My Most Anticipated Books of 2025
We’re officially into the new year, which means it’s time to start getting excited for all the new book coming out (if you haven’t already)! There are honestly so many incredible looking books releasing in 2025, it was a real chore to choose my most anticipated reads. But for the sake of brevity, I managed to narrow this list down to my top 6 most anticipated releases of 2025.
While most of these are continuations of series I started previously, or new novels by beloved authors, I know there will also be some amazing new books coming out that aren’t even on my radar – by debut authors or ones I just haven’t gotten around to reading yet alike. So, what about you? What books are you looking forward to reading in 2025?
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
Publishing January 21st, 2025
THE STORM IS COMING . . .
After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there’s no more time for lessons. No more time for uncertainty.
Because the battle has truly begun, and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it’s impossible to know who to trust.
Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves—her dragons, her family, her home, and him.
Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything.
They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth.
But a storm is coming…and not everyone can survive its wrath.
Of course the first book I have to mention is Rebecca Yarros’s third instalment to The Empyrean series, Onyx Storm. Look, do I think this series is the height of quality fiction? No. But they are, simply put, a lot of fun. Sometimes I pick up a book because I want it to move me. Other times I pick up a book because I need some mindless enjoyment. And no one does that quite as well as The Empyrean.
Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
Publishing February 11th, 2025
The third installment in the heartwarming and enchanting Emily Wilde series, about a curmudgeonly scholar of folklore and the fae prince she loves.
Emily Wilde has spent her life studying faeries. A renowned dryadologist, she has documented hundreds of species of Folk in her Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Now she is about to embark on her most dangerous academic project studying the inner workings of a faerie realm—as its queen.
Along with her former academic rival—now fiancé—the dashing and mercurial Wendell Bambleby, Emily is immediately thrust into the deadly intrigues of Faerie as the two of them seize the throne of Wendell’s long-lost kingdom, which Emily finds a beautiful nightmare filled with scholarly treasures.
Emily has been obsessed with faerie stories her entire life, but at first she feels as ill-suited to Faerie as she did to the mortal How can an unassuming scholar such as herself pass for a queen? Yet there is little time to settle in, for Wendell’s murderous stepmother has placed a deadly curse upon the land before vanishing without a trace. It will take all of Wendell’s magic—and Emily’s knowledge of stories—to unravel the mystery before they lose everything they hold dear.
I have no idea how many Emily Wilde adventures Heather Fawcett has planned, but I have every intention of reading every single one she writes. Between the colourful characters, enchanting world-building, and charming romance, this series is quickly becoming one of my go-to comfort reads and I can’t wait for the next instalment on their journey.
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Publishing March 18th, 2025
When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?
As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.
Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.
When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town.
As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.
I mean, who’s surprised Suzanne Collins’s newest Hunger Games book made this list? Not me. I would read literally anything this woman writes. So I am over the moon her latest is going to be covering Haymitch’s games. I think this is the first time where she’s writing a Hunger Games that we actually know generally what happens already, so I’m really looking forward to seeing how that’s tackled.
Dream On, Ramona Riley by Ashley Herring Blake
Publishing May 13th, 2025
A small-town waitress and a Hollywood star’s worlds collide in this new romance by Ashley Herring Blake, USA Today bestselling author of Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date.
Once upon a time, Ramona Riley was a student at a prestigious art school, with dreams of landing in Hollywood as a costume designer to the stars. But after her father’s car accident, she had to quit and return to her small New Hampshire town, Clover Lake, to help take care of her younger sister. Twelve years later, Ramona is still working at the town’s café, all but given up on her dream. But when a big-budget romantic comedy comes to Clover Lake to film, she wonders if this could be her chance. There’s only one problem—Dylan Monroe, her first kiss and Hollywood’s favorite wild child—is the star.
Dylan Monroe has always lived an unconventional life, having famous rock icons for parents. But she wants to prove that she’s not some chaotic, talentless nepo baby, that she has actual skills, that she’s just a normal person. To do that, Dylan takes on a project at a charming lake town—she even works at the town’s café (very quaint), shadowing a local waitress there (very cute), and asks her to take Dylan around to do Normal People Things.
But Dylan soon realizes it’s not just some small-town waitress she’s getting to know—Ramona Riley is someone she’s met before, someone who remembers her even more vividly. Before long, however, reality hits them, and both women must decide if the spark between them can fan the flames of their individual dreams, or if it will extinguish their light.
Ashley Herring Blake has quickly become my go-to favorite author for a cute and sapphic romance read. I’m pretty certain I’m going to adore anything she writes in the future. I cannot wait for this book to come out!
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab
Publishing June 10th, 2025
Santo Domingo de la Calzada, 1532.
London, 1837.
Boston, 2019.
Three young women, their bodies planted in the same soil, their stories tangling like roots.
One grows high, and one grows deep, and one grows wild.
And all of them grow teeth.
Look, I barely know anything about this book, but it’s V.E. Schwab, and the genres tagged online include dark fantasy, vampires, and lesbian – so you know I am all about it. Please may this book fill the void First Kill left behind. 🙏
A Theory of Dreaming by Ava Reid
Publishing August 5th, 2025
Return to the immersive, lush, and dreamlike world of the instantly bestselling dark academia fantasy A Study in Drowning as the aftermath of their first discovery pulls Effy and Preston on a final adventure and brings their haunting love story to its end in this stunning sequel and final book in the duology.
All stories come to an end.
Effy learned that when she defeated the Fairy King. Even though she may never know exactly what happened at Hiraeth, she is free of her nightmares and is able to pen a thesis with Preston on the beloved national fairy tale Angharad. She has finally earned a spot at the literature college, making her the first woman in history to enroll.
But some dreams are dangerous, especially when they come true. The entire university—and soon the entire nation—is waiting for her to fail. With the Fairy King defeated and Myrddin’s legacy exposed, Effy can no longer escape into fantasy. Who is she without her stories?
With Effy under threat, Preston is surprised to discover a rage simmering inside him, ringing in his ears like bells. He begins to dream of a palace under the sea, a world where he is king—visions that start to follow him even in waking.
As the war between Llyr and Argant explodes, Effy and Preston find themselves caught in the crossfire: Effy losing her dreams and Preston losing himself in his.
Are dreams ever truly just dreams?
I actually didn’t realize that there was a planned sequel to A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid. But look, I am seated either way. I loved the dark, romantic, hauntingly enchanted elements of the first novel. It was exactly my cup of tea, so I am very hopeful the sequel will be as well~ 🖤
What upcoming releases are you looking forward to in 2025?
Let me know!
Liza
Liza is a twenty-something book blogger who spends way too much time with her nose in books and feels way too much. She loves cooking, baking, reality tv show watching and, of course, reading. She can be found most often with a cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other. Her blog, Literary Liza, features bookish content like reviews, recommendations, and author interviews.
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