It’s hard to believe that the year is almost over! I haven’t been reading as much this month, but I still managed to complete 87 books this year, even better than last year! Here’s some of my favorite reads from 2025. Have a Happy New Year!
danimae1981
A-Z Challenge 2025
I managed to complete the A-Z reading challenge for the 2nd year in a row! Some of these letters are hard to find books for, but sometimes it’s an interesting way to discover a new book. A couple of these turned out to not be quite for me, but I enjoyed doing the challenge, plus found some new favorites!
- A: Any Trope But You – Victoria Lavine
- B: Book Lovers – Emily Henry
- C: Come As You Are – Dahlia Adler
- D: Daedalus – K.R. Gadeken
- E: The Encanto’s Curse – Melissa de la Cruz
- F: The Floating World – Axie Oh
- G: The Grandest Game – Jennifer Lynn Barnes
- H: His Mortal Demise – Vanessa Le
- I: The Incredible Kindness of Paper – Evelyn Skye
- J: Julia Song is Undateable – Susan Lee
- K: The Kiss Bet – Farrah Penn
- L: The Love Haters – Katherine Center
- M: Meet Me at Blue Hour – Sarah Suk
- N: Not Safe for Work – Nisha J. Tuli
- O: Out of Air – Rachel Reiss
- P: Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir
- Q: A Quiet Kind of Thunder – Sara Barnard
- R: Roll for Romance – Lenora Woods
- S: Sunrise on the Reaping – Suzanne Collins
- T: Time Loops & Meet Cutes – Jackie Lau
- U: Ugly Love – Colleen Hoover
- V: Verse Book Three: The Song – Sam Beck
- W: When You Bake With the Enemy – Lia Huni
- X: Xolo – Donna Barba Higuera
- Y: Yours Truly – Abby Jimenez
- Z: Zomromcom – Olivia Dade
*Note: some books were received as a free review copy*
The Swan’s Daughter
A Possibly Doomed Love Story
by Roshani Chokshi
coming January 6, 2026
(3 / 5)
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for the free review copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are completely my own.
I’m sure this book has its audience, but honestly it wasn’t my cup of tea. It felt slow and took a long time to get to the part of the plot I was expecting. I did enjoy the world building and descriptive nature, and at first it had me feeling like I was reading a fairy tale. As I read more, though, I started to lose interest, and then I never really recovered from that. The author’s style felt verbose to me, and I think sometimes I got lost in the words and missed what they were actually trying to say. The romance in the book wasn’t really what I was expecting or hoping for either. In the end, the book had its moments that I enjoyed, but it wasn’t really for me.
The Kiss Bet
by Farrah Penn
Based on the graphic novel by Ingrid Ochoa
coming February 3, 2026
(4 / 5)
Thank you to Wattpad Books and NetGalley for the free review copy of this book! All opinions are completely my own.
I’ve read The Kiss Bet on WEBTOON, so it was really fun to read this novel based on the comic. It actually follows the comic pretty closely and had a very similar feel.
The book was a quick and easy read that I overall enjoyed. There’s a lot of high school drama so it might not be the right fit for readers looking for something more mature, but I think teens and fans of the web comic will enjoy it. At times Sara, the FMC, felt annoyingly impulsive and irresponsible, but I also couldn’t help but root for her. Most of the characters felt similar to their comic versions, though I think I liked Patrick more in this version, maybe because I was able to understand his viewpoint better.
This novel covers season one of the comic, so it does end on a cliffhanger. Hopefully there will be more novels to continue the story!
An Academic Affair
by Jodi McAlister
(4 / 5)
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the free review copy of An Academic Affair! All opinions are completely my own.
An Academic Affair brings us to Australia, where we follow academics Jonah and Sadie. The two have been rivals for years, but a potential job opportunity leaves them considering the ultimate truce.
I enjoyed reading this book and found it very easy to read, making it hard to put down. Our main characters, Jonah and Sadie, both have some complex challenges in their personal lives that they are dealing with in addition to difficulty in finding full-time academic work. I thought both were relatable and I especially liked their dynamic together. While they have been fighting each other for years, I liked that they still seemed to respect each other. It was nice to see how much their ability to communicate and work together improved. While this book is primarily a love story, it also takes a hard look at academic careers and how difficult the industry can be. It was eye opening, and I was pretty shocked at how toxic the workplace was for our characters. Unfortunately I couldn’t really appreciate the numerous literature references throughout the book, but it didn’t really take away from the story for me. I think I would’ve like to see a bit more of the story before it ended, but maybe I just wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet. That said, I feel like maybe this book will be the start of the series, since I picked up on some possible connections between side characters that I’d love to see more of.
Never Seen the Stars
by Kate Korsh
(4 / 5)
Many thanks to Scholastic Press and NetGalley for the free review copy of this book! All opinions are completely my own.
I went into this book knowing it was going to pull at the heartstrings. How could it not when our main character, Hattie, has just lost her friend in a drowning accident and she’s struggling with the fact that she will eventually go blind, just like her dad. The first chapter starts with a funeral and feels very somber, though the mood does pick up as the book continues. The main characters took some warming up to… Hattie was pretty angsty and Mason struck me as a bit obnoxious, but then it also felt realistic for teenagers and gave room for the characters to grow. I was happy to see how much Hattie improved communicating with others and facing her grief. The book focused heavily on different kinds relationships between both peers and adults/teens, and I thought it was done in a positive way. I liked the representation of vision impairment and how people might react to going blind. When I found out that the author has retinitis pigmentosa herself, it made that part of the story feel even more authentic.
Love 4 a Walk, Vol. 1
by Nuria Sanguino
coming November 4, 2025
(5 / 5)
Thank you to WEBTOON Unscrolled and NetGalley for the free review copy of this graphic novel! All opinions are completely my own.
I’ve actually read this comic on WEBTOON a couple times, so it’s nice to see it in a graphic novel format! I really like the art style, and I can’t help but love the characters, Pam and Tyler. They are both dog owners and you can just feel their love for dogs. It’s cute to see the dogs’ antics and how they bring Tyler and Pam together. There’s a grumpy/sunshine dynamic, and while it’s a romance, it’s very slow burn. This volume ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but it definitely leaves me wanting to continue reading.
The House Saphir
by Marissa Meyer
coming November 4, 2025
(4 / 5)
Thank to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends, and NetGalley for the free review copy of The House Saphir! All opinions are completely my own.
This book is a retelling of Bluebeard, which I honestly wasn’t at all familiar with. You don’t need any background knowledge to enjoy the story. From reading summaries I can definitely see the roots of this story, but it’s different enough that already being familiar with Bluebeard shouldn’t spoil anything.
I enjoyed this book and thought it did a good job giving a spooky and mysterious feel. Sometimes the first half felt a little slow, but it was fun to see how all the pieces started to fit together as we got farther into the story. I was making a bunch of my own theories along the way, some of which I got right. Other times I was caught completely off guard. The action really picked up toward the end, which kept me invested in the story and unable to put it down. I was happy with the way things progressed through the story and how it ended. I’m reminded why I enjoy this author’s work so much!
Torchfire
The Torch Trilogy #2
by Moira Buffini
coming October 28, 2025
(4.5 / 5)
Thank you to HarperCollins Children’s Books, Storytide, and NetGalley for the free review copy of Torchfire! All opinions in my review are completely my own.
Torchfire continues the story from Songlight and is the 2nd book in a trilogy, so you’ll definitely want to read the first book before this one. I really enjoyed this book! It packs in the drama and felt very immersive. Sometimes things moved in unexpected directions or caught me by surprise. I was very invested in the story. We’re following six different points of view, which sounds like a lot but actually works really well. It’s interesting to view this world from different angles and see how it all intertwines. Sometimes it’s a while before we come back to a character, but I think it allows us to see what’s going on without feeling redundant or drawn out. The character relationships are complicated, and I like seeing how different characters react to their circumstances even if their choices are frustrating at times. This story is very much not over, leaving us at some cliffhangers when the book ends. I’ll be watching for the next book, because I can’t wait to see what happens next!
Songlight
The Torch Trilogy #1
by Moira Buffini
(5 / 5)
Songlight tells the story of a futuristic dystopia in a post-apocalyptic world where society as we know it today has collapsed. It reminded me a lot of The Handmaid’s Tale but still felt different, especially with multiple characters having songlight, which is essentially a type of telepathy.
I really enjoyed this book and could not put it down. The characters were in such desperate situations that I could really feel. There’s a lot of characters, including 5 different protagonists, but I was able to keep things straight well enough. I especially enjoyed seeing how our different protagonists’ stories were intertwined yet gave us very different perspectives on this world. The story really packs in the drama too. I can’t wait to read the next book!
