Top Ten Fiction Reads of 2025

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

As I've done the past few years, I'm splitting up my favorite fiction and nonfiction of the year, sharing my top ten fiction reads this week and my nonfiction picks next week.

I'm cheating a bit by including several series as single entities, just to give a more accurate picture of my reading year. I don't usually include sequels, but I included two romances (#1 and #2) that can be read as standalone novels, though I still highly recommend reading the first books for the full experience. I also included one (#10) that is fictionalized but based on the true story of co-author Mohamed's life.

To read more about why I liked these fiction books, you can search for them on the blog or check out my Goodreads. (To see my favorite read every month with a detailed description of why I liked it, I encourage you to check out — and link up with — the Best of the Bunch linkup.)

1. Amelia, If Only by Becky Albertalli

2. It Had to Be Him by Adib Khorram

3. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

4. The Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson

5. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

6. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

7. The Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsall

8. Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper

9. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

10. When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

What great fiction did you read this year?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Only Love Today, As You Wish, and Nothing to Fear
Five years ago I was reading: Strangers from a Different Shore and Feminist, Queer, Crip
Ten years ago I was reading: Jesus Calling, Lonesome Dove, The Quran, and Middlemarch