🤩Best Reads of 2025📖

Hello everyone and welcome to our final post of the 2025 Reader Wrap up! This is the one we’ve been most excited to share. These are the books that inspired us to keep chasing that next great read all year long. These are the stories that moved us to tears, kept us on the edge of our seats, and reminded us exactly why reading is our greatest passion. Without further ado, let’s get into the best of the best!

Danni’s Best Books of 2025

#5. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros. Rating: 5 ⭐I remember release day like it was yesterday. The hype surrounding the third installment of The Empyrean series was enough to intrigue anyone, and as someone already devoted to Violet and Xaden, I had high expectations, but this book absolutely shattered them. It was packed with relentless action and world building that kept me on my toes for the entire ride. Since it’s the third book in a continuing series, I really appreciated that there was never a slow moment. The growing complexity of the characters is what really kept me coming back and ultimately landed this on my top list.

#4. The Book of Azrael by Amber Nicole. Rating: 5 ⭐The world building here is just phenomenal. Amber Nicole crafted a universe so unique that I felt like I was discovering the genre for the first time. Beyond the setting, I was constantly dying of laughter at the banter between the FMC and MMC. Nicole has a gift for creating depth; I wasn't just attached to the main duo, but to the secondary characters as well. Plus, it’s enemies to lovers and if that isn’t an instant chart topper for me, I don’t know what is!

#3. Phantasm by Kaylie Smith. Rating: 5 ⭐I adored this book! Finally, a story to represent my little gothic heart. While it’s technically the start of a series, it is designed to work as a standalone read, which was such a relief for me. I definitely suffer from long series fatigue, so diving into a self contained story with a fully realized plot and well developed characters was incredibly refreshing. I loved the dark atmosphere and the high stakes tension. It’s an excellent blend of romance, horror, fantasy, and mystery.

#2. Quicksilver by Callie Hart. Rating: 6 ⭐O.M.G. KINGFISHER!!! This book is everything to me; I will die on this hill. It is the gold standard for the romantasy genre, and has the perfect balance between intense world building and character depth. I cannot explain how much I LOVED this novel. Hart delivered all the yearning, longing, and lust I crave. Aside from my undying love for our morally grey shadow daddy, the magic system also felt like a fresh, clever twist on current popular tropes within the genre. The chemistry between the leads is electric from their very first interaction and grows so realistically. This very nearly took my #1 spot for 2025!

#1. Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. Rating: 6 ⭐Suzanne Collins has an unparalleled knack for tackling modern issues in a way that is both accessible and profound. Her ability to expand this world across decades while reflecting real world conflict is masterful. I have thought about this book every single day since I finished it. It slots into the established timeline of The Hunger Games series so perfectly that it feels like it was the plan all along. The setting feels like the perfect bridge futuristic compared to The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, but vintage compared to the original trilogy. Seeing how the Capitol broke Haymitch Abernathy was gritty and heartbreaking. Even though we know how these Games end, I still found myself desperately hoping the tributes would find a way out. It’s an emotional rollercoaster, and I felt every single thing Collins intended.

Bear’s Best Books of 2025

#5. The Tithenai Chronicles by Foz Meadows. Rating: 5 ⭐This is easily my favorite duology of all time. Meadows masterfully builds two distinct, fleshed out cultures through the eyes of Velasin and Caethari, who have officially become one of my favorite book couples. I just want more of my amazing boys! The character growth is tied so naturally to the world building, and I loved the diversity of the cast, right down to the background characters. These books offer poignant social commentary wrapped in an exciting magical world. Absolute excellence.

#4. Drive Me Crazy by Carly Robyn. Rating: 6 ⭐This was hands down my favorite contemporary romance of the year. I was wheezing with laughter; the FMC is just effortlessly funny. But it wasn't all jokes. There was some really great anxiety representation threaded throughout the story. I also fell in love with the side characters and can’t wait to dive into their books in this interconnected trilogy. A fantastic indie find!

#3. The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong. Rating: 6 ⭐What a fantastic debut! It is a rare feat to make a traveling adventure feel cozy while maintaining an epic magic system and a hilarious found family, but Julie Leong pulled it off. The fantasy landscape is detailed and beautiful, but the real joy was meeting the diverse cast of characters. I felt like I knew them deeply after just a few scenes, thanks in large part to the clever use of fortune telling as a narrative device. This was only the second book I read in 2025, and it stayed in my Top 3 all year long.

#2. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. Rating: 6 ⭐This book has such a brilliant concept, but I can’t say much—it’s one of those stories where you should go in as blind as possible. It’s told through journal entries, so you learn the secrets of the world exactly when the main character does. The atmosphere is so immersive you’ll feel like you’re standing in the Halls yourself. I would recommend Piranesi to just about any reader.

#1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Rating: 6 ⭐I’m a sucker for a circus setting, and this is the most unique one I’ve ever experienced. I say experienced because Morgenstern’s descriptions of sight, touch, smell, and sound are so vivid I felt like I was actually there. The atmosphere does the heavy lifting here, making the book feel less like a story and more like a dream. Finishing it felt like returning from an exotic vacation back to my real life. With a beautiful slow burn romance and a plot masterfully sprinkled with clues, it’s a one of a kind read. My top pick for 2025!

These were the books we couldn't shut up about this year. We’ve definitely annoyed our friends and families by gushing about them! 2026 has some big shoes to fill, but we’re already on the hunt for our next favorite reads. Happy Reading!

Worst Reads of 2025👎

Welcome back to another post on our reader wrap-up journey for 2025! This time, we are screaming about the worst books we each read this year. Now, this list doesn’t necessarily mean they were bad books (even though some of them definitely are), but rather that they were pieces of literature we just didn’t vibe with. This list is purely formulated by our own opinions so if you read any of these books and enjoyed them, then that’s great! I wish that could have been me. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Danni’s Worst Books of 2025

#5. Avalon Tower by C.N. Crawford and Alex Rivers. Rating: 2.5⭐Okay, I kind of feel bad saying this is in my bottom five, but honestly, I just didn’t vibe with the story. The concept was interesting, but it felt like four different ideas were slapped together and called done. I was underwhelmed by the stakes, the character depth was missing, and the execution left a lot to be desired. There is no character development, and I just couldn't connect with their voices. The amount of time-jumping is also confusing and takes away from the plot, especially since there are no reflective moments of growth. The story itself isn’t terrible, but it’s lacking in so many other departments that I can’t contemplate ever reading it again.

#4. Broken Flames by MK Ahearn. Rating: 2.5 ⭐ This one was just a disappointment. Once I saw it was a Zutara rewrite, I really thought it was going to give me the ship that absolutely should have set sail. How wrong I was. This book was just lackluster; honestly, I forgot parts of the plot while trying to write this up. The characters felt flat, the plot was mediocre, and I didn’t feel any chemistry between the FMC and MMC. The pacing was a constant mix of sprinting and slamming on the brakes, and the dialogue just felt awkward. It was average at best. I finished it, but I wasn't driven by a desire to know what happened next. It was completely ordinary.

#3. The Female by Invi Wright. Rating: 2 ⭐ What in the Wattpad story was this? Oh no! Females are so rare! I guess we’ll have to capture them and auction them off because... patriarchy?! The absolute lack of rights for women is atrocious (though a common theme in literature); what isn't a good theme is an FMC who is pretty much into having no autonomy. This book was almost exclusively relationship-building with very little action. Despite that focus, the characters still lacked dimension. They fall flat and the dynamics are uninteresting. All in all, this feels like it was written to be a purely self-indulgent why choose with lots of nonsensical spice.

#2. Fairydale by Veronica Lancet. Rating: 1.5 ⭐ I read this book cover to cover, and I still have no clue what the hell was going on. This has to be one of the most confusing pieces of literature I have ever read. It started with a decent build-up and some good mystery elements, but it quickly tanked. Between the back and forth perspectives, past lives, and soulmate mess, I couldn't keep up. Also, I actually just hate the MMC? He just sucks, and not in a good way. If I could go back in time to my own previous life, I would stop myself from reading this just to maintain the sanity I lost trying to keep the sheer amount of disorder straight. Also, why were there so many scenes written purely for shock value? They contributed nothing and were clearly just there to force a "dark romance" label.

#1. Kiss of the Basilisk by Lindsay Straube Rating: 1.5 ⭐ The only reason this book has an extra half-star is that the concept was somewhat original. Regardless, I hated every second of my life that I spent reading this thing. This was a pick from Bear for the Sizzle Shelf, and even she gave up and DNF’ed it. I, on the other hand, pursued this to the bitter end, and I despised it. The whole time I felt uncomfortable with the character dynamics. The spice level is high, but it wasn’t even written well. In my opinion, there was zero character development, and the tropes of forbidden romance, mean girls, and the battle for the prince’s favor were weak at best. Also, why did we have to bring daddy dearest into this? We could have gone the entire book without spicy scenes involving the main love interest's father and been perfectly fine. I’m unsure why this has such a high rating, but I suppose it’s someone's cup of tea.

Bear’s Worst Books of 2025

While I had a very good reading year overall, I did have some stinkers. Don’t worry, I will also be sharing my very best books of the year soon, but for now, let’s go over my worst reads of 2025.

#5. Fear the Flames by Olivia Rose Darling Rating: 2.5 ⭐ While this is on my lowest of the year list, I didn’t hate it! I actually really enjoyed the concept of breaking dragons out of another kingdom, and I liked some of the characters, especially Finnian and Ryder. My biggest issues were the plotting and a lack of detail. The story either took far too long to progress an unimportant scene or rushed through the most interesting parts. Also, while I loved the chemistry between two of the characters, their relationship arc felt like it skipped the first chunk of them getting to know each other which is a huge issue considering they hadn't interacted before the book began. My main gripe, however, was that I’d be reading and suddenly hit a plot point that made me think I'd missed a key piece of info. I would turn back to check, only to realize that information was never given. It yanked me out of the story every time.

#4. The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore Rating: 2 ⭐ This one was all vibes, no plot, and featured two fully grown adults acting like fifteen year olds. My god, I could not STAND Jeanie for the majority of this book! Logan at least seemed to care about his friends, but he was so hung up on a past love that he kept pushing Jeanie away like a moody teenager. The third act breakup was the epitome of stupid miscommunication, and the main mystery was so ridiculous it felt like a telenovela. It was a short, "vibe" read, and I wouldn't recommend going into it expecting anything more.

#3. Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines Rating: 2 ⭐ Now, this one had an amazing concept! Hines is a very good writer with prose that is neither too bare nor too embellished. The idea is that there is a community of magical people who can pull anything out of fictional books. I loved this, and the first chunk of the book was fabulous. Then, you find out that a main female character can only exist if she belongs, sexually, to another person. Her "owner’s" sexual desires actually change who she is as a person! And the main male character basically goes along with it! Needless to say, this aspect totally ruined the book for me.

#2. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas Rating: 1.5 ⭐ This is easily my most unpopular opinion of the year. It actually took me 2.5 years to finish this one because I would get a third of the way in and get so bored that I’d put it down. The middle chunk simply didn't have anything interesting happening. This year, I was determined to make it through because I own all five books and absolutely adored the Throne of Glass series. Thankfully, the last 20% was actually pretty interesting, but my goodness was it a slog to get there! (Don’t worry, I’m still going to finish the series.)

#1. Get In My Swamp by G.M. Fairy Rating: 1 ⭐ I am so sad that I didn’t enjoy this one! I chose this novella for the Sizzle Shelf and was so excited about the concept, but I HATED IT! I love Shrek, and I thought the idea of a spicy Shrek story sounded fun, but boy was I wrong. This was extremely poorly written, Donkey’s character was a sexual predator, and I got tired of the term “pornstar lips” very quickly. Overall, definitely would NOT recommend.

All of these books definitely had us questioning our choices of hobbies after reading them. Here is hoping that our picks for 2026 turn out to be much better than some of these hot messes. Happy Reading!

🌠2026 Reading Resolutions🌠

2025 was a very successful year for reading. So many different worlds were explored, emotions were felt, and feet were kicked after the main character finally kissed their love interest after 300 freaking pages! We love a good slow burn.

Moving forward into 2026 means creating goals and fun challenges for ourselves to look forward to. This year, both Bear and I are creating personal reading resolutions, as well as a reading resolution for the book club. Without further ado, let’s look at our stats for 2025 and our reading resolutions for 2026.

Danni’s Stats

I didn’t personally keep track of my reading stats because I didn’t think it would be something I’d be interested in. (I was wrong and I regret that!) But that will change starting this year. I figure I probably read about 44 books, which I don’t think is too terrible, but I’m really going to have to work to pump those numbers up for 2026 (especially once you see Bear’s stats).

I want to start utilizing some of the book-tracking apps out there so that I have a fully developed idea of what my reading data for 2026 looks like. I know some of my friends use Goodreads, Fable, and StoryGraph to manage their history, so I think that is going to be a huge component of my resolution. Another goal is to keep updating this blog! I’ve never felt that I’m a very strong writer, but I am interested in exploring my voice and sharing my love for reading. I plan to work on expanding my ability to customize this blog, as well as ensure content is consistently being published.

The last part of my 2026 resolution is to read 50 books! I know for some avid readers this doesn’t seem like a lot (BEAR!), but as someone who is rediscovering their love of reading post-university, this is going to be a huge undertaking for myself. I do truly think I can stay committed this year, especially with a blog to keep myself accountable.

Bear’s Thoughts

This has been a great reading year for me! I, like Danni, had not been reading very much after university, but this was the year I picked back up my love of books. I started the year with the same goal as my mother (to read 50 books) since I wasn’t quite sure what my capabilities would be. I achieved that goal in May and bumped it to 75, then 100, and finally to 120! I finished book 120 on December 18th, so I’ve officially reached my goal for the year.

My busiest reading month was August, in which I read 20 books; by far my least was November, when I only read three books the whole month (I was in the midst of an absolutely brutal reading slump). According to Fable, my tracker of choice, here is how my year broke down:

• Romance- 65 books

• Fantasy- 55 books

• Sci-fi- 28 books

• Thrillers- 20 books

• Historical Fiction- 12 books

My top-read authors were Ruby Dixon (at a whopping 14 books!), Lisa Kleypas (6), Matt Dinniman (5), and H.D. Carlton and Martha Wells (4 each). My ratings were all over the place, ranging from a single 1-star read all the way up to four 6-star reads!

I also have a few goals for 2026. First, I have set my "books read" goal to 75. I want to give myself permission to take more time with my books should I choose, and 75 seems like a good middle ground. I also want to read at least one classic per month, as I own a large quantity of classics but tend not to read them often. Additionally, I have a list of "26 books to read in 2026" that I really want to finish.

Finally—and likely most importantly—I am going on a book-buying ban. I currently have 241 unread physical copies in my TBR pile, which is absolutely bananas! For the first three months of the year, I won't buy any books. After that, I’ll limit myself to one book a month, to be used exclusively for series I already partially own. I am hoping to significantly reduce my physical TBR this year!

I hope you all have an amazing reading year and reach all of your own goals!

Love, 

Bear XOXO

Both Bear and myself talked extensively on what we wanted our reading journey to look like in 2026 and this helped us to carefully craft our resolutions to be fun, challenging, and realistically obtainable. 2026 is going to be a wild ride as we begin to dive head-first into our catalogue of books and we hope that you’ll enjoy being right there beside us. Happy Reading!