12 Must-Read Books Releasing in January 2025 By Asian Authors
Happy New Year from the Subtle Asian Book Club team! January 2025 is packed with must-reads by Asian authors from heartfelt contemporary stories to sweeping fantasies and everything in between. Whether you’re looking to get lost in a new world or find a story that hits close to home, these books are perfect to start the year!
Darkmotherland by Samrat Upadhyay
An epic tale of love and political violence set in earthquake-ravaged Darkmotherland, a dystopian reimagining of Nepal, from the Whiting Award–winning author of Arresting God in Kathmandu
In Darkmotherland, Nepali writer Samrat Upadhyay has created a novel of infinite embrace—filled with lovers and widows, dictators and dissidents, paupers, fundamentalists, and a genderqueer power player with her eyes on the throne.
At its heart are two intertwining one of Kranti, a revolutionary’s daughter, who marries into a plutocratic dynasty and becomes ensnared in the family’s politics. And then there is the tale of Darkmotherland’s new dictator and his mistress, Rozy, who undergoes radical body changes and grows into a figure of immense power.
Darkmotherland is a romp through the vast space of a globalized universe where personal ambitions are inextricably tied to political fortunes, where individual identities are shaped by family pressures and social reins, and where the East connects to and collides with the West in brilliant and unsettling ways.
Publication date: January 7, 2025
Genres: Fiction, Adult, Dystopian
Pages: 836
Why should you read it? Darkmotherland by Samrat Upadhyay is a gripping dystopian tale set in a reimagined Nepal, weaving love, revolution, and political intrigue through the lives of Kranti, a revolutionary's daughter trapped in a plutocratic dynasty, and Rozy, a mistress-turned-powerful force amid a dictator's reign. With vivid characters spanning lovers, dissidents, and a genderqueer power player, this novel explores the collision of personal ambitions, family dynamics, and global forces in a brilliantly unsettling narrative.
Homeseeking by Karissa Chen
An epic and intimate tale of one couple across sixty years as world events pull them together and apart, illuminating the Chinese diaspora and exploring what it means to find home far from your homeland.
A single choice can define an entire life.
Haiwen is buying bananas at a 99 Ranch Market in Los Angeles when he looks up and sees Suchi, his Suchi, for the first time in sixty years. To recently widowed Haiwen it feels like a second chance, but Suchi has only survived by refusing to look back.
Suchi was seven when she first met Haiwen in their Shanghai neighborhood, drawn by the sound of his violin. Their childhood friendship blossomed into soul-deep love, but when Haiwen secretly enlisted in the Nationalist army in 1947 to save his brother from the draft, she was left with just his violin and a note: Forgive me.
Homeseeking follows the separated lovers through six decades of tumultuous Chinese history as war, famine, and opportunity take them separately to the song halls of Hong Kong, the military encampments of Taiwan, the bustling streets of New York, and sunny California, telling Haiwen’s story from the present to the past while tracing Suchi’s from her childhood to the present, meeting in the crucible of their lives. Throughout, Haiwen holds his memories close while Suchi forces herself to look only forward, neither losing sight of the home they hold in their hearts.
At once epic and intimate, Homeseeking is a story of family, sacrifice, and loyalty, and of the power of love to endure beyond distance, beyond time.
Publication date: January 7, 2025
Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
Pages: 512
Why should you read it? Homeseeking is a sweeping yet deeply personal tale that spans sixty years of Chinese history and diaspora, following Haiwen and Suchi, childhood friends turned star-crossed lovers separated by war and circumstance. As their journeys take them from Shanghai to Hong Kong, Taiwan, New York, and California, the novel explores themes of love, sacrifice, and the search for belonging, culminating in a poignant reunion that bridges their shared past and divergent paths. Perfect for readers seeking a moving exploration of how love and memory endure across time and distance.
Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan
A stunning, standalone romantic fantasy filled with dangerous secrets, forbidden magic, and passion, of a young ruler who fights to protect her kingdom, from bestselling author Sue Lynn Tan and set in the breathtaking world of Daughter of the Moon Goddess.
“What the gods did not give us, I would take.”
As the heir to Tianxia, Liyen knows she must ascend the throne and renew her kingdom’s pledge to serve the immortals who once protected them from a vicious enemy. But when she is poisoned, Liyen’s grandfather steals an enchanted lotus to save her life. Enraged at his betrayal, the immortal queen commands the powerful God of War to attack Tianxia.
Upon her grandfather’s death, Liyen ascends a precarious throne, vowing to end her kingdom’s obligation to the immortals. When she is summoned to the Immortal Realm, she seizes the opportunity to learn their secrets and to form a tenuous alliance to safeguard her people, all with the one she should fear and mistrust the most: the ruthless God of War. As they are drawn together, a treacherous attraction ignites between them—one she has to resist, to not endanger all she is fighting for.
But with darker forces closing in around them, and her kingdom plunged into peril, Liyen must risk everything to save her people from an unspeakable fate, even if it means forging a dangerous bond with the immortal… even if it means losing her heart.
Publication date: January 7, 2025
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Mythology
Pages: 464
Why should you read it? Set in the breathtaking world of Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Sue Lynn Tan's standalone romantic fantasy follows Liyen, a young ruler poisoned and thrust into a battle for her kingdom's survival. Torn between duty and forbidden desire for the ruthless God of War, Liyen must navigate dangerous secrets, forbidden magic, and a precarious alliance to protect her people and break free from the immortals' control. With high stakes, passion, and a richly imagined world, this tale is perfect for fans of epic romance and gripping fantasy.
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
A woman inherits a pawnshop where you can sell your regrets, and then embarks on a magical journey when a charming young physicist wanders into the shop, in this dreamlike and enchanting fantasy novel.
On a backstreet in Tokyo lies a pawnshop, but not everyone can find it. Most will see a cozy ramen restaurant. And only the chosen ones—those who are lost—will find a place to pawn their life choices and deepest regrets.
Hana Ishikawa wakes on her first morning as the pawnshop’s new owner to find it ransacked, the shop’s most precious acquisition stolen, and her father missing. And then into the shop stumbles a charming stranger, quite unlike its other customers, for he offers help instead of seeking it.
Together, they must journey through a mystical world to find Hana’s father and the stolen choice—by way of rain puddles, rides on paper cranes, the bridge between midnight and morning, and a night market in the clouds.
But as they get closer to the truth, Hana must reveal a secret of her own—and risk making a choice that she will never be able to take back.
Publication date: January 14, 2025
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Magical Realism
Pages: 384
Why should you read it? Set in a magical Tokyo pawnshop where regrets can be sold, this enchanting fantasy follows Hana Ishikawa as she inherits the shop, uncovers its mysteries, and embarks on a mystical journey with a charming physicist to find her missing father and a stolen treasure. Through whimsical realms of paper cranes and night markets in the clouds, Hana must confront her deepest secret and face an irreversible choice. This dreamlike tale is perfect for readers seeking magic, self-discovery, and the beauty of second chances.
Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto
HAMMAJANG | adjective. Definition: In a disorderly or chaotic state; messed up. Chiefly in predicative use, esp. in all hammajang. Etymology: A borrowing from Hawaiian Pidgin. Source: Oxford English Dictionary.
Edie is done with crime. Eight years behind bars changes a person - costs them too much time with too many of the people who need them most.
And it's all Angel's fault. She sold Edie out in what should have been the greatest moment of their lives. Instead, Edie was shipped off to the icy prison planet spinning far below the soaring skybridges and neon catacombs of Kepler space station - of home - to spend the best part of a decade alone.
But then a chance for early parole appears out of nowhere and Edie steps into the pallid sunlight to find none other than Angel waiting - and she has an offer.
One last job. One last deal. One last target. The trillionaire tech god they failed to bring down last time. There's just one thing Edie needs to do - trust Angel again - which also happens to be the last thing Edie wants to do. What could possibly go all hammajang about this plan?
Ocean's 8 meets Blade Runner in this trail-blazing debut science fiction novel and swashbuckling love letter to Hawai'i about being forced to find a new home and striving to build a better one - unmissable for fans of Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.
Publication date: January 14, 2025
Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Queer
Pages: 368
Why should you read it? Hammajang is a thrilling sci-fi heist blending Ocean's 8 with Blade Runner, where ex-con Edie is forced to reunite with her betrayer, Angel, for one last job: taking down a trillionaire tech mogul. Set against the neon catacombs of Kepler space station and infused with Hawaiian Pidgin charm, this debut novel explores betrayal, redemption, and rebuilding home in a chaotic universe perfect for fans of Gideon the Ninth and Six of Crows.
Taipei at Daybreak by Brian Hioe
An Asian American coming-of-age novel set amongst social protests of the early 2010s in East Asia.
2014 was the year of the Sunflower Movement in Taiwan, a moment that has Taiwanese defined politics for the past decade. Its aftermath saw a wave of young politicians run for and win office in Taiwan, reversing the course of Taiwan’s destiny at a time in which it seemed like unification with China was all but inevitable.
Taipei at Daybreak is a literary fiction novel about a Taiwanese American participant in the Sunflower Movement. Set between 2011 and 2016, the protagonist, referred to as Q. or Q.Q., drifts between social movements in America and Asia, including Occupy Wall Street in New York City in Fall 2011, the post-Fukushima protest movement in Tokyo in Spring 2012 —then the largest social movement in Japan since the 1960s —and finally the Sunflower Movement in Spring 2014.
Eventually becoming a journalist in the wake of the Sunflower Movement, Q. struggles internally with the self-destructive, violent impulses that drive him to the frontlines of social movements out of a profound sense of ennui. Further contributing to his nihilistic streak are those around him, such as Aoi, a Japanese artist living in New York City, who seems to be driven by a sense of meaninglessness in life, and Ray, his Taiwanese confidant and colleague seeking connection but also oblivion.
Publication date: January 14, 2025
Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction
Pages: 224
Why should you read it? Taipei at Daybreak is a powerful coming-of-age novel that captures the turbulence of identity, activism, and belonging through the eyes of Q., a Taiwanese American caught between continents and causes. From Occupy Wall Street to Japan’s post-Fukushima protests and Taiwan’s transformative Sunflower Movement, Q.’s journey through the frontlines of history is driven by a restless search for meaning in a fractured world. With richly drawn characters and a vivid portrayal of social and political upheaval, this novel explores the intersections of personal and collective struggle, offering a profound meditation on what it means to fight for change.
Voices of the Fallen Heroes: And Other Stories by Yukio Mishima
A writer is seized by apocalyptic visions; a voyeuristic marquis commits a brutal act; and a trio of beatniks dance to modern jazz in the ruins of an abandoned church. A new selection of 14 of Yukio Mishima's best short stories from the 1960s - his final decade - Voices of the Fallen Heroes offers a unique glimpse into the mind of one of Japan’s greatest writers.
In the title story, ‘Voices of the Fallen Heroes’, a séance brings forth the spirits of young officers in the Imperial Army and the kamikaze pilots of World War II, who reproach the Emperor and mourn Japan’s modern decline. In another, Mishima recounts the true story of the time a deranged fan broke into his home at dawn, insisting on meeting the author and imploring him to ‘tell the truth’. Elsewhere, a beautiful youth achieves eternal life through violent murder, and an ill-matched couple seal their fate with a pack of cards, tangled in the web of time and unfulfilled desire.
Available in English for the first time, and carefully selected by a team of expert translators, these captivating stories serve as the perfect introduction to Mishima's work, on the 100th anniversary of his birth.
Publication date: January 16, 2025
Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Japanese Literature
Pages: 272
Why should you read it? Voices of the Fallen Heroes offers a captivating glimpse into the mind of Yukio Mishima through 14 of his best short stories from his final decade. From apocalyptic visions and séances with WWII spirits to tales of eternal youth, obsession, and unfulfilled desire, these stories showcase Mishima’s masterful exploration of Japan’s modern struggles and timeless human complexities. Available in English for the first time, this collection is an essential introduction to one of Japan’s greatest literary icons.
Asian/Other: Life, Poems, and the Problem of Memoir by Vidyan Ravinthiran
A perceptive, discursive exploration of poetry, race, and otherness from one of our most promising new voices in criticism.
Vidyan Ravinthiran, a Sri Lankan Tamil English poet and second-generation immigrant, explores the feeling of being an outsider both on the page and in life. Discussing the civil rights history of South Asians within the UK as well as their placelessness in the US, Ravinthiran leaps adventurously between memoir and criticism, offering astute close readings of poets such as Tennyson, the Tamil poet Cheran, Solmaz Sharif, and Sharon Olds.He writes about Sri Lanka; intergenerational trauma; pandemic parenting in an autism family; relationships shaped by the internet; growing up with a speech impediment and being sent by one’s aspirational brown parents to speech lessons; and the relative invisibility of South Asians in Western television and film. This electric, compelling hybrid memoir examines the wider relationships among culture, race, and the self.
Publication date: January 21, 2025
Genres: Memoir
Pages: 272
Why should you read it? This compelling hybrid memoir by Vidyan Ravinthiran weaves poetry, memoir, and criticism to explore race, otherness, and identity through the lens of a Sri Lankan Tamil English poet and second-generation immigrant. With perceptive readings of poets like Tennyson and Cheran, Ravinthiran examines intergenerational trauma, pandemic parenting, speech impediments, and the cultural invisibility of South Asians in the West. Both deeply personal and culturally insightful, this book offers a rich, multifaceted exploration of belonging and the power of language.
The Rainfall Market by You Yeong-Gwang, Slin Jung (Translator)
If you could swap your life for a better one, which would you choose?
On the outskirts of Rainbow Town, there is an old, abandoned house. They say that if you send a letter detailing your misfortunes there, you could receive a ticket. If you bring this ticket to the house on the first day of the rainy season, you'll be granted entrance into the mysterious Rainfall Market—where you can choose to completely change your life.
No one is more surprised than Serin when she receives a ticket. Lonely and with no real prospects for a future, Serin ventures to the market, determined to create a better life for herself.
There, she meets a magical cat companion named Issha and they search through bookstores, perfumeries, and fantastical realms while Serin tries to determine what her perfect life will look like.
The catch? Serin only has one week to find her happiness or be doomed to vanish into the market forever.
And all the while, a shadow follows quietly behind them…
Publication date: January 21, 2025
Genres: Translated Fiction, Fantasy, Magical Realism
Pages: 224
Why should you read it? The Rainfall Market is a magical and thought-provoking tale about Serin, a lonely woman who receives a mysterious ticket granting her access to a fantastical market where she can swap her life for a better one. Accompanied by a magical cat, she navigates bookstores, perfumeries, and mystical realms in search of happiness, all while racing against time to make the right choice before the market claims her forever. This enchanting story explores themes of self-discovery, fate, and the pursuit of happiness in a world filled with wonder and danger.
I Am Not Jessica Chen by Ann Liang
After getting rejected by every single Ivy League she applied to and falling short of all her Asian immigrant parents’ expectations, seventeen-year-old Jenna Chen makes a wish to become her smarter, infinitely more successful Harvard-bound cousin, Jessica Chen—only for her wish to come true. Literally.
Now trapped inside Jessica’s body, with access to Jessica’s most private journals and secrets, Jenna soon discovers that being the top student at the elite, highly competitive Havenwood Private Academy isn’t quite what she imagined. Worse, as everyone—including her own parents—start having trouble remembering who Jenna Chen is, or if she ever even existed, Jenna must decide if playing the role of the perfect daughter and student is worth losing her true self forever.
Publication date: January 28, 2025
Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy
Pages: 384
Why should you read it? Seventeen-year-old Jenna Chen’s wish to escape her failures by becoming her Harvard-bound cousin Jessica comes true—literally. But as Jenna navigates the pressures of elite academics and unearths Jessica’s hidden struggles, she realizes the cost of perfection. With her own identity fading and her family forgetting she ever existed, Jenna must decide if living someone else’s life is worth sacrificing her true self. A poignant exploration of identity, ambition, and the weight of expectations.
The Lotus Shoes by Jane Yang
An astonishing story set in 1800s China. Little Flower is sold into slavery, and Linjing into marriage . . .
As a child, Little Flower is sold to Linjing's wealthy family to become a muizai. In a fit of childish jealousy over her new handmaiden's ladylike bound feet and talent for embroidery, Linjing ensures Little Flower can never leave her to ascend in society.
Despite their starkly different places in the Fong household, over the years the two girls must work together to secure both their futures through Linjing's marriage. As the two grow up, they are by turns bitter rivals and tentative friends.
Until scandal strikes the family, and Linjing and Little Flower's lives are unexpectedly thrown into chaos. Linjing's fall from grace could be an opportunity for Little Flower - but will their intertwined fates lead to triumph, or tragedy for them both?
Publication date: January 28, 2025
Genres: Adult, Historical Fiction, Fiction
Pages: 400
Why should you read it? Set in 1800s China, this compelling tale follows Little Flower, a muizai sold into servitude, and Linjing, the wealthy girl who binds her fate to her own out of jealousy. As bitter rivals turned uneasy allies, they navigate the rigid constraints of society and their intertwined destinies. When scandal threatens the Fong family, their bond is tested in a story that explores power, loyalty, and the struggle for survival in a deeply stratified world.
Blob: A Love Story by Maggie Su
A hilarious and moving debut novel about a young woman who decides to turn a sentient blob into her perfect boyfriend...
The daughter of a Taiwanese father and white mother, Vi Liu has never quite fit into her Midwestern college town. Now at twenty-three, after getting dumped and dropping out of college, Vi works as a front desk attendant at a hotel where she refills cucumber water samovars and fends off overtures of friendship from her bubbly blond coworker, Rachel. But when Vi decides to accompany Rachel to a local drag show, her life changes forever. In the alley outside the bar, next to a trash can, is a blob with beady black eyes. Unable to leave it behind, Vi picks up the creature and, in a moment of drunken desperation, takes it home with her.
As her pet blob becomes sentient, Vi realizes it obeys her commands and she decides to mold the blob into her ideal partner. She feeds it sugary cereal and a stream of pop culture, and soon the creature transforms into a movie-star handsome white man. But as Vi's desire to be loved unconditionally threatens to spiral out of control, she is forced to confront her lonely childhood, the ex-boyfriend who has unfriended her, and the racial marginalization that has defined her relationships. Ultimately, Vi embarks on a journey of self-discovery and learns that it's impossible to control those you love.
Blending the familiar with the fantastical, BLOB tells a witty, heartfelt story of what it means to be human.
Publication date: January 28, 2025
Genres: Fiction | Fantasy | Contemporary
Pages: 256
Why should you read it? BLOB is a witty and heartfelt debut that blends the fantastical with the deeply personal, following 23-year-old Vi Liu as she turns a sentient blob into her ideal boyfriend. As Vi grapples with loneliness, past heartbreak, and her experiences of racial marginalization, the blob’s transformation forces her to confront her own desires and the complexities of love. Equal parts hilarious and moving, this novel explores identity, relationships, and what it truly means to be human.
