new path opens, a journey of lies. And the twisted calculus of protecting them are a second chance at happiness forces her to consider who she really is. Can you love someone without dragging them under? And what does it take to start over again? If the author can pull this type of story off based on all of that and like put all these threads together This just sounds like it could be Amazing. I love messy stories. I love messy love stories. I love complicated relationships It doesn't bother me that obviously we're going to be dealing with infidelity And I need to know, like, what's going to happen. Did Ari become best friends with his wife? And if so, can you imagine?

Brett Benner:

My first thought honestly was, I wonder if Nicole Kidman will be upset that she's too old to option this

Renee:

Oh my gosh. That's a, you, oh my gosh.

Brett Benner:

because she's, it sounds so like a Nicole Kidman vehicle. Do you know what I mean?

Renee:

Mm hmm.

Brett Benner:

except she's too old, but it would have been so something like, she's like, I'm going to stomp this too and produce it with everything else.

Renee:

I know. And I pre, I feel like this might be an under the radar spring. release. We'll see, but this is not being published like by one of the big five publishers. It's being published by little a, so I don't know. I'm, I mean, keep, let's keep our eye on it. I'm definitely going to read it. It's just want you here by Meredith turrets.

Brett Benner:

Oh, that sounds so deliciously juicy. Okay, I'm moving into March. this is a little bit of a bigger title. But I'm excited about it because I really loved her last book. the she is Charlotte McConaughey and, and the book is called Wild Dark Shore. her previous book that I'm talking about is called Once There Were Wolves. I thought it was really good. So this one. A family on a remote island, a mysterious woman washed ashore, a rising storm on the horizon. Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world's largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers, but with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore. Isolation has taken its toll on the Salts, but as they nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, it begins to feel like she might just be what they need. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting herself, starts imagining a future where she could belong to someone again. But Rowan isn't telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater, and when she discovers sabotage radios, and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, they all must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it's too late, and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new together. Together, a novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty and ferocious love. Wild, dark shores about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us disappears. I read that and then I can't even tell you exactly what it is it's going to happen. First of all, I don't even know what a seed bank is. So there's, there's for starters, however, I trust her as an author and it sounds just crazy enough that I think it could be a really, really interesting read.

Renee:

Yeah, I definitely want to try that too, but I still need to read her other books and migrations has been on my TBR forever. So I, I mean, really, I might just read all of them. We'll see.

Brett Benner:

You might have a Charlotte

Renee:

I know.

Brett Benner:

year of Charlotte McConaughey for you.

Renee:

really need to because I, I, I have a feeling I will really like her, her books, so that's a good one. All right. My next one, I'm moving way into June. I'm moving all the way to June 3rd.

Brett Benner:

Wow, go.

Renee:

I know. It's Flashlight by Susan Choi. It comes out June 3rd. And this one is about a father and a daughter. It specifically traces the story of the disappearance of a father across time, space, and memory. When Louisa was 10, she took a walk on the beach with her dad, only to wake up washed up on shore alone. Her father, who couldn't swim, Had disappeared. And for years, Louisa has found herself replaying the events of that day over and over, looking for clues that could help her find her missing dad. But now she's beginning to wonder, what if he's out there and doesn't want to be found? I need to know nothing else about this, except that. It. This is a new to me author, I immediately saw Disappearance of a Father, and then the fact that this is obviously set, like you have the inciting, you know, opening scene probably, and then we move years later, and I love that, I

Brett Benner:

You love a missing person.

Renee:

I love A Missing Person, I need to know right now, What happened to that dad and does he not want to be found? I need to know. So this one is flashlight by Susan Choi.

Brett Benner:

Oh my God. That sounds fantastic.

Renee:

Mm hmm.

Brett Benner:

Okay. I'm jumping now back a little bit to April, April 22nd, to be exact. this is a historical novel, which sounds great to me. And it's historical with a bit of a reverence is what I'm hearing. So it's, it's funny. It's not just a dry tome. The book is The Pretender by Joe Harkin. It's a debut. In 1480, John Cullen's greatest anxiety is how to circumvent the village's devil goat on his way to collect water. But the arrival of a well dressed stranger from London upends his life forever. John is not John Cullen, not the son of Will Cullen, but the son of the long deceased Duke of Clarence, and has been hidden in the countryside after a brotherly rift over the crown. And because Richard III has a habit of disappearing his nephews. Removed from his humble origins, sent to Oxford to be educated in a manner befitting the throne's rightful heir, John is put into play by his masters, learning the rules of etiquette in Burgundy and the machinations of the court in Ireland, where he encounters the intractable Joan, the delightfully strong willed and manipulative daughter of his Irish patrons, a girl imbued with both extraordinary political savvy and occasional murderous tendencies. Joan has two paths available here, merry Lambert's choices are similarly stark. He will either become king or die in battle. Together, they form an alliance that will change the fate of the English monarchy. Inspired by a footnote to history, the true story of the little known Simnel, who was a figurehead in the and ended up working as a spy in the court of Henry VII, The The Pretender is historical fiction at its finest, a gripping, exuberant, rollicking portrait of British monarchy and life within the court with a cast of unforgettable heroes and villains drawn from 15th century England, a masterful new work from a major new author. So I just think it sounds really fun. Interestingly enough, Joe Harkin, who wrote it, her passion is literary sci fi. So I think it's so funny

Renee:

Oh, yeah

Brett Benner:

historical novel. Yeah. So anyway,

Renee:

I'm intrigued by that one. Did you say something about murderous?

Brett Benner:

Yes. That she has, um, an occasional murderous tendencies.

Renee:

I was that I, of course I was like, Ooh, that cut my ear. So that one does sound good. All right. Well, I guess my last one is it's a debut. I had to have a debut in here. It's a full. fiction debut because, uh, the author is a poet and this one is The Catch by Ursa Daly Ward and it comes out June 3rd. And this one is about twin sisters, Clara and Dempsey, and they, and the fact that they have been. Estranged since their mother vanished in the River Thames. When Clara, who is now a famous author, spots a woman on the streets of London who looks exactly like their mom did the day she disappeared, she ends up enlisting her isolated sibling's help in figuring out the true identity of this mystery woman. To do this, the two sisters will have to finally confront their shared pasts. The book promises to be a thrilling exploration of the sacrifices women are forced to make for their families. Okay, I chose this one because I love a sister story. It's a debut, like I said, a fiction debut. And this synopsis immediately reminded me of August Blue by Deborah Levy, which, I loved the, summer that came out. It was one of my top books of the year. So this one is The Catch by Ursa Daly Ward.

Brett Benner:

That sounds great too. Oh my God, so many. Okay.

Renee:

know.

Brett Benner:

All right. So my last one this is a debut as well. This one is called the names by Florence Knapp and it comes out May 6th. This extraordinary novel that asks, can a name change the course of a life? In the wake of a catastrophic storm, Cora sets off with her nine year old daughter, Maya, to register her son's birth. Her husband, Gordon, a local doctor, respected in the community but a terrifying and controlling presence at home, intends for her to name the infant after him. But when the registrar asks what she'd like to call the child, Cora hesitates. Spanning 35 years, what follows are three alternate and alternating versions of Cora and her young son's lives, shaped by her choices of a name. In richly layered prose, The Names explores the painful ripple effects of domestic abuse, the messy ties of family, and the possibilities of Autonomy and healing with exceptional sensitivity and depth. NAP draws us into the story of one family told through the prisms of what ifs causing us to consider the one precious life. We are given the book brilliantly imagined through structure, propulsive storytelling and emotional gut-wrenching power are certain to make the names a modern classic.

Renee:

Oh, that sounds good. That sounds like a really compelling creative premise. I don't know that, have we heard? I don't know if I've heard anything about, or like a book that does that I know it sounds like sliding doors, Take someone's name and then give them three different paths in life.

Brett Benner:

Yeah. It's weird because what was that book that came out? I think it was last year or the year before. I don't know why I thought of this because it's almost like a speculative thing where everyone got a string in their box

Renee:

the measure.

Brett Benner:

the measure. I don't know why I thought of that because it's not really that it is like you said, I think it's closer to, to me, it sounds closer to sliding doors, but I think it sounds really, really, really, really interesting. So.

Renee:

Oh, these are all sound great.

Brett Benner:

This is an amazing group. And like I said, like we literally could have kept going and we might have to do, we might have to come back and do a second half of the year for the fall because there'll be the glut then. I feel like we get up through June and then maybe you have a break in July and then everything comes out for September, like the biggies.

Renee:

Oh, yeah. Yeah. This was fun I mean, I can talk about potential new releases forever. I first of all, we all, we have to read these actually, and then we'll find out what we thought of them. Maybe when we come back and talk about,

Brett Benner:

would be an interesting thing. We can come back, discuss what we thought about the books we originally thought we were excited about, and then talk about what else is coming and what we think might work for us.

Renee:

yeah. Because I also really. Imagine that they're going to have, the summer loaded up

Brett Benner:

Sure. Sure.

Renee:

the

Brett Benner:

And how to navigate it and how to navigate those summer reads without falling into the trap of the big books that are just a big disappointment.

Renee:

I know we're going to have to stay on track, Brett.

Brett Benner:

We are. Well, this is fantastic. We could, like I said, we could talk about these books forever. And, um, luckily we don't have to worry about it because they're going to keep coming out. Publishing seems to be great, and, and booming. So, happy new year, everybody. I hope it's a prosperous and well read year for all of you. I hope you have manageable TBRs that are ready to go. And hopefully we've just given you 10 titles that you can continue to expand your TBRs with. Cause that's what we all love is an endless TBR where we can all stay frustrated and be like, I'll never get through them, but they look really good.

Renee:

Exactly. Exactly. Well, thanks for having me. This was fun.

Brett Benner:

Thank you so much. It was great having you. And, and we'll talk soon.

Renee:

Okay. I'll talk to you later. Bye.

Brett Benner:

And of course, all the books that Renee and I talked about today are available up on my bookshop. org page. So please check that out and place your pre orders for any of those books that will be coming out in the next few months. I will be back next week with my first author interview of 2025. Thanks for listening. And again, if you like what you're hearing, give this show five stars on your podcast platform of choice. I would really appreciate it. And I will see you all next week.