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There are 14 categories for favorites, plus the Top overall read of 2025.
Re-reads are still excluded.
What a year it has been, my reading took a bit of hit because of a few things. First, I had shoulder surgery in May to repair a torn labrum I suffered from being too aggressive in the gym working out.
During my recovery, I studied to pass three separate tests to get my RME-I license to become a fire sprinkler inspector, which was finally made official on November 24th.
My sweet boxer Athena was diagnosed with bone cancer in May, and unfortunately passed on December 5th. She was only given 1-2 months, so I was very thankful I got the extra time I did with her.
Anyways, sorry for making it so sad, let’s get back to happy thoughts! I only managed to read 40 books this year, and 15 of those were re-reads. So this list is a bit narrow on selections, but spectacular nonetheless!
I love StoryGraph for its charts. It does such a good job of keeping track of things like mood, average rating, most read and genres, like the pictures below!
WITH THAT SAID, ON TO THE CATEGORIES!
There were actually a few to choose from here, but I decided that since I’m excluding re-reads, I’d exclude them in this as well, I also decided not to include any special edition covers, this is strictly regular published covers. The finalists came down to Felix Ortiz and Andrew Maleski, what made me decide on Blood Brothers Beyond was its beautiful autumn colors and the minimalistic Asian style.
This was such a hard choice, because there were several great narrators to choose from, including graphic audio, but Hyperion’s narration still stood out above those graphic audios that I enjoyed. It wasn’t quite graphic audio, but the multiple narrators really set this off and helped me fall in love with the story and its characters.
This was not an easy decision for me to make, because Of Empires and Dust possesses a few characters that could claim the crown. Fane Mortem is just one of those characters that sends chills up your spine, he’s the evil you see, the evil leading the war against the nation… even though he’s not the evilist of the evil in this series.
Yeah, we’re doing it again! Cahill not only delivered my favorite villain, but also my favorite protagonist! My favorite character of The Bound and the Broken is and always will be Dayne Ateres, but I have to give credit where credit is due, and admit that Calen deserves this award. His growth and everything he has to deal with in this story made it too difficult to not choose him.
So this is one of those things that I have to tiptoe around to make sure there is no spoiler. There were multiple moments in this novel that felt worthy, though there was one in particular, I felt was above the rest and it broke me the first time I read it during my arc read, and it hit me even harder during my audiobook re-read. This scene just hits you and rips your soul out. For those that have read it, you know what I’m talking about.
I’m not sure this will suit everyone due to its edgier themes that may unsettle some, but Ronit crafts an incredible fusion of a dark, near-horrific storyline with a strong, character-driven narrative. He calls Island of a Dying Goddess a speculative exploration of grief and loss, and that rings true. This is a story that plummets you into a miasma of loneliness and despair, where hope feels like an impossible reach away. It reminds me of Luke Tarzian’s shadowy, metaphorical style, weaving meaning beyond the words, with Ronit’s grief flowing just as deep in his own way.
Sangoyomi’s debut novel is a stunning achievement, a beautiful and powerful story that reimagines pre-colonial West Africa with a subtle dash of Greek mythology, drawing on parallels to the Persephone and Hades myth. My familiarity with the story, as a lover of Greek mythology, made reading this more exciting to spot the parallels used. This unique blend crafts a historical fiction tale centered on female empowerment and political maneuvering, while quietly educating readers about a time and place that’s too often overlooked.
This is technically a short story, but I’m going to include it in the Novella section regardless. I love everything by Cahill, so it’s no surprise that I would put this story here. When the Skies Cried Crimson Rain is a completely new story outside of the Bound and the Broken world, and is a howling masterclass in short-form fantasy, blending gore, horror, and heart. This standalone short story, that I hope ends up being part of a new series, drops us readers into a war-ravaged world where the main POV, Markan, is a Varkin warrior blessed by the wolf-god Varkin.
I love Cahill, this was a no-brainer. My re-read with the audiobook earlier this month secured it, because Derek Perkins is tremendous and he brought all the emotions I felt from the first read in March during the ARC read. What words are there left to say about a book that doesn’t just raise the bar, but shatters it, showing that Cahill & The Bound and the Broken stand atop the fantasy pantheon.
This finale hit me like a ton of bricks, not only did Fonda Lee nail this, she absolutely smashed it with the force of Jade-charged sledgehammer (if that existed), by wrapping up the saga with heart-wrenching twists on a global showdown that left me reeling.
Brace for impact: Toro’s debut, Umbra, thrusts you into a character-driven space opera, told through three POVs: a rogue running from her past, an exiled commander looking for redemption, and an ostracized admiral seeking justice
Hyperion is phenomenal! After reading this I can truly say that Simmons is a master of the science fiction genre by writing such a masterful tale that had me reading every chance that I got and frothing over his beautiful writing style.
Panacea lived up to everything I had hoped it would be. Robins plunges into a vivid authentic Bronze-Age inspired culture that sent me straight to Greece, as if I was marching along with all the characters in the phalanx. I could smell the aroma of wine, taste the decadent olives, and smell the sharp, metallic tang of blood on the battlefield. It’s immersive in the best way.
Rebel Daughter is a dark, absolutely heartbreaking and emotional story of a young woman trying to make her way through life in a tough time. A two-thousand year old love story that’s based on real world events and real people that came from a epitaph found in Italy. What was surprising is that I was worried about romance and discovered there was actually no romance at all.
Before we get to the TOP READ of the YEAR… here are all 40 books I read in 2025!
AND NOW… THE TOP READ!
This was my first ever 6 star rating, yeah, I decided that 5 stars just wasn’t enough to rate this story. This is undeniably Cahill’s best work yet and it might even claim the top read of the decade, which may be a bit premature since the unwritten finale, Of Gods and Ashes lurks in the shadows.
Thank you for taking the time to check out my top reads list of 2025!
Below are links to my top Reads for the last few years, and my TBR for 2026! Don’t forget to like, retweet and follow me on Twitter/X!
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!
Check out these links below!
Michael’s Top 10 Reads of 2022
Michael’s Top 15 Reads of 2021
Wolfmantula.com 