We're counting down the days to these 2025 releases

Talk dragon to me

A word to my family, friends and fellow listeners—come January 21, kindly prepare for my entire personality to become Onyx Storm. The hotly anticipated third book in Rebecca Yarros’s much beloved Empyrean series is at the tippy-top of my TBLT list. I’ve even recruited a few fellow Fourth Wing enthusiasts to commit to re-listening to books 1 and 2 over the holiday season, so the details are fresh in our minds as we learn the fates of our favourite characters. While I’ve been particularly nervous about a certain brooding, shadow-encased leading man after that cliffhanger (😱), I also simply can’t wait to see where Yarros takes the series from there. So, grab your headphones and your flight leathers—it’s time to fly back to Basgiath. —Editor Katie O.

The perfect podcast for the perfectly imperfect

If Chrissy Teigen—you know, the swimsuit model, accomplished celebrity chef, outspoken feminist and subject of her husband John Legend’s swoon-worthy love ballad “All of Me”—can be open and honest about her struggles with self-esteem, then there’s really nothing left for anyone to be ashamed of when it comes to boosting their personal development. Along for the ride on her confidence-building journey are the who’s who of well-being: Adam Grant, Gabby Bernstein, Nedra Glover Tawwab and Mel Robbins, just to name a few. Anything aimed at normalising and popularising self-care gets an automatic follow for me. Add some of the most trusted names in the wellness industry and one of my favourite TV personalities, and well, let’s just say I’ll be setting up a calendar reminder for each episode’s release date. —Editor Rachael X.

Is this my catnip or my Kryptonite?

Whatever it is, I lost a few days of my life to this book, but in the best way possible! Reading Our Infinite Fates was exactly the diversion I needed amid the holiday hubbub, and I can’t wait to experience it again performed by actress Sofia Oxenham (whose narration of The Love of My Afterlife was just fabulous). A super swoony reincarnation romantasy, Our Infinite Fates has that same magic and mysterious feel as some of my favourites like Addie LaRue and A Witch in Time. A curse, the underrealm, a centuries-long doomed love affair all spark the imagination, but maybe what I love most about this is how Laura Steven so deftly toys with the idea that there are certain intractable things that will always make us us, in this life or the next. —Editor Emily C.

Waiting for my king

I am noisily an S.A. Cosby superfan, so King of Ashes instantly dethroned the competition as my most anticipated listen of the year. Then I heard the plot! A Godfather-inspired, Southern crime epic, centred on a Virginia family whose patriarch ran a crematorium before a mysterious car accident put him in a coma? Get in my veins! Siblings Roman, Dante and Neveah are on a high-stakes collision course that would make the Roy heirs tremble, as they navigate shady deals and dangerous characters all while, oh yes, their mother has been missing since they were kids. If you’re remotely familiar with Cosby’s work you know he actually overdelivers on such killer hooks, and this one is his juiciest yet. With longtime collaborator Adam Lazarre-White on the mic, King of Ashes is already thriller royalty—now all we have to do is wait. —Editor Kat J.

Jojo Moyes never disappoints

Just knowing that there’s a new Jojo Moyes novel coming soon makes me a little giddy. I look forward to her signature wit, clever plot lines and the feels that are sure to be sparked. Her characters always resonate with me, as with so many listeners and readers, so I fully expect Lila Kennedy, the woman at the centre of We All Live Here, to become my book-best-friend in no time. With Jenna Coleman, whose voice is British perfection, narrating, I’m excited to spend quality time at Lila’s house—taking in all the family drama as I happily sip my tea, basking in the story. —Editor Tricia F.

A debut "brimming with grammar"

This is Amal El-Mohtar’s solo debut—but you know her already as the co-author of This Is How You Lose the Time War (alongside Max Gladstone). It won the Hugo for Best Novella, was our pick for best sci-fi novel of 2019, and remains on my list of all-time favourites. I’ve only just dipped into the manuscript, but I can already tell this is one I’ll want to savour despite my temptation to devour. It is a story for lovers of stories, for anyone who has pined over punctuation or swooned over sentence construction. It also seems meant to be heard—as the narrator addresses us, the listener, in this tale of ancient magic and legends. I can’t wait to hear how Gem Carmella (also a solo debut narrator for us!) conjures El-Mohtar’s prose. —Editor Sam D.

Headin' back to the ranch

This year, I'm mindfully opting out of the stress-inducing chaos of the holiday season by staying home and immersing myself in a series that my Bookstagram friends have been recommending for a long time: the Rebel Blue Ranch series. I immediately fell in love with, and have been devouring, these stories. The fourth installment, Wild and Wrangled, finally brings us Cam and Dusty’s story, a pairing that I have been looking forward to since we first learned in book 2 that they had some history. I’m especially excited for the cameos from my RBR favourites, but what I am really anticipating is the performer announcement, since every performer cast in the series so far has been spot-on. —Editor Patty K R.

Perfect for fans of Daisy Jones and the Six

I was lucky enough to get early access to The Favourites, and I devoured it in a day, falling head over heels for this compelling and beautifully layered novel. Author Layne Fargo transported me into the cut-throat world of competitive ice dance. Kat Shaw and Heath Rocha are an unlikely pair, “small-town Midwestern trash,” and teen lovers who enter the world of skating at the 2000 Nationals. There, they meet their rivals, brother and sister duo Garrett and Bella Lin, who also happen to be the children of Kat’s idol, two-time Olympic gold medalist ice dancer Sheila Lin. For the next 14 years, passion, betrayal, sabotage and scandal haunt these skaters as they move from competition to competition, culminating in the 2014 Sochi Games. Alternating between clips from a documentary about the couple timed to the 10th anniversary of their epic final skate and Kat telling her own story about what really happened, this gripping, full-cast performance led by Christine Lakin is not to be missed. —Editor Margaret H.