With it getting darker that much earlier each evening and a definite chill in the air, it’s the perfect excuse to curl up with a good book – or several – and there are some incredible new books to add straight to the top of your TBR list this month.
From romantasies and fantasies to horror, a spot of sci-fi, and a new Jack Reacher novel, we’ve got you covered, whatever you’re in the mood for. Missed October’s roundup, or want to see more of my bookish recommendations? You’ll find them right here.
I've also found a brilliant 3 for 2 deal at Amazon that includes some of my top picks for the month, alongside a brilliant new Audible deal that you may find hard to resist.
Brimstone by Callie Hart
Release date: November 18
You might remember that we included the stunning hardback release of Callie Hart’s record-breaking book Quicksilver in our roundup of the best new books of August 2025, and for those of us who have been counting down the days until its sequel, Brimstone finally hits shelves midway through this month.
Picking up after the events of the first book, Saeris quickly discovers that a monarch’s life is not her own after being crowned the queen of the Blood Court. And with a darkness falling across Yvelia, the entire realm is in danger. Frustratingly, her new powers have also weakened her, so Saeris will surely die if she makes her way home through the Quicksilver. Which means, once again, she must send someone else in her place. How will Kingfisher and his travel companion, Carrion Swift, fare? And will they be able to save their friends? You’ll have to pick up a copy to find out.
Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree
Release date: November 11 (US) - November 13 (UK)
If, like us, you haven’t been able to get enough of Travis Baldree’s Legends & Lattes series, book three reunites us with foul-mouthed bookseller Fern. Despite being used to the ups and downs of a bookseller’s life, she finds herself wanting more. Surely a change of scenery and a fun renovation montage when she gets there will shake things up? Well, things aren’t quite that simple, as you might expect.
After feeling particularly sorry for herself and getting rather drunk, she wakes up in the back of a wagon, which just so happens to belong to a legendary elf warrior who is transporting a goblin for a bounty. Even though she manages to convince the warrior to let her tag along for the journey, it turns out that quite a few people – some of whom are pretty nefarious – want the goblin and the large bounty that she represents too. As they take the journey, Fern starts to discover who she is away from the pressures and perceived idyllic life of being a bookseller, as well as what she really wants to do.
Bookish Deal Alert: 3 for 2 at Amazon
Here's a great deal to take note of in the build up to the Black Friday sales. Two of our picks from the best books for November are included its latest "3 for 2" promotion. If you're not familiar, it's essentially just a buy 2, get 1 free sale.
Both Brigands & Breadknives, by Travis Baldree, and The Merge, by Grace Walker, are included in the deal, which means you could get both, and then an extra book at no extra cost.
There's a massive list of other books eligible and all you need to do is place any three in your cart and the price of the cheapest one will be discounted at checkout. To make the most of the sale, you'll want to buy three things that are all similar in price. You can also buy multiples and still receive the discount.
The Merge by Grace Walker
Release date: November 6 (UK) - November 11 (US)
What if there was a way to save your loved one from pain and suffering? Well, Grace Walker’s debut novel posits that exact question. With her mother’s mind and memories starting to fade due to Alzheimer’s, Amelia signs them both up to take part in the world’s
first experimental merging process for Alzheimer’s patients. It will see her mother’s ailing mind be transferred into Amelia’s healthy body and their consciousness blended as one. I mean, what could go wrong?
They soon join a group of other partners participating in the merge. There’s teenage Lucas who plans to merge with his terminally ill brother Noah, Ben who will merge with his pregnant fiancée Annie, and Jay, whose merging partner is his unwilling addict daughter Lara. But as they prepare to move to the luxurious rehab centre for those who have undergone the process, they quickly begin to question what is going on and if everything is really as it seems. We love the sound of this one.
Exit Strategy: A Reacher Novel by Lee Child and Andrew Child
Release date: November 4 (UK) - November 11 (US)
Fans of the Reacher books – as well as the hit Amazon Prime TV show of the same name – will no doubt be thrilled to know that there’s a new story dropping this month. And even though it’s the 30th book in the series, it’s still as thrilling and captivating as ever.
Jack Reacher will make three separate stops today, however, they weren’t all planned. He starts his day, like many of us might, in a coffee shop. He takes a seat in the corner, facing the door and other than a minor interruption from two of the customers, there’s nothing of note. That’s until a young man brushes up against him in the doorway as he goes to leave. Instinctively Reacher checks his pocket, but nothing is missing. Next on his list of errands, buying a new coat. Yet when he pulls out his cash to pay for it, he finds something new in his pocket. A handwritten note with a desperate plea for help. Impressed by their technique and intrigued by the message, Reacher makes it his mission to find out exactly what’s going on.
Fallen Stars by Imani Erriu
Release date: November 25 (US) - November 27 (UK)
The follow-up to one of last year’s buzziest romantasy books, Heavenly Bodies, Fallen Stars opens with Elara’s beloved, Enzo, in a deep sleep. He’s perilously trapped somewhere between the planes of life and death. Not only that, but her enemy has vanished, taking Enzo’s only connection to the waking world with him.
In her quest to awaken him she must seek help from friends old and new, including the Titans, a league of gods who ruled the world long before the Stars. However, it soon becomes clear that there is a darker power at play, one that even the King of the Stars, Ariete, is afraid of. As she struggles to find a way to waken her soulmate, there’s one thing for sure, every Star will fall before she is finished.
Bookish Deal Alert: 3 Months of Audible for $0.99/Month
Ahead of the retailer's Prime Big Deal Days sale event, Audible's already offering three months of its Premium Plus plan for just $0.99/month / £0.99 in the UK, which is a big treat for audiobook fans.
In addition to other Audible benefits, that means you get three audiobooks for $3. You might even find some of the best books from November available there soon.
This offer is set to last for quite a while, until December 16 this year, but if you're a big audiobook user it's a deal that's absolutely worth taking advantage of while it's available.
It's also worth noting that, after your first three months, the plan will auto-renew at $14.95/month. However, this is a great opportunity to give the service a test before commiting to it.
Next Time Will Be Our Turn by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Release date: November 11 (US) - November 13 (UK)
Author of the Vera Wong series of cosy crime capers and Dial A For Aunties, Jesse Q. Sutanto brings us a new standalone book blending a coming of age and a love story
told from the perspectives of a grandmother and her granddaughter.
Izzy Chen is not looking forward to her family’s annual Chinese New Year celebrations, that is until her seventy-three-year-old grandmother, Magnolia, walks in with a stunning woman on her arm and kisses her in front of everyone. Given that Izzy has always felt a bit like the black sheep of her family, especially when she’s pushed down feelings similar to the ones that her Nainai just displayed, as well as struggling with who she is and how to accept herself, this one moment changes everything. What follows is a story that spans decades and continents, as Magnolia shows Izzy that life’s unexpected paths and choices can often lead you to exactly who and where you’re meant to be.
Fallen City by Adrienne Young
Release date: November 4
The first in what will be a duology, Adrienne Young’s Fallen City transports us to the great walled city of Isara. And when a rebellion that has been brewing for one hundred years finally ignites and the city is thrown into complete chaos, our two protagonists find themselves on opposite sides of a holy war
Luca must carry on his family name, maintaining its presence in the Forum, while Maris faces a lifetime of service to a corrupt city after being raised within the inner workings of the Citadel as a Magistrate’s daughter. Yet, a chance meeting between the two will threaten the fate of the very city that is keeping them apart. Can they find their way back to one another? And why are they at the centre of a story the gods themselves are writing? Thankfully, we don’t have long to wait until we find out.
The Place Where They Buried Your Heart by Christina Henry
Release date: November 4
Just because Halloween is over for another year doesn’t mean that you have to forgo all things horror, and Christina Henry’s The Place Where They Buried Your Heart is a haunted house story like no other. We’ve all probably heard an urban legend, or two, when it comes to an abandoned house. But the old McIntyre place has a much more sinister history, and not just because it was the place where a father murdered his entire family and himself.
After Jessie dared her little brother Paul to go inside the ominous house, he never returned and his two friends, Jake and Richie – who he brought along with him – say that the house ate him. And with Jake emerging with his arm literally torn off, could the house actually be alive and an entity of its own? As Jessie grows up and finds herself unable to leave the street, Paul’s disappearance isn’t the only mystery to blight the house and she and her neighbours start to realise that a darkness is spreading from the house and there might not be a way to stop it. I just finished reading this and it had me hooked the whole way through.
The Same Backward as Forward by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Release date: November 6
Whether you’re already a fan of Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ The Inheritance Games, or not, the entire concept of the sixth book in the hit YA series, The Same Backward as Forward, will no doubt pull you in. Allowing you to read Hannah Rooney’s side of the story before literally flipping the book over to experience Tobias Hawthorne II’s, you can actually read it backwards or forwards depending on your personal preference. There is no right or wrong way to enjoy the unique layout
As for the story, Hannah’s managed to keep her head down and avoid the dodgy dealings of her notorious crime family, while Tobias acts exactly like the entitled heir – to one of the country’s richest men – that he is. That is until one tragic night, when their lives become entwined. When a fire on Hawthorne Island kills her sister and Toby barely survives, Hannah is enlisted to help after Toby is pulled from the ocean by a fisherman. But given her loss, she is determined to deny Toby's death wish by keeping him alive. He’s the last person she should ever develop feelings for, but things don’t turn out that way.
I, Medusa by Ayana Gray
Release date: November 18 (US) - November 20 (UK)
We’ve had some great Greek mythology retellings this year – from Hekate by Nikita Gill to Aphrodite by Phoenicia Rogerson – and I, Medusa, focuses on, as you might be able
to tell from the title, one of the legends’ most famous figures. Often reduced to a footnote in someone else’s story, Meddy finds herself feeling like an outcast in her own family. So, when she catches the eye of the goddess Athena, who invites her to train as an esteemed priestess in her temple, Meddy leaps at the chance to see the world and what else is out there. And she begins to flourish in her role as Athena's favoured acolyte
However, when she is noticed by Poseidon a drunken night between the two of them ends in violence, as does Meddy’s promising future. With her locs turned into snakes as punishment for a crime that she did not commit, Medusa must learn to embrace a new identity. This time she won’t allow herself to become a victim, instead choosing to reclaim her own story as a mortal, martyr and myth.
Ellis is a freelance journalist, based in the UK, with a love of all things books. She also routinely chairs bookish events up and down the country, getting the scoop from some of the biggest and bestselling authors to keep you in the know.
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