CLEAR SOME SPACE for your bookshelves, because it’s going to be another whopper year for books. 

We’ve already looked at some of the most exciting Irish novels and short story collections to look out for in 2025 – so here’s a peek at novels from the rest of the world.

Sweat by Emma Healey (30 January, Hutchinson Heinemann)

The author of Elizabeth is Missing returns with a book about Liam and Cassie, who once were partners in life and exercise. But their relationship turns toxic and Cassie leaves when Liam goes too far. Two years later, Cassie is stronger – and now she wants to make Liam sweat. 

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler (9 February, Vintage)

The latest Anne Tyler novel is about a socially awkward mother of the bride, Gail Baines, who is navigating the days before and after her daughter’s wedding. When her daughter reveals a secret she’s learned about her husband to be, it throws the wedding into question. 

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes (11 February, Penguin)

Bestselling author Jojo Moyes is back with what Marian Keyes says is the best book she’s ever written – high praise indeed. This focuses on Lila Kennedy, who has a broken marriage, two wayward daughters, a house that is falling apart, and an elderly stepfather who seems to have quietly moved in. When her biological father, who she hasn’t seen since he ran off to Hollywood 35 years ago, suddenly appears, it’s the final straw. Or is it?

Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld (27 February, Penguin)

The author of Romantic Comedy and American Wife is back with another short story collection. Topics she explores include old friendship, platonic relationships and school reunions. As always, expect some unexpected and precise insights into human behaviour, delivered with dry wit.  

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall (4 March, John Murray Press)

This is described as an epic love story with the pulse of a thriller, and looks at the question: what would you risk for a second chance at first love? The film rights to Broken Country have been acquired by Sony 3000 Pictures with Reese Witherspoon’s company, Hello Sunshine, producing, so one to pick up and enjoy before it hits the big screen.

Tilt by Emma Pattee (13 March, The Borough Press)

Emma Pattee is a climate journalist and fiction writer based in Oregon, and her debut novel sounds very intriguing. It’s about Annie, who is shopping in IKEA at nine months pregnant when a massive earthquake hits. Not a small earthquake but the long anticipated Cascadia Earthquake, dismantling Portland and the entire Pacific Northwest in a matter of minutes… 

Universality by Natasha Brown (13 March, Faber & Faber)

The author of the acclaimed Assembly returns with a novel focused on an ambitious  young journalist who writes a longread about a killing at an illegal rave. But she discovers that her work raises more questions than it answers. 

The Best of Everything by Kit De Waal (10 April, Tinder Press)

Kit De Waal has been building up a big Irish readership since her 2016 debut novel, My Name is Leon. Now comes her latest novel, about Paulette, a woman who has her life mapped out – until a devastating loss changes everything. 

Gatsby by Jane Crowther (10 April, The Borough Press)

This is a gender-flipped retelling of The Great Gatsby where Nic Carraway is a newly-graduated wannabe writer with a cheap summer lease on a small boat house in Long Island. Across the water live her charming cousin Danny and his type-A wife, Tomasina. Next door is an influencer who throws extravagant parties for the A-list, operating under the handle @Gatsby. Soon Nic finds herself tangled up in their lives.

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry (24 April, Viking)

Romance readers ahoy: there’s another Emily Henry on the way. In her latest, two writers compete for the chance to write the larger-than-life story of an heiress. Alice Scott and Hayden Anderson are two very different writers (Anne dreams of her big break, Hayden has won a Pulitzer), but Margaret Ives has invited them both to her home to see who she might pick to tell her story. Naturally once the pair meet, sparks fly.

What A Time To Be Alive by Jenny Mustard (24 April, Sceptre)

London-based Swedish author Jenny Mustard is back with her second novel, about student Sickan Hermansson, who has arrived aged 21 at Stockholm University to make a fresh start. Yet her lonely childhood has left her unprepared for intimacy as she tries to build a whole new version of herself. One for those who love a good modern coming-of-age story.

The Names by Florence Knapp (8 May, Phoenix)

Described as a gripping sliding doors novel, this is about a woman named Cora who goes to register the birth name of her son. But Knapp brings us three potential names for this son – Bear, Julian or Gordon – and three different versions of a life to be lived. Notably, this book is also set between Ireland and the UK.

The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong (5 June, Jonathan Cape)

The poet and author Ocean Vuong’s first novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous was a sensation. Its follow-up is about a wayward young man called Hai, living in New England, who becomes the caretaker for an 82-year-old widow living with dementia when she prevents him from taking his life.