Diverse Books Coming Out in December That You Should Add to Your List

Looking for a cozy read this time of year? Well so am I! And while there are still some great books coming out in December, I still like to visit some old favs this time of year too!

There are a few on the list that I’ve already read or I’m in the process of reading. Anyway, some great books coming out in December that you should add to your list. Here are my top four as well as a few more I can’t wait to check out. Don’t forget to let me know what books you’re adding to your TBR list this month. 

Here are four books coming out this month that are on the top of my list: 

Dazzling by Chikodili Emelumadu

If you know me you know that I’m always here for a fantasy read mixed with African history and folklore, so when I saw this book coming out I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.

In this book, we meet two young girls Treasure and Ozoemena who have both lost their fathers in some ways and have been forced to move on and pick up the pieces. 

Treasure and her mother lost everything when Treasure’s father died and they had to beg and borrow just to stay alive. That’s until Treasure meets a man who promises to change their fortunes, but his feet are hovering just a few inches above the ground. He’s a spirit, and he promises to bring Treasure’s beloved father back to life if she’ll do one terrible thing for him first.

Ozoemena has an itch in the middle of her back. It’s an itch that speaks to her patrilineal destiny, an honor never before bestowed upon a girl, to defend the land and protect its people by becoming a Leopard. Her father impressed upon her what an honor this was before he vanished, but it’s one she couldn’t want less—she has enough to worry about as she tries to fit in at a new boarding school.

But as the two girls reckon with their burgeoning wildness and the legacy of their missing fathers, Ozoemena’s fellow students start to vanish. Treasure’s obligations to the spirit escalate, and Ozoemena’s duty of protection as a Leopard grows. Soon the girls’ destinies and choices alike set them on a dangerous collision course. Ultimately, they must ask themselves: in a world that always says no to women, what must two young girls sacrifice to get what is theirs?

This book swept me up and I delighted in the story and the mystical elements. Big thanks to LibroFM for providing me with an ARC of this audiobook that was so beautifully read. 

Technically Yours by Denise Williams

This was such a fun read! To be quite honest I haven’t read a book by Denise Williams that I haven’t adored and this one was no different. 

In this book, we meet Pearl who returns to Chicago, after landing her dream job, only to run into a man, Cord Matthews, who, five years prior, asked her to stay in the city for him, but she refused. Yikes! Pearl is a director at a Coding company and Cord is on the board, and as you have it they keep running into each other.

This book is a combination of workplace romance meets second-chance romance, with a dash of interracial relationship; and I was here for all of it.

I enjoyed the characters’ banter and connection as well as the dual point of view. A worthy read!

Coconut Drop Dead by Olivia Matthews

This is book three in this very cute series. Brooklyn’s annual Caribbean American Heritage Festival is finally here, and Spice Isle Bakery is thrilled to be one of the event’s food vendors. After all, the Murrays have been attending the festival for years. Co-owner Lyndsay Murray hopes their West Indian pastries and finger foods draw people back to the bakery in Little Caribbean. She’s looking forward to having fun, connecting with customers, and celebrating with her family.

The day’s festivities are cut short when Camille, lead singer of an up-and-coming reggae band, dies. The police think it may be a tragic accident. But Lyndsay’s cousin Manny was close to Camille, and he believes someone cut her life short. Now Manny needs Lyndsay’s help to make sure a killer faces the music.

The Black Joy Project by Kleaver Cruz

I’m so excited about this book, and I’ve already pre-ordered it. 

The perfect holiday gift for the book lover, art enthusiast, and freedom fighter in your life featuring 117 full-color photos and eight breathtaking essays on a force that fuels Black life all around the globe, this is Humans of New York meets The Black Book. 

Here are additional diverse books coming out this month that you should add to your list. 

▪️ Airplane Mode: An Irreverent History of Travel by Shahnaz Habib
▪️ Black Feminist Constellations Dialogue and Translation across the Americas by Christen A. Smith and Lorraine Leu
▪️ Flores and Miss Paula Melissa Rivero by Melissa Rivero
▪️ Rebecca, Not Becky: A Novel by Christine Platt, Catherine Wigginton Greene
▪️ Stepping Out The Unapologetic Style of African Americans over Fifty by Connie Briscoe
▪️ Toward Liberation: Educational Practices Rooted in Activism, Healing and Love by Jamilah Pitts
▪️ The Final Curtain by Keigo Higashino
▪️ Game On by Seressia Glass
▪️ Seven Minutes in Candyland by Brian Wasson
▪️ Our Cursed Love by Julie Abe
▪️ Knives, Seasoning, & A Dash of Love by Katrina Kwan
▪️ Familia by Lauren E. Rico
▪️ The Black Joy Project by Kleaver Cruz
▪️ The Wildest Sun by Asha Lemmie

If you’ve read any of these books, please let me know what you thought of them. And if you have any book recommendations, I’d love to hear them in the comments below. Happy reading, everyone!