These are my favorite reads of 2025. Most lists that you read or hear of deal only with books that were published in 2025. Since I’m not a professional blogger or book seller, only a few of these books were published this year.

I chose my top ten by going to the books I read each month and picking out my top ones of the month. Several months had two or three 5 star books though October had none. This gave me a total of 18 books to chose from. I admit, there were a couple of books I could hardly remember which made me question my 5 star rating of that book. But, I’m sure I enjoyed it at that time.

I will list these in no particular order.

1. Empire of Gold S.A. Chakraborty. (The Daevabad Trilogy #3). (2020) The third and final volume in this fantasy series. Since this is the third in a series, I won’t say anything about the plot. Though a bit too much violence for me, I loved the characters and the different ways Chakraborty wove in the myths and legends of the middle eastern culture. She is a writer I will continue to read. Definitely not a stand-alone, so start with The City of Brass.

2. Broken Country Clare Leslie Hall. (2025) Historical fiction, dual timeline, suspense, love, betrayal, and murder. What else could you want in a book? A beautifully written story of Beth who is happily married to Frank, a farmer, though their life has been blighted by tragedy. When the man Beth loved as a teen-ager returns home with his young son, complications arise in their pastoral life. I loved this book from a writer who has previously only been published in the UK and Germany.

3. Something to Hide Elizabeth George (Inspector Lynley #21). (2022) I’ve been reading the books in this series since it started and have enjoyed most of them with a couple of exceptions. They’re long (usually over 500 pages) and filled with detail—both on the crimes and on the characters. Of course, it’s usually because of the characters’ growth, that one reads and sticks with a series, but that is not to say that one couldn’t read any of these as a stand-alone. So, if you haven’t read any of the Lynley books, this is a good one. When a police detective is attacked and soon dies from the attack, Lynley and his team are put on the case. Since she was a detective, what she was working on is of interest, but that doesn’t eliminate investigating those nearest and dearest to her. Once I got the characters straight, I was invested in this one from beginning to end.

4. The Girl in the Tower (Winternight Trilogy #2) Katherine Arden. (2017) I loved this story partly taken from Russian fairy tales. This is a sequel, so important to read The Bear and the Nightingale first to understand Vasilisa’s back story. What is she doing riding a magnificent horse on her own in the wilderness? When she shows up where her priest brother is living as a close aid to the prince, he is not pleased and they both pretend she is a boy to avoid embarrassment. When this “boy” leads them to some bandits who have been destroying villages, and proves to be both courageous and resourceful, the siblings become dangerously entangled in their lies.

5. Hello Beautiful Ann Napolitano. (2023) The four Padavano sisters act as a unit. Julia is the oldest and the leader, followed by Sylvie, the dreamer, then the twins Cecelia, an artist and Emeline, the care-taker. Julia meets William Waters at college and as their relationship develops, Julia takes him in hand, deciding his future for him and what she thinks will be best for the two of them. William is willing to follow until he becomes overwhelmed. I loved this book—the relationships, the family drama, and the heartbreak. 

6. Wrong Place, Wrong Time Gillian McAllister (2022) (audio—Lesley Sharp). Jen is up waiting for her 18-year-old son, Todd, to come home. While watching out her window, she sees him appear in the dark of midnight. But, before she can feel relief, she sees another man come up to Todd and, unbelievably, Todd stabs him. After Todd is arrested, and Jen finally gets to sleep, she wakes up the next morning wondering what happened and what she can do about it. She soon finds out that what she saw last night hasn’t happened—yet. It’s the day before. Can she find out what happened and stop it before it happens again? A different sort of time travel story, as Jen continues to go back in time, learning more about what led up to the events of that night.

7. The Wedding People Alison Espach. (2024) Phoebe Stone comes to the Cornwall Inn in Newport, R.I.–a place she always wanted to visit but preferably in more ideal circumstances as Phoebe’s life has hit bottom. When she arrives, she soon finds that a large wedding party is there for the week, but she decides not to let them ruin her plans. Then Phoebe meets the bride, Lila—young, rich, and entitled. Not the sort that Phoebe would normally make friends with. As they begin to confide in one another, Phoebe finds herself being pulled into this huge family event. I loved this book mostly because of the characters. Not that they were particularly lovable—they were both annoying and exasperating, but also funny and warm. I wanted to follow them to their next family event, but, alas, (and thankfully) this week will never be replicated.

8. Playworld Adam Ross. (2025) In the fall of 1980, fourteen-year old Griffin Hurt lives in New York and goes to an elite prep school which he pays for with his acting career. When a 36-year old friend of his parents, Naomi, “falls in love with him”, Griffin says, “Like so many things that happened to me that year, it didn’t seem strange at the time.” Between the cover and this opening premise, I was reluctant to try this rather long book but heard many good things about it (including comparing it to The Goldfinch), so decided to check it out. Though several of the adults in Grifiin’s life made me cringe, his voice won me over. Griffin is a character that is easy to root for and one you want to follow. 

9. Slanting Towards the Sea Lidija Hilje. (2025) Ivona and Vlaho met as students in democratic Croatia. Now, they’re divorced and Vlaho has remarried with two children while Ivona has returned home to care for her father. Ivona has remained friends with Vlaho and is welcomed into his home by his now wife, Marina. When Ivona has to squash her father’s dreams of building a hotel and sell the land owned by their ancestors, a new man enters her life creating problems with her other relationships and revealing secrets long kept hidden. Even though I don’t normally care for love triangles, I admit I’ve read a few good ones lately. Though sadness is all through the book, I loved the writing and the characters and hope Hilje is writing something else.

10. Fresh Water for Flowers Valerie Perrin. (2018) (translated from the French). Violette Toussaint is the caretaker of a cemetery in Bourgogne. With her visitors, colleagues (three gravediggers, three groundskeepers, and a priest), and her pets, Violette seems content living here. But how she got here is a long story, full of sorrow and difficulties. The story goes back and forth from the present to the past, but it is not only Violette’s story that is told. We also learn of a couple that are now buried together, though the woman’s son had no idea who the man was and why his mother wanted to be buried with him. There is also the story of Violette’s husband and what part he played in the tragedy that defined their lives. Though sadness is woven throughout the book, I really loved the writing as well as the characters. Another book by Perrin is coming out next year (newly translated from the French), and I look forward to reading that as well.

I had a good reading year and hope you did too. What were some of your favorites?