Top new literary-fiction books out this week: 28 Sep - 4 Oct 2025
Last updated:
October 4, 2025
This week featuring new releases by Lily King, Souvankham Thammavongsa, J.A. Jance, Lorna Cook, Emery Rose, Emery Rose Andrews, Fern Michaels, Syn Blackrose, Meagan Church, Diana Quincy, Carrie Turansky, Marguerite Martin Gray and many more.
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Heart the Lover by Lily King
“Lily King has written another masterpiece. This book overflows with her brilliance and her heart. We are so lucky.” —Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of This Time TomorrowFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers comes a magnificent and intimate new novel of desire, friendship, and the lasting impact of first loveYou knew I’d write a book about you someday... -
![Pick a Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa]()
Pick a Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa
From Giller Prize and O. Henry Award winner Souvankham Thammavongsa comes a revelatory novel about loneliness, love, labour, and class. An intimate and sharply written book following a nail salon owner as she toils away for the privileged clients who don't even know her true name.Ning is a retired boxer, but to the customers who visit her nail salon, she is just another worker named Susan...fiction · literary-fiction · contemporary · audiobook · poc-mc · racism · realistic · family · book · adult -
![The Girl from Devil's Lake by J.A. Jance]()
The Girl from Devil's Lake by J.A. Jance
Arizona County Sheriff Joanna Brady solves her biggest case yet, from a body in the desert to crimes spanning decades and countries, in the thrilling latest installment in the New York Times bestselling suspense series.Sheriff Joanna Brady is looking forward to the holidays with her busy family, and to celebrating her daughter Jenny’s graduation from the police academy...mystery · fiction · audiobook · suspense · crime · serial-killers · law-enforcement · police-procedural · contemporary · drama -
![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 -
![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 -
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![Santa's Holiday Spectacular by Fern Michaels]()
Santa's Holiday Spectacular by Fern Michaels
In an adventure-filled holiday treat from New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels, Frankie, Amy, Rachael and Nina—aka Santa’s Crew—reunite to put a stop to some real-life Grinches, with a little help from their new friends in the Sisterhood . . . Christmas is so much more than tinsel, lights, and mistletoe...romance · fiction · literary-fiction · contemporary · female-mc · holidays · family · friendship · book · adult -
![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 -
![The Mad Wife: A Novel by Meagan Church]()
The Mad Wife: A Novel by Meagan Church
With odes of The Bell Jar comes a searing historical suspense following a 1950s housewife who, when a mysterious new wife moves across the way, begins to unearth dark secrets about her neighborhood and her own mind. In the 1950s, nothing is valued more than conformity, and Lulu Mayfield has spent the last five years molding herself into the ideal housewife...historical-fiction · fiction · horror · mystery · historical · feminism · literary-fiction · thriller · suspense · psychological -
![The Earl That Got Away by Diana Quincy]()
The Earl That Got Away by Diana Quincy
In the second installment of Diana Quincy’s steamy Victorian historical romance series, a Persuasion retelling, an Arab-American young woman is reunited with the lost love of her youth and forced to reckon with their past and undying tension.American Naila Darwish always regretted calling off her engagement to the man she loved because he wasn’t successful enough for her family...romance · historical-fiction · fiction · industrial-era · victorian · historical · poc-mc · regency · female-mc · adaptations -
![A Very English Christmas by Carrie Turansky, Marguerite Martin Gray, Carole Lehr Johnson]()
A Very English Christmas by Carrie Turansky, Marguerite Martin Gray, Carole Lehr Johnson
Celebrate the Season with Three Timeless Tales Inspired by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Beatrix Potter.When Emma Grace Langley retreats to her grandmother’s antique shop in the snowy Cotswolds after heartbreak and job loss, she hopes to find clarity. Instead, she finds a collection of heirlooms—a portrait, a rare book, and a charming figurine—that unlock stories from the past...romance · fiction · historical · christian · literary-fiction · industrial-era · victorian · holidays · spirituality · book -
![I Am You by Victoria Redel]()
I Am You by Victoria Redel
In 1600s Amsterdam, two women—a painter and her assistant—defy the norms of their time as they take on the male-dominated art world and fall in love—from “fantastic prose writer” (Vulture) and “true master” (Guernica), Victoria Redel.“I loved it in a way that is no doubt different than other books I have loved...historical-fiction · fiction · historical · lgbtq · wlw · literary-fiction · female-mc · romantic-love · book · adult -
![Oxford Soju Club by Jinwoo Park]()
Oxford Soju Club by Jinwoo Park
The natural enemy of a Korean is another Korean.When North Korean spymaster Doha Kim is mysteriously killed in Oxford, his protege, Yohan Kim, chases the only breadcrumb given to him in Doha’s last breath: “Soju Club, Dr. Ryu.” In the meantime, a Korean American CIA agent , Yunah Choi, races to salvage her investigation of the North Korean spy cell in the aftermath of the assassination... -
![Daedalus Is Dead by Seamus Sullivan]()
Daedalus Is Dead by Seamus Sullivan
A delirious and gripping story of fatherhood and masculinity, told through the reimagined destinies of Greek mythic figures Daedalus, Icarus, King Minos, and the Minotaur.Daedalus of Crete is many things. The greatest architect in the world. The constructor of the Labyrinth that imprisoned the Minotaur...fantasy · retellings · myths · audiobook · fiction · historical-fiction · literary-fiction · male-author · horror · dark -
![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... -
![We Have Reached the End of Our Show by Ali Gordon]()
We Have Reached the End of Our Show by Ali Gordon
Thanks to an unrelenting cycle of cancer treatments, thirty-two-year-old Gabe is too weak to dance gracefully on stage or through NYC’s sparkling social scene like he once did. And although he and Josie have been in love for six years, lately Gabe’s been feeling more like Josie’s patient than his boyfriend...lgbtq · found-family · post-apocalyptic · sci-fi · journey · apocalyptic · literary-fiction · fiction · action-adventure · book
