The best books of 2025 (in my opinion)

I read more books this year than any other! Even when I was at uni and my whole degree was reading! In 2025 I finished seventy-five books this year which I would put down to two main thing. Firstly, consciously deciding to seriously cut down phone use and break the habit of mindless flicking. One thing that really helped with that is my penchant for reading at least three books at the same time so I always have one somewhere within arms reach. Secondly, my very great love of FREE LIBRARY AUDIOBOOK APPS. I don't know why anyone pays for audible when you can use the exact same thing for free while supporting your local library. I use Borrowbox and Libby. Both free and both have an amazing range of titles on there. It has also helped me try different books I may not have bought but am more than happy to spare half an hour to listen to a few chapters and see if it's for me. Sometimes they can even enhance the experience. For example, I particularly love reading books narrated by the author or by a narrator with the correct accent. Anything set in the deep south, Ireland anything I just feel so immersed to hear the voices as the author imagined them. This is also my first year of working full time and audiobooks have been a great way to keep reading while doing end of day admin for a few hours, driving to and from work, working from home and so on. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is if you haven't given audiobooks a try I would highly recommend it. Most important of all for me is the power to DNF. Stop forcing yourself to read something you hate. It's boring, bad vibes and there are literally millions of other books you could be reading, discovering and loving. Without any more rambling from me, let's get into the best books I read in 2025. The crème de la crème if you will (Can you tell I read The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie?)

A top five would be more traditional but I couldn't narrow it down any more so here's the top six! All five star reads for me of coouurrse...

Normal Rules Don't Apply by Kate Atkinson

Blurb: A dazzling collection of eleven interconnected stories. Nothing is quite as it seems in this collection of eleven dazzling stories. We meet a queen who makes a bargain she cannot keep; a secretary who watches over the life she has just left; a man who bets on a horse that may—or may not—have spoken to him. A startling and funny feast for the imagination, these stories conjure a multiverse of subtly connected worlds while illuminating the webs of chance and connection among us all.

This book made me want to write. Kate Atkinson's style of writing and the way she structures these stories is just so genius and captivating. I enjoy each story in isolation but as a collection they really shine. The way she can capture an atmosphere and so many different voices and characters so accurately is very impressive. This collection is also a great quick read to make you feel accomplished and squeeze in a whole short story in one sitting! Very satisfying.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Blurb: A riveting mystery novel that unfolds on a secluded island where ten strangers are lured under various pretexts. As the guests settle in, they are shocked to discover that their unseen host accuses each of them of a grave crime from their past. Stranded on the island with no means of escape, they soon realize that they are being systematically hunted and punished for their alleged sins. "And Then There Were None" is a classic of the mystery genre, known for its clever plot twists and the psychological depth with which Christie explores the dark facets of human nature. The novel's intricate web of secrets, intricate characterizations, and the relentless pace of the narrative have solidified its place as one of the best-selling and most enduring mysteries in literary history.

I spoke about this more in a recent blog post here but just to reiterate this is without doubt one of my favourite Agatha Christie books I’ve read! It was so tense and the fear on the island was palpable and infectious. If you haven’t read it before you have to!! Just make sure you get the updated version with a more contemporary version of the nursery rhyme used :)

Trumpet by Jackie Kay

Blurb: The death of legendary jazz trumpeter Joss Moody exposes an extraordinary secret, one that enrages his adopted son, Colman, leading him to collude with a tabloid journalist. Besieged by the press, his widow Millie flees to a remote Scottish village, where she seeks solace in memories of their marriage. The reminiscences of those who knew Joss Moody render a moving portrait of a shared life founded on an intricate lie, one that preserved a rare, unconditional love.

What a way Jackie Kay has with words. It is as though the world and all the people in it unfurl and show themselves to her in a way that gives her the words to see and capture them more keenly and clearly than anyone else. Her writing is so soft but precise and imaginative and descriptive but so focussed. Not a word or image out of place. Really so beautiful to read. Just as relevant now as when it was first published.

The Colour Purple by Alice Walker

Blurb: Set in the deep American South between the wars, The Colour Purple is the classic tale of Celie, a young black girl born into poverty and segregation. Raped repeatedly by the man she calls 'father', she has two children taken away from her, is separated from her beloved sister Nettie and is trapped into an ugly marriage. But then she meets the glamorous Shug Avery, singer and magic-maker - a woman who has taken charge of her own destiny. Gradually Celie discovers the power and joy of her own spirit, freeing her from her past and reuniting her with those she loves.

What a beautiful and painful book. I felt so attached to Celie and her story. The epistolary format made it feel so intimate and insightful. The story of a black woman at odds with the world who never once loses her soft heart. Tear inducing yes but so heart warming and special and important. Any book that has been censored or banned so many times in so many places deserves to be read. Deeply powerful.

Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth

Blurb: It's the early 1990s, and in the Irish village of Crossmore, Lucy feels out of place. Despite her fierce friendships, she's always felt this way, and the conventional path of marriage and motherhood doesn't appeal to her at all. Not even with handsome and doting Martin, her closest childhood friend. Lucy begins to make sense of herself during a long hot summer, when a spark with her school friend Susannah escalates to an all-consuming infatuation, and, very quickly, to a desperate and devastating love.

Such an amazing book. Such beautiful, tender, intimate writing. The intensity and conflicts of emotions course through every line and you feel all of them with Lucy. A dreamy hazy exploration of sapphic desire and catholic guilt in 90s Ireland. The turmoil of the girlhood to womanhood transition is so perfectly captured here. So many of the lines took my breath away but perhaps my favourite two: “The girls who raised me and whom I raised. After everything they would not hesitate to disappear, even with the soil we grew from still under our finger nails” and “I’ll be here, gathering dust, waiting for your reply”. One of the most romantic books I have ever read. Immersive and captivating.

None of This is True by Lisa Jewel

Blurb: Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summers crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins. But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives under mortal threat.

This is the first Lisa Jewel I read and was absolutely hooked. I LOVE her thrillers. She has such well rounded characters, lots of strong and complex woman. Her plots are always addictive, sharp and fast but this might just be my favourite. Every time I was reading this on the way to somewhere I was raging when I had to get off the subway and stop reading! It is such an intense fast paced read. If you like unreliable narrators and having no idea what is going on (but in a good way) then you'll love this! The whole saga is such a web of lies but finding out who the spider is is the real fun!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed hearing about my favourite books I read this year. Let me know which books stood out for you in 2025 and why! Thank you for reading my wee blog this year. I have loved writing it and sharing it with you.

Love,

Grace xx