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6 book trends we will see in 2025
The hype-train called booktok never stops, and keeping up with trends can be overwhelming, especially if you’re not immersed in it daily. From the massive popularity of dystopian young adult books like The Hunger Games to cowboy romance and Sad Girl novels. There has been a lot of book trends in the past 10 years in the online book community. Since 2025 has just begun, it’s time to predict the trends for the new year. From major shifts to micro-trends, these are the top 6 book trends I predict for 2025.
The comeback of the blog in the form of Substack
Substack, the platform where you can start your own newsletter, is hot. More and more writers are discovering the platform—think of Miranda July, who recently started a newsletter (I’m a fan!) Around me, I see more people starting newsletters to share their book recommendations. I see the rise of Substack as the return of the book blog—offering more depth and more space to share thoughts on books.
BookTube is back (though, it never really left)
During the pandemic, BookTok became the big thing, and many people discovered that reading is a wonderful hobby. With the still looming threat of a TikTok ban in the U.S., many booktokers are now moving to other platforms. Instagram is popular since TikTok videos can easily be repurposed as Reels, but YouTube is also gaining traction.
I see many readers who started sharing book recommendations on TikTok during lockdown now creating YouTube channels. This is an interesting trend, as YouTube leans more toward longer content. Hour-long videos where someone reads in a cozy corner with a warm blanket are not uncommon. Putting on a video like that in the background while you read along with them for an hour? It happens all the time. And maybe helps you actually read your book, if you need some motivation.
Niche genres expand and more blended genres emerge
We’ve already seen dark academia—forever tied to Donna Tartt’s The Secret History—as well as cowboy romance, sad girl literature, unhinged/weird girl fiction, and cozy fantasy. In 2025, these niche genres will go even further and blend more and more.
One niche genre that caught my eye is the blend of romance and thriller, where one of the characters is a serial killer. Examples of titles in this genre include Butcher & Blackbird, How to Kill Men and Get Away With It, and A Serial Killer’s Guide to Marriage. That last book follows Hazel and Fox, a seemingly ordinary couple with a baby—except for one small detail: they’re former serial killers. But then Hazel starts to feel the urge to kill again. (I laughed out loud at the book description.) Some more random predictions for future book trends: heartbreak romance, cottage-core literature, and spicy thrillers.
The cozy vibes are getting more cozy in 2025
2024 was the year cozy fantasy really grew with titles like Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree. In this book, an orc opens a coffee shop, and the story unfolds at a leisurely pace. You meet other fantasy characters, and it’s all no plot, just vibes. In 2025, everything is getting even cozier. Cozy crime, a genre of thrillers where, for example, a grandma solves a murder case or a bookseller discovers a poisoned customer on the shop floor, is set to grow in popularity. I also expect to see comfort reads in other genres, as the turbulent times we’re living in make us crave escapism more than ever.
Sports Romance becomes more than ice hockey reads
In the romance genre, sports romance is wildly popular. These are romantic books where sports play a central role, often with characters who meet through sports or by randomly bumping into a handsome hockey player. The dominance of ice hockey in this subgenre is largely due to the bestseller Icebreaker by Hannah Grace.
In 2025 I think the book trends will include other sports. We’re already reading about American football in Elle Kennedy’s books, Match Point is a tennis romance, and there’s queer YA about basketball. In the newest releases for the upcoming year I spotted Run Like a Girl by Amaka Egbe, which focuses on running, and It’s a Love/Skate Relationship by Carli J. Corson, which features both ice hockey and figure skating. The funniest sports romance I’ve come across so far? Pickleballers by Ilana Long. It’s about pickleball—a mix of tennis and padel.
South Korean Literature is the new kid on the block
Japanese literature will never fully disappear from bookstores. After all, covers with cats are simply too popular (did you know that sometimes there isn’t even a cat in the story, but it’s just on the cover?) and authors like Murakami are highly appreciated. But South Korean literature is on the rise, especially since Han Kang won the Noble prize for literature in 2024.
In 2024 Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 was popular on literature-tok. With titles like Dallergut Dream Department Store and Marigold Mind Laundry on the rise on booktok, I spot a new upcoming sub-genre. Magical-realistic titles from South Korea will become even more prominent this year. After all, we like to read something new and discover authors from countries we don’t often read books from.
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