Let’s Get Lit: Essence’s Top 10 Picks For The Month Of January – Essence

We made the New Year’s resolutions, completed our vision boards for 2025, and decluttered our living spaces to make room for breakthroughs that shall surely come to pass this forthcoming year. We’ve left no stone unturned. And, this includes staying in the know about the top books coming out each month of the year. From Zora Neale Hurston’s historical novel The Life of Herod The Great to Charmaine Wilkerson’s Good Dirt, this list provides a curated book list for avid readers across the spectrum of genres.

The Unexpected Diva by Tiffany L. Warren (January 7th, 2025)

In this beautifully constructed retelling of the life of the historical hidden figure, Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, Warren shares the legacy of this incomparable Black opera singer with great care. Her talent took her on a journey from being born into slavery to the Buckingham Palace. If you love music history and historical fiction, you will be enamored with The Unexpected Diva. This read will especially appeal to those who have an affinity for historical fiction authors like Vanessa Riley (Island Queen, Queen of Exiles), Piper Hughley (By Her Own Design, American Daughters), and Victoria Christopher Murray (The First Ladies, The Personal Librarian).

The Life of Herod The Great by Zora Neale Hurston (January 7th, 2025)

Toni Morrison (Beloved, The Bluest Eye, Sula, Jazz) has called Zora Neale Hurston (They’re Eyes Were Watching God, Moses, Man of the Mountain) “The greatest writer of our time” and Hurston’s works have been a staple in American literature and the African-American community since the Harlem Renaissance and beyond. Her newest novel The Life of Herod The Great was published posthumously earlier this month and delves into one of the most notorious Bible figures, King Herod, the controversial kind known for issuing a decree to kill all of the sons ages 2 and under, when he heard news that a “new king was born”. While you can study more about this historical decree known as “The Massacre of the Innocents” (Matthew 2:16-18) in the Gospel of Matthew, Hurston’s account of King Herod paints a different view of the Herod of the New Testament. If you’re looking to delve into a different perspective of this historical figure while revisiting the writing of Hurston, this book should definitely be on your TBR list.

The Queen’s Spade by Sarah Raughley (January 14th, 2025)

It’s the 19th century, during a time when it is not uncommon for a beautiful Black child to be plucked from its family, and gifted to royalty or a person of high social status. In The Queen’s Spade, Sarah Bonetta Forbes, a former princess of the Igbado tribe, seeks revenge against the British Crown, a system that has stripped her of her royal dignity. Gifted to her godmother Queen Victoria, Sally seeks to avenge those who took her as royal property. This book is a thrilling read based loosely on the real life of Queen Victoria’s African goddaughter. If you appreciate shows like Shonda Rhimes’ Queen Charlotte or movies like Amma Asante’s Belle, you will fly through the pages of this riveting historical novel.

I Am Nobody’s Slave: How Uncovering My Family’s History Set Me Free by Lee Hawkins (Jan 14th, 2025)

In I Am Nobody’s Slave, Pulitzer Prize finalist and reporter Lee Hawkins’s memoir delves into his family’s fight for the American dream, and their attainment of it, despite systemic racism and generational trauma as a result of Jim Crow. This book delves into his research and discovery that every generation in his family has experienced “white-on-Black murders”. This book is a great read for those seeking to find healing for their families, after years of generational patterns that stem from the trauma that comes along with centuries of racial and systemic abuse.

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor (January 14th, 2025)

New York Times bestselling author Nnedi Okorafor’s Death of the Author has already been named as one of The Most Anticipated Books of 2025 and has already been highly recommended by: The New York Times, NPR, Reader’s Digest and The Los Angeles Times. In this marvelous, world-building book, Okorafor again showcases her imaginative power and gift of storytelling. Zelu is a writer who has recently been fired from her university job, and she’s exhausted from receiving perpetual rejections of her latest novel by publishers. Breaking from her norm, she decides to write something for herself, and it results in a life-changing journey into literary stardom. She decides to write a book about robots and AI warfare. This book is a definite must-read that will appeal to lovers of science-fiction, fantasy, metafiction, “book-within-a-book” lovers and so much more. Death of the Author is captivating, and the writing is in a league of its own.

Medgar & Myrlie by Joy Anne Reid (January 14th, 2025 *republish date)

Reid’s Medgar & Myrlie further cements Medgar Evers and Myrlie Evers alongside trailblazing figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. In this book, Reid not only shares more about the loving relationship between, Medgar and Myrlie, but it also shows the seeds that they had sown so that African-Americans can have access to basic rights such as school desegregation, fair rights in voter registration, as well as their fight to establish anti-lynching legislation. Unlike many books that center on civil rights trailblazers and narratives about the Civil Rights movement, Medgar & Myrlie provides a multidimensional picture of historical figures who fought for social justice but who also knew how to love, too.

Power of Persuasion by Stacey Abrams (January 21st, 2025)

Writing under her pseudonym Selena Montgomery, Abrams again proves why she’s a three-time New York Times bestselling author. When the beauteous A.J. Grayson develops a game-changing, artificial intelligence technology that is used to stop an attack planned against the newly crowned king, Damon Toca, more than just sparks fly. Abrams’ newest book is perfect for those who love a page-turning romantic suspense novel.

Plundered by Bernadette Atuahene (January 28th, 2025)

When Harvard and Yale law scholar, Atuahene decided to study the city’s “squatting phenomenon”, she soon discovered something much more sinister. Many once-thriving Black neighborhoods had vacant homes due to property tax foreclosure. PLUNDERED: How Racist Policies Undermine Black Homeownership in America was birthed out of Atuahene’s investigations into Detroit’s tax foreclosure crisis. Comprised of interviews with landlords, homeowners, real estate investors, and city officials, this book dispels the myths around the narratives that paint these Detroit homeowners as irresponsible. Her evidence supports the reality that there is racial inequality in housing and tax practices aimed to further disenfranchise Black and brown homeowners. Atuahene has also worked to create the Coalition for Property Tax Justice and spearheads the #BlackHomesMatter movement. 

I Think They Love You: A Novel by Julian Winters (January 28th, 2025)

If you love a good Rom-Com for adults, you will love Winters’ I Think They Love You. It’s a light-hearted witty novel that shows that when it comes to love, second chances are truly possible. Denzel Carter wants to be the successor to his dad’s successful business. After his father announces his retirement, Denzel fakes his relationship with his ex to put up the appearance of being in a serious relationship. Denzel’s ex, Braylon accepts this agreement because he has plans of his own and needs a promotion. This book is a fun read that will appeal to working professionals on the come-up!

Good Dirt: A Novel by Charmaine Wilkerson (January 28th, 2025)

It has often been said that physical objects can carry the spirit of their past. And, in Wilkerson’s Good Dirt, a “centuries-old” jar holds the clues to her past, present and possible future. Ebby Freeman comes from a wealthy Black family in New England. And, when she flees to France after a high-profile public breakup, she begins to piece together her family’s history. If you love a good multigenerational read, you will speed through the pages of Good Dirt. From the author that brought readers and viewers Black Cake, Good Dirt brings a bit of representation for those who love to read about wealthy Blacks, while getting a glimpse of history-definitely my kind of read!