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Readers' 84 Most Anticipated Books of Spring
Good news, bookworms! Our annual Big Books of Spring collection returns for 2025 with a particularly good lineup of incoming titles. This year’s batch is a big one, too: 84 new books in total. Stretch out those retinas.
As always, everything is sorted by genre and largely determined by you, the Goodreads regular. Books are selected by tracking early reviews and the titles that people are adding to their Want to Read shelves. All the books listed below are slated to be published in the U.S. between March and May.
Some of the familiar names dropping new novels this season include Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Isabel Allende, Fredrik Backman, Katie Kitamura, Karen Russell, and Ocean Vuong.
Over on the mystery-thriller shelves, look for new books from Harlan Coben and Freida McFadden, plus a wilderness suspense story from genre guest Amity Gaige. In the SFF section, we’ve got new titles from Laila Lalami and Joe Abercrombie, plus some intriguing debuts concerning synesthetic ghosts and the unfortunate future of San Francisco.
Horror fans may want to check out the latest from Stephen King and acclaimed Argentine author Agustina Bazterrica. Or just browse the shelves for Blackfeet vampires, medieval debauchery, and an oddly disturbing staircase in the woods.
You’ll also find the latest in romance (Emily Henry! Kennedy Ryan!) and romantasy (shield maidens! amphibious love!), plus new YA fiction from Tracy Deonn, Trang Thanh Tran, and Lauren Roberts.
Finally, the nonfiction slate covers some fascinating ground this spring concerning corporate malfeasance, sentient waterways, Mark Twain, and the Beatles.
Be sure to add anything that catches your eye to your Want to Read shelf, and let us know what you're reading and recommending in the comments.
If you like a little ecological resonance in your stories, consider this intriguing specimen from Australian author Charlotte McConaghy (Once There Were Wolves). With sea levels rising, Dominic Salt and his family guard the world’s largest seed bank on a tiny Antarctic island. When a mysterious woman washes ashore, agendas and secrets are revealed.
Release date: March 4
Release date: March 4
A sudden death in a small English farming village triggers a cascade of startling revelations, including a fragile love triangle that’s about to collapse in dramatic fashion. The U.S. debut of U.K. author and journalist Clare Leslie Hall, Broken Country has the shape of a love story but the twisty velocity of a thriller.
Release date: March 4
Release date: March 4
Jinwoo Chong, author of the 2023 sci-fi thriller Flux, returns with a gentler riff on his time-travel themes: New Yorker Jack Jr. has just awoken from a two-year coma to find that his world has changed forever. In the spirit of second chances, Jack returns to his family’s sushi restaurant to find new opportunities for life and love.
Release date: March 4
Release date: March 4
The new novel from Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Americanah) tracks four very different women as they navigate life in America, Nigeria, and various points between. Ten years in the making, Dream Count promises to be one of the year’s most ambitious novels. Adichie is unafraid to tackle the really big themes of literature—the mysteries of the human heart and the interconnected nature of all existence.
Release date: March 4
Release date: March 4
Now this is generous: For her latest book, author Torrey Peters (Detransition, Baby) has compiled one novel and three novellas, each exploring gender and trans issues from different creative trajectories. The main story, a kind of postmodern lumberjack tall tale, joins a sci-fi tale, a Las Vegas adventure, and a story of intrigue at a Quaker boarding school.
Release date: March 11
Release date: March 11
If you like your historical fiction with a splash of magical realism—and a talking scarecrow—consider the latest from Pulitzer Prize finalist Karen Russell (Swamplandia!). The Antidote follows a group of characters in 1935 Nebraska and folds in elements both historical (the Dust Bowl) and imaginative (prairie witches). Underneath it all is an ecological parable with red-alert relevance.
Release date: March 11
Release date: March 11
When a massive earthquake levels Portland, Oregon, nine-months-pregnant Annie must reach home on foot across the ruined city. As she reflects on her unsteady marriage and ponders her uncertain future, Annie encounters other survivors with their own stories to tell. Debut author Emma Pattee delivers a groundbreaking (heh) hybrid of survival adventure and character portrait.
Release date: March 25
Release date: March 25
Katie Kitamura, author of the acclaimed 2021 novel Intimacies, returns with a twisted rope of a story featuring a young man, a veteran actress, the New York theater scene, and multiple competing narratives. Kitamura specializes in books that tinker with the very architecture of storytelling, so you can expect some structural experimentation and pleasant confusion.
Release date: April 8
Release date: April 8
Historical fiction fans will want to flag this buzzy debut, which tells the story of four of the first-ever women to earn degrees at Oxford University. Set in 1920, Joanna Miller’s novel explores the complex friendship among these four pioneering women, while folding in historical details from the era—the Great War, the Spanish flu, and the eternal peril of vicious misogyny.
Release date: April 15
Release date: April 15
Billed as a true-to-life story, Sarah Damoff’s The Bright Years chronicles the dissolution and ultimate restoration of a Texas family with problems. Ryan and Lillian Bright brought multiple secrets into their marriage, and their daughter Georgette paid the price. Told from three separate POVs, Damoff’s book is recommended for readers of Mary Beth Keane and Claire Lombardo.
Release date: April 22
Release date: April 22
What’s in a name? That’s the pivotal question in this ambitious debut novel, which begins with the moment a mother chooses the name of her child. London author Florence Knapp tells three alternating versions of one family’s story—chapter by chapter over a span of 35 years—with each thread shaped by a different choice of name.
Release date: May 6
Release date: May 6
A kind of turn-of-the-millennium riff on the social novel, this buzzy debut from author Jemimah Wei follows two sisters growing up in working-class Singapore. Under constant pressure, Arin and Genevieve Yang pursue academic perfection at all costs. No friends. No life. No fun. When a betrayal drives them apart, the sisters begin to question the modern obsession with efficiency and achievement.
Release date: May 6
Release date: May 6
Celebrated Chilean American novelist Isabel Allende (The House of the Spirits) is back on shelves in May with this highly anticipated historical fiction novel set in San Francisco, Chile, and points between. Ferociously independent, Emilia del Valle intends to be a writer, regardless of 19th-century societal norms. When she’s sent to cover a civil war overseas, things get dramatic in a hurry.
Release date: May 6
Release date: May 6
Set in the despair-shrouded shadows of America’s marginalized edges, the new novel from author Ocean Vuong (On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous) details a deep and unusual friendship. When an elderly widow saves a teenage boy from attempted suicide, two lives are changed forever. The Emperor of Gladness celebrates two of life’s abiding grace notes: chosen families and second chances.
Release date: May 13
Release date: May 13
Swedish writer Fredrik Backman has made a name for himself with globally popular novels like Anxious People, Beartown, and A Man Called Ove. His new book begins in a lonesome seaside town with the story of four teenage friends. But by the end, readers have been on a journey that spans the breadth of a country and the passing of 25 long years.
Release date: May 20
Release date: May 20
Mysteries & Thrillers
After deceiving her way into a nanny gig with wealthy New Yorkers Jay and Violet Lockhart, compulsive liar Sloane Caraway finds herself on the tantalizing edge of a life filled with luxury. It’s only when things start to get creepy that Sloane wonders: What if I’m not the only one who’s lying? Author Sophie Stava has the story in her debut domestic thriller.
Release date: March 4
Release date: March 4
Dark and twisty, the latest psychological thriller from John Marrs (The One) starts out like Desperate Housewives with the intensity cranked to 11. Three neighborhood frenemies scheme and lie, each desperate to conceal a terrible secret. By the end, one of them is bound and gagged in the worst possible place on Bonfire Night. Uh-oh.
Release date: March 11
Release date: March 11
After her father’s sudden death, grieving college student Jane Sharp falls into the strange and dangerous subculture of online serial-killer hunters. Houston author and dedicated genre hopper Ashley Winstead (In My Dreams I Hold a Knife) presents a modern thriller set among the sinister intersections of murder, media, and true-crime fandom.
Release date: March 25
Release date: March 25
For years, detective Sami Kierce has been haunted by memories of a college backpacking trip in Spain gone very, very wrong. When he spots a familiar face in a New York City crowd, Sami must finally turn around and face his past…the hard way. Mystery-thriller kingpin Harlan Coben returns to the story of the estimable detective Kierce, last seen in the 2016 novel (and current Netflix series) Fool Me Once.
Release date: March 25
Release date: March 25
When experienced hiker Valerie Gillis goes missing on the Appalachian Trail, a tenacious game warden gets to work with the help of an elderly birdwatcher and armchair detective. Author Amity Gaige (Sea Wife) works the literary side of the mystery genre, combining wilderness exploration with slow-boil suspense and detailed character portraits of three remarkable women.
Release date: April 1
Release date: April 1
Psychological thriller specialist Jeneva Rose continues the story of her 2020 novel, The Perfect Marriage, with this sequel titled—inevitably, somehow—The Perfect Divorce. Defense attorney Sarah Morgan finds herself in another potentially deadly situation concerning her ex-husband, her new husband, some surprise DNA evidence, and yet another missing mistress.
Release date: April 15
Release date: April 15
Set in the strange liminal spaces of our new digital world, this debut novel from Canadian author Liann Zhang tells the curious tale of Julie Chan, who has just assumed the identity of her recently deceased twin sister. Chloe, it seems, was a rich and glamorous influencer with powerful friends. But as Julie soon learns, Chloe’s life was so much darker than anyone could have known.
Release date: April 29
Release date: April 29
Following on her 2022 novel, All Good People Here, writer and true-crime podcaster Ashley Flowers once again teams with author Alex Kiester (In Her Skin) for a twisted and twisty mystery-thriller. The new book features two missing persons, two determined sisters, and an investigation that uncovers a series of terrible secrets in small-town Indiana.
Release date: May 5
Release date: May 5
Blake Porter has a problem. Recently fired from his high-end executive position, he’s about to lose the mortgage on his proportionally expensive brownstone. So when a charming young woman asks to rent a room, he’s delighted. Until the noises start. And the graveyard stench. The prolific Freida McFadden (The Housemaid) returns with another tale of dark secrets, bad decisions, and severe domestic disturbance.
Release date: May 6
Release date: May 6
Criminal profiler Dan Garvie has extremely good reasons for doing what he does. As a child, he barely escaped a grisly fate after encountering an infamous serial killer. Years later, when his father dies under mysterious circumstances, Dan must deploy his professional skills and confront a shattering possibility. Could it be the same killer? Alex North (The Whisper Man) has the details.
Release date: May 13
Release date: May 13
Fantasy Novels
In a world where magic-users can snag hearts with spells, a no-nonsense village girl discovers she’s been ensorcelled by a handsome mage. Compelled to journey to the sorcerer’s enchanted house, Foss Butcher enlists the help of a talking cat to win her heart back—by any means necessary. Andrea Eames’ whimsical fable features adventure, romance, and just enough complicated darkness to keep things lively.
Release date: March 4
Release date: March 4
The intriguing new fantasy yarn from Canadian author Amal El-Mohtar tells a story of enchanted willows, ancient magical compacts, and two sisters who live at the edge of Faerie. Should be fun: SFF fans will remember that El-Mohtar won the prestigious Hugo/Nebula/Locus award trifecta with 2019’s clever sci-fi novella This Is How You Lose the Time War, co-written with Max Gladstone.
Release date: March 4
Release date: March 4
Veronica Chapa’s Malinalli is based on the real-life Nahua interpreter who helped Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés communicate with the Native people of Mexico. But in this retelling, Malinalli is a 12-year-old girl with magical powers, kidnapped into slavery and falsely vilified by 500 years of historians.
Release date: March 11
Release date: March 11
With last year’s novel The Tainted Cup, author Robert Jackson Bennett introduced a compelling new literary detective with the character of Ana Dolabra, a genius-level sleuth in the vein of Sherlock Holmes. This new sequel expands Bennett’s fantasy setting as the great detective encounters an utterly unique locked-room mystery. Bennett likes to sneak in subversive sociological critiques, too.
Release date: April 1
Release date: April 1
Back in 2020, Olivie Blake introduced readers to the magical Alexandrian Society in The Atlas Six, one of the year’s best fantasy novels. In her new book, Blake brings us the story of the wealthy and powerful Wren family. Three gifted kids—and by gifted we mean telepathic—grow into three damaged adults, each competing for their father’s fortune. Sibling dynamics + elecrokinetic powers = pyrotechnic fun.
Release date: April 1
Release date: April 1
Holy man Brother Diaz has been issued an impossible directive from his bosses in the Sacred City. To pull it off, he’s going to need help from his new congregation—a rogue’s gallery of criminals, vampires, necromancers, and werewolves. Author Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series is beloved among hardcore fantasy types, and early readers are digging this new blend of action, horror, and gritty comedy.
Release date: May 6
Release date: May 6
At the prestigious Chetwood Academy, director of magic Doctor Walden endeavors to keep her 600 young adult students fed, educated, and safe from demonic attacks. Things get weird. Author Emily Tesh (The Greenhollow Duology) is back on shelves with a new perspective on dark academia from the faculty point of view, featuring subtle satire, sapphic romance, and creative worldbuilding.
Release date: May 13
Release date: May 13
Debut author Daria Lavelle tells the story of an aspiring New York City chef who can taste the presence of ghosts and reunite the bereaved with their loved ones. This innovative take on urban fantasy promises to be a kind of synesthetic experience itself, crossing evocative food writing with New York City culinary drama, percolating romance, and a new kind of ghost story.
Release date: May 20
Release date: May 20
Acclaimed Moroccan American author Laila Lalami (The Other Americans) specializes in lucid and urgent literary fiction that drills right to the core of our most difficult societal dilemmas. Her latest book fast-forwards into speculative fiction territory—a near-future surveillance state where tech corporations have even annexed our dream lives. Who’s watching the watchers?
Release date: March 4
Release date: March 4
In a reunified future Korea, three estranged siblings—two human, one robot—must confront their shared past on a journey from the corporate skyscrapers to the dark underbelly of Seoul. Author Silvia Park explores old cyberpunk tropes and decidedly new 21st-century issues concerning artificial life, societal caste systems, and the very nature of love. Oh, there’s a murder mystery, too.
Release date: March 11
Release date: March 11
This is why the sci-fi aisle is always the most fun: You know the old yarn about the moon and green cheese? Well, what if that were actually the case? Sci-fi elder statesman John Scalzi follows the fate of several characters when the moon is suddenly replaced by an orb of, yes, cheese. Same size. Same mass. Different taste. Scalzi’s what-if scenario joins a noble tradition of absurdism in science fiction.
Release date: March 25
Release date: March 25
Meanwhile, U.K. techno-thriller specialist Nicholas Binge (Ascension) proposes another what-if scenario: While caring for her elderly husband, Maggie Webb meets a stranger with a question: What if your husband isn’t losing his memories? What if they’re being stolen? With the mysterious stranger and his high-tech devices, Maggie takes a journey into her husband’s mind.
Release date: March 25
Release date: March 25
Joining our era’s melancholy parade of poignant eco-fiction, this debut novel from author Susanna Kwan flashes forward to a flooded San Francisco where only the devoted and the stubborn remain. Our narrator, an artist turned caregiver named Bo, bonds deeply with a 130-year-old woman who remembers the grand history of the city. Kwan’s story contemplates the future, the past, and the eternal wisdom of staying in the moment.
Release date: May 13
Release date: May 13
How’s this for an interesting premise: A groundbreaking new tech company offers people the chance to revisit the most pivotal moment of their own past—but just for an hour, and just as an observer. Unfortunately, as four strangers soon discover, there are still a few bugs in the system. Author Dete Meserve (the Kate Bradley Mystery series) blends mystery plotting with sci-fi conjecture.
Release date: May 20
Release date: May 20
Horror Novels
Set in a near-future dystopia, The Unworthy follows a desperate woman trapped in the convent of a violent religious order. Why can’t she remember her previous life? The formidable Argentine author Agustina Bazterrica (Tender Is the Flesh) takes on the really scary stuff: climate collapse, ideological zealotry, and humankind’s own tenacious demons, who seem to come back again and again.
Release date: March 4
Release date: March 4
Stephen Graham Jones (The Only Good Indians) is responsible for some of the scariest books of the new millennium. His new historical horror novel is set in 1912 and features a Blackfeet reservation, a series of transcribed interviews, and a new take on vampire mythology from the Native American perspective. Not coincidentally, the book also revisits an appalling real-world massacre from frontier history.
Release date: March 18
Release date: March 18
When frustrated writer Riccardo discovers that he’s inherited his grandmother’s villa in Milan, it seems like a stroke of good luck. Turns out…not so much. Grandma’s creepy old friends keep showing up, and her butterfly collection is deeply unsettling. But when Riccardo finds an old diary, things get really scary. Turkish author Yiğit Turhan brings the gothic vibes in his first English-language novel.
Release date: April 8
Release date: April 8
With previous books like Mary and Nestlings, author Nat Cassidy has proved himself both a devoted student and a skilled practitioner of classic horror. His new book features a young actress and a five-year-old boy on the run from Something Awful, figuratively and literally. Early readers are digging the book’s fast pace, emotional resonance, and innovative variations on the chase-story horror template.
Release date: April 22
Release date: April 22
Set during the COVID-19 epidemic in New York City, this grim and subversive novel from Kylie Lee Baker follows a crime scene cleaner as she makes a series of terrible discoveries. Bigotry and misinformation have triggered a wave of real-world violence against Asians in the city. But Cora Zeng suspects that something even more deadly is out there hunting, in the season of the hungry ghosts.
Release date: April 29
Release date: April 29
With one of the spring’s most compelling mental images (and book cover illustrations), author Chuck Wendig (Wanderers) proposes a scenario: On a fateful camping trip, five high school friends discover a staircase in the middle of the forest. One of them goes up but never comes down, and the staircase disappears. Cut to 20 years later: The staircase is back. So is the friend. Pretty good, right?
Release date: April 29
Release date: April 29
If you’re in the market for dark medieval horror with debauched revels, sapphic lust, and maybe a little cannibalism…well, you’re in luck. Caitlin Starling’s fever-dream vision takes place in a castle under siege. Three main POV characters—a serving girl, a nun turned sorceress, and a lady knight—will need a miracle to simply survive. But when their prayers are answered, the real horror begins.
Release date: May 20
Release date: May 20
As the undisputed godfather of the contemporary horror genre, Stephen King could easily rest on his blood-soaked laurels. Luckily for us, the man cannot sit still. King’s new book brings back fan-favorite Holly Gibney and threads together two storylines—a vigilante celebrity stalker and an avenging killer on the loose.
Release date: May 27
Release date: May 27
Canadian author Elsie Silver returns to her Rose Hill series and the increasingly complicated situation between Tabby and Rhys, who have entered into a fragile marriage of convenience. With the guardianship of her young nephew at stake, Tabby is willing to do just about anything to retain custody. Silver specializes in “dirty-talking alpha heroes and strong heroines who clap back,” so keep that in mind.
Release date: March 4
Release date: March 4
If there’s one thing better than a handsome veterinarian, it’s a handsome veterinarian with a cute kitten. That’s what Samantha always says. So when her date goes pretty much flawlessly, she’s tempted to just leave it at that—a perfect memory of the ultimate pleasant evening. But Fate has other plans. Abby Jimenez (Just for the Summer) has the details.
Release date: April 1
Release date: April 1
The first queer romance from veteran author Jasmine Guillory (The Wedding Date series) starts with an eternal truism: Flirting is tricky. Everyone knows this. So when recently single Avery Jensen is given the opportunity to learn from the best, she agrees to weekly lessons from Taylor Cameron, Napa Valley’s hottest hottie. Avery dedicates herself. She is duly rewarded.
Release date: April 8
Release date: April 8
Magazine writer Alice Scott hopes to pen the book of the year when she’s invited to profile a famous heiress. But she’ll have to deal with handsome industry legend Hayden Anderson, who’s also chasing the lead. Since they’ve both been invited to stay nearby for a one-month trial period, things might get sticky. In a good way.
Release date: April 22
Release date: April 22
When Alice was 17, she had that one perfect summer on the lake at Barry’s Bay, staying with her Nan and flirting with the local boy, Charlie. Many years later, Alice returns to look after her Nan and discovers that Charlie is still around, too. Canadian author Carley Fortune (Every Summer After) returns with another love story inspired by the lakeside town she grew up in.
Release date: May 6
Release date: May 6
Generally acknowledged as one of the best romance writers in the game, Kennedy Ryan is back on shelves this May with another elegant love story. Can't Get Enough, the third book in her Skyland series, follows the slow-boil attraction between the fiercely independent Hendrix Barry and tech mogul Maverick Bell. You can safely anticipate Ryan’s usual blend of emotional depth, social awareness, and hottie-hot hotness.
Release date: May 13
Release date: May 13
Video producer Katie Vaughn has just arrived in beautiful Key West to profile Coast Guard rescue swimmer Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson. All is well. Except for one little detail: Katie can’t swim. Well, two details: She told him that she can. Katherine Center (The Bodyguard) brings the story of two lonely people cynical about love, pleasant developments regarding said cynicism, and conga lines.
Release date: May 20
Release date: May 20
As with last year’s Phantasma, the new book from author Kaylie Smith is part of her Wicked Games series, featuring fantasy settings and deadly competitions. Enchantra invites readers to a baroque Italian palace, where young Genevieve Grimm gets entangled with a handsome rich boy and his family’s homicidal games. Think dark romance with an enemies-to-lovers arc and a gothic kick.
Release date: April 8
Release date: April 8
This queer romantasy from debut author Venessa Vida Kelley is set in and around Coney Island, circa 1910. Metalsmith Benigno “Benny” Caldera joins with a circus sideshow that features an actual merman pulled from the East River. Events progress, feelings blossom, and Benny must make some choices concerning captivity, liberation, and love.
Release date: April 22
Release date: April 22
Following up on 2024’s surprise sensation A Fate Inked in Blood, Danielle L. Jensen (The Bridge Kingdom series) returns readers to her vivid fantasy world drenched in the blood and lust of Norse mythology. In book two of the duology, Jensen reveals the fate of shield maiden Freya, who must overcome an ancient prophecy and a recent betrayal to save her people.
Release date: May 13
Release date: May 13
Sybil Delling is a Diviner, destined since childhood to receive visions from the otherworldly entities known as Omens. When her fellow see-ers start to vanish mysteriously, Sybil teams up with the knight Rodrick—a heretic, but an uncommonly handsome one. Author Rachel Gillig (The Shepherd King) takes a gothic approach to the romantasy tale.
Release date: May 20
Release date: May 20
Scottish author Hazel McBride delivers a Celtic-inspired fantasy-romance adventure with A Fate Forged in Fire, the first in a planned duology. The land of Tir Teine, long oppressed by an anti-magic theocracy, needs liberating. Enter the dragon rider Aemyra, destined for the throne but opposed by corrupt aristocrats and one inconveniently handsome prince.
Release date: May 27
Release date: May 27
Young Adult Novels
North Carolina author Tracy Deonn returns with the third installment of her wildly popular Legendborn Cycle, featuring teenage sorcerers, underworld demons, and escalating weirdness. Oathbound finds our heroine Bree Matthews investigating a series of brutal kidnappings. Meanwhile, author Deonn continues her inventive expansion of fantasy tradition and Arthurian legend.
Release date: March 4
Release date: March 4
Evelyn and Arden have loved each other, over and over, for thousands of lifetimes. That’s the nice part. The bummer: They’re also fated to kill each other, over and over, one way or another. It’s a pickle, all right. British author Laura Steven’s YA fantasy romance wanders back through the centuries by way of alternating chapters and extended flashbacks.
Release date: March 4
Release date: March 4
Author Ava Reid (A Study in Drowning) returns this spring with the ultimate enemies-to-lovers tale. Sold to pay off a debt by her cruel and careless mother, Inesa must compete in the Lamb's Gauntlet, an assassination special livestreamed to the denizens of her dystopian society. With trained assassin Melinoë hot on her trail, Inesa must survive the apocalyptic wastes with her life—and possibly her heart—intact.
Release date: March 4
Release date: March 4
The latest from author Trang Thanh Tran has a rather intriguing setup: Following yet another hurricane, a Louisiana bayou town is overtaken by an eldritch algae bloom that’s turning residents into undead sea monsters. It’s a great backdrop for Tran’s story of climate anxiety, queer romance, Vietnamese folklore, and Lovecraftian dread.
Release date: March 4
Release date: March 4
The long-awaited new installment in The Hunger Games series, Sunrise on the Reaping is a prequel story, rewinding to the morning of the 50th annual competition. It seems a familiar fellow by the name of Haymitch Abernathy has been selected to compete in a diabolical new arena where everything is venomous, poisonous, contagious, or otherwise unpleasant.
Release date: March 18
Release date: March 18
This dark fantasy debut from author Patrice Caldwell follows a devastating war among humans, vampires, and gods. Crown princess Leyla must journey to the Island of the Dead, which is about as lethal as it sounds. The upside: Her alliance with the beautiful see-er Najja is turning out better than expected. If you’re in the market for a queer-normative Black vampire story, Caldwell has one for you.
Release date: April 1
Release date: April 1
The main story arc of Lauren Roberts’ popular fantasy-romance series The Powerless Trilogy concludes with one of the season’s most anticipated YA releases. Paedyn Gray and Kai Azer return to the Kingdom of Ilya, closing the circle on Roberts’ sprawling adventure of Elites and Ordinaries, tribulations and Trials, loyalty and love. Get ready for the TV series.
Release date: April 1
Release date: April 1
Fans of the dystopian Shatter Me series will be stoked to hear that author Tahereh Mafi is back in the game. Set around 10 years after the fall of the Reestablishment, the book follows younger brother James Anderson as he infiltrates the prison on Ark Island. Also on hand: Rosabelle Wolff, a pitiless assassin linked with a powerful synthetic intelligence.
Release date: April 15
Release date: April 15
Inspired by the Korean legend of the Celestial Maidens, The Floating World is the first in a new YA romantasy series from Axie Oh, author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea and the excellently titled Rebel Seoul series. The quick pitch: Traveling acrobat Ren and amnesiac ex-soldier Sunho team up to survive a treacherous mountain journey. Also in play: bounty hunters, demons, and some nuclear-grade feels.
Release date: April 29
Release date: April 29
The debut YA novel from author and playwright Julie Soto (Forget Me Not) is an interesting specimen, a mystery-thriller concerning a series of strange occurrences at a local high school. It seems the popular clique known as The Thrashers has come under suspicion when a student dies of an apparent suicide. But persistent weirdness suggests something even more sinister.
Release date: May 6
Release date: May 6
During the COVID lockdown, Chloe Dalton took in a wounded newborn hare while working remotely in the English countryside. Beating the odds, the hare survived and became Dalton’s constant companion. Raising Hare is Dalton’s memoir of that time, along with some lateral thinking about the wild hare in art and history. And yes, the hare had babies. Lots of babies.
Release date: March 4
Release date: March 4
Canadian writer Scaachi Koul won over a lot of readers with her evocatively titled debut. Since then, things have gone a little sideways. Koul lost her job, her mom got cancer, and her marriage fell apart. Sucker Punch features a collection of new essays on how to handle life’s scarier swerves, written with Koul’s relatable blend of insight and humor.
Release date: March 4
Release date: March 4
Sorting through (literally) centuries of scientific, medical, and social history, author and activist John Green tracks the wreckage of tuberculosis, the world’s deadliest curable disease. Green asks some uncomfortable questions about injustice and inequity in global healthcare. And in case you were wondering, yes, this is the same John Green who wrote the YA modern classic The Fault in Our Stars.
Release date: March 18
Release date: March 18
In this timely collection of essays, an invited group of acclaimed writers is tasked with an intriguing assignment: Find a regular person doing an important job for the government…and tell their story. Edited by nonfiction innovator Michael Lewis (Moneyball), the book aims to shine some light on the anonymous government workers who preserve our safety and liberty, day in and day out.
Release date: March 18
Release date: March 18
American exchange student Amanda Knox famously spent four years in an Italian prison—and eight more on trial—for a murder she didn’t commit. Her new memoir follows her previous 2013 book, Waiting to Be Heard, and covers her years of incarceration, her painful reintegration into society, and her attempts to live something like a normal life today as an author and activist.
Release date: March 25
Release date: March 25
Music fans of a certain intensity may want to flag this new book from author Ian Leslie, which takes an interesting new approach to history’s greatest songwriting team: the Beatles’ John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Leslie, who writes about human psychology and creativity, digs deep into the pair’s chaotic relationship and the constantly changing dynamics that powered their musical collaborations.
Release date: April 8
Release date: April 8
In another reminder of the critical importance of investigative journalism, veteran New York Times reporter Gardiner Harris delivers a rigorously researched exposé on pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson. The bottom line, according to Harris’ investigation: J&J’s dangerous corporate practices have threatened the lives of millions of people, across a product line from cancer drugs to baby powder.
Release date: April 8
Release date: April 8
Author Tina Knowles—that’s Beyoncé’s mom—does an interesting thing with her new autobiography: What begins as a personal memoir blossoms out into a multigenerational celebration of Black womanhood, motherhood, and collective wisdom. Knowles situates her own incredible story in a longer narrative of the mothers and daughters who came before her, and the formidable women she herself brought into the world.
Release date: April 15
Release date: April 15
Shortly after Didion's death in 2021, her trustees found a diary the famed author kept from her sessions with her psychiatrist toward the end of her life. These entries, which were discovered in a folder addressed to her late husband, John Gregory Dunne, are now the subject of one of the literary world's most anticipated nonfiction books of the season.
Release date: April 22
Release date: April 22
Suleika Jaouad’s acclaimed 2021 memoir, Between Two Kingdoms, documented the author’s harrowing battle with leukemia. Her new book celebrates the secret weapon she used to get through those years: journaling. Designed to be a practical guide for anyone facing challenging times, The Book of Alchemy provides general guidance and specific prompts, plus an overview on the surprising power of writing stuff down.
Release date: April 22
Release date: April 22
We Can Do Hard Things: Answers to Life's 20 Questions
by Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, and Amanda Doyle
by Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, and Amanda Doyle
In her first book in five years, podcaster Glennon Doyle (Untamed, Love Warrior) returns to the nonfiction space (along with her family and co-podcasters Abby Wambach and Amanda Doyle) with this inspirational take on how to tackle the Hard Things in Life. The book focuses on answering the 20 most important questions for getting through those bad times. Shockingly, none of those questions are How much ice cream do I have at home?
Release date: May 6
Release date: May 6
Spanning work accumulated throughout the long career of award-winning broadcaster and natural historian David Attenborough, this examination of Earth's oceans combines personal stories, history, and cutting-edge science to reveal the past, present, and future of our lil' old blue planet.
Release date: May 6
Release date: May 6
Sure, many books have focused on the uplifting power of female friendship. But as viewers of any Real Housewives marathon or Mike White mystery knows, women's friendships can get very complicated. This genre-bending book combines memoir, history, and cultural critique to get to the heart of why your friendships may stress you out.
Release date: May 6
Release date: May 6
As America’s pioneering celebrity, Samuel Langhorne Clemens—a.k.a. Mark Twain—cultivated his public persona with care. Historians have been mining his story forever, but the really interesting stuff takes some extra digging. Veteran biographer Ron Chernow (Alexander Hamilton) provides the bigger picture by parsing thousands of letters, journals, and unpublished manuscripts.
Release date: May 13
Release date: May 13
It’s a pretty good question, actually: Are rivers living entities? Acclaimed nature writer Robert Macfarlane (Underland) makes a persuasive case by detailing three separate river journeys—in India, Ecuador, and Canada—and providing a different perspective rooted in older and deeper modes of perception. Macfarlane also discusses the ecological perils in play, as well as some potential remedies.
Release date: May 20
Release date: May 20
Which books are you most excited to read this spring? Let us know in the comments!
Discover more great spring reading:
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Naomi
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Mar 17, 2025 02:31AM
I just wanna read Hunger Games lol
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Stephen King and Emily Henry. Two names I read in almost every Goodreads list (not that I'm complaining).
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson is good to read in spring. Try feeling the greenness and birds' songs through the text.
My list of books releasing March 1 - May 31, in release date order:His Truth Her Truth by Noelle Holten
The Sentinel: The Complete Trilogy by Jeremy Robinson
Starbound by Ed Regis
The Secrets of Good People by Boo Walker and Peggy Shainberg
Beach Vibes by Susan Mallery
The Spanish Daughter by Soraya Lane
Bazaar by Miles Joyner
Gothictown by Emily Carpenter
Rescue Run by John Winn Miller
What She's Hiding by Art Bell
Saltwater by Katy Hays
Viper's Den by J.M. LeDuc
The Last American Road Trip by Sarah Kendzior
Losing The Moon by Kellie Coates Gilbert
Atomic Dreams by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow
Deperate Deadly Widows by Vanessa Lillie, Layne Fargo, Cate Holahan, and Kimberly Belle
The California Dreamers by Amy Mason Doan
The Girls In The Basement by Steena Holmes
Copaganda by Alec Karakatsanis
Lost At Sea by Joe Kloc
Hera's Lament by Shaun Griffin
Unforgiving Places by Jens Ludwig
Secrets Of The Killing State by Corinna Barrett Lain
In The Beautiful Dark by Melissa Payne
My Best Friend's Honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner
The Murder Machine by Heather Graham
Other People's Summers by Sarah Morgan
The Nazi Mind by Laurence Rees
Proof by Adam Kucharski
Whack Job by Rachel McCarthy James
The Love Haters by Katherine Center
The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz
The Memory Collectors by Dete Meserve
The Backwater by Vikki Wakefield
The Girls Of Good Fortune by Kristina McMorris
Sea Of Grass by Dave Hage and Josephine Marcotty
Note that only a couple of these appear in the list above. ;)
I'll have all of them reviewed before they release, several already have reviews (and a few more will have them today).
Screaming over the release of The Floating World!!! The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea has been one of my all time faves for years now. Axie Oh has a beautiful mind
I can't wait for Sunrise on the Reaping! It's coming so soon! It better be good!
cannot wait for these! so glad there's another "holly" book coming out! I have soooo many of these on my list!
What about accomplice to the villain? 🫠👀🐸
Lots of these on my to be read list, especially looking forward to a new Stephen King book.
UGHGHGHGH I WANT WATCH ME SOOOO BADLYYYYYY!!!!!!
Two very different books, Sunrise on the Reaping and Everything is Tuberculosis, bring released just a day apart from each other as my two most exciting books for the year. Thankfully I have one as audiobook, the other as paper so I can still "read" them both simultaneously!
I need Sunrise on the reaping like i need air
I NEED FEARLESS, WATCH ME, AND SUNRISE ON THE REAPING RNNNN
Sunrise on the Reaping and Buffalo Hunter Hunter I need infused into my SOUL
I am very curious about Allende's new book. I hope it is better than the other books of this writer.
Excited to see what Holly Gibney has been up to in Stephen Kings dark world🙌🏼
Raising Hare: A Memoir by Chloe Dalton 😍😍
Charlotte wrote: "What about accomplice to the villain? 🫠👀🐸"I'm pretty sure it's coming out in August. 7th, I think. still super excited tho!!!
How are we missing the new Taylor Jenkins Reid!?!?!
Nobody‘s fool, Julie Chan is dead, The knight and the moth, My name is Emilia del Valle and The love haters made it straight to my list!!
There's a lot of really interesting books on this list! Also, Sunrise is in the mail...so that's next on my list.
Rachel wrote: "Again, all the scifis highlighted aren't scifi, they are literary fiction. I wish the Goodreads list makers would stop doing that. Yes, I see John Scalzi on the list, but one well-known author doe..."
I generally have at least a few on mine :D Usually Jeremy Robinson (as here), but also a few others, depending on time of year. :)
a good book that's kind of under the radar is RENEWALS by Gregory F. DeLaurier
Meredith wrote: "How are we missing the new Taylor Jenkins Reid!?!?!"Fear not, that book is publishing on June 3 in the U.S., so it is slightly out of the time frame for this spring article.
Romance is my favorite genre to read and I've already read a few of these as ARCS... so that's sad news for me. ;)
Cybil wrote: "Meredith wrote: "How are we missing the new Taylor Jenkins Reid!?!?!"Fear not, that book is publishing on June 3 in the U.S., so it is slightly out of the time frame for this spring article."
OHHHH I missed this! Off to add to TBR.
I already had My Friends and Great Big Beautiful Life on my Spring list, and just added Tilt, The Eight, and The Names. I might add Notes to John as well.Not on this list, but I am also eagerly anticipating:
Forgotten Churches by Luke Sherlock 3/25
These Days by Lucy Caldwell 4/8
The Maid's Secret by Nita Prose 4/8 (suprised this didn't make the list)
Food Person by Adam Roberts 5/20
Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts 5/27
The Potting Shed Murder by Paula Sutton 5/27
I already finished Kills Well with Others by Deanna Raybourn that was released on 3/4. Highly recommend. It's one of those rare situations where the 2nd book in a series is even better than the 1st. Three Days in June by Anne Tyler just landed in my hands and I will be reading that next.
Most of these have stunning covers! I'm a slut for a beautiful cover, it doesn't matter if I don't like the genre, if the cover is good I will buy it 😏RIP to my finances
Looking forward to Robert Macfarlane's new book "Is a River Alive?"
brigitte ୨୧ wrote: "I NEED FEARLESS, WATCH ME, AND SUNRISE ON THE REAPING RNNNN" I bought Sunrise On The Reaping. Sadly, because of my exams, I haven't been able to read it yet.
I am glad to know Nita Prose has another coming out. I love her work.
Omg, I do not think that Joan Didion's diary should be published. Those diary entries were written post-therapy LIKE THAT IS WAY TOO INTIMATE.
Sunrise on the Reaping is my main one. I've just got hold of it today.
Gifted and Talented Our infinite fates
Watch me
Just the hunger games series in general lol. I really need to read it
I see a lot of people commenting sunrise on the reaping but I can’t find it on the list? Maybe I didn’t look hard enough…
Sunrise on the Reaping and Oathbound are definitely up there for me! I'd also like to add that Silverborn, the fourth Nevermoor book, is finally coming out in April!
Vera Wong's Guide To Snooping (On A Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Charlotte wrote: "What about accomplice to the villain? 🫠👀🐸"FRRR I just finished apprentice to the villain I NEED MOREE
Watch Me by Tahereh Mafi should be on this list imo
Just finished Sunrise on the Reaping a couple of days ago and it was literal perfection 👌
I went to Indigo the other day and Sunrise on the Reaping was all sold out. Everyone's telling me it's their new obsession. I can't wait to read it!!!!!
this selection of books look sooo good! can’t wait to read them
Naomi wrote: "I just wanna read Hunger Games lol"I loved it!
I hate that I'm only interested in Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games prequel), Oathbound (Legendborn Cycle), and watch me (Shatter Me) lol
Help how to delete books that are read
