10 Most Anticipated Contemporary Books of Fall 2025

As the leaves begin to change and the air turns crisp, fall brings with it a sense of renewal, not only in nature but also in the world of literature. Bookworms and literary enthusiasts alike are buzzing with excitement as they await the release of some highly anticipated contemporary novels this season. Whether you’re looking for gripping thrillers, heartfelt dramas, or insightful explorations of human experience, Fall 2025 promises a rich tapestry of stories that will captivate your imagination. In this article, we’ll dive into the ten most anticipated contemporary books set to hit the shelves this fall—perfect for cozying up with a warm drink and getting lost in new worlds. Get ready to add these titles to your reading list!

If It Makes You Happy

Julie Olivia

My new next-door neighbor seems to have everything figured out. Small town golden boy? Check. Single dad extraordinaire? Check. Hot baker forearms? I didn’t notice them, I swear. I, on the other hand, don’t–at all–have anything figured out. Trust me, I didn’t think taking over my mom’s dream bed and breakfast in Copper Run Vermont was going to be easy. It should be a good place to heal after my divorce. But apparently my scones belong in the garbage with my small talk skills. As pointed out by none other than Cliff.

Cliff is inescapable. He knows exactly what people need–always. His charm, the way he wears flannel, and even his pastries.

Release Date: September 19, 2025

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We Love You, Bunny

Mona Awad

In the cult classic novel Bunny, Samantha Heather Mackey, a lonely outsider student at a highly selective MFA program in New England, was first ostracized and then seduced by a clique of creepy-sweet rich girls who call themselves “Bunny.” An invitation to the Bunnies’ Smut Salon leads Samantha down a dark rabbit hole (pun intended) into the violently surreal world of their off-campus workshops where monstrous creations are conjured with deadly and wondrous consequences.

When We Love You, Bunny opens, Sam has just published her first novel to critical acclaim.

Release Date: September 23, 2025

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We Met Like This

Kasie West

Margot Hart is a hopeless romantic. That’s why she wants to be a literary agent—to help bring romance books to the world. It’s also why she hates dating apps with all her romance loving soul. She wants her own love story to be just as much fun as the books she reads—a mixed up coffee order, a mistaken identity. She’s not going to tell the story that she swiped right on future husband’s shirtless pic for the rest of her life.

The problem is that her most consistent relationship over the last several years is with Oliver, a guy she keeps rematching with on the apps. They’ve only been on one date and it was a disaster…well.

Release Date: September 16, 2025

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Wreck

Catherine Newman

If you loved Rocky and her family on vacation on Cape Cod, wait until you join them at home two years later. (And if this is your first meeting with this crew, get ready to laugh and cry—and relate.) Rocky, still anxious, nostalgic, and funny, is living in Western Massachusetts with her husband Nick and their daughter Willa, who’s back home after college. Their son, Jamie, has taken a new job in New York, and Mort, Rocky’s widowed father, has moved in. It all couldn’t be more ridiculously normal . . . until Rocky finds herself obsessed with a local accident that only tangentially affects them—and with a medical condition that, she hopes, won’t affect them at all.

Release Date: October 28, 2025

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Overdue

Stephanie Perkins

Ingrid Dahl, a cheerful twenty-nine-year-old librarian in the cozy mountain town of Ridgetop, North Carolina, has been happily dating her college boyfriend, Cory, for eleven years without ever discussing marriage. But when Ingrid’s sister announces her engagement to a woman she’s only been dating for two years, Ingrid and Cory feel pressured to consider their future. Neither has ever been with anybody else, so they make an unconventional decision. They’ll take a one-month break to date other people, then they’ll reunite and move toward marriage. Ingrid even has someone in mind: her charmingly grumpy coworker, Macon Nowakowski, on whom she’s secretly crushed for years.

Release Date: October 7, 2025

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Cursed Daughters

Oyinkan Braithwaite

When Ebun gives birth to her daughter, Eniiyi, on the day they bury her cousin Monife, there is no denying the startling resemblance between the child and the dead woman. So begins the belief, fostered and fanned by the entire family, that Eniiyi is the actual reincarnation of Monife, fated to follow in her footsteps in all ways, including that tragic end.

There is also the matter of the family curse: “No man will call your house his home. And if they try, they will not have peace…” which has been handed down from generation to generation, breaking hearts and causing three generations of abandoned Falodun.

Release Date: November 4, 2025

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Heart The Lover

Lily King

Our narrator understands good love stories—their secrets and subtext, their highs and free falls. But her greatest love story, the one she lived, never followed the simple rules. In the fall of her senior year of college, she meets two star students from her 17th-Century Lit class: Sam and Yash. Best friends living off campus in the elegant house of a professor on sabbatical, the boys invite her into their intoxicating world of academic fervor, rapid-fire banter and raucous card games. They nickname her Jordan, and she quickly discovers the pleasures of friendship, love and her own intellectual ambition. But youthful passion is unpredictable.

Release Date: September 30, 2025

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Sparks Fly

Zakiya N. Jamal

When Stella Renee Johnson’s roommate invites her to a sex club party but bails at the last minute, Stella decides to use the opportunity to finally cash in her V-card. But just when things are heating up between Stella and a sexy stranger, they realize they don’t have protection and Stella, taking it as a sign this wasn’t meant to be, flees.

Frustrated in more ways than one, Stella is shocked to learn that the digital media website where she works is partnering with an AI company. She’s even more shocked when the alluring man from the previous night walks in. Max Williams is the CEO’s brother and the creator of the AI program now threatening her job.

Release Date: December 2, 2025

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The Secret Of Orange Blossom Cake

Rachel Linden

Rising star Jules Costa loves re-creating vintage recipes for her popular online cooking show. But when personal and professional disaster strikes, her only chance to save her career is to complete her new cookbook before the end of the summer. Panicked, Jules returns to her family’s beloved olive farm on the shores of Italy’s stunning Lake Garda. Seeking culinary inspiration, she’s hoping to convince her spunky eighty-year-old Nonna Bruna to share her precious collection of family recipes. Jules’s plans quickly go awry as she discovers that Nonna’s cookbook has magical and unpredictable powers.

Release Date: September 30, 2025

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Fun At Parties

Jamie Harrow

When online cycling instructor Quinn Ray has a mid-class meltdown after a bad breakup—dramatically off-brand for someone whose vibe is sunshine and rainbows—her boss orders her to take a few weeks off work. And that’s fine. In fact, a quiet road trip through America’s most tranquil scenery is exactly what she needs.

But then Nate Reed, who’s barely spoken to Quinn since their friendship imploded two years ago, asks to hitch a ride so he can reunite with their chaotically lovable pal Logan to discuss something important. Unfortunately, Logan seems to be dodging them on purpose.

Release Date: September 16, 2025

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