My Top Ten Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2025

I am plenty busy with my 20 Books of Summer, my book group, and piles of library books everywhere but that hasn’t stopped me from thinking about the books being published in the second half of 2025 for That Artsy Reader Girl’s weekly Top Ten Tuesday:

How to Lose a Lord in Ten Days by Sophie Irwin (July). Historical Romance. I don’t like cutesy modern titles for historical fiction but I did enjoy Irwin’s two previous books so I am looking forward to this one. Pressured into accepting Lord Ashford’s proposal, Lydia has just ten days to free herself from her obligations before the engagement is publicly announced… what could go wrong?

Frozen People by Elly Griffiths (July). Mystery. This new series by Griffiths introduces Ali Dawson and her cold case team, who investigate crimes so old, they’re frozen—or so their inside joke goes. Nobody knows that Ali's team has a secret: they can travel back in time to look for evidence.

Hot Desk by Laura Dickerman (September). Fiction. In the post-pandemic publishing industry, two rival editors are forced to share a “hot desk” on different days of the week, much to their chagrin. Having never set eyes on each other, Rebecca Blume and Ben Heath begin leaving passive-aggressive Post-it notes on their shared cactus. But when a revered literary legend dies, leaving his estate up for grabs, their banter escalates as both work feverishly to land this career-making opportunity.

No Rest for the Wicked by Rachel Louise Adams (September). Suspense. It’s been close to twenty years since forensic pathologist Dolores Hawthorne left her hometown of Little Horton, Wisconsin. The town is famous for its Halloween celebrations, but also its history of violent deaths linked to the holiday. To Dolores, it’s the place she fled, family, bad memories, and all. Until the FBI calls to tell her that her father--the former mayor turned US Senator--is missing under mysterious circumstances.

The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman (September). Mystery. I understood why Osman wanted to try a new series but I was a disappointed by We Solve Murders so am glad he has returned to the Thursday Murder Club. It’s been a quiet year for our four beloved sleuths. Joyce is busy with table plans and first dances. Elizabeth is grieving. Ron is dealing with family troubles, and Ibrahim is still providing therapy to his favorite criminal. But when Elizabeth meets Nick, a wedding guest asking for her help, she finds the thrill of the chase is ignited once again. And when Nick disappears without a trace, his cagey business partner becomes the gang’s next assignment.

Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist by Daniel Pollack-Pelzner (September). Biography. How did Lin-Manuel Miranda, the sweet, sensitive son of Puerto Rican parents from an immigrant neighborhood in Manhattan, rise to become the preeminent musical storyteller of the 21st century? This book offers a compelling narrative that traces Miranda’s path from a friendly but often isolated child to the winner of multiple Tonys and Grammys for his Broadway hits Hamilton and In the Heights, a global chart-topping sensation for his songs in Disney’s Moana and Encanto, and the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize and a MacArthur Genius Grant.

Overdue by Stephanie Perkins (October). Contemporary romance. When Ingrid’s sister announces her engagement to a woman she’s only been dating for two years, librarian Ingrid and her boyfriend Cory feel pressured to consider their future. They decided to 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 on whom she’s secretly crushed for years. But plans go awry, and when the month ends, Ingrid and Cory realize they’re not ready to resume their relationship—and Ingrid’s harmless crush on Macon has turned into something much more complicated.  This is Perkins' adult debut after several bestselling YA novels.

The Black Wolf by Louise Penny (October). Mystery. Several weeks ago, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec and his team uncovered and stopped a domestic terrorist attack in Montréal, arresting the person behind it. A man they called the Black Wolf.  But their relief is short-lived. In a sickening turn of events, Gamache has realized that plot, as horrific as it was, was just the beginning.

Gone Before Goodbye by Reese Witherspoon & Harlan Coben (October). Suspense. In this intriguing collaboration, storytellers Witherspoon and Coben have produced the story of an indomitable woman, an Army combat surgeon, trapped in a conspiracy she helped create but can’t understand. Her harrowing search for the truth could expose a plot woven throughout the exclusive world of the global elite—but at an unfathomable cost to Maggie herself.

Nash Falls by David Baldacci (November). Suspense. In this new series, Walter Nash is a happily married family man, content with his life, until he is unexpectedly approached by the FBI in the middle of the night. They have an important request: become their inside man to expose an enterprise that is laundering large sums of money through Sybaritic. At the top of this illegal operation is Victoria Steers, an international criminal mastermind that the FBI has been trying to bring down for years.

Do you have fall books you are eagerly anticipating?