Welcome to my annual roundup of my favorite reads from the past year! As usual, I am linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for her Top Ten Tuesday at the start of the new year. Also, as usual, I'm doing two lists: my top ten favorite new-to-me reads and my top ten favorite rereads.
1. Before the King by Heather Kaufman -- Christian fiction, Biblical fiction, marriage of convenience, personal transformation (PG-16)
2. Woman in Shadow by Carrie Stuart Parks -- Christian fiction, suspense, PTSD, murder, forensic linguistics, limb loss (PG-16)
3. The Golden Road by L. M. Montgomery -- classic, coming of age, slice of life, humorous, friendship (G)
4. The Adventures of Elizabeth in Ruegen by Elizabeth von Arnim -- classic, humorous, travel stories, epistolary (G)
5. The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens -- classic, Christmas, family, friendship (PG)
6. The Silent Night by Sarah Beran -- YA, fairy tale retelling, fantasy, Christmas, romance (G)
7. Shadows of the Valley by Britt Howard -- Christian fiction, suspense, fugitive, found family, romance, limb loss, PTSD (PG-13)
8. Of Clockworks and Daggers by Sarah Everest -- Christian fiction, YA, steampunk, fantasy, redemption (PG)
9. A Run at Love by Toni Shiloh -- Christian fiction, contemporary romance, friends-to-more, horse racing (PG)
10. Hear the Falling Snow by Storm Shultz -- Christian fiction, contemporary romance, Christmas, loss of parent, baking (G)
My Ten Favorite Rereads of 2025
1. The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery -- classic, personal growth, the outdoors, romantic love (PG)
2. Persuasion by Jane Austen -- classic, second-chance romance, friendship (G)
3. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell -- classic, enemies-to-more, he falls first, friendship, class strife, loss of parent (PG)
4. The Lilies of the Field by William E. Barrett -- classic, culture clash, found family (G)
5. The Railway Children by E. Nesbit -- classic, middle-grade, family, slice of life (G)
6. The Ark by Margot Benary-Isbert -- YA, family, Germany post-WWII, animals, farming, growing up, ingenuity (PG)
7. Rowan Farm by Margot Benary-Isbert -- YA, family, Germany post-WWII, coming of age, animals, farming, first romance (PG-10)
8. Eldest by Christopher Paolini -- YA, fantasy, dragons, coming of age, war, friendship, found family (PG-13)
9. Eragon by Christopher Paolini -- YA, fantasy, dragons, friendship, found family (PG-13)
10. The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare -- YA, Christian fiction, Biblical fiction, coming of age, found family (PG-13)
How about you? What books stood out to you in 2025?
I've been thinking that I should reread Persuasion, too! The books by Margot Benary-Isbert sound really cute. <3
ReplyDeleteHere's my list!: https://moviesmeetmatch.blogspot.com/2026/01/books-i-read-in-2025-in-which-i-care.html
Chloe, Persuasion is such a delightful reread.
DeleteBoth The Ark and Rowan Farm are an interesting mix of cozy and thought-provoking and eye-opening. They're set in free West Germany after WWII and are so fascinating at seeing how ordinary people coped after the war. The author lived through that herself, and you can tell by how understandingly she treats all her characters. I highly recommend them. I'd read them as a teen and then spent like 30 years wishing I could find them again, but searching for "an old book called The Ark" is hopeless, so it was a chance comment from a friend about these pretty reissued editions that led me to them at last.
Ah, you did Persuasion again. : )
ReplyDeleteRuth, I did :-D I read the annotated edition, and it was so amazing.
DeleteI have been meaning to read North and South! Thank you for visiting earlier. :)
ReplyDeleteStephen, I highly recommend North and South -- it's such a fascinating look at ordinary British people trying to grasp how to endure the upheaval of the Industrial Revolution.
DeleteYou're welcome :-) Thanks for returning the visit!
North and South is really high up my classics TBR!
ReplyDeleteKeira, it is SO worth it. And if you haven't seen the 2004 BBC version of North and South yet, it is excellent too!
DeleteHear the Falling Snow was on my 2024 list! I'm surprised I haven't read more on your list. There are a few I'll have to check out.
ReplyDeleteKelsey, that's awesome! Have you read other books by Storm Shultz too? I've thoroughly enjoyed the 4 I've read now.
DeleteGreat list! I've never read an L.M. Montgomery book before, and I really need to. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteStephanie, definitely try some L. M. Montgomery! Especially if you like older fiction that can be a bit episodic but is all about the character growth and development :-)
DeleteHappy New Year!
I want to reread Blue Castle, too, one of these days. What a lovely read that was!
ReplyDeleteDeb Nance, DO IT. Rereading The Blue Castle is always a good idea, but I find it especially heartening in winter. And summer.
DeleteIt's been so long since I read Persuasion! I think I also saw The Blue Castle on someone else's list this week–I still need to read that!
ReplyDeleteKaris, I definitely recommend The Blue Castle -- especially if you're looking for a book to curl up with on a winter day. And it has some similarities to Persuasion, actually, with the theme of a character maturing and sort of coming into her own as a full-fledged and independent adult.
DeleteI have Woman in Shadow and A Run At Love on my physical shelves and I need to read them! I read The Blue Castle this year for the first time, and enjoyed it as well.
ReplyDeleteCindy, oh, I hope you enjoy both when you read them! And how awesome you also like The Blue Castle :-)
DeleteI LOVE The Blue Castle but I have not read The Golden Road. I will add it to my list!
ReplyDeleteMichelle, read The Story Girl first -- The Golden Road is a sequel to it. Enjoy!
DeleteStrawberry Girl, Dear Mrs. Bird, The Lost Year, Beautiful Blue World, The Key to Everything, and Dombey and Son were just some that stood out to me this year. My only reread was Wives and Daughters, which I loved! Hoping to get to Carrie Stuart Parks and von Arnim this year!
ReplyDeleteBecky
Becky, what a great list! I love Strawberry Girl. And all of Lois Lenski's books, really. I have Dear Mrs. Bird on my TBR shelves, and I think Wives and Daughters too.
DeleteI really enjoy books by both Carrie Stuart Parks and Elizabeth von Arnim, and have read quite a few by both :-)
Thanks for sharing your #TTT
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Shelley Rae :-)
DeleteI gave my cousin's son a copy of The Railway Children for Christmas, which is one I don't think I've ever read but did know it was considered more of a classic novel. Hope he enjoys it. :) Thanks so much for visiting my list this past week!
ReplyDeleteRissi, I hope he really enjoys it! It's definitely a classic (published in 1906, so about the same era as Anne of Green Gables) and just a fun and uplifting story.
DeleteHappy New Year!
The Golden Road sounds so good! I hope 2026 will be a great reading year for you 😊.
ReplyDeleteIf you'd like to visit, here's my TTT: https://thebooklorefairyreads.wordpress.com/2026/01/06/top-ten-tuesday-best-books-i-read-in-2025/
~ Marwah @ The Booklore Fairy
Marwah, The Golden Road is just adorable, and so is The Story Girl, which comes before it -- I read that one in 2024 for the first time :-)
DeleteThanks for the link to your list! I will check it out :-)