Make the Season Merry and Bright with our Most Anticipated December Book Releases
Between Lagniappe and cozy nights in, December is an exciting month to be a reader in Rochester, Michigan. But it’s all too easy to let the newest novels pass you by! As we near the holidays, work through your current TBR list to make room for these exciting December book releases.
Give the Gift of December Book Releases This Holiday Season
While toys, jewelry, and a good pair of socks are always fun to unwrap on Christmas morning, for many of us, there’s nothing better than receiving a thoughtfully chosen novel. This year, skip the clutter, support your local bookstore, and celebrate the holidays by gifting brand-new December book releases to everyone on your list! Write a handwritten dedication to the inside cover, tie it up with a bow, and spread cheer to your bibliophile friends at any of these festive occasions:
- Hanukkah (December 14th-December 22nd)
- Jolabokaflod
- Secret Santa
- White Elephant
- Christmas morning
Our Most Anticipated December Book Releases of 2025
When it comes to this year’s December book releases, there really is something for every reader! Between young love stories, thrilling fantasy, and exciting debut novels, we can’t wait to get our hands on these titles:
Persephone’s Curse by Katrina Leno
Fans of YA urban fantasy rejoice! Persephone’s Curse hits the shelves on December 2nd.
The four Farthing sisters have always been told they were descendants of Persephone—and the fact that they have a ghost in the attic of their NYC brownstone really seals the deal! When one of the sisters falls in love with Henry, the kind and gentle spirit, and another banishes him to the Underworld, they are left with even bigger questions of who, and what, they are. If they are related to the Goddess of the Dead, perhaps it’s up to them to save Henry, each other, and the world.
There’s Always Next Year by Leah Johnson and George M. Johnson
If you love a good holiday rom-com, you’re in luck! There’s Always Next Year, out on the 2nd, is the perfect dual perspective, double love story you’re looking for in a December book release.
This was meant to be the year Andy could leave her too-serious student journalist self behind and reinvent herself—but New Year’s Eve had other plans for her. Instead, she threw up on her crush, dropped her phone in a fish tank, and had her car stolen. Now she has only the first day of the year to right last night’s wrongs, stop the gentrification of her family’s business, and figure out why she can’t help gravitating towards the new-girl-next-door.
Dominique is on the verge of securing the kind of brand deal that would secure his future as an influencer. But when he runs into his ex-best friend and unresolved feelings emerge, there’s nowhere he can hide. Surrounded by his cousin, Andy, who’s always seen him for who he really is, and his prying manager, Kim, Dominique will have to figure out if he can rise to superstardom without leaving the ones he loves behind.
Crowntide by Alex Aster
Determined to defeat her insidious ancestor, Lark, Isla Crown is ready to follow her destiny, no matter the cost—but surviving Skyshade proves more challenging than she ever thought possible. The key to her return lies close to her heart, but will Isla be able to reconcile her past in order to secure her future? Meanwhile, will Grim and Oro be able to look past a lifetime of betrayals to secure a necessary alliance? Find out in the fourth installment of the BookTok-acclaimed Lightlark Saga, Crowntide, on December 2nd.
Catch Up on the Rest of the Lightlark Saga:
A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Cheating Death by Maxie Dara
Nora Bird has been terrified of death and obsessed with avoiding risk ever since her parents died when she was six years old. But that doesn’t stop her from working for S.C.Y.T.H.E., the company that employs the nation’s grim reapers! To Nora, learning about all the ways you can kick the bucket is comforting—until a file containing her twin brother’s name hits her desk.
They may not have spoken in six months, but Charlie is all Nora has left. Going against her good judgment, she steals the file and runs straight to her brother’s house to convince him his death is imminent. Attempting to evade his untimely demise, the two hit the road (with his pet parrot, Jessica)—but every time she saves Charlie, a new cause of death appears in his file! In A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Cheating Death, out December 2nd, Nora will have to use all of her death-related knowledge to discover the culprit and save her other half before it’s too late.
Television by Lauren Rothery
Told in alternating perspectives, Television, Rothery’s debut novel, out on the 2nd, is a December book release worth waiting for! An aging, A-list movie star gives up his mega-millions salary to a member of the general viewing public before getting together with a much (much) younger model. His non-famous best-friend-sometimes-lover looks on from afar, recollecting their 20-or-more years of connection. An aspiring, unknown filmmaker longs for the financial freedom to bring his dreams to fruition, laboring over a script about best friends and lovers. Modern, nimble, bright, and creative, this is a work of fiction you won’t want to miss.
Cape Fever by Nadia Davids
If you like a period gothic psychological thriller, Cape Fever, out on the 9th, is the perfect December book release to add to your wishlist. When Soraya Matas found a job as a personal maid to the eccentric Mrs. Hattingh, who resides in a decaying home near The Muslim Quarter, she never could have guessed the house would be alive with spirits. It isn’t until she offers to help Soraya stay in touch with her fiancée through writing letters that they take things to the next level. But will their weekly ritual bind the two women together or threaten their sanity?
The Time Hop Coffee Shop by Phaedra Patrick
In The Time Hop Coffee Shop, a December book release out on the 9th, we meet Greta Perks, once a famous TV wife, mom, and shining star of the beloved Maple Gold coffee commercials. But now, with her marriage on the rocks, fame fading, and a teenage daughter growing more distant by the day, her once-successful career feels like a distant memory. That is, until she stumbles upon a mysterious coffee shop serving a magical brew with the power to make your most outlandish dreams come true.
After wishing to live in the idyllic ads of her past, Greta wakes up in Mapleville with a whole new chance at life, determined to rewrite her own script. But is perfection all it’s cracked up to be? Or will she begin to miss the reality she left behind?
It doesn’t matter what book genre you prefer—this month, there’s sure to be something to suit your literary tastes! Make sure to pre-order any December book releases you’re interested in to get access to them as early as possible. Otherwise, stop into our indie bookstore, Novel, on the day of to pick up a copy for yourself!