Hey all, Sam here.
This post should have been up MONTHS ago. It’s kind of obvious to say that it has really been a struggle for me to write, whether that is my stories or here on the blog. I’m trying to work my way through some things and find ways to motivate myself to write more, so hopefully I can turn things around a bit.
I’m seeing all kinds of posts about BookCon this weekend, and it’s making me think back to when I did BEA and BookCon back in 2017. I had a little bit of a boost on my blog after that point. It felt like I was becoming more of a book professional, which was a really cool feeling. Honestly, while I thought BookCon was a bit too packed and chaotic back then, I really did love attending BEA, so I keep watching just in case they want to try and resurrect that one as well. I don’t know if I would make the cut anymore, but I know I would still apply. It would be cool to attend again.
Anyway, I posted my Top Ten Reads of 2025 (Jan-June Edition) at the end of last year, and had meant to have this up near the beginning of January this year, but that did not happen. This has actually been sitting in my drafts for three months now, so it’s about time I get it finished.
Once again I’ll mention the rules I set for myself with this favorites list. The book has to be available to the public, so if I read a book in April that won’t be released until August, then it can’t be in my top ten for the first half of the year. I also can’t put something in my top ten list if it is a reread because obviously I liked it enough to read it again. Oh, and I have these books listed in the order in which I read them, because I can’t even imagine trying to rank them into a most favorite to least favorite or vice versa type of order. No thank you.
All right, before I get into the actual top ten for July to December 2025, let’s first start off with just a few honorable mentions. These are books that I really enjoyed, but they just barely missed the mark on landing one of those top ten spots.
Honorable Mentions:
Kill the Beast by Serra Swift
The Everlasting by Alix E Harrow
The Second Death of Locke by V.L. Bovalino
I need to get reviews up for these books, but I will say that they were all magical in their own ways, and I really enjoyed reading them.
This Gilded Abyss by Rebecca Thorne
The Fangirl Project by Beth Reekles
The Lost Reliquary by Lyndsay Ely
Again, I need to get reviews up for these books, but again, these reads just barely missed out on my top ten list. It’s so hard to narrow down my options. I even end up giving myself two top tens a year because I read so many very good books, but when–even in my slower reading years–I’m still reading like 120+ books, it is hard to choose favorites.
All right….now that we have the honorable mentions out of the way (it really was hard to narrow this list down, but that’s fine because I am happy to keep talking about books), it is time to get into the top ten for the later half of 2025. As with the first half of the year, these books are listed in the order I read them and not in any sort of least favorite to most favorite or vice versa type ranking list.
Although I will go ahead and say right now that I’m surprised that I’ve actually reviewed most of the books in my top ten list, with seven out of the ten books having a review posted already. I will try and get reviews posted for the other three at some point fairly soon.
Dungeons & Dragons: The Fallbacks: Dealing with Dragons by Jaleigh Johnson
Never Say You Can’t Survive: How to Get Through Hard Times by Making Up Stories by Charlie Jane Anders
Beautiful Things by Emily Rath
Ghost Business by Jen DeLuca
Obviously I had to pick up the second D&D book following The Fallbacks, and of course I also really enjoyed following their continued adventures. I am planning on doing a re-read of this Charlie Jane Anders book so I can do a review for my Weekend Writer series. I’ll just say that it was a very inspirational read for anyone struggling to be creative when the world feels like it’s absolutely going to shit.
I’ve really enjoyed working my way through Emily Rath’s back catalog, and I’m trying not to read all of her books too quickly because a) they are some thick reads and b) I don’t want to run out quickly. But her historical reads, her contemporary sports reads, and her fantasy reads have all been fantastic. She has a paranormal romance coming out in a few months, and I just got approved on NetGalley for it, so I’m very excited.
Speaking of excited, I’m also glad to keep reading Jen DeLuca books. The final book in her Willow Creek series (AKA Ren Faire Romance series) is coming out this fall and I am both sad that it’s ending and so happy to get to return to the characters and the world of Willow Creek one last time. But this book is the second in the Boneyard Key series, which is about romances in a town with a rich history of ghosts. And yes, there is some ghost interaction in the stories. It’s a fantastic spooky season read.
Warrior Princess Assassin by Brigid Kemmerer
Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree
Recipes for an Unexpected Afterlife by Deston J Munden
I’m actually not going to talk too long on these ones, because I do have reviews up for each of them, so you can click on those links for more of my thoughts. Brigid Kemmerer’s adult fantasy debut was a must read for me, and I’m glad I picked it up. It hooked me with the intriguing characters and I flew through it. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel this year.
Obviously I was really excited to return to the world of Travis Baldree’s Legends & Lattes and this one was actually a little more action filled than the previous two, but it was still a fun read. Oh, and I just got approved for the short story collection coming out later this year, so I’m sure I’ll be talking about that soon enough (it’s going to be a challenge to make myself wait until at least July to read it, but I guess if I can’t wait then it’ll be an honorable mention instead of a top ten contender).
And I was interested in reading Deston J Munden’s release through Cozy Quill Press/Bindery Books, but I ended up loving it so much more than I expected. I’m hoping to read more by Munden in this world he’s created, because it was just so intriguing, and I really just want more stories with these characters and this world.
The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong
Slayers of Old by Jim C Hines
For Whom the Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn
Again, I’m not going to spend long here because I’ve mostly managed to write reviews up for these books. Julie Leong’s book was a wonderful cozy sapphic fantasy that I really enjoyed reading. I should have known I was going to enjoy Jim C. Hines’s new release, but it was even better than I expected, and I loved that it met the expectation of basically Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Golden Girls. It was just fantastic.
Finally there’s For Whom the Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn, and I wanted to reread this book almost immediately after finishing it. The fact that I read it in like November (I think?) and still haven’t picked it back up for a second read feels a little wrong to me….especially since I have to wait until April 2027 for book two, but I can guarantee that I will be reading this again at some point this year. And I’m already rewatching the web series again as Jaysea posts them on Instagram and Facebook. I will try to get a review up for this book soon, although I may wait until the reread to write it up.
Well, there you have it: my Top Ten Reads from July to December of 2025. And yes, I am already drafting my next list, which is my Top Ten Reads from January to June of 2026. There might be a big honorable mentions list on it, because I’ve been reading some really great books lately.
Anyway, that is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon (I hope) with more geeky content.
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