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For a long time, I didn’t appreciate November as a month during the year. It always felt so dreary, so limp, and the slump in the calendar before we reached the end of the year. But I’ve really grown to love November, and part of that is certainly that it’s no longer the dreary, limp month it once was. At least here in the midwest, it’s become the real autumn month. The nights are cool and the days are crisp. The long nights and dark mornings invite slowing down and tucking in.
November has, coincidentally, become one of the months where I tend to read more than other months of the year. When the sun goes down early, what else is there to do but climb into a cozy corner and read during free time?
Whatever this month means to you, I hope that you carve out some time and space to read the new books hitting shelves in this second-to-last month of 2025. The publishing world begins to slow down after this week, so it’s a prime time to also make a nice dent in your TBR.
It was really difficult to narrow down which books to highlight this week because the range of voices, genres, and stories is vast. But gear up for some romance–realistic and fantastic–as well as some action-packed thrillers, a sensitive work in translation, and so much more. You’ll discover some beloved YA authors, as well as a host of newer writers this week. We’ve also got another YA book hitting shelves in both hardcover and paperback simultaneously. That’s a 2025 format trend I hope we continue to see moving forward because giving readers more choice in how they consume there books is a boon to readers.
 Coldwire by Chloe GongEpidemics and climate charge force people to change their lives completely. Most people move “upcountry,” a virtual reality. Those who are poor, though, are forced to live in “downcountry.” In upcountry, things are far from perfect though, as a Cold War rages between the two nations of Medaluo and Atahua. It’s Medan orphans in Atahua who suffer the most, though, forced to enroll in the Military Academy. Eirale did everything as she was supposed to and upon graduation, becomes part of the private foces in downcountry. But then an anarchist from Atahua frames her for government assassination and now she’s got to either partner with him for a dangerous assignment or be implicated in treason. Meanwhile, Lia is nearly finished with her time at the Military Academy when she’s forced to do a final assignment with her nemesis. Lia will work with him, but she’s going to do it better so she can secure the status of valedictorian. Except there’s a lot more at stake that either knows. When Eirale and Lia’s lives continue to intertwine, despite being in different reality planes, they start to wonder what their connection is . . . and what kind of conspiracy is at hand that keeps bringing them together. This is the first in a trilogy that looks like an awesome read for fans of science fiction, virtual reality, and stories that are not too far-fetched from our own reality plane. |
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