Dear reader, it’s been a year since my last post. And what a year 2025 ended up being. Not in a good way, unfortunately. I once again ended up on an unplanned hiatus from blogging because of long covid. Things got worse after I had covid again in summer 2024, and by last January the fatigue and brain fog had become quite debilitating, preventing me from working or doing much of anything other than washing, eating, and trying to get through each day. The impact on my cognitive functioning has been particularly frustrating and difficult to deal with, as I’ve not been able to do as much of things I enjoy, like reading, blogging and writing. The recovery has been incredibly slow. I am still far from better, but in the last few months, I have begun to gain a bit more functionality again. I’m still not well enough to be posting regularly, but I’m hoping to be able to start blogging again this year. Fingers crossed it won’t be another year before my next post!

Today I’m sharing my favourite reads from 2025. Although I wasn’t able to read as much as usual, I finished 12 books. Here are my top 5.

The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 – This is the third and final book in the Dial A For Aunties series. I’ve become very fond of these characters over the course of the series and was sad to see it end as I’ve had such a fun time reading these books. I think I actually enjoyed this final book the most, perhaps because it was great to return to these characters once again. I laughed out loud so many times during this book. It was exactly what I needed to cheer me up during a difficult time. The audiobook narrator, Risa Mei, did a brilliant job once again, really bringing all the characters to life. This is definitely one of my favourite series and I’ll be checking out more of Jesse Sutanto’s books for sure.

Hex and the City by Kate Johnson ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 – Hex and the City is the second book in Kate Johnson’s series of standalone witchy romances set in the same world and has similar vibes to the first book, Hex Appeal, with plenty of witchy antics, spicy romance and touches of humour. I enjoyed Hex in the City a little more than the first book as I was more prepared for the unpredictable, bizarre antics and random time travel. I had a really fun time reading this. I loved our two new protagonists, as well as the side characters like Iris and her coven. The humour also made me laugh out loud in places. The bizarreness and chaos of the book made it quite unpredictable. I wasn’t sure which way the story was going to go which was part of what made me want to keep reading. There were also some good twists in the second half. There are fun references to Hex Appeal for those who have read it, but it isn’t essential to read the first book to enjoy this one as they are standalone stories. The audiobook narrator for this series, Catrin Walker-Booth, does an excellent job and makes it a really smooth reading experience, so I would definitely recommend the audiobooks for this series.

Six Wild Crowns by Holly Race ⭐⭐⭐⭐ –The concept of this book is so imaginative and intriguing, and as soon as I saw the cover and synopsis, I knew I had to read it. Six Wild Crowns retells the story of King Henry VIII and his six wives. I love how the author has taken real historical characters and woven their stories into a fantasy world. The set up is that the king of Elben must have six wives, six queens, one to inhabit each of the castles on Elben’s coastline to bind the magic which creates a barrier around the island that protects them from invading armies. In this novel, the two point of view characters are Boleyn and Seymour, with the novel opening on Boleyn’s wedding day. The writing style drew me in from start to finish, as well as the intriguing story. For those who know a little about Tudor history, it is so interesting to see how Holly Race has taken recognisable historical events and created something new. But even if you don’t know much about the real history the story is based on, this novel is still a great read. Six Wild Crowns is an intriguing, diverse feminist fantasy and an excellent start to a new series.

A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – This magical YA fantasy debut has a unique and creative magic system which centres around making and drinking tea. It took me a little while to understand the magic system at first, it could have been explained a little more clearly earlier on. But once I began to understand more how it worked, I was really intrigued and captivated by the magic. There is a romance subplot, but the focus of this book is more on the main character’s journey and the larger plot. There were a few slow moments but as the book went on I found myself becoming more engrossed and, with lots of twists and turns as the plot built to the conclusion, I was hooked. The story unfolds brilliantly and after that ending, I knew I’d be reading the second book in the duology to find out what would happen next.

A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – In fact, I read the sequel to A Magic Steeped in Poison a few months later. Usually, it takes me a long time to get around to finishing a series but, on this occasion, I actually read the whole duology in the same year. A rare feat indeed. While the first book is told from one point of view, we get two in this book, and the audiobook also has two different narrators from the first book. This didn’t bother me too much, but I imagine it would be a bit jarring if you were to listen to the audiobooks back-to-back. We get to explore more of the world in this book as the plot follows a quest-style storyline, which I enjoyed. The best part of this duology was definitely the unique magic system and enchanting world building.

What books did you enjoy in 2025? What have I missed while I’ve been gone? Chat with me in the comments!