I love to share my favorite books as I read them but also as a year end recap. This is my third year capturing this list and one I send to friends often looking for book recommendations. Scroll on to read the list of Favorite books read in 2025 of the 45 that I read in total!
For the third year in a row I didn’t set any new years resolutions of anything except reading! I’ve set (and achieved) my goal to read at least 45 books in 2025 and kept track on which I consider my favorites in specific genre I enjoy. You can see my real life star rating of these books on my instagram stories as I read them or by following me on Goodreads!
Continue below to check our my favorite books that tend to fit in the historical fiction, thriller, thought provoking and beach read categories.
THRILLER/CRIME/SUSPENSE BOOKS READ in 2025
- Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica – Despite the title mentioning one women, there actually two missing people in this storyline with lots of surprising plot points that keep you guessing on who did it!
- The Crash by Frieda McFadden – This book continues McFadden’s trend of pretty unbelievable setups that still keep you on the edge of your seat. I read this one within 24 hours and would recommend to anyone looking for a quick thriller!
- Do Not Disturb by Frieda McFadden – Squeezed this one in within 2 days at the end of December an remember why I love Frieda’s books so much. There’s so many “why would anyone do that” or “No one would ever do that” moments in this one but it doesn’t distract from a well told thriller that has you guessing who done it.
- The Tennant by Frieda McFadden – Who is the dangerous one in this tennant and home owner situation?!
- Those Empty Eyes by Charlie Donlea – I had already liked this author after their book Twenty Years Later and this one was just as well written. I’d classify it as a murder mystery, true crime story that jumps a few years ahead while mingling with another current mystery. I give is a 4.5 and only not a 5 since at some point there are almost too many story lines to follow that it felt a little too much. Surprise ending!
- False Witness by Karin Slaughter – First off, with a last name like that, you gotta be writing some pretty dark stuff right? The crimes shared in this book were a little darker than I’m used to but the author was so knowledgeable of so many topics and really threw me with a few big plot twists that long played out throughout this book!
- Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter – Yet another thriller that was well written with some twists! Note: like the other by this author, this was a dark theme and content!
HISTORICAL FICTION BOOKS READ in 2025
- 11/22/63 by Stephen King – Not the normal genre for this author but know that there is a surreal time travel element to this very well written (but over 800 pages!) book. This story involves the JFK assassination but is narrated by a well defined male character.
- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah – I’ve been on a KH kick lately since I enjoy the different time periods and female perspectives she’s sharing, all from eras I hadn’t read before. This one shares the WW2 perspective of the French, specifically two sisters who do their part to help aid the resistance against the hate in their country over a few years at war.
- The Frozen River by Arial Lawhorn – Takes place in the post American Revolution times, narrated by a midwife sharing her challenges in this profession and not being taken seriously but still having people trust her medical authority. It includes a murder and trial which just reiterates how crazy it was to be a woman back then and their lack of rights!
- The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd – Go back to the early 1800s and find an 11 year old Sarah who was gifted a slave girl from her slave owning parents. Follow their journey through life as Sarah becomes an abolitionist against slavery and one who stands up for women’s rights back when there were few. The Sarah character, and her sister Nina were based on two real life abolitionists in the south and was so well written I can see how it was an Oprah book club pick years ago.
- The Paris Daughter by Kristin Harmel – This book stars in the 1930s in France where two expats live with their husbands/families and it leads through the war and the time after it. There’s a bit of a plot twist I didn’t see coming but lots of art inspiration which was appealing to me as a past art major.
- The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel – Like the last book, this author focuses on the French aspect of WWII, but this time as those who helped forge documents to help Jewish children cross the border.
- The Winemakers Wife by Kristin Harmel – Seeing a trend with this author? WWII stories from the French perspective, but this time it involved a winery!
- The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Miessner – Follow Susan Whalen who comes to San Francisco in 1906 as a mail order bride only to get into the middle of a complicated life after marrying a man she never met and things she discovers during a nature disaster in her state.
- The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali – Starts in the 1950s in Iran where we meet two friends and follow their story through the historic time of this country. This fictional read shares more about the culture and limitations of women and those who try to change the government while struggling to maintain friendships.
- The Rose Code by Kate Quinn – An assortment of female friendships during WWII as they work to break secret codes by the German military. Continues to follow their stories through the years.
- The Alice Network by Kate Quinn – This was the 3rd book I’ve read by this author, all of interesting stories of some aspect of historic life I was not familiar with that involved multiple strong female characters. This one was about female spies in WWII that really were just normal people doing what they can!
CLASSIC BOOKS READ in 2025
- The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum – You may remember my 50 Before Fifty list where I want to read 20 classic books. I’ve seen the movie a million times but never read the book! I am happy to report that it holds up as a class novel, with some small differences from the movie adaptation (the shoes were silver, not ruby red) and it was age appropriate enough that my 10 year old read it after me and was even Dorothy for Halloween!
FANTASY BOOKS READ in 2025
- Hunger Games by Susan Collins – This of course isn’t a new book and not even a new one to me but this was considered a re-read! I loved it then and I loved it again. The reason I revisited it was the news of a release of book 5 in this series, earlier in March. I also had never read book 4 so this was the year to dive back into this awesome book series. I ended up running through the whole series up to the latest Sunrise on the Reaping, which tells the story of the 50th games and Haymitch’s story. This will be a movie in late 2026 so read it before it’s out!
DRAMAS AND LIGHT BEACH READS READ in 2025
- Summer of 69 by Elin Hilderbrand – This light beach read takes us back to Nantucket, a popular location for Elin’s books. We meet the Levin family and follow one summer through the eyes of several strong women in the family while they explore topics like interracial couples, the Vietnam war, anti Semitism, pregnancy in the 60s, and turning 13!
- Me Before You by Jojo Moyes – I’ve enjoyed books by this author before and was interested to see this take on a caretaker who’s hired to help a previously active guy who has a tragic accident and is then wheelchair bound.
- Things You Do For Love by Kristin Hannah – This is my first time reading a non historical fiction book from Kristin but it has the same sense of well written story telling with strong female characters that I love. While I did predict most of what was happening in this book very early on, it was still an enjoyable read that I’ve consider a good “beach read”. TW: it does hint to infertility and infant loss if you’re sensitive to these experiences.
- When We Believed in Mermaids by Barbara O’Neal – A sister, Kit, believes that her sister Josie died 15 years earlier until she saw on her on a news segment on the other side of the world. The story follows their discovery of the truth and the drama that came along with it. I can totally see this drama as a Netflix limited series in the future.
Looking for more book recommendations? Check out my favorite book lists from years past!
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