Top new literary-fiction books in October 2025
Last updated:
October 31, 2025
October 2025 featuring new releases by Anna North, Louise Penny, Mitch Albom, Quan Barry, Megha Majumdar, Lorna Cook, Alyson Richman, Emery Rose, Emery Rose Andrews, Philippa Gregory, Gish Jen and many more.
-
Bog Queen by Anna North
The story of an anthropologist's monumental discovery and the clash of civilizations it sets off over the fate of the land that holds usWhen a body is found in a bog in northwest England, Agnes, an American forensic anthropologist, is called to investigate...historical-fiction · fiction · mystery · horror · historical · audiobook · literary-fiction · outdoors · fantasy · realistic -
![The Black Wolf by Louise Penny]()
The Black Wolf by Louise Penny
Somewhere out there, in the darkness, a black wolf is feeding.Several weeks ago, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec and his team uncovered and stopped a domestic terrorist attack in Montréal, arresting the person behind it. A man they called the Black Wolf.But their relief is short-lived...mystery · fiction · audiobook · crime · contemporary · suspense · law-enforcement · cozy · politics · murder -
![Twice by Mitch Albom]()
Twice by Mitch Albom
What if you got to do everything in your life —twice? The heart of Mitch Albom’s newest novel is a stunning love story that dares to explore how our unchecked desires might mean losing what we’ve had all along.When he is eight years old, Alfie Logan discovers the magical ability to get a second chance at everything. He can undo any moment and live it again...fiction · contemporary · fantasy · literary-fiction · young-adult · drama · magical-realism · romance · low-fantasy · book -
![The Unveiling by Quan Barry]()
The Unveiling by Quan Barry
From the award-winning author of We Ride Upon Sticks and When I’m Gone, Look for Me in the East, a genre-bending novel of literary horror set in Antarctica that explores abandonment, guilt, and survival in the shadow of America’s racial legacyStriker isn’t entirely sure she should be on this luxury Antarctic cruise...horror · fiction · mystery · audiobook · literary-fiction · contemporary · fantasy · supernatural · poc-author · season-winter -
![A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar]()
A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar
OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK • FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD“Wondering if there’s a novel out there that gives Cormac McCarthy’s The Road a run for its money? Here you go. [A Guardian and a Thief is] an indelible piece of writing, in equal parts dazzling and devastating...fiction · literary-fiction · sci-fi · dystopia · contemporary · historical-fiction · mystery · book · adult -
-
![The Distant Daughter by Lorna Cook]()
The Distant Daughter by Lorna Cook
Singapore, 1941: Singapore City lights up with explosions as the first Japanese bombs rain down. Until now, the war has seemed a distant threat for Issey and her friends, drinking and dancing at Raffles. But with the Japanese invasion looming, Issey knows she must leave. Mysterious, handsome Alex Cartwright has sworn he will see her to safety...romance · historical-fiction · fiction · historical · family · war · ww2 · action-adventure · survival · death -
![The Missing Pages by Alyson Richman]()
The Missing Pages by Alyson Richman
From international bestselling author Alyson Richman comes a love story, a ghost story, and an elegy to the healing power of books. Harry Widener boards the Titanic holding tight to a priceless book he just purchased in London. After mayhem strikes the ship, Harry’s last known words are that he must return to his cabin for his treasure. Neither the young man nor the book are seen again...historical-fiction · historical · paranormal · fiction · mystery · ghosts · romantic-love · cozy · season-autumn · female-mc -
![I Dreamt That You Loved Me by Emery Rose, Emery Rose Andrews]()
I Dreamt That You Loved Me by Emery Rose, Emery Rose Andrews
The first time I met my best friend’s boyfriend, he was rude to me. Sure, Gabriel Francis was all cheekbones and dishevelled hair with a voice that made women swoon and incited bidding wars with record labels. A pure drop of light in a sea of grunge. The soul of a romantic poet.None of that swayed me though. I didn’t trust rock stars. Besides, he was off-limits...romance · friends-to-lovers · forbidden-love · contemporary · fiction · amnesia · angst · family · mental-illness · second-chances -
![Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory]()
Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory
#1 New York Times bestselling author and “queen of royal fiction” (USA Today) Philippa Gregory returns with a dazzling historical novel of ambition, betrayal, and survival in the court of Henry VIII.Jane Boleyn watches from the shadows of the Tudor court, where secrets are currency, every choice is dangerous, and even the faintest whisper can seal the fate of queens...historical-fiction · fiction · historical · death · female-mc · literary-fiction · breakup · domestic-drama · family · early-modern -
![Bad Bad Girl by Gish Jen]()
Bad Bad Girl by Gish Jen
The award-winning author of The Resisters returns with an engrossing, blisteringly funny-sad autobiographical novel tracing a tumultuous mother-daughter relationship.My mother had died, but still I heard her voice. . . Gish’s mother—Loo Shu-hsin—is born in 1925 to a wealthy Shanghai family where girls are expected to behave and be quiet...urban · new-york-state · historical-fiction · historical · fiction · literary-fiction · parenthood · poc-mc · family · female-mc -
fiction · sci-fi · mystery · classics · literary-fiction · contemporary · children · book · literary · adult
-
![The Bone Thief by Vanessa Lillie]()
The Bone Thief by Vanessa Lillie
When a Native teenager vanishes from her small town—a place with dark ties to an elite historical society—archaeologist Syd Walker is called to investigate...from bestselling author Vanessa Lillie.In the hours before dawn at a local summer camp, Bureau of Indian Affairs archaeologist Syd Walker receives an alarming call: newly discovered skeletal remains have been stolen...north-america · usa · rhode-island · mystery · fiction · suspense · indigenous-mc · contemporary · horror · thriller -
![If the Dead Belong Here by Carson Faust]()
If the Dead Belong Here by Carson Faust
When a young girl goes missing, the ghosts of the past collide with her family’s secrets in a mesmerizing Native American Southern GothicWhen six-year-old Laurel Taylor vanishes without a trace, her family is left shattered, struggling to navigate the darkness of grief and unanswered questions...horror · fiction · indigenous-mc · literary-fiction · poc-mc · poc-author · mystery · unreliable-narrator · ghosts · supernatural -
![Girl Dinner by Olivie Blake]()
Girl Dinner by Olivie Blake
A deliciously satirical standalone from the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six. Girl Dinner by Olivie Blake is a contemporary, darkly-fun novel about violence, lust and eating your fill, as wealthy moms and sorority girls practicing a sinister new wellness trend . . .Good girls deserve a treat... -
![The Women of Wild Hill by Kirsten Miller]()
The Women of Wild Hill by Kirsten Miller
A witty, spectacular, and timely tale of modern-day witches waging war on the patriarchy, from fan favorite Kirsten Miller, the author of The Change and Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books.There are places on earth where nature’s powers gather. Girls raised there are bequeathed strange gifts. A few have powers so dark that they fear to use them...fantasy · horror · fiction · magical-realism · witches-wizards · paranormal · magic · supernatural · literary-fiction · gothic -
![The Marionette by Terry Fallis]()
The Marionette by Terry Fallis
Bestselling and beloved author Terry Fallis' tenth novel, The Marionette, introduces readers to a new hero, James a world-famous thriller writer whose life takes an unexpected turn from the pages of his novels into the perilous world of espionage...fiction · mystery · literary-fiction · satire · thriller · humor · military · politics · crime · action-adventure -
![Your Hate, My Claim by Syn Blackrose]()
Your Hate, My Claim by Syn Blackrose
SimonI HATE Carlos Silva.He’s arrogant, bossy and does everything he can to get under my skin whenever he’s around me.But, it appears I’m about to find out that the line between love and hate fades after a while.However, that’s not the only problem. What do you do when your past stops you from being you?Will I survive when the past and present collide?CarlosI love how he hates me.Simon. My Simon...romance · mlm · forced-proximity · organized-crime · mystery · revenge · literary-fiction · fiction · lgbtq · crime -
![Happy People Don't Live Here by Amber Sparks]()
Happy People Don't Live Here by Amber Sparks
In Amber Sparks’ highly anticipated debut novel, a reclusive mother and her saturnine daughter move into a haunted building brimming with eccentrics—and secrets.Just past the edge of summer, Alice and Fern arrive at the Pine Lake Apartments—a former sanitorium occupied by an ensemble of peculiar neighbors and a smattering of ghosts...horror · mystery · fantasy · fiction · audiobook · magical-realism · supernatural · hauntings · literary-fiction · ghosts -
![Big Nick Energy by Kristen Bailey]()
Big Nick Energy by Kristen Bailey
One woman, two Nicks, and a Christmas season that’s about to get very complicated.When librarian Kay bumps into her ex-boyfriend Nick at a Christmas market, she thinks fate is finally giving her a second chance with her first big love. But then she gets spectacularly tangled in a Christmas tree-netting machine and meets another Nick entirely...romance · contemporary · womens-fiction · fiction · slow-burn · audiobook · season-winter · humor · love-triangle · female-mc -
-
![King Sorrow by Joe Hill]()
King Sorrow by Joe Hill
Arthur Oakes is a reader, a dreamer, and a student at Rackham College, Maine, renowned for its frosty winters, exceptional library, and beautiful buildings. But his idyll—and burgeoning romance with Gwen Underfoot—is shattered when a local drug dealer and her partner corner him into one of the worst crimes he can imagine: stealing rare books from the college library...horror · fantasy · fiction · dragons · dark · dark-fantasy · spooky · ghosts · suspense · supernatural -
![Herculine by Grace Byron]()
Herculine by Grace Byron
Manhunt meets Lord of the Flies in this blistering horror debut following a young trans woman after she arrives at the all-trans girl commune founded by her toxic ex-girlfriend, only to discover that demons, both literal and figurative, haunt her fellow comrades—and she's their next prey!Herculine’s narrator has demons...horror · lgbtq · fiction · wlw · trans-mc · contemporary · audiobook · cults · fundamentalism · 21st-century -
![Keep This for Me by Jennifer Fawcett]()
Keep This for Me by Jennifer Fawcett
The acclaimed author of the “chilling, mesmerizing debut” (Rachel Harrison, author of The Return ) Beneath the Stairs returns with a gripping, atmospheric suspense novel about a woman investigating a serial killer’s connection to her mother’s disappearance—for fans of I Have Some Questions for You and Notes on an Execution. One hot August night in 1993, a young couple go to a party...suspense · fiction · serial-killers · thriller · survival · multi-pov · kidnapping · family · contemporary · literary-fiction -
![Unwell by Effie Campbell]()
Unwell by Effie Campbell
Two women. One asylum. Deadly secrets.When nineteen-year-old Ginny’s mother abandons her at Wellard Asylum, she isn’t sick. She’s pregnant. Behind the iron gates patients cower, the rules are broken, and the basement hides evils that would make monsters squirm. Ginny only has one keep her baby safe, no matter what.Nurse Nancy once believed hospitals were for healing the vulnerable...horror · steamy · sexual-assault · mental-illness · dystopia · dark · cheating · domestic-drama · psychological · thriller -
![Intemperance by Sonora Jha]()
Intemperance by Sonora Jha
In this follow-up to the critically-acclaimed The Laughter—winner of the Washington State Book Award—a middle-aged woman starts a firestorm when she holds a contest, based on an ancient Indian ritual, in which men must compete to win her affections.A woman who has left two husbands announces she will celebrate her 55th birthday by holding a swayamvar...fiction · feminism · contemporary · poc-mc · literary-fiction · fantasy · romance · paranormal · magical-realism · female-mc -
![Heart of Iron by C.M. Alongi]()
Heart of Iron by C.M. Alongi
Fresh out of prison, Jennifer Charles (JC) is desperately trying to turn their life around and make things right, and seems to find a golden opportunity in CaFae Latte as an under-qualified but talented baker.However, they soon learn that, as dark and unfortunate as their own history is, it pales in comparison to their kind Fae boss, Violet...fantasy · urban-fantasy · audiobook · found-family · lgbtq · fiction · fae · literary-fiction · contemporary · vampires -
![Vampires at Sea by Lindsay Merbaum]()
Vampires at Sea by Lindsay Merbaum
Immortal beloveds Rebekah and Hugh are on vacation! Against a backdrop of ongoing war, this pair of chic emotional vampires from San Francisco sets off on a queer Black Sea Cruise, eager to relax, join an orgy, and feast upon their fellow passengers’ desires and sorrows...horror · fantasy · vampires · lgbtq · fiction · paranormal · contemporary · humor · supernatural · steamy -
![The Lookout's Ghost by A. Knightley]()
The Lookout's Ghost by A. Knightley
Reece WestI don’t believe in ghosts. I also don’t believe in cottage cheese as a main food group, but sometimes in life, we are forced to confront when we’re wrong.Thankfully, I was only mistaken about the ghosts.At thirty-four years old, I’m arguably too young to have a midlife crisis, but a life-changing diagnosis followed swiftly by a caustic breakup seems to have done the trick...romance · mlm · paranormal · mystery · ghosts · forced-proximity · fantasy · lgbtq · suspense · contemporary -
![Crawl: Stories by Max Delsohn]()
Crawl: Stories by Max Delsohn
A darkly comic, introspective debut collection that looks beneath the surface of trans life in 2010s SeattlePeople called it paradise, but baby, it wasn’t...fiction · lgbtq · trans-mc · mlm · lesbian-mc · anthologies · season-winter · literary-fiction · romantic-love · adult -
![Ivory Sins by Sylvia Rae]()
Ivory Sins by Sylvia Rae
He walked away with my heart.Now he’s the only man who can save me.I’m the Bellanti family’s perfect daughter—polished, ruthless, untouchable.Seven years ago, one rainy night changed everything. One fatal mistake that could destroy our empire and ignite a war.Now a stalker is leaving blood-soaked dolls on my doorstep—each one a message that he knows the secret I’ve fought to keep buried... -
![Surprise Me Tonight by Dani Elias]()
Surprise Me Tonight by Dani Elias
She’s forty-two, newly divorced and rebuilding from the ground up. He’s thirty-three, brooding, brilliant and entirely too fit to be her boss. This was never meant to happen.Callum WrightI came to the countryside to slow down, not set my life on fire. Then Stella Marsh showed up for an interview. Quiet voice, mumsy cardigan, clearly nervous and knocked the breath out of me anyway...romance · billionaire · age-gap · small-town · forced-proximity · boss-employee · fiction · contemporary · found-family · workplace -
![The Second Chance Cinema by Thea Weiss]()
The Second Chance Cinema by Thea Weiss
A magical theater atop a cobblestone path alters what a couple knows about themselves—and each other—in this scintillating debut brimming with nostalgia and life-affirming wonder. At the end of a fog-covered alley, glitters a glamorous cinema. It’s nearly impossible to find...romance · fantasy · magical-realism · fiction · literary-fiction · womens-fiction · urban-fantasy · humor · comedy · family -
![Futility by Nuzo Onoh]()
Futility by Nuzo Onoh
For readers of Oyinkan Braithwaite's My Sister the Serial Killer and Bella Mackie's How to Kill Your Family, this is a monstrous, gleeful, bitingly funny tale of murder, body-swapping and bloody vengeance from the recipient of the Bram Stoker Award® for Lifetime Achievement and 'Queen of African Horror'...horror · fiction · mystery · literary-fiction · culinary · fantasy · female-author · humor · dark-humor · book -
![The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah by Jean Meltzer]()
The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah by Jean Meltzer
Can these exes rekindle their love this Hanukkah? Evelyn Schwartz has the perfect Hanukkah eight jam-packed days producing the live-action televised musical of A Christmas Carol...romance · contemporary · fiction · magical-realism · action-adventure · humor · fantasy · family · urban-fantasy · breakup -
-
![Thorns That Bloom by Kat Sinclair]()
Thorns That Bloom by Kat Sinclair
Sam is doing everything he can to climb back from rock bottom and get his life on track. After enduring months of legal battles in the aftermath of an assault by several alphas at his workplace, he decides that the best thing for himself and his future child is to move forward, which means taking up a job at the company’s sister branch... -
![A Stranger Comes to Town by Lynne Sharon Schwartz]()
A Stranger Comes to Town by Lynne Sharon Schwartz
Lynne Sharon Schwartz, author of Disturbances in the Field and Leaving Brooklyn, returns with a psychological novel about memory, identity, and the ways we create ourselves.After being found on a sidewalk, knocked down by a bicycle on Columbus Avenue one block from New York’s Central Park, Joe Marzino remembers nothing, not even his own name... -
![Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon]()
Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon
Milwaukee 1932, the Great Depression going full blast, repeal of Prohibition just around the corner, Al Capone in the federal pen, the private investigation business shifting from labor-management relations to the more domestic kind... -
![Hot Coffee: A Caffeinated Spicy Romance by Lancelot Bouchard]()
Hot Coffee: A Caffeinated Spicy Romance by Lancelot Bouchard
Every morning, quiet office worker Marcus watches Lena, the cheerful barista, making his coffee. He longs to do something to know if she's more than just service-minded, but is afraid to take the step.Then, a sudden car crash makes their worlds literally collide. Forced to help the shaken Lena Marcus is forced to step out of his comfort zone...
