40 of the best new books in 2025

January

A Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage by Asia Mackay

Hazel and Fox are an ordinary married couple with a baby. Except for one small thing: they're ex-serial killers. But recently Hazel has started to feel that itch again. When she kills someone behind Fox's back and brings the police to their door, she must do anything she can to protect her family. This could save their marriage – unless it kills them first.

The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji

In Iran, the Valiat family were somebodies. In America, they're nobodies. When an annual vacation in Aspen goes wildly awry, the family's brittle upper class veneer is cracked wide open. Soon, they must embark upon a grand quest to restore the family name to its former glory.

Spanning from 1940s Iran into a splintered 2000s, five women are pulled apart and brought together by revolutions personal and political in this darkly funny, deeply moving and profoundly searching portrait of a unique family in crisis.

The Favourites by Layne Fargo

Katarina Shaw has always known she’s destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Until, at the Olympic Games, as the world holds its breath, a shocking incident instantly destroys their partnership.

Ten years later, an unauthorised tell-all documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha. If Kat wants to own her story, she must spin into a dance between passion, ambition and what it truly means to win.

February

Hope Street by Mike Gayle

The uplifting and heartfelt new novel from the author of A Song of Me and You.

Lila Metcalfe is a trainee journalist in Derby and she's very used to being given the stories that no one else wants. So, when her editor tells her that the city's Cossington Park development is being held up by a solitary resident on Hope Street who is refusing to leave, she knows she is going to be the one sent to find out more. And that's how she meets Connor.

The Sirens by Emilia Hart

Sisters separated by centuries. Voices that can't be drowned out. Lucy is running from what she’s done – and what someone did to her. There’s only one person who might understand: her sister Jess. But when Lucy arrives at her sister’s desolate cliff-top house, Jess is gone.

From the bestselling author of Weyward comes a haunting exploration of sisterhood, misogyny and the ghosts of the past.

Sycorax by Nydia Hetherington

Born of the sun and moon, shaped by fire and malady, comes a young woman whose story has never been told...

They call her Sycorax. Seer. Sage. Sorceress.

From the author of the acclaimed A Girl Made of Air comes a bravura origin story for Shakespeare's The Tempest.

March

Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A publishing event ten years in the making – a searing, exquisite new novel by the bestselling and award-winning author of Americanah and Half of a Yellow Sun.

Chiamaka, a Nigerian travel writer living in America, recalls her past lovers and grapples with her choices and regrets. Zikora, her best friend, is a lawyer who has been successful at everything until — betrayed and brokenhearted — she must turn to the person she thought she needed least. Omelogor, Chiamaka’s bold, outspoken cousin, is a financial powerhouse in Nigeria who begins to question how well she knows herself. And Kadiatou, Chiamaka’s housekeeper, is proudly raising her daughter in America – but faces an unthinkable hardship that threatens all she has worked to achieve.

Madame Sosostris & the Festival for the Broken-Hearted by Ben Okri

From the Booker Prize-winning author comes a riot of atmosphere and imagination that recasts A Midsummer Night's Dream in the guise of Eliot's The Waste Land.

Crowds descend on the grounds of a dreamlike chateau in the South of France for the experience of a lifetime: Viv’s inaugural Festival for the Broken-Hearted, marking the twentieth anniversary of the day her first husband left her. Everyone is in fancy dress. No one knows who anyone is. They wander the beautiful woods with just one night to change everything. Will Viv and her husband make it through the night? Will anyone else?

Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa

Born with a congenital muscle disorder, Shaka Isawa has severe spine curvature and uses an electric wheelchair and ventilator. Her life is lived online: she studies, she tweets indignantly, she posts outrageous stories on an erotica website. One day, a new male carer reveals he has read it all. Her response? An indecent proposal…

Written by the first disabled author to win Japan’s most prestigious literary award, Hunchback is an extraordinary, thrilling glimpse into the desire and darkness of a woman placed at humanity’s edge.

Stag Dance by Torrey Peters

Deep in the forest, a group of restless lumberjacks working an illegal logging outfit plan a winter dance that some will volunteer to attend as women.

Meanwhile, in other times and places, the gender apocalypse is brought about by an unstable ex-girlfriend; an illicit boarding-school romance surfaces intrigue and cruelty; and a Las Vegas party weekend turns dark.

Acidly funny, boldly inventive and breathtaking in scope, comes the irresistible follow-up to the hit debut novel Detransition, Baby.

April

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

Margaret Ives, the famously reclusive heiress, invites eternal optimist Alice Scott to the balmy Little Crescent Island, along with the Pulitzer prize-winning Hayden Anderson. The proposal? A one-month trial period to unearth the truth behind one of the most scandalous families of the 20th century, after which Margaret will choose who’ll tell her story. Will this be Alice’s big break?

A deliciously escapist new enemies-to-lovers romcom from the author of the bestselling Happy Place.

The Best of Everything by Kit de Waal

Paulette's the kind of woman who likes the future all mapped out: the wedding to Denton, the Caribbean honeymoon, the gingham quilt on the baby's crib. Until one morning Garfield, Denton's friend, arrives at her door with the news that Denton won't be coming around any more, that there won't be time for her to say goodbye.

The author of the acclaimed My Name is Leon delivers a luminous novel about the meaning of kindness and the way love can alter the course of one's life.

Murder on Line One by Jeremy Vine

The much-loved journalist and broadcaster turns his hand to cosy crime in this accomplished edge-of-your-seat mystery.

There's a killer on the airwaves … and they're calling for you. Darkness looms over sunny Sidmouth, when an unsolved murder comes to the attention of late-night radio talk show host Edward Temmis. But who is pursuing his audience and why? And can Edward, Stevie and Kim get to the bottom of this mystery before it’s too late?

Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori

In our near-future world, children are solely conceived by artificial insemination. Amane’s parents copulated to create her and hope that she will follow their irregular path, but Amane wants a regular 'clean' marriage. Then she hears of a place that is the subject of a social experiment. Everyone in Paradise-Eden will act as one big family. Could this be the perfect third way?

Utterly absorbing, hilarious and radical all at once comes this stunning tale from the megaselling author of Convenience Store Woman.

May

Bitter Honey by Lola Akinmade Akerstrom

In 1978, a scholarship draws Nancy from Gambia’s warmth into Sweden’s winter. When her friendship with charismatic scholar Lars blossoms into something more, she thinks she may have finally found her place. But Nancy is about to discover the danger of being drawn into his world…

In 2006, Tina may have found fame as the nation’s Eurovision pop princess, but beneath her glittery façade, Tina is desperate to discover who she really is. Her mother, Nancy, seems desperate to keep the past under wraps, but will an unexpected figure help open the door?

It Should Have Been You by Andrea Mara

You press send and your message disappears. Full of secrets about your neighbours, it’s meant for your sister. But it doesn’t reach her – it goes to the entire local community WhatsApp group instead. As rumour spreads like wildfire through the picture-perfect neighbourhood, you convince yourself that people will move on, that this will quickly be forgotten.

But then you receive the first death threat.

An electrifying new thriller from the author of No One Saw a Thing.

June

The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong

A wayward young man in New England, out of sheer chance, becomes the caretaker for an 82-year-old widow living with dementia.

From the immensely acclaimed author of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous comes this innovative and lyrical story of friendship and how much we’re willing to risk to possess one of life’s most treasured mercies: a second chance.

The Gowkaran Tree in the Middle of Our Kitchen by Shokoofeh Azar

Spanning fifty years in the history of modern Iran, this lush, layered story embraces politics and family, revolution and reconstruction, loss and love, as it recounts the colourful destinies of twelve children who get lost one long-ago night inside a mysterious palace. 

From the International Booker Prize-nominated author comes the moving story of one family’s efforts to preserve the richness of Iranian culture in the face of Islamic hegemony following the 1979 revolution.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab

From the bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue comes a new genre-defying, unforgettable novel to sink your teeth into.

Santo Domingo de la Calzada, 1532. London, 1837. Boston, 2019.

Three young women, their bodies planted in the same soil, their stories tangling like roots. One grows high, and one grows deep, and one grows wild. And all of them grow teeth.

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

From the megaselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones and the Six comes an epic new story of love and ambition.

In the summer of 1980, astrophysics professor Joan Goodwin begins training to be an astronaut alongside 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.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant.

January

Big Veg Energy: Plant-based just got better by Christina Soteriou

Popular chef and content creator Christina Soteriou shares 100 unbelievably delicious, plant-based recipes, from snacks and starters to sharing platters and desserts. Expect nourishing, vibrant dishes – sweet potatoes with tahini chickpeas, pulled leeks with pistachio cream and peanut butter cherry jam semifreddo, anyone? – alongside extra features on key ingredients for your store cupboard, debunking vegan myths and tips on saving money and storing food.

No Filters: a mother and teenage daughter love story by Christie Watson & Rowan Egberongbe

Desperate to communicate with her struggling teenage daughter, Christie turned to Snapchat, sharing daily selfies of her face superimposed onto a chicken nugget. In an age of polarisation, this is how a mother and daughter found humour in the things that divided them, and became more hopeful about the future of our world.

A book for all parents and teenagers going through a tough time, for friends, grandparents, teachers and healthcare professionals who want to help, its bare honesty will have you laughing – and possibly crying – out loud as it shows that you are not alone.

Frequently Happy: 52 Mindful Moments to Bring Hope and Joy by David Larbi

Life can often be stressful. Each day might seem like a struggle to get through. You may find yourself desperate to get to the weekend, or wishing time would pass more quickly. David Larbi is here to show you how to see beauty in the everyday and build pockets of joy, inspiration and calm into your life.

Combining poetry with weekly reflections, this book is designed to help you explore your emotions, seize opportunities to grow, and find happiness all year round.

February

I Want to Talk to You: And Other Conversations by Diana Evans

As a young journalist, Diana Evans was catapulted overnight into the role of culture editor, going on to interview a roster of stars including Lauryn Hill, Viola Davis, Alice Walker and Edward Enninful.

In these pieces, collected here for the first time, we also see her turning the lens on herself: dancing on stages in London and travelling through Cuba, developing her voice as a writer, and navigating the world – her family and the midlife sandwich, reflections on fashion, yoga, the British monarchy and lockdowns, and the lasting impact of George Floyd and Grenfell.

Against the Odds: Women Pioneers of Science by John Gribbin & Mary Gribbin 

Even in the third decade of the twenty-first century, it is still harder for women to make a career in science than men. Two centuries ago, however, the situation was far worse. Bestselling and award-winning science writers John and Mary Gribbin highlight the achievements of women who overcame hurdles and achieved scientific success: it’s a cautionary tale about the stifling effects of prejudice against women in science, a celebration of those who achieved success against the odd – and an inspiration for the next generation.

Source Code: My Beginnings by Bill Gates

Bill Gates’ highly anticipated memoir takes us back to his beginnings, from his childhood in Seattle to the pivotal moment he dropped out of Harvard at the age of 20 to devote all his energies to Microsoft. The book ends in the late 1970s when Microsoft, still with only a dozen employees, signed its first deal with Apple.

Yet Gates never forgot his mother’s reminder that he was merely a steward of any wealth that he gained. This warm and inspiring book, Bill Gates’ origin story, allows readers to understand his energy and ambition – and to see how he sets himself in the world.

The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates, the acclaimed journalist and author, originally set out to write a book about writing, but soon found himself grappling with deeper questions about the destructive myths that shape our world. The result is this book, in which we join him on his journeys to three sites of conflict – Dakur, South Carolina, and Palestine – as he explores how the stories we tell, and the ones we don’t, shape our realities.

Written at a dramatic moment in American and global history, this important book is about the urgent need to embrace the liberating power of even the most difficult truths.

March

Bookish: How Reading Shapes Our Lives by Lucy Mangan

From exploring the stacks as a student, to finding her feet as a bookseller-turned-journalist, falling for a fellow bookworm in an independent bookshop, escaping the doldrums of new motherhood and finally building a (book) room of her own, Bookish is the story of a life spent falling in love with reading.

Brimming with literary insights, wry observations and stellar recommendations, this book is an ode to the bookish places – from local libraries to bookstores big and small – and the stories that make us who we are.

Sama Sama: Comfort food from my Malaysian-Scottish kitchen by Julie Lin 

Saturday Kitchen favourite Julie Lin celebrates all the parts of her identity (Malaysian, Chinese and Scottish) in Sama Sama, with 90 delicious recipes and heartfelt tales of self-discovery.

Always encouraging simplicity for maximum joy in the kitchen, Julie teaches us to cook with soul, trust our palates and broaden our ideas of authenticity. Enjoy accessible dishes with explosive flavours, such as Chilli Crisp Puttanesca, Steak au Sichuan Poivre and Kaya Croissant-and-Butter Pudding.

What is free speech? The History of a Dangerous Idea by Fara Dabhoiwala

‘Free Speech!’ is a clarion call all over the world, yet what it means today is more contested than ever. Ranging across Europe, North America and South Asia, and not neglecting other parts of the world, Dabhoiwala rejects celebratory platitudes about the past and present of free expression.

Instead, his book explains how to think more deeply about free speech as a global as well as a local question – by tracing how we got into our current predicaments, showing that history complicates our contemporary presumptions, and suggesting fresh possibilities for the future.

Story of a Murder: The Wives, the Mistress and Dr Crippen by Hallie Rubenhold

In 1910, the name Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen entered legend when the remains of his wife were discovered in his London cellar. For over a century, this murder has been retold as a tale about a cold-blooded killer and the heroic men who brought him to justice; however, the real story is one that hasn’t been heard. It is told by the ranks of women who dominated the case, whose version of events has been drowned out by those of law enforcement and even by the murderer himself. Here, the acclaimed author of the bestselling The Five re-tells the story from their perspectives, painting a chilling picture of an Edwardian world not so entirely distant from our own.

April

Who Wants Normal?: The Disabled Girls’ Guide to Life by Frances Ryan

Part memoir, part manifesto, and full of Frances Ryan’s trademark warmth, humour and honesty, Who Wants Normal? draws on Frances’s own experience as well as those of over 50 of Britain's best-known women and non-binary people with mental and physical health conditions, lifting the lid on a subject that is too often shrouded in stereotypes and silence.

It offers support, inspiration and a sense of solidarity to the 1 in 4 women with long-term health conditions – and will open the eyes of anyone wanting to better understand what life is really like with a disability.

The Inspired Traveller: Our World in 100 Cultural Places by Sarah Baxter and Susie Hodge, illustrated by Amy Grimes  

Immerse yourself in 100 places that have inspired a remarkable cultural environment, from the labyrinthian Parisian streets of Les Misérables and the charming Montmartre streets of Amélie, to Brooklyn, home of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing and Jean-Michel Basquiat’s stomping ground round the East Village.

Split by continent, and with fascinating text and charming hand-drawn illustrations for each entry, this is the ultimate atlas of 100 cultural places every armchair traveller needs to know about.

The Lost Girls of Autism: How Science Failed Autistic Women - and the New Research that's Changing the Story by Gina Rippon

It is now becoming increasingly clear that many autistic women and girls do not fit the traditional, male, model of autism. Instead, they camouflage and mask, hiding their autistic traits to accommodate a society that shuns them. Autism’s ‘male spotlight’ means we are only now starting to redress this profound injustice.

In The Lost Girls of Autism, renowned brain scientist Gina Rippon delves into the emerging science of female autism, asking why it has been systematically ignored for so long, and urging society to recognize the full spectrum of autistic experience.

May

BIG DUNC: The Upfront Autobiography by Duncan Ferguson

On the pitch in the 1990s, fans loved Duncan Ferguson, or Big Dunc, for his roguish charm, his thrilling goals and his total commitment in every game. He soon became one of football’s most charismatic but notorious and enigmatic hardmen, and the first and only footballer to have gone to jail for a crime committed on a football pitch.

Here he reveals the full story of his experiences in prison, his battle with alcoholism, his partying, fighting and bankruptcy, and how he turned his life around through his beloved Everton F.C.. Now a coach and manager, he is a pillar of the community in Merseyside, giving back to stricken children who share a similar tough upbringing to his own. Duncan's book takes readers on a rollercoaster ride of humour, drama and redemption. Buckle up.

Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal: My Adventures in Neurodiversity by Robin Ince

For over thirty years, award-winning broadcaster and comedian Robin Ince has entertained thousands in person and on air. But underneath the surface, a whirlwind was at play – a struggle with sadness, concentration, self-doubt and near-constant anxiety. But then he discovered he had all the hallmarks of ADHD and his stumbling blocks became stepping stones.

Packed with personal insights, intimate anecdotes and interviews with psychologists, neuroscientists and many neurodivergent people he has met along the way, this is a quirky and witty dive into the world of human behaviour.

Ocean: How to Save Earth's Last Wilderness by Sir David Attenborough and Colin Butfield 

From the icy oceans of our poles to remote coral islands, David Attenborough has filmed in every ocean habitat on planet earth. Now, with long-term collaborator Colin Butfield, he shares the story of our last great, critical wilderness, and the one which shapes the land we live on, regulates our climate and creates the air we breathe.

Ocean uncovers the mystery, the wonder and the frailty of the most unexplored habitat on our planet, and shows its remarkable resilience: in our lifetimes we could see a fully restored marine world, even richer and more spectacular than we could possibly hope, if we act now.

Fatherhood: A History of Love and Power by Augustine Sedgewick

Historian Augustine Sedgewick explores the origins and transformation of one of the most potent ideas in human history: fatherhood.

From the anxious philosophers of ancient Athens and Henry VIII’s obsessive quest for an heir, to Charles Darwin’s theories of human origins, Bob Dylan’s take down of ‘The Man’, and beyond, Sedgewick shows how successive generations of men have shaped our understanding of what it means to be and have a father, and in turn our ideas of who we are, where we come from and what we are capable of.

June

Am I Having Fun Now?: Anxiety, Applause and Life's Big Questions, Answered by Suzi Ruffell

In this brutally honest, funny, and often moving memoir, Suzi winningly tells her life story, and asks a host of experts to answer the tricky questions it prompts along the way. From masking anxiety with musical theatre and struggling to find her groove at school, on stage, and in her love life, to (eventually) coming out, falling in love, and becoming a parent, Suzi lays her life bare with trademark wit, verve and style.

Studded with brilliant, cutting observations on feminism, being working class in the world of arts and comedy, LGBTQ+ equality and the up- and downsides of ambition, this is perfect reading for fans of books by Fern Brady, Elizabeth Day, Romesh Ranganathan, Sarah Pascoe and Tom Allen.

A Woman's Place is in the Kitchen: a chef's dispatches from behind the pass by Sally Abé

Despite the misogynistic refrain that women 'belong in the kitchen', it's a fact that women make up only 17% of the workforce when it comes to professional chefs.  Here, Sally Abé – who has worked everywhere from the Savoy to the Ledbury, and now runs destination restaurant The Pem – draws back the curtain on the good, and bad, and downright ugly of restaurant kitchens; and how they might be changed for the better.

A stirring manifesto for change, it's also the story of how a girl from Sheffield who used to cook herself Smash to get by is now one of the most successful fine-dining chefs working today.