There are so many factors that go into choosing each monthly WellRead selection. We read so many books each month and try to filter through what will really hit home with you, our subscribers. The nature of publishing schedules and fitting new titles into our program means that we can't choose them all as much as we might want to. 

That's why we love this time of year, when we can put together some of our favourites of the year for you – the titles that might not have been sent out to our subscribers but hold a special place in our hearts anyway. 

In this list you’ll find some 2024 titles that the team fought very hard for, some that are outside of our usual genres, and others that were always going to be bestsellers! One thing is for sure, we haven’t stopped thinking about these since we read them.

If you want to stay on top of some of the best new literary fiction releases in 2025, a WellRead subscription delivers a fresh title to your doorstep every month. Discover our subscriptions here. 

Big Time by Jordan Prosser 

"I love speculative fiction, and this Aussie debut really hit the spot for me, in a whacky Almost Famous meets Slaughterhouse-Five kind of way. Prosser's new world is a place where pop music is propaganda, science is the enemy and moral indecency is punishable by indefinite detention. A refreshingly different kind of modern literary fiction read." – Ruby

In a not-too-distant future Australia, the eastern states have become the world's newest autocracy - a place where pop music is propaganda, science is the enemy and moral indecency is punishable by indefinite detention.

Julian Ferryman, bass player for the Acceptables, returns to Melbourne after a year overseas and reconnects with his bandmates to record their highly anticipated second album. On their whirlwind tour of the east coast, he gets hooked on a new designer drug, F, a powerful synthetic hallucinogen that gives users a glimpse of their own future. Rumour says, the more you take, the further you see...maybe even to the end of time.

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors 

“Coco Mellors is great at characterisation and getting you invested from the first page. Blue Sisters explores sisterhood, grief, and navigating life. There seems to be an influx of novels about sisterhood recently and none of them are perfect but each of them touch on something true – I loved Blue Sisters for its contribution to the conversation.” – Louise 

The Blue sisters have always been exceptional – and exceptionally different.

Avery, a strait-laced lawyer living in London, is the typical eldest daughter, though she’s hiding a secret that could undo her perfect life forever.

Bonnie was a boxer but, following a devastating defeat, she's been working as a bouncer in LA – until a reckless act one night threatens to drive her out of the city.

And Lucky, the rebellious youngest, is a model in Paris whose hard-partying ways are finally catching up with her.

Then there was Nicky, the beloved fourth sister, whose unexpected death left Avery, Bonnie and Lucky reeling.

When, a year later, the three of them must reunite in New York to stop the sale of their childhood home, they find that it's only by returning to each other that they can navigate their grief, addiction and heartbreak and learn to fall in love with life again.

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney 

“Sally Rooney challenges the idea of the conventional romantic relationship perfectly. Intermezzo had me from the first lines, hooking me with its rich characters and fraught family dynamics. It’s a novel about forgiveness, understanding and acceptance. One of my favourites of the year.” – Ingrid

Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.

Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties - successful, competent and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father's death, he's medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women - his enduring first love Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke.

Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother. Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined.

For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude - a period of desire, despair and possibility - a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.

Bear by Julia Phillips 

“Bear is one of those books that seems like it’s bogged down in the minutiae of life before you’re left with your jaw on the floor wondering whether you just read the page correctly. I’ve thought about Bear every day since I read it.” – Louise 

Sam and her sister, Elena, dream of another life. On the island off the coast of Washington where they were born and raised, they and their mother struggle to survive. Sam works long days on the ferry that delivers wealthy mainlanders to their vacation homes while Elena bartends at the local golf club, but even together they can't earn enough to get by, stirring their frustration about the limits that shape their existence.

Then one night on the boat, Sam spots a bear swimming the dark waters of the channel. Where is it going? What does it want? When the bear turns up by their home, Sam, terrified, is more convinced than ever that it's time to leave the island. But Elena responds differently to the massive beast. Enchanted by its presence, she throws into doubt the plan to escape and puts their long-held dream in danger.

A story about the bonds of sisterhood and the mysteries of the animals that live among us - and within us - Bear is a propulsive, mythical, rich novel from one of the most acclaimed young writers in America.

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo 

"The Familiar was the exciting escape I needed. It's a little bit historical fiction, a little bit fantasy. Full of magic, this is the story of women surviving in a man's world, doing what they can to hopefully get ahead. And, the magical star-crossed lovers were just what my romantic heart needed. Couldn't put it down." – Ingrid 

In a shabby house in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil. But when her scheming mistress discovers her scullion is hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to win over the royal court.

Determined to seize this chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of power-hungry nobility, desperate kings, holy men and seers, where the lines between magic, science and fraud blur. With the pyres of the Inquisition burning, she must use every bit of her wit and resilience to win fame and hide the truth of her ancestry - even if that means enlisting the help of an embittered immortal familiar, whose own secrets could cost her everything.

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue 

“Funny, heartwarming, dry and full of eye-roll office life moments, I Hope This Finds You Well has quickly become my go-to recommendation for anyone looking for a lighter read that doesn’t lean too cheesy and keeps you on your toes.” – Louise 

She’s riddled with anxiety, depressed, and hates her coworkers. The less she knows about them, the better.

So when a catastrophic IT f*ck up grants her access to all of their emails and private messages, she’s initially horrified. The last thing she wants is to be privy to their sad discussions about dying desk plants and marital troubles.

That’s until, with job cuts looming, she realises the power this new-found knowledge gives her.

But as she digs deeper and deeper into the private lives of her colleagues, Jolene uncovers a lot more than she bargained for… And the walls she’d so carefully built start crumbling down. 

You Are Here by David Nicholls 

“David Nicholls knows what he’s doing and he does it well. The perfect novel for anyone who’s still sitting on the sidelines of the romance genre. It hits all the right beats; predictable without getting overly sentimental. The humour is great, it’s light with plenty of heart and it found me at exactly the right time.” – Louise

Marnie is stuck.

Stuck working alone in her London flat, stuck battling the long afternoons and a life that often feels like it's passing her by.

Michael is coming undone.

Reeling from his wife's departure, increasingly reclusive, taking himself on long, solitary walks across the moors and fells.

When a persistent mutual friend and some very English weather conspire to bring them together, Marnie and Michael suddenly find themselves alone on the most epic of walks and on the precipice of a new friendship.

But can they survive the journey? 

As Young As This by Roxy Dunn 

"As Young As This explores how relationships shape us – for the better, for worse, and everything in between. But, despite focusing on the various men in Margot's life, it isn't really about relationships at all, instead about finding yourself, deciding what you want, and figuring out how to get it. As Young As This has stuck with me for a long time!" – Louise

Elliot. Joe. Tommy. Nathanael. Wren. Oliver. Malik. Zach. Frank. Patrick. Noah. These are the men Margot has loved, liked, lusted over.

Since she was seventeen, she's pictured them like stepping stones - each one bringing her closer to finding someone to share her life with and, eventually, father the children she's always imagined in her future.

From her first sexual encounter, to her first love, from grown-up dilemmas to spontaneous thrills, she's soaked up every experience available to her, discovering friendship, joy and despair. Through all of this she's refined her search until she believes she's arrived at 'the ending' to her story.

So how did she find herself here, single at thirty-four, and about to make the biggest decision of her life?