I know this is almost 2 months late to when people blog about their fave (and not so fave) reads of the previous year, but I was doing some much-needed website renovation at the start of the year and was busy with work and, well, better late than ever. Here is an in-depth review of the books I read in 2025 that stood out in some way.
Last year my goal was to read as widely as I could in terms of geography: I read no novels from the US and instead chose authors from a variety of countries. This year I made an effort to read widely too, but in terms of chronology (publication date). My 2025 reads include recently published books but also a 4000-year-old story, an old English epic poem, a Regency era novel, a 1905 classic, several books written in the 50s - 70s, a few 90s publications and so on. I did well: over 60% of my reads were published before 2020, most of them well before that. It was very refreshing to step out of modern times and see what kind of books were written in various eras.
The total No. of books I read this year (so far, but am unlikely to read a lot more) was 78, a lower than usually number. It’s been a pretty hectic year, which might explain it. This includes only 4 rereads (!!), a number far, far smaller than in the past. I’m a huge rereader; typically almost half the books of a given year are ones I’ve revisited. For some reason, this year I didn’t feel the need/desire.
Here are the books that stood out, sorted in random categories. Gird your loins, my dudes, this will be long.
Book/series I lost my WHOLE mind over: Qiang Jin Jiu. Translated as Ballad of Sword and Wine, this is a story that reminded me strongly of Nirvana in Fire (at least in the first three volumes) and it’s a series engineered to hit all my buttons. I read the first five published volumes in a breathless daze and am eagerly waiting for the rest. Who’d have thought I’d be reading about schemes to fill granaries and man empty garrisons with such devotion?
The Year of Robert Jackson Bennett: I read a lot of RJB this year (The Tainted Cup (2024), A Drop of Corruption (2025), A City of Stairs (2014)) and enjoyed all his work. Definitely a fantasy author to watch.
Unhinged narrators/POVs I loved: Tom Ripley from The Talented Mr Ripley (1955) — Neil Josten from All For the Game (2013) — Janina from Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (2009). It’s not surprising that all these are at least a dozen years old.
Danmei I DNF'ed: I gotta admit I got bored while reading Vol. 4 of Erha and the long-winded metaphors got to be extremely tiresome, so I finished that volume and stopped there. Perhaps one day I’ll have the time and inclination to see how the plot resolves. I guessed the main villain (accurately) and I admit I’d be interested in seeing how he turned bad, but idk if my curiosity is strong enough to carry me through 7(!) more volumes of writing I don’t much care for, focusing on two men I’m not convinced belong together.
The oldest: Gilgamesh (2100-1200 BC). Really enjoyed it. (I didn’t love Beowulf as much, though it was fascinating seeing the inspiration for Tolkien’s works).
OMG I finally read it: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813).
Lymond-adjacent novel: The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy (1905). I could definitely see the seeds of the character Lymond would become.
A Very Close Reread: a friend and I did a close reread of the Captive Prince trilogy (2013-16) and it was hella fun! It took a great deal of effort ngl. The process gave me a lot of insights about how the series was crafted and I really enjoyed sharing observations with minta.
(i would love to do the same with the lymond books, but it’d take f o r e v e r )
Discworld: I started reading the series in publication order several years ago. I’ve been taking it slow, aiming to read a few books each year. Some years I manage 5-6 novels, others just two. This year I read several, and it was a stretch of books where I suppose Pratchett had found his stride, because each one was a banger. If I were to rec a couple, then Night Watch (2002) and The Wee Free Men (2003) were both fantastic.
Les disappointments: Swordcrossed by Marske (2024) was NOT my thing. Part of the recent slew of toothless, bland romances where everyone is morally impeccable and there’s no urgency or tension. Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy (2024) seemed very much up my alley and proved a fun quick read indeed, but the romance was sooooo slow burn that you could call it extinguished. Will prob read the sequel, though, if I can borrow it for free. A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows (2022) was too wordy, lacked nuance and had a sweet and kind romance which made me yawn. Why can’t recently published romances have more of a bite?
Oh hold on, some do. Time for the following category:
This book has taken me hostage and I CAN’T STOP READING SEND HELP: This honour belongs to two kinda similar stories: the All For the Game series by Nora Sakavic (2013) and God of Fury by Rina Kent (2023). Both are contemporary US college m/m stories, featuring mafia and crime. In both cases, the prose isn’t great shakes, especially in GoF where Rina Kent keeps writing these one-sentence paragraphs and it gets tiresome very quickly. The storylines are over the top, the characters exaggerated. Some people might even call them trashy romances (esp. perhaps GoF). But they’re so ADDICTIVE. Pure fucking id, man. God of Fury is horny and full of tension, esp. in the first half, and utterly compelling and had me reading into the small hours. Couldn’t put it down despite the totally shit prose. As for AFTG… jfc. This series is a fever dream, it’s balls to the wall insanity, and once I finished it, I wanted to go back and reread it from the start. andreil made me scream into my pillow. Just wow. You don’t read this series: it happens to you. Here’s my GR review of the series. (add me on GR!)
Book Boyfriend of the Year: andreil and CeZhou are my fave new ships, but the honour of Best Boyfriend has to go to Xiao Chiye. “Where’s LanZhou?” :sobs:
Other novels I enjoyed:
- The Incandescent by Emily Tesh (2025, urban fantasy)
- All Of Us Murderers by KJ Charles (2025, gothic mystery)
- Helle’s Hound by Oskar Jensen (2025, contemporary murder mystery)
- The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carre (1955, spy novel)
- Recovery by Amy Rae Durresson (2017, fantasy m/m romance)
It might not have been this year’s goal but I still aim to read books from different countries. This year I read authors from the UK and the US as usual, but also Denmark, China, Australia, NZ/Aotearoa, Greece, Albania, Poland, Belgium and Sumeria.
As for my 2026 reading goals, I think I might set no explicit goals and just continue to read as widely as possible in terms of geography, chronology and genre.
