It's that time of year, when we highlight some of our favorite new voices in romance! This week, we're talking about eight new writers who are making us excited about what's to come in historical, contemporary, cozy fantasy and more. Here's to reading them all for years to come!

From horse girls to divorcees, hair stylists to magical tea shop owners, basketball coaches to jewel thieves, there's something in here for everyone. It's going to be great for you!

Don't forget--you can buy the Fated Mates Best of 2025 Book Pack from our friends at Pocket Books Shop in Lancaster, PA, and get eight of the books on the list! Scoundrel Take Me Away and Lazarus, Home from War (independently published) are not in the box. As always, you can add additional romances, or one of Sarah's books to your box.

If you want other people to discuss brand new romance authors with, maybe you want to join our Patreon? You get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the Fated Mates Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon. You can also ask for it as a gift, or give it as one at fatedmates.net/gift.

Our next read along will be Ruby Dixon's Ice Planet Barbarians (you’re welcome). Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, from your local indie, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

The Books

1. The Best Worst Thing by Lauren Okie
2. Once Upon a Time in Dollywood by Ashley Jordan
3. Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon by Annie Mare
4. Hopelessly Teavoted by Audrey Goldberg Ruoff
5. Savannah Royals by Lindsay Barrett
6. Play You For It by Samantha Saldivar
7. The Trouble with Anna by Rachel Griffiths
8. Celebrity Crush by Christy Swift

Notes

1. Check out our Debuts of 2024 episode here.
2. It’s not frod (Friend + rod), it’s frotting. Here’s the wikipedia page. Sarah apologizes for not knowing the proper spelling.
3. Jenny Hamilton wrote a terrific piece about sex in Heated Rivalry in this recurring feature on her blog called Anatomy of sex scene.
4. The non-romance time travel book Jen mentioned was Version Control by Dexter Palmer.

Sponsors

1. Atria Books, publishers of Ellis Hunter's Blood Bound, available for preorder in print, ebook, and audio at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
2. The Scandals & Swoons Festival, a new historical romance signing event in Orlando, Florida on January 18, 2026, learn more at swoonsfest.com.
3. Mariah Scarpellini, author of The Titan's Rose, the first book in the Olympian’s Curse Saga. Learn more about the book and help Mariah build a world before her launch.

The Rest

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/S2025/12/15/0814-2025-romance-debuts
• If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates.
• Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough.
• If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.