Anticipated Releases (Jan-March 2025)

 Hey guys, this is Abi here, 

And for once, I'm actually making an effort to work on these posts more! 

Just as well it's December, with this Anticipated Releases needing to be written, as well as my Favourites List and yearly wrap up! 

I hope you're all having a lovely December, with all things Christmas circling around once more. 

I'm trying not to think about how much I still have to do, but more about the people I'm happy to spend it with. 

Because Christmas is for people we consider family- wherever we might have come from. 

Anyway, without further ado, here are my Anticipated Releases for the first three months of 2025- I hope you enjoy reading about them, and maybe pick up a couple yourself! 

~January~

1. The Assassin's Guide to Babysitting, by Natalie C. Parker

Release date: 07/01/2025

I admit, I didn't think I would be adding a book like this when looking for what to add to this list, but I'm honestly intrigued as for where this story is headed. 

The Assassin's Guide to Babysitting follows Tru, who has been hiding herself- and her Bastion ability from people for as long as she can remember. Even her closest friends don't know her true ability- or even her true name. That's what killed her parents. 

On a random night, during a babysitting job- set up from BountyApp- where lethal hunters find work and babysitters for their kids- Tru flees with a one-year-old strapped to her chest, and her head is filled with questions. Whom can she trust? What does it mean to be a bastion, and why is it so feared? And is it ever okay to kiss the girl that's on your tail, intent on murdering you? 

This sounds an excitement packed- fun story that I can soar through, and the right story, so as to get me in the right frame of mind to have a great reading year. 

2. After Life, by Gayle Forman 

Release date: 07/01/2025

Gayle Forman has a new book out! I haven't read a new book of hers in so long, I genuinely can't wait to see her name back on my shelves again. 

Life Again follows Amber, arriving home on her bike, after a perfectly normal day at school. 

Except, when her mother sees her, she doesn't welcome her warmly. She screams- because Amber died seven years ago- in a car accident, on the very same bike she's just arrived home on. 

This amazing return of Amber doesn't just have an impact on her. It effects the entire family- her younger sister Melissa, now seven years older, must be a new kind of sibling to Amber. Their parents are also damaged by her return as well, even her ex boyfriend, or people she's only met briefly- are effected by her phenomenal return. But in the midst of it all, Amber has questions of her own- who was she, before she died? And why was she given a second chance?

This sounds like a sensitive and emotional story, and that is what Gayle Forman does best. I am genuinely excited for the release of this. 

3. A Sea of Unspoken Things, by Adrienne Young

Release date: 07/01/2025

When Adrienne Young popped up on the list of new releases in the upcoming year, I knew I'd come across her name somewhere, but wasn't sure where. Turns out, she is the author of Fable, Namesake and Deep in the Sky, all YA releases I'd expressed an interest in, upon their releases, but never picked up. 

Once more, A Sea of Unspoken Things pyked my interest, and so, I'm adding it to this. 

A Sea of Unspoken Things is about James Golden, twin of Johnny, and the two of them have always been closest with the other- to the point where James can feels what Johnny feels- and vice versa. 

So when James gets a phone call, she knows that he is dead before she's even told. And she is alone for the first time ever. 

When James arrives in the rural town of Hawthorne, California, to settle her brothers affairs, she comes face to face with Micah, the only other person to know the Golden siblings' secrets- and the only person James has ever loved. 

Soon James discovers that her connection with Johnny isn't truly gone- and the more she immerses herself into his world, the more secrets of his she discivers. And in the end, it will be up to her to decide what secrets she decides to uncover to the rest of the world. 

This sounds so gripping, so addictive, but I have no doubt that this kind of subject matter will be handled sensitively- I just know. 

Never mind that I've never read a book of hers- I am ready.  

4. Sweet Fury, by Sash Bischoff

Release date: 07/01/2025

In a nutshell, Sweet Fury is about movie star Lila Cryane and her new film director fiancé, taking on a new project: a feminist version of Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night, with of course, Lila taking on the lead. 

To prepare for her new role, Lila signs up to a series of therapy session, to dig into her childhood trauma, working with the charming and accomplished therapist Jonah Gabriel. Soon, Lila's perfect and glittery life is starting to unravel, on the comfort of Gabriel's couch (or sofa). But everyone has a secret, and nothing is as it seems. 

This reminds me very much of The Midnight Rose, by Lucinda Riley, one of her standalones that I read this year, but with a bit more tension and dark themes in it, and honestly, I'm excited. I've never heard of Tender is the Night, so maybe this book will encourage me to pick it up sometime in the future. 

5. The Ends of Things, by Sandra Chwialkowska

Release date: 14/01/2025

Another thriller this one, it seems. January seems to be releasing a lot of them in 2025- there are over one hundred books being released next month and most of them- happen to be thrillers! 

The End of Things follows Laura Phillips, embarking on a holiday with her boyfriend Dave, to the remote island of Eleuthera, in the Bahamas- she has always wanted to travel the world, but would never dare to go it alone. 

Almost instantly upon arrival, her and Dave are led to a luxurious suite and handed cocktails garnished with little umbrellas- it's a lover's paradise. Which makes the fact that they see a woman holidaying alone, on the pristine beach, all the more unusual. Intrigued, Laura approaches the woman, and instantly warms to her. Her name is Diana and, before she knows it, she finds herself spilling secrets she's never told anyone. 

And then Diana disappears. And she realises she barely knew anything at all about the woman she was spending her time with. 

The police think Diana might be in danger, and as more time passes, worry turns into obsession for Laura. As she tries to make sense of what has happened- as well as prove her innocent- she quickly realises that there is nobody she can trust, and that everyone is hiding something. What started as a perfect paradise is quickly turning into a terrifying nightmare... 

6. Clever Little Thing, by Helena Echlin 

Release date: 14/01/2025

I'm sure you guys must be tired of hearing of all the thrillers I'm looking forward to reading, but I'm about to throw another one at you. 

Clever Little Thing is about Charlotte, a mother, whose daughter Stella is often described as sensitive and brilliant. Then her babysitter dies, and Charlotte begins to be increasingly concerned with her daughter's behaviour. She starts to mimic her, using specific phrases in her accent, changing her personality from disruptive and anti-social to docial and agreeable, even having cravings for Armenian meat, having been brought up vegetarian. 

Charlotte is pregnant with her second child, and sick and weak with the stress of it all. She is convinced that Blanka is at the source of all of Stella's behavioural changes. She wonders how Blanka still seems to be part of their lives, despite being dead. Has Blanka somehow possessed Stella? Has Stella somehow become her? Charlotte becomes increasingly obsesses, convinced she is the only one that can save her, yet her husband seems to think it's all in her head. 

If this book was in front of me right now, I definitely wouldn't be tying this. I'd be picking it up and reading it without a moment's hesitation. 

~February~

1. Our Infinite Fates, by Laura Steven 

Release date: 01/02/2025

A couple of years ago, I read Laura Steven's The Exact Opposite of Okay, and absolutely loved it. Now, I follow her on Instagram, so of course I'd heard that she's been releasing fantasy novels, but I didn't know if it was my cup of tea, having loved her contemporary novels so much. 

But then I read the synopsis, and I just couldn't resist adding this to the list. 

There's no way to write my own version of what this story is, so I'm just going to quote it all:

"The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue meets This is How You Lose The Time War in this fantastic love story that defies death as two souls reincarnate through the centuries. 

They've loved each other in a thousand lifetimes. They've killed each other in every one. 

Evelyn remembers all her past lives. She also remembers that in every single one, she's been murdered before her eighteenth birthday by Arden, a supernatural being whose soul- and survival- is tethered to hers. 

The problem is that she's quite fond of the life she's in now, and her little sister needs her for bone marrow transplants in order to stay alive. If Evelyn wants to save her sister, she'll have to: 

1. Find the centuries-old devil who hunts her through each life- before they find her first. 

2. Figure out why she's being hunted and finally break their curse. 

3. Try not to fall in love." 

2. Dating and Dragons, by Kristy Boyce

Release date: 04/02/2025

Okay, so I've never played Dungeons and Dragons (sorry guys, I know it excists, just never really had a passion to learn how to play it) but this sounds good enough to replace the Maple Hills series. It;'s got the same feel, (not to mention the first book in the series is about a kid that wants to be a director on Broadway), so this series is one I really don't mind starting the first one, and then continuing on to this one. 

If the cover doesn't tell you much, it's a dungeons and dragons, YA romance. That's all I know or need to know about it. 

3. All Better Now, by Neal Shustermann 

Release date: 04/02/2025

Now, for those of you that have been following this blog for a while, you'll know that I was less than in love with the Scythe trilogy, so I was extremely hesistant to add this to my list when I came looking for anticipated releases. But having read what it's about, it sounds absolutely amazing. 

An unprecedented condition is on the rise. It starts with a fever, and finishes with total peace and serenity. Everybody that catches this virus-like-condition revels in catching this condition. Until people in power realise just how much it would impact their money empires, that they've worked so hard to achieve. They start to spread the word that without fear, anxiety and stress, the world would cease to function. Worse than that- the world would descend into chaos. 

With the world at odds, and everyone with their own agends, two people- that have had the virus affect them in phenomenally different ways- go on a search to find the truth. What will they uncover, under all the lies?

This book sound immensely complicated and intricate and I genuinely can't wait to sink my teeth into it. 

4. The Other March Sisters, by Linda Epstein, Ally Malinenko, Liz Parker

Release date: 25/02/2025

I've never heard of any of these authors, but that just means I get to see what they're like with a completely blank slate. Linda Epstein, Ally Malinenko and Liz Parker have joined forces to write Meg, Amy and Beth March's stories, while Jo is off writing elsewhere. I don't really have one particular story that I'm drawn to the most, maybe because it was Jo that comandeered all be attention when I read Little Woman, so it'll be exciting to see whose story I'm drawn to the most. 

The Other March Sisters deals with subjects such as motherhood, social strictures, queer love, chronic illness, artisitic ambition, and more. 

I can't wait to delve into this periodic novel and explore the world through new eyes. 

~March~

1. Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games #0.5), by Suzanne Collins

Release date: 18/03/2025

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who started jumping up and down at the news that this book would be released. For those that didn't know (I'm sure most people do) this is Haymitch's hunger games. He won the 50th Hunger Games, otherwise known as the 2nd Quarter Quell. The Quarter Quell introduces certain twists, and in this case, the 2nd Quarter Quell had twice the number of tributes.  

That's really all it's about. But I know that I'm not alone in my anticipation for this book to be released. 

2. Serial Killer Support Group, by Saratoga Schaefer

Release date: 18/03/2025

DEBUT NOVEL ABOUT SERIAL KILLERS. DEBUT NOVEL ABOUT SERIAL KILLERS. DEBUT NOVEL ABOUT SERIAL KILLERS.

Okay I'm done. 

When Cyra Griffin's younger sister is murdered, and the police have started to cool their heals, convinced they'll never find the killer, Cyra takes matter into her own hands. 

Using insider information, she manages to infilitrate into a serial killer support group, by pretending to be one herself. Her optimum goal is to uncover who murdered her sister, and find out why. 

But the further she goes, the deeper she searches, the harder she finds it to keep ahold of her humanity... 

This sounds unique in the best way. I have NEVER heard of this type of book and it get the feeling it'll be a hit wherever it's released. 

3. Tilt, by Emma Pattee

Release date: 25/03/2025

I LOVE books like this. Crazy world disaster, the whole world thrown of it's hinges, and people clutching at whatever they can to survive, and get to safety. Survival books. (I promise I'm not horrible, but if anyone has any recommendations about say 9/11 as an example, let me know in the comments please.)

Annie: nine months pregnant, shopping for a crib at IKEA when a massive earthquake hits Oregon, Portland, and the whole city is thrown into chaos. With no way of reaching her husband, no phone or money, all there is to do is walk. 

Making her way across the wreck that is now the city, Annie experiences strangers offering help, a riot at a shop, and a friendship with a young mother. As she walks, she reflects on her struggling marriage, her disappointing career, and her anxiety about her upcoming baby. If she can just make it home, she's determined to change her life. 

4. A Heart Full of Hatred (Skulduggery Pleasant #18), by Derek Landy 

Release date: 27/03/2025

No idea why there isn't a cover for this on Goodreads yet, but I know this book is being released: there was a reveal on instagram from Derek Landy himself. I found this picture on another website. 

A Heart Full of Hatred continues on from A Mind Full of Murder almost immediately- there's a hunter, out there, killing sorcerers- and Valkyrie is next on his list. 

While hunting down a group of magical terrorists, Valkyrie and Skulduggery stumble upon a case remarkably similar to the case they just solves- in with Valkyrie and her girlfriend nearly paid the price. 

With the body count rising, a special night approaches- a night where these magical terrorists will be present. They make speeches, drink champagne, and witness a ceremony that will change the face of the society forever. 

No-one is safe. And not everyone will make it out alive. '

I have been reading Skulduggery Pleasant since I was twelve years out. I will always be excited about every new release, and every new plot twist. That is just a fact. 

Okay! Those are all of my anticipated releases for January- March of next year. Bear in mind that these are all of mine, but there are literally over 100 books out over the next three months, so it's worth looking through the list. 

With that, I'm signing off, but I'll be back for my Favourite Books of 2024- soon! I hope you have a lovely evening and I'll see you all soon! 

Byeeeeee! 

-Abi xxxx