TOP 8 BOOKS OF 2025

here are 8 of my favorite books i read in 2025 in no particular order, along with a little explanation of why i loved them. i read 23 books in 2025 (including a LOT of comics) and loved a lot of them! usually i do a top 10 but i realized the last 2 on my list were both part of the Murderbot Diaries so instead i'm just going to blanket recommend that series. consider everything on this list to be a recommendation and check out my reading round up if you want a more in-depth look at everything i read this year!

Lupus in Fabula by Briar Ripley Page

"Lupus In Fabula collects thirteen stories about the interplay of lust, violence, yearning, and grief; about becoming a monster and loving monsters; about transformation; about strange occurrences in sad, mundane lives. Whether you prefer witches and werewolves, grisly body horror, or surreal scenes of small town decay, this collection offers something to sink your fangs into."

briar ripley page remains one of my favorite writers and short horror story collections remain one of my favorite kinds of books. i was very excited for the release of this collection and it didn't dissapoint! not sure what i would peg as my favorite story in the collection, but the blunt emotionality and ooey-gooey substance of each story has stuck with me.

Acceptance by Jeff Vandermeer

"It is winter in Area X, the mysterious wilderness that has defied explanation for thirty years, rebuffing expedition after expedition, refusing to reveal its secrets. As Area X expands, the agency tasked with investigating and overseeing it—the Southern Reach—has collapsed in on itself in confusion. Now one last, desperate team crosses the border, determined to reach a remote island that may hold the answers they’ve been seeking. If they fail, the outer world is in peril."

after literal years i have finally finished the southern reach trilogy! (minus the fourth book which was published after i started the trilogy). everyone always talking about how good the southern reach trilogy is is surprisingly not lying. it's really fucking goo. i adored authority but acceptance might have it beat as my favorite book in the trilogy. the way it recontextualizes characters we've known, the way it can answer so many questions and still exist in a surreal, ambiguously horrific space, and the fact that i read most of this book via the audiobook which is legit one of my favorite audiobooks i've ever listened to. all of that combined with what a fitting conclusion it is really skyrocketed this book up in my favorites.

Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjej-Brenyah

"From the start of this extraordinary debut, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s writing will grab you, haunt you, enrage and invigorate you. By placing ordinary characters in extraordinary situations, Adjei-Brenyah reveals the violence, injustice, and painful absurdities that Black men and women contend with every day in this country."

remember that thing i said about short horror story collections? i can't get enough of them! i listened to the audiobook to read this one as well. nana kwame adjei-brenyah creates such a rich world with just a few sentences. every story in here could be a 100k novel and it would be just as good, but none of them feel like they're missing context or too sparse/short. i usually prefer my horror to have more of a supernatural flavor but the semi-real space these all lived in was just as good. i'm excited to read more by this author!

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

"On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid—a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is. But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth."

i've been meaning to start the murderbot diaries for a billion years, and i'm so glad the TV show being released finally gave me the kick in the ass i needed. did you know that sometimes a critically acclaimed series that everyone loves is actually very good? it's a harder scifi than i usually prefer, but it really worked for me. i'm obsessed with murderbot's autistic swag, and i love the way each book adds a new layer of plot threads to weave together. this was another audiobook listen and i really enjoyed kevin r. free's preformance as murderbot! i'm still only on the fourth book, but i'm excited to continue diving into the series.

Strange Bedfellows by Ariel Slamet Ries

"In the not-too-distant future, most of humanity resides on its last-ditch effort at utopia: Meridian, a remote alien planet where you’re more likely to be born superhuman than left-handed. None of that is important to Oberon Afolayan. Since his mildly public breakdown, his whole life seems to be spiraling out of control—from dropping out of university to breaking up with his boyfriend, it seems like only a karmic inevitability when he wakes up one day with the ability to conjure his dreams in the real world. Oberon’s newfound powers come with a facsimile of his high school crush, Kon, who mysteriously dropped off the face of the planet almost three years ago and who is a little more infuriating (if not also infuriatingly hot) than Oberon remembers. Kon makes it his mission to turn Oberon’s life around, and while they struggle to get a handle on his powers and his disastrous personal life (not to mention the appearance of strange nightmare creatures), it turns out this dream version of Kon has secrets of his own—dangerous ones. Oberon might have more on his plate than he originally thought, but is giving up his dreams—even the one he might have accidentally fallen in love with—the only way to find happiness in reality?"

ariel slamet ries is one of the best talents in the comics scene right now, and i've been following the development of this graphic novel since i was in college and avidly reading their webcomic witchy. not only is this comic visually stunning (as all of ries' work is), but it's funny, it's emotional, and it cut me deep as a person who developed a chronic illness in college that almost resulted in me dropping out. the way oberon's family's careful cloying consideration of him is depicted hit really close to home. i also love what a rich world the story takes place in! the themes of growing and renewal and creation were beautifully done.

Beetle and the Chimera Carnival by Aliza Layne

"Hidden behind the clouds, giant dragons guard the most powerful magic in the world from prying eyes. On one magical night, once every ten years, these leviathans reveal themselves to a fanfare of costumes, music, and parades in the Chimera Carnival. But this time, something’s wrong. When Beetle, Penny, and Kat decide to check out the empty carnival site one night, they discover an injured dragon screaming for help. And the more Beetle uncovers about the Chimera Carnival, the more sinister it gets. Dragons who arrive for the early festivities disappear without a trace. Beetle’s magic begins to go haywire. And Kat’s parents come back to town, worrying both girls about whether they have a future together. In the catacombs beneath the demolished ’Allowstown mall, something hungers for dragon magic. And Beetle and her friends are already more entwined with it than they could possibly imagine."

speaking of another incredibly talented comic artist! aliza layne is such a master of shapes and color. she has the ability to convey emotions i didn't even realize i had. also she's fucking hilarious. the struggles with discrimination, identity, what the adults in your life want from you vs. what you want, all of it would have meant so much to middle school danny and still resonate with me now.i'm so happy beetle and her friends exist for all the kids reading about them.

Eusect by C.L. Methvin

"The end is scary. The perpetual is scarier. A suicidal house mate’s property regresses in ownership. A father is tormented by his immortal infant son. A school of fish offers communion with the heavens. A woman’s dead body multiplies across the world. These stories of terror, gore, and dissociation present people facing themselves and the infinite―often both at their worst."

this one features a story that i had to stop reading because it was becoming too much for me (and i mean that as a huge compliment). the throughline of every story not having an "ending" so much as a "continuing" really works to create an unsettling feeling right down to your bones. i wasn't always enamored with the writing style, but methvin's command of tension and tone were top notch. these stories are going to live in my guts for a long time.

Danny Phantom: Fair Game by Gabriela Epstein

" While Danny struggles to find a way to implement his new knowledge of what ghosts are to help them, Valerie Gray is thriving as the best ghost hunter at school. But when Wulf, Danny's old ghost friend, arrives looking for another ghost wolf cub, Danny and the gang must help track down this cub before their ghost hunting classmates get to it first. Can Danny help protect these ghosts before they get caught, or will his past grudge with Valerie result in his end?"

the first graphic novel was so fun and i'm happy to report that the second one is just as! i appreciate epstein's efforts to bring some coherent worldbuilding to the danny phantom universe and i think she absolutely nails the tone of the show. i was so worried about someone doing my girl valerie dirty when she's already been through so much bad writing, but i really loved this depiction of her!