Liberty Hardy is an unrepentant velocireader, writer, bitey mad lady, and tattoo canvas. Turn-ons include books, books and books. Her favorite exclamation is “Holy cats!” Liberty reads more than should be legal, sleeps very little, frequently writes on her belly with Sharpie markers, and when she dies, she’s leaving her body to library science. Until then, she lives with her three cats, Millay, Farrokh, and Zevon, in Maine. She is also right behind you. Just kidding! She’s too busy reading.
Twitter: @MissLiberty
Liberty Hardy is an unrepentant velocireader, writer, bitey mad lady, and tattoo canvas. Turn-ons include books, books and books. Her favorite exclamation is “Holy cats!” Liberty reads more than should be legal, sleeps very little, frequently writes on her belly with Sharpie markers, and when she dies, she’s leaving her body to library science. Until then, she lives with her three cats, Millay, Farrokh, and Zevon, in Maine. She is also right behind you. Just kidding! She’s too busy reading.
Twitter: @MissLiberty
Damn, it feels good to be a reader! Make-believe worlds never get old and are never in short supply. It’s the season for giving, but it’s always time to treat yourself to books. Wrap up your year-end SFF reading with one (or several) of these nine compelling sci-fi and fantasy books below!
There’s an accidental space explorer tooling around with his jetpack; a hospital for people who have forgotten themselves because of a mysterious illness; a young woman training at her enemy’s academy in order to bring them down; a teen looking for love who instead unearths a centuries-old vampire; a collection of works from several amazing speculative authors; a group of sisters who must rescue a ghost from the underworld; and much more.
The Best New Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Out in December 2025
The Definitions by Matt Greene (Henry Holt and Co., December 2)
Let’s kick off the end-of-the-year SFF reading with this atmospheric dystopian novel. It’s set in a rehabilitation home by the sea, where victims of a mysterious illness that erases people’s identities must relearn who they are and how they ended up in the hospital. It’s a haunting story of what makes them who they are when all is lost, and what they choose to define them going forward.
All Access members, read on for eight more SFF books out in December.
We Will Rise Again: Speculative Stories and Essays on Protest, Resistance, and Hope edited by Karen Lord, Annalee Newitz, and Malka Older (S&S/Saga Press, December 2)
Three of the most fantastic speculative authors working today have combined their powers for good to bring us a collection of short works. These inspired essays, interviews, and stories address the future, social justice and change, and alternate worlds, from such literary luminaries as NK Jemisin, Charlie Jane Anders, adrienne maree brown, and Nisi Shawl.
Dawn of the Firebird by Sarah Mughal Rana (Hanover Square Press, December 2)
In this exciting fantasy debut, a young woman who has trained her whole life to protect her clan’s throne hides in plain sight at her enemy’s school after her clan is assassinated. In the city of Za’skar, Khamilla Zahr-zad works to master magic and martial arts in order to exact her revenge, but the more time she spends at the academy and learns about history, the less sure she is about her plans.
Tailored Realities by Brandon Sanderson (Tor Books, December 9)
New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, best known for the Mistborn and the Stormlight Archive series, returns with ten works of short fiction, ranging from tech fantasy to space opera to detective thrillers, along with a never-before-published novella.
The Once and Future Queen by Paula Lafferty (Erewhon Books, December 16)
Here’s another epic fantasy debut, this time with a spin on Arthurian legend. Vera has never felt like she quite fit in. Still, when a stranger shows up at her workplace and tells her she was once Queen Guinevere of Camelot, it’s a little hard to accept. But he insists that her missing memories are what will save the past and future, and he shows her a portal back to Camelot that will help her to find herself again.
An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole (Poisoned Pen Press, December 30)
For dark academia fans, this is an exciting novel about an elite university hiding terrible secrets. Ellory Morgan has worked hard to attend Warren University, but once there, she hears rumors about the occult and the use of forbidden magic, and that its success has come at the cost of its BIPOC students.
The Best New Children’s and YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Out in December 2025
The Spectacular Space Loop by Javi De Castro (Flying Eye Books, December 2)
In this exciting graphic novel, Cosmo is accidentally propelled into space while trying out his new jetpack. (I hate when that happens.) Cut off from the world, he has adventures on his own and meets all kinds of creatures. Once the book is over, you can flip it upside down for more!
The Last Vampire by Romina Garber (Wednesday Books, December 2)
New York Times bestselling author Romina Garber is back with this dark romance set at a New Hampshire boarding school. Lorena Navarro had been hoping to find love at school with a human, but instead, she accidentally awakens William, the world’s last vampire, who has been asleep for almost three centuries! Will he choose love over his destiny?
Persephone’s Curse by Katrina Leno (Wednesday Books, December 2)
And last, but not least, this YA fantasy follows four sisters who are said to have descended from Persephone, the queen of the underworld. When one of the sisters falls in love with a ghost named Henry residing in their New York City brownstone, another sister banishes him to the underworld, causing all kinds of chaos and sending the sisters on a rescue mission to save him.
Bonus New Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Out in December 2025
Also in December, be sure to watch for the sequels Secrets of the First School (Edinburgh Nights) by T. L. Huchu and This Brutal Moon (The Kingdom Trilogy) by Bethany Jacobs, and the paperbacks of Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman and The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor.
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If you want to learn about more sci-fi and fantasy books, check out The Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of 2025 and 5 Exciting SFF Debut Novels Coming in 2026. And be sure to sign up for our SFF newsletter, Swords and Spaceships!
Finally, you can also find a full list of new releases in the magical New Release Index, carefully curated by your favorite Book Riot editors, organized by genre and release date.
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