The best books of 2025

This list is part of the best books of 2025.

Join 1,210 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2025

Book cover of All the Colors of the Dark

Jeff Beamish ❤️ loved this book because...

This beautifully written thriller about a kidnapped boy named Patch is not your typical whodunit. It’s a haunting story of trauma, friendship and maybe even love. Spanning several decades and packed with unforgettable characters, this novel explores the ripple effect of crime not just on individuals but on entire communities. The result is the best novel I’ve read in years.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Character(s) 🥈 Writing
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Chris Whitaker ,

Why should I read it?

27 authors picked All the Colors of the Dark as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A missing persons mystery, a serial killer thriller, and an epic love story - with a unique twist on each...

* * * * *

Late one summer, the town of Monta Clare is shattered by the abduction of local teenager Joseph 'Patch' Macauley. Nobody more so than Saint Brown, who is broken by her best friend's disappearance. Soon, she will eat, sleep, breathe, only to find him.

But when she it will break her heart.

Patch lies in a pitch-black room - all alone - for days or maybe weeks. Until he feels a hand in his. Her name…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2025

Book cover of Beautiful Ugly

Jeff Beamish ❤️ loved this book because...

One year after his wife disappears under suspicious circumstance, a writer goes to a remote Scottish island to get his life back on track. A few critics have suggested this novel represents a letdown for Feeney, perhaps partly because of an unsatisfying ending. But most readers will find it’s a gripping story full of enough twists and suspense to keep them plunging forward into the unknown.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Story/Plot 🥈 Immersion
  • Writing style

    👍 Liked it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Alice Feeney ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Beautiful Ugly as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'I was consumed by this book, it's her best ever, a work of genius' - Lisa Jewell

'Brilliant and chilling, with an inspired setting, characters that jump off the page and twists to give you whiplash. I loved every word' - Claire Douglas

The million-copy bestselling author of His and Hers, Alice Feeney, returns with a gripping and deliciously dark thriller about marriage . . . and revenge.

* * *

Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.

Grady calls his wife as she's driving home to share some exciting news. He hears Abby slam…


My 3rd favorite read in 2025

Book cover of The River Is Waiting

Jeff Beamish ❤️ loved this book because...

Could you live with yourself if you accidentally killed your own child? While this novel doesn’t directly answer this unsettling question, it does put us inside the head of Corby as he navigates guilt, rehabilitation and forgiveness from a prison cell. Yes, this novel at times feels like it’s falling short, and maybe that’s the point. Sometimes we mess everything up and can’t quite find a way to make it better.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Emotions 🥈 Thoughts
  • Writing style

    👍 Liked it
  • Pace

    🐕 Good, steady pace

By Wally Lamb ,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked The River Is Waiting as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK

#1 New York Times bestselling author Wally Lamb, celebrated for two prior Oprah Book Club selections, returns with an exceptional third pick, a propulsive novel following a young father grappling with unbearable tragedy as he searches for hope, redemption, and the possibility of forgiveness.

Corby Ledbetter is struggling. New fatherhood, the loss of his job, and a growing secret addiction have thrown his marriage to his beloved Emily into a tailspin. And that's before he causes the tragedy that tears the family apart. Sentenced to prison, Corby struggles to survive life on the inside, where he…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

No, You're Crazy

By Jeff Beamish ,

Book cover of No, You're Crazy

What is my book about?

When sixteen-year-old Ashlee Sutton's home life falls apart, she is beset by a rare mental illness that makes her believe she's clairvoyant. While most people scoff at her, she begins demonstrating an uncanny knack for sometimes predicting the future, using what could either be pure luck or something more remarkable. And when she helps her drug-addict father win enough casino cash to accidentally overdose, she becomes the target of violent people determined to exploit her, and she goes on the run. Ashlee reaches out to a distant relative, traumatized war journalist Mike Baker. Soon, at least in Ashlee's eyes, they are both plunging dangerously into an existential rabbit hole where their core belief, that humanity and personal connections are a blight, will be put to the ultimate test.

Book cover of All the Colors of the Dark
Book cover of Beautiful Ugly
Book cover of The River Is Waiting

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