To BOOK, or to not BOOK these dates in your diary…
2024 has been full of amazing stories, among my favourites being Nothing Like the Movies, Funny Story, Magnolia Parks: Into the Dark, and The Reappearance of Rachel Price. I’ve already started planning my TBR for next year, with my Christmas list being full of books. But here are the 8 books that I’m most looking forward to in 2025!
Onyx Storm- Rebecca Yarros: 21st January 2025
Rebecca Yarros is actually responsible for my introduction into the fantasy world. Although I usually share book recommendations with friends, I had no interest when my friend was going on and on about Fourth Wing. I would just say “yeah wow, sounds great, definitely adding to my TBR”, but then actually not have listened to anything she said after she mentioned that the dragons could speak?
When she kindly (or manipulatively?) bought me Fourth Wing for my birthday I expected it to gather dust on my shelf, however one night I had nothing else to read so I thought I’d give it a whirl. Later that night I messaged her apologising for overlooking what actually was an amazing book. I’ll admit I cried, but I’ll also admit that Rebecca Yarros is mean and loves a cliff-hanger.
Now I won’t give too much away but the whole premise is that the main character, Violet, joined a war college as a dragon rider even though she was actually trained to basically just sit and write books, kind of like the plot of Divergent. I must say a big part of my reading experience for this was watching TikTok videos to see fan art of the characters, dragons, and college, as it really helps you to picture it and understand what’s going on (just try not to spoil it for yourself).
Iron Flame is the second in the series and is about Violet’s second year at Basgiath War College, and it’s arguably left on an even bigger cliff-hanger than the first book, this being the reason why the third instalment is such a big deal.
SPOILER ALERT
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SPOILER ALERT !
“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”
If you’ve read this far but not read the first book, then I’m sorry because it’s probably a bit of a spoiler as the whole of the first book is about if Violet will survive or not.
I definitely recommend trying to read them before the next one comes out but if you have then I’m sure you’ll be as excited as I am for the third book’s release!
Atmosphere - Taylor Jenkins Reid: 3rd June 2025
I am so excited for this one! Taylor Jenkins Reid books are some of my favourite reads. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Carrie Soto is back, Daisy Jones and The Six: she never fails to succeed in creating reads that captivate you, my only issue being that it never takes me more than a couple of days to finish one. I also love how they are all stand-alones and entirely different but occasionally characters will get mentioned (Mick Riva you pesky man) or they’ll be listening to the music from Daisy Jones and The Six.
So far two out of eight books have been brought to the screen (One True Loves adaptation was butchered but the Daisy Jones show is one of the best series I have ever watched!) and two more are in the process of being made. Anyway, let’s get onto the topic at hand.
“An epic novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle program and the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits.
In the summer of 1980, astrophysics professor Joan Goodwin begins training to be an astronaut at Houston’s Johnson Space Centre, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilots Hank Redmond and John Griffin; mission specialist Lydia Danes; warm-hearted Donna Fitzgerald; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer. As the new astronauts prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined and begins to question everything she believes about her place in the observable universe.
Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant.”
Now I know what many of you are thinking, it will be summer, you want to pick up a holiday read, so astronauts don’t really fit the vibe, but please trust me. I already know this is going to blow everyone away, like every other book she’s written. To be honest I have felt quite sceptical when picking up a few of her books. Starting Daisy Jones I was like, “Huh this is an interview style book not really my cup of tea”, but boy was I wrong. Carrie Soto, I thought “God this will be boring, what do I care about tennis” … now I’m in a tennis club. My point is, Taylor Jenkins Reid is one of those authors that manages to transport you to another place, whether it is LA in the 70’s, a beach-front summer party, Wimbledon… or outer space. So give her a try and I promise you won’t regret it.
Dream Harbour Series- Laurie Gilmore: 13th March 2025 & 11th September 2025
Image: Harper Collins Publishing
Welcome to Dream Harbour, TikTok’s favourite small town. If you like cosy romances, and festive reads, this is the series for you. Laurie Gilmore’s Pumpkin Spice Café went viral last year on TikTok with a grumpy x sunshine romance, and this year we were blessed with two more stories from the busy town. Cinnamon Bun Bookstore and The Christmas Tree Farm brought more romance to the ‘Dreamers’ but the books are also full of found family, a crazy “psychic” mayor, and lots of gossip from the town’s own book club.
The Strawberry Patch Pancake House (March)
“As a renowned chef, single-dad Archer never planned on moving to a small town, let alone running a pancake restaurant. But Dream Harbour needs a new chef, and Archer needs a community to help raise his daughter, Olive.
Iris has never managed to hold down a job for more than a few months. So when Mayor Kelly suggests Archer is looking for a nanny, and Iris might be available, she shudders at the thought. But in need of money she reluctantly agrees.
As Archer and Iris get used to their new roles, is it possible that they might have more in common than they first thought, or is Olive just determined to play matchmaker…”
The Gingerbread Bakery (September)
“A wedding in Dream Harbour can only mean one thing, everyone wants to get involved! With Jeanie and Logan set to tie the knot, and Kira desperate to hire out her newly renovated barn at the Christmas tree farm, everything seems to be going well.
Annie has agreed to bake the cake, and Mac is responsible for, well… just being Mac. And as the whole of Dream Harbour comes together to celebrate the wedding of the year with the snow falling around them, can Annie and Mac put aside their dislike for each just long enough for the ‘I Do’s’ or is that one request too far…”
Although these books aren’t life changing, I love a book series where each book is about different people in a group (my favourite being the Off Campus series, IYKYK) and I love the fact that there’s a book for almost every season.
Most importantly, we’ve been waiting since the first book in the series for Annie and Mac to just shut up and get together so I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing their happy ending.
Great Big Beautiful Life- Emily Henry: 22nd April 2025
Emily Henry screams ‘summer book’. There’s nothing more I could ask for than to be lying on a deckchair next to a pool, somewhere hot, whilst reading Beach Read. The vibrant colours and artwork for the covers just make me happy and I love to see them on my shelf, and so I can’t wait to add one more to my collection.
“Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: To write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years--or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the 20th Century.
Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, but the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.
And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad…depending on who’s telling it.”
I actually couldn’t tell you which of her books is my favourite but I have high hopes for this as to me it seems like the happy summer version of Colleen Hoover’s Verity, which I loved.
Not quite dead yet- Holly Jackson: July 2025
I don’t know how Holly Jackson does it. In my opinion she is the queen of plot twists. Some you know are coming, some you never expect. These are the sorts of book you sit there grinning thinking you know exactly what has happened and then you read another chapter and suddenly your whole life changes, your jaw is on the floor, and you think you’re an idiot for not noticing that one tiny detail that happened 14 chapters ago.
So far Holly has released 5 books and a short novella, and every single one she has done perfectly. So perfectly in fact that she must actually be some sort of double-life, serial killer/ criminal minds expert. Her Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series is her most well-known and was recently made into a TV show but I won’t lie, I was disappointed. I felt it missed so many little elements that feel crucial for the rest of the book series. It is still a great watch but probably better if you haven’t read the books.
“In seven days Jet Mason will be dead.
Jet is the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Woodstock, Vermont. Twenty-seven years old, she’s still waiting for her life to begin. She’ll do it later, she always says. She has time.
Until, on the night of Halloween, Jet is violently attacked by an unseen intruder.
She suffers a catastrophic brain injury. The doctor is certain that within a week, she’ll suffer a deadly aneurysm.
Jet never thought of herself as having enemies. But now she looks at everyone in a new light: her family, her ex-best friend turned sister-in-law, her former boyfriend.
She has just seven days left and as her condition deteriorates, she has only her childhood friend Billy to turn to for help. But it’s her last chance, and she’s absolutely determined to finally finish something:
Jet is going to solve her own murder.”
This new book is going to be her first adult thriller and although I’m excited, I’m also a little nervous as she has said it is “The best thing [she’s] ever written” so God knows what she has in store for us.
One Golden Summer- Carley Fortune: 6th May 2025
I mentioned earlier that my perfect summer holiday would include an Emily Henry book by the pool, but what I didn’t mention is that it’s because I will have already finished a Carley Fortune book on the plane.
Although Carley so far only has 3 books out, they are 100% some of the best summer reads. Her debut book, Every Summer after, was about a woman remembering how she spent her summers as a kid with her neighbours, brothers Sam and Charlie, and having to navigate her adult relationship with them when she is brought back to her childhood home years later. Books 2 and 3 were entirely different universes, but book 4 will be returning to Barry’s Bay as our new main character meets Charlie from the first book.
“I never anticipated Charlie Florek.
Good things happen at the lake. That’s what Alice’s grandmother says, and it’s true. Alice spent just one summer at a cottage with Nan when she was seventeen—it’s where she took that photo, the one of three grinning teenagers in a yellow speedboat, the image that changed her life.
Now Alice lives behind a lens. As a photographer, she’s most comfortable on the side-lines, letting other people shine. Lately though, she’s been itching for something more, and when Nan falls and breaks her hip, Alice comes up with a plan for them both: another summer in that magical place, Barry’s Bay. But as soon as they settle in, their peace is disrupted by the roar of a familiar yellow boat, and the man driving it.
Charlie Florek was nineteen when Alice took his photo from afar. Now he’s all grown up—a shameless flirt, who manages to make Nan laugh and Alice long to be seventeen again, when life was simpler, when taking pictures was just for fun. Sun-slanted days and warm nights out on the lake with Charlie are a balm for Alice’s soul, but when she looks up and sees his piercing green gaze directly on her, she begins to worry for her heart.
Because Alice sees people—that’s why she is so good at what she does—but she’s never met someone who looks and sees her right back.”
I think this will be a really good book, I’m looking forward to seeing the story of a previous main character with someone we’re yet to meet. I’m not sure if this is meant to be a sequel but I would recommend reading the first one as you get to know Charlie’s character both as a teenager and an adult.
Sunrise on the Reaping - Suzanne Collins: 18th March 2025
This is arguably the most anticipated release of 2025 but before I start, I need to be honest, I haven’t read the other Hunger Games books. I’ve watched the movies, but although I know the books are so much better, I can’t bring myself to read them because I know what happens. Although you could say I’m a fake fan, I actually am extremely excited for this book. We all love Haymitch and it’s going to be beyond exciting getting to hear the story of his games. The release of this has encouraged me to add the original books to my TBR but we’ll see if that actually happens.
“As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honour 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.”
We were already given what I think is a brilliant prequel to the Games so this one is surely going to be even better, and I will definitely be reading before the movie comes out this time.
Notable Mentions:
The conditions of will- A new novel from the author of Magnolia Parks
Image: Orion Books
I need the next book in the Magnolia Parks universe like I need air. It was rumoured that the next in the series was meant to come out last August, and the one after that in February 2025 but obviously that didn’t happen.
So far Jessa Hastings has released 5 books in this series in the past 3 years, now she has something up her sleeve to announce . In an interview she said how she was reluctant to start Daisy’s next book as she felt so bad about what she’d have to put her through. This is very fair, as each of her books have just gotten worse and worse in terms of ripping your heart to shreds.
Jessa’s new novel will be available from 1st April 2025, the hardback will retail at £20.
New Sarah J Mass?
I have not actually read any of her books so far (ACOTAR is sat on my shelf) but I know most people will be waiting for her to release something new. So far, she has been releasing multiple books a year but her contract with her publishing company seems to now only need her to release one book every 2 financial years?
This is information from social media such as TikTok and Reddit, and I’m a bit confused by all the contradictions, but it’s thought she’ll be releasing a new book in March 2025. Don’t get too excited, some think she won’t even announce until later in the year.
Written by Pepper Young
Edited by Isabel Butler