End-of-2025 Open Thread for Readers
Happy New Year to you all! Do you have great reads from 2025 to talk about? What were your favorites? Which books were weakest or frustrated you most? And which books are you most looking forward to in 2026? As always, chatting about stuff in general is welcome too.
A definite theme developed in my favorite books this year: several of them were second-chance/dual-timeline m/m hockey romances.
Favorite books published in 2025:
GOALTENDER INTERFERENCE by Ari Baran: A second-chance romance between two professional hockey players, one recently retired, the other still playing, who broke up a decade ago. A somber book that addresses serious issues—including mental-health struggles and the physical toll of playing professional sports—but so well-written and nuanced that everything feels organic and true rather than bleak.
THE SHOTS YOU TAKE by Rachel Reid: A second-chance romance that is also about facing your past, the choices you made, the consequences of those choices, of expressing true remorse and of seeking forgiveness, of finding your way back to love while still being true to yourself, all in a smoothly-written package that moves seamlessly between present and past.
THE LAST GUY ON EARTH by Sarina Bowen. The rare dual-timeline book that makes it clear why the MCs (once hockey teammates, now a player & coach) didn’t make it the first time around and how much it’s going to take to keep them together the second time. Top-notch writing, pining, angst, emotional growth, hot sexy-times, and a satisfying & organic HEA.
YOU GIVE ME THAT FEELING by Julie Kriss: Fake relationship done just right as a rom-com queen and a bad-boy rocker team up to change their public images. Brilliantly captures the layers of emotions morphing from “fake” to “real” as genuine love replaces the ersatz version.
Favorite books published in a prior year:
THE LOVE OF MY AFTERLIFE by Kristy Greenwood (published in 2024): A woman meets her soulmate in the afterlife. They are returned to Earth and she has ten days to find him again. By turns heart-rendingly sad, laugh-out-loud hilarious, poignantly tender, and thought-provoking, LOVE OF MY AFTERLIFE is also a thoroughly English novel, completely grounded in the attitudes and geography of London; I don’t think you could successfully transpose the story to another milieu.
WE WERE NEVER LOVERS by Sasha Avice (published in 2024): Not only is this brilliantly-written, uber-angsty story one of the best explorations of the amnesia trope I’ve read since N.R. Walker’s Missing Pieces trilogy, but it also squarely addresses issues of racism and homophobia in professional sports (in this case, Australian Football) without being heavy-handed or detracting from the romance.
I’m curious about whether anyone else is tired of any genres or tropes. Personally I’m getting tired of seeing so many romantasy books in general and fae in particular although I will admit to having a fae romantasy arc in my TBR books
Jayne – I am still waiting for the emergence of writers like Stella Riley and Elizabeth Kingston. My main reading love is historical fiction including historical romance. In the last few years I have read more mediocre historical romance that I care to remember. I know that Riley continues to write, but I haven’t heard anything from Kingston and another author I have enjoyed Elizabeth Everett is now publishing a romantasy series.
I do want to thank you again for guiding me towards two series which were absolute highlights of my 2025 reading year – A Horseman Riding By and the Cazalet Chronicles. I also enjoyed your list of 2025 reads.
A few novels that IMHO didn’t get the buzz they deserved:
I LEAVE IT UP TO YOU by Jinwoo Chong: Hits the sweet spot between litfit and romcom. Jack Jr. wakes up in 2021 from a 2-year coma and tries to navigate a changed world where his fiance is missing, his parents (from whom he is estranged) are at his side, and the only person who makes sense is his nurse Emil. The story has family drama, romance, and humor.
SMALL JOYS by Elvin James Mensah: Recommended by KJ Charles – do you really need to know anything more? Debut novel about the almost undefinable relationship between a queer, depressed, self-destructive, son of a Ghanian immigrant and a cheerful, compassionate Mancunian (that’s a guy from Manchester UK). A rollercoaster of emotions and brilliant characterizations. I’m still not sure if it is a romance or not, but there’s definitely a happy, hopeful ending.
THE KEEPER OF LONELY SPIRITS by E.M. Anderson: Peter is a 200 year old wanderer whose stop in a small Ohio town brings unexpected connections. The LI is a 70 year old museum curator. The rest of the characters are diverse – queer, Black, Palestinian, Asian, young, old – and most of them have experienced grief. The writing is so good as the found family begins to heal that you can overlook the plot holes.
MODERATION by Elaine Castillo: I thought I was reading your basic millennial tech dystopia novel, and then a romance novel happened. The takedown of capitalism, American exceptionalism, and the utter depravity that is possible in an anonymous online world suddenly changed its focus to FMC “Girlie” trying not to have a crush on her new boss, William. Props to Castillo for this genre-defying novel that bravely wears its heart on its sleeve.
THE ROAD TO TENDER HEARTS by Annie Hartnett: Feels like the movie “Little Miss Sunshine” but with a higher body count. A 63-year old hapless alcoholic hoarder goes on a road trip with his young great-niece and nephew, whose parents have recently died; his estranged daughter; and a cat named Pickles who can smell death. Macabre events, black humor and genuine emotion. Won’t be for everyone – CW for multiple deaths – but I agree with the author who described it as “terrible but also very funny.”
Other than TENDER HEARTS, all include romances (might not be the main focus) with at least HFN endings.
Hope 2026 brings everyone plenty of great books!
@Jayne: NO MORE FAKE DATING!!! For G-d’s sake, come up with something more original!
@MEB: I can’t remember who mentioned those two series but I need to look into them, too.
Looks like the most recent Kingston book is from 2024 – the last of the Welsh Blades series. Have you read any of her collaboration books with Susanna Malcolm? – The Misadventures of a Titian-Haired Goddess and an Outrageous Hellion
@SusanS: Something about THE ROAD TO TENDER HEARTS is calling to me.
@DiscoDollyDeb: THE LOVE OF MY AFTERLIFE – yay, my library has this.
@SusanS: I leave it up to you sounds interesting thank you.
@DiscoDollyDeb: As usual, some of your end of year picks sound terriffic. I need to do a better job of actually picking up at least those my library has. I am most interested in the last two (amnesia is one of my favorite tropes and I’m not afraid to say so) but I’m also interested in Sarina Bowen’s book because I’ve enjoyed some of her books in the past. The first four Ivy Years novels were my favorites.
I actually didn’t finish The Shots You Take, even though it wasn’t a bad book. I just couldn’t get Heated Rivalry / The Long Game out of my mind when I was reading it and thinking about how the stupendous Ilya / Shane chemistry wasn’t there. I know that’s a tall order but there wree some similarities in the plot – one of the characters was gay and the other passed for straight through m/f relationship(s), one was more emotionally available, the relationship lasted for years and had to be hidden from the hockey community. It was enough to make it hard not to compare them.
BTW are you watching Heated Rivalry on HBO? What are your thoughts if so?
@Jayne: I have said this before – I’m tired of some tropes more than others, but mostly I’m truly tired of the recycling of the same tropes ad nauseam. There were always some tropes that were trendier than others, but right now it seems there are only a handful that account for 95% of books (I haven’t conducted statistical analysis, this is just how it feels to me and may not be accurate). In contemporaries the main ones are enemies to lovers, friends/roommates to lovers, fake relationship, grumpy/sunshine, and the occasional road trip book. I am tired of most of them, but I think the issue is the regurgitation and not the tropes themselves.
@MEB: Historical romance is almost a dead duck at the moment. I’ve heard from a friend in the industry that sales down 60% and even some big names have had their historical romance contracts dropped or series canceled prematurely. With the sales figures so depressing, publishers are less likely to take a chance on books that put originality ahead of the tried and true that has sold in the past. I hate to say this because HR was my favorite genre for decades, but at least for the moment, I think it’s a good idea to investigate other genres and see if you can find a niche or two in other genres that are satisfying to you as a reader.
Many of my favorite books this year were rereads of books by authors such as Andrea K. Höst, S.K. Dunstall, Katherine Addison, Anne Cleeland, Mary Balogh, Nathan Lowell, Carla Kelly, Lyn Gala, Andy Weir, and Sarina Bowen. I also enjoyed many new to me books by Celia Lake and in the Liaden Universe.
A couple of new books that qualify as favorites are ~
Turns of Fate by Anne Bishop
The Inheritance by Ilona Andrews.
In addition to reading for pleasure, I also belong to two book groups. Favorites there from the year include ~
The Measure by Nikki Erlick
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea
My Favorite reads of the year in no particular order:
TURNS OF FATE by Anne Bishop – very immersive. Reminiscent of her The Others series. Hi re-read value.
FORGET ME NOT (duology) by K. Carr – felt like an old skool 90s romance. A marriage in a LOT of jeopardy. MMC has amnesia because of a TBI and forgets the past five years of his life. That happens to be when he met and married his wife. When he awakens from his coma, he thinks he is still a bachelor and madly in love with his ex. I like how the author slowly led us through the initial trauma, the bewilderment and later defiance of the MMC (he feels that everyone is trying to force him into a life that is alien to him), the hurt and slow realization of the FMC that she can’t make it all go back to normal. But she also carefully leads us through a very nice redemption and reconciliation that feels very much earned.
THE INHERITANCE by Ilona Andrews – So good!
THE HALL OF BLOOD AND MERCY trilogy and THE COURT OF MIDNIGHT AND DECEPTION trilogy by K.M. Shea. New to me author this year that hit just he right note of really funny writing, good paranormal world building , and good storytelling. The First trilogy kicked off my rabbit hole into stories with sentient houses.
MAGICAL MIDLIFE INVASION – by K.F. Breene. A new to me author, discovered during my search for sentient house books. Like the KM Shea books, this leans toward the very funny and lighthearted with a good cast of characters. The house is a major character. This one is the third in the series. The first 4 or 5 five books of the series were the best with this one being the very best. Sadly as the series goes on, it gets itself entangled (imo) in its own long story arc. And loses some of the whimsy and humor that attracted me in the first place.
THE MASQUERADERS by Georgette Heyer. Very delightful. Clever storytelling. Super interesting dark horse secondary character.
THIS COULD BE US by Kennedy Ryan – SO. Many. Feels. I loved the female friendships in this story. I loved the hero. This is one of those books that feels like it is what grandmother calls ‘grown folks business’ It is grounded and feels slice-of-life realistic and yet still very much a romance novel.
THE VAMPIRE AND THE CASE OF THE CURSED CANINE- by Heather G. Harris. Another new to me author. This is the 4th and my favorite book in her a cozy paranormal mystery series. Features a newly turned vampire named Bunny who escapes to the paranormal town of Portlock to become first an apprentice in the Sheriff’s office there, and then actually goes to the paranormal police academy to become a deputy. Bunny is forcibly turned which is illegal. But in Britain (where she is from) she is being held to the same rules fro vampires who ask to be turned and according to the rules of their society she is supposed to serve the Vampire in her area for 100 years. But he is the son of the grand poobah Vampire in Europe who is cruel and awful and there are shenanigans with why she is being held to a different standard so she escapes to America and out of his jurisdiction. And he doesn’t dare mess with the grand poobah vampire in the US. The town is full of different paranormals all with interesting character quirks. There is an ongoing mystery about Bunny herself. Why was she turned? I liked this installment because the case of the week was good but also a lot of forward momentum and info about Bunny was revealed.
And finally I ended the year on a strong note with BLACK WILLOW WITCH by Suzanne Wright. This author is hit or miss with me. When I like what she writes, I really like it. but when I don’t like then I really, really don’t. It is like ‘0’ OR ‘100’. This one I really liked. Also set in a paranormal town (I seem to have had a theme this year….) this one is basically divided between the witches — who are governed by an overarching coven and werewolves governed by the Alphas of individual packs. It starts off with a bang… a will reading that is the genesis of a lot of drama of the book. The FMC is a witch. I really liked her because the author made her a bit of an anti-heroine which is somewhat rare. I say a bit because she isn’t in the mold of a true anti-hero whose actions are dictated by their own interests always, but she is not exactly altruistic or sweet. She has quite a bit of bite and edge to her and could be mean. — to the right people. I liked how her backstory was built and how we understood the forces that built her. I very much liked how the romance was built with the MMC a werewolf. Not a trope in sight! Thank you, Jeebus! these two are anti-grumpy/sunshine and it wasn’t fake dating or enemies to lovers. They become allies out of necessity and then friends because they come to enjoy each other and finally lovers because they find each other incredibly hot.
So my year ended so much stronger than it began.
I only had a few standout reads this year. Topping the list is Naomi Novik’s novella, The Summer War. I read it a second time within days of reading it the first time. Sirius, Jennie and I reviewed it together (all three of us really liked it) and you can find the review here: https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-b-reviews/joint-review-the-summer-war-by-naomi-novik/
Another book I liked a lot was Enemy of My Dreams by Jenny Williamson. I have no idea why this historical romance is being billed as a romantasy since the only (slightly) fantastical element is a minor ghost who represents a character’s guilty conscience (it read like the character was just hallucinating it to me). As a historical romance, it’s quite good.
The setting is the waning says of the Roman empire – the FMC is the daughter of the last emperor and the MMC the leader of the visigoths. The book hearkens to the older historical romances of the 1980s and 1990s not only by having an out-of-the-box and immersive setting, but also with battles, raids, and an uneasy (at first) alliance between a couple who are on enemy sides. At the same time, it’s an updated version of that kind of book — there’s a found family and despite the title, the relationship never descends into “I hate you” territory. This was a memorable read and I will be on the lookout for more from this author.
I inhaled Eli Sharabi’s memoir, Hostage. It is written with a journalistic style, focusing on events, exchanges between people, and visceral sensory details, without much political editorializing. For all that almost 500 days in captivity and starvation underground are a dark subject matter, Sharabi’s response to these circumstances — the tenacity of his will to survive and keep his fellow captives alive — make the book both riveting and inspiring. YMMV, obviously.
I also had a couple of honorable mentions this year – Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison is not as good as The Goblin Emperor, but it is the best of her Cemeteries of Amalo fantasy mysteries fo far, and there’s finally some movement on the romantic horizon for Celehar. What’s more, two of my favorite characters from The Goblin Emperor have cameos in the book, and we may be seeing more of them in the future. Yay for that.
My other honorable mention is Ilona Andrews’ book, The Inheritance. I really missed having a romantic subplot in this book, but otherwise it was good. I’m a fan of the survival trope and it never bored me (I was afraid it would).
@Janine, do you think there is a correlation between the disappearance of mass market paperbacks and lower demand for historical fiction? Buying trade paperbacks is pricey for heavy readers.
None of my 5 star reads were published in 2025.
Top reads (not pub in 2025)
What It Takes to Heal: How Transforming Ourselves Can Change the World by Prentis Hemphill
Part call to action, part memoir, part how to guide, it’s an invitation to heal personal trauma and work for social change. I savored this for a couple months.
Free from Falling by E.L. Massey (Breakaway #4)
I loved this queer m/f romance so, so much! I binged the entire series in less than a week and this one was my favorite by far. It has the right proportion of hockey to romance (i.e. lots of romance, a little hockey) and such a sweet love story between two quirky, awkward humans.
The Lotus Empire by Tasha Suri
This was so freaking good! A worthy end to a wonderful high fantasy trilogy.
Key Lime Sky by Al Hess
Don’t read the spoiler-y blurb! Really enjoyed this queer SF adventure / romance about unlikely heroes investigating weird things happening in a Wyoming small town. It has the feel of classic SF movies like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, although it’s set in the near future or an alt version of our time – when people wear contact lenses that can take pictures and upload content to the Internet and humans have gone to Mars.
Top reads published in 2025 (4.5 stars)
The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
Copper Script by KJ Charles
Every Step She Takes by Alison Cochrun
Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert: A Novel by Bob the Drag Queen
The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri
By Marsh and by Moor by Annick Trent
Behind Frenemy Lines by Zen Cho
@LML: I don’t know for sure but I suspect so. Many years ago, when I worked in a bookstore, we didn’t send unsold mass market paperbacks to the publisher for a refund, as we did with trade paperbacks and hardcovers. By some older law, bookstores aren’t required to. So we would just rip off the covers and send those as proof that the books hadn’t sold.
(Let me tell you, it broke my heart to have to destroy perfectly good books that way. If you ever saw coverless books sold at a yard sale or donated, those were probably copies that bookstores had ripped off the covers from and were therefore unable to sell. Some bookstore employee gave one to a friend, and the friend later tried to sell it – that’s my best guess.)
Some old law exempts mass market paperbacks from having to be returned in full, so as to save bookstores on shipping costs and reduce the risk to them. But it does mean that publishers make a lot less profit on mass market paperbacks, because they are unable to resell the unsold books to liquidators and recoup a bit of their costs and instead have to pulp the covers, which actually costs them. For this reason, publishers are a lot more fond of trade paperbacks and hardcovers than they are of mass market paperbacks. If the market allows them to shift gears toward the former, then they have every incentive to do so.
Historical romance has traditionally sold in mass market paperbacks – that was what there is the most demand from for readers. But readers are apparently willing to shell out more money for contemporaries now. So yeah, I think there’s probably a correlation, although I’m not sure if the chicken or the egg came first.
I am inclined to post because I want to give another shout out to one here already for THE ROAD TO TENDER HEARTS. I agree with the Little Miss Sunshine comparison – my only problem with the book, and it’s not the book’s fault, is I can already see the Netflix and Prime people circling it to make it into a streaming show.
There were several great recommendations from Good Author, so I’d like to thank the site for reviews of:
THE LOST PASSENGER by Frances Quinn
THE WINTER OF THE DOLLHOUSE by Lauren Amy Schlitz
They ended up in my favorites of the year. The fact that THE LOST PASSENGER was a historical novel with absolutely no romance was…kind of refreshing?
Another literary fiction I enjoyed was A DOG IN GEORGIA by Lauren Goldstein. I’m sure the streaming vultures are circling this one, too. I learned a lot about Tbilisi!
And because I’m Gen X and a music lover, I gobbled up Mike Campbell’s HEARTBREAKER and THE CARS – LET THE STORIES BE TOLD by Bill Janovitz. That last one is probably my no. 1 fave book of 2025. Clearly, I love The Cars.
I wish there were romances I liked but it just wasn’t the case. Historical that isn’t wallpaper has all but disappeared, and every contemporary feels like I’m reading about toddlers and grumpy cats. Lo siento!
@Tanya: I am thrilled that you like those two books. When I review books which aren’t romances, I worry sometimes that anyone will be interested in them. Thanks for the positive feedback.
@cleo: Agree so much about Key Lime Sky. New Zen Cho? Oh maybe not so new, I have not seen anything from her in a while, let me try :).
@cleo: I also really liked The Lotus Empire. It wasn’t quite up there with The Jasmine Throne for me but it was very good.
I have been wanting to read The River Has Roots since I liked This is How You Lose the Time War so much. Sirius, have you read it?
Harriet Tubman Live in Concert is another one I’ve been wanting to try.
@Janine: No I have not.
@Sirius: I’m pretty sure I read Key Lime Sky because of your review, so thank you for that – and for the warning not to read the spoilery second half of the blurb! Al Hess was one of my favorite discoveries this year.
@Janine: I also loved This is How You Lose the Time War. The River Has Roots is very different but equally good. I think you’d like it because you liked The Summer War – it has a similar, old-fashioned fairy tale vibe to it. And the audio book is excellent – it includes a lot of music referenced in the text and I thought it was done well.
@Janine: I liked The River Has Roots. I suggest reading the wikipedia page on the folk song “The Two Sisters,” that the story is inspired by first, it enhanced my understanding and enjoyment of the story.
Also, I wanted to mention re: romantasy recs – I just finished another popular series, Fourth Wing, and recommend it! It is better than some of the other popular stuff out there in my opinion. It’s particularly good if you don’t know much about it going in. That was me and the reveal at the end of the second book blew my mind.
@Li: thank you for that! I didn’t know about The Two Sisters and that did enhance my understanding of The River Has Roots. I’m glad I didn’t read about The Two Sisters first though, since it feels a little spoiler-y and I like to go in to books without a lot of pre-knowledge.
WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME THERE IS A HEATED RIVALRY TV SHOW? I mean, obviously someone did, but it was Stephanie Ruhle, of all people.
@Etv13: lol!
Heated Rivalry is really good! I think it’s the rare adaptation that is better than the book – it’s very faithful to the source material but also transcends it, imo.
@Etv13: welcome to the club although so far I only watched many tiny bits and pieces from YouTube . I need need to set up a time to pay for HBO max for a month and just watch it . The actors have so much chemistry IMO.
Heated Rivalry fans, we’ll be putting up a discussion post for the show tomorrow and hope to see you there.