2025 Reading Review

It's been a while... Tis the seasonal depression...

Well somehow we all made it to 2026. I’m sure like many of you, personally it was not without some sort of struggle, whether mental, physical, professional, financial, dealing with various relationships or some fun combination, all while doom scrolling and asking yourself WTF over and over again. So kudos to making it through, if no one else tells you, you did a great job getting through it and I’m proud of you.

One of the few things that I always find joy in is reading and working out. I had set a goal last year of 80 books (I had read 111 in 2024). I ended up reading 118, and a new personal best. Some books were winners, some were not… But here are some of my fun stats for last year (pulled from Storygraph and Fable):

• First book of 2025: Fourth Wing (it was a re-read to prep for Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

• Last book of 2026: The Night Prince by Lauren Palphreyman

• Longest book: The Auction (Dramione Fanfic by LovesBitca8) - 1345 pages

• Shortest book: Love & Other Killers - 61 pages

• Quickest book read: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt - 1 day

• Longest book read: The Auction by LovesBitca8 - 74 days

• Most read author: Rina Kent (still not my favorite author)

• Re-reads: 8

• DNFs: 1

• Average time to read: 6 days

• Most read genre: Romance

Now for some of my own superlatives:

• Book that made me cry: Severed Heart by Kate Stewart (I was inconsolably hysterically crying…)

• Favorite completed series: The Game Changer Series

• Favorite series continuation: Releasing 10 by Chloe Walsh

• Favorite fan fiction: The Auction by LovesBitca8

• Favorite author: Tie Between Rachel Reid and Kate Stewart (one makes me laugh and the other makes me cry…)

• Darkest book series: The Edge of Darkness Series by Leigh Rivers

• Lightest book series: The Game Changer Series by Rachel Reid

• Favorite stand alone book: Alchemised by SenLinYu

• Most Unhinged: Kiss of the Basilisk by Lindsay Straube

• Least Favorite Book: Shogun pt2 (my 1 DNF)

I had a few 5 star reads (and some 4.5 that I rounded up):

• Severed Heart by Kate Stewart (5 star)

• The Long Game by Rachel Reid (5 star)

• When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

• Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang

• Releasing 10 by Chloe Walsh (5 star)

• The Power by Naomi Alderman

• The Auction by LovesBitca8

• Oathbound by Tracy Deonn

• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (5 star)

• Taming 7 by Chloe Walsh

• Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

The books that I am carrying over into 2026 are the Strength of the Few by James Islington and Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being In Love by isthisselfcare.

Some books I am looking forward to reading in 2026:

• Game On by Navessa Allen

• The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig

• We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark

• The Ascended by Greenwich & Lennox

• Harvest Season by Brynne Weaver

• Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry

• Hollow by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti

There are other books but not confirmed for 2026 yet so I’ll leave those off the list.

Well wishing everyone a happy new year and happy reading and hope to see you all on the other side of this year!

If you’ve read any of these books I would love to hear your thoughts!