Books Read in 2025

At the end of every month, I share my ‘reviews’ of books I read in 2025, and where I stand for the year relative to the goal of thirty-three, I set for the year. Many of you have written that you enjoy and appreciate my ‘book reviews’ (if you can call them that!), but I always struggle with not giving too much away and am also cognizant that my likes are not everyone else’s.

I am participating in the Goodreads Reading Challenge again this year. Last year, I read twenty-one books, though my goal was thirty-three. But if we count the eleven Charles Dickens and two Tolstoy audiobooks, I made it to thirty-four!

Here is my quick and dirty review of the books I read in 2025, with one to five thumbs-up. I recently added an ‘eye-roll’ emoji 🙄 for any book that doesn’t even deserve one thumbs-up!

And, if you are looking for good podcasts to listen to, here are some of my favorite podcasts.

What I’ve Read Thus Far This Year

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1. I thoroughly enjoyed The Running Grave, 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼the most recent book in the Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith, the pseudonym of J.K. Rowling. I am very attached to the two main characters and am anxious for them to realize their mutual, though as yet unrealized, love for each other while they solve mysteries and murders. Coming in at just under 1000 pages, it is a humdinger of a book. This one primarily focuses on the nefarious doings of religious cult.
2. I followed up with a lovely palate cleanser, Remarkably Bright Creatures, 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼by Shelby Van Pelt. When I first became aware of the book, I was put off by the talking octopus…just not my gig. But, after hearing many positive reviews, I put aside my prejudice against talking octopi and gave it a whirl. I’m glad I did. It was an easy read with lovely messages.
3. I just finished God of the Woods by Liz Moore. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼I really liked the story. I think she did a great job of flipping back in forth in time and with different characters. The characters were well developed. I don’t want to give anything away, but if you have read it, let me know your thoughts on the ending.
4. I enjoyed Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼The book is two stories about people who resided in the same house 150 years apart. While the time is different, at its core, it is the story of the people of that home struggling with the changing dynamic of their families and the world around them. It is very enjoyable and contains the characteristic writing genius of Barbara Kingsolver.
5. I finished reading 11/22/63 by Stephen King. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼I’ve never read a Stephen King book, but it was highly recommended, and I enjoyed every minute! Long story short, if you could go back in time to prevent JFK’s murder, why wouldn’t you? It’s one of those books I discussed with other family members after reading it. It will undoubtedly make you think.
6. As someone who typically doesn’t read Science Fiction or Horror, I’m clearly stepping outside my comfort zone. My Heart is a Chainsaw 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼is a charming and heartbreaking homage to slasher movies (yes, I said charming). It dragged a bit in the middle for me, but I’m glad I stuck it out.
7. We head to Greece this summer, and I know very little about Greek history. I enjoyed the historical fiction book The Gates of Athens 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼by Conn Iggulden, set in Athens during the battles of Marathon and Thermopylae, which begins in 490 BC. This is the first of several of his books set in Athens that I hope to read over the next several months.
8. I just finished All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼. I struggled with 4 or 5 thumbs up, and here’s why: I’m not sure his style of writing is everyone’s cup of tea…each chapter (and there are many of them) is like a little breadcrumb. He teases the story out while weaving back and forth between characters and events. It didn’t cause me any issue, but I can see it bugging some folks. But his characters are charming and worm their way right into your heart. His prose is lovely; I often stopped and re-read a line because it was spot on in describing an emotion. At the end of the day, I landed on five thumbs-up because there is nothing formulaic about this book, which is one of my pet peeves. It’s a love story, a mystery, a story of friendships, and a human growth story…all in one gorgeous book.
9. Stephen King’s The Stand, 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼I did enjoy this dystopian, end-of-days tome, though I enjoyed 11/22/63 a bit better. It’s a huge, sweeping post-apocalyptic story that pits good against evil after a devastating plague wipes out most of the world’s population. With an enormous cast of characters, King dives deep into human nature, faith, and the choices we make when everything is stripped away. The story is dark, sprawling, and blends horror with hope in equal measure. He truly has a gift of storytelling!
10. We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼+. How have I never read Joyce Carol Oates!?!? I feel I’ve missed so much and now need to read everything she’s written. You know how you feel some authors are writing just for you? That’s how I felt reading this book. In We Were the Mulvaneys, she paints a heartbreaking and haunting portrait of an American family unraveling. What begins as a picture-perfect household slowly fractures after a traumatic event. Most of the book handles the fallout of that event with empathy and brutal honesty. Her prose is lyrical and layered, and the emotional depth she brings to each character makes the story linger long after the final page. It’s not a light read, but it’s a powerful one—achingly sad, but beautifully told.
11. I read this taut and twisty book in two Hyperbaric sittings…so five hours. Freida McFadden’s The Locked Door 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼is a fast-paced psychological thriller with just the right amount of creepiness. The story follows a woman with a dark family legacy trying to distance herself from her past—until a copycat crime brings everything crashing back. McFadden keeps the tension high with short, punchy chapters and plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing. It’s a binge-worthy read perfect for fans of suspense. There were definitely times when I thought I knew who dunnit, but didn’t! So, that’s a plus.
12. In She’s Not Sorry, Mary Kubica 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼delivers another suspenseful domestic thriller filled with secrets, tension, and perfectly timed reveals. The story centers around a nurse who becomes entangled in the mysterious circumstances surrounding a comatose patient—and the more she learns, the more dangerous the truth becomes. Kubica weaves twists together in a way that keeps the pages turning and your suspicions shifting.
13. The Headhunters by Jo Nesbø 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼This quirky, fun, and quick read thoroughly entertained me. It’s not the Jo Nesbø I was familiar with, so it was a nice change of pace. I wasn’t surprised to learn its been made into a movie by the Coen brothers…it has that feel.
14. Little Bird of Heaven by Joyce Carol Oates 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼½ After discovering We were the Mulvaneys by Oates, I was compelled to find other books by this author, whose writing resonates deeply with me. Little Bird of Heaven was a shorter read and ultimately focuses on two young people, both of whose parents were killed. I very much enjoyed it, but it didn’t have quite the same gravitas as We Were the Mulvaneys.
15. I’m continuing my Joyce Carol Oates binge! I enjoyed The Gravedigger’s Daughter 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼, which follows Rebecca Schwart, the daughter of a Jewish refugee family that fled Nazi Germany to settle in upstate New York in the 1930s. After a traumatic childhood marked by poverty and her father’s mental decline, Rebecca survives a family tragedy that leaves her orphaned. She spends the rest of her life reinventing herself, changing names and identities as she escapes an abusive marriage and struggles to build a safe life for herself and her son.
16. Then I read The Fall, also by JCO. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼It is a multigenerational family saga set in Niagara Falls, New York, following a woman who becomes a young widow when her husband dies tragically, then remarries into a complicated family life. The novel traces how secrets, activism, and family trauma ripple through the generations, with Oates using Niagara Falls itself as a symbol of both beauty and destructive power.
17. I started reading Bellefleur, again by Joyce Carol Oates, but about a quarter into the book I decided to give myself a bit of a break. I really enjoy her writing style, but it takes some effort. I guess it is fair to say she doesn’t write for casual, light reading. And…I needed to give myself a break with lighter fare for a bit.
18. So, I read Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼It’s a psychological thriller a married couple whose relationship has grown strained after ten years together. They win a trip to a remote converted chapel in Scotland for their anniversary, hoping the getaway will help them reconnect. Still, as they’re isolated together during a storm, tensions rise. It becomes clear they’re both keeping secrets. The story alternates between their perspectives with short, suspenseful chapters, and Feeney creates that classic thriller atmosphere where you’re never quite sure who to trust or what’s really happening beneath the surface. If you love a good plot twist, you’ll enjoy this one.
19. I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼opens with a devastating hit-and-run accident that kills a young child. The story alternates between Jenna’s new life in Wales and the police investigation, and Mackintosh builds this quiet, melancholy atmosphere around Jenna’s isolation and grief. About halfway through the book, there’s a major twist that completely changes your understanding of what’s really going on. Then the story shifts into a different kind of thriller altogether.
20. First Lie Wins, by Ashley Elston. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼.5 The story centers on a woman named Evie, a con artist working for a mysterious boss, who takes on assignments in which she infiltrates people’s lives under false identities. The book jumps between present day and past assignments, slowly revealing who Evie really is and what her endgame might be, with plenty of twists about loyalty, identity, and who’s playing whom.
21. We Are All Guilty Here 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 – This thriller explores the complicated web of secrets and lies within a tight-knit community when two young girls are kidnapped and found murdered. While it kept me engaged throughout, it didn’t quite reach the heights of being unputdownable and I struggled with new characters just dropping in from nowhere.
22. The Note by Alafair Burke 👍🏼👍🏼 – Burke weaves together a mystery centered around a two related murders. While the premise had promise and Burke’s writing is competent, the execution felt somewhat formulaic and predictable, never quite achieving the tension or emotional depth I was hoping for.
23. Little Disasters 👍🏼👍🏼 – This domestic drama examines the fractures in seemingly perfect friendships when a child is injured under suspicious circumstances. The story alternates between perspectives and timelines to slowly reveal what really happened, but despite the serious subject matter, it never fully grabbed me—the pacing dragged in places and the characters didn’t fully come alive on the page.

What I’ve Listened To Thus Far This Year

I’ve treated myself to an Audible subscription. It is a bit of an indulgence for me, but I’m hooked and enjoying every dollar. Like any good story, the narrator makes a world of difference, and the narrators for these three are/were fantastic. I decided I would listen to every one of Charles Dickens’s books, which I did last year. I had never heard of many but enjoyed them as much as the well-known books.

Right now, you can get three months for .99 a month! But I’m warning you, you will get hooked. I just switched my subscription to an annual, so that I can get two book credits a month!!! And while you get book credits, there are always free books included with your subscription, which is how I found all the Joy Ellis books. They seem to change monthly.

This year, I’m continuing with Russian authors:

• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. I did a good bit of research on narrators as I quickly learned that the narrator is equally as important as the written words. This narrator is pretty good.
• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, narrated by Thandiwe Newton. She did an excellent job! This was a free version, so I was not optimistic, but she exceeded all my expectations! I printed out a list of main characters that I could refer to until I memorized them, which I highly recommend.
• I moved on to The Brothers Karamazov, Crime and Punishment and the Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky, which also have an EXCELLENT narrators.
• I just finished Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, read by Jeremy Irons. Wow! How had I never read or listened to it before? Nabokov is my kind of writer.
• Following Lolita, I listened to Despair and Pnin. I enjoyed them both, but they weren’t nearly as compelling as Lolita.
• Then I listened to Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev. A story of the changing relationships between fathers and sons as the world and society change around them.
• Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol. If you like Dickens’ Pickwick Papers, you’ll enjoy it—many light-hearted moments.
• Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov follows the life of a kindhearted but hopelessly lazy Russian nobleman who spends most of his days lying on his sofa, unable to make decisions or take action. The novel is a satirical examination of the declining Russian aristocracy and the concept of “Oblomovism,” a state of apathy and paralysis.
• Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak follows Yuri Zhivago, a physician and poet, through the tumultuous years of the Russian Revolution and Civil War. Torn between his wife, Tonya, and his passionate love for Lara, Yuri struggles to maintain his humanity and artistic spirit as the violence and upheaval of revolutionary Russia destroy the world he knew.
• The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy chronicles three generations of the wealthy Forsyte family in England from the 1880s through the 1920s. The first story centers on Soames Forsyte’s troubled marriage to the beautiful Irene and his obsessive need to possess her. The following two stories then focus on another member of the family.
• Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence This semi-autobiographical novel tells the story of Paul Morel, a young man torn between his passionate, possessive mother and his relationships with two very different women. Set in the English coal-mining community where Lawrence grew up, the novel explores the psychological damage caused by an unhealthy mother-son bond and Paul’s struggle to form his own identity and find love outside his mother’s shadow. Got to be honest, I am not a D.H. Lawrence person; I realized that after listening to both of his books.
• Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence. Constance Chatterley is trapped in a passionless marriage with her paralyzed, emotionally distant husband Clifford after he returns from World War I. She begins an affair with Mellors, the gamekeeper on their estate.
• Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon This Victorian sensation novel follows the beautiful Lucy Graham, who marries the wealthy Sir Michael Audley and becomes Lady Audley, living in luxury at his country estate. When Sir Michael’s nephew Robert begins investigating the disappearance of his friend George, he uncovers a dark secret about the seemingly perfect Lady Audley’s past that could destroy everything. It was a bit predictable, but I did enjoy it.
• The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. Walter Hartright encounters a mysterious woman dressed all in white on a moonlit road, setting in motion a Gothic tale of mistaken identity, conspiracy, and insanity. When he takes a position as drawing master to Laura Fairlie, he falls in love with her, but she’s engaged to the sinister Sir Percival Glyde, so of course, there’s a bit of drama there.
• Perfume by Patrick Süskind. Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with no personal scent but possesses an extraordinary sense of smell in 18th-century France. Obsessed with capturing and preserving the perfect scent, he becomes a perfumer and serial murderer, killing young women to distill their essence into a transcendent perfume. Kind of a weird story, but it kept me intrigued.
• Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier A young, naive woman marries the wealthy widower Maxim de Winter. She moves to his grand estate, Manderley, only to find herself living in the shadow of his first wife, Rebecca. The sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, seems determined to prove that the new Mrs. de Winter will never measure up to her glamorous predecessor, and the house itself seems haunted by Rebecca’s memory. I’ve got to be honest, the ending did surprise me!
• The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham After serving in World War I, Larry Darrell rejects the conventional path of career and marriage in 1920s America, instead embarking on a spiritual quest that takes him from Paris to India. His childhood sweetheart Isabel can’t understand why he won’t settle down, and she marries someone else while Larry continues his search for meaning. The novel follows multiple characters over decades as Larry’s choices contrast sharply with his friends’ pursuit of wealth and social position. Great narrator.
• The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James Isabel Archer, a spirited young American woman, inherits a fortune and travels to Europe, where she’s determined to chart her own course despite numerous marriage proposals. She makes a disastrous choice in marrying Gilbert Osmond, a charming but manipulative expatriate who sees her primarily as a way to fund his refined lifestyle.
• The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Dorian Gray is a beautiful young man whose portrait is painted by the artist Basil Hallward. When Dorian wishes that he could remain young while the portrait ages instead, his wish comes true, allowing him to pursue a life of hedonism and vice without visible consequences. As Dorian descends into moral corruption, the portrait hidden in his attic grows increasingly hideous, reflecting the decay of his soul while his face remains unmarred.
• The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton Lily Bart is a beautiful but penniless woman navigating New York high society at the turn of the 20th century, where a woman’s only path to security is a wealthy marriage. Through a series of miscalculations and refusals to compromise her integrity, Lily gradually falls from grace, losing her place in society. Rather a sad listen.
• The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton Newland Archer is engaged to the innocent May Welland in 1870s New York society when May’s cousin, the unconventional Countess Ellen Olenska, returns from Europe after leaving her husband. Newland finds himself drawn to Ellen’s freedom and vitality, but the rigid social codes of their world make it impossible for them to be together.
• The Chateau by Avery Bishop This psychological thriller follows a woman who joins her family for what should be an idyllic vacation at a French chateau, but the trip takes a dark turn when secrets from the past begin to surface. Quite a change from my previous listens, but it kept me listening and surprised towards the end.
• Behind a Locked Door by Sarah A. Denzil In this psychological thriller, a woman discovers something sinister behind a locked door in her friend’s home, setting off a chain of disturbing revelations. Denzil weaves together past and present as dark secrets gradually come to light.
• A Killer in the Low Country by Candice Fox. While it is about a murder, this novel has heavy comedic overtones. It was a fun listen. It was kind of a radio drama, with actors voicing the characters. Uzo Aduba and Chrissy Metz voiced the two main characters.
• Black Notice by Joy Ellis Part of Ellis’s DI Jackman and DS Marie Evans series, this crime thriller is set in the atmospheric Lincolnshire Fens. Jackman and Evans must investigate a complex case while dealing with the challenges of policing the remote, misty fenlands where villages are isolated. This was the ‘gateway drug’ that introduced me to Joy Ellis, whose books I have since binge-listened to, as you can see!
• Crime on the Fens by Joy Ellis The first book in the DI Nikki Galena series introduces the hard-edged detective who’s devastated after witnessing a young girl die in her arms. Given one last chance to make it work with her new partner, the by-the-book DS Joseph Easter, Nikki must solve a brutal case in the Lincolnshire Fens.
• Shadow over the Fens by Joy Ellis Nikki’s neighbor dies in what looks like suicide, but she’s not convinced, especially when execution-style murders begin occurring. A killer from Joseph’s military past has returned to terrorize him, threatening his sanity and career, and even Nikki begins to doubt her partner as bodies pile up I really enjoy all the characters in this series, all very likable, well, except for the bad guys!
• Hunted on the Fens by Joy Ellis, Nikki and Joseph face their toughest challenge when someone seeks revenge against the team itself. They must work out who wants to harm them or one of their colleagues before the determined adversary succeeds in destroying them.
• Killer on the Fens by Joy Ellis. Nikki’s dying father has one final request: find a mysterious woman named Eve. While fulfilling this personal quest, Nikki must also investigate serial killings that push her to her limits in ways she never expected
• Stalker on the Fens by Joy Ellis Nikki’s best friend believes she has a stalker, and is soon murdered. Meanwhile, an old enemy of Nikki and Joseph lurks in the shadows, posing an additional threat.
• The Final Wife by Jenny Blackhurst
• Guard Her with Your Life by Joy Ellis Introduces a whole different set of characters, but still remains a police procedural. This one may be a one-off and not part of a series.
• Beware the Past by Joy Ellis. The first Detective Matt Ballard mystery finds the close to retirement detective confronting a case that has haunted him for years.
• Captive on the Fens by Joy Ellis A young woman’s body is found in a remote barn, and the case shows strong links to previous abductions. Nikki and the team track a known killer while Joseph focuses on a cold case, with loose ends from previous books finally being tied up.
• The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith Oh, if only I could write like JK Rowling! If that’s not a possibility, then I just need to find more writers who can! I just love these stories, though they are complicated and I have to remind myself of who’s who many times. This is another murder mystery, but in a convoluted way.

So, what are you reading, or what have you read recently that you loved? Please pass the titles on to me; I always look for good books.

Happy Reading!

Thanks for making my day by SHARING!!