December 2025 New Book Releases to End the Year on a High Note
Wrap up the year with a fresh stack of books. December’s new releases bring cozy romances, thrilling mysteries, and stories that will stay with you into the new year.
Can’t-Miss Reads to End the Year Strong
As the year winds down and the days grow shorter, there’s no better time to curl up with a new read. December brings a final wave of 2025 book releases that will warm your heart, challenge your mind, and keep you turning pages through the holidays. From sweeping romances and gripping thrillers to cozy fantasies and inspiring memoirs, this month’s new arrivals offer something for every Reader Type. We've found perfect gift ideas for your favorite book lover or a little literary joy to treat yourself!
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Beach Reader
by JUzma Jalaluddin
For an ambitious attorney and a rising-star chef, a cross-cultural fake romance takes an unexpected detour in a heartwarming and funny novel by the author of Much Ado About Nada and Ayesha at Last.
Bookworm
by Matthew Pearl
The author of Save Our Souls and The Dante Club makes his eagerly awaited return to fiction with this irreverent and propulsive novel about a young writer trying to make his way through a cutthroat literary scene that turns deadly.
Dragon Slayer
by Mercedes Lackey
The latest in Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series is a stand-alone romantasy based on Hans Christian Anderson's The Wild Swans.
A cozy, cottage-core Regency fantasy perfect for fans of Bridgerton.
Galactic Guru
by Brandon Sanderson
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson―creator of the Stormlight Archive, the Mistborn saga, and numerous smash-hit works of science fiction and fantasy―comes Tailored Realities, a new short fiction collection including the never-before-published novella "Moment Zero."
Game Day Hero
by Michel Gregor, M.D., FACLM
An empowering guide featuring the latest scientific discoveries on nutrition and longevity. Discover the foods, exercise, and lifestyle habits that prevent the fifteen leading causes of disease-related death.
Full of practical, actionable advice and surprising, cutting edge nutritional science, these doctor's orders offer the best chance for living healthy well-beyond our expiration dates.
The Hobbyist
by Hiroko Yoda
A Japanese cultural historian shares a path to joyful living drawn from her nation's unique approach to spirituality and nature, offering a "fascinating" (Wintering author Katherine May) blend of memoir, cultural reporting, and practical guidance for anyone struggling to find balance in our turbulent modern world.
Leading Lady
by Ana Garriga and Carmen Urbita
An infectiously edifying, not-so-saintly self-help book that dives into the wild, wise, and unconventional lives of 16th- and 17th-century nuns, offering advice for our modern age and proving one thing: no matter the century, nuns know best.
Lifelong Learner
by Natan Last
An entertaining and eye-opening look at the history of crossword puzzles, who constructs them, and why crosswords matter as both a reflection of and influence on our culture
Maverick
by Sven Beckert
A landmark event years in the making, a brilliant global narrative that unravels the defining story of the past thousand years of human history.
Modern Romantic
by Stacia Stark
From the bestselling author of the Kingdom of Lies series comes a slow-burn romantasy set in a Roman-inspired world ruled by merciless vampires. Filled with breathtaking combat, vengeful gods, and magical creatures, We Who Will Die is the epic first installment in an enthralling new series perfect for fans of Carissa Broadbent, Jasmine Mas, and Rebecca Yarros.
Read our interview with author, Stacia Stark.
Self-Starter
by Kati Morton
Leading mental health advocate and licensed marriage and family therapist, Kati Morton, explores our common struggle and contradiction with control in ourselves and relationships, giving readers the ability to not only ask themselves whydo I keep doing this, but have the insight to find a real answer.
Serial Reader
by Christopher Carlsson
In The Living and the Dead, renowned criminologist Christoffer Carlsson masterfully transports us to the fields and forests of western Sweden, a region of farmers and truck drivers torn apart by economic injustice and self-deceit--a world where the portal between the living and the dead is flung wide open and where no one is entirely innocent
Spiritual Seeker
by Amy Clipston
The Lighthouse at the Cove is a tender, romantic escape to a coastal town where hearts heal, hope shines, and love finds a way--right when you least expect it.
Stunt Double
by Ace Atkins
Elmore Leonard meets Robert Ludlum in a rollicking comedic thriller set in 1985 from acclaimed author Ace Atkins, in which a suburban teen suspects his mom's new boyfriend is the ultimate bad guy--a KGB agent.
Time Traveler
by Laura Restrepo
Retelling the mythical love story between the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon in the refugee camps of the present day, Song of Ancient Lovers is a sublime ode to love and desire as forces shaping human history, with power that rivals forces of destruction.
Trendsetter
by James Patterson
The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe is a true crime thriller about a woman who changed Hollywood history, and whose indelible image captures our imagination to this day.
On June 1, 2026, the world celebrates Marilyn Monroe's one hundredth birthday.
Without her.
Woke Up Like This
by Lovell Holder
For fans of Survivor and Less, this fast-paced debut novel shines an unflinching light on the drama of reality TV when a gay man returns to the cut-throat show he won in his youth after his adult life begins to unravel.
World Traveler
by Gareth Russell
A groundbreaking and insightful exploration of King James I, enigmatic successor to Queen Elizabeth I, from the "meticulous researcher" (The Wall Street Journal).
From the assassination of his father to the explosive political and personal intrigues of his reign, this fresh biography reveals as never before the passions that drove King James I.
Young at Heart
by Vicky Skinner
Perfect for fans of Tillie Cole and Laura Nowlin, this heartfelt and tearjerking novel starts when a girl embarks on a road trip to find out who her brother, who recently died, really was.
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