Story, boy? Great books to look out for in 2025

Romantasy, Second World War anniversary recollections, and a celebration of Jane Austen are likely to be among the hot book trends of 2025.

“Romance has been absolutely huge this year, particularly what we call spicy romance,” says Bea Carvalho, head of books at Waterstones. “Next year, we’ve got books coming from big-name authors including Jojo Moyes, Emily Henry, and Taylor Jenkins Reid.”

New publications are also expected to mark the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth.

Meanwhile, in health and wellbeing, manifesting is still drawing readers, with a new book by self-help guru Paul McKenna, while other subjects set to be addressed include ADHD and ultra-processed food. TikTok remains a huge driver of sales, Carvalho observes.

Here are just a few of the books to look out for in 2025.

Romantasy

The Ballad Of Falling Dragons, by Sarah A. Parker (HarperVoyager, Oct 7): Currently Waterstones’ biggest pre-order title, this romantasy sequel to When The Moon Hatched sees Raeve and Kaan return to more danger, dragons and romance.

Second World War

Victory 45, by James Holland & Al Murray (Bantam, Apr 24): This stand-out book marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II features six surrenders which heralded the Allied victory in the summer of 1945.

“Holland is now one of the top-selling history authors, so this one should do well,” says Caroline Sanderson, associate editor of trade publication The Bookseller.

The Women’s Orchestra Of Auschwitz, by Anne Sebba (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Mar 27): This moving of 50 female prisoners who were drafted into an orchestra at Auschwitz to play marching music in the camp will be one to watch. Almost all of the musicians survived.

Celebrity books

Matriarch, by Tina Knowles (Dialogue Books, Apr 22): Fans should lap up this memoir by Tina Knowles, mother of iconic singer-songwriters Beyonce Knowles-Carter, Solange Knowles and bonus daughter Kelly Rowland, in this chronicle of family love and heartbreak, and all the perseverance needed to take a girl from Galveston, Texas, to change the world.

Birthing, by Davina McCall (HQ, May 22): After the success of Menopausing, the TV presenter homes in on birthing in what claims to be the ultimate guide to conception, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, blending her honesty with expert insights to empower and women through every stage of the journey.

Romantic fiction

Story Of My Life, by Lucy Score (Hodder & Stoughton, Mar 13): Billed as the romantic figurehead for a new generation, Score has already sold 15.5 million books in 29 languages worldwide, while her previous novel Things We Never Got Over is now being adapted by Amazon MGM for TV. So there’s much anticipation for her new book, described as Gilmore Girls meets Schitt’s Creek, about a recently divorced writer who moves to a new town looking for new beginnings.

Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Hutchinson Heinemann, Jun 3): Carvalho says: “She is one of the biggest popular authors at the moment (Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo), and this one looks at a group of astronauts against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle programme.” It tells a ionate story about the power of love, this time among the stars.

We All Live Here, by Jojo Moyes, (Penguin Michael Joseph, Feb 11): Watch out for this family drama from the bestselling author of Me Before You and The Giver Of Stars, who brings us this follow-up to her novel Someone Else’s Shoes, 30 years after her protagonist Lila Kennedy’s father ran away to Hollywood. Now, he returns to wreck - or save - her life.

The Strawberry Patch Pancake House, by Laurie Gilmore (One More Chapter, Mar 13): Waterstones is expecting this new small-town romance from the author of TikTok phenomenon The Pumpkin Spice Cafe to be massive, given its ‘slightly sexy’ content.

Drama

Dream Count, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (4th Estate, Mar 4): From the award-winning author of We Should All Be Feminists, this has been 10 years in the making and centres on a Nigerian travel writer living in the US during the pandemic, who recalls her past lovers, choices and regrets and whose story weaves in three other women close to her, as their loves, friendships, longing and desires are explored.

So Thrilled For You, by Holly Bourne (Hodder & Stoughton, Jan 16): “She’s known as the bestselling author of teen and YA books, but this one will break her out into a wide adult market,” Carvalho predicts. It centres on a group of friends at different stages of their lives, and their decisions on whether to have a baby or not, until the friendships unfold at a baby shower.

Three Days In June, by Anne Tyler (Chatto & Windus, Feb 13): Out in time for Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author brings us the story of a woman whose daughter is getting married and whose estranged husband turns up in time for the wedding, and how family dynamics play out over the course of the wedding weekend.

Historical fiction

Sharpe’s Storm, by Bernard Cornwell (HarperCollins, Oct 21): The 19th book in the Sharpe adventure series which finds the war against Napoleon raging around Europe and, as Britain is poised to invade for the first time, Richard Sharpe and his men face a truly fierce army.

Horror

Whistle, by Linwood Barclay (HarperCollins, Jun 5): He’s best known for his taut thrillers, but Linwood Barclay brings us his debut horror in which a children’s author and illustrator finds strange things happening when her son finds a forgotten train set in their new house, and the emergence of a supernatural presence. She is also being compelled to draw a disturbing new character who has no place in a children’s book.

Short stories

Show Don’t Tell, by Curtis Sittenfeld (Doubleday, Feb 27): The acclaimed author homes in on urban Midwesterners dealing with middle-aged disillusionment in this amusing collection of stories featuring moving moments, moral dilemmas, comedy and life lessons.

Crime fiction

Burn After Reading, by Catherine Ryan Howard (Transworld): Gripping new thriller from the best-selling Cork author of 56 Days. The night Jack Smyth ran into flames in a desperate attempt to save his wife from their burning home, he was, tragically, too late – but hailed a hero. Until it emerged that Kate was dead long before the fire began...

The Seventh Floor, by David McCloskey (Swift Press, Jan 30): Fans of espionage thrillers should bag a copy of the third part in this stand-out series from the former CIA officer which began with Damascus Station, followed by Moscow X. The latest is focused on a Russian mole hidden within the upper reaches of the CIA, with the plot bouncing between the corridors of Langley and the Kremlin.

Death At The White Hart, by Chris Chibnall (Penguin Michael Joseph, Mar 27): Debut novel from the award-winning writer of the hit TV series Broadchurch. He brings that expertise to the novel form, set in a small-town community in which a city CID detective moves back to Dorset and straight into a murder mystery.

Murder On Line One, by Jeremy Vine (HarperCollins, Apr 24): He’s written romantic fiction and assorted memoirs, now the popular radio and TV presenter leaps into the world of crime, with his debut murder mystery about a killer on the airwaves.

Nature

Is A River Alive?, by Robert Macfarlane (Hamish Hamilton, May 1): This acclaimed author explores the past, present and future of our rivers and how they are threatened, wounded and defended, starting in Ecuador, meandering through India and ending in north- eastern Quebec.