December Book Roundup: Diverse Queer Titles, Fresh Genres, and Standout New Releases
December 2, 2025
Supporting sections provide reader recommendations and context, framing December 2025 as a standout month for fresh releases.
Romance: How to Grieve Like a Victorian follows an English professor grieving her husband and navigating a budding romance with his best friend during a London trip.
Horror: Snake-Eater centers on Selena fleeing a desert town, confronting ancient gods and malevolent spirits as a deeper danger surfaces.
Murder by Muffin, the second Cranberry Creek Word Search Mystery, blends cozy sleuthing with puzzles as a bookstore sleuth uncovers a poisoning at a local bakery.
Literary Fiction: House of Day, House of Night traces a Nowa Ruda narrator gathering town legends, saints, and peculiar fates through a tapestry of local stories.
A December 2025 round-up highlights new book releases across multiple genres, featuring notable titles with brief, spoiler-light descriptions and author notes.
The roundup places a strong emphasis on diverse genres and especially notable queer titles, spanning various formats and subgenres.
Graphic Novel/Manga: Flip Flip Slowly presents an adults-only romance between a library worker and a new patron, weaving books and romance together.
Science Fiction: The Definitions follows a seaside rehabilitation home where patients with identity-erasing illnesses must relearn who they are.
Note identifies Jeff O'Neal as Book Riot’s executive editor, Panels host, and post author, with social handle provided.
Ghost Boys: The Graphic Novel adapts a middle-grade story about a boy killed by a police officer, exploring grief through guidance from Emmett Till’s ghost.
Fantasy/Horror: The Last Vampire merges a modern boarding school with a centuries-old vampire romance and supernatural dynamics.
Summary based on 4 sources
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