Each year I compile a list of debut books by Black authors. These are books that have crept onto my radar and piqued my interest for 2025. I’ve mostly focussed on novels that I want to read. However, I’ve also tried to cater for a variety of genres and tastes.
The aim is to support these authors and demonstrate demand for underrepresented narratives. If you can pre-order these books, I – and the authors – will be so grateful. I’m also running a pre-order giveaway on my IG @aminasbookshelf and TikTok @aminas_bookshelf so you can win any one of your choice!
Til Death by Busayo Matuluko

True-crime-obsessed Lara Oyinlola is heading to Lagos for her favourite cousin’s wedding. But the bride has been receiving anonymous threats telling her to cancel the wedding . . . or face dire consequences. This is the moment Lara’s been waiting for: put her sleuthing knowledge to work and solve a real-life mystery.
Genre / Theme: Young adult, mystery
Publication date: 30th January 2025
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Author IG: @itsbusayo_xo (IG) / @compulsivebookbuyers (TT)
I’d recommend it to lovers of… ‘A Good Girls Guide to Murder’ by Holly Jackson
Click here to pre-order: (UK link – bookshop.org aff)
When the Harvest Comes by Denne Michele Norris

The venerated Reverend Doctor John Freeman did not raise his son, Davis, to be touched by any man, let alone a white man. But on the eve of his wedding, all Davis can think about is his beautiful beloved Everett. When Davis learns during the wedding reception that his father has died in a terrible car accident, years of childhood trauma resurfaces.
Genre / Theme: Literary, LGBT, family trauma
Publication date: 15th April 2025 (US)
Publisher: Penguin RandomHouse (US)
Author IG: @thedennemichele
Recommended to lovers of… ‘Memorial’ by Bryan Washington
Click here to pre-order: : (US link) and (UK link)
This Kind of Trouble by Tochi Eze

When Benjamin lands in 1960’s Nigeria hoping to explore his roots after the death of his father, he meets Margaret. As the two fall in love, they realize their lineage is interwoven in the deepest of ways. With three distinct timelines; spanning the early 1900’s to 2005, a series of troubling events that brought Margaret and Benjamin together are linked to their eventual rift.
Genre / Theme: Historical fiction, multi generational, family saga
Publication date: 7th August 2025
Publisher: Merky Books
Recommended to lovers of… ‘Homegoing’ by Yaa Gyazi and ‘Black Cake’ by Charmaine Wilkerson
Click here to pre-order: (UK link – bookshop.org aff)
Quarter-Love Crisis by Jasmine Burke

Maddison definitely didn’t expect to be living at home, single and stuck as an assistant this close to her thirties. But with the opportunity to lead on the company’s biggest event to date, she finally has a chance to leave her quarter-life crisis behind. Yet she needs to work with Aiden Edwards, her long-time rival and the bane of her existence. However, in the chaos of their event planning, Maddison’s quarter-life crisis seems to be turning into a quarter-love crisis… and that was not part of the plan.
Genre / Theme: Romance, enemies-to-lovers
Publication date: 17th July 2025
Publisher: Dialogue Books
Author socials: @jaswritesstuff (IG & TTK)
Recommended to lovers of… ‘Honey and Spice’ by Bolu Babalola
Click here to pre-order: (UK link – bookshop.org aff)
The Reaper by Jackson P. Brown

Amy is an empath, able to sense the auras of the supernatural creatures that stalk London at night. Gerald is a Reaper – a weapon for hire . When Amy stumbles onto Gerald one night, she notices his strange aura, unlike anything she has seen before. And so, against her better judgement, she helps him. In thanks he makes her an offer she can’t refuse: become his partner and he will introduce her to a world she has only ever felt the shallow surface of: the secret underground city.
Genre / Theme: Fantasy
Publication date: 10th July 2025
Publisher: Del Rey (PRH)
Recommended to lovers of… ‘A Blade So Black’ by L.L. McKinney
Click here to pre-order: (UK link – bookshop.org aff)
Great Black Hope by Rob Franklin

An arrest for cocaine possession leaves Smith, a young queer Black Stanford graduate, in a state of turmoil. He’s pulled into the court system and mandated treatment just weeks after the death of his beloved roommate Elle. He’s still reeling from the tabloid spectacle—as well as the lingering questions of how well he really knew his closest friend and what exactly happened to her that night…
Genre / Theme: Crime, thriller, mystery
Publication date: 10th June 2025 (US) & 19th June 2025 (UK)
Publisher: S&S / Summit Books
Author IG: @robfrank_
Recommended to lovers of… ‘Crook Manifesto’ by Colson Whitehead
Click here to pre-order: (UK link – bookshop.org aff) and (US link)
The Catch by Yrsa Daley-Ward

Twin sisters Clara and Dempsey are estranged. Their familial bond severed after their mother vanished. But when Clara sees a woman who looks exactly like their mother on the streets of London, she is in desperate need of validation. However, Dempsey believes the woman is a con artist. As they clash over this “stranger”, the sisters hurtle toward an altercation that threatens their very existence.
Genre / Theme: Literary, lyrical, contemporary
Publication date: 10th June 2025
Publisher: Merky Books
Recommended to lovers of… Eliza Clark and Akwaeke Emeze
Click here to pre-order: (UK link – bookshop.org aff)
Needy Little Things by Channelle Desamours

Sariyah can hear what people need—tangible things, like a pencil, a hair tie, a phone charger—an ability only her family and her best friend know about. But when she fulfills a need for her friend Deja who vanishes shortly after, Sariyah is left wondering if her ability is more curse than gift. She’s determined not to let Deja become yet another forgotten Black girl. Not trusting the police and media to do enough, Sariyah and her friends work together to figure out what led to Deja’s disappearance.
Genre / Theme: Young adult, mystery
Publication date: 4th February 2025
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Author IG: @elledesamours
Recommended to lovers of… ‘The Cost of Knowing’ by Brittney Morris and ‘Ace of Spades’ by Faridah Abike Iyimide.
Click here to pre-order: (UK link – bookshop.org aff)
The Edge of Water by Olufunke Grace Bankole

In Ibadan, Nigeria, a mother receives a divination that foretells danger for her daughter in America. In spite of this warning, she allows her to forge her own path, and Amina arrives in New Orleans filled with hope. But just as Amina begins to find her way, a hurricane threatens to destroy the city, upending everything she’d dreamed of and the lives of all she holds dear.
Genre / Theme: Literary
Publication date: 4th February 2025 (US)
Publisher: Tin House Books
Author IG: @olufunke.grace.bankole
Recommended to lovers of… ‘Americanah’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Click here to pre-order: (US link)
Listen to Your Sister by Neena Viel

Twenty-five year old Calla Williams is struggling since becoming guardian to her brother, Jamie. When Jamie’s actions at a protest spiral out of control, the siblings must go on the run. Taking refuge in a remote cabin that looks like it belongs on a slasher movie poster rather than an AirBNB, the siblings now face a new threat where their lives–and reality–hang in the balance.
Genre / Theme: Speculative, horror
Publication date: 4th Feb 2025
Publisher: Titan Books
Author IG: @neenaviel
Recommended to lovers of… ‘The Other Black Girl’ by Zakiya Dalila Harris
Click here to pre-order: (UK link – bookshop.org aff)
Sunstruck by William Rayfet Hunter

A young man visits a luxurious mansion in the south of France. It belongs to a wealthy family with an enigmatic son, Felix. Between lounging by the pool and opulent parties, a restless attraction grows between Felix and the man. The possibility to be part of a family – and an entire world – in which he doesn’t belong is suddenly within reach. But the man struggles with his troubled past and the challenges of navigating Felix’s world as a black, working-class person.
Genre / Theme: Literary, LGBT
Publication date: 15th May 2025
Publisher: Merky Books
Author IG: @willhunterr
Recommended to lovers of… ‘Real Life’ by Brandon Taylor
Click here to pre-order: (UK link – bookshop.org aff)
Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstein

Enslaved since she was born, Junie has spent her life on Bellereine Plantation in Alabama, tending to the white master’s daughter, Violet. When wealthy guests arrive from New Orleans, hinting at marriage for Violet and upending Junie’s life, she commits a desperate act—one that rouses the spirit of her dead older sister.
Genre / Theme: Speculative, historical fiction
Publication date: 4th Feb 2025
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Author IG: @erincrosbyeckstine
Recommended to lovers of… ‘Kindred’ by Octavia Butler
Click here to pre-order: (UK link – bookshop.org aff)

