Greetings, book lovers! As we kick off a new year brimming with sparkling new inspirations, resolutions and reading goals, Woman’s World editors are also very excited about all the new books releasing in 2025—and we’re thrilled to report it’s looking like an excellent year for reading! (In fact, we’ve already shared a few highly anticipated 2025 books we can’t wait to read—like Beach House Rules by Kristy Woodson Harvey and Everyone Is Lying to You by Jo Piazza—over on our sister site, First for Women.) With so many riveting new titles arriving from beloved authors like Taylor Jenkins Reid, Rebecca Yarros, Charmaine Wilkerson, Jennifer Weiner, Emily Henry and more, your TBR (to-be-read) list is about to seriously expand.
Here, we narrowed down 12 of our most anticipated books coming out in 2025. From sweeping romance to spellbinding fantasy, heartfelt family saga and more, there’s something for every type of reading preference.
Keep scrolling to discover (and pre-order!) these upcoming new-release books. Happy reading!
Bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid returns with her first book in three years—and it’s a dazzling story set against the backdrop of the 1980s Space Shuttle program. Joan Goodwin is a professor of physics and astronomy who makes history by becoming one of the first female scientists ever accepted into NASA’s Space Shuttle training program. While there, she begins training alongside an extraordinary group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot John Griffin and scientist Hank Redmond, mission specialist Lydia Danes, Donna Fitzgerald and Vanessa Ford. Three years later, the group is still as strong as ever…until a 1984 rocket mission goes wrong, and Joan finds herself doing everything she can to bring her friends—and the person she loves— home before it’s too late.
What early readers are saying: “Absolutely brilliant. I am lucky enough to have read this early and cannot express how much I enjoyed it. It is a fantastic story with great characters and some very heartfelt and poignant messages. I couldn’t put it down.”
An epic romance on ice, Layne Fargo’s The Favorites is the story of Katarina Shaw, who has dreamed of being an Olympic ice skater for as long as she can remember, and her partner and first love, Heath Rocha. As their careers take off and their love story unfurls, fans can’t get enough of the super couple. Told from multiple points of view, including interviews with rival skaters, friends and family for an unauthorized documentary on the couple, this compelling read is sure to enchant.
What early readers are saying: “An unforgettable love story! The audiobook is amazing, with faux interviews and commentary from all the major players, including one character voiced by figure skater Johnny Weir. I couldn’t get enough of this book—it reminded me of both Daisy Jones and the Six and the 90s ice-skating movie, The Cutting Edge. Highly recommend!”
Beloved for her deeply emotional yet sharply funny novels, bestselling author Jojo Moyes has sold more than 50 million books, including the international sensation Me Before You. Her forthcoming novel, We All Live Here, follows Lila Kennedy and her unruly blended family: daughters Celie and Violet, her absent dad, Gene, and loving stepdad Bill. As Lila navigates divorce, she discovers the power of forgiveness—and what it actually means to be a family.
What early readers are saying: “This is a book that will make you laugh, cry, and feel everything in between. Moyes expertly weaves together moments of humor and heartbreak, creating a story that is both deeply moving and genuinely funny. “
A shimmering story about music, motherhood, sisterhood and the dreams we chase, Jennifer Weiner’s forthcoming novel The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits follows sisters Cassie and Zoe Grossberg, who were born a year apart—and are total opposites. And what they have in common—musical talent—catapults them to pop stardom in the early 2000s as the Griffin Sisters. But after a wild year, the duo break up. Now, two decades later Zoe is a housewife, Cassie’s MIA and the reason for the Griffin Sisters’ breakup is still unknown. Zoe’s teen daughter, Cherry, is determined to uncover what happened all those years ago. As old secrets come to light, the questions remain: Will the sisters ever forgive one another and make music again?
What early readers are saying: “The Griffin Sisters felt like old-school Jennifer Weiner in the best way. Following Zoe and Cassie as they make their way in the music world, and have to figure out who they are, who they want to be, and how they want to love others, was exhausting and cathartic and beautiful. This book is a prime example of how siblings can be the people that destroy you the most and also lift you up the most.”
Mystery, romance and scandal meld in bestselling author Emily Henry’s forthcoming Great Big Beautiful Life. When aspiring writer Alice Scott and Pulitzer-prize-winning writer Hayden Anderson are both invited to interview the mysterious and iconic Margaret Ives—who no one has seen in years—on Little Crescent Island, they are ecstatic. The hitch: Margaret will only choose one of them to write her biography after a one-month trial period. But once Alice and Hayden arrive, they discover Margaret is harboring secrets. Now, the writers have no choice but to ignore their disdain for one another—and their very inconvenient attraction—and learn how to work together before they risk losing the greatest writing gig of their lives. A pitch-perfect blend of forced-proximity, romantic tension and savvy storytelling!
What early readers are saying: “Emily Henry delivers another captivating narrative that weaves together romance, family dynamics and the complexities of storytelling in Great Big Beautiful Life. This time, she ventures into slightly different territory, incorporating elements of historical fiction and mystery while maintaining her signature warm, witty prose and deeply emotional core.”
Bestselling author of Black Cake—which was adapted into a Hulu TV series by the same name—Charmaine Wilkerson is known for her powerful sagas, and her new novel follows suit. When 10-year-old Ebby Freeman’s older brother is killed and a family heirloom is shattered, her world shifts. Eighteen years later, the crime is still not solved. As old secrets are unearthed, Ebby connects the dots between her family’s past and her future.
What early readers are saying: “This book beautifully explores grief, trauma, mental health, ancestry, racism, bravery, inheritance, and the importance of respecting history to shape one’s present and future. I enjoyed Good Dirt as much as Black Cake and highly recommend it to fans of inspirational historical fiction and the author’s previous work.”
This extraordinary debut asks the question: Does your name predict your destiny? The book begins with Cora and her young daughter, Maia, heading out to register the birth of Cora’s newborn son. From there, the story is told in three different versions: one in which Cora names her son after her abusive husband, one in which she gives him the name she prefers and one in which Maia names him. What follows is three incredibly different lives—each packed with moments of tenderness, love and heartbreak.
What early readers are saying: “I cannot overstate how much I loved this profound, unforgettable novel about a family’s legacy in the wake of an abusive patriarch. It was a difficult, brutal read at times but contained so much tenderness and beauty, too.”
The highly anticipated third installment in Rebecca Yarros’ beloved The Empyrean series takes readers on a spellbinding journey. As Violet Sorrengail nears the end of her time at Basgiath War College, a battle is brewing and she doesn’t know who to trust. Then she travels to seek allies from unfamiliar lands. As her strength and wits are put to the test, a dangerous secret threatens to destroy her and all she’s working toward.
What early readers are saying: Woman’s World editors are especially excited for this anticipated romantasy release. But Yarros, who is famously close to the vest, is not sharing early copies—at least not yet. Stay tuned for more coverage on this exhilarating release!
Dolen Perkins-Valdez is the bestselling author of the award-winning novel Take My Hand—and her forthcoming novel Happy Land is a captivating historical tale based on true events. This dual-timeline story centers on Nikki, who has been called to North Carolina by her estranged grandmother. Soon, Nikki discovers a shocking story about her great-great-great-grandmother, Queen Luella, and their family’s land. She continues hearing old stories about her ancestors in the hills of Appalachia—and realizes she must protect this sacred land at all costs. Filled with well-drawn characters, Perkins-Valdez delivers a vivid and hopeful story that brings real-life events to life again.
What early readers are saying: “I’m a huge Dolen Perkins fan, and her latest, based on a little-known kingdom formed on 205 acres by freed Black people in Western Carolina just after emancipation, absolutely did not disappoint. Gorgeous, sweeping, and hopeful story. Absolutely loved it.”
Bestselling author V.E. Schwab is back with another fantastical tale entitled Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil. The plot follows three young women whose bodies are all planted in the same soil at different times. One was in Santo Domingo de la Calzada in 1532, another was in London in 1827 and the last was in Boston in 2019. Soon, though, despite the differences in time and place, the three women find themselves intertwined with one another, desperate to escape their fate—and their fangs. A magical dual-timeline tale featuring suspense, thrills and vampires.
What early readers are saying: “This book was unbelievably amazing! The women were so compelling, and you could feel their fear, anger, passion, grief and rage. I honestly want to read it again already.”
Wally Lamb is the acclaimed author of six New York Times bestselling novels—including She Comes Undone and I Know This Much is True—and his upcoming book, The River is Waiting, is his first novel in eight years. The story follows young father Corby Ledbetter, who is losing his addiction battle. Then, Cody is incarcerated after an unspeakable tragedy. In prison, Cody bears witness to horror and violence, but he also finds small glimmers of hope, thanks to a prison librarian, a few fellow inmates, a tender-hearted cellmate and a teenager searching for a role model. A heartwrenching, moving tale about the power of forgiveness, resilience and growth.
What early readers are saying: “It’s been a long wait for a new Wally Lamb book, but this book was definitely worth waiting for. It’s a nuanced look at love and forgiveness by others but, more importantly, how to forgive yourself. Corby is a character that I won’t soon forget.”
Hunger Games fans rejoice! Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins is releasing in March and it’s a prequel set 24 years before the first Hunger Games book. The story follows the tributes of the 50th Hunger Games (or the second Quarter Quell), including fan-favorite character Haymitch Abernathy. After being selected in the reaping to compete in the 50th Hunger Games, Haymitch soon learns he must step it up and learn what it really means to be brave both in and out of the arena or risk losing everything he holds near and dear.
What early readers are saying: The Hunger Games is one of the highest-grossing film series based on young adult books, yielding more than $3 billion worldwide—so when Collins announced this prequel, the HG fandom went wild. Early review copies of this book remain elusive, but we cannot wait to dive into Haymitch’s story.
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