Working on my Master’s thesis through the last half of 2023 through half of 2024, really took the wind out of my reading sails. Combined with living in a different country and new routines and stores and library systems, I have hit a reading rut. Not even bringing back a stack of books from my last visit to Canada has rekindled my interest. 2025 feels like a fresh start and an opportunity to be more intentional with my technology time. I’m sure I’ll be reading again in no time.
And what a way to get motivated than by tracking all the hot new releases hitting shelves in 2025?! So here you’ll find the new fiction releases for January which have caught my eye. And be sure to check out my recommendations for new non-fiction and poetry releases!
January 7
Mothers and Sons
Adam Haslett
Peter is a lawyer, working to protect asylum seekers, when a case forces him to reexamine his history and relationship with his estranged mother. The two must work through their shared secret and the event that led to their separation of 20 years.
Yeonnam-Dong’s Smiley Laundromat
Kim Jiyun
Translated by Shanna Tan
Yeonnam-Dong’s Smiley Laundromat is a community haven bringing together locals in the neighbourhood. A notebook is left in the laundromat and the customers begin writing entries, bringing them closer together, and solving the mystery of the notebook’s origin.
Darkmotherland
Samrat Upadhyay
Set in a dystopian and earthquake-ravaged Nepal, this novel follows Kranti who marries into an aristocrat family while coming from a revolutionary family as she navigates politics and family pressures. At the same time, Rozy, the mistress of the new dictator, begins to undergo transformation and becomes very powerful.
The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus
Emma Knight
This novel follows the character Pen, a young Canadian woman studying at the University of Edinburgh. She thinks her parents are hiding a secret from her, so she investigates an old friend of her father’s. Pen experiences her first love, university, and navigating the transition to adulthood.
January 14
Isaac’s Song
Daniel Black
Isaac is a Black queer man, exploring his identity and community in 1980s Chicago against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis and Rodney King’s attack at the hands of the LAPD. As Isaac explores his and his family’s past in Arkansas, he makes a surprise discovery.
The In-Between Bookstore
Edward Underhill
Darby, a transman, returns to his hometown and his youth refuge In Between Books. He finds himself in 2009 with an opportunity to talk his teenage self. What would you tell your younger self?
Andromeda
Therese Bohman
Translated by Marlaine Delargy
Andromeda follows a young woman working at a publishing house in Stockholm for a prestigious imprint (Andromeda) where her relationship with her boss grows and evolves from her time as an intern to employee of many years.
Taipei at Daybreak
Brian Hioe
A coming-of-age novel following QQ arriving in Taiwan post-Occupy Wall Street and head first into the Sunflower Movement. He founds an online newspaper and confronts his family history and his own inner demons.
Good Girl
Aria Aber
A debut novel, following 19 year old Nila, who was born in Germany to Afghan parents. This coming-of-age novel sees Nila come into her own as an artist and woman on the backdrop of tensions brewing in Germany and her community.
January 28
We Are Dreams in the Eternal Machine
Deni Ellis Béchard
An AI tasked with protecting humans decides to isolate humans in controlled environments, where all desires are fulfilled. Characters must face their traumatic memories, leaving readers with reflections of pressing issues such as artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, class struggles, and discrimination.
Good Dirt
Charmaine Wilkerson
Ebby Freeman was 10 years old when she found her brother shot dead in a home invasion. The case was never solved and being one of few Black families in their New England town, the family avoided getting noticed in the papers. When Ebby’s relationship ends, this happens, and she flees to France where her past continues to haunt her.
Do any of these pique your interest? What other books are you looking forward to in 2025? Leave a comment below!
