It’s that time of the year again! As we finally put 2024 to bed, it’s time to start looking forward to what the 2025 publishing season holds in store for our TBR piles. The answer, at a glance, is “a lot.”
Seriously, the time to reinforce all of your bookshelves so that they do not collapse in on themselves is now, my friends. 2025 marks a hotly anticipated, and no doubt emotionally devastating, return to Panem that will reflect the state of the world in the way Suzanne Collins does best; a new vampire novel from modern master of the horror genre Stephen Graham Jones; and a little spicy romantasy from the minds of Critical Role with a little help from Thea Guanzon. Needless to say, there’s a little something for everyone!
The following are 44 books you can look forward to in 2025.
Daughter of Chaos (The Dark Pantheon #1) by A.S. Webb
Jan. 14
Set in ancient Greece on the island of Naxos, Daughter of Chaos by A.S. Webb tells the story of Danae, a fisherman’s daughter who discovers that she has mysterious powers. Cast out from her home and determined to find the truth of who she is, Danae joins forces with Heracles and his monster-fighting comrades.
Fans of Greek mythology might already know that Danae is the mother of Perseus, but Daughter of Chaos is a reimagining of the myth, which begs the question of what exactly lies in store for the hero of Webb’s new series.
Helen of Troy, 1993: Poems by Maria Zoccola
Jan. 14
Speaking of Greek mythology…
It’s difficult to put into words how gorgeous and apropos of the world we live in Maria Zoccola’s debut collection of poetry, Helen of Troy, 1993, is, but I’ll try my best.
This sparkling, feminist collection of work reimagines Helen from Homer’s Iliad as a housewife in Sparta, Tennessee, in the early 1990s. It’s a clever mashup of mythology and modernity that feels akin to Maria Dahvana Headley’s recent translation of Beowulf. Everything old is new again, and in this case it creates a snapshot of the rural South and a powerful, unapologetic woman who is the object of desire no matter when or where the story is told.
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
Jan. 14
If you’re a horror fan like me, then it’s hard not to love Grady Hendrix. He’s written about everything from selling haunted houses to exorcisms to vampire-fighting book clubs, and in his new book, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, he’s tackling the occult.
Set in the 1970s at a Floridian institution where young pregnant women can have their babies in secret so as not to shame their families, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls tells the story of 15-year-old Fern and the girls she befriends there. While their day-to-day lives are strictly monitored, Fern discovers an unexpected source of untapped power and, potentially, an escape when she’s given a book of occult witchcraft by a librarian.
Motheater by Linda H. Codega
Jan. 21
Set in the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, Linda H. Codega’s debut novel is an atmospheric, queer fantasy that pits nature and industry against one another.
After the sudden death of her best friend, Bennie Mattox gives up everything in order to try and find out what exactly has been killing the miners up on Kire Mountain. The last thing she expects to find is a half-drowned woman who claims to be a witch who is bound to protect Kire from the seemingly inevitable progress of industry. But the more time they spend together, the more Bennie feels drawn to the mysterious Motheater and the future they could build together.
Blob: A Love Story by Maggie Su
Jan. 28
When Vi Liu, the daughter of a Taiwanese father and white mother, goes to a drag show with her friend Rachel, she discovers an amorphous, sentient blob with beady black eyes. Vi decides to take the blob home with her and, before long, she realizes that she can shape her new companion into whatever she wants, including a perfect boyfriend. The result is Glen Powell-esque and, while undeniably handsome, her new blobby boyfriend forces Vi on a journey of self-discovery that is as delightful and touching as it is downright strange.
The Lamb by Lucy Rose
Feb. 4
Billed as being for fans of Angela Carter and Julia Armfield (a deadly combination if ever I’ve seen one), The Lamb by Lucy Rose is a modern fairy tale and gothic coming-of-age.
Margot has lived with her mama by the edge of the forest for as long as she can remember. Her mama likes to take in “strays,” people who have wandered too far from the road, and looks after them for a time. But when a gorgeous stray by the name of Eden arrives, the relationship between Margot and her mother begins to change drastically as she navigates her own needs and wants.
Anoxia by Miguel Ángel Hernández (translated by Adrian Nathan West)
Feb. 4
Set 10 years after the sudden death of her husband, Anoxia tells the story of Dolores Ayala, a photographer who receives an unusual request from a man by the name of Clemente Artés. Clemente is obsessed with the tradition of photographing the dead on the day of their funeral, and begins to train Dolores in this practice. What unravels is a nuanced ghost story in which the lines between the living and the dead become increasingly blurred.
Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
Feb. 4
From Virgina Feito, author of Mrs. March, comes a gothic, dark comedy that is already being made into a movie starring Margaret Qualley and Thomasin McKenzie about a governess hell-bent on giving the staff something to talk about.
On paper, Winifred Notty is an absolutely perfect governess. That’s why the Pounds family has hired her. But the more time Winifred spends with her charges, Drusilla and Andrew, the more she begins to learn about the Pounds and their strange habits, and the more she begins to give in to her own odd compulsions.
Listen to Your Sister by Neena Viel
Feb. 4
Stranger Things by way of Jordan Peele, Listen to Your Sister, by debut novelist Neena Viel, promises to be as much a terrifying fever dream as it is a laugh-out-loud comedy.
After becoming the guardian of her younger brother, Jamie, Calla Williams has begun suffering from hyperrealistic, violent dreams in which he dies before she can save him. When his actions at a protest get Jamie in a little too much trouble, the two hightail it to a remote Airbnb to try and wait out the chaos. But Calla’s nightmare continues to haunt her, bringing a new threat to their well-being to light.
The Crimson Road by A.G. Slatter
Feb. 11
A.G. Slatter, author of All the Murmuring Bones, The Path of Thorns, and The Briar Book of the Dead returns once again to her Sourdough Universe with the latest in the series, The Crimson Road.
Violet Zennor has trained all of her life to be skilled in hand-to-hand combat thanks to her father, Hederek. When her father dies, Violet thinks she might finally be free of the hell that he has put her through. But freedom comes at a price, and her father has debts to be paid and a mess to be cleaned up. Ultimately Violet must venture into the Darklands and the Anchorhold beyond, meeting some familiar faces along the way.
Beta Vulgaris by Margie Sarsfield
Feb. 11
Who knew that vegetables could be so scary?
Determined to find a way to pay for her Brooklyn apartment, Elise and her boyfriend, Tom, pick up a summer job in Minnesota helping to harvest sugar beets (aka Beta vulgaris). But what should be an easy gig quickly takes a turn when the grueling labor begins to run Elise into the ground and she discovers a strange, unexplainable rash on her body. Worse still is the disembodied voice that seems to be coming from the pile of harvested beets itself.
The Spirit Collection of Thorne Hall by J. Ann Thomas
Feb. 11
The year is 1890, and it is Elegy Thorne’s job to keep the spirits that occupy Thorne Hall, her family’s grand estate in the Berkshires, at peace. When one of the spirits causes a small bit of chaos within her home, a local preservationist and his son are called upon for assistance. The last thing Elegy expects is to find herself torn between Thorne family tradition and the spirits she has known her whole life, and a young man who dreams of modernity.
But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo
Feb. 11
Hache Pueyo’s upcoming novella, But Not Too Bold, is for all of my fellow monster lovers out there.
The best way to describe Anatema, the Lady of the Capricious House, is somewhere between Lady Dimitrescu from Resident Evil Village and The Will from Saga. She is, essentially, a humanoid spider-woman with a weakness — and insatiable hunger — for beautiful women. Enter Dália, the newest keeper of the keys for Capricious House. What Dália doesn’t know is that her mistress ate her predecessor, and that she might be next on the menu if she’s not careful.
Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
Feb. 11
If you haven’t been keeping up with Emily Wilde and her escapades, then you’re missing out on one of the most romantic and heartwarming fantasy series to hit shelves in years.
In this new installment, Emily faces her most dangerous challenge yet: researching faerie folk and their realm as their new queen. Now that she’s engaged to Wendell, her frustratingly handsome academic rival/princely cohort turned fiancé, this should, hypothetically, be easy to accomplish. But Wendell’s bloodthirsty stepmother has other plans in mind, and not everyone is so willing to have an academic, let alone a human, as their new ruler.
Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods
Feb. 18
What do you get when you mix The Little Mermaid and Cinderella? The answer is Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods.
The year is 1758, and Lucinde Leon dreams of escaping the walled city of Saint-Malo, where she is the youngest daughter of a wealthy sea captain. Lucinde spends her days learning to sail with her best friend, Samuel, but her secret afternoons on the water soon change when she rescues Morgan de Chatelaine, the son of a wealthy ship owner, from drowning.
Hungerstone by Kat Dunn
Feb. 18
As is the case with all good vampire stories, the push and pull between fear and desire in Kat Dunn’s new novel, Hungerstone, is palpable from its very first pages.
After 10 years together, the relationship between Lenore and her husband, Henry, has taken a turn for the worse. When Henry decides to host a hunt at the remote and foreboding Nethershaw Manor, Lenore reluctantly accompanies him. But when a fluke carriage accident brings the mysterious Carmilla (yes, that Carmilla) — suspiciously weak during the day and full of vigor at night — into her life, Lenore finds herself inexplicably drawn to her new acquaintance.
Fagin the Thief by Allison Epstein
Feb. 25
Historical fiction fans, rejoice! Allison Epstein is back, and this time with a novel that focuses on one of London’s most gifted thieves.
Fans of Charles Dickens will recognize the name Jacob Fagin right away. He is, of course, the infamous — and, dare I say, fan-favorite — pickpocket from Oliver Twist. In Epstein’s new novel, she puts Fagin at the forefront, reimagining Dickens’ work through the eyes of a Jewish man looking to make a name for himself on the streets of London in the wake of his father’s death.
Greenteeth by Molly O’Neill
Feb. 25
If you’re anything like me, and familiar with English folklore, then you might recognize the name Jenny Greenteeth. She’s typically depicted as a river hag who would pull unsuspecting victims into the water, but Molly O’Neill’s Greenteeth is a little bit different. Sure, she still has needle-like teeth and lives underwater, but when a witch by the name of Temperance is thrown into her lake, she has a change of heart. Though they’re nothing alike, Jenny and Temperance become unlikely allies as they join forces to defeat the evil that plagues their home.
The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica (translated by Sarah Moses)
March 4
Fans of religious horror (and Tender Is the Flesh) will want to put Agustina Bazterrica’s new novel, The Unworthy, at the top of their TBR list ASAP.
Told by a nameless woman, sequestered in a mysterious convent known as the House of the Sacred Sisterhood as the world falls apart, The Unworthy is a mashup of dystopian climate crisis and violent extremism. When a stranger breaches the convent’s walls, it throws everyone for a loop, and Bazterrica’s narrator soon finds herself questioning what enlightenment really means and what it takes to get there.
They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran
March 4
I have been a fan of Trang Thanh Tran since their debut horror novel, She Is a Haunting, and have been waiting with bated breath for their second book ever since.
They Bloom at Night tells the story of Noon, a young woman whose hometown of Mercy, Louisiana, has been overtaken by a red algae bloom after a devastating hurricane. To make matters more complicated, Noon’s mother believes that their family are sea creatures. With another storm looming on the horizon and Mercy’s leader breathing down Noon’s neck, it’s a race against time to find out if her mother is right or something more sinister is afoot.
The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
March 4
Best known for her deeply romantic novel, This Is How You Lose the Time War (co-written with Max Gladstone), Amal El-Mohtar’s new novella brings readers to the far-off town of Thistleford. Thistleford is the home of the strange and mysterious Hawthorne family, who spend their days harvesting willows. Sisters Esther and Ysabel are as dedicated to this task as they are to one another, but when Esther chooses love over propriety, it tests the bonds of sisterhood.
Fan Service by Rosie Danan
March 11
If you’re looking for a book to fill the Teen Wolf-shaped hole in your heart, then look no further than Rosie Danan’s new romance novel, Fan Service.
In her youth, Alex Lawson ran an online forum for a show about the supernatural called The Arcane Files. She also had a big fat crush on the show’s star, Devin Ashwood, before he proved himself to be a real jerk. Now, years later, Devin is beginning to show the symptoms of being a werewolf, not unlike those his character suffered from, and Ash, now a small-town vet, might be the only person who can help him.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
March 18
Horror legend Stephen Graham Jones is headed back in time for his highly anticipated new novel, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter.
Set in the American West during 1912, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter follows the story of a Lutheran priest transcribing the life of a vampire member of the Blackfeet tribe, hell-bent on revenge after the death of 217 tribe members.
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
March 18
March 2025 marks a return to Panem for Suzanne Collins, this time for another Quarter Quell and a young Haymitch Abernathy just before his name is called for the infamous Hunger Games. There’s no doubt in my mind that Collins will break fans’ hearts as we learn about the events that will eventually make him the man who takes Katniss under his wing.
Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert by Bob the Drag Queen
March 25
Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert is, hands down, one of my most anticipated books of 2025 for a couple of reasons.
The first, of course, is that it is written by Bob the Drag Queen, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race and creator of We’re Here, which is nothing short of spectacular. The second reason is that Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert reimagines the American hero as a wannabe Broadway star determined to make a different name for herself while still honoring her history with the help of a hip-hop producer she meets along the way. It’s a wild and utterly original concept for a book that will, no doubt, be a chart topper in and of itself.
Sour Cherry by Natalia Theodoridou
April 1
Sour Cherry by Natalia Theodoridou is a fairy tale within a fairy tale, at once a retelling of Bluebeard and something wholly original and really gorgeous about everything from toxic masculinity to a mother’s love. Theodoridou gives a voice to the victims in her novel that is as tragic as it is poignant.
Gifted & Talented by Olivie Blake
April 1
If you watched Succession and found yourself wishing there was a little more magic involved, Gifted & Talented might be just the book for you.
Thayer Wren, CEO of Wrenfare Magitech, is dead. It’s common knowledge that any one of his brilliant, telepathically and electrokinetically skilled children could be the one to inherit the family business. The only question is who it might be, and what exactly they’re willing to do in order to inherit the mantle.
Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes
April 8
I’ve been a fan of S.A. Barnes since her first space horror novel and personally cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of Cold Eternity.
On the run from a political scandal, a woman by the name of Halley finds a brief bit of respite on a space barge hosting the cryogenically frozen bodies of earth’s most elite citizens. The ship has long been out of use and while Halley knows, logically, that she’s the only conscious human being on board, that doesn’t change the fact that she’s starting to see figures in the hallways.
Sky Daddy by Kate Folk
April 8
Sky Daddy is far and away one of the most audacious and surprisingly feel-good books that 2025 has to offer.
Linda has a secret. She is sexually attracted to airplanes (yes, really) and indulges herself by taking a round trip flight from SFO to a random regional hub. In fact, she believes that it’s her destiny to marry one of her Boeing suitors by dying in a plane crash. But a chance lunch date with a work friend changes all that as Linda’s carefully balanced life, and secret desires, begin to spiral out of control.
Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker
April 29
Hold on to your hat. Bat Eater is a wild ride from start to finish, an intense examination of the racism toward Chinese people (especially in the wake of COVID-19), and, quite possibly, one of the best horror novels of early 2025.
As a crime scene cleaner in New York City’s Chinatown during COVID, it’s safe to say that Cora Zeng does not have an easy job. That said, the grisly remains that she deals with are nothing compared to the memory of watching her sister be pushed in front of a train. While the murderer was never caught, what he shouted as he fled the scene has stuck with Cora ever since: Bat Eater. While she struggles to differentiate between what’s real and what’s in her head, Cora can’t shake the feeling that there must be some sort of connection between the bat carcasses she keeps finding at crime scenes, the fact that all of her recent jobs have involved the bodies of East Asian women, and her sister’s murder.
When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley
April 29
Part historical fiction, part epic queer romance, part fairy tale, and part illustrated novel, When the Tides Held the Moon is quite unlike anything else on this list.
Set at the turn of the 20th century in New York City, When the Tides Held the Moon tells the story of Benigno “Benny” Caldera, an orphan known for the ironwork tank he made for Coney Island. The last thing Benny expected was for his tank to be used for a living, breathing merman or to find himself falling in love with him.
Traitor of Sherwood Forest By Amy S. Kaufman
April 29
I am a big sucker for a reimagining of Robin Hood and, as such, am incredibly excited to get my hands on a copy of The Traitor of Sherwood Forest by Amy S. Kaufman.
This reimagining in particular is told through the eyes of Jane Crowe, a peasant girl turned spy for the infamous thief himself. The more time Jane spends with the charismatic rebel, the more she feels herself drawn to him, but when his uprising grows increasingly chaotic and violent, Jane begins to wonder if the Lord of the Greenwood is all he’s cracked up to be.
Polybius by Collin Armstrong
April 29
Based on a popular urban legend born from the idea of the American government using video games for psychological warfare, Collin Armstrong’s new novel is a wild ride from beginning to end.
The year is 1982 and Andi and her mother have just moved to the picturesque, boring town of Tasker Bay. When Polybius, a hot new video game, shows up at the local arcade, Andi and her new (and only) friend, Ro, decide to go check it out. But when people who have played the game start to become paranoid and uncontrollably violent, Andi can’t shake the feeling that there might be a connection between this mystery virus and the new video game.
Bochica by Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro
May 13
Who doesn’t love a book about a haunted house?
In Bochica, a young woman by the name of Antonia and her family move into La Casona, a deeply haunted estate located in Soacha, Colombia. It’s so haunted, in fact, it’s causing Antonia’s entire family to suffer from horrendous nightmares. Three years after a fatal accident took her mother’s life and her father attempted to burn the house down in a fit of grief, Antonia returns to her childhood home, now a hotel, to look for answers about what really happened that fateful night.
Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove
May 13
Somewhere between pulp horror and classic sci-fi you’ll find Barbara Truelove’s upcoming, totally punk-rock queer space odyssey, Of Monsters and Mainframes.
Demeter is a spaceship struggling to transport her human cargo from Earth to Alpha Centauri. They keep inconveniently dying and, in order to keep from being decommissioned, Demeter needs that to stop. Demeter believes that these aren’t just your run-of-the-mill human deaths, though. These are supernatural occurrences and, in order to put them to an end, she’ll have to team up with a vampire, a werewolf, and an undead engineer to close the case as quickly as possible.
Anji Kills a King (The Rising Tide #1) by Evan Leikam
May 13
For those who also loved The Blacktongue Thief and The Daughters’ War and have been looking to scratch that itch ever since, Anji Kills a King by Evan Leikam promises to do just that.
It’s no spoiler to say that Anji Kills a King begins with Anji killing a king. Now, with her life in shambles, a bounty on her head, and some of the kingdom’s most skilled mercenaries hot on her heels, Anji has to keep moving to stay alive. But when the Hawk, a veteran swordswoman, finally catches up, an unlikely alliance forms between the two women.
The Country Under Heaven by Frederic S. Durbin
May 13
What would happen if you dropped Arthur Morgan in the middle of an H.P. Lovecraft story? The answer might just be Frederic S. Durbin’s fantasy Western novel, The Country Under Heaven.
Ovid Vesper, a union soldier who has been plagued by enigmatic visions after surviving the Battle of Antietam, has set across the American West to look for answers. Why him? What do the visions mean? The closer he gets to answering these questions, the stranger the world around him seems to become.
Metallic Realms by Lincoln Michel
May 13
I am a big ol’ fan of Lincoln Michel. So much so, in fact, that I think he’s one of the sharpest and cleverest minds when it comes to modern sci-fi, and his latest work, Metallic Realms, is further proof of that fact. It’s also a wonderful ode to being a nerd.
The lead character in Metallic Realms, Michael Lincoln, is, in fact, just that: a big nerd. And while he didn’t grow up to be like the sci-fi heroes of his youth, he is taking it upon himself to do something heroic. He is determined to preserve The Star Rot Chronicles, a series written by his best friend, Taras K. Castle, and their writing group, Orb 4, and it just so happens to include the greatest multiverse ever created.
This Princess Kills Monsters: The Misadventures of a Fairy-Tale Stepsister by Ry Herman
June 17
In This Princess Kills Monsters, it’s clear that someone wants Princess Melilot dead. Worse still is the fact that her stepmother won’t stop sending her on dangerous quests that always seem to end with her being rescued by her stepsisters, and the fact that she’s being forced to marry a king she’s never met. When one quest in particular ends with her being rescued by a group of masked huntsmen rather than her sisters, Melilot comes to the conclusion that she might be the only one with the skills needed to stop what’s happening to her.
Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon and Critical Role
July 1
The cast of Critical Role has said it time and time again: The world could use more smutty fantasy novels in it. And they’re taking it upon themselves to give us exactly that.
Written by Thea Guanzon, author of The Hurricane Wars, Tusk Love tells the story of Guinevere, a merchant’s daughter who longs for adventure, and Oskar, the half-orc bandit who she meets during an attack on the caravan she’s traveling with. Fans of Critical Role, and Jester and Fjord in particular, will be familiar with the layers to this romantic story, but it’s a delightful (and spicy) tale for those who are just getting their foot in the D&D door as well.
One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford
July 15
If you’re in the mood to read a literary zombie novel (with an excellent cover), look no further than Leigh Radford’s new book, One Yellow Eye.
Kesta’s husband is dead. Well, undead, technically, and tied up in her bedroom, as he was one of the last to be bitten during a zombie pandemic. A scientist by day, Kesta is determined to find a cure for the disease that is ravaging her husband’s body before she’s found out, or worse, another outbreak occurs.
The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis
Aug. 5
Following in Nightbitch’s footsteps and continuing the tradition of novels in which a woman or, in this case, women might be turning into a dog, is The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis.
The villagers living in the town of Little Nettlebed have never much liked the Mansfield girls. And while the belief in witchcraft was waning in England during the 18th century, they can’t help but feel that there’s something not quite right about them. When the villagers begin to hear barking, and one sees one of the girls turn into a dog before their very eyes, it becomes clear to them that something entirely supernatural is afoot.
Love at First Sighting by Mallory Marlowe
Aug. 12
I was a huge fan of Mallory Marlowe’s first romance novel, Love and Other Conspiracies, and Love at First Sighting sounds like it’ll be every bit as delightful.
Social media influencer El Martin wants to believe. In love, that is. The last thing she expects is for her heart to be all aflutter over footage of a mysterious flying aircraft, let alone Agent Carter Brody, the Private Intelligence Sector officer assigned to her. Carter himself is thrown by El’s confidence, and the veracity of her footage, and soon enough the two are on the hunt to find out whether little green men are real or not.
The Possession of Alba Díaz by Isabel Cañas
Aug. 19
I would be lying if I said that I haven’t been feverishly counting down the days until Isabel Cañas’ next book hits shelves.
In her new novel, a plague is ravaging the town of Zacatecas. In order to save themselves, Alba and her husband, Carlos, take shelter in an abandoned mine. But, as time passes, Alba begins to experience strange hallucinations, and the encroaching feeling that she is not alone. Enter Elias, who can’t help but notice the chemistry between himself and Alba whenever she enters the room. The problem, of course, is that Alba is married to his cousin and, very possibly, being possessed by a demon.
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