Top 10 New Romance Book Releases of October 2025 for Romance Book Lovers

Romance readers, let me just say that October 2025 is going to be THE month for new romance book releases that you are going to devour. It was so hard for me to narrow down this list of my most anticipated new romance book releases for October 2025 to just ten but here we are. From paranormal romance to romantasy, holiday romance, queer romance, second chance romance and so much more, there is something for everyone this October!

Don’t forget to keep track of these new releases in your Romance Book Reading Journal – the only reading journal created exclusively for romance book lovers!

For even more must-read romance books, check out my list of most anticipated new romance books of 2025, my upcoming releases page, and my previous monthly release book posts to fill up your TBR list.

Happy reading, because life is better with a love story…

Podcast Episode 124: Top 10 New Romance Book Releases for October 2025

*Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The Most Anticipated New Romance Book Releases of October 2025

Mate
by Ali Hazelwood

Werewolf Romance
Releasing October 7, 2025
October 2025 Book of the Month: She Reads Romance Book Book Club

Serena Paris is orphaned, pack-less, and one of a kind. Coming forward as the first Human-Were hybrid was supposed to heal a centuries-long rift between species. Instead, it made her a target, prey to the ruthless political machinations between Weres, Vampyres, and Humans. With her enemies closing in on her, she has only one option left—if he’ll have her.

As Alpha of the Northwest pack, Koen Alexander commands obedience. His authority is so absolute, only a fool would threaten his mate. It doesn’t matter if Serena doesn’t reciprocate his feelings, nothing will stop him from keeping her safe.

But power-hungry Vampyres and Weres are not the only threats chasing Serena. Sooner or later, her past is bound to catch up with her—and Koen might be the only thing standing between her and total annihilation.

When Ali Hazelwood announced her first paranormal romance, Bride, I was beside myself. When it turned out to be AMAZING (of course it did!) then I was instantly ready for another and I’m so happy that a follow-up was alluded to at the end of Bride and we are finally getting it!

The tension between Weres and Vampyres was intense in book one so I’m excited to see where that leaves Serena and her mate in this must-read, new werewolf romance. Is it October 7 yet??

My book review of Mate.

Willing Prey
by Allie Oleander

Erotic Romance
Releasing October 7, 2025

Post-divorce and buried in student loan debt, Claire Collins eagerly enters a spicy business agreement with an acquaintance who wants to explore his primal desires. The deal is simple—thirty days as his sexual prey, $30,000 in her bank account. All she has to do is give Shane Underwood the hunt of his life.

Claire’s a physical education teacher and perfectly happy to spend her summer having wild, kinky sex instead of working her usual serving job. But once they cross the tree line, she realizes how little she knows about the corporate lawyer paying her to be his prey.

Shane is different in the woods. Brutal. Devastating. Feral. That’s okay with Claire—she is, too. And she’s sinking her teeth a little deeper into Shane’s heart every time he catches her.

This is a must-read book because I already read it and was completely WOWED! Allie brings the heat with her hunts and now I’m constantly dreaming about Shane whispering “little deer” in my ear.  Learning that this book was about primal play I was all in and it did not disappoint.

While this story is filled with edging, mild choking, Dom/sub interaction and switching to make it a really hot read, I just loved how Shane and Claire came to find their better half.  If you’re looking for a fun (and steamy!) book about primal play, then this is the book for you!

My book review of Willing Prey.

Grace and Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon
by Matthew Norman

Holiday Romance
Releasing October 14, 2025

The new year barely began when Grace White and Henry Adler both lost their spouses. Now, nearly a year later, the first holiday season since their “Great and Terrible Sadnesses” approaches. Although their mothers’ scheme to matchmake the two surviving spouses, it’s clear that neither is ready to date again. Yet no one understands what they’re going through better than each other, and a delicate friendship is born.

When Henry sees an ad for a Christmas movie marathon—once an annual tradition for him and his wife—Grace offers to watch some films with him, despite her aversion to a few of his picks. Her two young kids, Ian and Bella, also join in whenever possible—bedtimes permitting, of course.

With each movie, Grace and Henry’s shared grief eases as they start to see a life beyond the sadness. But as they draw closer, other romantic possibilities leave them both uncertain about their future together. Is their bond merely the result of loneliness and shared circumstances, or have they found something that’s worth taking a shot at . . . again?

I was lucky enough to get an advanced reader copy of this holiday romance, which I finished in one sitting and now immediately want to reread it over and over again! Matthew Norman blew me away with his writing, this story and these characters who were so deserving of a second chance at love. The best holiday romance of the year!

Besides its adorable book cover, this book instantly caught my eye because who doesn’t love to binge-watch holiday movies at Christmas time? This book has so much that will pull on your heartstrings – a must-read for the holiday season.

My book review of Grace and Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon.

Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal
by Meghan Quinn

Holiday Romance
Releasing October 14, 2025

Atlas “Max” Maxheimer did not sign up for this. One minute, he’s anxiously trying to keep his family’s Christmas tree farm from imploding. The next? He’s passed out in the snow after getting clocked by a suspiciously strong bottle of soda.

Enter Betty: new in town, full of holiday cheer, and helping her uncle open a rival tree farm next door. Max is convinced she’s out to destroy everything Evergreen Farm stands for. Betty thinks Max might be one sleigh short of a winter parade. Cue the holiday chaos.

Between blizzards, blown reputations, wildly misguided romantic plots, and one stolen ornament with a seriously tragic backstory, this small-town war turns into something far messier―and much more delicious―than either of them expected.

Meghan’s new romance instantly made my list of must-read new Christmas romance books for 2025 because who doesn’t love a holiday romance about Christmas tree farms? I’m totally up for this enemies to lovers romance and am geeking out over the cover which has the best Home Alone impression for Betty.

Yours for the Season
by Emily Stone

Fake Relationship, Second Chance Romance
Releasing October 7, 2025

Melanie hasn’t had a good year. Her work life isn’t what she dreamed it would be, her best friend has moved to the other side of the world, and Finn, the man she was sure was the love of her life, dumped her. In front of everyone. At his sister’s engagement party.

So when Finn shows up at Mel’s doorstep two weeks before Christmas, asking if she’ll help him, her first instinct is to slam the door in his face—or punch him.

But he has a proposal for her: Spend the week of Christmas with him and his family in a vacation cottage in the Scottish Highlands. His mother is obsessed with the idea of a perfect Christmas—and to make this dream come true Finn told his mother that he and Mel are dating again. All Mel has to do is come with him and pretend they’re back together.

Mel may hate Finn, but she loves his mom. So she agrees—on one condition. At the end of the week, Finn will allow Mel to publicly dump him so that she can get her dignity back and he can experience the same humiliation she felt.

It’s only a week. Mel can pretend to still be in love with Finn for one week, surely. Except as the festivities bring her closer than ever to Finn and his family, Mel starts to lose track of which feelings are fake and which are for real.

I’m a total sucker for fake relationship romance books but this may be the first where former lovers fake that they are still in a relationship and thus creates a second chance romance. I’m definitely up for it especially since it has a holiday angle to this love story as well. Emily Stone is known for her Christmas romance books so it’s high time I dive into one so this is hopefully the year.

The Devil She Knows
by Alexandria Bellefleur

Queer Paranormal Romance
Releasing October 21. 2205

Samantha Cooper is having a day from hell. In less than 24 hours, her life has unraveled, leaving her single and with nowhere to live. Adding insult to injury, she’s trapped in an elevator with a gorgeous woman claiming to be a demon.

Daphne is not at all what Samantha expected from someone claiming to be an evil supernatural entity. She’s pretty, witty, dressed in pink, and smells nice. And she’s here to offer Samantha a deal she can’t refuse. Six wishes in exchange for one tiny trade—Samantha’s soul. There’s a glaring loophole in their contract, one Samantha fully intends to exploit so she doesn’t fork over her soul. After all, she only needs one wish to win her ex back.

Hell-bent to gather the last of the one thousand souls she needs so that she can be free of her own devilish deal, Daphne grants each of Samantha’s wishes . . . with a twist, so that Samantha is forced to make another.

As Samantha’s wishes dwindle and Daphne offers her glimpses into the life she thought she wanted, the unlikely pair grows close. Perhaps the girl of Samantha’s dreams is actually the stuff of nightmares, but Samantha and Daphne will have to outsmart the Devil himself if they want a chance at happily ever after.

Trapped in an elevator is one of those microtropes of romance books that I am such a fan of but I would be reading this one already because Alexandria is writing it. I love her queer romance books and I’m excited to see what she brings to this paranormal romance which is her first in this category. I also love the devilish deal that underlines this story and want to see how that ends up for both Daphne and Samantha!

The Things Gods Break
by Abigail Owen

Romantasy
Releasing October 21, 2205

The gods want her dead…Hades will bury them.

You’d think I’d have learned by now: Don’t mouth off to deities. Don’t fall for the King of the Underworld. And definitely don’t get dragged into a divine death match where I’m the cursed mortal prize.

But here I am—trapped in Tartarus, humanity’s worst pit stop, squaring off against monsters who make the gods look merciful. Titans, twisted by centuries of rage and ruin, are sealed behind seven ancient locks. And guess what? I’m the key.

To escape, I’ll have to survive every horrifying trial they throw at me. To win, I might have to become something the gods never saw coming. Oh, and Hades? He’s about to break every rule the gods ever wrote.

Because to save me…the god of death will burn the world. But if I break free? So do the Titans. And the world won’t just suffer—it’ll beg for the end.

I am sooo excited for this book and am trying not to count down the days to its release but it’s really hard since I absolutely adored The Games Gods Play, book one of this series, which released last year. It was such a great book but left you with a tease for this book with Lyra stuck in Tartarus. If you love Greek mythology-based romantasy books like I do then quickly catch up on this series so you can dive into book two because it’s a great one!

My book review of The Things Gods Break.

Good Spirits
by B.K. Borison

Holiday Paranormal Romance
Releasing October 21, 2025

Ghost of Christmas Past Nolan Callahan intends to spend this holiday haunting like every other—get in, get out, return to his otherwise aimless existence as a ghost awaiting the afterlife. But when he’s faced with Harriet York, the sweetest assignment he’s ever had, he suddenly finds himself wishing for a future.

Harriet York has no idea why she’s being haunted. She’s a good person—or, at least, she tries to be. A people pleaser to her core, she always does what’s expected of her. But as she and Nolan begin to examine her past, they discover there are threads that bind them together— and realize there might be more to moving on than expected.

With the deadline of Christmas Eve fast approaching, will they find the key to their futures in each other’s pasts? Or will they stay firmly in the present, indulging in their unexpected, spirited connection?

Borison totally knocked my socks off with her Lovelight Farms series and the start of her Heartstrings series so of course her new paranormal, holiday romance is on my must-read list! I love when authors branch out to create something totally different than their previous works and this look at a woman falling for a spirit sounds amazing.

Some Sort of Famous
by Ava Wilder

Small Town Romance
Releasing October 28, 2025

It’s been a decade since Merritt Valentine’s height as a celebrated singer-songwriter . . . and her subsequent career-ending mental breakdown. In the following years, she’s abandoned the glitz of Los Angeles to move in with her sister, Olivia, in the sleepy Colorado ski town of Crested Peak, hoping to heal her lingering emotional wounds somewhere out of the spotlight.

Life in Crested Peak would be uncomplicated if not for Merritt’s inconvenient crush on the local contractor and handyman, Nikolaos Petrakis. Niko is disarmingly handsome and too kind-hearted to ever be right for the complex and prickly Merritt. Though tempting, a fling with Niko would only invite the kind of drama Merritt has vowed to leave behind.

After his last heartbreak, Niko is done dating his fellow townies. Still, he can’t shake his fascination with the brilliant Merritt, even as he heeds their mutual friends’ warnings to steer clear of her chaos. But when Merritt needs help fixing up a house of her own, Niko is glad to be the only man for the job.

As the two spend more time together, their mutual attraction sparking a deeper connection than either one expects, they’re forced to confront the idea that they may have underestimated each other—and themselves.

I was lucky to get an advanced reader copy of this new romance and just like every prior Ava Wilder book, it is fantastic! If you’re looking for a romance with real, flawed people but with big hearts who find the person with whom they can truly be themselves and bare their battered souls, then this is the book for you.

Ava Wilder is truly a unique voice in the world of romance. I adore her writing style and the way that she makes me fall so hard for her characters who are so deserving of a happily ever after. I cannot recommend Some Kind of Famous (and all of Ava’s books!) enough.

Check out my review of Some Kind of Famous.

Breathe With Me
by Becka Mack

Contemporary Romance
Releasing October 28, 2025

Cara Hunter is a self-made woman. Driven and fearless, she’s never lost a battle. In fact, the only time she’s fallen to her knees was, well . . . for him.

Emmett Brodie might be one of hockey’s hottest players, but the moment he sees Cara, he’s reduced to a single word: hers. And he’ll stop at nothing to change her last name.

With a love as all-encompassing and fierce as theirs, they become the ultimate power couple and the backbone of their family. But when they decide it’s time to have a baby, they discover their journey to conceiving will be anything but easy. As they face off with infertility, a battle that strips them to their bones, they’ll see just how unshakable their foundation really is.

They thought they could survive anything together, but how do you survive when you’re barely breathing?

Thanks to a recommendation from a member of the She Reads Romance Books Book Club I found the Playing for Keeps series by Becka Mack and to say that I’m now obsessed is an understatement. Sure, all I needed to know was that this is a romance series about hockey players, but it is so much more. Every book has the best character development and storyline but through them all has been Cara and Emmett and now we are getting their love story as a married couple going through infertility. This is one of my most anticipated romance books of the year!! Listen to my interview with Becka Mack as we talk about Breathe With Me.

Check out my book review of Breathe With Me.

Related Book Lists:

• Top 10 New Romance Book Releases for September 2025
• Most Anticipated New Romance Books of 2025
• Must-Read New Romantasy Books of 2025

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