Best Fiction Books to read of 2025

INSIDE : Read along with me this year! Check out the Best Fiction Books to Read of 2025 and see my quick reviews of each of them. Mystery, thriller, memoir, historical fiction and a little self help – I love reading a wide variety of books and I’d love hearing which are your favorites!

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This post will be updated continually throughout 2025.

I have found in recent years that reading has become a beautiful way for me to slow down, relax and enjoy the pleasure of being elsewhere. I read 99 books last year and have really found a few genres that I’m most drawn to – I love books that make me think, make me feel and grow my heart of compassion. And in between those big reads, I need a few light and fluffy books because things can get heavy quickly!

Reading is such a gift, but as a busy mom to two middle schoolers I have dove deeply into audio books as well. I love having a mix of real paper books and also a few books on Libby or Audible to listen to as well.

I also am in two bookclub, which I think is such a fun way to encourage a variety of reading material!

Want to check my favorite books from previous years? 

• Best Fiction Books to read in 2021 (read 23 books)
• Best Fiction Books to read in 2022 (read 35 books)
• Best Fiction Books to read in 2023 (read 65 books)
• Best Fiction Books to read in 2024 (read 99 books)
• Best Fiction Books to read in 2025

If you want to see all my recent books in one place, you can check out my Amazon Book page.

Shop my 2025 fiction reads…

Here are all the books I’ve been reading so far in 2025 and I’d love you to comment below with your favorite reads, too! You will see fiction books shared in order below and then I have a list at the very bottom of this post with all my other genre of reads (self help, religion, memoir, etc…).

Top Fiction Books in 2025

1. Son by Lois Lowry

Gracious, what a wonderful quick read! This book is the 4th in a series – most well known for it’s first book, The Giver. Although this series is geared for middle school/high school, there is SO MUCH to them and I really can’t recommend them enough!

The story starts with a girl they call Water Claire because she washed up on shore and no one knows that she came from a society where feelings, colors and passion don’t exist.

That she had become a “birth mother” at 14 carrying a “product”. The product had then been taken from her, but she was determined to find out more about him – where was he, did he love her and how could she get him back? She was supposed to forget him, but that was impossible.

Water Claire will stop at nothing to find her child, even if it means making an unimaginable sacrifice.

I’m glad someone told me there were more books than simply The Giver because they all have been quick, thought provoking and worth reading. I do think you should read the other books in this series before starting Son – as it will make more sense.

• The Giver
• Gathering Blue
• Messenger 
• Son by Lois Lowry, 5 out 5. Great final book to a great series!

2. The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

Am I allowed to have both of my first two books of 2025 be Five Star reviews??! I read this book for my online bookclub and (it was my pick), but I loved it! I found myself pausing the book to Google facts about Eleanor Roosevelt, her husband the 32nd President Franklin Roosevelt and Mrs. Mary Bethune – what a wonderful historical fiction read. It touches on racism, women’s rights and politics – my kind of book.

The daughter of formerly enslaved parents, Mary McLeod Bethune step by step rises in fame by starting business, opening colleges, hospitals and many many other things for people of color in the 30’s and 40’s.

Eleanor Roosevelt is eager to make her acquaintance and quickly the two become great friends. They begin to collaborate on their shared views of the civil rights movement, as well as justice and equality for all. But as history shows, it wasn’t an easy road for equality (and still isn’t to this day).

Great book, very inspirational and a shame Mary Bethune is not taught in schools around the country – I would have loved learning more about this inspirational women! 4.5 out of 5 The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

3. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

I loved this book. I have loved quite a few of Liane Moriarty’s books and this one had such a unique twist to it.

The story follows Alice as she wakes up while laying on the floor of her gym. She’s taken a fall and very quickly realizes she has lost the last 10 years of her memory. I found this book SO interesting as you start to see how much life she has really lost in the last 10 years. She doesn’t remember having her 3 children and swears she’s never even seen them in her life. She desperately wants her husband, Nick to come visit her in the hospital – only to find out they are separated and near a divorce. In her mind she is wildly in love with him.

It’s just so interesting to see how this book plays out and I loved it all.

5 out of 5 What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

4. A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw

What can I say? I’m on a great reading streak! This was a mystery suspense book and I really enjoyed it. It never felt scary or spooky like some thrillers, but still held your attention really well. However you definitely got the sense that something weird was going on in Pastoral.

A man named Travis is hired to locate the famous missing author Maggie St. James. Her mother utters just one word to him, “Pastoral”. He heads off to find this mysterious location and is not seen again for two years.

This book is mostly set in the woods of Northern California on a peaceful commune of sorts. Each person in this community plays a role in helping to sustain everyone, but they must never cross the perimeter and enter into the surrounding forest or they risk getting the rot disease from the trees.

So many secrets. So so good. 5 out of 5 A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw

5. Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See

I am on a GREAT reading streak here! Just finished this book and I loved it. I was equally horrified and fascinated by many of the cultural norms of Chinese women during the time period of this book, namely foot binding as an act of beauty for their future husbands, among many others. I understand that every culture has their own customs and I find them interesting to learn about.

According to Confucius, “an educated woman is a worthless woman,” but Tan Yunxian—born into an elite family is being raised by her grandparents to know Chinese medicine. She learns the Four Examinations—looking, listening, touching and asking—something a man can never do with a female patient. This book highlights the many women in Lady Tan’s life and how they all play a role in her life both good and bad. It was a beautiful and interesting read.

I highly enjoyed it and also loved Lisa See’s other book, The Island of Sea Women. 5 out of 5 Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See

6. The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable

I read this book with my local bookclub for the month of January.

Set in 1704, Anna Maria has only known life inside the Pietà, an orphanage for children born of prostitutes. However, most babies born in that situation were drowned in the canal so living in the strict rules with music lessons from an early age this was a better situation than it could be.

Anna Maria is determined to be the best violinist there is and Antonio Vivaldi (her teacher), will teach Anna everything he knows—but he’s not as great as you may think.

It’s a story of the oppressed overcoming destitution and abuse to make music, and whose contributions to some of the most important works of classical music, including “The Four Seasons,” have been overlooked for too long.

This book had a bit of The Queen’s Gambit vibe to it, I thought. Enjoyable read, but does make me feel a little sad about classical music. I think less of Vivaldi now. 3.75 out of 5 The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable

7. All Fours by Miranda July

Wow and not in a good way. I heard online about this book and that all women going through midlife should read it. This is only a book to read if you have a VERY OPEN views about sex. It’s the story of a 45 year old women who decides to take a cross country trip to NYC for some time away from her life and family. She’s clearly a thinker and feeling some levels of depression.

30 minutes into her trip she exits the freeway, checks into a random motel and begins a 2 week love affair with a 20 something year old married guy. There were just weird weird scenes with tampons and lots of lesbian sex later on. Maybe I’m a prude, but this just did not feel like a book that every 40 year old women should read. How it was a The Times top ten books of the year I really have no clue. I’ve read a ton of spicy books and this one just felt way to much to me.

2 out of 5, but maybe 1. Not a fan. All Fours by Miranda July

*It reminded me a bit of Death Valley by Melissa Broder and I didn’t especially like that book either. Death Valley was much more drug trippy, while All Fours was more sexual crazy. Both I finished and was like what in the world was the point of this book?? !

8. It’s One of Us by J.T. Ellison

I love a good psychological thriller and this was a great one.

This one dips heavily into IVF and I can’t give too much away… but it gives the book an interesting twist.

This follows Olivia Bender and her husband Park who desperately have been trying to start a family. When suddenly the police show up at their door saying there has been a suspect found in a recent murder and it’s a child of Park’s… but he doesn’t have any children. Or does he??!

As the murder investigation goes deeper, more terrible truths come to light. Ah, it was a fun read. 4.5 out of 5 for me. Loved it. It’s One of Us by J.T. Ellison

9. Counting Miracles by Nicholas Sparks

Just finished this book. I used to really enjoy Nicholas Sparks books and they are still near to my heart, but I don’t think I love them quite as much as I once did. I ADORE that all of his books are set in North Carolina because that state is my favorite.

Counting Miracles was a fine read. Probably a lot of people would enjoy it. It’s light, easy to consume and overall always ends with a happy ending. This book was based off Job in the Bible, so one of the characters really goes through some major hardships over his lifetime.

It was enjoyable, but I wouldn’t probably shout from the rooftops that anyone needs to read it. 3.75 out of 5. Counting Miracles by Nicholas Sparks

10. Mother, Nature by Jedidiah Jenkins

I can’t remember where I heard about this book, but it intrigued me. A memoir of a son and his mother, Barbara who take a huge 5,000 mile cross country roadtrip together. They disagree about politics, about God, his sexuality and more. But they love thrift stores, they love eating at diners, they love true crime podcasts and they love each other. Jedidiah, the son, wants to step into his mom’s world and get to know her in a way that occasional visits haven’t allowed.

He tackles questions that I myself really struggle with, like –

• How do we stay in relationship when it hurts?
• When do boundaries turn into separation?
• When do we stand up for ourselves, and when do we let it go?

I have read a handful of “road trip turns life discovery” books and this one is BY FAR MY FAVORITE. It’s the perfect real combination of tender, funny, smart and moving. It doesn’t feel forced or like fake comedy thrown in. I love this book. 4.5 out of 5 Mother, Nature by Jedidiah Jenkins

11. Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout

First of all, this book is fascinating because the main characters are all from other books that Elizabeth Strout has written about. This is my first book of hers, so now I am intrigued to read her earlier ones! Also their ages reflect the marching along of time based on those previous books. I love when authors do cool storytelling things like this.

This book touches on themes of friendship, love and the human desire for connection in the later stages of life, as all the characters are in their 60’s or older. It was neat to read a book about people who can talk to their past experiences and then you can see how various hurts or traumas shaped the path of their life.

Their is a crime in their town, people are falling in and out of love and I thought it was so beautifully done to weave a mystery in with so much other real human connection/life going on. It was a wonderful 4 out of 5 for me. Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout

12. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

I read The Book of Longing a few years ago and LOVED it. It’s a fictional story about Jesus’ wife. If you can get past the part of it talking about the Bible in a fictional way, it’s an INCREDIBLE read. I decided I wanted to read more by Sue Monk Kidd, so I picked up The Secret Life of Bees.

This book is set in South Carolina in 1964 and follows Lilly Owens who lives with her abusive father after the tragic death of her mother at age four. When Lily’s Black “stand-in mother,” Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to break Rosaleen out of jail and the both of the runaway together.

She decides they should head to a nearby town to try and learn more about her mother. They come across three Black beekeeping sisters and Lily immediately falls in love with the world of honey, bee keeping and is hopeful they could someday give her the love and belonging she so desperately craves – all the while trying to get closer to who her mother was.

Ahhhhh, I loved this book. It wasn’t a book with all cheer and roses, but somehow Sue Monk Kidd was able to lead you down a path of heartbreak, but not take it to a dark place. I appreciate that it felt like she shared Lilly’s hurts – but didn’t leave you feeling gutted.

The last few lines of the book were what we all wanted from this book. So good. Loved it. 5 out of 5 stars! The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

13. We all Live Here by Jojo Moyes

I’m reading this book with my online bookclub for the month of February. I have loved numerous books by Jojo Moyes, most specifically The Giver of Stars – so I’m very excited to read this one!

Well bummer. I didn’t love this book. I thought there were pockets of great dialogue and I loved many of the supporting characters, but I thought most of the book was really boring. It wasn’t until the last 1/3 of the book that I got interested. I think if Jojo would have maybe woven snippets of the book Lila had written about her marriage into the current day events or somehow sprinkled in some of the character growth that all happened at the end, throughout a bit more… I would have liked it better. I loved the family and their dynamics, but just found most of it a slow read. (I LOVED Hello Beautiful and Tom Lake, which to me were similar reads of simple ordinary life… somehow this one just felt boring though.)

3.5 out of 5 for me. We all Live Here by Jojo Moyes

14. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michelle Richardson

I LOVED The Giver of Stars written by Jojo Moyes, so when I stumbled upon a very similar storyline by another author I jumped at suggesting it for my local bookclub. PLUS, this book not only talks about the packhorse librarians of KY mountains, but also talks about the Blue People. I love books where I stop reading and research history. I’m one chapter in and loving it so far!

15. Rental House by Weike Wang

I read this book in a day and a half. I loved it. Even though Keru and Nate come from extremely different cultures (Chinese and Rural White) they fall in love in college and get married. This quick story follows them from college, to working adult life and then to a two week vacation. They invite their families at a luxurious “bungalo” in Cape Cod and I found it all very interesting, entertaining and insightful.

I thought it brought up good questions in a light way. How do you cope when your spouse and your family of origin clash?   How do you deal with family conflict? And who or what can you do to bring everyone back together?

4.5 out of 5 for me. It wasn’t a light book, but somehow she dealt with heavier topics in a lighthearted way and I think that takes real talent. I plan to read more by this author. Rental House by Weike Wang

16. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

My online bookclub is reading James this month – which is a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but from the perspective of Jim, the slave. In honor of reading that book, I decided to re-read the The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I’ve read both of them, but I think it was in middle school – so the story was familiar, but I had forgotten parts.

This book is considered a classic, but also has been banned/removed in numerous libraries and schools. It’s a mix of innocent boyhood, big childhood adventurous and deep racial notes. I just finished reading it and… it was fine. I think if you can understand it was written in 1876 and set in rural America, there can be a bit more leniency in the storyline. However, using racial slurs and being okay with slavery in any form will never be okay.

3.5 out of 5 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

17. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

I will be re-reading this book in leu of reading James with my online bookclub.

18. James by Percival Everett

This book has been everywhere and I’m looking forward to reading it.

LOOKING TO SHOP ALL THE BOOKS IN ONE SPOT?

Non-Fiction, Memoirs + Self Help books I’ve read in 2025

• The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff, Jonathon Haidt – Great read. I think I liked his other book The Anxious Generation better. But still worth a read.
• How to Walk into a Room : The Art of Knowing when to Stay and when to Leave by Emily P. Freeman
• The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days by Kate Bowler – A lovely read. It’s meant to be a book you read a prayer at a time, but I read it through like a book. Wonderful just the same.
• How to Walk into a Room : The Art of Knowing when to Stay and when to Walk Away by Emily P. Freeman – This book was fine. I thought it was going to be more about what type of confidence you need when you enter spaces, but it was about how and when to leave situations. It was fine, but not great.
• How Not to Age : The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You get Older by Michael Greger – This is a long book at 640 pages. As a nutritionalist and physician, Michael shares how to combat the effects of aging through dietary and lifestyle changes. If you can get past a TON of medical speak, this book was so good. TONS of super easy practical tips, things to eat, ways to move. We all are aging, but he speaks into how to age well.
• All in Her Head: The Truth and Lies Early Medicine Taught Us About Women’s Bodies and Why It Matters Today by Elizabeth Comen – Goodness, if you are wanting to feel SPICY about women’s health then this is the read for you! It talks about the history of women’s health as far back as 1800’s and let me tell you, women have NOT had it easy. I actually enjoyed this book a lot, but also I found myself getting more and more irritated as I read – ha.

And if you like these books, you may enjoy some of the other books related posts I’ve shared…