Best of 2025 and The Year in Review

Overall, 2025 was a good year, but like all years it had its ups and downs. I will say though, the changes to the blog I implemented this year has led to a happier and a less neurotic me (okay, maybe still very neurotic) due to a more casual posting schedule. Sometimes I still wish I was doing all the book tags, challenges, and weekly meme posts that I used to do, but then I remind myself that shifting to mainly reviews has allowed me more time to actually read. And we all know that TBR pile never gets smaller, only grows.

But of course, I will always make time for an end-of-year post where I look back at the last twelve months and do a roundup of my favorite reads! This is always one list I look forward to doing, as it lets me see all the reading I’ve accomplished in the past year and also relive the books that stood out the most. As usual, I’m going to highlight each genre category and all the titles in it that I loved.

Fantasy

Fantasy is always one of my favorite genres to read, and this year delivered no shortage of unforgettable stories from the epic and mythological to the paranormal and historical.

Romantasy

With the romantasy genre having exploded in popularity in 2025, I think it’s earned itself a brand new category on my list this year. As with any oversaturated market though, there were plenty of so-so entries, but these are the ones that stood out.

Science Fiction

Science fiction once again underperformed for me this year, and I can only hope we’ll see a bit of a genre renaissance soon. Until then, there’s still the Dungeon Crawler Carl series to satisfy my aliens and sci-fi fun fix.

Horror

Horror continues to be one of my most reliable genres, featuring diverse themes and stories that keep things interesting. These books are a reminder of why I keep coming back for more.

Mystery & Thriller

I’ve been exploring more mysteries and thrillers lately, though much of it tends to blur together with familiar formulas. These are the books that managed to break the mold.

Young Adult

My YA reading has dwindled to almost nothing this year, with only three titles on my “read” shelf. Still, one of them made the best-of list, which is always my favorite kind of surprise.

Nonfiction

This year, I also started picking up some nonfiction books purely for fun, interest, and learning. While I don’t usually review these, I’ve included these recommended titles for being particularly well researched and engagingly written.

And now, on to the Goodreads stats! First, I crushed my GR reading challenge, which I always set at 100 books a year. This also lines up perfectly with my current goal of averaging two reviews a week.

3 Comments on “Best of 2025 and The Year in Review”

agreatreviewer
December 31, 2025, 4:13 AM

Ooh nice! Seeing quite a few that are still in my TBR pile. Like Kelley’s books! Lol. Need to read Valentine’s too and Hamilton! Glad to see some of my TBR books in this listing though!

Happy almost New Year!

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@lynnsbooks
December 31, 2025, 5:15 AM

This is a fantastic list, I’ve read 12 off here which makes me very happy and there are a few more that I’m still determined to get to.

Lynn 😀

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Bookstooge
December 31, 2025, 5:50 AM

How many romantasy books did you read/review this year, can you easily find out?

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