October 2025 TBR: The New Books I’m Most Looking Forward To

🍂✨ October is here, and with it comes a fresh stack of books I can’t wait to dive into. This month feels like the perfect mix of cozy and chilling reads—holiday stories to put me in a festive mood, edge-of-your-seat mysteries and thrillers for darker nights, and even a heartfelt coming-of-age tale that promises to linger long after the last page.

Whether you’re ready to curl up with something heartwarming, lose yourself in a twisty page-turner, or discover a story that makes you reflect on life’s turning points, my October 2025 TBR releases have a little something for every kind of reader. Here are the books I’m most excited to pick up this month. 📚🍁 Click on the book’s cover to add to your Goodreads shelf.

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Mallory Blue has always cherished her grandmother Nan’s community theater and annual Christmas play, but this year everything changes as Nan struggles with dementia and Mallory takes on the overwhelming task of directing the show herself. With the help of Nan’s journal—filled with stories behind each ornament on her tree—and the unexpected support of Hollis, the once-rebellious boy from her past now playing Santa, Mallory discovers hidden pieces of her grandmother’s life. As she faces pivotal choices in both love and career, Nan’s wisdom and Hollis’s steady presence guide her toward finding the true magic of the season.

Twice follows Alfie Logan, who at eight years old discovers a magical ability to redo any moment of his life, reliving each choice and mistake with the benefit of hindsight. As he grows up, Alfie uses this gift to erase embarrassments, take reckless risks, and ultimately shape his love life, believing he has found true happiness with Gianna. But when temptation lures him away, he learns the devastating rule of his power—once he undoes a love, that person can never fall for him again. Years later, an ailing Alfie is accused of cheating in a casino, and as he tells his extraordinary story to a skeptical detective, the true cost of his second chances comes to light. Both a tender love story and a profound reflection on desire, regret, and devotion, Twice is Albom at his most moving and thought-provoking.

In Snow Kissed, single mom Holly Goodwin Moore is struggling to find holiday cheer as she prepares for her ex’s family wedding, where her daughter is eager to be a flower girl and Holly is dreading showing up alone. A little white lie about having a boyfriend forces her to scramble for a date, and that’s when she meets Ryan Caldwell, who’s unexpectedly spending Christmas in Shelter Springs caring for his niece while navigating strained family ties. When Holly and Ryan strike a deal—he’ll be her wedding date if she helps him create a magical Christmas for his niece—they find themselves drawn together, discovering hope, healing, and the possibility of love along the way.

Laura and Callum have crossed paths three times—though neither remembers the first two until a hilariously awkward third encounter leaves them both unforgettable. When Callum’s parents mistake Laura for his girlfriend, she agrees to keep up the charade and spends Christmas with his family in the Scottish Highlands. But things get even more complicated when Laura’s friends arrive posing as her family, Callum’s ex joins the festivities, and the line between fake romance and real feelings blurs as sparks fly between Laura and Callum.

In Gone Before Goodbye, Maggie McCabe, a brilliant Army combat surgeon whose career unravels after devastating personal tragedies and the loss of her medical license, is offered a second chance by a former colleague in the world of elite, high-stakes plastic surgery. Drawn into a secretive assignment caring for one of the world’s most enigmatic men in a hidden realm of wealth and power, Maggie’s expertise is pushed to the limit. But when her patient vanishes under mysterious circumstances, she is thrust into a dangerous game of survival, forced to go on the run before she becomes the next one to disappear.

🇨🇦 Ruby Dhanji lives for Christmas and all things British, and she’s determined to honour her late mother’s dream by moving to England and opening a cozy inn—but first she needs hotel experience. Enter Rashid, a holiday skeptic whose family owns a boutique hotel chain in the UK. When he helps Ruby haul home a Christmas tree, their paths intertwine: Ruby agrees to bring holiday magic to his young nieces if he’ll connect her with his family. As their unlikely friendship deepens into romance, Ruby discovers Rashid’s hidden warmth beneath his grumpy exterior, but with her move to England fast approaching, she must decide whether to follow her long-held dream or take a chance on unexpected love.

Evelyn Schwartz has her dream job producing a live televised musical of A Christmas Carol during Hanukkah, but when a set accident triggers one of her chronic migraines, she’s stunned to find her ex-husband, David Adler, working as the studio doctor. Two years after their divorce, Evelyn is still a driven workaholic, and David still sees the woman he once loved—especially when “ghosts” from her past heartbreaks appear, pulling him back into her orbit. As the pressure of the production builds and old wounds resurface, their undeniable chemistry sparks again, forcing them to confront whether they can rewrite their history. It may take a Hanukkah miracle for Evelyn and David to turn their ghosts of the past into a future together.

The Balfour family’s Christmas is full of secrets waiting to be unwrapped. Becky dreads the holiday for the first time and must rely on her brother’s best friend, Will, to keep her confidence after an unexpected airport encounter. Her twin sister, Rosie, is struggling with cracks in her whirlwind marriage to Declan, while Hayley worries about fitting into the Balfours during her first Christmas with Jamie—especially with the secret they’re hiding. With tensions, insecurities, and hidden truths threatening to unravel the holiday, the family must decide if honesty can bring them closer in time to salvage their perfect Christmas together.

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Whether you’re building your own October TBR or just browsing for your next great read, I hope October 2025 TBR: The New Books I’m Most Looking Forward To gives you some inspiration. I’d love to hear which new releases you’re looking forward to this month—drop your picks in the comments! Here’s to a month of great books and even better reading moments!