Upcoming 2025 Fiction Releases Our Editors Can’t Wait to Read

Have you started putting together your 2025 to-be-read list? For some of us, February is when the new year truly begins. It’s when we finally settle into the reading mood, start listing the books we want to read, and visit our favourite online stores to make purchases. For new releases, it’s all about placing those pre-orders and counting down the days.

If you haven’t curated your reading list yet or are determined to read more this year, we have some amazing recommendations to get you started. We asked our editors, who are avid readers themselves, to share the books they’re most excited about in 2025. You might just find the perfect addition to your reading pile.

See them:

Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Chosen by Osas Okonyon)
“Chimamanda is an icon. She writes like a painter, completely immersing you into the world she creates. She hasn’t released any new novel in a minute, and I’ve read everything she has put out including her “Feminist manifesto.” I have been waiting for the next book, and now that it’s almost here, I’m super excited. Chimamanda is literally mother, and I know the book is about to tug at my heartstrings like a guitar.”

“Dream Count” is a reflection on love, desire, and the intricacies of womanhood, explored through the lives of four distinct women. Chiamaka, a Nigerian travel writer residing in America, finds herself reflecting on past lovers and the choices she has made during the pandemic. Her best friend Zikora, a successful lawyer, faces a devastating betrayal that forces her to confront an unexpected reality. Omelogor, Chiamaka’s outspoken cousin and a financial powerhouse in Nigeria, begins to question everything she thought she knew about herself. Then there is Kadiatou, Chiamaka’s housekeeper, who takes pride in raising her daughter in America,but is suddenly faced with a hardship that threatens everything she has worked for.

“Somadina” by Akwaeke Emezi, “Necessary Fiction” by Eloghosa Osunde and “Dream Count” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Chosen by Deborah Oludimu)
“Dream Count because this is Chimamanda’s first novel since Americanah in 2014. Somadina because Akwaeke Emezi continues to push the boundaries of storytelling across multiple genres, and they never miss. Necessary Fiction because Vagabonds made me feel things I didn’t even know one could feel.”

“Somadina” is set in a magical West African world and follows a teenage girl who must save her missing twin while learning to navigate her own terrifying new powers.

“Necessary Fiction” by Eloghosa Osunde (Chosen by Ahmad Adedimeji Amobi)
“Eloghosa Osunde has a special and different way with words. It’s unconventional and it has influenced the way I write now. Reading and rereading their first body of work, Vagabonds!, makes me yearn for their writing often. I look forward to Necessary Fiction because, as they said, it’s even more daring than Vagabonds! So I guess we are in for a feast.”

In “Necessary Fiction,” Eloghosa Osunde poses three thought-provoking questions: What makes a family? How is it defined and by whom? Is freedom for everyone? The novel explores the hopes, dreams, and fears of more than two dozen characters carving out lives for themselves in contemporary Nigeria.

“Dream Count” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Chosen by Funmilola Sanya)
“Chimamanda has always been a favourite, and it is the perfect time for something new from her. I have been rereading all her books, especially Americanah, and I am eager to finally read something fresh. The synopsis of Dream Count feels different and exciting, and I can’t wait for March to arrive so I can get lost in the lives of these four women. I’ve already pre-ordered my copy!”

“Dream Count” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Chosen by Kwubeï Nnebuifé)
“I feel like everyone is waiting for Dream Count. It’s Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s first book in years, and I am really looking forward to it. I’m getting a copy as soon as I can, before people ruin it for me online.”

For those looking forward to “Dream Count,” like most of our editors, we know the anticipation is real. The sound of the printing press and the sight of those fresh copies rolling off in this video below is enough to make us all squeal.

Until then, we’ll keep watching the video and rereading the synopsis for the umpteenth time.