Book of the Year

After YWS Highlights, it's time for BOOK highlights!

Hi people!

Since this is exactly what it says on the tin, let's head right into it!



It's a sci-fi book, and the narrator is the AI of a massive troop carrier with hundreds of auxiliary bodies (you might call them... Ancillaries, mwahaha) and it's just... such a fascinating read!



Was my top pick until December. I love the translation magic and themes. A solid historical fantasy/science novel with a high-concept idea.


Yes more sci-fi! I loved the narrator so much, right from the get go when he uses science to understand his environment despite his partial amnesia. It's so, so good and very informative! Loved the plot too I really like how grounded everything felt!


I Flew for the Fuhrer by Heinz Knocke: HEAR ME OUT. Yes. These are the memoires of a Luftwaffe pilot in WW2. Still extremely illuminating and he made friends with Canadians who encouraged him to publish this. It's very interesting to read--especially since I read fighter pilot memoires of US-pilots too who have a very different feel to them =D

Howl's Moving Castle by Dianne Wynne Jones: It's basically a classic and for a very good reason. I enjoyed it so much more than the movie too! It's very whimsical, and the characters and magic in it feel so alive!

One Piece Vol. 9 by Eiichiro Oda: So I am on my tenth or so reread of One Piece and this volume really stood out to me. I cried so hard. It's just... such a good story and I really feel for Nami. Srsly, it is never too late to get into One Piece!

The Face of a Stranger by Anne Perry: Leaving aside that Mrs Perry has the most amazing first line of a Wikipedia entry, I really like the set up of this Victorian Era detective novel. The MC has amnesia and needs to hide this from everyone, otherwise he loses his job at the police station. So he basically has to solve the case he's been working on before the accident that took his memories all while keeping up the pretense. And in the Victorian Era no less!

A-Train by Lt Colonel Charles W. Dryden: There we go, a memoir of a US-fighter pilot of WW2 XD But this one also has ~racism~. It's just so... frustrating to read this, as the narrator is a Black man in America and has his skills be doubted at every level. I highly recommend this read.

Twilight by Christie Golden: This is the 3rd and final novel of the Dark Templar series. It's set in the Starcraft universe and it's just... very good. I especially like the interaction between the Main Characters and series main stay Zeratul. If you, for some reason, want to get into Starcraft, I suggest you start with Liberty's Crusade by Jeff Grub first. Lays the groundwork much better

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: It was my first time reading this classic and it's... like it's just so good and so informative and so interesting and all the other positive adjectives. I can understand why you get to read this for school but this should be one of the books that breaks the school-book curse


I read so many good books in 2025 and I cannot mention them all. I read over 100 books after all =D


What is YOUR book of the year?

Top Book of the Year - A Court of Mist and Fury!!! - Sarah J Maas
I read the first one a while ago and didn't really like it, but a friend convinced me to continue the series, saying that it got better. YES IT DID GET BETTER!!!! For anyone stuck after the first book - the next ones are SO MUCH DIFFERENT and SO MUCH BETTER!!!! VEEERY spicy, tho, although there is no key information in the scenes so you can skip them. A close second goes to A Court of Wings and Ruin, that one was great too.

2nd Place - One of Us is Lying - Karen McManus
A murder mystery/romance that I stayed up until 2am on an exam day to finish. If that doesn't prove its awesomeness idk what will. The rest of the series is equally as good. Also the rest of the authors books are really good too! She has a lot of standalone books that aren't in a series as well. I think Two can Keep a Secret was my fav out of the standalones.

3rd Place - Onyx Storm - Rebecca Yarros
3rd in the Fourth Wing series, this book was awesome! It did end on an insane cliffhanger, just like all the other books (Rebbeca STOP DOING THIS TO MEEEE) but was a really good read! A lot more adventure themed than the other two, we finally get to see a lot more of the world. Also super spicy, but there is key info in the scenes so you're gonna have to read them. And the next book isn't even coming out for at least another year, so you might wanna wait until the series is finished to read.

Other Amazing Reads Below!!!!

The Stolen Heir and The Prisoner's Throne - Holly Black
A duology based after The Cruel Prince series, which is one of my top books of all time. Set around ten years in the future, it revolves around a lot of the same characters and is ALMOST as good as the original three (nothing can beat them).

Better than the Movies + Nothing Like the Movies -Lynn Painter
Cute little childhood friends to lovers romances, no spice all! The characters were all so likeable and the story was amazing in both books. The author loves to put song references in her books and then add a playlist of all the songs at the end, which is so cute! I

Fake Skating - Lynn Painter
Another little highschool romance by the same author as BTTM and NLTM! Similar plot and characters, and a great read!

Five Survive - Holly Jackson
A mystery book where a group of friends are stranded in an RV in a forest with a shooter who kills anyone who leaves. LOTS of suspense, I went through this one really quick and it was very entertaining!

Red, White, and Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Little romance between the son of the US President and the Prince of England. So much romantic tension, amazing book!

Fearless - Lauren Roberts
The conclusion to the Powerless Trilogy! A YA romanatsy that was really great!

Okay, I've gotta do it - WORST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
(yes I'm a hater I'm sorry)

The whole Lightlark series - Alex Aster
None of the main characters were likeable, lots of plot holes, felt like a cheap ripoff of some other books. Not to mention that the author originally said the series would only be three books, but then I finished the third and then it ended on a cliffhanger. Girl, I thought I was finally done!!! I will not be reading the next books, and if you do see me reading them, it's a hate read.

As Good As Dead - Holly Jackson
The finale to the A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series. It was so different from the other two, and it lacked everything that made me like the others. The main character acted nothing like herself, and kept making stupid decisions that were so infuriating to read about. I like to pretend this book doesn't exist, just so I can enjoy the first two.

And finally, WEIRDEST Book of the Year - We Were Liars - E Lockhart
(Spoilers because I'm actually gonna talk about the plot)

Spoiler

Okay, so we spend 3/4 of the book reading about a girl and her friends on an island. Then, near the end, we learn that all of her friends died in a fire like three years ago and she was just hallucinating them as a trauma response to the fact that she indirectly killed them and the family dog??? Wild read.

Hope you liked my little review!!!

I read so many amazing books in 2025! Here's my top 5!

1. The entire Boys of Tommen series by Chloe Walsh
I binged all of the books that were out, and then immediately bought Releasing 10 when it came out. I love all the characters so much, they literally mean so much to me you don't even know. But if you're going to read these books, please look up trigger warnings because there are a lot! I think this may be my new top series of all time.

2. I am Not Jessica Chen by Ann Liang
A book about a failing artist who wishes to become her perfect cousin and it comes true. If you are a perfectionist (like me) then I highly recommend this book.

3. Sunrise on The Reaping by Suzanne Collins
I love the Hunger Games series, and I desperately wanted a book about Haymitch, and it did not disappoint.

4. Fake Skating by Lynn Painter
A romance book that feels like a romcom movie. I am so obsessed with this book, I've already read it twice (and it was released in October). I love Dani, the main character (we love to see social anxiety representation). I love Alec (the love interest) too, I might like him better than Wes Bennet.

5. Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams
Another romance book. I loved the main character so much, she's a lot like me.

My Favorite books of this year:


Wings of Fire Book 7 by Tui T. Sutherland: I love all the wings of Fire books, because I can relate to the characters and because they are my favorite series, duh! But what I like about book 7 is that even when your family, or your friends are telling you to do one thing, and all this hate and prejudice is residing in your heart, it can make it hard for you to actually have relationships with people. I think this is a good part of the series; I just love it!



Twilight by Stephenie Meyer: I thought I wouldn't like reading it at first, let alone watch the movies. I'm not a big fan of monster romance, or teen romance at all to some degree, but this book changed my mind, just a teeny bit. Back in 8th grade, my history teacher gave me this book so I could borrow it (I haven't returned the second book of the saga back to her). When I first started reading, everything in my opinion happened fast. But, then again, I am a fast reader. Overall, I just loved the book (I do not love Bella though), and I am already on the second book!



Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff
: Another book I absolutely enjoyed. This one was so relatable, even though I think it's a little kid book. I could really relate to because I too, have lost a family member in death. What I didn't know is that she had Aspergers Syndrome, until I looked it up. I took my time reading this book, and it was really enjoyable, and it brought me to tears.



Free Verse by Sarah Dooley.: The same with the Umbrella Summer one. I really liked this book a lot, and I could really relate to Sasha as well. Even though I haven't lost my parents to death, I did have to go to multiple foster homes like her. And I like her coping mechanism: writing. I feel like that's a good way to channel all of your thoughts, and put them on paper, or on a device. I would recommend this book to anyone.




Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega: I kept seeing this book in my school library, and I decided to give it a try. While it's not my favorite, it is really good, and the art style on the front looks super pretty.



The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender
: I just started reading this book a while back, and let me tell you, it was something. I thought it was going to be one of those silly goofy ghost books, but it was more than that. I like how the characters really go into depth on their stories, and how grief affects people, among others. The supernatural aspect is really awesome too!



Bud, not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis: I read a lot of Christopher Paul Curtis books, but he first and my favorite one by him is Bud, not Buddy. I think I was 9 years old when I first read that book. When my teacher in 5th grade said we would be reading it as a class assignment, I was so happy. This book has been a part of my childhood for too long. Its historical fiction, but it doesn't even seem like it. I would recommend this book to everyone!


But now drumroll please!!! I release to you my favorite book of the year....


Eragon by Christopher Paolini: My uncle really liked this series as a kid(when I asked him about it, he just started telling me everything about why this book series is his favorite). I'm almost finished with it. It took me almost the whole year just to read it since it was so long. But I truly enjoy it so far. It's all about fantasy, and dragons, and witches, and its super action packed too! There are a lot of names in the book, and I'm trying to remember them all!



But yeah, those are my favorite books of the year!