The weather is changing, the flowers have started to blossom, and yes, I have done my spring cleaning. With winter finally over and the start of warmer weather, I’ve been spending a lot of my time inside catching up on the latest TV shows, film adaptations, and catching up on my reading. Even though we’re only four months into 2025, this year is shaping up to have stacked book releases, from fan-favorites and new authors alike, and I couldn’t be more excited to be adding more to my TBR list.
While the spring season may still be just starting out, book readers and those browsing on BookTok are eagerly awaiting to find new book releases for spring 2025, and new characters to fall in love with as things begin to heat up outside. Here are some of the books you should add to your reading list this spring, and you’re guaranteed to find a new fave soon.
1. Good Girl by Aria Aber
Good Girl follows 19-year-old Nila, a daughter of Afghan refugees as she comes of age in Germany. As Nila spends her teenage years attending nightclubs in Berlin, she meets Marlowe, an American writer who pulls her closer to the world of Germany’s artistic underground. As Nila and Marlowe begin to form a connection, tension begins to arise in Germany. A coming-of-age story for those who are wondering who they want to be, you should read Good Girl if you love a main character trying to figure out who they are meant to become.
2. Audition by Katie Kitamura
If you love psychological drama, Audition should be at the top of your list. Set in Manhattan, an older woman and a younger man meet up for lunch in the middle of the city. While the woman is a celebrated actress preparing for her next premiere, Audition questions how we may not entirely know the people we truly love, and who we know most intimately.
3. Comedic Timing by Upsana Barath
I’m obsessed with anything that gives off rom-com vibes, and Comedic Timing is perfect for anyone who is just like me. Comedic Timing follows Naina, who is struggling to find her footing in New York City. After breaking up with her older girlfriend, securing a job that she realizes no one knows what to make of her, Naina finds herself alone. After meeting David, an aspiring filmmaker living in New York, Naina begins to question where she stands on her sexual identity.
4. The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz
I’m such a sucker for murder mysteries, and The Last Ferry Out — out on May 20 — is on the top of my list. On a trip back to the island where her fiancée died unexpectedly, Abby begins to question if his death was really accidental. Upon returning to Isla Colel, Abby becomes close to a group of expats, one of which reveals that they know what happened to Abby’s fiancée. As Abby begins to investigate, she realizes that the killer may be on the island, and one of the expats in the group.
5. All That Life Can Afford by Emily Everett
Another coming-of-age story, All That Life Can Afford follows Anna, an American woman who becomes entangled with the Wilders, one of London’s wealthiest families. As Anna begins to fall into the world of the Wilders, Anna finds herself enthralled by two strangers further down the rabbit hole of London’s elite.
6. The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
I’m obsessed with futuristic fiction, so I’m excited for The Dream Hotel. The Dream Hotel is about Sara, a woman who arrives at LAX when agents from the Risk Assessment Administration pull her aside. They reveal that she will commit a crime, and the only way she can save her husband is if she stays under surveillance for 21 days. As Sara is transferred to a new detention center with no chance of getting closer to being released, a new resident arrives, changing the course of Sara’s story.
7. Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory
Friends to lovers stans, this one’s for you. Flirting Lessons begins with Avery, a 29-year-old recovering from a breakup. Avery struggles with trying to find someone new to date, until her friend Taylor offers to help her with flirting lessons and how to approach other women. It’s a matter of time until Avery discovers that she has feelings for Taylor, and wants to figure out how to confront her growing feelings towards her.
8. Notes to John by Joan Didion
In the last few years, Joan Didion has become one of my favorite journalists and authors. With her deep love and exploration for Los Angeles, Didion has become a literature icon for women all around the world. Notes to John is Didion’s unedited journal, which consists of 46 diary entries beginning in 1999. The entries chronicle Didion’s conversations with her therapist, her struggles with depression, and her complicated relationship with her daughter — all of which are addressed to her husband.
9. Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley
Beginning in 2000, Deep Cuts chronicles the story of Percy Marks and Joe Morrow as they meet at Berkeley. Joe is an aspiring songwriter, and Percy voices her opinions about music to Joe at a campus bar the night they meet. When Joe asks Percy for feedback on a song he wrote, the two become intertwined in a partnership set against the backdrop of San Francisco and Brooklyn.
10. Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch
I love a good whodunnit. Killer Potential follows Evie, a SAT tutor for the wealthy in Los Angeles, who is trying to find her way out of debt. When she arrives at a wealthy client’s estate, she discovers that the parents have been murdered, and there’s an unidentified woman crying for help inside the house. As Evie attempts to piece together the story on what happened, she becomes a top suspect, and she will do whatever it takes to clear her name.
11. Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang
There have been a lot of films about twins in 2025, so what more could you want than a twisted story about two twins? Julie Chan Is Dead opens with Julie Chan, a supermarket cashier who discovers her twin sister, Chloe Vanhussen, is dead. Rather than coming clean about Chloe’s demise, Julie takes the opportunity to become Chloe, who is a famous influencer online. Julie finds herself becoming everything she’s ever wanted to be, but when she goes on an influencer-only trip with Chloe’s friends, she finds that she may be the next victim. The book releases on April 29, so be sure to add it to your list for more twin chaos.
12. The Trouble with Anna by Rachel Griffins
As a history girl, I’m already obsessed with The Trouble With Anna. A historical romance, the book chronicles the story of Anna, a young woman who must obey her grandfather’s will. Her deceased grandfather’s will insists that Anna must get married or she will not receive her inheritance. Anna struggles with trying to find herself while also balancing a potential romance with Lord Julian Ramsay
13. Private Rives by Julia Armfield
Shakespeare enthusiasts, you’re going to love this one. A queer reimagining of King Lear, Private Rives follows three estranged sisters who return back home after their father’s death. After receiving his will, the sisters discover something that they never expected to find, leading them to become further estranged. The three sisters all have complicated relationships with their significant others and partners, leading them towards a shattered downward spiral in their drowning town.
14. Piglet by Lottie Hazell
I love a book with a main character who begins to question their world, and Piglet is guaranteed to be at the top of many lists this spring. Though the story follows a woman who can’t shake off her childhood name, Piglet’s story begins as our main character is set to be married to a wealthy man, while also balancing being a cookbook editor at a London publishing house. When her fiancé reveals that he cheated on her, it sends Piglet down a spiral of hunger and determination to create the perfect cake. An exploration of how women view their relationship with food and the ideology of being the perfect woman, Piglet is all about the unraveling and self-discovery of one woman’s life.
I’ll be dusting off my bookshelf to make room for all of these new releases.