I Should Read That

If you’re in the UK, you probably know all about Waterstones’ double points weekends, which they run a few times during the year. This Easter weekend is one such instance and I’ve loaded up on preorders for 2025! I don’t often preorder books these days, as books have become more and more expensive, however books are all ones I’m so excited to read and know will knock it out of the park!

All links go to Blackwells, as I am one of their affiliates, but you can easily find these over at the Waterstones website!

Ava Reid’s books are 50/50 for me, but I lost my ever-loving mind over A Study in Drowning at the beginning of 2024. It’s a wonderful combination of dark academia, folklore, moody atmosphere, and a tolerable love interest (which is big coming from me). I had assumed it would be a standalone until I realised that A Theory of Dreaming was slated for this summer. I slammed my hand on that preorder button so fast.

I fell head over heels in love with Tan’s Celestial Kingdom duology – which features Daughter of the Moon Goddess and Heart of the Sun Warrior. Not only is it a beautifully written series, it’s got a fantastic romance and one of the best endings I’ve ever read. Her YA debut, Never Ever After, has been on my list ever since it was announced. I cannot wait to read it!

Katabasis is a no-brainer for me and so many other readers. R. F. Kuang has been one of my favourite authors ever since I read an early copy of The Poppy War. This academic-rivals-to-lovers tale is sure to be a fantastic read and August can’t come quickly enough!

One of my favourite trilogies is coming to a close! Human Rites is the final book in Juno Dawson’s incredible Her Majesty’s Royal Coven series, which follows a group of modern witches in the north of England. It’s fantastically funny, incredibly inventive, and alarmingly relevant. If you haven’t started this trilogy I cannot recommend it more highly (and the audiobook is read by Nicola Coughlan!). I’m sad to see these characters go, but I cannot wait to see how the story turns out.

Look, I am a simple woman. I see that Silvia Moreno-Garcia has a new book out, I order it right away. She’s an incredible writer who writes across a wide variety of genres and her latest is a multigenerational horror saga featuring witchcraft and secret manuscripts. Consider me hyped.

Samantha Shannon has a new book in her Roots of Chaos series! It’s a novella set between the events of Priory of the Orange Tree and after A Day of Fallen Night (I’m like 90 percent sure about this timeline – don’t quote me). I really enjoyed Priory and am currently listening to Fallen Night in anticipation of this new release. She’s a wonderful world-builder and these books seem to get better and better!

The cover of Gemma Amor’s new book Itch! was what first caught my eye – I love all things pink, especially horror novels. Then I read the description, and it sounds like it’s right up my alley with a bit of body horror, a bit of village horror and folklore. I’m so curious about this one and I think it’s going to be great!

While I haven’t read Rio’s insanely popular If We Were Villains (it’s on my shelf – I’ll get to it one day), I did absolutely love her short novella Graveyard Shift. That little book left me hungry for more of her writing, and Hot Wax sounds like the perfect book for me, especially as a kid who grew up listening and loving rock music.

I am a sucker for a Taylor Jenkins Reid book and her next novel look as fantastic as the rest! While Atmosphere apparently isn’t about the Challenger disaster, I’m fully expecting this book to rip my heart out and laugh at my tears. I genuinely can’t wait.

I’m so early for this book it doesn’t even have a cover yet! Catriona Ward has quickly become one of my favourite authors, with amazing books like The Last House on Needless Street and Sundial. I love her beautifully written, strange, and unsettling horror books and I think Nowhere Burning will tick all the boxes for me.

There are few things I love more than a really, really good haunted house novel, and now Rachel Harrison is releasing one. Queue high pitched screams from me.

As one of my all-time favourite authors, any new book by Harrison is an event, but I am especially excited for Play Nice – I just know it’s going to be amazing!