December 2025 New Release Book Picks
It’s beginning to look a lot like Chrissst-MAS! Especially in every retail store you go into. I love this season, though, to be honest. I think it can definitely get a bit carried away, but I love the time with family and the spirit of giving that permeates the holiday season.
So in the spirit of giving, we have given you a lot of choices for our December New Release Book Picks! One of these NINE options will likely show up in your December book box. Let us know which one(s) you’d like to see by filling out the form at the bottom of this post.
Thanks for being a subscriber and we wish you a very merry holiday season.
Perfect for you life you like: The tropes at the bottom of this section - a LOT of spice
Why choose between naughty or nice in this steamy, suspenseful Christmas-themed stalker romance that's perfect for dark romance readers seeking a spicy, festive read.
It's the night before Christmas and I'm alone in the house...
Popular jewelry influencer Chloe Hallman is steeling herself to spend another holiday on her own. Instead, she finds herself drawn to two different guys... a smoldering hot fan of her secret, seductive online persona, and a sexy fireman named Jack who looks out for her in their NYC neighborhood.
She has no idea that I know her better than she knows herself. Her deepest secrets, her darkest desires--she's careful, but I've been watching, never leaving footprints in the snow outside her home.
Jack was the first responder to the accident that stole a beautiful young woman's family two Christmases ago, and he's been quietly guarding her ever since. When Jack uncovers Chloe's secret account, his obsession only grows. Both he and Chloe are drawn to the darkness that mirrors their own.
She's my Christmas wish come true. And I'm hers. She just doesn't know it yet.
Will Chloe's Christmas be a tale of fiery passion...or a dangerous game with a man whose love knows no bounds?
TROPES
Stalker romance - Acquainted in real life - Christmas romance - Fireman romance - Morally grey MMC - He falls first - Kink friendly
He Sees You When You're Sleeping is a dark romance with a morally grey male lead. Some themes may be disturbing to readers. Please check the content warnings at the beginning of the book.
Perfect for you if you like: Romantasy
**This is also a November Book of the Month Club Pick - so you know it’s good.
A powerful plant witch and a grumpy alchemist must work together to save their quiet town from a magical plague in this debut cozy fantasy romance about starting over, redemption, and what it really means to be a good person.
Guy Shadowfade is dead, and after a lifetime as the dark sorcerer's right-hand, Violet Thistlewaite is determined to start over--not as the fearsome Thornwitch, but as someone kind. Someone better. Someone good.
The quaint town of Dragon's Rest, Violet decides, will be her second chance--she'll set down roots, open a flower shop, keep her sentient (mildly homicidal) houseplant in check, and prune dark magic from the twisted boughs of her life.
Violet's vibrant bouquets and cheerful enchantments soon charm the welcoming townsfolk, though nothing seems to impress the prickly yet dashingly handsome Nathaniel Marsh, an alchemist sharing her greenhouse. With a struggling business and his own second chance seemingly out of reach, Nathaniel has no time for flowers or frippery--and certainly none for the intriguing witch next door.
When a mysterious blight endangers every living plant in Dragon's Rest, Violet and Nathaniel must work together, through their fears, pasts, and growing feelings for one another, to save their community. But with a figure from her previous life knocking at her door and her secrets threatening to uproot everything she's worked so hard to grow, Violet can't help but wonder...does a former villain truly deserve a happily-ever-after?
Perfect for you if you love: Romance - Workplace Romance
**This is also a November Book of the Month Club Pick - so you know it’s good. I swear I didn’t copy. I had these chosen months ago!
From the "masterly" (The New York Times) Jodi McAlister, a charming new romance about two English professors who embark on a fake relationship...only to discover that it may be harder to pretend than they realized. Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been academic rivals since they first crossed paths as undergraduates in the literature department thirteen years ago. Now that a highly coveted teaching opportunity has come up, their rivalry hits epic proportions. Jonah needs the job to move closer to his recently divorced sister and her children, while Sadie needs the financial security and freedom of a full-time teaching position. When Sadie notices that the job offers partner hire, however, she hatches a plot to get them both the job. All they must do is get legally married. It's a simple win-win solution but when sparks begin to fly, it becomes clear that despite their education, these two may not have thought this whole thing through. Perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood and Abby Jimenez, An Academic Affair pairs Jodi McAlister's "smart, scorching, and emotionally resonant" (Freya Marske, author of A Restless Truth) writing and academic background to prove that she's one of the smartest rom-com writers working today.
Perfect for you if you like: Spicy Romance - Paranormal - RomCom
Two wolf shifters reluctant to love discover there's no fighting the call of the wild in this steamy romance by USA Today bestselling author Lana Ferguson.
Contractor Tess Covington has spent her entire life as a regular non-shifter human, so after she lands in the Denver ER with flu-like symptoms, it comes as a complete shock to be told that, no, she's not sick--she's actually a late-presenting omega wolf shifter. With her family in dire financial straits and a contract for her own television show on the line, she can't afford not to complete the renovation job she came for. And given that her newly emerged wolf is in danger of going into heat, she'll just have to do her best to follow the doctor's advice to keep away from alpha shifters.
Alpha wolf Hunter Barrett has spent most of his adult life living by a routine, and a big part of that involves staying clear of omegas after having one stomp on his heart. So when the tiny contractor shows up at his place smelling like the one thing he's determined to avoid, he thinks it must be some sort of cosmic joke. But with his lodge on the verge of failing and this sweet-smelling omega his only hope to turn things around . . . he's left with few other options than to grin and bear it.
Set on avoiding each other as much as possible, they find things unexpectedly starting to heat up between them enough to thaw even the frostiest of hearts. Though even with the pair going head over paws for each other, there's no changing that their fling has an expiration date. The more time they spend together, the more they realize they're playing a dangerous game--one where the only thing on the line is their hearts.
Perfect for you if you like: Psychological Thrillers - Family Life - Mystery & Suspense
"You don't know who to trust or where loyalties lie in The Perfect Hosts. I loved every minute of this fun, twisty wild ride!" -Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of Local Woman Missing
A couple's gender reveal party turns deadly and everyone is a suspect in this gripping thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Overnight Guest.
Is it a boy or a girl? They would die to know ...
Madeline and Wes Drake have invited two hundred of their closest friends and family to their sprawling horse ranch for the most anticipated event of the year: a "pistols and pearls" gender reveal party so sensational it is sure to make headlines. But the party descends into chaos when the celebratory explosive misfires, leaving one woman dead and a trail of secrets.
As the aftershocks of the bloody party ripple across the small town, Agent Jamie Saldano is brought on the scene to investigate. Battling his own demons from the past, Saldano unearths a web of deceit spun around the Drakes. The appearance of some unexpected houseguests only deepens the mystery. And as tensions mount, it becomes clear that the explosion wasn't just an unlucky accident. But who was the target, and why? As the shadow of a killer looms, the happy parents-to-be must unravel the truth before it's too late.
Perfect for you if you like: Psychological Thrillers - Romantic Suspense
**This is ALSOOOO a Book of the Month Club Pick - three books!!! Wow! I’m literally patting myself on the back for making identical selections. Ya, I’d like them to be different… but BoT almost always nail their books on the head… and I’m ridiculously small potatoes compared to them… so I’ll take self-congratulatory route over a bah-humbug one. ;)
From Nicole Baart, the bestselling author of Everything We Didn't Say, comes a twisty, atmospheric novel about a newlywed whose husband disappears, leaving her isolated in Washington State's North Cascades.
"In every world, I'd find you."
Sadie Sheridan's new husband Felix, a professor of planetary sciences, has vowed to never leave her. But when Felix doesn't return from a work trip, Sadie is stranded at Hemlock House, the remote mountain homestead where her husband grew up. Doubt creeps into Sadie's heart. Then panic.Where is he?
Scared and alone in a place that feels haunted, Sadie struggles to make sense of what her missing husband left behind. But when she catches strangers lurking around the property, Hemlock House instantly becomes both a sanctuary and a prison. Navigating threats from outside and in, Sadie is forced to confront shocking secrets that leave her questioning whether she really knows Felix at all. As a powerful storm bears down, she must decide: is she fighting only for her own survival now--or for the man who promised her the stars?
Filled with dark menace and the danger of the wild,Where He Left Me is at once heartfelt and heart-pounding, from an author who "writes with a poet's eye for language and a storyteller's gift for suspense" (William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author).
Perfect for you if you like: Romantasy
A "must-read" (C.J. Redwine, New York Times bestselling author) romantasy debut that combines high-stakes political intrigue and a steamy, slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance. Perfect for fans of Raven Kennedy and Thea Guanzon!
All her life, Vaasa Kozár has been sharpened into a blade.
After losing her mother--her only remaining parent--to a mysterious dark magic that has since awakened within her, Vaasa is certain death looms. So is her merciless brother, who aims to eliminate Vaasa as a threat to his crown. In one last political scheme, he marries her off to Reid of Mireh, a ruthless foreign ruler, in hopes that he can use her death as a rallying cry to finally invade Reid's nation. All Vaasa has to do is die.
But she is desperate to live. Vaasa enters her new marriage with every intent to escape it, wielding the hard-won political prowess and combat abilities her late father instilled in her. But to her surprise, Reid offers her a deal: help him win the votes to rise in power, and she can walk free. In exchange, she will share his knowledge about the dark magic running through her veins--and help keep it at bay.
This proposal may be too good to refuse, yet Vaasa and Reid's undeniable attraction threatens to break the rules of their arrangement. As her brother's lethal machinations take form, everything is at stake: Vaasa must learn to trust her new husband, but how can she especially when their perfect political marriage begins to feel like the real thing? In The Serpent and the Wolf, Vaasa and Reid must confront deadly betrayals, unravel the enigma of her dark magic, and decide whether their growing bond is their greatest strength--or the ultimate risk--in a world where love and power are the most dangerous games of all.
Perfect for you if you like: Autobiography - Coming of Age
The first novel by Jan Kerouac, daughter of Jack--a thrilling work of autobiographical fiction that captures with inspired detail a life driven by adventure, drugs, far-flung travel, and like her father, a relentless quest for pure experience.
"If [Jack] Kerouac sometimes put a spiritual gloss on poverty and life on the edge, his daughter offered an unflinching vision." --The Guardian
"Was it January or February? The coconut fronds waving, shining like green hair in the sun, gave no clue." Fifteen-year-old Jan is pregnant, gamely living off rice and whatever fish her boyfriend John can catch in Yelapa, Mexico. Her sojourn there-both thrilling and heartbreaking-marks the beginning of a life of restless wandering. Jan Kerouac, the only child of Jack Kerouac, first published her autobiographical novel Baby Driver in 1981. Fearless and frank, Baby Driver is the story of a difficult childhood, marked by maternal warmth and paternal disregard, and of the heady freedom and precariousness of self-reliance.
Perfect for you if you like: historical fiction - folktales
This "can't-miss historical epic" (Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author) reimagines the legends of King Arthur by resurrecting the real historical figures who inspired these enduring tales.
Scotland, AD 580: A queen has risen. A battle has been won. Loved ones who were lost have been reunited. But in a land of power-hungry kings, peace is precarious and cannot last for long. All too soon, circumstance pulls both Britons and Scots back to their own destinies.
The warrior Artúr receives a mysterious summons from his father in Dalriada. Queen Languoreth and her brother must return to Strathclyde with the dangerous former bishop Mungo in tow, determined to maintain the fragile balance between the Christians and the people of the Old Way. Meanwhile, the young priestess Angharad must travel deep into the shadowed land of the Picts, hoping to become the initiate of Briochan, a druid who practices the secret Celtic art of weather work.
As they rise to meet their fates, they are pushed to impossible new frontiers: each must decide whether they are willing to do what it takes to become the heroes their harrowing days demand.
Set in the sprawling historical landscape of early medieval Scotland, Pike's critically acclaimed retelling of the Arthurian saga thrusts readers into a world of ambition, loyalty and love, revealing truths that have for too long been buried by legend in this "gorgeous, sweeping saga" (Janet Skeslien Charles, New York Times bestselling author).
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for January’s New Releases!
Note: All book synopsis' are publisher’s marketing. Everything else, though, is written by Box of Books.
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