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I know we are halfway through February, but I wanted to get this post up. It took me a while to decide. It is hard to pick your top ten books of the year. The first nine I've got down, but the last one was hard. Not because there weren't other books I enjoyed, it was just hard to choose between a few. Some of them are obvious, some of them not so much. But I have them here, with a little bit about why I loved each, as well as a link to find out more about them. As usual, I have some variety here. Is there an order? Maybe? I'm not sure. I think the first four are definitely the very top of the list, but beyond that? I don't know hahaha. And is there an order within the top four? I don't know that, either. I love them all for different reasons. To learn more about the book, simply click on the photo to be taken to the StoryGraph link. :)
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
I had such a hard time choosing between the first four books
on this list for my top book of 2025. The way I decided was by which book had
the most emotional impact on me; which got the most reactions out of me. And
when I decided that, Sunrise on the Reaping HAD to be my number one. I started
crying at page 35 and the hits just kept coming. Not only did I cry, I laughed,
I yelled at the book, I fumed with anger, I squealed with delight. Therefore,
it had to be this one.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
Man, yet again, it was hard to pick this one. If I’m being honest, it is actually very close between this and my next pick. But the message of this book, of defiant joy, just spoke to me. The writing is also beautiful. I have tabs throughout this book (and I want to go add in more since I listened to part of this). It was the kind of writing that had me almost jealous; wishing I could write like that. I absolutely loved it and, of course, would highly recommend it.
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
This book? Ho-ly. Crap. It was so good. It definitely wrung
multiple different emotions out of me. Fear, sadness, creeping dread,
curiosity, disgust, anger… I found this book when I was searching for books
like The Last Tale of the Flower Bride (one of my top books of last year) and
Gallant (one of my top books of 2023). This book came up for both of them, so I
knew I had to get it and give it a try. I was NOT disappointed. Would I recommend
this book? To particular people…hahaha. You have to be okay with some horror
elements, and then a good deal of them. I think this may even be classified in
the folk horror genre (it may just sneak in there.) There is also a mystery to
be solved. I adored it; I thought it was amazing. I loved the folklore elements
in it. I also knew about several of the things discussed, which I think made it
an even more interesting reading experience. The writing in this one, as well,
was beautiful. There are indeed sticky tabs in this one, too.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
You know, there are two books about doors on this list.
Magical, or supernatural, doors. Emotional reactions? Check. Beautiful writing?
Check. Characters I was interested in and had an emotional reaction to? Check. I
think you can start to tell which elements are most important to me in a story.
This one is also fantasy (as are Addie LaRue and House of Hollow, technically,
though the subgenres differ). This one is a historical fantasy; a fairly
recent discovery of mine that I was elated about. Two of my favorite genres
mashed together!! I love the concept of other worlds and places; of the possibility
we don’t know everything there is in this world, or that there are other
worlds. That is what this book explores; add in the emotional impact, beautiful
writing, and great characters? Amazing.
Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
Almost three years ago now, I released a novella about
Medusa. A reimagining of Medusa. I have been interested in Greek Mythology for
a long time (and now, all sorts of mythologies) but to write that, of course, I
had to look more into the Medusa myth. Since then, I have been drawn to Medusa
as a mythological figure, and very interested in retellings of Medusa (which
there seem to be so many of now!). We read this for my book club and I LOVED
it!! From the first page, I knew I would love it. Again, beautiful writing. It
also calls into question what makes a monster? (Another thing I love.) There
were many points of view in this book, from all sorts of gods, goddesses, and
mythological figures. (Plus one chapter in a crow’s point of view; the audio
for that was wonderful!) Incredible. I loved this book so much. I now have two more
Natalie Haynes books waiting to be read. She may be a new found favorite.
Loki: Where Mischief Lies by Mackenzi Lee
Loki!! Is anyone surprised? I LOVE Loki!! Yes, this is about
the MCU Loki (and he is the one I LOVE, though I also like Norse Mythology
Loki.) This book was also set in 1890’s London; a setting I absolutely adore. It
was interesting because this takes place before the first Thor movie and The
Avengers and all of that, so you do know the general path Loki is headed down.
Which didn’t make the ending any less…sad? Is that the right word? Anyway, this
still shows so much dimension to Loki. His mischief, his snark, his wounds, his…compassion?
He at least shows concern at several points; largely for Midgardians. But he is still
Loki; he still has that wit and charm that we love. I don’t feel like I can say
much else without giving a lot away. But if you love Loki, I think you should
definitely read this book.
The Knight and the Butcherbird by Alix E. Harrow
Another Alix E. Harrow!! She made it on this list twice. I’ve
read five or six things by her at this point (several short stories, including
this one.) I remember this one being described as a “Dystopian Fairy-Tale”
which immediately piqued my interest. I’d never heard that before. As I said,
this was a short story, but it packed a lot in, and it did it very well. The
world-building was done well, and in such a short amount of time. There was
some religious commentary in there, which I wasn’t expecting, but I found
interesting. It seems Alix E. Harrow is also becoming a favorite author.
The Path of Thorns by A. G. Slatter
“A gorgeous dark gothic fairy tale.” That got my attention!! All buzzwords for me. Gorgeous. Dark. Gothic. And fairy tale. Perfect. I do believe it lived up to that, too. This was one where I rated it one thing, but kept thinking about the book and realized it was actually one of my favorites of the year, and I wanted to read more from A. G. Slatter. It deserved a higher rating. There was a lot in this book. It mentions some things that aren’t explored in this particular novel, but I believe they are in the accompanying books in the Sourdough Universe. The characters were very interesting, as well. The main character was certainly not black and white; good or bad. Which is another one of my favorite things. It also had some of my other favorite things in it, but that may be giving too much away to mention them. If you want a beautifully written, slightly slower paced, character driven gothic fairy tale, then definitely put this one on your list!!
This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal
El-Mohtar
Okay, this caught my eye because of the “Time War” thing. I am a huge Doctor Who fan, and the Time War is a massive part of New Who. That’s what made me pick this book up at the bookstore, then find out it had nothing to do with Doctor Who. However, it still sounded interesting, and certainly had some Doctor-Who-like things going on. (Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey, you know?) Plus, this quote on the back from V. E. Schwab? “Holy shit this was good.” That convinced me (after a few times of looking at it.) Again, this has beautiful writing; writing is mentioned in most of these explanations. The love story was so…angsty, and full of yearning, which I love in a love story. Oh, this is proving hard to sum up why I loved it. Beautiful writing, interesting characters, an intricate time travel plot, probably morally grey characters…there was a lot to like for me. I also feel my watching of Doctor Who helped me understand some time travel bits, and see a plot twist coming haha. I really enjoyed it.
Once Upon a Time: The Shadow of the Queen by Daniel T. Thompson
This is the one I went with for my number ten. Who knows? Maybe it will change, but I think I am going with this for this blog post. This is based on the show Once Upon a Time, which I absolutely love. I'm sure that has a massive influence on this book getting the number ten spot on my list. Once Upon a Time is based on fairy tale characters (mostly from Disney movies but with some others, and some of the original fairy tales taken into account). This graphic novel follows the Evil Queen, the Huntsman, Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood. I loved it. The art is fantastic. If you are at all a fan of the show, I do highly recommend it.
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Alright, there it is!! My Top Ten Books of 2025! Are any of these on your list of favorites from 2025? Share them with me below! Or tell me some of your favorites. I'm really looking forward to all the books I'll be reading in 2026!!
