44 fresh discipline fiction and fantasy books to add to your 2025 reading list

It’s that time of the year again! As we yet put 2024 to bed, it’s time to start looking forward to what the 2025 publishing period holds in store for our TBR piles. The answer, at a glance, is “a lot.”

Seriously, the time to reenforce all of your bookshelves so that they do not collapse in on themselves is now, my friends. 2025 marks a hotly anticipated, and no uncertainty emotionally devastating, return to Panem that will reflect the state of the planet in the way Suzanne Collins does best; a fresh vampire fresh from modern master of the horror genre Stephen Graham Jones; and a small spicy romantasy from the minds of Critical function with a small aid from Thea Guanzon. Needless to say, there’s a small 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

Set in ancient Greece on the island of Naxos, Daughter of Chaos by A.S. Webb tells the communicative of Danae, a fisherman’s daughter who discovers that she has mysterious powers. Cast out from her home and determined to find the fact 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 parent of Perseus, but Daughter of Chaos is simply a reimagining of the myth, which begs the question of what precisely lies in store for the hero of Webb’s fresh series.

Helen of Troy, 1993: Poems by Maria Zoccola

Speaking of Greek mythology…

It’s hard to put into words how gorgeous and apropos of the planet we live in Maria Zoccola’s debut collection of poetry, Helen of Troy, 1993, is, but I’ll effort 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 fresh translation of Beowulf. Everything old is fresh again, and in this case it creates a snapshot of the agrarian South and a powerful, unapologetic female who is the object of desire no substance erstwhile or where the communicative is told.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

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 fresh 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 communicative of 15-year-old Fern and the girls she befriends there. While their day-to-day lives are strictly monitored, Fern discovers an unexpected origin of untapped power and, potentially, an escape erstwhile she’s given a book of occult witchcraft by a librarian.

Motheater by Linda H. Codega

Set in the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, Linda H. Codega’s debut fresh is an atmospheric, queer fantasy that pits nature and manufacture against 1 another.

After the abrupt death of her best friend, Bennie Mattox gives up everything in order to effort and find out what precisely has been killing the miners up on Kire Mountain. The last thing she expects to find is simply a half-drowned female who claims to be a witch who is bound to defend Kire from the seemingly inevitable advancement 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 communicative by Maggie Su

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 form her fresh companion into whatever she wants, including a perfect boyfriend. The consequence is Glen Powell-esque and, while undeniably handsome, her fresh blobby boyfriend forces Vi on a journey of self-discovery that is as delightful and touching as it is downright strange.

Billed as being for fans of Angela Carter and Julia Armfield (a deadly combination if always I’ve seen one), The Lamb by Lucy Rose is simply 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 besides far from the road, and looks after them for a time. But erstwhile a gorgeous stray by the name of Eden arrives, the relation between Margot and her parent begins to change drastically as she navigates her own needs and wants.

Anoxia by Miguel Ángel Hernández (translated by Adrian Nathan West)

Set 10 years after the abrupt death of her husband, Anoxia tells the communicative of Dolores Ayala, a photographer who receives an different 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 simply a nuanced ghost communicative in which the lines between the surviving and the dead become increasingly blurred.

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito

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 household 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 unusual habits, and the more she begins to give in to her own unusual compulsions.

Listen to Your Sister by Neena Viel

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 simply 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. erstwhile his actions at a protest get Jamie in a small besides much trouble, the 2 hightail it to a distant Airbnb to effort and wait out the chaos. But Calla’s nightmare continues to haunt her, bringing a fresh threat to their well-being to light.

The Crimson Road by A.G. Slatter

A.G. Slatter, author of All the Murmuring Bones, The way of Thorns, and The Briar Book of the Dead returns one more time 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. erstwhile her father dies, Violet thinks she might yet 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. yet Violet must venture into the Darklands and the Anchorhold beyond, gathering any acquainted faces along the way.

Beta Vulgaris by Margie Sarsfield

Who knew that vegetables could be so scary?

Determined to find a way to pay for her Brooklyn apartment, Elise and her boyfriend, Tom, choice up a summertime occupation in Minnesota helping to harvest sugar beets (aka Beta vulgaris). But what should be an easy gig rapidly takes a turn erstwhile the grueling labour begins to run Elise into the ground and she discovers a strange, unexplainable rash on her body. Worse inactive 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

The year is 1890, and it is Elegy Thorne’s occupation to keep the spirits that occupy Thorne Hall, her family’s grand property in the Berkshires, at peace. erstwhile 1 of the spirits causes a tiny bit of chaos within her home, a local preservationist and his boy are called upon for assistance. The last thing Elegy expects is to find herself torn between Thorne household tradition and the spirits she has known her full life, and a young man who dreams of modernity.

But Not besides Bold by Hache Pueyo

Hache Pueyo’s upcoming novella, But Not besides Bold, is for all of my fellow monster lovers out there.

The best way to describe Anatema, the woman of the Capricious House, is somewhere between woman 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

If you haven’t been keeping up with Emily Wilde and her escapades, then you’re missing out on 1 of the most romanticist and heartwarming fantasy series to hit shelves in years.

In this fresh installment, Emily faces her most dangerous challenge yet: researching faerie folk and their realm as their fresh 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 another plans in mind, and not everyone is so willing to have an academic, let alone a human, as their fresh ruler.

Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods

What do you get erstwhile you mix The small 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 shortly change erstwhile she rescues Morgan de Chatelaine, the boy of a wealthy ship owner, from drowning.

As is the case with all good vampire stories, the push and pull between fear and desire in Kat Dunn’s fresh novel, Hungerstone, is palpable from its very first pages.

After 10 years together, the relation between Lenore and her husband, Henry, has taken a turn for the worse. erstwhile Henry decides to host a hunt at the distant and foreboding Nethershaw Manor, Lenore reluctantly accompanies him. But erstwhile 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 fresh acquaintance.

Fagin the Thief by Allison Epstein

Historical fiction fans, rejoice! Allison Epstein is back, and this time with a fresh that focuses on 1 of London’s most talented thieves.

Fans of Charles Dickens will admit 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 fresh novel, she puts Fagin at the forefront, reimagining Dickens’ work through the eyes of a judaic 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

If you’re anything like me, and acquainted with English folklore, then you might admit 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 simply a small bit different. Sure, she inactive has needle-like teeth and lives underwater, but erstwhile 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 improbable allies as they join forces to defeat the evil that plagues their home.

The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica (translated by Sarah Moses)

Fans of spiritual horror (and Tender Is the Flesh) will want to put Agustina Bazterrica’s fresh novel, The Unworthy, at the top of their TBR list ASAP.

Told by a nameless woman, sequestered in a mysterious convent known as the home of the Sacred Sisterhood as the planet falls apart, The Unworthy is simply a mashup of dystopian climate crisis and violent extremism. erstwhile a alien breaches the convent’s walls, it throws everyone for a loop, and Bazterrica’s narrator shortly finds herself questioning what enlightenment truly means and what it takes to get there.

They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran

I have been a fan of Trang Thanh Tran since their debut horror novel, She is simply a Haunting, and have been waiting with bated breath for their second book always since.

They Bloom at Night tells the communicative of Noon, a young female whose hometown of Mercy, Louisiana, has been overtaken by a red algae bloom after a devastating hurricane. To make matters more complicated, Noon’s parent believes that their household 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 parent is right or something more sinister is afoot.

The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar

Best known for her profoundly romanticist novel, This Is How You Lose the Time War (co-written with Max Gladstone), Amal El-Mohtar’s fresh novella brings readers to the far-off town of Thistleford. Thistleford is the home of the unusual and mysterious Hawthorne family, who spend their days harvesting willows. Sisters Esther and Ysabel are as dedicated to this task as they are to 1 another, but erstwhile Esther chooses love over propriety, it tests the bonds of sisterhood.

Fan Service by Rosie Danan

If you’re looking for a book to fill the Teen Wolf-shaped gap in your heart, then look no further than Rosie Danan’s fresh romance novel, Fan Service.

In her youth, Alex Lawson ran an online forum for a show about the supernatural called The Arcane Files. She besides had a large 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 individual who can aid him.

The Buffalo huntsman Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones

Horror legend Stephen Graham Jones is headed back in time for his highly anticipated fresh novel, The Buffalo huntsman Hunter.

Set in the American West during 1912, The Buffalo huntsman Hunter follows the communicative of a Lutheran priest transcribing the life of a vampire associate of the Blackfeet tribe, hell-bent on revenge after the death of 217 tribe members.

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

March 2025 marks a return to Panem for Suzanne Collins, this time for another 4th Quell and a young Haymitch Abernathy just before his name is called for the infamous Hunger Games. There’s no uncertainty in my head that Collins will break fans’ hearts as we learn about the events that will yet make him the man who takes Katniss under his wing.

Harriet Tubman: Live in performance by Bob the Drag Queen

Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert is, hands down, 1 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 inactive honoring her past with the aid of a hip-hop maker she meets along the way. It’s a chaotic and utterly first concept for a book that will, no doubt, be a illustration topper in and of itself.

Sour Cherry by Natalia Theodoridou

Sour Cherry by Natalia Theodoridou is simply a fairy tale within a fairy tale, at erstwhile a retelling of Bluebeard and something wholly first and truly gorgeous about everything from toxic masculinity to a mother’s love. Theodoridou gives a voice to the victims in her fresh that is as tragic as it is poignant.

Gifted & Talented by Olivie Blake

If you watched Succession and found yourself wishing there was a small more magic involved, Gifted & Talented might be just the book for you.

Thayer Wren, CEO of Wrenfare Magitech, is dead. It’s common cognition that any 1 of his brilliant, telepathically and electrokinetically skilled children could be the 1 to inherit the household business. The only question is who it might be, and what precisely they’re willing to do in order to inherit the mantle.

Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes

I’ve been a fan of S.A. Barnes since her first space horror fresh and personally cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of Cold Eternity.

On the run from a political scandal, a female 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 usage 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 is far and distant 1 of the most audacious and amazingly 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 circular journey flight from SFO to a random regional hub. In fact, she believes that it’s her destiny to marry 1 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 another Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker

Hold on to your hat. Bat Eater is simply a chaotic ride from start to finish, an intense examination of the racism toward Chinese people (especially in the wake of COVID-19), and, rather possibly, 1 of the best horror novels of early 2025.

As a crime scene cleaner in fresh 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 always 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 any kind of connection between the bat carcasses she keeps uncovering at crime scenes, the fact that all of her fresh jobs have active the bodies of East Asian women, and her sister’s murder.

When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley

Part historical fiction, part epic queer romance, part fairy tale, and part illustrated novel, When the Tides Held the Moon is rather unlike anything else on this list.

Set at the turn of the 20th century in fresh York City, When the Tides Held the Moon tells the communicative 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 utilized for a living, breathing merman or to find himself falling in love with him.

Traitor of Sherwood Forest By Amy S. Kaufman

I am a large 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 peculiar 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 erstwhile 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

Based on a popular urban legend born from the thought of the American government utilizing video games for intellectual warfare, Collin Armstrong’s fresh fresh is simply a chaotic ride from beginning to end.

The year is 1982 and Andi and her parent have just moved to the picturesque, boring town of Tasker Bay. erstwhile Polybius, a hot fresh video game, shows up at the local arcade, Andi and her fresh (and only) friend, Ro, decide to go check it out. But erstwhile 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 fresh video game.

Bochica by Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro

Who doesn’t love a book about a haunted house?

In Bochica, a young female by the name of Antonia and her household decision into La Casona, a profoundly haunted property located in Soacha, Colombia. It’s so haunted, in fact, it’s causing Antonia’s full household to endure from horrendous nightmares. 3 years after a fatal accident took her mother’s life and her father attempted to burn the home down in a fit of grief, Antonia returns to her childhood home, now a hotel, to look for answers about what truly happened that fateful night.

Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove

Somewhere between pulp horror and classical sci-fi you’ll find Barbara Truelove’s upcoming, totally punk-rock queer space odyssey, Of Monsters and Mainframes.

Demeter is simply 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 gotta squad up with a vampire, a werewolf, and an undead engineer to close the case as rapidly as possible.

Anji Kills a King (The Rising Tide #1) by Evan Leikam

For those who besides loved The Blacktongue Thief and The Daughters’ War and have been looking to scratch that itch always 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 any of the kingdom’s most skilled mercenaries hot on her heels, Anji has to keep moving to stay alive. But erstwhile the Hawk, a veteran swordswoman, yet catches up, an improbable alliance forms between the 2 women.

The Country Under Heaven by Frederic S. Durbin

What would happen if you dropped Arthur Morgan in the mediate 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 conflict 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 alien the planet around him seems to become.

Metallic Realms by Lincoln Michel

I am a large ol’ fan of Lincoln Michel. So much so, in fact, that I think he’s 1 of the sharpest and cleverest minds erstwhile it comes to modern sci-fi, and his latest work, Metallic Realms, is further proof of that fact. It’s besides a wonderful ode to being a nerd.

The lead character in Metallic Realms, Michael Lincoln, is, in fact, just that: a large 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 top multiverse always created.

This Princess Kills Monsters: The Misadventures of a Fairy-Tale Stepsister by Ry Herman

In This Princess Kills Monsters, it’s clear that individual wants Princess Melilot dead. Worse inactive is the fact that her stepmother won’t halt 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. erstwhile 1 quest in peculiar ends with her being rescued by a group of masked huntsmen alternatively than her sisters, Melilot comes to the conclusion that she might be the only 1 with the skills needed to halt what’s happening to her.

Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon and Critical Role

The cast of Critical function has said it time and time again: The planet could usage more smutty fantasy novels in it. And they’re taking it upon themselves to give us precisely that.

Written by Thea Guanzon, author of The Hurricane Wars, Tusk Love tells the communicative 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 acquainted with the layers to this romanticist story, but it’s a delightful (and spicy) tale for those who are just getting their ft in the D&D door as well.

One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford

If you’re in the temper to read a literary zombie fresh (with an excellent cover), look no further than Leigh Radford’s fresh book, One Yellow Eye.

Kesta’s husband is dead. Well, undead, technically, and tied up in her bedroom, as he was 1 of the last to be bitten during a zombie pandemic. A scientist by day, Kesta is determined to find a cure for the illness that is ravaging her husband’s body before she’s found out, or worse, another outbreak occurs.

The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis

Following in Nightbitch’s footsteps and continuing the tradition of novels in which a female or, in this case, women might be turning into a dog, is The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis.

The villagers surviving in the town of small 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 aid but feel that there’s something not rather right about them. erstwhile the villagers begin to hear barking, and 1 sees 1 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

I was a immense fan of Mallory Marlowe’s first romance novel, Love and another Conspiracies, and Love at First Sighting sounds like it’ll be all 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 shortly adequate the 2 are on the hunt to find out whether small green men are real or not.

The Possession of Alba Díaz by Isabel Cañas

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 fresh 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 unusual hallucinations, and the encroaching feeling that she is not alone. Enter Elias, who can’t aid but announcement 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.