Favourite Books 2025

This year was a very full year for me. Between a busy editing workload, enjoying time with my family, and embarking on a PhD (studying the relationship between authors, editors and texts), my time for recreational reading shrank more than I would have liked. Nonetheless, here are three of my favourite books that I read in 2025 (in no particular order).

Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher

I had been saving Nettle and Bone for when I needed a truly good read, and it did not disappoint. T. Kingfisher is always a favourite author of mine (with The Saint of Steel series featuring on last year’s favourite books list). This novel follows Marra, a reluctant princess, connecting with an unlikely band of characters (including a gravewitch, a fairy godmother, an ex-knight, a bone dog, and a demon-possessed chicken) on a quest to save her sister from an abusive marriage. The wit, banter, and genuine connection between the characters is what made me fall in love with this story. And, as always, I appreciate how Kingfisher can simultaneously evoke the familiar and be freshly inventive. This one was a lot of fun!

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Sunrise on the Reaping tapped straight into my nostalgia for the original Hunger Games books, capturing the same essence that had such a grip on me when I first read them (unlike the previous sequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which I appreciated for its worldbuilding but not for its narrative). What surprised me about Sunrise on the Reaping was how powerful the story was, even though we know how it ends for Haymitch. It could have been relentlessly bleak, but instead the novel leaves a quiet ache and a seed of hope from knowing how the larger story eventually unfolds.

Don’t Trust Fish written by Neil Sharpson and illustrated by Dan Santat

This picture book is packed with humour, thanks to great writing and fun illustrations. It brought me much joy to hear my fish-obsessed son reading this to himself at bedtime and laughing out loud. It may have also sparked a bit of a new obsession with crabs (don’t trust fish!).

I’ve limited myself to a top three in this blog, though there were plenty of other great reads throughout the year. Wishing you all another great year of reading, writing, and editing in 2026!