Top new literary-fiction books in December 2025
Last updated:
December 31, 2025
December 2025 featuring new releases by Tory Henwood Hoen, Lovell Holder, Matt Greene, Matthew Pearl, Margot Harrison, Janet Rich Edwards, Iris Lake, E.V. Bancroft, Maggie McIntyre and many more.
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Before I Forget by Tory Henwood Hoen
A funny, heartfelt, late coming-of-age story that examines the role of memory in holding us back—and in moving us forwardCall it inertia. Call it a quarter-life crisis. Whatever you call it, Cricket Campbell is stuck. Despite working at a zeitgeist-y wellness company, the twenty-six-year-old feels anything but well... -
![The Book of Luke by Lovell Holder]()
The Book of Luke 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...romance · fiction · contemporary · lgbtq · audiobook · mlm · drama · literary-fiction · family · friendship -
![The Definitions by Matt Greene]()
The Definitions by Matt Greene
An elegant and haunting dystopian novel about a group of individuals gathered to relearn how to navigate the world after a mysterious illness strips them of their memoriesNestled in an idyllic locale beside the sea, The Center is a place of rehabilitation and rebuilding. Students arrive nameless, their memories and sense of identity wiped by a strange illness...fiction · sci-fi · dystopia · 21st-century · psychological · philosophical · social-commentary · friendship · literary-fiction · book -
![The Award by Matthew Pearl]()
The Award 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.David Trent is an aspiring novelist in Cambridge, Massachusetts, trying to navigate his ambitions in a place that has writers around every corner...fiction · suspense · psychological · mystery · satire · literary-fiction · thriller · humor · dark-humor · book -
![The Library of Fates by Margot Harrison]()
The Library of Fates by Margot Harrison
When its librarian keeper mysteriously dies, two former classmates must race to locate a rare book from their college years that can foretell your future if you confess a secret from your past—but someone is intent on protecting what’s hidden inside.It can write the story of your future..fiction · fantasy · mystery · magical-realism · literary-fiction · family · magic · action-adventure · psychological · gothic -
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![Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards]()
Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards
Set in thirteenth-century Bruges, this debut novel follows a young woman’s explorations of faith, agency, and love among a community of fiercely independent women.Aleys is sixteen years old and serious, stubborn, prone to religious visions... -
![Nostalgia by Iris Lake]()
Nostalgia by Iris Lake
Twenty-eight-year-old Anya lives in a utopian nostalgia-land called the Inside, where all information is prearranged and humanity is relieved from the overstimulation caused by rapidly evolving technologies. But as Anya comes to realize the importance of the information she’s missing, she starts to question not only her identity but also the very foundations upon which the Inside was built... -
![On the Edge of Uncertainty by E.V. Bancroft]()
On the Edge of Uncertainty by E.V. Bancroft
Florence Cooper has spent most of her life caring for her niece, Cam Langley. Now she shares a house with her niece and Cam's beautiful girlfriend, Gloria Edwards, but at fifty-five, arthritis is slowing Florrie's body and solitude is settling on her soul...romance · wlw · lgbtq · slow-burn · lesbian-mc · war · historical · historical-fiction · literary-fiction · 20th-century -
![Latin Lessons by Maggie McIntyre]()
Latin Lessons by Maggie McIntyre
Fenella Carlton has built an empire out of ambition, but her personal life is chaos—three disastrous relationships, two teenage sons, and no time for complications. The last thing she needs in her world is twenty-year-old Susie Webster, a brilliant American classics student.Susie is fearless, determined, and far too tempting...friends-to-lovers · wlw · lgbtq · contemporary · humor · lesbian-mc · literary-fiction · fiction · romance · book
