My Top Reads of 2025

Reader, she was not successful with getting back into blogging in 2025. Is 2026 going to be the year? Stay tuned. In the meantime, here are my top reads of 2025.

• A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna: this is my second Sanga Mandanna book that is a top read of the year (The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches being a top read of 2023), so it’s safe to say Sangu is an auto-buy author for me now. Her books are just so cute and cozy but not saccharine–I love the found family aspect in both of them and appreciate that while the books are sweet, the characters are real and deal with real shit. There just happens to be some magic involved.
• Never the Roses by Jennifer K. Lambert: I was sobbing at the end. SOBBING. This is a fantasy romance with older characters which we love to see and they connect because one of them (a powerful sorceress) stole a book from the other’s (a powerful wizard) library. If that’s not a great start to a romance I don’t know what is.
• Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibanez: in a fantasy, I love political intrigue and in a romance I love a slow burn. As a fantasy romance, this book had both and I ate it up.

• Our Brave Foremothers: Celebrating 100 Black, Brown, Asian, and Indigenous Women Who Changed the Course of History by Rozella Kennedy: this one would make a great addition to your women’s history shelf, as it features BIPOC women who have been largely unacknowledged by history. I also liked that this collection featured prompts at the end of each profile to get the reader thinking and reflecting. If you’re a journaling kinda person, I definitely recommend!
• Original Sisters: Portraits of Tenacity and Courage by Anita Kunz: besides being a beautiful collection of women’s portraits, I also thought it was one of the more inclusive “women throughout history” collections as there were multiple BIPOC, queer, and transgender women featured. Another great addition for your women’s history shelf!
• The Diviners by Libba Bray: so I read the whole series in 2025 and overall the series is a 5 star series. I think the fact that this series, while debuting in 2012, still has relevant themes speaks to its longevity. The writing and character development were also well done–I found myself invested in the wellbeing of all of the main characters. I listened to most of the series on audiobook which I definitely recommend!

• Columbine by Dave Cullen: in 2024 I read Sue Klebold’s A Mother’s Reckoning, which was a hard but fascinating read. After reading that I wanted to dive a little deeper and this title was already on my to-read list. Cullen does a great job relaying what he learned through is research and the writing was very accessible. A hard but necessary read.
• Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond: Evicted is one of my favorite nonfiction reads (excellent on audiobook) so obviously I had to pick up this one. While I didn’t find this one as engaging of a read as Evicted (which focused more on the human narrative), I did find the writing and information accessible and would recommend listening to the audiobook.
• Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield: I really enjoyed The Thirteenth Tale by this author and this one did not disappoint either. Setterfield has a way of writing that elicits a fairytale/folktale style that is my absolute jam.
• Sex and the City and Us: How Four Single Women Changed the Way We Think, Live and Love by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong: this was another author I read in 2024 (When Women Invented Television) and enjoyed, so I definitely wanted to check out her book on a television show that was a formative part of my 20s. I really enjoyed the writing and behind the scenes look and definitely recommend for anyone who is/was a Sex and the City fan (we’re not going to talk about “And Just Like That”).
• Why Fish Don’t Exist: a Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller: this was an interesting memoir/biography about the author, an NPR reporter, who while researching David Starr Jordan, a 19th century taxonomist, came to realize he might be a model of how to find order in chaos, as she was dealing with some of her own. I thought it was well written and I definitely recommend the audiobook!.
• 90s Bitch: Media, Culture, and the Failed Promise of Gender Equality by Allison Yarrow: as someone who came of age in the late 1990s, this one really resonated with me as I remember seeing and hearing about how the women/subjects featured where discussed in the media at that time. I definitely recommend for anyone interested in women’s history.
• On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (Graphic Edition) by Timothy Snyder: the original text that this graphic novel is adapting isn’t that long, but sometimes a picture says a thousand words.
• Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage by Rachel E. Gross: so I’ll be honest, a lot of the science went over my head (I’m right brained, ok?) but overall this was a very enlightening read and stark reminder about how little women are taught about their own body.
• Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez: this was such a cute romance that had me kicking my feet. I thought that the characters and relationship were relatable and the writing engaging. This is one of the rare first in a series book that had me wanting to read the second book before I was even finished with the first.
• Surrounded: America’s First School for Black Girls, 1832 by Wilfrid Lupano: this graphic novel is about Crandall vs. the State of Connecticut, the first civil rights case in US history–and if that’s news to you it’s not surprising if you grew up in the US education system. A must read of Black history in the United States.
• The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera: proof that adults can learn something too from juvenile fiction. This was a great listen on audiobook about a young Latinx girl who’s family is leaving a destroyed Earth for a new planet and what she encounters once she’s in space.
• Pushout: the Criminalization of Black Girls In Schools by Monique W. Morris: the way the US education has failed Black girls is heartbreaking. Morris does a great job laying out her research that is interwoven with first person narratives from the Black girls she interviewed.
• Memorial Drive: a Daughter’s Memoir by Natasha Trethewey: Tretheway is an acclaimed poet and former Poet Laureate, and it shows in the writing and the way she narrates the audiobook (which I definitely recommend). A poignant memoir that will have you reflecting on your own relationship with your mother.
• The Girls Who Went Away: the Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption In the Decades Before Roe V. Wade by Ann Fessler: this is one that will stick with me. Hearing the women’s accounts of what they went through firsthand will make you want to reach out and give them a hug.
• The 1619 Project: a New Origin Story, edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones: this one is dense but so important of a read. A thorough history of Black Americans from the moment the first slave stepped on US soil, and the way slavery still defines the US today.
• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke: this book was such a weird vibe read and I ate it up.
• An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz: another important read, especially if you went through the US education system. I recommend the audiobook for a more engaging reading experience as the physical book reads a bit like a textbook.
• An Uncommon Woman-the Empress Frederick: Daughter of Queen Victoria, Wife of the Crown Prince of Prussia, Mother of Kaiser Wilhelm by Hannah Pakula: growing up I was fascinated with royal history (thanks to the Dear America: Royal Diaries series) so reading this felt like going back to my roots. Victoria (the princess) went through a lot of shit, although no saint herself. A fascinating read if you’re a history nerd.
• Paladin’s Grace by T. Kingfisher: I love me some T. Kingfisher, and this one didn’t disappoint. It was cute to watch the two main characters crush on each other while also trying to solve a mystery.
• Nevertheless, She Wore It: 50 Iconic Fashion Moments by Ann Shen: I love Ann Shen’s artwork and found this to be an interesting look at fashion history, although I would argue that the book is more about fashion garments in history as opposed to fashion moments.
• Bookish Broads: Women Who Wrote Themselves Into History by Lauren Marino: a lot of the writers featured you’ll have heard/read before, but there are quite a few new names (at least to me) that I will definitely be checking out. The writer does a great job with the short biographies and bibliographies, but I do wish she had left out JKR.

So those were my top reads of 2025! Have you read any of them? Do you agree or disagree with my thoughts? What were your favorite reads of 2025? Let me know!

Until next time,