Every year, amid hundreds of New Year’s resolutions, one consistent goal of mine is to read more books. Despite being avid readers, for many of us, life can get in the way of tackling that endless TBR pile. But in spite of the pressure, it’s always exciting to look forward to the year’s new releases. Whether you plan on reading two books or a hundred this year, these are a few of the 2025 book releases that you might want to make room for in your TBR.
1. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil – V.E. Schwab
V.E. Schwab is an instant buy/read author for many, including myself. The official synopses leave most of the actual plot up for speculation but based on the teasers and early arc reviews, it’s safe to say we’re in for a wild ride. This is a vampire story with a sapphic spin that spans across various timelines. We follow three vampire women in three vastly different places, and watch as their struggles link them together. As with all of Schwab’s works, her hauntingly lyrical writing and penchant for strong characterization are what I’m most looking forward to.
2. Katabasis – R.F. Kuang
This is another 2025 book release from a well-loved author on my shelves. After the massive success that was Babel, R.F. Kuang is journeying back into the world of dark academia with a story inspired by Greek mythology and the everlasting turmoils of academia. When their professor dies in an untimely accident, he lands himself in Hell. It’s up to two rival PhD to save him —whether the rescue is out of love for Professor Grimes or a desperate need for a recommendation letter is beside the point. This book is described as a cross between Dante’s Inferno and Piranesi, making it even more promising.
3. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls – Grady Hendrix
Grady Hendrix has made a name for himself as a horror and supernatural fantasy writer. He has numerous hits to his name, including My Best Friend’s Exorcism and How to Sell a Haunted House. Now he’s continuing his streak with Witchcraft for Wayward Girls. The story centers around the Wellwood Home, where four pregnant teenage girls are locked away from the rest of society. Everyone shuns them but agency soon comes, in the form of a book of witchcraft. What will these young girls do with the power they’ve never been afforded?
4. The Floating World – Axie Oh
Axie Oh brings video game fans and book fans together with her upcoming novel, The Floating World. Described as Final Fantasy meets Shadow and Bone, in this world, two characters from different walks of life are brought together. What they don’t know is that fate may be against them. Sunho, an ex-soldier with a tempting reward on his horizon, is hunting down someone just like Ren, an acrobat with a powerful gift. Whether their paths will remain intertwined or split is yet to be learned.
5. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter – Stephen Graham Jones
The Only Good Indians was one of my favorite books I read this past year. It was a uniquely touching horror story that was still haunting at its core. For that reason, Jones’s next work, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, is much anticipated. This one is a historical take on the horror genre. Jones tells the story through interviews found in an uncovered diary. The interviews detail a series of catastrophes at a Blackfeet reservation in 1912 that may be of a vampiric nature.
6. Water Moon – Samantha Sotto Yambao
If the cover of Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao isn’t enough to convince you to pick it up when it hits shelves, the synopsis is certainly convincing. Hana’s first day as the owner of a magical pawnshop dealing in choices and regrets doesn’t go well when the store is robbed. With both her father and a prized item gone, all seems lost. That is until a strange man enters Hana’s pawnshop. Together, to save what was stolen, they journey from Tokyo into a whimsical world where buildings sit in the clouds and origami paper takes on new life. P.S. The dust jacket on this one folds into an origami boat if you needed any more convincing.
7. The Emperor of Gladness – Ocean Vuong
Ocean Vuong’s words are poetry, even when it’s not poems that he’s writing. This was evidenced by the achingly beautiful prose that made up On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. Now, look forward to more heartache in The Emperor of Gladness. Two individuals fighting their own battles become intertwined with each other. In the process of becoming elderly Grazina’s only caretaker, the young and lost Hai is given a second chance at life. As the two grow closer, they may both save the other.
8. Everything is Tuberculosis – John Green
John Green takes a special place on this list with the only nonfiction book. For all of Green’s success in fiction, his writing shines equally when tackling those gritty, real-life topics. Having experienced our own major pandemic, disease and health weigh heavy on many of our minds. Inspired by his encounter with a young tuberculosis patient, John Green takes readers through the history of this deadly infection. A mixture of personal and scientific narratives reveals the injustices underlying our health, and offers perspective on how we can change the future of this disease and others for the better.
9. Isaac’s Song – Daniel Black
After leaving Missouri and the hard lines his family drew around his identity, Isaac is finally finding himself in 1980s Chicago. However, his world is upturned by the attack on Rodney King and the rise of the AIDS crisis. Isaac sets out on a journey, both internal and external, to confront his past. On the way, he comes to terms with long-held trauma and learns things with the potential to change the course of his life. Isaac’s words spring from his own pen, promising to take readers on this journey with him.
10. The Unworthy – Agustina Bazterrica
Anyone who has read my review of Agustina Bazterrica’s other novel, Tender is the Flesh, would know how much of an impact her writing has had on me. That’s why it should come as no surprise to see her upcoming book, The Unworthy, on this list. This dystopian horror story draws on Bazterrica’s strengths as a writer, promising deep introspection into the state of society and characters caught between conflicting loyalties. The narrator is a woman confined to the lower ranks of the Sacred Sisterhood. This religious order has sequestered itself while the rest of the world falls to environmental crisis. But when an outsider makes their way in, the narrator is forced to question their dreams of rising the ranks of the Sisterhood.
11. We Do Not Part – Han Kang
Last but not least, from the author of Human Acts and The Vegetarian, comes a new masterpiece of literary fiction. Kyungha’s friend, Inseon, calls on her to save her pet bird when an accident leaves her indisposed. As Kyungha makes her way to Inseon’s house on Jeju Island, a major snowstorm threatens to stop her in her tracks. Kang’s prose is sure to shine as usual in this tale of friendship and lost history.
2025 is shaping up to be a great year for reading and the year has barely begun. There are many other releases to look forward to, some not yet announced. Whatever you choose to read this year, let it bring you joy in this new season of your life.
