Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books I read in 2025

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme where every Tuesday we look at a particular topic for discussion and use various (or more to the point ten) bookish examples to demonstrate that particular topic.  Top Ten Tuesday (created and hosted by  The Broke and Bookish) is now being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and future week’s topics can be found here.  This week’s prompt is:

Best Books I read in 2025

This is my first Top Ten Tuesday for 2026 so although I’ve actually already covered this topic (here) and also looked at my highlights for 2025 (here), I thought I might take a look at both posts and see if I could see which books coincide or not and maybe choose another ten books from my highlights.  Here goes:

Grave Empire by Richard Swan

A Far Better Thing by HG Parry

My Ex, the AntiChrist by Craig DiLouie

Senseless by Ronald Malfi

It Was Her House First by Cherie Priest

No Women Were Harmed by Heather Mottershead

Paladins Grace by T Kingfisher

Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham

Paved With Good Intentions by Peter McLean

The Last Witch by CJ Cooke

Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Winter 2025-2026 to-Read List

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme where every Tuesday we look at a particular topic for discussion and use various (or more to the point ten) bookish examples to demonstrate that particular topic.  Top Ten Tuesday (created and hosted by  The Broke and Bookish) is now being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and future week’s topics can be found here.  This week’s prompt is:

Books On My Winter 2025-2026 to-Read List

I’ve split this into two groups.  Books that are on my shelves and books that are on my wishlist:

Books on my Shelves:

Enchanting the Fae Queen by Stephanie Burgis

A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St James

Nightshade and Oak by Molly O’Neill

A Forest Darkly by AG Slatter

Temple Fall by RL Boyle

Books on my Wishlist:

The Storm by Rachel Hawkins

My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney

Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett

Nowhere Burning by Catriona Ward

The Wolf and the Crown of Blood by Elizabeth May

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Set in Snowy Places 

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme where every Tuesday we look at a particular topic for discussion and use various (or more to the point ten) bookish examples to demonstrate that particular topic.  Top Ten Tuesday (created and hosted by  The Broke and Bookish) is now being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and future week’s topics can be found here.  This week’s prompt is:

Books Set in Snowy Places

1. The Shining by Stephen King

2. The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis

3. The Glass Hotel by Emily St John Mandel

4. The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

5. The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy) by Katherine Arden

6. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

7. The Gathering by CJ Tudor

8. A Haunting in the Arctic by CJ Cooke

9. Shiver by Allie Reynolds

10. The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky

I have to say there are some excellent books above and I had quite a few more that I could have shared.  I highly recommend all of these.

What about you? Do you have any other books that you would add to this list?

Top Ten Tuesday: Modern Books You Think Will Be Classics In The Future 

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Today is the first Top Ten Tuesday I’ve participated in for a while, mainly because of being busy and personal reasons, but, I’m getting back on track and, I love this topic.  So, here’s my take on modern books (which I’m taking to mean recently written as oppose to contemporary setting – although, obviously, you could interpret it either way) that I think could be classics in the future:

King Sorrow by Joe Hill – I haven’t written my review for this one yet but I absolutely loved it.  It’s a chunkster of a book but it’s so good that it doesn’t feel that way.

The Everlasting by Alix E Harrow – this is another recent read that I loved.  Again, I haven’t posted my review yet (which will follow shortly) but this was so good.  The writing is fantastic, the story is totally absorbing, literally a story that spreads across the ages.

Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow – yes, two books by the same author on this list.  It probably seems a little indulgent but I love her books and this particular book is like a love letter to readers.

Station Eleven, the Glass Hotel and Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandell.  This is not a series as such but the books all interconnect in ways that you wouldn’t be aware of without having read the others.  Basically, each book is a standalone and brilliant in it’s own right but if you have the pleasure of reading all three, well, it’s really quite mind blowing.

The Justice of Kings, The Tyranny of Faith and The Trials of Empire by Richard Swan.  Fantasy books with murder mysteries, epic in their scopo but with a more modern feel in terms of ease of reading, great writing and totally gripping.  I would love to see these books become recognised for the scope, writing and originality.

A Dowry of Blood by ST Gibson.  I’m not always a fan of classic retellings but this story works.  Told from the point of view of one of Dracula’s ‘bride’s this is a dark tale of doubt and seduction and based itself on a ‘classic’ I would love to see it last the test of time.

A Boy and His Dog at the end of the World.  Such a fantastic tale, told in a way to deliver a really powerful twist.  I loved it and didn’t see it coming.

The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar.  Oh dear me, how much did I love this book?  Ridiculously so.  It’s an absolute keeper.  A new story told in a way that brings all the charm of many older classics but easily readable and with hints of fantasy.

The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden.  The Bear and the Nightingale, The Girl in the Tower, The Winter of the Witch.  This series is so good, beautiful writing, fairytale fantasy and Russian Folklore.  Quite mesmerising.

Finally, The Broken Empire series by Mark Lawrence.  This series definitely falls into the ‘grimdark’ genre (and, as such, maybe isn’t for everyone) but being the first of it’s kind that I read it felt so unique and unusual, plus the writing is superb and the overall scope, of not only this series, but all the following series by this author, well, it really is impressive.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Honorifics in the Title 

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme where every Tuesday we look at a particular topic for discussion and use various (or more to the point ten) bookish examples to demonstrate that particular topic.  Top Ten Tuesday (created and hosted by  The Broke and Bookish) is now being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and future week’s topics can be found here.  This week’s prompt is:

Books with Honorifics in the Title 

Not sure how well this one works but I’m thinking of roles that people become known as – so ‘the scholar, the priest, etc.  

 

The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by HG Parry

The Maid’s Secret by Nita Prose

Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis (two honorifics in this book!)

The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister

The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

Priest of Bones by Peter McLean

The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

The Sin Eater by Megan Campisi

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

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