#2025FreakOut - Book Round Up For 2025
In 2025, a tag went all around BookTok - #midyearfreakout where you were given a set list of questions, and many in the BookTok community gave their personal answers. I wasn’t really posting much on TikTok at the time, so I didn’t participate, but I thought I would give it a full-year recap for 2025, while tweaking the questions a little to fit.
If you would like to read my reviews for the books mentioned below, check out my book blog.
So, here we go.
Best Book of 2025
This was a tough one for me to answer, as I have been lucky enough to read some sensational books in 2025, and I had quite a few 5 💜 and a sprinkling of 6 🩵. After going through my list of favourite books of the year, one jumped out as one that has regularly popped into my head since I read it. And that book is:-
This book was originally published in 2012 and republished in 2025 by Allison & Busby. I was lucky enough to be given an ARC via NetGalley. Once I started, I couldn’t put it down, and flew through it in a little over a week.
It is a beautifully written retelling of Rapunzel, with so much more added to the mix, including the tale of the first person to ever tell Rapunzel's story.
The book is told through the points of view of three very different women - Charlotte-Rose de la Force, who has been exiled from the court of King Louis XIV - Selena Leonelli, a once muse for a Venetian artist, terrified of losing her beauty; and finally Margherita, who was sold by her parents for some bitter greens and is now imprisoned, and determined to escape.
Each story is fantastically explored, with plenty of adventure, pulse-pounding moments, and a whole lot of heart. This story has stayed with me since I finished it in April 2025.
Honourable Mention:-
I did not know what to expect when I pressed play on the audiobook. It’s a wonderful mix of laugh-out-loud humour, love, and found family, all told through the eyes of our main character, Pearly Gates, a deceased former drag queen working in the afterlife in cosmic sanitation. When she is able to make a deal to become a spirit guide to the living, she jumps at it, making mistakes and friends along the way.
I went through all the emotions throughout the book - laughter, tears, joy, sorrow, and yet more laughter. Some of the things Pearly says are absolutely hysterical.
The audiobook is also read by the author, who does a sensational job. The second book in the series, The Midnight Croissant, is coming out on the 7th April 2026, and I have managed to get an ARC. So excited to start it. I have the feeling it will appear prominently on my 2026 top books list.
Best Sequel of 2025
I discovered one of my all-time favourite book series in 2025 and read all four books that year. The series is known as the Lizzie Hardwicke Mysteries, and all feature the main female character of Lizzie Hardwicke, a harlot living in 1700s London. She’s strong, determined, stubborn, and a joy to read about.
The first book in the series is called Death And The Harlot, then The Corpse Played Dead, followed by Viper in the Nest and ending with A Kiss From the Devil. They are all fantastic stories of historical fiction mixed with a murder mystery and a will they, won’t they romance. Each book details the difficulties and dangers for women living in London in the 1700s, especially for women making their living through prostitution.
All of the books in the series got a 5 💜 from me, except one: Viper in the Nest, which got 6 🩵. It was just too good, and it well deserved the rating.
Honourable Mention:
This is the second book in the Molly the Maid series. I read the first book in 2024, but didn’t read the second one until early 2025. Molly is one of the most interesting and fascinating characters I have read. She works as a maid in the Regency Grand Hotel, and it’s through her job that she encounters the murder victims. She endeavours to solve the mystery, especially since she is often the one who finds the body.
As though the murder mystery isn’t enough, there is also the beautiful relationship with her recently deceased grandmother, who plays a central role in this book, as she was once acquainted with the murder victim, allowing Molly to revisit their shared past.
If you haven’t discovered this beautiful series for yourself, I can’t recommend it enough.
New Releases in 2025 I Haven’t Read Yet, And Really Want To
I know, I am so late to the party with this one. What makes it worse is that I actually have the physical hardback in my pile of tbr books, and I still haven’t read it. I really need to get on it, since a 4th book in the series is coming at some stage.
Honourable Mention:
I just got this book for my birthday in December, so don’t feel too bad that I haven’t read it yet, but it is high on my tbr list. He has another book coming out in his other book series - We Solve Murders, coming at the end of 2026, and I want to have this read before this comes out, so I can dive in.
Most Anticipated Release For 2026
As stated above, this is one of my most anticipated reads of 2026. I absolutely adore the world Bonnie Solomon has created in these wonderful books, and I am so excited to start a new one in the series.
Honourable Mention:
The Divines is the second book in the Killmarth Trials book series. Following on from the sensational The Ordeals, which was a 6 🩵 read for me in October, I cannot wait to read this. The 8th of October cannot come fast enough.
Honourable Mention:
I absolutely ate up the first book in the series, We Solve Murders, when I read it in January 2025. Richard Osman is one of my autobuy authors; even if I don't always get to his books immediately, I always get there eventually. I can't wait to jump back into the world he has created with this book series. I need more Steve in my life.
Biggest Disappointment in 2025
I absolutely adored The Small Museum, which is the first book in this series. I read that in July and couldn’t put it down. It was very dark and gothic, but beautifully written. I was excited to start reading the sequel, The Surgeons’ House. But I was so disappointed. It didn’t capture as much of the darkness or sinisterness of the first book and fell rather flat for me.
Honourable Mention:
I could not get into this book at all, sadly and had to DNF it. I really don't like to DNF books, but sometimes it's the only way.
Biggest Surprise Of 2025
I had never heard of this book or the author until one of my book clubs announced it as our book of the month for November. It absolutely blew me away. For this particular club, it was a chapter a day, or in this case, two chapters a day, and I somehow managed to stick to this schedule until the last few chapters, when I couldn’t stop and had to read right through to the end. My heart was often in my feet when reading this book, especially those last few chapters.
Honourable Mention:
I had never read a V.E Schwab book before, but I had read so many good things about her work, and this book in particular, that I had to give it a go. Toxic lesbian vampires? Heck yeah, and it didn’t disappoint.
Favourite New Author
Why have I never read T.Kingfisher before?? Totally kicking myself for not picking up one of her books before 2025. But at least I am now making up for lost time and indulging in her wonderful storytelling. I was lucky enough to get ARCs for both of these books and loved them. Can't wait for the sequel to Swordheart - Daggerbound to come out in August 2026.
Newest Fictional Crush
Totally crushing on Charlotte Walker, the vet who moves to the small island of Tuga. She's a woman on a mission, but she quickly becomes immersed in island life and falls in love with the life there, and might just fancy one of the locals.
William Davenport. He certainly has trust issues and doesn't let his emotions out, but he has a lot of love in his heart, especially when it comes to Lizzie Hardwicke.
Newest Favourite Character
Lizzie Hardwicke is a very strong woman who comes from a life of opulence and respectability and finds herself living and working as a harlot in London. When people around her start being murdered, she is often considered to be responsible, especially by some of the local police force, but with her own strength and determination, and the support of William Davenport, she is able to come through the darkness.
Book That Made Me Cry
This is such a beautifully written book that I was hooked instantly and couldn't put it down. I fell in love with Sofi and Lara, and cheered for them when things were going well, and cried with them when things took a devastating turn. This is one of those books that will stay with me for a long time.
Book That Made Me Happy
This book was dark, and yet so, so funny. Julie is such a twisted character, and yet she is also endlessly entertaining. Much of what she does is so disturbing, yet I couldn't stop reading.
Most Beautiful Book Bought/Received
This is an ebook rather than a physical book, but the front cover is stunning, almost as stunning as the actual book.
What Do I Need To Read In The Next Six Months
As my tbr list continues to grow, I want to read more and more books every month. I really need a clone to get through them all. But here are my current top five to read in the next six months.
I am currently reading this, and oh my god, this is so good. Vampires, Romans and Trials, all inside one book, Heck to the yeah!
I got this as an ARC, and it looks so good.
I started this and never finished it. It's very dark and intriguing, and I can't wait to find out how it ends.
Sarah Bonner became a favourite author of mine when I read her book How to Slay at Work in 2024, and she has continued to be a favourite. This is coming out on the 10th February 2026.
This is the second book in the Broken Blades series. I read the first book in the series, Five Broken Blades, near the end of 2025 and really enjoyed it, so I want to continue with the series. Hoping to finish the trilogy with Three Shattered Souls soon as well.
Want to find out if I finished these books, or to read my full reviews on each of the books covered? Check out my blog here.
So what do you think of my list? Have you read any of the same books as me? What did you think? What were your favourites of 2025? Let me know in the comments.