Compared to my October 2025 and November 2025 book releases lists, the December 2025 book releases list is relatively short. While I’m sure I missed something, overall I didn’t see a lot of upcoming releases that interested me. I think this is partially because it seems like new releases are fewer in December. However, there are a few I have my eye on, mostly within the fantasy genre.
December 2025 Book Releases
Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher
Series: None
Genre: Horror
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: 47north
Publish Date: December 1, 2025
Print Length: 271
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes an enthralling contemporary fantasy seeped in horror about a woman trying to escape her past by moving to the remote US desert–only to find herself beholden to the wrath of a vengeful god.
With only a few dollars to her name and her beloved dog Copper by her side, Selena flees her past in the city to claim her late aunt’s house in the desert town of Quartz Creek. The scorpions and spiders are better than what she left behind.
Because in Quartz Creek, there’s a strange beauty to everything, from the landscape to new friends, and more blue sky than Selena’s ever seen. But something lurks beneath the surface. Like the desert gods and spirits lingering outside Selena’s house at night, keeping watch. Mostly benevolent, says her neighbor Grandma Billy. That doesn’t ease the prickly sense that one of them watches too closely and wants something from Selena she can’t begin to imagine. And when Selena’s search for answers leads her to journal entries that her aunt left behind, she discovers a sinister truth about her new home: It’s the haunting grounds of an ancient god known simply as “Snake-Eater,” who her late aunt made a promise to that remains unfulfilled.
Snake-Eater has taken a liking to Selena, an obsession of sorts that turns sinister. And now that Selena is the new owner of his home, he’s hell-bent on collecting everything he’s owed.
Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards
Series: None
Genre: Historical Fiction
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Spiegal & Grau
Publish Date: December 2, 2025
Print Length: 368
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
A masterful debut novel following a spirited young woman’s explorations of faith, agency, and love in thirteenth-century Bruges.
Aleys is sixteen years old and unusual: stubborn, bright, and prone to religious visions. She and her only friend, Finn, a young scholar, have been learning Latin together in secret–but just as she thinks their connection might become something more, everything unravels. When her father promises her in marriage to a merchant she doesn’t love, she runs away from home, finding shelter among the beguines, a fiercely independent community of religious women who refuse to answer to the Church.
Among these hardworking and strong-willed women, Aleys glimpses for the first time the joys of belonging: a life of song, meaning, and friendship in the markets and along the canals of Bruges. But forces both mystical and political are at work. Illegal translations of scripture, the women’s independence, and a sudden rash of miracles all draw the attention of an ambitious bishop–and bring Aleys and those around her into ever-increasing danger, a danger that will push Aleys to a new understanding of love and sacrifice.
Grounded in the little-told stories of medieval women–mystics, saints, anchoresses, and beguines–and introducing a major new talent, Canticle is a luminous work of historical fiction, vividly evoking a world on the verge of transformation.
The Happiness Collector by Crystal King
Series: None
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Mira Books
Publish Date: December 2, 2025
Print Length: 400
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
In this stunning contemporary fantasy novel for fans of V. E. Schwab and Kaliane Bradley, a historian’s dream job in Italy takes a dark turn when she discovers her employers aren’t exactly human…
After losing her book deal and her academic position, historian Aida Reale needs a new career, and fast. After all, she and her fiancé, Graham, have a wedding to pay for. So when a friend recommends her for an extremely high-paying position at a company called MODA, it feels like the perfect stroke of luck. And with a move to Italy and a breathtaking palazzo included, how could she say no?
Aside from a snooty assistant, a daunting NDA and some very stringent rules about the use of personal technology, working for MODA is a dream come true–at least at first. But the more research Aida conducts for this elusive company, the more things feel off. Not only does her relationship with Graham suffer, but it seems like every site she visits either vanishes or is struck by tragedy soon after she’s been there.
It’s only after a mysterious woman approaches Aida and Luciano, her devastatingly handsome and equally concerned MODA colleague, that they learn the truth–they are just mortal pawns in a game between gods. Now Aida must find answers to the question she’s been avoiding: What’s really happening to all the happiness she’s been collecting…and can she stop the gods’ plans before it’s too late?
An Archive of Romance by Ava Reid
Series: None
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Age Category: Young Adult
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publish Date: December 9, 2025
Print Length: 240
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
The enchanting world of A Study in Drowning comes to life through letters, poems, art, and more in this novella from #1 New York Times bestselling author Ava Reid. This full-color illustrated collector’s edition is a jaw-dropping addition to the beloved dark academia series with stunning painterly endpapers, romantic rose gold foil flourishes, over 40 illustrations, and expanding and new text.
“I will love you to ruination,” the Fairy King said, brushing a strand of golden hair from my cheek.
“Yours or mine?” I asked.
The Fairy King did not answer.
Effy and Preston have been torn apart by the wars of men, the power of words, and the specter of magic—but it was through stories that they found each other. Relive Effy and Preston’s love story through their own pens in this immersive collection of mementos, illustrations, maps, blueprints, diary entries, and more. Read Angharad with Effy’s annotations; sneak excerpts of Preston’s diary; see the architectural sketches that brought Effy to Hiraeth; get your own ticket to Saltney; and experience, for the first time, the epilogue to Effy and Preston’s romance. This deluxe package includes:
- Full color throughout with painterly endpapers
- Over 40 illustrations
- Romantic rose gold foil
- Expanded and new text from the world of A Study of Drowning
- An enchanting never-before-seen epilogue
A perfect gift for fans of A Study in Drowning and A Theory of Dreaming and anyone who wants to embark on their own dark academia journey, this gorgeously illustrated novella collects ephemera from Effy and Preston as they remember the romance and prepare for a new chapter in their lives—together.
The Once and Future Queen by Paula Lafferty
Series: The Lives of Guinevere, #1
Genre: Fantasy
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Erewhon Books
Publish Date: December 16, 2025
Print Length: 512
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
Outlander-meets-The Princess Bride plus Camelot in a fresh, big-hearted, feminist, timeslip adventure reimagining the epic saga of King Arthur, as told from the perspective of his spunky and surprising queen, Vera – complete with time travel and good running shoes!
***DELUXE LIMITED EDITION HARDCOVER with stenciled edges, a beautiful foil-stamped hardcover, exclusive interior design with full-color illustrated endpapers*** Only while supplies last.
Vera always knew she didn’t fit in. When she learns that she is meant to be in another time, she leaps at the chance to embrace a new life in a world of valor, intrigue, and unexpected magic in this bold and romantic retelling of Arthurian legend . . .
22-year-old Vera is at a crossroads: waiting tables, grieving her previous relationship, and jogging aimlessly each morning as if toward an uncertain future. Then an odd man shows up at her workplace, insisting that she was once the legendary Queen Guinevere of Camelot, and that her lost memories hold the key to changing both the past and the present. Somehow, it all feels like the direction she’s been looking for. But when she asks the mysterious man to tell her more about Lancelot, Arthur, and a faithless queen, he can only say that much of what she’s heard about Camelot is wrong. The truth, he claims, is something she must see for herself.
After jumping through a portal in Glastonbury’s historic center, Vera is not prepared for what she finds. Magic is everywhere, but a curse on the kingdom means it dwindles every day. She has no idea how to perform a queen’s duties. Her fast friendship with Lancelot sets gossip flowing, and the stranger she must call “husband” often refuses to meet her eye. Arthur is a puzzle: cold, forbidding, and, while angry to her face, keeps leaving secret tokens of tenderness in her chambers. Worst of all, Vera’s memories—and the answers locked within them—show no signs of returning. If Vera is truly destined to save Camelot, she’ll have to trust her instincts. And her king will have to trust her . . .
We Who Will Die by Stacia Clark
Series: Empire of Blood, #1
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Avon
Publish Date: December 30, 2025
Print Length: 432
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
From the bestselling author of the Kingdom of Lies series comes a slow-burn romantasy set in a Roman-inspired world ruled by merciless vampires. Filled with breathtaking combat, vengeful gods, and magical creatures, We Who Will Die is the epic first installment in an enthralling new series perfect for fans of Carissa Broadbent, Jasmine Mas, and Rebecca Yarros.
Life in the perilous Thorn district is a constant battle for Arvelle and her younger brothers. And the vampire standing on her doorstep is about to turn their world upside down.
Faced with an unthinkable choice, Arvelle makes a magically binding vow to do the impossible: kill the emperor, an ancient vampire created by the god Umbros. But first, she must enter the Sundering—an arena where only the fastest, strongest, and deadliest survive long enough to be selected for the emperor’s elite guard.
She quickly draws the ire of the Primus, the powerful figure charged with protecting the emperor. But the vampire under the armor is the last person Arvelle expects to encounter in the emperor’s court.
With her brothers’ lives in the balance, Arvelle has no choice but to ally with the man who once shattered her heart… and with the emperor’s sadistic son, Rorrik—two vampires whose motives are impossible to pin down. Rorrik holds the key to understanding the powers Arvelle is developing—abilities that would put a price on her head if discovered by the emperor.
To survive the arena and complete her mission, Arvelle must get to the bottom of a conspiracy that will change everything she thought she knew about herself—and the two vampires who are deeply entwined with her destiny…
A Steep and Savage Path by JJA Harwood
Series: None
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Magpie (UK)
Publish Date: December 30, 2025
Print Length: 384
Purchase: Bookshop.org
Synopsis
From the SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author of THE THORNS REMAIN comes an enemies-to-lovers journey to the underworld unlike any other, for fans of THE CRIMSON MOTH and THE CRUEL PRINCE
An immortal vampire. A mortal bride. A vow that even death can’t break.
Irina is about to be married to a dead man. She is the willing village sacrifice for the Wedding of the Dead: a desperate ritual designed to lay the hungry vampire that has been terrorising her Transylvanian village to rest. Irina’s beloved sister’s soul is trapped in the land of the dead. If Irina can retrieve it, she could bring her back – but Irina would need a guide, one who can walk between the living and the dead.
Irina strikes up a deal with her new husband – if he agrees to get her safely there and back again, then he can drink her blood as much as he wants.
They begin a perilous journey through the afterlife together, in which Irina realises Stefan isn’t the cruel and terrifying monster that she thought. In a land of three-headed beasts, winged creatures and walking corpses, the last thing Irina would have expected was to fall in love.
Only, Irina learns that by bringing Stefan to the land of the dead she has put him in grave danger, and will be faced with an impossible choice. Will they be able to make it out, undead or alive?
Are any of these books on your anticipated list of December 2025 book releases?


I have a copy of Snake Eater I hope to read soon, and the rest are unfamiliar to me. But wow, I love the sound of The Happiness Collector!
Even though Snake Eater sounds like a horror book, I’m still intrigued. I’ve read a couple of Kingfisher’s horrors now and they didn’t bother me at all, so I feel brave enough to keep reading them haha.
I’m looking forward to Canticle too! I also had no idea Kingfisher has another book coming out. She’s so fast!
Kingfisher does seem to be a prolific writer! Her and Ali Hazelwood and Katee Robert…I don’t know how they do it!
The only one I’ve heard of on this list is Kingfisher’s books but they all have such pretty covers 😍 I hope you enjoy the ones you check out!
They do all have pretty covers! The new Swordheart is probably my favorite, though!
I am really excited for Snake Eater because… A new Kingfisher’s book?! I need it!!
She writes so fast! I’m behind on her backlog of books!
We Who Will Die sounds pretty good!
The reviews seem pretty positive! I was a little on the fence about it because it seems like ancient Rome (which I don’t gravitate to) is the new trend for romantasy, but I’ll roll with it.
I just saw someone else mention Snake Eater. It feels like Kingfisher just released a book!
She did release a book this year (Hemlock & Silver, I think?)…I don’t know how she writes so fast!