I finished 84 books in 2025! 54 authors who were new to me. I DNF’d 17 books. Most of the books were Fantasy. Here are my favorites:
- Dawn of the Firebird by Sarah Mughal Rana
- A dark (aka violent, NOT romance) epic fantasy beginning with possibly the most insane stubborn hardcore main character…then by then end it had me literally sobbing…bring tissues. There’s no romance in here and I loved it. It was more about family and friends.
- DEBUT – Book #1 of 3
- Click here for my full eARC review.
- Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar [Pre-order for March 24, 2026]
- A short story collection where I pretty much teared up for each one. These were so beautiful. Cannot recommend enough especially if you consider yourself a feminist.
- Click here for my full eARC review.
- The Jasad Heir & The Jasad Crown by Sara Hashem
- Completed Epic Fantasy Duology DEBUT!
- While a lot of the time this book is talked about and marketed, it may seem like this book is only about two characters and their relationship, HOWEVER, it’s about so much more, politics, mystery, power, influence, family, generations, revenge, etc.
- Weavingshaw by Heba Al-Wasity [Pre-order for Feb 24, 2026]
- Delicious dark fantasy DEBUT with a slow burn to top all slow burns…first in a duology or trilogy.
- MC is a refugee and this book has a lot of commentary around being a refugee away from home and how they are treated and taken advantage of, this book gets really into the politics and economics and it’s so so good.
- Click here for my full eARC review.
- Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
- The one I didn’t think I’d like and now haven’t been able to stop thinking about it – mostly because of the ending.
- Best banter award – sapphic necromacers in space, enough said…
- Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove
- Darling of my year!!
- Sentient spaceship AI and sapphics
- Monsters and mystery and humor
- Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
- Superheros but behind the scenes
- Plotting against the hero who’s the real douchbag!
- Interstellar Megachef by Lavanya Lakshminarayan
- South Asian foodie tech planetary political drama
- For the sci-fi loving queers and chefs
- Click here for my full review.
- Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
- Unshakable quest for vengeance
- Extremely satisfying DEBUT
- If you hate the patriarchy and are out for blood, this is the book for you
- Inspired by history
- A true love triangle
- The Phoenix King by Aparna Verma
- Sci-Fi/Fantasy DEBUT
- Political intrigue, heir to leadership, desert kingdom
- Slow-burn romance
That’s it! Quite a few of these were starts to series that are ongoing so stay tuned to see if book 2s are just as good or better or worse lol.
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