There are so many awesome books scheduled to come out in 2025! I’m a month late with this but these are the books being released the 2nd quarter of the year (April-June) that I’m the most excited about…
The Staircase in the Woods, Chuck Wendig
Release Date: April 29
Five high school friends are bonded by an oath to protect one another no matter what.
Then, on a camping trip in the middle of the forest, they find something a mysterious staircase to nowhere.
One friend walks up—and never comes back down. Then the staircase disappears.
Twenty years later, the staircase has reappeared. Now the group returns to find the lost boy—and what lies beyond the staircase in the woods. . . .
Ever since reading The Book of Accidents I’ve been dying to read more of Wendig’s writing. It’s clever and frightening and unexpected- all the things I love in the books I read.
Heartwood, Amity Gaige
Release Date: April 1
In the heart of the Maine woods, an experienced Appalachian Trail hiker goes missing. She is forty-two-year-old Valerie Gillis, who has vanished 200 miles from her final destination. Alone in the wilderness, Valerie pours her thoughts into fractured, poetic letters to her mother as she battles the elements and struggles to keep hoping.
This is not my usual genre but I’m intrigued and interested in reading something on the thought provoking side right now. I think this will fit the bill.
My Friends, Fredrik Backman
Release Date: May 6
Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an artist herself, knows otherwise and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.
I’ll admit I fell off the Backman train long ago but I think I’m ready to come back. I think it was just a case of not being in the mood for this type of writing. I’m ready to try his stuff again.
The Man Made of Smoke, Alex North
Release Date: May 13
Dan Garvie’s life has been haunted by the crime he witnessed as a child—narrowly escaping an encounter with a notorious serial killer. He has dedicated his life since to becoming a criminal profiler, eager to seek justice for innocent victims. So when his father passes away under suspicious circumstances, Dan revisits his small island community, determined to uncover the truth about his death. Is it possible that the monster he remembers from his childhood nightmares has returned after all these years?
I put this on hold at my library as soon as I saw they had pre-ordered it. Can’t wait to read it!
The Incandescent, Emily Tesh
Release Date: May 13
Doctor Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood Academy and one of the most powerful magicians in England. Her days consist of meetings, teaching A-Level Invocation to four talented, chaotic sixth formers, more meetings, and securing the school’s boundaries from demonic incursions.
Walden is good at her job―no, Walden is great at her job. But demons are masters of manipulation. It’s her responsibility to keep her school with its six hundred students and centuries-old legacy safe. And it’s possible the entity Walden most needs to keep her school safe from―is herself.
I adore Emily Tesh! Her Greenhollow Duology remains all time favorites of mine. I’m excited that this is being told from the POV of a dark academia teacher rather than a student and I cannot wait to read this!
King of Ashes, S.A. Cosby
Release Date: June 10
When eldest son Roman Carruthers is summoned home after his father’s car accident, he finds his younger brother, Dante, in debt to dangerous criminals and his sister, Neveah, exhausted from holding the family—and the family business—together. Neveah and their father, who run the Carruthers Crematorium in the run-down central Virginia town of Jefferson Run, see death up close every day. But mortality draws even closer when it becomes clear that the crash that landed their father in a coma was no accident and Dante’s recklessness has placed them all in real danger.
This has been described as “a Godfather-inspired Southern crime epic and dazzling family drama“. I love Cosby’s balls to the walls writing style that finds incredible ways to explore aspects of humanity. His books are rollercoasters running off the rails and I love that kind of pacing.
I’d love to hear what Q2 2025 releases you’re most excited for!
