Our Favorite Books of 2025

It was nearly impossible to choose only three each out of the many, many books we read this year, but for the sake of this blog, we endeavored to try. After tears and frustration and some hair pulling and a whole lot of unwarranted stress, we finally had to concede that there are just so, so many more we would recommend for you to read that could not be included on this single blog post. If you are looking for a snapshot of what we can recommend, however, these six books should do the trick. Try finding these books at your local library, indie bookstore, etc. etc. in 2026 so that we can talk about them some more. Because honestly, we can't shut up about these reads!

Without further ado, these are the best of the best that we read in 2025.

To Steal from Thieves by M.K. Lobb - Maggie

5 / 5 Stars

I'm sure most people who have read that blog frequently know that I'm a huge fan of M.K. Lobb books, and this one was no different.

Following Kane Durante and Zaria Mendoza as they work to break into the Grand Palace, who hope to steal something that could change both of their lives. Kane usually works alone, but stealing a priceless artifact will need more than just him, and Zaria needs the money. But robbing a place that is as public, and heavily guarded, as the Great Exhibition isn't going to be easy, especially when feelings start to get involved.

I love a good heist novel, especially when we as the reader know that the characters are working on betraying each other as well. I'm excited for the sequel of this book which is planned to come out in the beginning of 2026.

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender - Allison

5/5 Stars

A trans teen named Felix deals with friends, catfishing, parents who just don't get it, and questions about identity in this 2020 YA read. I’ll admit that this was a hard book for me to get into at the beginning. It felt repetitive, negative, and as though bad behavior might get romanticized. But BOY was I wrong.

It’s not often that I don’t catch onto the fact that a love triangle is being set up or that I have no clue who the “right choice” is in the end, especially in a YA read, but this book had me guessing until the end. I especially liked the nuanced discussions about gender and sexuality as well as the portrayal of the deep frustration of not being able to figure yourself out in a world that expects you to know yourself best. Callender also somehow fits a love triangle, a fraught relationship with an absentee parent, and art school shenanigans into this book. This story truly blew me away. And while Callender may not have any new books coming out in 2026, I can't wait to investigate their backlog of work this year.

We Are The Match by Mary E. Roach

4.5 / 5 Stars

This novel is a sapphic retelling of Helen of Troy, set in the modern day with a mob family background. Helen is the daughter of powerful crime lord, the crime lord that Paris is set on destroying. When Paris accidently saves Helen's life at a party, she is offered the position to protect Helen from other attacks, even when her initial plan was to kill Helen herself.

Now Paris finds herself protecting Helen from other risks, while also working with her to help escape the overbearing nature of her father. As they start to grow closer together, with feelings neither of them expected, the power balance between them starts to shift. When Helen's father demands she cuts off all connection to Paris, Helen isn't sure she can, and the consequences to keeping the relationship going are enough to destroy everything around them. This book is dark and bloody, but it shocked me with how fast I read it. I was immediately pulled in and devoured this book. A really great read if you are looking for a darker Greek retelling.

Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection By John Green - Allison

5/5 Stars

As part of a StoryGraph challenge this year, I was trying to read nonfiction books across a wide variety of subject matters, including health sciences or biology. For this prompt, I chose this year's release by one of my favorite authors since I was a highschooler, John Green.

When John Green published his first nonfiction book, The Anthropocene Reviewed, I devoured it. Green's writing style made nonfiction feel like storytelling, so I not only learned something, I felt something. This book is no different. I laughed and I cried, I learned and I felt, and his writing kept me guessing to the end (which, honestly John, RUDE - you know what you did). This book tackles history, stigma, infectious disease, world health practices, prejudice, and so much more. This book feels essential as a John Green fan but also as someone who is simply a citizen of the world. Read this and feel horrified at what we as a society refuse to do in the present and galvanized at what we as individuals can decide to do in the future. I know I've been moved to action. This book is a must-read for everyone. Considering adding it to your TBR in 2026.

Sunrise on the Reaping By Suzanne Collins - Maggie

5 / 5 Stars

When I read this book in March I was pretty certain it would end up on my top reads of the year list.

Sunrise on the Reaping follows the story of Haymitch Abernathy's Hunger Games, which happened to be the 50th. In order to 'celebrate' this feat, the capital decides to chose twice as many tributes, bringing four from each district into the arena.

Haymitch is just hoping to make it through the reaping, and his birthday, without anything happening. He just wants to spend the day with the girl he loves. But when his name is called, every dream he had is shattered and now he is determined to show the capital that he won't go down without a fight.

Seeing Haymitch's story, especially from what he know about him during the original novel, is a feeling I have a hard time explaining. This book was amazing and I am excited, and scared, to see it play out on the big screen in 2026.

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng By Kylie Lee Baker - Allison

5/5 Stars

Upon recommendation from a fellow bookseller and friend, I stepped out of my romantasy comfort zone and into the world of fantastical horror. Cora Zeng's sister is murdered in front of her by a mysterious assailant during the peak of COVID, whispering "bat eater" before pushing her in front of a train. After a period of no success finding the killer, Cora returns to work as a crime scene cleaner, but her and her co-workers begin to notice a disturbing trend of finding bat carcasses at the crime scenes of the frequent murders of East Asian women. At a time when the veil between worlds is at its thinnest, she also begins to be followed around by the ghost of her sister that demands she solve her murder, or is it just another one of the mental health disorders she has developed in the wake of such overwhelming trauma?

This book is written so well, the characters are perfect in all their flaws, and the plot and twists are so visceral. This was not only the best book I’ve read about COVID so far, but it was one of the best mystery books I've read, supernatural or otherwise. The gore and violence never feels gratuitous in the face of the cruelty, racism, and scapegoating Cora uncovers. And the side characters are both integral to Cora's story and unforgettable in their own ways. Check the trigger warnings before reading, but if you think you can stomach it, this 2025 release is definitely worth checking out.

Do any of these reads sound good to you? What books are you looking forward to reading in 2026?