This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read my full disclosure for more information.
Here are my 12 most anticipated fall book releases of 2025. Every single author on this list is a favourite author of mine, meaning, I’d pre-order and read everything and anything they publish. I am so incredibly excited for another brilliant fall reading list.
And yes, I know that I’m late. But the good thing is most of these books recently published, so we can now read them.
With the exception of four books that are memoirs, every other book on this list is either a new fictional novel or is part of a sequel to a previously published work.
Don’t worry, there will be no spoilers in this post!
Did you know there is a video form of this post? You can watch it here.
1. How to Make Your Brain Your Best Friend by Rachel Barr
Release Date: August 27th, 2025
I’ve been watching a couple of Dr Rachel Barr’s neuroscience videos on TikTok these last few years. I love the way she articulates her thoughts on the brain and I was so excited when she announced her book “How to Make Your Brain Your Best Friend.”
This is a book for those interested in learning the ways in which the brain can create neural pathways to aid create new habits, new skills, and new ways of thinking. It is also part memoir as the author shares examples and habits from her life.
2. Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross
Release Date: September 2nd, 2025
“Wild Reverence” is part of the Divine Rivals duology by Rebecca Ross. I believe it was last October when I read and fell in love with this epistolary romantasy series.
This new, big book (500 pages by the way) does not however follow our main characters Iris and Roman from the original duology. Instead, it delves deeper into the story of the Gods which is an element that I found intriguing in the books. I recall saying that I would love to explore the world of the Gods more in last year’s reading vlog. So basically, I manifested it.
In “Wild Reverence,” we follow Mathilda who is the youngest goddess of her tribe. She carries the gift of being a messenger. Now that the gods are warring, Mathilda has to learn how to survive.
Meanwhile, Vincent, a mortal boy she’s never met in the waking world, but has met in her dreams, had written to her, begging for her friendship in the bleakest night of his life a decade ago.
His letter, left unanswered, has hardened his heart. Vincent did not expect Mathilda to return his letter many moons later.
From the summary, I can see echoes of the previous duology – letters and a fated love – but now this book centers the backstory of the Gods and Goddesses during their raging war.
3. Hot Wax by M. L. Rio
Release Date: September 9th, 2025
“Hot Wax” is M. L. Rio’s rock music-focused novel. I loved her first novel, the famous dark academia book titled “If We Were Villains” and I also enjoyed her novella, “Graveyard Shift.”
We follow Suzanne in the summer of 1989 in which she tags along with the tour of her father’s sensational rock band Gil and the Kills. But slowly the band disintegrates under the pressure of internal struggles and violent acts that will take decades to uncover.
Twenty-nine years later, after her father’s sudden passing, Suzanne is back on the road to uncover what she has once lost: desire and a sense of adventure. The only problem is that her husband Rob is chasing after her to bring her back home.
I also follow M. L. Rio on Substack and she writes about life on the road, music (bands, vinyl, etc.), and publishing. You should definitely check her newsletter out here, if that’s your cup of tea.
4. All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation by Elizabeth Gilbert
Release Date: September 9th, 2025
As the full title suggests, “All the Way to the River” is a memoir of love, loss, and liberation by Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of “Eat Pray Love” and “Big Magic” two of my favourite memoirs.
I have a lot of faith in her as a memoirist and writer. I’ve seen her give a talk live in Toronto about 2 years ago and it was quite a transformative talk. She’s truly a natural at expressing herself and moving an audience.
Elizabeth Gilbert lost her one true love, Rayya who was her best friend since the year 2000 and then later became her romantic partner. Rayya died of pancreatic cancer back in 2018.
I’m particularly interested in this memoir because it deals with love addiction and substance abuse.
5. Alchemised by SenLinYu
Release Date: September 23rd, 2025
“Alchemised” is actually the famous Dramione (Draco and Hermione ship) fan fiction titled Manacled. I definitely missed the bandwagon when it was a fic since I didn’t want to commit to 1000 pages at the time. But now that it’s published and altered, I feel like I have no more excuses but to pick up this book.
In this dark fantasy novel, the world of Paladia is ruled by powerful and corrupt families and depraved necromancers. From what I recall, it’s basically Harry Potter if Voldemort had won in the end.
We follow the story of Helena Marino who is imprisoned in this war-torn world of necromancy and alchemy. The problem is… she’s missing part of her memories. She was once a promising alchemist, yet in her Resistance record she is labelled as a simple healer.
However, her enemies doubt of her abilities, pointing at her bigger role in the Resistance. She is therefore sent to High Reeve, a powerful necromancer of this new world to uncover her deepest memories.
6. Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Release Date: October 7th, 2025
I believe “Mate” can potentially be read as a standalone. Although it is listed as a companion novel to Ali Hazelwood’s first book in this world titled “Bride.” I really enjoyed my time reading “Bride” as it brought me back into the Twilight days with the rivalry between vampires and werewolves at the centre of the story.
If you want to go in completely blind for both books, skip the following summary:
In this book, we follow Serena Paris, an orphaned human and packless werewolf. Her life is in danger as she is the first werewolf hybrid, who is destined to bridge the gap between the ever-increasing animosity of Weres and Vampyres. Only Koen Alexander, the commandeering Were pack leader can help keep her safe… I’m guessing they… fall in love?
7. Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber
Release Date: October 7th, 2025
“Alchemy of Secrets” is another novel dealing with alchemy but this one gives me more of an impression of a dark academia urban fantasy. And it’s set in LA/Hollywood, which is different from most dark academia books.
Influenced by her professor who taught Folklore 517: Local Legends and Urban Myths, we follow a graduate student named Holland who is trying to prove that famous Hollywood deaths are actually caused by the devil for her thesis paper.
The premise sounds cooky but I’m in. This will be my first Stephanie Garber book. I know she has two very popular series but I’ve decided I’ll give her a chance by reading her academic standalone first.
8. Girl Dinner by Olivie Blake
Release Date: October 21st, 2025
Anything by Olivie Blake is an auto-buy for me!
“Girl Dinner” follows two women who are convinced that entering The House, the most exclusive sorority on campus, will propel them to the future of their dreams. First, we meet Nina Kaur who’s had an awful freshmen year she wishes to forget. Second, we meet adjunct professor Dr. Sloane Hartley a new mother struggling with a previous demotion on campus.
Sloane wishes are answered when she’s invited to be the House’s academic liaison. However, within the walls of this beautiful, high-achieving, powerful sisterhood, both women will learn how bloody cutthroat The House really is.
9. We Fell Apart by E. Lockhart
Release Date: November 4th, 2025
“We Fell Apart” is the third book in the We Were Liars series. As I understand it, this book also takes place on Beechwood Island, the family-owned island of the Sinclairs.
In this book however, we follow a girl named Mathilda who is sent an invitation to Hidden Beach to meet a father she’s never known. Instead, she finds three other stragglers of her age with their own secrets and lies.
Honestly, E. Lockhart has found her formula and stuck to it with this series – and I eat it up every time. I just recently finished reading (and enjoyed) “Family of Liars” after watching the first season of We Were Liars that aired this summer on Prime.
10. Bread of Angels: A Memoir by Patti Smith
Release Date: November 4th, 2025
I know I’m not unique when I say this, but I read Patti Smith’s memoir “Just Kids” last summer and it unlocked something inside of me.
And now in “Bread of Angels,” Patti Smith plunges us into her teenage years – a time before leaving home for the big apple, before meeting her first love Robert Mapplethorpe, before becoming the poet, writer, and the punk rock genius we know her to be.
We get an insight into her earliest artistic inclinations and inspirations, notably Arthur Rimbaud and Bob Dylan, which she continuously mentions to this day. I know this to be true because I’ve been following her newsletters on Substack, and I highly encourage everyone to follow her if you love poetry, literature, music, and travel.
Her Substack is insert link.
11. Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts by Margaret Atwood
Release Date: November 4th, 2025
Of course, I had to add in my mother’s book. I will be seeing her live again this fall in Toronto for her newest memoir, “Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts.”
I believe from the description, this is the memoir in which Atwood truly illuminates her lifelong influences and the real-life characters that have shaped her fiction, such as poets, bears (yes bears!), Hollywood actors, and her husband, the writer Graeme Gibson.
12. An Archive of Romance by Ava Reid
Release Date: December 9th, 2025
“An Archive of Romance” is honestly a book for superfans *ahem, me* of Effy and Preston’s romance in the A Study of Drowning duology. Last year, I’ve raved about Ava Reid. And earlier this year, the sequel to A Theory of Dreaming was released.
This is also the THIRD Ava Reid book release of this year. And you’ve read my previous 2025 new releases list, you would know that the other two were on that list.
All in all, this novella features letters, poems, art, and beautiful full-color illustrations.
Here’s my summary of the first book if this type of dark and moody romance fantasy interests you:
In the first book, we followed Effy and her nemesis Preston as they were tasked to redesign Hiraeth Manor the family house of the deceased but highly beloved author Emrys Myrddin.
Effy, who’s always believed in the stories of the Fairy King, venerates this author for his fable called Angharad in which he writes about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King before destroying him. But in this tale, all is not as it seems and the stakes run high as the manor is literally collapsing into the sea…
Thank you for reading this post!
These were 12 of my Most Anticipated Fall Book Releases of 2025. Have you heard or pre-ordered any of these books? Have you read from these authors before? What are some of your most anticipated books for the end of 2025? I’d love to hear from you!
You can save this pin for later!
Leave a Reply