The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Top Ten Tuesday is run by Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2025. I struggled with this prompt. There are some books that I am excited for, but I don’t really pay attention to new releases until they’re already out.

Here’s my Top Ten:

I am Not Jessica Chen by Ann Liang

Releasing on January 28th

After getting rejected by every single Ivy League she applied to and falling short of all her Asian immigrant parents’ expectations, seventeen-year-old Jenna Chen makes a wish to become her smarter, infinitely more successful Harvard-bound cousin, Jessica Chen—only for her wish to come true. Literally. Now trapped inside Jessica’s body, with access to Jessica’s most private journals and secrets, Jenna soon discovers that being the top student at the elite, highly competitive Havenwood Private Academy isn’t quite what she imagined. Worse, as everyone—including her own parents—start having trouble remembering who Jenna Chen is, or if she ever even existed, Jenna must decide if playing the role of the perfect daughter and student is worth losing her true self forever.

Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft

Releasing on February 4th

Brimming with magic and romance, a young fairy queen must form an unlikely alliance or risk an unspeakable danger destroying all she holds dear in this standalone YA novel from New York Times bestselling author Allison Saft. It’s been centuries since a warm-season fairy in Pixie Hollow has crossed into the Winter Woods, and while most fear the legends of monsters lurking in the frozen lands, Clarion, can’t help being intrigued by Winter’s stoic beauty. But under the watchful eyes of the current monarch and the court’s seasonal ministers, Clarion has little time to dwell on daydreams while the days to her coronation dwindle away. That is, until reports of a monster crossing from Winter into Spring make their way to the palace. Clarion sees defeating this threat as an opportunity to prove that she is worthy of her new role. But instead of finding a monster at the edge of Winter, she finds Milori, a young guardian of the Winter Woods. Together, they form an unlikely bond as they race to save their lands. But as their alliance warms to something more, they will discover there is a reason a warm-season fairy and a winter fairy must not be together. And the cost could be just as deadly as the monsters that prowl the Winter Woods. Discover the origin of the sweeping, star-crossed romance between the queen of Pixie Hollow and the lord of the Winter Woods.

Bingsu for Two by Sujin Witherspoon

Releasing on January 14th

This outrageously charming and infuriatingly adorable enemies-to-lovers coffee shop romance is perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Better Than the Movies. Meet River Langston-Lee. In the past 24 hours, he’s dumped his girlfriend, walked out of his SATs, and quit his job at his parents’ cafe in spectacularly disastrous fashion—even for him. Somehow, he manages to talk his way into a gig at a failing Korean cafe, Bingsu for Two, which is his lucky break until he meets short, grumpy, and goth: Sarang Cho. She’s his new no-BS co-worker who’s as determined to make River’s life hell as she is to save her family’s cafe. After River accidentally uploads a video of his chaotic co-workers to his popular fandom account, they strike viral fame. The kicker? Their new fans ship River and Sarang big-time. In order to keep the Internet’s attention—and the cafe’s new paying customers—River and Sarang must pretend that the tension between them is definitely of the romantic variety, not the considering the best way to kill you and hide your body variety. But when Bingsu for Two’s newfound success catches the attention of River’s ex and his parents’ cafe around the corner, he faces a choice: keep letting others control his life or stand up for the place that’s become home. And a green-haired girl who’s not as heartless as he originally thought . . .

Capitana by Cassandra James

Releasing on February 4th

Prepare to set sail with this riveting romantasy—the first in a duology—that’s filled with complex characters, sizzling romantic chemistry, and page-turning action. A must-read for fans of Daughter of the Pirate King, Together We Burn, or Fable! Ximena Reale has spent most of her life at La Academia training to become a Cazador, a seafaring hunter who tracks down pirates. But her future is uncertain, thanks to her parents’ reputation. They were pirates, traitors to the Luzan Empire, and though they were executed when Ximena and her sister were young, they permanently damaged the Reale name. Ability alone won’t earn Ximena the coveted Cazador cloak. So, when the legendary pirate Gasparilla returns and captures the Empire’s queen, Ximena offers to bring her back and capture the notorious pirate in exchange for a cloak. But there’s a catch: There’s only one cloak, and Ximena’s competition is Dante deLeon, an infuriating yet handsome classmate. With their futures on the line, Ximena and Dante set out on a dangerous quest across the high seas. But can Ximena sail far enough to escape the legacy of her family, or will her relationship with Dante thwart her success in more ways than one?

The Romance Rivalry by Susan Lee

Releasing on May 13th

She’s read every romance…except her own… Irene Park loves romance novels—so much so she’s made a career of them as an online book reviewer with a massive following. But Irene’s real life dating story? Non-existent. So when she starts her freshman year of college, she sets her sights on finding true love using the one thing she really understands…romance book tropes. If only it were that easy. Enter Aiden Jeon, Irene’s online book review rival and biggest nemesis. When Aiden challenges her to see who can find love-by-trope first, he becomes the one person standing in her way to getting everything she wants both professionally and personally, too. So when the competition takes an unexpected turn, forcing the two of them to have to partner in the ultimate trope, fake dating, Irene is not prepared for everything she believed about romance, and Aiden, to flip on its head. As Irene tackles the challenges of college life, struggles to figure out what she really wants for herself, all while trying to win the race for love, Irene realizes the answers may not be found in a romance novel. Happily Ever Afters seem so easy on page. But for Irene to find her ultimate HEA, she’ll have to get her nose out of the book and become the main character of her own story.

Fearless by Lauren Roberts

Releasing on April 8th

Paedyn Gray and Kai Azer return to the Kingdom of Ilya… ​
​And Paedyn has a life-altering choice to make. Whatever she decides will determine her fate – and the fate of those around her – forever. ​
​In the ultimate battle of love and loyalty, who wins?

Never Thought I’d End Up Here by Ann Liang

Releasing on June 3rd

Leah Zhang has spent her whole life in LA – it’s all she’s ever known. But after accidentally wishing her cousin ill health and a very depressing marriage at her wedding, her parents stage an intervention. She’s forgotten most of her Mandarin, has zero regard for etiquette, and can’t hold a conversation with her own grandparents for longer than a minute. Their solution? Send her on an intensive two-week travel program across China’s most beautiful cities. To them, it’s the perfect opportunity for Leah to get back to her roots. To Leah, it’s simply a much-needed escape. But before Leah can even begin to enjoy the luxurious hotels, stunning scenery, and mouth-watering cuisine, she finds that also on the trip is her former classmate and least favorite person cynical, sarcastic Cyrus, who’s somehow only gotten more annoyingly handsome since they last saw each other. While Leah might be tempted to shove him off the peak of the Yellow Mountain when nobody’s looking, she can’t get rid of him just yet. After all, she might never get another chance to get revenge on the boy who ruined her life. Yet the deeper they wander into China’s provinces, the deeper Leah finds herself falling in love – with the boy she once thought she despised, the home she never thought she’d call her own, and the parts of herself she thought were already lost.

Royal Heirs Academy by Lindsey Duga

Releasing on January 7th

For fifty years, King Leander Eldana has ruled Ashland without naming an heir to the crown. After sending away his grandchildren to be raised out of the public eye, it’s finally time to secure his nation’s future by appointing one definitive heir. The best way to appraise his successor? In the halls of Almus Terra Academy, a boarding school infamous for breeding the world’s next generation of leaders—and liars. Titus Eldana has always known he’d inherit Ashland’s future. Now he must prove he has what it takes. Alaric Eldana was not raised with a silver spoon. His secondhand clothes might not be fit for a king, but he knows how to rule: with his fist. Emmeline Eldana only wants to please her neglectful parents. If that means securing the crown, she won’t hesitate to destroy anyone in her way. Sadie Aurelia has no idea why she’s been given a chance to bring new blood to the throne. With nothing left to lose back home, she’s ready to take it. 

Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett

Releasing on February 11th

Emily Wilde has spent her life studying faeries. A renowned dryadologist, she has documented hundreds of species of Folk in her Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Now she is about to embark on her most dangerous academic project studying the inner workings of a faerie realm-as its queen. Along with her former academic rival-now fiancé-the dashing and mercurial Wendell Bambleby, Emily is immediately thrust into the deadly intrigues of Faerie as the two of them seize the throne of Wendell’s long-lost kingdom, which Emily finds a beautiful nightmare, filled with scholarly treasures. Emily has been obsessed with faerie stories her entire life, but at first she feels as ill-suited to Faerie as she did to the mortal world-how could an unassuming scholar like herself pass for a queen? Yet there is little time to settle in-Wendell’s murderous stepmother has placed a deadly curse upon the land before vanishing without a trace. It will take all of Wendell’s magic-and Emily’s knowledge of stories-to unravel the mystery before they lose everything they hold dear.

What books are you most looking forward to coming out this year?