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Top 10 Books of 2025

The last couple years I fell short on my reading goals due to migraines, but I crushed it this year reading 65 books (66 if I finish the one I’m working on before the end of the year, which is very doable). This year I went outside my comfort zone and found some real gems, so I wanted to do a little top 10 list. These are all the books I rated 5 stars (with some honorable mentions since I actually really lucked out and had more than 10 I thought were excellent).

10) When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley

This one I found threw Jenny Lawson’s blog, and am very grateful. It takes place in Coney Island in the 1910s and features a young man who joins a sideshow and falls in love with the star attraction – a merman. I did not expect how moving this story would be. It was absolutely beautiful and I especially loved that it was set right in my backyard (practically).

9) Immortal Consequences by I..V. Marie

I do love me a magic school (this is not the only book where that is the setting), but this one has the unique twist that the school is in the afterlife. Yes, all the students who attend Blackwood Academy have died. I was immediately sucked into this world, and even though I called almost every twist and reveal, it was in a way that was exciting. The sequel theoretically comes out next year and I cannot wait to see where the author takes us next.

8) the Inheritance series by N.K. Jemisin

I’m cheating here and putting the whole series at the 8th spot, and it won’t be the last time I use this little trick. I just read too many good books this year! The third book in the series, The Kingdom of Gods, is the one I actually rated 5 stars, but the whole series was excellent. I loved the worldbuilding in this series and how it all comes together in this book. The relationship the mortals have with the gods and the gods have with each other was really interesting and kept me wanting more time with them.

7) Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

The more I sit with this book the more I love it. The fact it’s not higher on the list was a struggle for me and tells you how good the reading was this year. It’s definitely my favorite Chuck Tingle book. It’s a horror book with a gay protagonist that talks about both the evils of capitalism and the importance of queer joy. I cried multiple times and clapped at the end. If you can handle some minor scares I highly recommend checking this one out. It was a beautiful story that will sit with me forever.

6) Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

I really enjoyed the first prequel book and was very excited when Collins announced there would be another, this time looking at Haymitch’s turn in the Hunger Games. Considering how messed up he is when we know him in the main series, I figured this would be a doozy of a story and was not disappointed. There’s a reason our boy Haymitch becomes a cynical, raging alcoholic. The more Collins fills out the world she has created and its history, the more I both love and hate it. Which just means she’s telling great stories.

5) Arcana Academy by Elise Kova

This is another book that has me greatly anticipating its sequel next year. It also takes place in a magic school, but this time the system of magic uses tarot cards. I thought it was a unique twist on the old classic. It also brought about an interesting conversation for me with someone about how the opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference.

4) World of the White Rat by T. Kingfisher

I am massively cheating here, but boy did this entire world grab me by the throat and refuse to let go. Every book I rated at least 4 stars (disclaimer: I still have to finish the Saint of Steel books, but I’m confidant they won’t let me down). The Wonder Engine and Paladin’s Grace I rated 5 stars. In the case of The Wonder Engine I almost finished it in one day and only stopped because my body yelled SLEEP at me. I love these books so much I’m switching from borrowing them at the library to just buying them. The last time that happened was the A Darker Shade of Magic series by V.E. Schwab, which currently sits as my favorite series. This is a close second though. The worldbuilding is fantastic, the characters are all wonderful, and the more Kingfisher expands the world the more I fall in love with it. Early next year I plan to finish the rest of the series. I’ll try to not cheat and have it be in the top list for next year too.

3) The Devils by Joe Abercrombie

We’re in the top 3 and gushing hours will now commence. I think it took almost no time at all for me to decide I was obsessed with this book. There is a cast of characters I could spend 5,000 more hours with and still want more. The best way I can describe it is if Willow and Creature Commandos had a baby, but even that doesn’t do it justice. A holy man with a mission has an unusual group to help him complete it, and things go sidewise several times over. I cannot recommend this one enough. I laughed so many times and was desperate for more when I was done.

2) Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

This year was one for knocking some books off the bucket list and Iron Widow was one of them. I loved that it turned the “enemies to lovers” trope on its head AND gave me a decent polycule. I screamed at both my partners as their relationships locked into place. I also screamed at the ending, but I argue that if a book makes you that angry then that’s still a passionate response and it deserves some gold stars. Reading the sequel is high on my list for next year.

1) Fourth Wing/Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

I’m cheating again here, but I rated both these books 5 stars and you simply cannot make me choose. I became absolutely feral for our two main characters and their story as I devoured these two books. Reading the third entry is also high on my list for next year.

Some honorable mentions that didn’t make the cut but did get rated 5 stars by me:

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao – A standalone story about a pawnshop that can rewrite your fate, my only regret is we won’t get more time with these characters. I loved them and the world and wouldn’t have minded another book in the universe.

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn – a murder mystery where the murder has already happened and the entire book is a flashback leading up to the fateful event where you get to meet the cast of characters and try to guess what happened. A boarding house full of women who all have their secrets. I loved the surprise twist at the end.

Trials of the Jedi by Charles Soule – This was the big finale of the High Republic series, which spanned several years and many, many novels and comics. I cried multiple times at the end. It was hard saying goodbye to my babies, but they successfully tied up the series in a way that felt satisfying.

The Assistant to the Villain series by Hannah Nicole Maehrer – I had such a complicated relationship with this series. The first book was 5 stars for me, but it turned out to be the slowest of slow burns that didn’t payoff until late in book 3. Having said that, I was passionate in how strongly I felt about it and the characters lived rent free in my head for weeks. I also loved the world and everything else about it. It was just frustrating how long we had to wait for the big payoff. It did feel worth it once we got there though, which I was concerned there was no way anything would feel good enough after that long a wait. There are supposedly two more books coming out, and I do worry what could possibly happen to warrant that much more story. For now I will sit and be happy with where things left off.

Thus concludes my favorite books of 2025 list! I would love to know what some of your favorite books of the year were. Maybe I’ll check them out next year and they will make my list then! Until next time, have a happy New Year and happy reading, book lovers!

Year of the Dragon Age: The Calling

The second book in the Dragon Age series takes place 8 years after the rebellion that makes Maric king and drives the Orlesians out of Ferelden. It’s also eleven years after he takes his unplanned excursion into the Deep Roads, which is important for PLOT reasons. Yet again, I can’t wait to dive into the games with new book knowledge in my head. There’s going to be spoilers for Dragon Age Origins, but specifically the Awakening DLC this time, as well as possibly some Inquisition talk. Intrigued how those two things connect? Lets get into it.

First off, we meet a recently recruited Duncan, fresh off the streets of Val Voyeaux. Before that he was a thief, which I did not expect that to be his backstory. He also super does not seem to want to be a Grey Warden at all, but it was literally that or execution. Not great choices. Anyway, our heroes ask Maric for help because one of their own has been captured by the darkspawn in Ferelden. He has knowledge of the Old Gods, and they are concerned if the darkspawn get this knowledge a Blight will begin. They ask Maric to guide them, since he has been to Ortan Thaig before. He agrees, which of course Loghain is not happy about. Remember in the last book when Flemeth gave Maric a bunch of prophecies? We learn that one of them was about a coming Blight! That was one loose end I was wondering about, so I’m glad they picked it back up here.

Before I continue, let’s introduce our cast of characters. The Wardens going on this excursion are Duncan, Utha (who is also a Silent Sister), Nicolas, Julien, Fiona (yes, that Fiona), and Genevieve (commander of the Grey Wardens in Orlais). The man they’re looking for is Bregan, Genevieve’s brother. After meeting everyone briefly and setting up the mission, we swap POV and see what Bregan is up to. I love that they do this. It’s so much more interesting seeing the shifting perspectives and them eventually meeting than just watching the group push their way toward Bregan to find whatever twist in the end. Especially because of who Bregan is with. Because, dear reader, I was not prepared for The Architect of all people to be the one to have captured Bregan. If you haven’t played the Awakening DLC you really should. I’ve always wanted them to do more with The Architect. He’s such an interesting character because you truly do not know if his intentions are good or if he has an ulterior motive. I was really conflicted with my choice in the end, and could see an argument for either option honestly. And that is what I love about Dragon Age, is it’s full of choices like that. But I digress… My favorite part about chapter 2 is that it doesn’t reveal who Bregan is talking to right away. There’s just this intelligent darkspawn that I thought”this is giving me Architect vibes” and then the reveal happened and I nearly lost my mind.

There’s lots of interesting character developments in this book in addition to the general plot being good. For one thing, Fiona hates Maric at first, which I found fascinating considering I knew they eventually had a kid together. It was fun looking for the thing that would eventually change her tune about him. Her reasons were understandable though. She was expecting him to be a typical stuck up noble who doesn’t care. Also there’s some trauma regarding her old human master before she joined the Wardens when she was a slave. Meanwhile, I think Fiona wakes Maric up from the funk he has been in. In between books Rowan has passed away and he’s been very disconnected from everything. Going on the adventure in the first place is him doing something that feels like it matters, and then he makes this connection with Fiona. It’s a bummer they don’t end up together because she’s really good for him, and they make a good team when she lets her hackles down.

Meanwhile in PLOT LAND, this isn’t a simple “stop the Blight” story. The Architect has a proposal for Bregan that he says will end Blights forever. It also would mean tainting all of humanity and the darkspawn finding and killing the remaining Old Gods. No big deal!

While Bregan is making deals and corrupting himself for the greater good, the group is fighting a lot of bad stuff to save him, including a mother fucking dragon! Duncan does some dope but risky maneuvers, and Julien dies in the fight. Nicolas blames Duncan for his death. Yay tension! The group also fight a demon and get stuck in the Fade. Here we lose Nicolas as he decides to stay behind, but everyone else escapes their dreams and presses on. We also learn that Nicolas and Julien were lovers, and that’s why he took his death so hard. The group finally are close and when they take a rest two big things happen: 1) Maric and Fiona end up alone together. This is one of two times this happens in the book, so 50/50 this is when Alistair is conceived. And 2) Genevieve sneaks off while they’re all sleeping. She assumes the group will decide it’s too risky to follow her and turn around, and she’ll complete the rest of the mission on her own. She manages to find her brother and is convinced to join Team End The Blights.

The rest of the team, of course, do not turn around and leave her to do stupid things on her own. While trying to catch up to her, they are overwhelmed by darkspawn and saved by The Architect. They are then told The Plan. Utha immediately joins Team End The Blights. Everyone else says “let me sleep on it” then promptly escapes. Kell does a Heroism and leads the darkspawn away so the rest of them can reach the surface. I think to myself “we are now down to the members I know are safe because of Plot Armor” (Duncan and Fiona both appear in future games so I know they have to be fine).

The group reach the surface, find the First Enchanter, and BETRAYAL, they are captured AGAIN. This is getting really old, y’all. It is revealed the First Enchanter gave them items that, yes, did hide them from the darkspawn, but they also sped up the corruption in them. He has been working with The Architect this whole time! A big battle ensues where Loghain shows up coincidentally, the Enchanter betrays The Architect the first chance he gets, and Genevieve and Bregan see the error of their ways in the end. The Architect and Utha slip off back into the Deep Roads (which I figured had to happen because he has to still be around for the DLC he’s in). The heroes celebrate (I guess) because they mostly won. At least there won’t be a Blight (this time).

In the epilogue Fiona and Duncan sneak into the castle to visit Maric. This is where I start thinking about implications, with some reveals in their conversation. First of all, they have to sneak in because Maric fears Loghain won’t trust the Wardens anytime soon. Quote from Maric: “He’s still not convinced the Grey Wardens weren’t in league with Remille, and I’m not sure he’ll forgive me for telling your order it could return to Ferelden for good. I think you can expect he’ll be watching your every movement like a hawk when you do.” Thinking about this quote and DAO – obviously the Wardens were opposing him and his plans, but also apparently he already didn’t like them for other reasons. This is very interesting and something I’ll have to keep in mind when talking to him in the game during my next playthrough.

Duncan announces he’s becoming second in command, which is huge considering where he was at the start of the books both in the ranks and his general attitude about the Wardens. Clearly he’s on the road towards where we see him in the first game. The book doesn’t mention who the commander is, and I wish it did. I don’t remember if there’s a codex entry or dialogue about it in game, or perhaps one of the other books mentions it. I’ll be on the lookout, for sure.

Fiona has several big announcements. First, she likely won’t have to go through the Calling because of the fake one she went through with the brooch the Enchanter gave her. This explains how she still hasn’t gone through her Calling by the time we see her in Inquisition. She also says she’s going to be sent to Weisshaupt. But before she goes, she introduces Maric to his son! Her request is that the boy gets to live a normal life where he’s not the son of a Grey Warden or a king. Duncan promises to keep an eye on him to make sure he’s safe and bring Maric news from time to time. And that is how Alistair ends up not growing up with Maric in the castle.

Final thoughts: It was great seeing so much of Fiona in this one. I respect she wanted to let Alistair have a “normal life” but he did eventually find out his real parents sent him away and had to wonder was it that they didn’t want him/couldn’t be bothered, which sucks for him. I’ll have to pay extra close attention to his dialogue to see how he talks about that whole situation. Also talking to Fiona about him in Inquisition is going to hit differently too. My favorite part of this is unlocking new lore and the extra layers these characters get with it.

Thus concludes my recap/thoughts on The Calling. Next up is the first Dragon Age comic!

Year of the Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne

Happy New Year!

What do you mean it’s already halfway over?

I kept getting holds at my local library, so I just finished my first Dragon Age book over the holiday weekend. I don’t have anything on the horizon, so the next one should move pretty quickly and then hopefully you’ll be getting regular Dragon Age Origins videos out of me. I’m really looking forward to playing it with this book in my head. Loghain is going to read much differently. He’s still an asshole, but he’s an asshole with layers.

First of all, I cannot tell you how much I loved living in this world in a written form. Seeing characters that vaguely get referenced become fully fleshed out made my brain squee. Obligatory SPOILER WARNING that after this point there will be in depth discussion of both the book The Stolen Throne and the video game Dragon Age: Origins. You have been warned.

You know how Loghain is supposed to be a great war hero but all we know him as is the bad guy in the video game? This book takes place during that war. We meet Prince Maric when his mother, the Queen is betrayed and killed, thus making him the next in line to the throne and in charge of the rebel army along with his father-in-law, the Arl Rendorn. Loghain meets him while on the run from the traitors who have killed his mother and want him dead too. At first it’s just “I’m going to get you somewhere safe” and then it snowballs into joining the rebel army and ultimately becoming a commander of that army and one of his best friends. Except, oops, along the way he develops feelings for Rowan, the woman Maric is supposed to marry. Awk-ward! It’s fascinating seeing how Loghain’s relationship with this family develops over time, knowing that ultimately he is going to be an advisor to Maric’s son, Cailan, but that’s going to be complicated as well. More on that at the end though.

There’s one particular section in an early chapter I loved, where Loghain and Maric are traveling through the Wilds and meet Flemeth. She, of course, has some juicy dialogue that I made note of because I thought it would be prescient for future chapters (or even possibly the next book, since I know Maric is in that one as well). Hell, you could even argue she’s referencing Loghain’s actions in DA:O with this beauty, “Keep him close and he will betray you. Each time worse than the last.” I’d say leaving Maric’s son to die in battle could be considered a betrayal? Although there’s also this exchange towards the end of the book, after Loghain has diverted from the army to save Maric, where Maric then makes Loghain promise, “Next time I don’t come to your rescue”. I spent most of this book looking at their relationship and seeing what happens in DA:O with Cailan, and part of that I will admit was me mixing up who was king at the time, but I also wonder if Loghain remembers this moment and several others that add up to “sacrifices need to be made” and that’s his justification for doing what he does during that battle where Cailan dies. It doesn’t necessarily make me agree with him, but it does get me to a place where I see where he’s coming from in a way I didn’t expect to be able to.

The epilogue shows us that Loghain has been rewarded with a title of nobility – Teyrn of Gwaren. He marries and has a daughter, Anora, who we see is married to Maric and Rowan’s son Cailan in DA:O. What’s interesting is that in the epilogue it’s mentioned that after Loghain gets his title he stays in Gwaren and never visits the palace until Rowan’s death. Cleary he and Maric don’t speak again but patch things up and sometime after promise their kids will get married…? I’m curious to see what other things get filled in with the next book before continuing on with the game, but this one really does change how I view events especially early on when Cailan is still alive and you interact with him and Loghain more. I’m very excited to play with this new knowledge in my noggin.

One last interesting lore detail to wrap things up. In the last chapter, right before the big battle, a dragon flies over Ferelden. This is significant because, at the time, it was believed the Navarrans had hunted them more than a century ago into extinction. The Chantry takes it as an omen, and the Divine in Val Royeaux declares the next age as the “Dragon Age”. And thus our series was born.