It’s the coziest time of the year, and there’s no better time to curl up with a mug of cocoa and a book you can’t put down. For 10 years, I’ve been publishing my favorite books of the year, and this year is no different! I love discovering new authors and new books from authors I’ve read 100 times. Whether you love a cute rom-com or a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat, I’ve got you covered with the best books of 2025, according to me!
Note: I received many of these books as advance reading copies from publishers and NetGalley, and this blog post contains affiliate links, which means I will earn a small commission if you purchase through them.
20 must-read books of 2025
Beach reads, rom-coms, and chick-lit
The Girl I Was
Jeneva Rose
Alexis Spencer loses her job and her longtime boyfriend in one day. Talk about a bad day. Feeling sorry for herself, she discovers a bottle of vodka that was supposedly “blessed” and goes on a bender.
She wakes up feeling awful (no surprise) in the year 2002 (HUGE surprise).
Alexis meets Lexi (2002 her) and tries to convince her to make a change before she winds up wasting her life and losing the best thing she ever had (the boyfriend who dumped her).
I love the nostalgia of this novel and the kick-in-the-pants Alexis and Lexi give each other.
Put on your Juicy Couture, turn up Vanessa Carlton, and read this book!
Buy The Girl I Was
It’s a Love Story
Annabel Monaghan
Picture teenage Jane Jackson as the female version of Urkel or Screech. She played the loveable geek as a child actor, but now she’s all glowed up and trying to make it as a studio executive in Hollywood. She thought she had found the perfect script— only to have it squashed before it started by a cinematographer. That would be Dan, the same guy she’d found charming just days before when he asked her for a first date after a chance meeting on the street. Now, she’s found her second chance. And, of course, Dan is pulled into this project, too. The only way this movie is getting made is if there’s a big name attached. In her excitement (and separation), Jane *might* have said that she was besties with mega pop star Jack Quinlan, which is not even close to the truth. Now, Jane and Dan must go back to his hometown to see if they can save the movie— without killing each other in the process. This is a super cute read— perfect for lying by the pool and escaping reality for a bit!
Buy It’s a Love Story
The Love Haters
Katherine Center
I am a huge believer that Katherine Center can do no wrong. Her books have a Texas tie-in that always makes her writing feel like home. In this book, Katie is a videographer based in Dallas, TX with a serious case of Chromophobia or fear of colors (I cannot relate). In the midst of layoffs at her firm, her boss, Cole, sends her to the Florida Keys to film an ad for the US Coast Guard— specifically following the member the media dubbed Pup Daddy when he rescued Jennifer Aniston’s dog. The catch? Pup Daddy (AKA Hutch) is Cole’s brother, and is expecting him. Not her. Oh, and one more little issue… Katie can’t swim. Can Katie save her job, mend a family rift, avoid drowning, and get serious Hutch to lighten up? You’ll have to read it to find out!
Buy The Love Haters
Historical Fiction
The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club
Martha Hall Kelly
In 2016, Mari Starwood comes to Martha’s Vineyard to meet reclusive painter, Elizabeth Devereaux. Grieving the loss of her mother, she’s followed the name scrawled on a piece of paper, hoping for answers.
I always thought of Martha’s Vineyard as a quaint seaside playground of the rich and fabulous, but this novel tells the story of its place in WWII history: war games, enemy soldiers, traitors, and a U-boat just off the island’s shore.
Ms. Devereaux shares the story of the Smith sisters, who in 1942, were 19-year-old aspiring writer Cadence and 16-year-old war-obsessed Briar. Whilst trying to maintain normalcy despite the anything-but-normal circumstances, the Cadence and her best friend, Bess, start a book club. The club grows, and catches the attention of a NYC publisher. Cadence’s dreams are thisclose to coming true when a stranger washes up on the shore. Could he be the spy the town is whispering about? Or is the spy much closer to home?
I love everything by Martha Hall Kelly, and this is no exception! A dual-era historical fiction, coming of age during WWII, and a little bit of mystery… this book ticks all my boxes!
Buy The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club
The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris
Evie Woods
Magical croissants? Sign me up!
When Edie Lane leaves Ireland to work at a bakery in on Rue de Paris in France, she’s disappointed to find that Rue de Paris is not actually in Paris at all. Still, she decides to stay.
The bakery in Compiègne is special. The pastries taste like memories, and no one knows quite how they’re made. Edie works the front, but, despite living upstairs, has never actually met the pastry chef. This is a story of a woman grieving the loss of her mother and finding her place in a new culture and a new chosen family (I can so relate to her integration struggles!) Edie learns about the integral role the village played during WWII and discovers that the bakery’s history may not be as in the past as it seems.
What could have been a cheesy Hallmark version of a girl-meets-boy in charming French town is so so much more. I don’t want to give too much away, but this historical fiction, woven with magical realism will introduce you to a cast of characters you won’t soon forget.
Buy The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris
The Lies They Told
Ellen Marie Wiseman
Lena Conti is a young, unwed mother who boarded an Ellis Island-bound ship with her mother and teenage brother from Germany in the 1930s. Her mother and brother had plans to work for a distant family member, but when they were denied entry, Lena finds Silas Wolfe, a widowed family relative, and convinces him that she can do the work instead.
Lena and her daughter’s life in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains is a far cry from Germany, but she grows to love Silas’ children and the community. She finds it strange that the children have been taught to hide from the Sheriff, but when children start going missing, she learns that hiding might not be enough to keep them safe.
I had no idea that the US practiced eugenics on those deemed “inferior,” stealing children, land, and homes from good, hard-working people. But it happened. This shocking glimpse into my nation’s history is a warning that evil cannot overcome goodness and that the devotion of a mother is the strongest form of love.
Ellen Marie Wiseman is a gifted storyteller, bringing historical injustices to light in a tragic, heartbreaking manner, woven with a thread of hope.
Buy The Lies They Told
The Lost Passenger
Frances Quinn
I, like most 80s babies, went through a Titanic phase. More than just an obsession with Leonardo DiCaprio, I dove into the history of the ship, the agenda, the tragic sinking, and the survivors and those who lost their lives. But what if two of the survivors ended up on the victims’ list?
Elinor Coombes comes from a low-class-yet-wealthy family. She and her father are delighted at the chance to marry far above her social class when she’s chosen by the son of English aristocrats. But fairytales aren’t always happily ever after.
Elinor soon learns that an upper class lifestyle, isn’t all glitz and glamor. Far from it. It’s coldness, control, and rigid rules. And instead of love growing when she births a son, she learns that she will only get to spend a few moments with him each day.
She can’t leave. And staying is torture.
When her father gifts Elinor, her husband, and son tickets on the Titanic, it seems like a great way to spend time with her son.
When the ship goes down, Elinor makes a snap decision to build a life with him.
She and Teddy start over in New York City, penniless, but together. And everything seems good until a familiar face threatens to ruin everything.
I could not put this book down. Frances Quinn is a master storyteller, staying true to history while imagining a fictitious mother who will do anything for her child.
Buy The Lost Passenger
The Stolen Queen
Fiona Davis
When I say this book left an impression, I mean it. I could not stop talking about this book for weeks after I finished, and my childhood fascination with all things Egypt made a resurgence. Fiona Davis is a master storyteller, and she effortlessly weaves decades of history and traverses oceans to tell this dual-era, dual-continent story. When Charlotte Cross earned a spot on an archaeological dig in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings in 1936, it seemed like the world was her oyster. Everything was going her way— love, new life, and even a discovery. Then, a horrible tragedy took it all in an instant.
Flash forward to 1978, and Annie Jenkins landed a role working for former Vogue fashion editor Diana Vreeland as she organized the Met Gala. Charlotte works on a different floor in the Department of Egyptian Art as the Met’s associate curator. She’s spending her time researching a female pharaoh, Hathorkare, who’s often dismissed as nothing more than a footnote in history.
When an artifact goes missing during the gala, Charlotte and Annie team up to discover what happened to the missing piece and wind up unlocking parts of Charlotte’s own history at the same time.
Buy The Stolen Queen
Holidays
Big Nick Energy
Kristen Bailey
In college, Kay dated (and was spectacularly dumped at a Christmas pub trivia by) Nick. Nearly a decade later, she bumps into him while Christmas shopping, and he pulls out the stops trying to get a second chance. He’s grown up nicely, has a big-time job in finance, and plans the most magical dates.
But then there’s Santa Nick. Kay meets her while he’s cutting her out of Christmas tree wrapping (don’t ask how she wound up in the machine), and he’s grumpy, but verrrry sexy. And he shows up for her when she needs him most.
So, which Nick will she choose? You’ll have to read to find out! This is the perfect cozy, Christmas read!
Buy Big Nick Energy
The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah
Jean Meltzer
I’ve gotta be honest when I admit that A Christmas Carol is my least favorite holiday story. Does that make me a Scrooge? When I realized that The Eight Heartbreaks of Hannukkah was a riff on the old classic, I was a tiny bit disappointed. I am SO GLAD I stuck with it. I love everything Jean Meltzer wrote, and I can’t believe I doubted her for even a second. The story follows Evelyn Schwartz as she produces a live televised musical version of A Christmas Carol. If it goes well, this could be her big break into producing for the big screen. But there are two major hitches. Her ex-husband is filling in as the on-set doctor. (The ex-husband who walked out on her with no explanation two years earlier). And she’s seeing ghosts. Eight ghosts, actually. One for every night of Hannukkah and one for the 8 major heartbreaks of her life. This book is funny and meaningful, and the perfect Hanukkah story. Plus, Jean Meltzer brings back a few beloved characters from novels past!
Buy The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah
Thrillers
The Bachelorette Party
Camilla Sten
Tilly, Anna, Linnea and Evelina met every year at a remote island off the coast of Sweden— the exact location known only to the four best friends. They never returned from their last visit.
Ten years later, Tessa Nilsson’s turned her obsession with true crime into a hit podcast. She covered Sweden’s biggest cases, but never gave up trying to find out what happened to the four friends. When Tessa is invited to her best friend, Anneliese’s, bachelorette party at a swanky resort on a remote island, Tessa thinks this may be her chance to find out once and for all what happened to the missing girls in the past.
The one thing she wasn’t prepared for? The past coming to her.
This murder mystery is a fast-paced, locked room (er, island) mystery that will have you racing to the end to find out what happened!
Buy The Bachelorette Party
The Business Trip
Jessie Garcia
Two women get on a plane for reasons that couldn’t be more different. Stephanie is headed on a business trip. Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship. When the two women start texting their friends about a man, and then go silent, they’re both declared missing and in danger. Who is Trent McCarthy? Where are the women? And what actually happened on that plane ride? Jessie Garcia is a fantastic writer whose novel was all kinds of twisty and kept me guessing until the very end! I’ll definitely be looking out for her next books!
Buy The Business Trip
Don’t Let Him In
Lisa Jewell
When Nina Swann’s husband dies, she finds comfort in connecting with Nick Radcliffe— an old friend of her late husband’s. He’s charming, smooth, and a link to her husband. Nina’s daughter Ash can sense that something’s not quite right, though, and starts digging into Nick’s past.
A few towns over, Martha is a florist who lives with her infant daughter and husband, Alistair. Lately, though, he’s has been traveling more and more, disappearing for days at a time. While his excuses always check out, she knows something’s not quite right.
When people say “not all men,” they’re definitely not talking about Martha’s husband or Nina’s boyfriend. If you’re looking for another reason to run far far away from the dating pool, this is it.
Buy Don’t Let Him In
Famous
Blake Crouch
I love Blake Crouch’s sci-fi books, and was excited to check out his latest thriller. If his sci-fis are 10/10, I’d give this one a 7.5/10— mostly because the main character is so so unlikeable.
Imagine having the same face as one of the world’s biggest celebrities. I’m not talking about a passing resemblance. Lance has been mistaken for James Jansen, an Oscar-winning movie star, 87 times. Almost 40 and still living above his parents’ garage, Lance doesn’t have much going for him. After studying up on his doppelgänger, he heads off to LA to see if he has what it takes to really be a star. The book was a fast read (because I had to know what would happen next) and will leave you wondering, “what really makes me me?”
Buy Famous
Five Found Dead
Sulari Gentill
Sulari Gentill can do no wrong. Her writing style is impeccable and the stories she tells are anything but cookie cutter. Even this one. The Orient Express has been done before. So has a murder on the iconic train. But it’s never been done like this.
Twins Meredith and Joe board the Orient Express in Paris to celebrate Joe finishing a medical treatment. And Meredith hopes the train will inspire her brother to write again.
The next morning, the cabin next to the twins is a crime scene— covered in blood, but lacking a body. What follows is a Agatha Christie-esque investigation that sees a hodgepodge group of passengers with law enforcement backgrounds become onboard detectives. The investigation becomes deadly, with five found dead, and the original victim still missing.
Can Joe and Meredith work with their fellow passengers to avoid more deaths and catch a killer? You won’t want to miss this one!
Buy Five Found Dead
Hello, Juliet
Samantha M. Bailey
Ivy Westcott was a former teen star on Hello, Juliet. Now, she’s known as #PoisonIvy. Her acting career imploded and her friends all turned against her. And she has no idea who or why.
Ten years later, she’s been invited to a top secret reunion. While she usually wouldn’t dream of putting herself back in the position to be hurt again, she needs the money. And she would like the chance to clear her name after a celebrity exposé brought all the long-buried scandals back to the forefront of pop culture.
Ivy is ready for some good to come from the heartbreak, but it wouldn’t be a Samantha M. Bailey novel if everything worked out, would it? Instead, Ivy shows up at the taping studio to find the man who broke her heart. And together, they discover their costar dead.
Did scandals from 10 years ago cause this death? And is the past out to get Ivy, too?
This is one that will keep you up at night until you figure out whodunnit!
Buy Hello, Juliet
I Would Die for You
Sandie Jones
It’s 2011 in California. Nicole leads a normal, unassuming life with her husband and daughter. The last thing she expects is a writer to knock on her door asking about her role in the downfall of the biggest British band of the 1980s. It’s a shock. But something even more shocking happens later that day. Nicole arrives to pick her daughter up from school, but she’s already been collected by her aunt. Nicole’s daughter doesn’t have an aunt. Nicole’s quiet life is not so quiet anymore. She races to find her daughter, and discover how her past might be impacting her present.
I love everything by Sandie Jones, and this is no exception. This book is twisty, filled with tension that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. If you are a child of the 80s, or have ever been a boy band fan, this one’s for you!
Buy I Would Die for You
The Locked Ward
Sarah Pekkanen
“I didn’t do it. You’ve got to get me out of here.”
Those are the words Georgia Cartwright whispers to her estranged twin, Mandy, when she visits her in a psychiatric institution.
Georgia was adopted as a newborn into a wealthy, Southern family. Now, she’s locked up and accused of killing the family’s biological daughter, Annabelle.
How far do the bonds of sisterhood, the ties of biology go? Is Georgia a pathological killer? Or wrongfully accused?
This book will have you wondering who’s the manipulator and who’s being manipulated until the very last page. So, so good!
Buy The Locked Ward
The Manor of Dreams
Christina Li
It took me weeks to shake this book. It was captivating and creepy and absolutely all-encompassing. Vivian Yin was the first Chinese actress to win an actress, rising to the top of her career, and disappearing from public view, living the remainder of her life as a recluse. Now, she’s dead.
Her daughters gather for the reading of the will, only to find that it has been changed at the last minute. Vivian’s grand manor will go to another family. One that has been estranged for decades.
Both families move into the manor, only to find that, while Vivian has died, SOMETHING is still living in that house. And it’s vengeful.
This dual-era gothic tale, which spans three generations, examines what happens when the American dream goes wrong and the danger of keeping secrets.
Christina Li takes her time building backstories of the characters, giving you time to fully immerse yourself in the novel.
Buy The Manor of Dreams
The Missing Half
Ashley Flowers
As a Crime Junkie, I spend several hours every week with Ashley Flowers. When I saw her second thriller available on NetGalley, I could not click the request button fast enough.
Seven years ago, Kasey and Jules disappeared from the same area within two weeks of each other. With little to go on, both cases have gone cold. The police may have given up, but when the missing girls’ sisters meet each other, they decide to discover what really happened. This book will have you questioning how well you really know the people you love most. My guess for the most likely suspect changed throughout the book, and I was left with my mouth hanging open when I got to the end. She’s not just an amazing true crime podcaster, y’all. Ashley Flowers is an incredible writer, too!
Buy The Missing Half
Parents Weekend
Alex Finlay
Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella are residents of Campisi Hall at a small private school in Northern California. It’s Parents’ Weekend, and the students are due to meet their parents at an event. They never show.
Originally brushed off as typical college-aged irresponsibility, when the five are still missing one night later, campus police alert the authorities. Enter FBI Agent Sarah Keller (she’s a regular in a couple of Finlay’s novels)
The investigation will uncover the darkest secrets of every parent and student— revealing so many possible explanations for the students’ disappearance. Get ready for a big cast of characters, a whole lot of family dysfunction, and a bingeable book you won’t be able to put down.
Buy Parents Weekend
Remain
Nicholas Sparks; M. Night Shyamalan
If you had told me last year that I’d be reviewing a paranormal romance by Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan, I wouldn’t have believed you. And yet, here we are. 2025 has all kinds of tricks up its sleeve!
New York architect Tate Donovan arrives in Cape Cod to help his best friend build his summer home, fresh out of the psychiatric ward. Dealing with depression and mourning the loss of his sister, this is a chance to make a fresh start. While most departed relatives leave gifts in a will, Tate’s sister bestowed a special kind of gift during their final visit— the gift to see, and help, spirits who are still tethered to the living world.
Tate moves into a historic bed-and-breakfast to work on his friend’s project and meets a young woman named Wren who will change everything he thought he believed about the beyond. Tate and Wren experience an immediate, intense connection (hello, Nicholas Sparks), but Wren’s sweet side gives way to a scary reenactment of her final moments each night (thanks for the nightmares, M. Night Shyamalan). This is the perfect blend of romance and thriller, thanks to these iconic authors.
Buy Remain
Sunburned
Katherine Wood
For most, an unexpected call from an ex is unwelcome. For Audrey Collet, it’s worse. Her ex Tyson, now a tech billionaire, needs her help to find out who’s blackmailing him— and he’s threatening to reveal her secrets unless she does.
They share more than just a romantic past— and the foot that’s recently washed up in the Everglades is a dark reminder of that connection.
Audrey joins Tyson and his entourage in St. Barth’s, intent on helping him discover who’s extorting him. Answers don’t come quick enough, and Tyson’s birthday dive ends in tragedy. Can Audrey figure out what’s happening before she becomes a victim, too?
Expect a fast-paced, dual-era thriller, filled with unexpected twists at every turn!
Buy Sunburned
The Wrong Sister
Claire Douglas
“It was supposed to be you . . .” That’s the note Tasha receives after her sister, Alice is attacked and her husband Kyle killed while watching Tasha’s children.
What could have led to such an awful attack?And a terrible mistake? How well do we ever truly know the ones we love?
If you love twisty family thrillers with lots of surprises, you’ll love this!
Buy The Wrong Sister
What Kind of Paradise
Janelle Brown
Jane grows up in an isolated cabin in Montana in the mid-1990s, with only her father for company. He shapes her worldview with nineteenth-century philosophy, practical survival tips, and hyper-independence.
Occasionally, Jane’s father leaves her home while he leaves the cabin (I’d call that child abandonment…), but as she gets older, she begs to accompany him. On one of those trips, something horiffic happens, and Jane flees the scene of the crime she’s an accomplice to, heading for San Francisco— the place where her mother died— hoping for clues about her mysterious past.
Jane is thrust into modern society, with zero street smarts, and finds herself in the midst of the fledgling internet scene as she searches for answers. This book will have you wondering about nature and nurture, questioning technology, and feeling nostalgic for the days of chat rooms past!
Buy What Kind of Paradise
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