Reese Witherspoon Book Club List 2025

The Three Lives of Cate Kay

Author: Kate Fagan

Year: 2025

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

More info: January 2025 Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

Spice Rating:💋

Age Range: 16+

Plot

Cate is a successful author of a book trilogy with a cult-like following written under her pen name. The books were made into movies but she has never made a public appearance. The only people who know her identity have kept it a close secret for years.

When Cate considers revealing her true identity, the events of her past come back to haunt her. When she was younger, she had plans to go to Hollywood with her best friend, Amanda. When a horrible accident shatters their dreams, Cate flees. She takes on different names and different identities.

The story is told by the people who knew Cate and alternates between what happened in the past and present day

Why Jackie loves it

I love the characters, the story, and the way the story was told. It is such a unique storytelling format and it kept me completely captivated.

Find this book in: Best Reese Witherspoon Books / Reese Witherspoon Book Club List 2025 / Books With Numbers in the Title

Isola

Author: Allegra Goodman

Genre: Historical Fiction

Release Date: February 4, 2025

More info: February 2025 Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

Plot

This pick from the January 2025 book releases is inspired by a real sixteenth-century woman. After Marguerite is orphaned and her guardian sells off her property to pay off his debts, he leaves her on a deserted island after he discovers her love affair with his servant. Stripped of her former life of privilege, Marguerite must rely on her faith, love, and inner strength to survive the harsh elements of the island.

Broken Country

Author: Clare Leslie Hall

Year: 2025

Genre: Historical Mystery Romance
More Info: March 2025 Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick
June 2025 Beyond the Bookends Bookclub Pick

Spice Rating:💋💋

Age Range: 16+

Plot

Set in 1968 and about a decade prior, this mesmerizing book examines both the loss of a child and the paths not taken. Beth and her husband Frank are still reeling from the unexpected loss of their son, when Beth’s first love, Gabriel Wolfe, comes back to town newly divorced with his own son in tow.

After an accident on the farm, Beth finds herself entwined in Gabriel‘s life once more. Between flashbacks to their former romance and previews of a murder trial, the novel explores the love Beth has for both men.

Trigger Warnings

Death of a Child

Why Kirsten loves it

Hall paints such a vivid picture and explores Beth’s feelings so well that I forgot I was reading fiction. I cried on numerous occasions and was left wanting more.  

It reminds me of Where the Crawdads Sing in some ways and The Light We Lost in others.   The mystery of who was shot and why was a masterful narrative choice that kept the story moving at a clip. I would give this novel six stars if I could. I truly couldn’t put it down. Gifted by Simon & Schuster

Why Jackie Loves it

This beautifully crafted story depicts lost loves and loss in a way that is still approachable and readable. Kirsten and I cannot wait to discuss this book with our book club in June. Kirsten read the book, and I listened to it. The audio version was powerful and I highly recommend.

Adaptation

Before the book even came out, Reese Witherspoon’s production company Hello Sunshine snapped up the production rights. It will be created with Sony’s 3000 Pictures.

Find this book in: Best Historical Fiction Books / Best British Books / Best Reese Witherspoon Books / Books Set in the 1960s / Best Historical Fiction Books of 2025 / Reese Witherspoon Book Club List 2025 / Best Books of 2025

All That Life Can Afford

Author: Emily Everett

Genre: Fiction

Release Date: April 1, 2025

More info: April 2025 Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

Spice Rating: 💋💋
Age Range: 16+

Plot

Anna arrives in London after years of relocating there, but instead of the London in her Austen novels, she’s met with an expensive city she can barely afford to live in. Until she meets the wealthy Wilders, who show her the side of London that only money can access.

While traipsing around St. Tropez as their live-in tutor, she meets two boys from the same social set and is soon caught up in a love triangle. But as she starts to ignore her own friends and spend money she doesn’t have to keep up with her whirlwind social life, she needs to come to terms with how much it is costing her to star in her own Austen-style adventure.

Why Kirsten likes it

I enjoyed the romp around aristocratic London, the many Austen and other bookish references, and the look down the rabbit hole of Anna’s adventure. The story lacked the emotional depth to really bring it to an excellent rating for me, but if you are looking for a book like Magnolia Parks or Gossip Girl, this one certainly fits the bill.

Find this book in: Reese Witherspoon Book Club List 2025 / British Romance Novels

Great Big Beautiful Life

Author: Emily Henry

Year: 2025

Genre: Romance

More info: New York Times Bestselling Author, May 2025 Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick

Spice Rating:💋💋

Age Range: 18+

Plot

Margaret Ives is an octogenarian who has not been seen in years. She invites two authors to stay with her for a month on a trial basis so she can decide who will write her memoir. Both Alice and Hayden want the job and while Alice is waiting for her big break, Hayden is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and fully expects to be chosen for the job.

Margaret gives Alice and Hayden an NDA so they cannot discuss anything with anybody, including each other. They know that Margaret is lying, but they do not know why. A lot can happen in a month especially when the chemistry between them gets stronger by the day.

Why Jackie likes it

While Emily Henry is known for her beach-read romances, this book is that with a twist. Margaret Ives reminds me of Evelyn Hugo. The reader learns about Margaret’s life in the spotlight and the effects it has on her life and her family. The romance is there, but it is almost secondary to the story Margaret tells. Alice and Hayden are the quintessential grumpy-sunshine pairing, but with a deeper look into both of their stories.

Find this book in: Emily Henry Books Ranked / Books Like Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo / Reese Witherspoon Book Club List 2025

The Phoenix Pencil Company

Author: Allison King

Genre: Literary Fantasy

Release Date: June 3, 2025

More info: June 2025 Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

Age Rating: 18+

Plot

This multigenerational family saga finds Monica delving into Yun’s past, including her work in Shanghai during WWII at the Phoenix Pencil Company, where workers possessed a magical ability to reforge a pencil’s words. This debut novel explores the ownership of our stories as family secrets are unraveled.

Kirsten’s Thoughts

I started this one but stopped pretty early on after the description of HOW the worker of the Phoenix Pencil Company are able to get the memories out of the pencil – SPOILER – it’s by shoving the sharpened tip into their wrist. The imagery was graphic, almost violent in nature, and it made me queasy to read about it. I had to put it down. #gifted by PRH

Spectacular Things

Author: Beck Dorey-Stein

Year: 2025

Genre: Fiction

More info: July 2025 Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

Spice Rating:💋

Age Range: 13+

Plot

In their small town in Maine, Cricket and Mia Lowe are the closest of sisters – banding together with their single teen mom to support one another. Mia is the smart, responsible sister who looks after Cricket, a rising soccer star, even if it means sidelining her own dreams.

Opening with Mia’s desperate need for a kidney, which might derail Cricket’s soccer career, the story immediately catapults back to their childhood. Told over the course of their life, we see how the sisters’ relationship went from the closest of confidants to strained and a bit distant.

Trigger Warnings

Grief, Death of Parent

Why Kirsten loves it

Flashing between past and present, this story will grip you and never let you go. The characters were richly developed in a way that had me feeling like I grew up with them. I was initially unsure of a plot that revolved so heavily around soccer, but I found it compelling because of the emotional depth the author achieves with this plot. #Gifted by Penguin Random House

Find this book in: Reese Witherspoon Book Club List 2025 / Books About Women in Sports / Best Fiction Books of 2025 / Books Inspired by The Life of A Showgirl

Once Upon a Time in Dollywood

Author: Ashley Jordan

Genre: Fiction

Release Date: August 5, 2025

More info: August 2025 Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick

Plot

Part of Reese’s Lit Up Book Club, this debut novel is about a struggling playwright facing writer’s block. Eve has turned her life upside down after breaking up with her fiancé and heading to the mountains of Tennessee for a fictional “writing retreat.” Meanwhile, Jamie Gallagher is bruised and battered from the drawn-out custody battle he just won and is trying to settle into single dad life. When Eve and Jamie are drawn to each other, they must ask if they can handle falling in love again.

To The Moon and Back

Author: Eliana Ramage

Genre: Literary Fiction

Release Date: September 2, 2025

More info: September 2025 Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick!

Plot

I’ve seen the sticker and I know this is the newest Reese pick — and it’s perfect for fans of Atmosphere and Hidden Figures! It’s all about a woman’s quest to be the first Cherokee astronaut. Steph Harper has dreamed of working for NASA since she was little, and we get to see her thirty-year journey throughout the book, along with a cast of other characters.

Gone Before Goodbye

Author: Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben

Genre: Thriller

Release Date: October 14, 2025

More info: Reese’s fiction debut, October 2025 Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

Plot

Reese and Harlan have teamed up to write a thriller novel about Maggie, an Army combat surgeon who is now without a license. On the brink of total failure, Maggie receives an offer from a former colleague who needs a skilled nurse to watch a VIP patient post-op. When the patient disappears under her care, she needs to become a fugitive until she can find the missing person.

Wild Dark Shore

Author: Charlotte McConaghy

Year: 2025

Genre: Literary Fiction
More info: November 2025 Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

Spice Rating:💋💋

Age Range: 16+

Plot

This novel is unique, compelling, and unputdownable. It’s the story of a tiny island near Antarctica that holds one of the world’s seed vaults, a place that holds the last parts of life should the world be destroyed. Due to climate change, the island is being swallowed by the sea, and the caretakers and scientists need to pack up the seeds to prepare to move them to a new location.

But the isolated island holds lots of secrets – including that none of the scientists remain, the communications lines to the outside world no longer work, and now a mysterious woman has washed ashore with secrets of her own.

Trigger Warnings

Destruction by fire, death

Why Kirsten loves it

I can’t stop thinking of this INCREDIBLE story. The premise, the set-up, and the writing combined to create a narrative that held me captive and had me gasping and crying in equal measure. I felt the ending in my bones as I reluctantly turned the last page. I’ll be recommending this book for years to come. #gifted

Why Jackie Loves it

This is a unique story that is scary in how relevant this story is with its references to fires and climate change. The story immediately captivated me, but I was even more invested with every chapter. This is a dystopian mystery thriller with family drama all rolled into one powerful book. The end had me gasping. #gifted

Find this book in: Winter Books / Best Books for Book Clubs to Read / Dystopian Novels / Best Fiction Books of 2025 / Best Reese Witherspoon Book Club Books / Reese Witherspoon Book Club 2025 / Best Books of 2025

The Heir Apparent

Author: Rebecca Armitage

Year: 2025

Genre: Fiction

More info: December 2025 Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

Spice Rating:💋

Age Range: 18+

Plot

After a tragic New Year’s Day accident resulted in the death of her father and her twin brother, Lexi, who had left the royal family behind, is now the heir to the British throne. Thrust back into the spotlight and away from her life as a medical resident in Tasmania, she has a tough time reacclimating to royal life.

From scheming family members to her own public faux pas, Lexi has her work cut out for her if she wants to be a royal again. But does she want to be the next Queen? While she’s enjoying reconnecting with her best friend, she misses her quiet life and the boy she left behind. Will Lexi choose her heart or her duty to her people?

Trigger Warnings

Eating disorder, Sexism, Classism

Why Kirsten loves it

I’ve been looking for a royal novel that was as good as The Royal We for almost a decade, and luckily, I finally found it! I loved that this story wasn’t a romance but was rather a revealing look at life within the palace walls. It’s clear that Rebecca knows her stuff – and it was fun to figure out which characters were inspired by real-life individuals.

Find this book in: Royal Reads / Reese Witherspoon Book Club List 2025

Stuck Up and Stupid

Author: Angourie Rice, Kate Rice

Genre: YA Romance

Release Date: May 06, 2025

More info: Summer 2025 Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

Plot

Lily is ready for a summer of fun at her favorite beach until mega-star, Dorian Khan, shows up with his entourage and ruins her piece. The whole town is ga-ga for Dorian and his A-list friends, but Lily is not impressed at all… but they keep bumping into one another and she might not have judged him fairly after all.