My Favorite Reads of 2025

It is—allegedly—a new year already, and you know what that means: fresh sacrifices to Cthulu . . . errrr . . . I mean, looking back on the previous year’s reads! Which may or may not include eldritch horrors.

My goal last year was 100 books, and I blew it out of the water with 116 books . . . but they weren’t all winners. I suffered so I could bring you the cream of the crop: the best reads of 2025!

Obviously, these are my favorite reads, and your mileage may vary. You are completely entitled to have an opinion . . . even if it’s wrong. 😉 I read a lot of books that I really enjoyed in the past year, so narrowing it down to ten (okay, eleven . . . I totally cheated, but I feel like you should expect that by now) was a bit of a challenge.

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is my favorite reads of 2025, complete with reasons why you definitely should add them to your TBR if you haven’t already! Because it’s a new year, all those books you added to your TBR before don’t count and you get a fresh do-over.

I’m pretty sure that’s how that works, anyway. At least, that’s what I’m going with. Last year’s TBR can’t hold this year’s Sammie responsible for all the mistakes last year Sammie made.

So without further ado, in absolutely no specific order whatsoever, are my favorite reads from last year and why I loved them. Your TBR will thank you later. Probably. Assuming this isn’t the year our TBRs rise up and overthrow us. But, y’know, that’s a risk you take. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Colin Gets Promoted and Dooms the World

WARNING! Under no circumstances must employees strike a deal with unauthorized personnel on Dark Enterprises property. Such behavior could result in death…or the end of the world.

Colin is a low-level employee at Dark Enterprises, a Hell-like multinational corporation solving the world’s most difficult problems in deeply questionable ways. After years of toiling away in a cubicle, he’s ready to climb the corporate ladder and claim the power he’s never had.

The only problem is, he’s pretty sure he’s about to be terminated. Like, terminated. That’s tough, because his BFF has just set him up with a great guy. In fact, maybe he’s a little too great. And asks a lot of questions…

When Colin meets a shadowy figure promising him his heart’s deepest desire, he can’t resist the urge to fast-track his goals. In return for a small, unspecified favor, he asks for the one thing that will improve his life: a promotion.

But that small favor unleashes an ancient evil. People in New York are disappearing, the world might be ending, and Management is starting to notice. Getting to the top is never easy, and now it’s up to Colin to save the world. It’s the ultimate power move, after all.

Why I Loved It:

• Colin is every bit the corporate schmuck the rest of us are.
• He’s totally over his head but just trying to do his best to climb the corporate ladder.
• Who hasn’t unintentionally (or intentionally) traumatized their coworkers with the Abyss? Pffft.
• Lots of dry, tongue-in-cheek humor.
• Bad things happen. Mostly to bad people. Which is hilarious.
• It happens in NYC, so . . . honestly, I’m surprised anyone notices things are awry.
• Adorable queer romance with a cinnamon roll.

A Quote I Love:

Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things

We live in a world that’s obsessed with talent. We celebrate gifted students in school, natural athletes in sports, and child prodigies in music. But admiring people who start out with innate advantages leads us to overlook the distances we ourselves can travel. We can all improve at improving. And when opportunity doesn’t knock, there are ways to build a door.

Hidden Potential offers a new framework for raising aspirations and exceeding expectations. Adam Grant weaves together groundbreaking evidence, surprising insights, and vivid story­telling that takes us from the classroom to the boardroom, the playground to the Olympics, and underground to outer space. He shows that progress depends less on how hard you work than how well you learn. Growth is not about the genius you possess – it’s about the character you develop. Grant explores how to build the charac­ter skills and motivational structures to realize our own potential, and how to design systems that create opportunities for those who have been underrated and overlooked.

This book reveals how anyone can rise to achieve greater things. The true measure of your potential is not the height of the peak you’ve reached, but how far you’ve climbed to get there.

Why I Loved It:

• Adam Grant has an amazing perspective of how to look at things and re-examine assumptions
• Great for perspective-building advice
• Useful advice that’s especially good for neurodivergent readers!
• Motivational and inspiring way to start the new year.
• Proactive advice to become not just a leader but a mentor
• Start the year right by improving the most valuable asset you own . . . YOU!
• Make 2026 your year by making it your bish. 😉

A Quote I Love:

Where Nightmares Live

In MrBallen Where Nightmares Live, John Allen, known popularly as “MrBallen,” is back with another heart-stopping collection of strange and mysterious stories exploring terrors that lie just beyond our comprehension. From skin-melting encounters in Brazil to a bus full of malevolent ghosts in Taipei, to a bell ringing deep in the Arizona wilderness, MrBallen’s spine-chilling tales—four of which are exclusive to this graphic novel—span multiple centuries and expose bizarre, terrifying, and utterly unforgettable experiences of the unnatural world.

Compellingly creepy, deeply researched, and based on unsettling real events, MrBallen Where Nightmares Live proves that sometimes our deepest fears are about the things we cannot see. In collaboration with New York Times bestselling graphic novelist Robert Venditti and acclaimed comic book artist Andrea Mutti, this is Allen’s most frightening collection yet.

Welcome. Your nightmares are waiting.

Why I Loved It:

• MrBallen is a fantastic storyteller, which also translates well to graphic novels!
• If you have trouble visualizing stories, this really brings the stories to life!
• Bite-sized, easily consumable stories that are interesting and mysterious.
• Also, based on real life.
• Well done, visually appealing graphics.
• All the charm of his YouTube channel, but in book format.

The Entanglement of Rival Wizards

Sebastian Walsh: twenty-four. Grad student at Lesiara University in the Mageus of Evocation program. Human. The first of his family to go to college rather than the military (and it goes over at family get-togethers about as well as you’d think).

Elethior Tourael: also twenty-four. Also a grad student, but in the far more inferior Mageus of Conjuration program. Half-elf. The latest in a long line of Touraels to grace the hallowed halls of Lesiara U (what would the world do if the Touraels ran out of rich douches to lead their magical weapons manufacturing empire?).

―and the other finalist for the Mageus Research Grant.

Sebastian needs that grant to fund the last few months of research for his degree, after which he’ll get a job that actually helps people. He isn’t about to let anyone snatch this from him, least of all a snob who doesn’t even need the money because his family is loaded thanks to war profiteering.

But there’s something worse than having a conceited academic nemesis steal grant money from you: you could be forced to work with him. Thio is secretive, broody, and his stunning biceps take up far too much shared lab space―but even as volatile as their partnership is, Sebastian just might find himself falling for his rival―and it could blow up his whole future.

Why I Loved It:

• Super cute queer enemies-to-lovers.
• Academic magic! Now with 100% of all the stress of higher learning.
• Very healthy and supportive—and slightly codependent—male friendships.
• Mental health and CPTSD rep.
• Lots of delicious banter and sarcasm.
• Magic, but make it nerdy, sarcastic, and slightly sexy.

A Quote I Love:

Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping [On a Dead Man]

Ever since a man was found dead in Vera’s teahouse, life has been good. For Vera that is. She’s surrounded by loved ones, her shop is bustling, and best of all, her son, Tilly, has a girlfriend! All thanks to Vera, because Tilly’s girlfriend is none other than Officer Selena Gray. The very same Officer Gray that she had harassed while investigating the teahouse murder. Still, Vera wishes more dead bodies would pop up in her shop, but one mustn’t be ungrateful, even if one is slightly…bored.

Then Vera comes across a distressed young woman who is obviously in need of her kindly guidance. The young woman is looking for a missing friend. Fortunately, while cat-sitting at Tilly and Selena’s, Vera finds a treasure Selena’s briefcase. Inside is a file about the death of an enigmatic influencer—who also happens to be the friend that the young woman was looking for.

Online, Xander had it a parade of private jets, fabulous parties with socialites, and a burgeoning career as a social media influencer. The only problem is, after his body is fished out of Mission Bay, the police can’t seem to actually identify him. Who is Xander Lin? Nobody knows. Every contact is a dead end. Everybody claims not to know him, not even his parents.

Vera is determined to solve Xander’s murder. After all, doing so would surely be a big favor to Selena, and there is nothing she wouldn’t do for her future daughter-in-law.

Why I Loved It:

• Vera is absolutely a national treasure, and I refuse to hear anything to the contrary.
• Our lovable cast of characters is back supporting each other.
• Vera’s schemes are obviously over-the-top, but who’s going to tell her that? (Sure as heck isn’t gonna be me. She’s small but scary.)
• Lots of banter and humor, but also heart and feelings.
• The stakes are much higher than the first, and the personal growth is tangible.
• I want Vera to adopt me, too, please.

A Quote I Love:

My Friends

Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.

Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art.

Why I Loved It:

• Fredrik Backman is a literary genius, and I refuse to accept any other opinion, k thx.
• I laughed. Then I cried. Then I questioned all my life decisions.
• A testament to the power seemingly insignificant moments can have on the trajectory of our lives . . . and others.
• The power of friendship! Especially when it comes to surviving traumatic childhoods.
• Focuses a lot on growth, healing, and overcoming trauma in a really beautiful way.

A Quote I Love:

Tell Me Something Good

This is a story of the rich and the very poor. This is a story of an illegal auction with dire consequences. This is a story of murders past and present. This is a story of intertwined relationships and the silent ripples they leave behind, where love becomes a guiding force, revealing the lengths one will go to protect those they cherish.

Over twenty years ago, a young hunting guide in rural Kentucky was driving his boat in the early morning mist when his peaceful cruise was cut short by a scene so disturbing, he packed up and moved away. Nine women died early that morning, but it was linked to a similar crime in Texas, so the locals quickly wrote it off as having nothing to do with them.

Now, all these years later, when everyone has nearly forgotten about that grisly part of their past, one man’s accidental death will bring everything back up to the surface. The locals who knew better can no longer claim it had nothing to do with them, and one woman, desperate to do whatever it takes to save her mother’s life, will learn that nearly everyone in her life has been lying to her.

Why I Loved It:

• A plot full of twisty, turny goodness that keeps you guessing along the way.
• Strong, badass women who refuse to take shit from anyone (and certainly not men).
• Lots of trauma and healing.
• Positive female bonds and relationships!
• Adorable second chance romance.
• A mystery decades in the making that will have you turning pages quickly.

A Quote I Love:

Dungeon Crawler Carl

You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what’s worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That’s what.

Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world—or just get to the next level—in a video game–like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon. A dungeon that’s actually the set of a reality television show with countless viewers across the galaxy. Exploding goblins. Magical potions. Deadly, drug-dealing llamas. This ain’t your ordinary game show.

Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the Dungeon. Survival is optional. Keeping the viewers entertained is not.

Why I Loved It:

• Hilarious dungeon crawler that is packed with adventure, action, and humor.
• The audiobook is amazing, to the point that hubby and I will listen to any audiobook this narrator performs henceforth.
• Princess Donut is a gem of a character and deserves to be protected at all costs.
• The dungeon is literally run by an AI that is freaky and cares not at all about your thoughts and feelings. (Also, fuck you. Just because.)
• Twists and turns that are crazy and unexpected and probably shouldn’t work but do anyway.
• Probably the series that has been recommended the most often by people who recommend books to me.

A Quote I Love:

Also, for those who are keeping track, I mentioned in my review of Dungeon Crawler Carl that when hubby and I were first starting the series, we ended up having a days-old tortoise shell kitten dropped in our laps, which we lovingly dubbed Donut after Princess Donut, the Queen Anne Chonk. For those who want an update, Donut is a very healthy and scrappy eight-ish months old now. She loves ninja-ing into rooms she’s not supposed to be in, spinning around in boxes and empty food dishes, and playing fetch with bottle caps. She is obviously broken and clearly unstable, and we love this little ball of chaos wholeheartedly, and so do our older cats.

Long Live Evil

When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favourite fantasy series.

She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she’s not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor’s tale.

So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they’re doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor’s fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.

This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villain’s shoes, for an adventure that is both ‘brilliant’ (Holly Black) and ‘supremely satisfying’ (Leigh Bardugo). Expect a rogue’s gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation.

Why I Loved It:

• A book filled with villains, who aren’t just looking for their happily ever after . . . no, they’re willing to carve it out of the bones of their enemies!
• A brutal, unforgiving dark fantasy world that even I probably wouldn’t want to live in.
• Lots of twists, turns, and plenty of surprises.
• Biting sarcasm, banter, and humor.
• No one wins, but villains sure do take the day, at the very least.
• Gray characters, sociopaths, and psychopaths galore!

A Quote I Loved:

The Place Where They Buried Your Heart

On an otherwise ordinary street in Chicago, there is a house. An abandoned house where, once upon a time, terrible things happened. The children who live on this block are told by their parents to stay away from that house. But of course, children don’t listen. Children think it’s fun to be scared, to dare each other to go inside.

Jessie Campanelli did what many older sisters do and dared her little brother Paul. But unlike all the other kids who went inside that abandoned house, Paul didn’t return. His two friends, Jake and Richie, said that the house ate Paul. Of course adults didn’t believe that. Adults never believe what kids say. They thought someone kidnapped Paul, or otherwise hurt him. They thought Paul had disappeared in a way that was ordinary, explainable.

The disappearance of her little brother broke Jessie’s family apart in ways that would never be repaired. Jessie grew up, had a child of her own, kept living on the same street where the house that ate her brother sat, crouched and waiting. And darkness seemed to spread out from that house, a darkness that was alive—alive and hungry.

Why I Loved It:

• Horror with all the nostalgia of the ’80s and ’90s.
• Monster House meets a strange cross of Stephen King’s It and Rose Red.
• A house that eats people. Because why not?
• Creepy atmospheric writing that pulls the reader along through the story.
• A quick, easy read that’s enjoyable and slightly terrifying.
• Horrific in the possibilities, and mildly gory, but not too actually scary.

A Quote I Love:

Moriarty the Patriot

Before he was Sherlock’s rival, Moriarty fought against the unfair class caste system in London by making sure corrupt nobility got their comeuppance. But even the most well-intentioned plans can spin out of control—will Moriarty’s dream of a more just and equal world turn him into a hero…or a monster?

In the late 19th century, Great Britain rules over a quarter of the world. Nobles sit in their fancy homes in comfort and luxury, while the working class slaves away at their jobs. When young Albert James Moriarty’s upper-class family adopts two lower-class orphans, the cruelty the boys experience at his family’s hands cements Albert’s hatred of the nobility he was born into. He asks the older of the two boys—who has a genius mind and a killer instinct—to help him rid the world of evil, starting with Albert’s own family!

Why I Loved It:

• Recommended it to a coworker who doesn’t read manga. Coworker loved it and has demanded I order the entire series.
• Moriarty is the ultimate gray character antihero, and this reimagining is no exception.
• The background characters (especially Louis) add an interesting depth to the reimagining.
• Is someone really a villain if they eradicate the evils of society, hmmm?
• Sherlock Holmes is every bit as charming, oblivious, genius, and chaotic as I’d want him to be!