So yesterday we talked about my disappointing reads of 2025. Today let’s talk about my top five books of 2025.
All in all, 2025 was a decent reading year. I fell back in love with reading after 2024 tried to kill me. I found some new favorites and tried new genres, so I deem this year a success.
The Butcher’s Daughter
The Butcher’s Daughter is easily the best book that I read in 2025. I enjoyed every minute of this story. It felt like a natural continuation of The String of Pearls, and you don’t always get that with retellings. I’m also a sucker for a good epistolary novel. There was one plotline that didn’t feel fully fleshed out but it seems like they’re setting up a sequel. I really hope they do.
The String of Pearls: Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
The String of Pearls is quite possibly one of my favorite gothic horror stories. I won’t say it beats out Dracula, but it’s close. The gothic atmosphere and eerie feelings were established at the very beginning and continued throughout. It had a few strange stop and starting points since it was originally released as a penny dreadful. But ultimately it all comes together in the end.
Play Nice
I’m not shocked that Play Nice is on the list. I love Rachel Harrison’s work, and I love haunted houses, so this was a perfect combination. Now don’t go into this story hunting a likeable character. Honestly, the demon was more likeable. But it was still a creepy, cozy read that only Rachel Harrison could pull off.
The Storyteller
I think this is the first time I’ve ever featured an audiobook on this list, but I had to include The Storyteller by Dave Grohl. I picked it up on a whim and I enjoyed every second of it. Dave Grohl is a fantastic writer and he done a great job recapping his life. I laughed. I cried. It gave me all of the emotions. Read this one even if you’re not a Foo Fighter/Nirvana fan. He has a lot of great insight on life in general.
Memorials
Lastly, we have Memorials. A good horror story set in the Appalachian Mountains is enough to hook me from the beginning. It starts out like a travel story with great camping scenes. It made me miss the woods. But the further in the characters went the creepier and creepier it became. This is a great summer horror, and I can’t recommend it enough.
That wraps up my top five books of 2025. I’d love to hear yours in the comments.
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oh wait a minute, I had no idea that Sweeny Todd (the musical) was inspired from a book? I need to look into The String of Pearls now. I also really loved a Rachel Harrison book this year! 🙂
I didn’t realize it until this year!
I didn’t know Sweeny Todd was based on a book!!
I didn’t either until I stumbled across it one day.
How cool!