Happiest Returns: The Most Anticipated Sequels of 2025
Ever read a book you didn’t want to end? (Yes, plenty.) It’s a wish granted this year, with a whopping six returns to some recent favorite worlds, all rolling out in the next six months. Here are the sequels I’m most looking forward to.
Need an already-out great sequel to tide you over? Jesse Q. Sutanto’s side-splitting second Vera Wong mystery came out earlier this year. See NWT’s review in June picks here.
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The Game Is Afoot
Elise Bryant
Comes out July 8
The previous book, It’s Elementary (2024), was “full of warmth and side-eyes in equal measure.” Read NWT’s review. That’s just the right vibe for summer reading, and I can’t wait to see what leading lady Mavis is up to now.
After shaking off her unappreciative bummer of a job in It’s Elementary, Mavis returns with a newfound sense of freedom, if not purpose. But somewhere in her chauffeuring duties as a focused Supermom, she sniffs out another mystery. Did someone kill her daughter’s soccer coach, or is it all just an accident amidst suspicious circumstances?
From Berkley (Penguin Random House), second in the series; book info here.
Heart Strings
Ivy Fairbanks
Comes out August 12
Fairbanks’ debut novel, Morbidly Yours (2024), brought us to Galway, Ireland, and the sweet and unlikely pairing of a reclusive mortician and an extroverted American invasion. Read NWT’s review.
This one takes us back to the sparks flying between two supporting characters at the end of Morbidly Yours. Apparently things went sideways, since the first book hero’s lawyer/musician is now trying to woo back the first book heroine’s cousin/bestie and has dug himself a deep hole. Of course they’ll get their happily-ever-after somehow, but with the dramatic ending of the first book I’m thrilled to return and see how its characters have fared.
From Putnam (Penguin Random House), second in the Love in Galway series; book info here.
We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat
Syou Ishida
translated by E. Madison Shimoda
Comes out September 2
We’ll Prescribe You a Cat (2024) led us down an alley to a strange clinic, where patients sought treatment for their common ailments but emerged with a bewildering remedy. Getting sent home with a loaner cat — which they didn’t want and their family surely would protest — was hardly what they had in mind. And yet, somehow, the furballs made everything better, albeit in unexpected ways. It was one of my most memorable and sweetest reads of last year and a very welcome entry into the hot “cozy” fiction category. Read NWT’s review.
With a new cast of cat characters, will We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat bring extra dosing to the previous patients, or lure in new ones? I’m not sure, but I can’t wait to find out.
From Berkley (Penguin Random House), second in the series; book info here.
Best Wishes from the Full Moon Coffee Shop
Mai Mochizuki
translated by Jordan Taylor
Comes out October 28
The first book, The Full Moon Coffee Shop (2024), guided us on a sweet trajectory with bits of magic, as things finally began to align in simple and satisfying ways. Read NWT’s review. Seeing a sequel on the way was such a happy gift.
Best Wishes takes us back to the mysterious cat cafe that appears only on certain nights, with a different cast of characters. As the wise cats prepare just the right treats for their guests and choose words to inspire introspection, will the human visitors be brave enough to stand up for themselves after they leave the cafe?
The translator is such an important part of the package with these novels, so I worry about the shift from Jesse Kirkwood, who did the first book. Here’s hoping Taylor shares Kirkwood’s deft ear for beautiful retelling, with language that’s soothing in its simplicity.
From Ballantine (Penguin Random House), second in the series; book info here.
A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Cheating Death
Maxie Dara
Comes out December 2
Supernatural tales don’t usually draw me in, but there was something so sweetly bumbling about the characters in Dara’s debut novel, A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer (2024). I couldn’t wait to return to them — quite a feat when the lead character is a grim reaper surrounded by death. This world is wonderfully relatable: awash in a sea of mundane bureaucracy, but compassionate, funny, and magical. Read NWT’s review here.
Cheating Death introduces a new lead, a rule-follower who can’t help but intervene when she learns her brother is her next case. Sounds dark, of course, but expect Dara’s approach to lighten the mood in unexpected places.
From Berkley (Penguin Random House), second in the SCYTHE Mystery series; book info here.
Audrey Lane Stirs the Pot
Alexis Hall
Comes out December 9
Of all the releases I’ve eyed this year, this one might be the most exciting. An extraordinarily prolific writer of fun queer rom-coms, Hall earns a welcome spot in my to-be-read stack anytime, but the “Winner Takes All” series is a particular sweet spot. Read NWT’s review (on book 2).
The third book takes us back to the world of British bake-off competitions, after its title character gets day-drunk and throws her hat into the ring. Can the intergenerational cast of characters around her help with all the avoidance she’s been amassing in real life?
A new season of TV baking with queer characters and Hall’s trademark sass and wit couldn’t come at a better time. (Happy holidays to me!) Audrey Lane Stirs the Pot looks like a royal treat.
From Sourcebooks Casablanca, second in the Winner Bakes All series; book info here.
Chase D. Anderson is Editor & Producer of NWTheatre.org.