My favorite books of the year (so far)

Plus, all my top rated books + hyped books I DNF'd

One of my favorite things to do at the end of June, into July, is to take stock of my reading year up to this point. I have a terrible memory when it comes to what I read so it’s always helpful for me to be able to look back and get those warm fuzzy feelings again over books that just made me feel something deeply.

A note about me as a reader: Over time my tastes have really shifted and this year I’ve found that slower, character-driven novels are really working for me. They’re the ones that stick with me most. While romance used to be a huge portion of my reading, I’m finding it to be less so now - unless it’s a more in depth love story, rather than a rom-com. But I do still look for easy breezy when I’m struggling in a reading rut - something I’ve slowly pulling myself out of after having been in it for the last month or so.

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At the time of me writing this, I’ve read 81 books so far in 2025 that break down into:

• 15 - ★★★★★ - loved it!

• 14 - ★★★★½ - nearly perfect!

• 28 - ★★★★ - really liked it!

• 17 - ★★★½ - pretty good.

• 5 - ★★★ - it was fine.

Anything that I’d give less than three stars has been DNFd, so that’s why you won’t see any lower ratings from me. And if you’re adding up my numbers and realizing they don’t equal 81? It’s because I’ve re-read a couple of books that I’ve previously loved, but I don’t count them in here.

My top rated books of the year (including all 4.5 and 5 stars):

The Names - Know My Name - The Lion Women of Tehran - Wild Dark Shore - City of Girls - The Compound - Be Ready When the Luck Happens - This is a Love Story - Little Great Island - The Bright Years - Out on a Limb - Left of Forever - The Hop - Promise Me Sunshine - Say You’ll Remember Me - Broken Country - Tilt - Air - Out of the Woods - The Love Haters - Dream State - Pictures of You - One Golden Summer - Ordinary Time - Dirty Diana - Waiting for Eden - Ps. I Hate You - Terrestrial History - The Trail of Lost Hearts

Some of these that are 4.5 stars may end up in the 5 star range by year’s end. There’s always a couple that I can’t get out of my mind and am willing to overlook a couple of my small quibbles with them.

Books in the running for my favorites of the year (in no particular order):

• Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone - I actually read this last year and couldn’t wait for it to come out to get a hard copy. It is the absolute perfect depiction of grief and love and I want everyone to read it.

• Left of Forever by Tarah Dewitt - This might be the best second chance romance I’ve ever read. I loved spending time with these exes, who share a child who is going off to college, as they realize the love is still there between them.

• The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff - At once beautiful and heartbreaking, the struggles in this family really stuck with me, and I loved getting the voices of many in the family to hear how issues affected generations.

• Little Great Island by Kate Woodworth - A beautiful climate fiction novel that left me feeling hope rather than despair. I could so vividly picture this small town and its inhabitants.

• This is a Love Story by Jessica Soffer - Similar to The Bright Years, this book in all its beautiful complexity really sucked me in. Hearing the story of Abe and Jane, as told in memories was such a unique format.

• The Compound by Aisling Rawle - We’ll call this my most unexpected pick but I’m still thinking of this mashup of Survivor and The Bachelor and what the candidates had to do to one another to win.

• City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert - Historical fiction isn’t usually my jam but I really loved this book set in a 1940s New York theater. The quirks, the key players, and the complicated relationships kept this one moving.

• Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy - A family at the edge of the world, working to keep a seed bank going, while dealing with a woman who has just washed up on shore had me gasping out loud. And the writing was absolutely stunning.

• The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali - This was a rallying cry of a book and having read it so soon after the Trump inauguration was exactly what I needed to remember that people can start movements that make change. And these fierce women felt like allies in our current fight.

• The Names by Florence Knapp - This book was so much darker than I was expecting (and there are major trigger warnings) but this multi-storyline that asks “what’s in a name” is truly unforgettable.

Hyped books I DNF’d

And just for fun - here’s a few books that I really wanted to love, that I was so excited about, that have gotten all kinds of hype, and that just didn’t work for me - don’t hate me.

• The Force of Such Beauty by Barbara Bourland

• Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

• The Coast Road by Alan Murrin

• Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine

• The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

• Maggie; Or a Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar by Katie Yee

A few more things:

🎙 Two podcast episodes to recommend to you: A Tale of Two Algorithms on the Diabolical Lies podcast, and Sarah McBride on Why the Left Lost on Trans Rights on the Ezra Klein Show. Both excellent, both really made me think.

🛍️ Two things I bought that I haven’t received yet so probably shouldn’t tell you about but I’m too excited not to: These activity books that were described as Highlights for adults. And this “Witch” hat from Social Goods that benefits Planned Parenthood.

❤️ A big thank you to those of you who have upgraded for The Quiet Hours Community. I published our first post last week and I’m hoping this Thursday we’ll be able to start even more of a conversation. Join us!