My 24 Favourites for 2025

(Presented in no particular order)

  • The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida - Shehan Karunatilaka

  • A Sorceress Comes to Call - T. Kingfisher

  • Cathedral - Ben Hopkins

  • Bonavere Howl - Caitlin Galway

  • They - Kay Dick

  • The God of the Woods - Liz Moore

  • Shy Creatures - Clare Chambers

  • The Bog Wife - Kay Chronister

  • Smothermoss - Alisa Alering

  • The Warm Hands of Ghosts - Katherine Arden

  • The Mountain in the Sea - Ray Nayler

  • I Hated you in High School - Kathleen Gros

  • Small Game - Blair Braverman

  • The River has Roots - Amal El-Mohtar

  • The Charterhouse of Padma - Padma Viswanathan

  • The Return of Captain John Emmett / The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton  - Elizabeth Speller

  • Cicada Summer - Erica McKeen

  • A Drop of Corruption - Robert Jackson Bennett

  • I Remember Lights - Ben Ladouceur

  • Endling - Maria Reva

  • Spread Me - Sarah Gailey

  • The Starving Saints - Caitlin Starling

  • The Whalebone Theatre - Joanna Quinn

  • The Works of Vermin - Hiron Ennes 

** Honourable mention to Murder at Gull’s Nest by Jess Kidd, which I just realized I missed in the insta version of this list (along with I Remember Lights, but I remembered that one in time to slap it on my best books). Oops!! **

The Whole List

Total book count: 65
*asterisks denote my top books of the year

  • The Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida - Shehan Karunatilaka*

  • A Haunting On The Hill - Elizabeth Hand

  • A Sorceress Comes To Call - T. Kingfisher*

  • The Other Valley - Scott Alexander Howard

  • Perfect Remains - Helen Fields

  • Cathedral - Ben Hopkins*

  • Penance - Eliza Clark

  • The Deep - Nick Cutter

  • Bonavere Howl - Caitlin Galway*

  • They - Kay Dick*

  • The God Of The Woods - Liz Moore*

  • Mistress Of Rome - Kate Quinn

  • The Witching Tree - Alice Blanchard

  • Hokuloa Road - Elizabeth Hand

  • Shy Creatures - Clare Chambers*

  • The Bog Wife - Kay Chronister*

  • Untethered Sky - Fonda Lee

  • Smothermoss - Alisa Alering*

  • The Warm Hands Of Ghosts - Katherine Arden*

  • Desert Creatures - Kay Chronister

  • Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros

  • From The Belly - Emmett Nahil

  • Never Whistle At Night - Ed. Shane Hawk & Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

  • Book Of Night - Holly Black

  • The Mountain In The Sea - Ray Nayler*

  • The Melancholy Of Untold History - Minsoo Kang

  • I Hated You In High School - Kathleen Gros*

  • Murder at Gull’s Nest - Jess Kidd

  • Throne Of Glass - Sarah J. Maas

  • Small Game - Blair Braverman*

  • None Of This Is True - Lisa Jewell

  • The River Has Roots - Amal El-Mohtar*

  • The Charterhouse Of Padma - Padma Viswanathan*

  • The Marriage Portrait - Maggie O’farrell

  • The Return Of Captain John Emmett - Elizabeth Speller*

  • The Listeners - Jordan Tanahill

  • The Grey Wolf - Louise Penny

  • How Far The Light Reaches - Sabrina Imbler

  • Cicada Summer - Erica Mckeen*

  • A Drop Of Corruption - Robert Jackson Bennett*

  • Outlander - Diana Gabaldon (Rr)

  • In A Good Light - Clare Chambers

  • Red, White & Royal Blue - Casey Mcquiston

  • Whistle In The Dark - Emma Healey

  • I Remember Lights - Ben Ladouceur

  • Iron Flame - Rebecca Yarros

  • The House On The Water’s Edge - C E Rose

  • A Restless Evil - Ann Granger

  • The Dark Wives - Ann Cleeves

  • Bluebird Bluebird - Attica Locke

  • Onyx Storm - Rebecca Yarros

  • Endling - Maria Reva*

  • Coffin Island - Kate Ellis

  • We Used To Live Here - Marcus Kliewer

  • Death On The Island - Eliza Reid

  • The Strange Fate Of Kitty Easton  - Elizabeth Speller*

  • Spread Me - Sarah Gailey*

  • Heartwood - Amity Gage

  • Strange Pictures - Uketsu

  • The Starving Saints - Caitlin Starling*

  • The Whalebone Theatre - Joanna Quinn*

  • The Works Of Vermin - Hiron Ennes*

  • Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brönte

  • Thief Of Night - Holly Black

  • A High Mortality Of Doves - Kate Ellis