The Best Books I Read in 2025
Every year I make a post of my top books for the year, and I am so excited to share my picks for 2025! Pop in your email address below and I’ll send the printable list right to your inbox.
Some years I feel like I have to work pretty hard to get ten really great books for the year.
This year?
I read some REALLY good books and narrowing to a top ten was hard!
(This is my dream problem to have).
I use Goodreads to track my reading and I look through all my reads for the year and see which books stand out. (Details about how I use Goodreads in this post, plus a link to my account if you’d like to follow along).
Here are the best books I read in 2025 (if you’re curious, you can see all my top 10 lists for each year since 2010 here!):
The Best Books I Read in 2025
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower
When I think about my 2025 reading year, this series dominates. I started it in 2024 but the first few books were pretty slow for me and it wasn’t until book 5 in January that I suddenly REALLY caught the bug for this series and then ended up reading the whole series a second time and now am listening to the audio version. I’m all in and eagerly waiting for the next book in 2026!
Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard
This was an Everyday Reading Book Club pick for 2025 and I LOVED this one (I hadn’t read it or any of this author’s writing before I picked it!). I knew very little about James A. Garfield and now – nearly 2 centuries after his death – I’m devastated that he died. I think about this book ALL the time!
The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau by Kristin Harmel
I’m giving you a heads up right now that this will be on next year’s Summer Reading Guide. This historical fiction book is set in the present and WWII and I loved seeing all the pieces come together. I was GRIPPED.
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
I couldn’t get into The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes at all (I actually returned it on Audible which I almost never do), so I had low expectations for this one. Then this one sucked me right in – the audio was terrific – and reminded me of the feelings I had reading The Hunger Games for the first time.
The Beast of Ten by Beth Brower
After I read Emma M Lion for a second time, I branched out into some of her other books and I was absolutely blown away by this retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It felt so new and unique and I was completely absorbed by the world she created. She is in an incredible writer.
The Favorites by Layne Fargo
This was one of the first books I read this year and I loved it so much. It is set in the world of competitive ice dance and is a spin on Wuthering Heights. Is it great literature? Nah. Is it really really engaging? Absolutely. The audio is full cast and I loved every second of it.
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
We listened to the full-cast production of this audiobook in Costa Rica this year as a family and everyone – from my husband to my 8 year old – loved it. So clever and funny and creative. Definitely a family listening win.
Blood in the Water by Tiffany D. Jackson
This middle grade murder mystery had rave reviews and I was in almost immediately. It was a quick read with a twist I did not see coming!
Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell
I love Rainbow Rowell and when I found out she had a new book coming out, I was THRILLED. I absolutely devoured this one. She makes me ugly cry in every book and this one was no exception. As soon as I finished it, I went back and re-read almost the whole thing. (Heads up that this one has some steamy scenes – more so than her other books!).
Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
I read and loved his book Four Thousand Weeks (it showed up in my top books of 2022) and so this book was an immediate “yes” for me. I read a chapter or two a day and it was just a perfect little book for me to think about how I use my time and energy.
And here are the books my team loved most!
Analese
The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni
This audiobook had me sucked in from chapter one and I made any excuse I could to listen to it. Sam Hill was an ordinary boy, except he wasn’t. Born with red pupils, Sam was an easy target at his Catholic school where he quickly gained the nickname “Devil Boy” and soon enough “Sam Hell.” You follow his journey from boyhood to adulthood, navigating his normal coming of age challenges and other trials he faces with ocular albinism, and managing his mother who is a devout Catholic. This one made me laugh and cry and I didn’t want it to end.
The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
I would put this in the historical fiction and coming of age genre, both of which I really love. Beginning in the 1950s in Tehran, seven-year old Ellie is used to living a very comfy lifestyle until the death of her father. She and her mother are forced to move to the poor part of town where she meets a brand new friend, Homa. They are inseparable, much to her mother’s dismay. When her mother finds a way back into a more luxurious lifestyle, she jumps at it and moves Ellie again, leaving Ellie distraught about her friendship with Homa. Years later, Homa’s reappearance at Ellie’s school, changes everything. With the country of Iran in turmoil, the two best friends choose different paths, leading to two very different futures.
Jennifer
The Let Them Theory by Mel Robins
I listened to this entire audiobook in two days, and then thought about it quite a bit for the next several days. I had listened to a few Mel Robbins podcast episodes which was what initially turned me on to her book. I thought this book did a fantastic job of breaking down all types of adult relationships and how to improve them. It does a really great job of helping you identify the things in your life you can change and let go of the things you can’t. It’s a perfect January read to get your year off to a great start. The audiobook is especially fun as it is read by the author and is a special audiobook format with fun personal touches.
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower
I know you have all heard these books recommended on repeat from Janssen but I just have to include them as my personal recommendation too. These books made me enjoy reading in a way that I haven’t in a long time. Beth Brower’s writing is delightful and witty in a way that feels lost in other literature. I finished all eight books this year, but it got even more fun when my husband read them and we got to discuss the character eccentricities and predict plot twists.
Kelsey
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
I know I’m a little late to this one, but it’s one of the books I read this year that I keep thinking about again and again. Set during the Great Depression, it follows Elsa as drought and dust devastate her farm and force her to choose between the chance at a better life and the people she loves. So emotional and incredibly moving.
The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline
I think it’s safe to say I love historical fiction that sparks my curiosity and sends me down a research rabbit hole, and this one absolutely did that. Before reading it, I knew very little about Australia’s origins beyond its penal colony history, but this early 19th-century novel completely sucked me in. It follows three women through a brutal ocean voyage and the harsh realities of life on the edge of the British Empire. This one is a powerful story of survival, injustice, and unlikely alliances.
And if you’d like a printable copy of this list that you can take to your library or screenshot on your phone for easy access, just pop in your email address below and it’ll come right to your inbox!
Unpopular opinion, but I don’t think books that have not yet been published (Cherry Baby) should be on a Best Reads of 2025 list.
You’re welcome to that opinion! And the boundaries of this list are “the best books I read in 2025” so in my mind it belongs on this list because I read it this year.
If this list was a “Best Books Released in 2025,” I’d be in total agreement with you!
I agree with you, Jennifer! Especially since Cherry Baby is unavailable to the rest of us for four more months! However, happy to see Beth Brower’s fabulous books so highly recommended. She is a gifted author and her writing feels like such a treasure! And her books are all available to the general public!
The good news is that now you’ll be first in line for Cherry Baby when it releases because you’ll already know about it. Get those library holds in early!
Good books you have selected. Thanq very much 💐🌹🙏🙏🙏