My Favorite (and Not So Favorite) Books of 2025

 

2025 was an excellent year of reading, I do think. So many really incredible books and works came out, and I managed to crunch out 30 books through the year. While many others have trumped that number with books in the higher tens, and hundreds, I've felt accomplished with thirty books and what I got out of each of them.

My 2026 reading goal has been similar, 30 books in the year. Unfortunately, I've only just started reading for the year in April so I'm a few months behind, but I'm eager to catch up and keep going.

You can find a full list of all my books read on my Storygraph, but otherwise, I'm going to give you my favorite books from last year, and some of my lower / least favorite books of last year. Reminder that this is all very conditional and opinionated, and that we're allowed to enjoy and dislike different things.

Abi Phillips' Favorite Reads of 2025

(several of my favorites have been mentioned in previous blog posts, including Immaculate Conception, Monstrilio, and Slewfoot. They won't be included in this list, for the sake of redundancy).

Carmilla by J Sheridan Le Fanu

(fiction, classics, fantasy, horror, lgbtqia+)

You've probably heard by now, but Carmilla is the precursor to Dracula, and many other forms of vampire fiction. It's incredibly short, around 100 pages, and was published originally in 1872. I gave it ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and honestly really enjoyed it.

Carmilla is a horrific queer, vampire love story. Storygraph has it accurately labeled as: Dark, Mysterious, and Fast-Paced.

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

(nonfiction, essays, nature, science)

This book changed me in so many ways, honestly. A nonfiction series of essays about nature, science, and indigenous beauty and practices, I enjoyed this book so so so much. I felt like it was informative and gentle, and provided context so many beautiful parts of this planet and indigenous culture. I wasn't a very large nonfiction reader until the end of my undergrad, and so many people recommended this book. I'm so so glad I gave it a read, and would 100% recommend it.

I gave Braiding Sweetgrass ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.

Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott

(nonfiction, memoir, religion)

Lamott has also written many other stories, fiction and nonfiction, before on life and writing. I've enjoyed her work before, and remember reading Bird by Bird for a class in my undergrad. I discovered Traveling Mercies as a book being sold at my local overstock store for a dollar. Seeing Anne Lamott's name, I knew I had to have it, and I'm glad I grabbed it.

As someone who has grown up with a complicated relationship regarding my faith and belief system, I felt incredibly seen by this book. I reviewed Traveling Mercies with ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, another one of my favorites.

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

(fiction, dystopian, young adult)

Being a pre-teen/teenager in the 2010s, The Hunger Games series and many other YA dystopian novels were incredibly important in my formative years. In addition to merely feeding the YA dystopian obsession that I had, the Hunger Games books also established a foundation in which my current political and moral beliefs are grounded on. With the announcement of Sunrise on the Reaping, I knew that Suzanne Collins had so much more to say, and I was incredibly satisfied with everything in the story.

Looking at my Storygraph review, I initially only gave SOTR a 4.5 star rating, but I'm revising it now, almost a year later to a full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. The book was incredibly sad, devastating even, but so so so needed.

Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M Valente

(fiction, fantasy, thriller)

My favorite activity, when I'm eager to read especially while participating in other tasks, is to curate Libby's search filters to my preferences, pick a shorter audiobook, and listen to it. I happened to be spending an afternoon playing Minecraft while listening to Comfort Me With Apples and wow, what an experience. I knew nothing about the story going into it, and I could only comfortably recommend anyone else to read it blind their first time through.

While not the most amazing book in the universe, I felt like the story was so fascinating and a really interesting take on one of the most notorious stories in the world. I gave this book a 4.75 on Storygraph, but a year later, will adjust to ⭐⭐⭐⭐. I can't tell you anything else about it, just that if you have an hour an a half, to give it a read or a listen.

Gallows Hill by Darcy Coates

(fiction, horror)

My first Darcy Coates novel was sorely disappointing, and is even on the list featured below. I didn't enjoy it, unfortunately, and reading more of her work was intimidating. Several friends continued to recommend her work though, and I decided on Gallows Hill as my victim, hoping it would be better. I did actually enjoy this book though, and it's lead me to continue reading Darcy Coates. 

Gallows Hill features our main character after her estranged parents have passed, and left her their entire vineyard and wine business. Again, really loved the spookiness and I've never really read about a haunted anything-other-than-a-home, so a haunted vineyard was refreshing. This book got a ⭐⭐⭐⭐ from me.

Snake-Eater by T Kingfisher

(fiction, contemporary, fantasy, horror)

God, this book was so so good. I found this book very late into 2025, and I think it only came out in Nov of 2025? I've read Kingfisher before and have always enjoyed their stuff very much. Snake-Eater was such a different type of story for me though. We follow our protagonist in this western, feel-good, small town setting as she tries to grapple with grief, anxiety, and self-worth. I thought it was a great exercise in blending genres, and also challenging horror at its core.

While I didn't formally rate this book on Storygraph, I'll give it a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ here. I really enjoyed the book, and it helped usher me into different settings and genres for horror (specifically western-horror, because I enjoyed this setting so so much).

Abi Phillips' Less-Honorable Mentions (my least favorites)

A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J Maas

(fiction, fantasy, romance)

I feel like this is one of my only very controversial reviews? And not because my review is invalid, but simply because this book is so well liked, that my review really comes out of left-field. Within the context of me reading it though, I would disagree. I've never been one for fantasy, or romantasy in general. I feel like it's never really been something I've "vibed with" and so I went in with a pretty negative idea to begin with. 

A common trope I seem to find in romantasy too, not just Maas being victim of it, is victim-complex characters. I'm sure that Feyre has a really interesting character arc or becomes different because of the struggles she's going through, but I really didn't enjoy her or the book. On Storygraph, this book received a ⭐⭐ from me. I'm sure I could try again some day, but as of now and my interests currently, this one will stay on the shelf. At the library. Not in my home.

Where He Can't Find You by Darcy Coates

(fiction, horror, mystery, young adult)

This was my first ever Darcy Coates book, and I struggled with it a lot. I ended up reading it for my book club with some friends, and we all had many feelings on it. I think I struggle with the young adult genre regardless, and prefer adult fiction anyway. Where He Can't Find You wasn't bad, and it actually happened to be Coates' debut YA novel specifically. I just felt like she has a lot of strength in adult horror instead.

This opinion also comes from the fact that I find young adult fiction and the horror genre difficult to blend, because of complex themes and the involvement of minors/children. I think this blend is tackled often with success, but it's not always easy either. I gave this book ⭐⭐⭐ and didn't enjoy it, but was glad that I could get into her different fiction instead.

The Deep by Nick Cutter

(fiction, horror, science-fiction, thriller)

This was not my first Nick Cutter book, and I'm glad for it. I've spoken about Cutter's fiction before, and the complex relationship I hold with it. I enjoy horror, and body horror is one of my favorites and least favorites in terms of sub-genre. My first Cutter book was The Troop, which is gruesome and hard to read. While I finished it fairly nauseated, I did find his writing intriguing and wanted to read more. The Deep had an interesting premise.

Our protagonist is a veterinarian, who's been requested to travel to a deep sea station to assist his brother in finding the cure for a disease that's riddled Earth. I was excited for the story, and he managed to pull of the premise quite well, but there was a lot of horror involvement in certain parts that I didn't find interesting or fun to read. In addition, Cutter has involved scenes of animal torture in both of these novels I've read, and that's never for the faint of heart. I think some enjoy his work very much, but in terms of craft and theory, I felt like The Deep fell short on the expectations. I gave this work ⭐⭐⭐.

Starve Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley

(fiction, horror, mystery)

I feel like this review is controversial as well, but more-so for myself. I gave this book ⭐⭐⭐⭐, and I thought it was a great read. I thought the idea was interesting, I thought the writing was decent, and I know they recently turned this into an indie film (with Matt Smith, I believe?). That being said, I thought the execution of the story was underwhelming. It's a quick read, and I've read it twice now, once with a physical copy and the second as an audiobook. 

After two run-ins with the fiction, I don't think my opinion got any better. I honestly felt like portions of the story were underdeveloped or a little bit boring. I'm hoping as I read more from Hurley, that I'll enjoy it more, since his writing style isn't bad.

I'm thrilled to keep reading in 2026, and really hope that I have some killer books again this year. Currently, I'm on book 5 of my goal for 30. It's a book I'm finding VERY well done and my next post will likely be about the book, and its excellent execution of several bookish mechanics.

Until then, I hope you consider your own reading goal this year, and how you can better analyze and absorb information from your books! Think about them critically, and why you liked or disliked them!

Happy reading!