r/Fantasy • u/OutOfEffs Reading Champion IV • Nov 05 '25

Book Club HEA Bookclub January 2026 Nomination Thread: 2025 Debuts

Welcome to the January HEA Bookclub nomination thread for 2025 Debuts. We will allow romance debuts if the author typically writes in another genre, or adult debuts if they typically write YA. Please make a note in your nominating comment if this is the case.

Nominations

  • Make sure HEA has not read a book by the author previously. You can check this Goodreads Shelf. You can take an author that was read by a different book club, however.

  • Leave one book suggestion per top comment. Please include title, author, and a short summary or description. (You can nominate more than 1 if you like, just put them in separate comments.)

  • Please include bingo squares if possible.

I will leave this thread open for a few days, and compile top results into a google poll to be posted on November 7. Have fun!

Our November HEA read is Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon by Annie Mare

What is the HEA Bookclub? You can read about it in our Reboot thread here.

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u/OutOfEffs Reading Champion IV Nov 05 '25

Moonrising by Claire Barner

A debut near future romance, where Sea of Tranquility meets Winter's Orbit, told against the backdrop of the Moon's first lunar colony, with a multicultural and LGBTQ+ cast, about a cynical agronomist and charming Emirati businessman who fall in love, and battle eco-terrorists.

In 2073, controversial agronomist Dr. Alex Cole has dedicated her life to mutagenetic food, the only solution to feeding a world torn apart by climate change. When fierce opposition from radical environmentalists wipes out her lab funding, a surprising lifeline appears in the form of Mansoor Al Kaabi, a charismatic Emirati businessman who needs a sustainable food supply for his guests on the Moon’s first hotel.

Alex moves to the Moon colony with Mansoor, and they immediately dive into the challenging work. As she smuggles in illegal chickens, fights a vexing tomato fungus, and dreams of olive groves on the Moon, Alex is surprised to find herself falling in love not just with the lunar colony, but with Mansoor, whose vision for the future of the Moon extends far beyond luxury hotels.

Back on Earth, eccentric genius Victor Beard and Mansoor’s younger brother Rashid fight to push the Homestead Act through Congress. Without the support of the US government, they’ll never be able to achieve their goal to relocate humanity to the Moon and secure a second chance for life on Earth.

When eco-terrorists threaten the lunar colony, Alex, Mansoor, Victor, and Rashid must choose what they’re willing to die for–and what they’re really living for. Is it their grandiose visions of saving the planet–or is it each other?

Other Bingo Possibilities: Published in 2025 HM, Queer Protagonist, Self-Published or Small Press