As we wrap up our 2024 reading lists, publishers are already teasing us with an incredible lineup for 2025. From literary fiction to spine-tingling thrillers, here’s a diverse selection of must-reads, all by women authors…
1. Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor (January)
A metafictional story about Zelu, who writes a speculative novel about AI after losing her university job. When the book becomes a sensation, she grapples with losing control of her narrative in what George R.R. Martin calls “her best work yet.”
2. Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson (January)
From the author of Black Cake comes a story of family secrets. When Ebby flees to France following a high-profile breakup, she’s forced to confront her brother’s unsolved murder and a mysterious shattered family heirloom.
3. Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray (February)
Set in 1919, Jessie becomes the first female editor of The Crisis magazine. While navigating an affair with her married boss, she discovers and nurtures the greatest talents of the Harlem Renaissance.
4. The King’s Messenger by Susanna Kearsley (March)
A messenger with second sight serves a treacherous king in this historical fiction endorsed by Diana Gabaldon. Alongside a court scrivener’s daughter, he navigates betrayal and murder in a web of royal intrigue.
5. The Sirens by Emilia Hart (April)
Three timelines interweave: a woman who wakes choking her ex-lover, her sister with a mysterious water allergy, and twin sisters aboard a convict ship to Australia. A spellbinding tale of supernatural connection.
6. Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry (April)
Two rival writers compete to pen the biography of Margaret Ives, heir to an infamous family legacy. In classic Henry style, their professional rivalry sparks into something more in this sunshine-meets-grumpy romance.
7. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid (June)
Set in the 1980s, Joan pursues her dream of becoming an astronaut. This ensemble story follows a crew preparing for space while wrestling with their earthbound lives and celestial destinies.
8. Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell (June)
Two women’s lives intersect when mysterious men enter their worlds. Nina mourns her restaurateur husband while Martha questions her second marriage, both unaware of the dangerous connections between them.
