Roberts’ ‘Fearless’ Dominates Charts

In a surprising and robust start to 2025, Lauren Roberts’ latest novel, Fearless (Simon & Schuster), has surged to the top of the Official UK Top 50, as reported by Nielsen Bookscan’s Total Consumer Market. The final installment of the Powerless trilogy achieved sales of 43,087 copies in its opening week, significantly outpacing its nearest rival,

Competing Titles and Sales Figures

Following closely is Suzanne Collins’ Sunrise on the Reaping (Scholastic), which secured second place with 20,168 copies sold in its fourth week—raising its cumulative sales beyond 200,000. This marks a notable end to a three-week reign at the top for Collins’ work, celebrating the enduring popularity of The Hunger Games franchise.

A Strong Start for ‘Fearless’

This achievement signifies Roberts’ second number one title since her earlier success with Reckless (Simon & Schuster Children’s) in July 2024. With its hardback release, Fearless outperformed Roberts’ previous first week sales by 13.3%, showcasing her growing readership.

Children’s Literary Landscape

In the Children’s Top 20, Roberts and Collins maintained their dominance as the top two authors, while Dougie Poyner, Tom Fletcher, and illustrator Garry Parsons entered the fray with The Dinosaur that Pooped Easter (Puffin), which rose to third place after a 46.1% spike in sales.

Easter-Themed Titles Sizzle

The official Top 50 witnessed a collective sale of 57,774 copies for ten Easter-themed titles this week, up by 12.3% compared to prior data. Anticipation is high as sales are expected to rise further leading into the Easter holiday.

Mass Market Fiction Trends

In the Mass Market Fiction chart, Lee and Andrew Child’s In Too Deep (Transworld) slipped to third place but retained the number one position in its category, despite a 29.6% decrease in sales compared to the previous week. Elif Shafak’s There Are Rivers in the Sky (Penguin) remains strong in second.

New Releases and Performance

The highest new entry in the Mass Market Fiction rankings is Peter James’ One of Us Is Dead (Pan), the 20th installment in the Roy Grace series, which had a respectable first week, attracting 9,073 readers.

In the Original Fiction category, seven of the top eight titles are fresh releases, with This Monster of Mine by Shalini Abeysekara (Hodderscape) and Firebird by Juliette Cross (Tor Bramble) leading due to their presence in FairyLoot subscription boxes.

Insights into Non-Fiction Sales

In the Hardback Non-Fiction sector, a notable newcomer has emerged: Soph’s Plant Kitchen (Yellow Kite) by Sophie Waplington, which garnered first-week sales of 5,498 copies. It narrowly surpassed Jamie Oliver’s Easy Air Fryer (Michael Joseph), which continues to gain traction as well.

Meanwhile, Gary Stevenson’s The Trading Game (Penguin) continues to dominate the Paperback Non-Fiction sector after 11 weeks at number one, closely followed by Jonn Elledge’s A History of the World in 47 Borders (Headline).

Market Overview

The total volume of books sold across the Total Consumer Market rose by 2.8%, reaching 3.1 million copies, while the market value increased by 3% to £29.1 million. Year-on-year comparisons indicate a slight volume increase of 0.3% and a 1.6% rise in market value.