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