The Most Read Books on Goodreads in October 2025

A single father in the heart of Oklahoma’s Cherokee Nation discovers something strange is happening in the atmosphere. His findings are confirmed by a Texas astrophysicist—something big is barreling towards Earth. It seems to be a spacecraft. But is the world really ready for first contact? — Liberty Hardy

Equal parts satirical, steamy, and swoony, Female Fantasy is a romance novel tailor-made for book lovers who can’t resist a meta twist. Joonie, a copywriter by day and fanfic writer by night, knows no real guy can measure up to her ultimate book boyfriend—a merman hero named Ryke. But when she learns Ryke is based on a real person, she sets off to track him down, dragging along her brother’s infuriating best friend as an unwilling road-trip companion. What follows is a hilariously chaotic, self-aware journey through romance tropes that doubles as a genuine story about finding love where you least expect it. This is a joyful reminder of why readers fall in love with the genre in the first place. — Nikki DeMarco

Here’s a new sapphic fantasy from the award-winning author of the Burning Kingdoms series! A witch and a knight fated to fall in love and be torn apart over and over must find a way to halt the cycle of their story. Meanwhile, a mysterious assassin is on the prowl, looking to permanently destroy anyone with a story like theirs. — Liberty Hardy

The Unveiling is a literary survival horror novel that takes place on a luxury Antarctic cruise. Striker is a Black film scout who has joined the cruise in the hopes of capturing locations for a big-budget movie. But nothing about the cruise goes according to plan, and when an excursion goes terribly wrong, Striker and a small group of survivors find themselves stranded in the middle of the Antarctic. As things grow more dire, hostilities and people’s true nature come to the surface. — Emily Martin

It’s pumpkin spice reading season! Apparently, a whole lot of people have been saving this to read in fall. This promises to be a “cozy romantic mystery for fans of Gilmore Girls, with a grumpy x sunshine dynamic, a small-town setting and a HEA guaranteed.” This is the first in a series that continues in The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore, The Christmas Tree Farm, and The Strawberry Patch Pancake House. It was read by almost 62,000 Goodreads users in October and has a 3.4 average rating.

For Halloween season, Amazon has released a series of six original romance short stories called Scared Sexy, including this one and My Boyfriends Are All Monsters by Kimberly Lemming. Ali Hazelwood is one of the biggest names in romance at the moment! Hot for Slayer is about a vampire, Ethel, and vampire slayer, Lazlo, who have been not-so-mortal enemies for centuries. When Lazlo loses his memories, Ethel finds herself in the strange position of having to help him remember who he is. It was read by 65,000 users this month and has a 4.0 average rating.

The second Ali Hazelwood title on the most read books on Goodreads list this month is the companion novel to Bride. This paranormal romance came out on October 7th. It is about Serena, the first Were-Human hybrid, who finds herself a political target of Humans, Vampyres, and Weres alike. Her safety depends on the protection of the Alpha Were Koen. It was read by almost 75,000 users in October and has a 4.2 average rating.

This is the first book in Freida McFadden’s Housemaid series, followed byThe Housemaid’s SecretandThe Housemaid Is Watching. It’s about a housemaid who cleans for a wealthy family, takes care of their child, and lives in their attic bedroom. She’s soon pulled into the family’s dangerous secrets, but her employers may have underestimated what she’s capable of. A movie adaptation is coming out in December. This was read by 78,000 Goodreads users this month and has a 4.3 average rating.

Freida McFadden also has two books in the top five this month. This is her newest thriller, which came out October 7th. It’s about Casey, who is weathering a hurricane in her rundown cabin in the woods when she sees a girl outside her window. She is covered in blood and clutching a knife. “The girl has a dark secret. One she’ll kill to keep. And if Casey gets too close to the truth, she may not live to see the morning.” 93,000 users read it in October, and it has a 4.0 average rating.