New young adult books for January

Evan Horowitz has it all: beauty, brains, and a not-so-secret flair for matchmaking! An Insta influencer with a talent for makeup and a taste for romance, he's no stranger to playing Cupid for the clueless. So when shy transfer student Natalia shuffles into school, Evan recognises a Project with a capital P! With so many matches to choose from, it's not long before he sets a plan in motion, much against the better judgement of his level-headed best friend, Davi. When he takes things too far, a web of drama spirals out of his control. Can Evan learn to put his friends before his misguided ambition? Or will he lose them and his own chance at romance, too?

At seventeen, Soup is at a crossroads, eager to make her mark on the world, yet reluctant to leave the restaurant she calls home. The last thing on her to-do list is to overthrow the patriarchy, but when her elven boss snaps at her she begins to see his pattern of abuse, starting in the kitchen. Something's got to give, and the answer is simple: a bet for the restaurant. If Soup wins the cooking competition, she'll claim the business and protect her village. If she loses, she'll have to leave her home and stand by as the food community she loves is razed to the ground. With friends and chosen family rallying around her, Soup has a chance to win. Yet, everyone knows villains don't fight fair and this restaurateur is not going to give up his throne so easily.

London, 1923. Dragons soar through the skies and protests erupt on the streets, but Vivien Featherswallow isn't worried. She's going to follow the rules, get an internship studying dragon languages and make sure her little sister never has to risk growing up Third Class. By midnight, Viv has started a civil war. With her parents arrested and her sister missing, all the safety Viv has worked for is collapsing around her. So when a lifeline is offered in the form of a mysterious 'job', she grabs it. But the more she learns, the more she realises that the bubble she's grown up in isn't as safe as she thought.

Save the date - for a killer wedding! True-crime-obsessed Lara Oyinlola is heading to Lagos for her favourite cousin, De'rin's, wedding. It's going to be a holiday filled with glitzy dress-fittings, glamorous parties and, of course, the star-studded event of the year. But everything isn't perfect in De'rin's world. She's been receiving anonymous threats telling her to cancel the wedding - or face dire consequences. This is the moment Lara's been waiting for: put her sleuthing knowledge to work and solve a real-life mystery. As Lara investigates, what she doesn't expect to uncover is a web of secrets, malicious crimes, and near-death encounters which promise to tear the family apart for good.

The world is about to end. Again. It's been a year since a devastating storm ripped Liz's world apart. Haunted by the memories of those she couldn't save, Liz holes up in the only place she felt safe before her world fell away: the bookstore where she used to work. Now she spends her days trading books for supplies and collecting stories from the remaining survivors who pass by. Until she learns that another earth-shattering Storm is coming - and everything changes. Enter Maeve, a spiky out-of-towner who breaks into the bookstore looking for shelter one night. When Maeve's secrets and Liz's inner demons come back to haunt them both, they find themselves fighting for their lives and asking themselves one big question. As the end of the world approaches, is there time for one final love story?