Hello! Thanks for checking out this list of my most anticipated book releases of 2025. A lot of what I read is over a century old, but there are several contemporary authors and genres that I love and eagerly reach for. So, while I’ll be reading a lot of classics from all over the world this year, I’ve also made it a goal to pay closer attention to new releases so that I’m not always lagging behind the ongoing literary conversation.
To that end, here are 13 new/upcoming releases of 2025 that I hope to read this year. Most of them can be classed as speculative, sci-fi, thriller, or horror, but there’s also a nonfiction, a bit of historical fiction, and a fantasy. I hope you find something to get excited about! What are your most anticipated releases of 2025?
All the Water in the World – Eiren Caffall (Jan 7)
This one is described as a literary dystopian thriller, set in a future where the ice caps have melted and New York City is flooded. The narrator is “a girl gifted with a deep feeling for water” whose parents stayed behind in the flooded city to take care of its museums. With its mix of eco-fiction, speculative fiction, survival, and adventure, it sounds like something I would really enjoy.
Three Wild Dogs (and the Truth) – Markus Zusak (Jan 21)
This is a memoir from the author of The Book Thief, and it sounds really interesting – it’s described as “poignant, funny, and disarmingly honest,” and it’s the story of Zusak and his family taking in three wild street dogs and the chaos that ensued. I love stories about the strong bonds that can develop between humans and animals, and this one has been called “a love letter to the animals who bring hilarity and beauty—but also the visceral truth of the natural world—straight to our doors and into our lives and change us forever.” I’m sold!
Mask of the Deer Woman – Laurie L. Dove (Jan 21)
This is a mystery/thriller/horror novel about a Native American woman who is investigating the deaths and disappearances of several women from her reservation when she starts to feel that the spirit of Deer Woman is following her, either seeking to guide her or looking for vengeance. I think this is the author’s debut novel, and it sounds right up my alley!
Symbiote – Michael Nayak (Feb 11)
This one is sci-fi horror set in Antarctica – WWIII is raging, and Chinese scientists have just arrived at a South Pole research station with a mysterious dead body in tow. And then people at the research station start going crazy and murdering each other. Something about an infectious parasite? Sign me up!
The Strange Case of Jane O. – Karen Thompson Walker (Feb 25)
This is speculative sci-fi about a young mother with a strange psychological disorder that causes “amnesia, premonitions, hallucinations, and an inexplicable sense of dread.” The description doesn’t give much away, but it says it’s a “profound and beautifully written novel … about memory, identity, and fate, a mesmerizing story about the bonds of love between a mother and child, a man and a woman, and those who we’ve lost but may still be alive among us.” Sounds intriguing!
Sunrise on the Reaping – Suzanne Collins (Mar 18)
I don’t know about you, but as soon as I heard the words “Hunger Games prequel about Haymitch,” I hit Pre-Order. I love the Hunger Games series and could spout on for hours about Collins’ literary genius, so I honestly don’t need to know anything more about the plot. If you haven’t given the Hunger Games books a chance because of their Young Adult label, I strongly advise you to reconsider. The political allegory and social criticism are blatant and brilliant in these novels, and I can’t wait to dive back into this world for more.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter – Stephen Graham Jones (Mar 18)
This is an author you’re going to hear about a lot from me! Stephen Graham Jones is without question my favourite living author, and I’ll always be quick to pounce on any new novel he graces us with. I don’t know much about the plot, and I really don’t need to – all I know is that this is described as an “American Indian revenge story,” and there’s something about the discovery of a hidden diary. That’s more than I need! It’ll be a masterpiece, I’m sure.
The Paris Express – Emma Donoghue (Mar 18)
From the author of Room, which is one of my favourite novels of all time and especially of this century, comes this historical fiction about a freak train accident that happened in 1895. The story follows some of the passengers, whether real or imagined I don’t know, on this oddly-fated train journey, and I’m sure it will be a fun time.
Cold Eternity – S.A. Barnes (Apr 8)
I don’t know what it is about S.A. Barnes, but I really enjoy her sci-fi horror novels. I’ve read Dead Silence and Ghost Station, and while both were flawed, I had such a good time with them that I didn’t even care. I’m told that this one is just as fun, so I’m excited to dive into another space adventure! I’m trying not to find out too much about the plot, but it seems to be about a woman who is on a space barge with a lot of cryogenically frozen people, when weird and creepy things start to happen.
Hidden Treasure – Jessie Burton (Jun 24)
So far, I’ve only read The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton, but I own two more of her books that I intend to read soon, and I’m eagerly adding this to my TBR list as well. I don’t know if this is a children’s book or just a book about children, but it sounds magical either way – it’s blurbed as “the phenomenal page-turning story of two children whose lives collide when they find an ancient treasure with the power to return to them the most precious thing they have ever lost.” I can’t wait to find out what that means!
Not Quite Dead Yet – Holly Jackson (July 22)
I LOVED Holly Jackson’s Five Survive and I’m deeply invested in her Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series (I’ve only read the first one so far), so I’m excited to see what she comes out with next. This sounds like one of those solve-your-own-murder-while-dying mysteries, and those can be great, so I’m eager to check this out.
Katabasis – R.F. Kuang (Aug 26)
I loved R.F. Kuang’s Yellowface, and I’m currently reading her Babel and really enjoying it, so she might become one of those authors I automatically reach for when I see her name on a cover. However, it’s the synopsis that has sold me on this one – “two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul—perhaps at the cost of their own.” Sounds like mythology meets dark academia? Yes, please!
We Love You, Bunny – Mona Awad (Sep 23)
I don’t know if this book actually exists yet, but it was announced a couple months ago and was referred to as both a sequel and a prequel to Bunny, which was my favourite read of 2024. I’m not sure that Bunny needs a follow-up, but I’m also not sure that Mona Awad can do much wrong in my eyes, so you can bet I’ll be reading this at the earliest opportunity.
And those are my 13 most anticipated releases of 2025. I’m sure there will be more that I haven’t heard about yet, so I’ll probably do another post like this in a few months. Have you heard about something else coming out soon that I might enjoy? Please let me know!
