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Erica Ezeifedi, Associate Editor, is a transplant from Nashville, TN that has settled in the North East. In addition to being a writer, she has worked as a victim advocate and in public libraries, where she has focused on creating safe spaces for queer teens, mentorship, and providing test prep instruction free to students. Outside of work, much of her free time is spent looking for her next great read and planning her next snack. Find her on Twitter at @Erica_Eze_.
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This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Erica Ezeifedi, Associate Editor, is a transplant from Nashville, TN that has settled in the North East. In addition to being a writer, she has worked as a victim advocate and in public libraries, where she has focused on creating safe spaces for queer teens, mentorship, and providing test prep instruction free to students. Outside of work, much of her free time is spent looking for her next great read and planning her next snack. Find her on Twitter at @Erica_Eze_.
View All posts by Erica Ezeifedi
We’re closing out 2025 with some sad news. Sophie Kinsella, author of the mega bestselling rom-com Confessions of a Shopaholic, passed away on December 10th. Though I was too young to be into her contemporary rom-coms when they first came out, even now, I can still remember how much of a hold they had on the early aughts.
Turning to new books, since the new releases coming out for the rest of the month have slowed down a bit, this list will be serving some Christmas Carol realness: there are books released from the past, present, and future. Get ready for a dark academia romantic fantasy, a love letter to reading, a queer story of friendship set in a fictional African country, and more.
Enter for a chance to snag a brand-new Kindle Paperwhite for carrying a pocketful of stories wherever your holidays may take you.
New Books
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An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole
For dark academia fans, this is an exciting novel about an elite university hiding terrible secrets. Ellory Morgan has worked hard to attend Warren University, but once there, she hears rumors about the occult and the use of forbidden magic, and that its success has come at the cost of its BIPOC students. —Liberty Hardy
Song of Ancient Lovers by Laura Restrepo, translated by Caro De Robertis
Past and present collide to remarkable effect in this novel about a writer who’s been obsessed with the Queen of Sheba since his youth, the midwife who agrees to show him around northern Africa, and the women he meets in refugee camps, whose courage and determination reminds him of that indomitable queen. It’s the story of how we’re connected across time and place. —Rachel Brittain
Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books by Hwang Bo-reum, translated by Shanna Tan
Every Day I Read is a booklover’s dream. Hwang Bo-reum delves into the big ideas around a life centered around reading. What makes us choose a bestseller or read by whim? What inspired us to read outside of our favorite genres? Every Day I Read is a love letter to books and encourages readers to follow along and answer these questions for themselves. —Kendra Winchester
The Once and Future Queen by Paula Lafferty
Here’s another epic fantasy debut, this time with a spin on Arthurian legend. Vera has never felt like she quite fit in. Still, when a stranger shows up at her workplace and tells her she was once Queen Guinevere of Camelot, it’s a little hard to accept. But he insists that her missing memories are what will save the past and future, and he shows her a portal back to Camelot that will help her to find herself again. —Liberty Hardy
The Aquatics by Osvalde Lewat, translated by Maren Baudet-Lackner
In this novel by Cameroonian filmmaker Osvalde Lewat, Katmé Abbia enjoys a comfortable life by being married to Tashun, the prefect of the capital of the fictional country of Zambuena. She finds companionship, however, in her best friend, a gay artist named Samy. When Katmé visits Samy’s art exhibit that she and her husband funded, though, she realizes it’s critical of the Zambuenan government. Samy is threatened with incarceration, and Katmé is forced to choose between her marriage and her only real friend. —Danika Ellis
Sparks Fly by Zakiya N. Jamal
Who’s looking for romances that are just as sweet as they are sexy? Here you go! Stella is a “late bloomer” who gets invited to a sex club. She says, hey, why not? This might be her chance to get the experience she is lacking. And then, as the title suggests, sparks fly with a stranger named Max. Naturally, Max is the new guy at work the next day. This delightful bi4bi romance also explores the effects of integrating AI into workplaces. —Isabelle Popp
Other Book Riot New Releases Resources:
- All the Books, our weekly new book releases podcast, where Liberty and a cast of co-hosts talk about eight books out that week that we’ve read and loved.
- The New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books out this week that are getting buzz.
- Finally, if you want the real inside scoop on new releases, you have to check out Book Riot’s New Release Index! That’s where I find 90% of new releases, and you can filter by trending books, Rioters’ picks, and even LGBTQ new releases!