The Best Books Coming Out in 2025 

“Captivating and historically insightful” (BookPage), the latest from the bestselling author of Clytemnestra is a “sweeping epic” (Washington Post) that tells the story of Semiramis, the Assyrian empire’s only queen – an orphan raised on the outskirts who rises to command and empire. 

“No matter how much cruelty Semiramis dispenses, Casati never loses sight of what drives her heroine to achieve a status where she need not obey anyone else” (Publishers Weekly) in this page-turning sophomore effort from a compelling new voice that we can’t wait to dig into.

For fans of Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins, “The Widow’s Web is a mesmerizing blend of suspense and mystery, luring readers into a dark tangle of secrets with each unpredictable twist” (bestselling author Lisa C. Carey). 

When tech mogul Brad Jones turns up drowned, his death is ruled a suicide – but his widow isn’t convinced, and her quest to find out the truth will shine a light on the dark underside of Silicon Valley, and uncover secrets that some very rich and powerful people are willing to kill to keep silent in this gripping new thriller.

The “soul-stirring” (Oprah Daily) author of Room returns with a propulsive and unforgettable historical novel about a disaster that helped to usher in the 20th century. 

As a train full of passengers hurtles toward tragedy, their lives, hopes, dreams, and secrets are all sketched against the backdrop of a world on the brink of massive change in this “clever, ambitious, and richly researched […] slice of 1890s Paris that makes us see that our modern problems aren’t so modern after all” (Alice Winn, author of IN MEMORIAM).

“A formidable, timeless work, destined to be a modern classic” (Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six), this new epic from the bestselling author of the Poppy War trilogy follows two Cambridge students as they venture into Hell itself to find their professor – and maybe save his soul, possibly at the expense of their own. 

The result is “a balance of literary deep thinking, pop commercial fun, and outrageous audacity” (Rebecca Roanhorse, author of Black Sun) that draws from Orpheus and Dante to create a new and unique vision of the underworld for readers to explore in 2025.

Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Ron Chernow has written about presidents and financiers, some of the most celebrated names in the history of our country. He has been nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Awards and taken home the American History Book Prize, to name just a few, and served as the historical advisor on the popular musical Hamilton, inspired by his biography. 

Now, he turns his sights on the “father of American literature,” telling how Samuel Langhorne Clemens became Mark Twain, America’s first and most influential literary celebrity.

Bestselling author of Americanah and We Should All Be Feminists, recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, honored with the Women’s Prize for Fiction, translated into more than 50 languages – a new book from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is always a cause for celebration. 

Her latest follows the lives of four women as they face betrayal, uncertainty, heartbreak, and the pandemic, all while asking probing questions about love, longing, desire, happiness, and how well we can ever truly know ourselves in a book that is sure to be a highlight of 2025.

“The perfect balance of heartwarming and heart-wrenching” (NPR), the work of Fredrick Backman, bestselling author of A Man Called Ove has been hailed as “clever and affecting, as likely to make you laugh out loud as it is to make you cry” (Washington Post), while Backman himself has been called “the Dickens of our age” (Green Valley News). 

His latest novel tells a story of friendship and connection. An aspiring artist named Louisa spots three figures sitting on a pier in the corner of a famous painting and sets out to learn who they were in this story that promises to show that happy endings aren’t always where we expect them.

“Olivie Blake’s storytelling has risen to empyrean heights” (Chloe Gong, author of Immortal Longings) in this new book from the bestselling author of The Atlas Six. A CEO has died, and his three gifted and talented children all expect – or hope – to inherit his estate in this “refreshing tale of spoiled-sibling woe, mysterious curses, and family complexity that will absolutely delight you” (Veronica Roth, author of When Among Crows). 

Each of the three Wren siblings has a cross to bear… and secrets to hide, and they will all stop at nothing to get what they think they deserve in this new book from the celebrated author.

Winifred “Fred” Darling isn't your usual choice for maid of honor—a serial dater and the author of 21 Rules for Not Catching feelings, she doesn't believe in real love. So it may not come as a shock that she actually plans to sabotage her mother's sixth wedding—and the groom's son, Leo, is on board to help her.

But sparks fly as Fred and Leo scheme to end their parents' nuptials, and Fred's long held beliefs about romance just might get turned upside down.

The long-awaited sequel to the international bestseller The Cat Who Saved Books sees the talking cat Tiger back in action, this time helping Nanami, a young girl whose chronic asthma keeps her from playing sports or spending time with her friends, but can’t stop her from reading. 

As she wiles away the hours in the library, however, she begins to suspect that some of the books are going missing – taken by mysterious gray soldiers in this sequel to the novel that was described as “whimsical and wise” (Shelf Awareness), “charming” (Publishers Weekly), and “quirky and heartwarming in equal measure” (The Japan Times).