I’m a little late in posting this, but it’s one of the few tags I genuinely enjoy doing every year. It’s also a tag that majorly stresses me out because it shows me just how many books I still want to read. It’s been a very good half year for me, reading-wise, and I am quite proud of myself. Through the reading challenges I participate in, I managed to not only read newer books, but also tackle some oldies, I caught up (a little) on several series, and I’ve discovered new favorites. Which is The Best TM!
Alright, let’s get into it an freak out!
How Many Books Have I read so far?
67 books, but that’s counting comics and some novelettes that Goodreads lists as “books” so the number needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I’m not too bothered about it, even though my official goal for the year is to read 125 books. If I counted picture books every time I read them, I would have reached that goal already. 🙂
Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2025
What do you mean, book? As in just one? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
My biggest discovery, and a series that has accompanied me throughout the year, was by far Dungeon Crawler Carl. I didn’t love all books equally, but even the less good entries are still very good. Jeff Hays’s narration is stellar and I already dread the day when I’ve caught up on the series and have to actually wait for my next audio fix of Carl and Donut. The series is exactly as good as everyone says and I’m glad to be part of the fan club.
Then I also have a new author crush because H. A. Clarke can do no wrong. Or at least so it appears in the Scapegracers Trilogy, a witchy YA series so good it almost hurts. I loved everything about it, the writing, the characters, the magic, the way Clarke manages to write YA without talking down to young people. These books are perfect.
I also read two novellas that stole my heart. First the 2025 publication The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar. What a little gem this book is! On the border of faerieland live two sisters who sing to two willow trees next to the river. This book brims with magic, it’s a murder ballad, it features sisterly love, and I adored every single word.
The second novella, technically the whole duology, was In the Shadow of the Fall by Tobi Ogundiran, impressed me with how much it packs into such a small page count. If you want epic fantasy, but you don’t want to spend 500 pages immersing yourself in the world, pick this up. These two novellas are heartbreaking and full of gorgeous world building and they absolutely stole my heart.
Best Sequel You’ve Read so Far in 2023
Moving on the the regular kind of epic fantasy, Jen Williams stormed into my reading life with The Ninth Rain last year, and this year I continued her trilogy with The Bitter Twins. This middle volume is quieter and slower than the first, but I loved it just as much. This is epic fantasy the way it’s supposed to be, starting with a cool world (dragons, vampiric elves, magic!) and then showing a bigger picture with every volume. It also helps that I adore all the characters.
I continued with the Toby Daye series and Chimes at Midnight ended up as one of my favorite volumes to date.
As for Dungeon Crawler Carl, I could add at least one more sequel among the best because the whole damn series is so good, but you get the idea, so I’m only going to mention The Gate of the Feral Gods because it had a fight with a goose.
New Release You Haven’t Read Yet But Want To
Oh dear, this dreaded question again…
- Megan Bannen – The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam
- Brandon Sanderson – Isles of the Emberdark
- Mary Robinette Kowal – The Martian Contingency
- Emily Tesh – The Incandescent
- Antonia Hodgson – The Raven Scholar
- Robert Jackson Bennett – A Drop of Corruption
I own all of these books already and I can hardly decide which I’m more excited for. I hope to read them all within the next couple of months.
Most Anticipated Release for the Second Half of the Year
A new Alix E. Harrow book is always cause for major excitement in my household. Her ladyknight novel was born from the short story The Six Deaths of the Saint which I loved wa more than anyone should love a piece of short fiction, so I cannot wait to devour this novel, The Everlasting, as soon as it comes out.
I also can’t wait for the conclusion to Moses Ose Utomi’s Forever Desert trilogy, The Memory of the Ogisi, and I even own hardbacks of these books. I’m mentioning that because at barely over 100 pages, you could debate whether they’re worth the price of a hardback. But they are, they totally are! I am ready to have my heart broken again, because Utomi always does it in such an elegant way.
Then there’s the prequel to the Divine Rivals duology, which I didn’t expect to love as much as I did. But returning to this world and discovering a whole new love story set in it sounds absolutely perfect right now. Give me Wild Reverence.
I may not have been quite as over the top in love with The Will of the Many as many other folks, but it did set its hooks in me and I absolutely want to know how that insane story goes on in The Strength of the Few.
Plus, we’ll get a new book by Charlie Jane Anders and a new one by Freya Marske, both authors whose work I really enjoy.
Biggest Disappointment
I wish I didn’t have an answer to this, but I always do.
A very recent read was the lauded and much-awarded The Forever War which I expected to love, but ended up finding only okay. It did some things really well, but others were just weird or simply not to my taste, so I don’t understand the hype.
The hardes hitting disappointment was beyond a doubt Space Oddity by my favorite author, Catherynne M. Valente. I loved Space Opera and pretty much everything else I’ve read by her, but this book was just… too much.
So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole was promising, but ended up being just really bad. It is a debut, and I tend to be more forgiving with those, but even as such, it needed a lot of work and editing to make a good novel.
Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger is a prequel to Elatsoe, which I enjoyed. Sadly, this book was pure boredom for 80%, and the heartwarming ending could do only so much to save it.
Lastly, Jeff Vandermeer’s Southern Reach trilogy (although there is now a fourth book) started out well, but Authority just bored the living daylights out of me. If that’s not a saying, it should be.
Biggest Surprise
I did pick up Dungeon Crawler Carl based on all the rave reviews, but that doesn’t always mean I’m going to agree. In this case, however, it was an absolute hit and I am currently five books into the series, with no intention of stopping.
I’ve read a few John Scalzi books before, including his crazy-idea-taken-up-to-eleven (Kaiju, Starter Villain), and I expected mostly a bit of light fun from this. But When the Moon Hits Your Eye ended up surprisingly emotional, in addition to delivering the silly humor.
The other surprise was Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Service Model, which doesn’t do so well with hardcore Tchaikovsky fans, but hit all my buttons. I had no idea it would be so funny but I enjoyed this robot-on-a-road-trip novel so, so much!
Favorite New Author
H. A. Clarke took all of two pages to steal my heart and held on to it for three entire books so far. I am determined to read their adult debut, Metal From Heaven, this year. I am certain it will be another five star read and thus cement my love for this amazingly talented author.
The other one is Ray Nayler, although I’ve only read one of his novellas so far. But The Tusks of Extinction was so damn good it made me want to read his entire back catalog.
Newest Fictional Crush
Sideways from the Scapegracers Trilogy. I may be a straight woman, but Sideways does things to me. 🙂
New Favorite Character
UnCharles from Service Model comes to mind, but also Sideways again. Plus, obviously, Carl and Donut from Dungeon Crawler Carl.
Underrated gems you discovered recently
With the recent-ish hype for cozy fantasy, this older novel is getting more attention again, which is why I finally picked it up. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen was exactly the cozy kind of small-town fantasy it promised to be. It’s not the deepest story, it doesn’t have extensive world building, but its characters are easy to love and the story flows beautifully.
Tobi Ogundiran’s duology, In the Shadow of the Fall and At the Fount of Creation is not that old, but it has flown a little under the radar. Novellas get a lot of love these days, but this one definitely deserves more.
A Book That Made You Cry
In the Shadow of the Fall managed to make me cry, even though it’s so short.
And Wind and Truth made me cry during several scenes, most of all a fight scene with Adolin somewhere near the end. I won’t spoil it and it’s not even the most tragic scene in the book, but it hit me right in the feels.
A Book That Makes You Happy
It’s no surprise that these are mostly cozy or cozy-adjacent books. Murder by Memory was a lovely little murder mystery on a generation ship, with cool ideas and an older protagonist. A Letter to the Lonesome Shore continued being as great as the first book in the duology. Epistolary magic under the sea with neurodiverse characters and some surprisingly epic world buildling. And Scalzi gets a mention again because When the Moon Hits Your Eye was just the kind of funny I needed when I picked it up.
Favorite Book-to-Movie Adaptation You’ve Seen This Year
I liked Mickey17. I read the book after having seen the movie and maybe it’s because of that or because the book keeps things rather shallow, but I actually preferred the movie version, over the top as it is.
Most Beautiful Book You’ve Bought This Year
I don’t technically have them yet as they still have to be shipped, but the Illumicrate edition of the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb is going to be stunning! Look at the artwork, look at the naked hardbacks, look at those EDGES!
I will forever cherish my tattered paperback copy (signed!) of these books, but how could I say no to these beauties?
What Books Do You Need to Read By the End of the Year
I’m done with Hugo Awards reading for the year, so now is the time to both read lots of 2025 releases and catch up on series I’ve already started. But there are a few books I’ve said I’d read for AGES and I really, honestly, pinky-swear will try and do it this year:
- Steven Erikson – Gardens of the Moon
I’m going to do it. I’m finally going to do it. - M. A. Carrick – The Mask of Mirrors
This sounds so up my alley, it’s basically sitting in my living room. I don’t know why I haven’t picked it up yet. - August Clarke – Metal From Heaven
No surprise, given my author crush on Clarke. - Jen Williams – The Poison Song
The third book in the trilogy. I’ve loved books one and two, so I will love this one, too. - Rebecca Yarros – Iron Flame and Onyx Storm
I’m already reading Iron Flame and I just want to be caught up on the series. It’s dumb but it’s fun.
Reading Goal Status
That wasn’t all that freaky, after all. I’ve read some seriously great books this year and I can only hope the second half of the year will be as good. The occasional disappointment is inevitable, but I’ve been much faster in DNFing and it does wonders for my mental health and joy of reading.
Now I’m going to lean back until the Hugo Award winners are announced in August, catch up on all those series and backlists of new favorite authors.
