Fiction Staff Picks 2025

Recommended reads from staff at Puke Ariki, Community Libraries and the Museum

Updated December 18, 2025
K
Kōtui New Plymouth Libraries
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Fiction Staff Picks 2025

Recommended reads from staff at Puke Ariki, Community Libraries and the Museum

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Alchemised
SenLinYu
\"What is it you think you're protecting in that brain of yours? The war is over. Holdfast is dead. The Eternal Flame extinguished. There's no one left for you to save.\" Once a promising alchemist, Helena Marino is now a prisoner-of war and of her own mind. Her...
Alien clay
Tchaikovsky, Adrian
Paper Book
Finalist for the 2025 Locus Awards, Best Science Fiction Novel Finalist for the 2025 Hugo Awards, Best Novel Nominated for the 2025 Philip K. Dick Award A thrilling, page-turning standalone adventure, set in the distant future, from master sci-fi author and Arthur C....
All fours : a novel
July, Miranda
Paper Book
The New York Times bestselling author of The First Bad Man returns with an irreverently sexy, tender, hilarious and literary novel about a woman upending her life
All that we know
Kino, Shilo
Paper Book
Named one of the best NZ books of 2024 by The Spinoff and Newsroom In the Bookety Book Books Reader's Choice Top 10 This is Aotearoa, New Zealand. This is a novel about who we are now. Past, present and future. All that we have<...
All the colours of the dark
Whitaker, Chris
Paper Book
A missing persons mystery, a serial killer thriller, and an epic love story - with a unique twist on each...* * * * *Late one summer, the town of Monta Clare is shattered by the abduction of local teenager Joseph 'Patch' Macauley. Nobody more so than Saint Brown, who is broken...
Atmosphere
Reid, Taylor Jenkins
***THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER*** 'Tipped to be this summer's biggest read' SUNDAY TIMES 'A richly drawn page-turner' OBSERVER 'Quite possibly our favourite TJR novel yet' COSMOPOLITAN 'I absolutely adored this' BRYONY GORDON 'A...
A beautiful family
Trevelyan, Jennifer
An eventful summer forever changes the lives of a family in the most engrossing debut you'll read this year.
Birnam Wood
Catton, Eleanor
Paper Book
Black silk & buried secrets
Challinor, Deborah
The second captivating novel featuring intrepid heroine Tatty Crowe and the fascinating world of Sydney's Victorian funeral business, from bestselling historical fiction author Deborah Challinor. Sydney, 1871. Twenty-five-year-old widow Tatty Crowe is the owner of busy undertaking...
The book of guilt
Chidgey, Catherine
'Epically imagined, intricately constructed, conceptually engaging and packed with perfectly timed revelations.' THE NEW YORK TIMES England, 1979. Vincent, Lawrence and William are the last remaining residents of a secluded New Forest home, part of the government's Sycamore Scheme...
Broken country : a novel
Hall, Clare Leslie
Butter
Yuzuki, Asako
Paper Book
THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING SENSATION WINNER OF WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 WINNER OF THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS DEBUT NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2025 SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA CRIME FICTION IN TRANSLATION DAGGER AWARD 2025 A BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK<...
City of night birds : a novel
Kim, Juhea
'A novel that will be read and loved for the next one hundred years, and essential reading for right now. I could not have loved it more.' Coco Mellors, author of Blue Sisters 'This story left me thinking about the ways we overcome setbacks and redefine what truly...
The covenant of water : a novel
Verghese, Abraham
Paper Book
From the New York Times-bestselling author of Cutting for Stone comes a stunning and magisterial new epic of love, faith and medicine, set in Kerala, South India.
The crimson moth
Ciccarelli, Kristen
FALL IN LOVE WITH THE ULTIMATE ENEMIES-TO-LOVERS ROMANTASY 'Enchanting and deeply romantic' REBECCA ROSS CRIMSON MOTH is published as HEARTLESS HUNTER in North America. The only thing more treacherous than being a witch is falling in love... A HUNTED WITCH The...
Cry havoc
Carr, Jack (Joint pseudonym)
Forged in blood, this is how legends begin. . . From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr brings the worlds of special operations and CIA paramilitary units into direct collision in the jungles of Vietnam with his explosive new thriller introducing young...
Death of the author
Okorafor, Nnedi
Deep end
Hazelwood, Ali
Paper Book
A competitive diver and an ace swimmer jump into forbidden waters in this steamy college romance from the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis. Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A junior at Stanford and a...
The devils
Abercrombie, Joe
The emperor of Gladness : a novel
Vuong, Ocean
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Heartbreaking, heartwarming yet unsentimental, and savagely comic' Guardian 'Some of the most beautiful writing I've experienced in my lifetime' Oprah Winfrey READERS ARE OBSESSED WITH THE...
Fable for the end of the world
Reid, Ava
The epic standalone dystopian romance from the Sunday Time bestselling author of A Study in Drowning and Lady Macbeth. Perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and The Last of Us SURVIVAL SACRIFICE A LOVE THAT RISKS EVERYTHING ...
The favourite
Littlewood, Fran
Alex, Eva and Nancy. Three grown-up sisters; each wonderful and messy in their own individual ways. And loved equally by their parents, Vivienne and Patrick. Or so they thought . . . Until on their annual family holiday, Patrick accidentally lets slip that he has a favourite daughter -...
Gravity let me go
Dalton, Trent
Trent Dalton, Australia's #1 bestselling author, returns with the astonishing Gravity Let Me Go - a story you won't ever forget. Longlisted for Best Fiction in the Indie Book Awards 2026 How will you ever know how the story ends, if you let the story go?<...
Great big beautiful life
Henry, Emily
When Margaret Ives, the famously reclusive heiress, invites eternal optimist Alice Scott to the balmy Little Crescent Island, Alice knows this is it- her big break. And even more rare- a chance to impress her family with a Serious Publication. The catch? Pulitzer-prize winning human...
Home truths
Norman, Charity
Paper Book
How do you fight an invisible enemy? An unputdownable and timely new novel from the Ngaio Marsh-winning author of Remember Me.
Hum
Phillips, Helen
From critically acclaimed, prize-winning author Helen Phillips comes an urgent, compelling and deeply human novel that asks: how do we raise our children for a future that is unknown, that we can't see ourselves?
The intruder
McFadden, Freida
There's someone at your front door - should you let them in? Find out in a riveting new thriller from global sensation and #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Housemaid, Freida McFadden! Who knows what the storm will blow in... ...
Island calling
Segal, Francesca
What if your mother knows you better than you know yourself? 'Absolutely blissful... Get both books in the series: I'll eat my hat if you don't love them' India Knight, Sunday Times READERS LOVE ISLAND CALLING: '...
Isola : a novel
Goodman, Allegra
REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK * NATIONAL BESTSELLER * "A shocking story, made all the more stunning by the fact that it has its roots in true history."--Jodi Picoult, author of By Any Other Name "A new generation of survival story . . . an extraordinary book that reads like a...
The Jackal's mistress : a novel
Bohjalian, Chris
In this Civil War love story, inspired by a real-life friendship across enemy lines, the wife of a missing Confederate soldier discovers a wounded Yankee officer and must decide what she's willing to risk for the life of a stranger, from the New York Times bestselling author of such...
The kill list
Forsyth, Frederick
Audiobook
Lyrebird
Caro, Jane
Lyrebirds are brilliant mimics, so if they mimic a woman screaming in terror and begging for her life, they have witnessed a crime. But how does a young, hung over PHD student and a wet behind the ears new detective, convince anyone that a native bird can be a reliable witness to a murder,...
Mad Mabel
Hepworth, Sally
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Soulmate and Darling Girls comes the story of Mad Mabel. They called it murder. She called it justice.In 1959, at just fifteen years of age, Mabel Waller became the youngest Australian in history to be convicted of...
Magic hour : a novel
Hannah, Kristin
Ebook
The mires
Makereti, Tina
Paper Book
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2025 OCKHAM NEW ZEALAND BOOK AWARDS A tender and fierce novel that asks what we do when faced with things we don't understand. Is our impulse to destroy or connect? Water will come and you think it will be soft. You...
The Montegiallo school of swearing
McDonald, Andrew HC
Accidentally buying a Sicilian villa for just one euro is not the great Eat, Pray, Love game changer that Brian Chapman hopes it would be. Instead, tumbledown buildings, a shortage of plumbers, and resentful locals make Brian's drunken whim look like the biggest mistake of his chequered...
The names
Knapp, Florence
Tomorrow - if morning comes, if the storm stops raging - Cora will register the name of her son. Or perhaps, and this is her real concern, she'll formalise who he will become. It is 1987 and in the aftermath of a great storm, Cora sets out with her nine-year-old daughter to register...
Nesting
O'Donnell, Roisín
Winner of the 2025 Irish Book Awards, Novel of the Year Longlisted for the 2025 Women's Prize for Fiction From an unforgettable new voice in Irish fiction, a heart-pounding, life-affirming story about one woman trying to leave her marriage and start over. For...
Night swimmers
Maguire, Roisin
One golden summer
Fortune, Carley
Onyx storm
Yarros, Rebecca
Paper Book
THE STORM IS COMING . . .Get ready to fly or die in the breathtaking follow-up to Fourth Wing and Iron Flame from the no. 1 Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Yarros.Pre-order your copy now!OTHER BOOKS IN THE EMPYREAN SERIES:FOURTH WINGIRON FLAME
Orbital
Harvey, Samantha
Paper Book
**WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE** **THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER** 'A slim, profound study of intimate human fears set against epic vistas' GUARDIAN 'Stunning... An uplifting book' SUNDAY TIMES Life on our...
Out on a limb
Bonam-Young, Hannah
Paper Book
'Warm, sexy, and vulnerable... Hannah Bonam-Young needs to be on your romance radar' - Hannah Grace 'Warm, sexy, and vulnerable... Hannah Bonam-Young needs to be on your romance radar' - Hannah Grace 'A beautiful love story, full of joy from beginning to end!' - Sarah...
The Paradise Heights craft store stitch-up
Solly, Kate
Paper Book
Meet Fleck Parker: Mother, Crafter and Amateur Detective. Fleck loves a good puzzle. She spends most of her time feeling invisible, caring for three small children, and that's fine, really. But it does make her brain itch occasionally. When Trixie, fellow school-mum and...
Problematic summer romance
Hazelwood, Ali.
What is wrong meets what feels right in this romance set in Italy by the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of Deep End. Maya Killgore is twenty-three and still in the process of figuring out her life. ...
Quicksilver
Hart, Callie
Paper Book
Say you'll remember me
Jimenez, Abby
'No one does funny, emotional, life-affirming love stories quite like Abby Jimenez. She just keeps outdoing herself' EMILY HENRY 'I absolutely love Abby Jimenez . . . Say You'll Remember Me is warm, uplifting, relatable and sweet' MARIAN KEYES 'The...
A secret garden in Paris
Beaumont, Sophie (Pseudonym)
Paper Book
Spring in Paris ... the perfect time to turn over a new leaf   In the heart of a city blooming with flowers, three women face life-changing challenges. Driven by grief over the sudden death of her mother, Corinne, Sydneysider Emma Taylor has taken refuge with...
See how they fall
Paris, Rachel
Seven brides for Beau McBride
Barry, Amy
From the beloved author of Kit McBride Gets a Wife and Marrying Off Morgan McBride comes a 'sweet, hilarious and totally delicious' love story (Hannah Grace). Beau McBride wants a wife, and his meddling little sister Junebug is itching to find him a mail-order bride....
Silver elite
Francis, Dani
Small things like these
Keegan, Claire
Paper Book
**OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK 2024** **NEW YORK TIMES BOOK CLUB PICK 2024** NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING CILLIAN MURPHY A New York Times Bestseller * Shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize * Winner of the Orwell Prize for...
The society of unknowable objects
Brown, Gareth (Novelist)
Get ready to be spellbound by the new, fantastical novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of fantasy sensation The Book of Doors. 'A dazzling, globe-trotting thriller with a spectacular dash of magic. Like Michael Crichton at his finest, but with fantasy....
Somewhere beyond the sea
Klune, TJ
Paper Book
A magical house. A secret past. A summons that could change everything. This is the hugely-anticipated sequel to TJ Klune's The House in the Cerulean Sea, a cosy-fantasy triumph and a New York Times bestseller. Arthur Parnassus has built a good life...
The space between
Keenan, Lauren
Speak to me of home : a novel
Cummins, Jeanine
Summer romance
Monaghan, Annabel
The sunbird
Haddad, Sara
Paper Book
Nabila Yasmeen is in her eighties. She lives alone with over a hundred plants that she keeps in pots because she can't bear to put them in the ground. In June of 1948, as a six-year-old girl, she was expelled with her family from their village in Palestine. Now she carries the weight of that...
There are rivers in the sky : a novel
Shafak, Elif
Paper Book
THE TOP FIVE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER This is the story of one lost poem, two great rivers, and three remarkable lives - all connected by a single drop of water. ***** In the ruins of Nineveh, that ancient city of Mesopotamia,...
The Venice Hotel
Woods, Tess
Paper Book
When the lives of four very different women become entangled in a boutique Venice hotel, dark secrets unravel and not everyone who checked into the hotel will check out again. Signora Loretta Bianchi, the world famous cook at Venice's Hotel Il Cuore, is forced to choose between once-in...
Welcome to glorious Tuga
Segal, Francesca
Paper Book
'A magical novel, so uplifting, heartwarming, funny . . . This feels as if it was written specifically to give comfort' MARIAN KEYES Set sail for a tropical paradise where secrets don't stay hidden for long... London vet Charlotte Walker has...
What happened to Nina? : a thriller
McTiernan, Dervla
Paper Book
From the #1 internationally bestselling author of The Murder Rule comes an emotional novel of suspense about two families pitted against each other. 'Addictive. Propulsive. Dervla McTiernan is a thriller master.' Trent Dalton Winner of the ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year 2025<...
When the moon hatched
Parker, Sarah A., (Fantasy fiction writer)
Paper Book
☽ MAGIC. DRAGONS. ROMANCE. THE No.1 BESTSELLING FANTASY PHENOMENON ☽ 'With dragons, doomed lovers and magic, this will be huge' Stylist 'An absolutely stunning fantasy world' Raven Kennedy, author of international bestseller, The Plated Prisoner...
Wild card
Silver, Elsie
FROM THE NO. 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR*, ELSIE SILVER! SET IN THE SAME BELOVED UNIVERSE AS SMASH-HIT SERIES CHESTNUT SPRINGS: SMALL-TOWN, BIG CHARACTERS, FOUR ADDICTIVE LOVE STORIES . . . MEET THE SINGLE DADS OF ROSE HILL. 'Elsie Silver's...
Wild dark shore
McConaghy, Charlotte
REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK FOR NOVEMBER 2025! 'At once a gripping mystery, an exquisitely written ode to the natural world, and a taut, psychological thriller, Wild Dark Shore is a triumph. Charlotte McConaghy is masterful in her ability to show the...
Wild reverence
Ross, Rebecca
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER Blockbuster bestseller Rebecca Ross returns to the world of international sensation Divine Rivals with her most epic story yet. Before Iris sat at her typewriter and before Enva sang her song, a young goddess wandered dreams...
With a vengeance : a novel
Sager, Riley
You are here
Nicholls, David
Paper Book
A highlight for 2024 for the Sunday Times, Guardian, Independent, New Statesman, i, Observer, Grazia, GQ, Irish Times, Sunday Independent, Prima, Good Housekeeping'Magnificent' MARIAN KEYES'A beautiful book'...
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