the best books i read in 2025

hey, friends!

here’s my reading recap for the year! i’m going to do another post in a few days with my highlights from 2025, but this post is all about my favorite reads – lots of classics, historical romances, and a few middle-grade picks.

my favorites

the chosen by chaim potok

“in the silence between us, he began to hear the world crying.”

i read this a few months ago, and it’s one of those books that i’m still thinking about today. this book is solemn. it’s about friendship, self-determination, expectations, and the sometimes hurtful quality of love. reading the chosen will make you think, and it will leave you looking at the world a little differently.

jane eyre by charlotte brontë

“i would always rather be happy than dignified.”

i loved every part of jane eyre except mr rochester. i spent most of the book disliking him but his faith in the last chapter made me rethink my whole opinion of his character. jane is my favorite. she’s determined and hopeful despite everything. she made mistakes and yet grew and changed as the book went on. the ending was perfect, and i can’t think of a more satisfying close.

miss newbury’s list by megan walker

“perfection means having an expected outcome. perfect lines, perfect colors, perfect brushstrokes. but perfection is unachievable. indeed, it is the attempt, the strokes we did not mean to make, that leave us with an unexpected beauty.”

a regency take on the bucket list trope that was so much fun to read. it’s different than all the regency romances that i’ve read this year, which is part of the reason i loved it. also the cover is so pretty!

a name unknown by roseanna white

book 1 in shadows over england | “fiction is a way to express mankind’s deepest heart. his fears. his hopes. his failings. his successes. fiction is truth . . . in a pretty wrapping.”

my first roseanna white book that i read and one of her best! the audiobook for this is around 10 hours long and i seriously listened to it in a day…so that should tell you all you need to know about how good it is. the mystery is amazing, all the themes & the spiritual arc are SO GOOD, and every one of the characters is wonderful.

on wings of devotion by roseanna white

book 2 in the codebreakers | “you’ll either be a villain or a hero, phil. try to pick the right one, will you?”

i couldn’t decide whether i should pick the number of love or on wings of devotion to represent the codebreakers series on this list. they are both amazing; the mystery, the romance, and all the history. would definitely recommend reading the entire shadows over england series first and then the codebreakers because they are connected – any of them can be read as standalones, though.

the forget-me-not summer by leila howland

book 1 in the silver sisters | “at night her limbs were loose and happy, tingling with a memory of the sun. and when her head hit the pillow on her boat bed, sleep became as sweet and irresistible as a bowl of peppermint stick ice cream.”

the forget-me-not summer is a cute & summery middle-grade novel with sweet sisters and fun adventures. it’s described as similar to the penderwicks which in my opinion, it doesn’t compare (nothing does), but it still would be perfect to read on a summer day!

to treasure an heiress by roseanna white

book 2 in the secrets of the isles | “she hadn’t immediately told him to leave. that was something. progress. at this rate, she’d be lady sheridan in a decade, at the most.”

i promise, this is the last roseanna white book on my favorites list. 😉 i adored to treasure an heiress! i thought beth was kind of annoying and immature in the first book in the series, but i ended up liking her so much! she was fun and different but also deep and relatable. sheridan might be my favorite of white’s heroes. he was so funny all the time, and the p&p references?! one of the things i loved most about the book. if you love historical fiction, adventure, romance, a bit of mystery and a lot of faith, to treasure an heiress is perfect for you!

when twilight breaks by sarah sundin

“no matter how dark the world became, there would always be some light, some music, some hope.”

a world war 2 romance about an american foreign correspondent and an american graduate student working on his phd in germany. this book is gripping, exciting, and engaging from the start and i loved every page.

the someday suitcase by coren ann haydu

“they should tell you when you’re born: have a suitcase heart, be ready to travel.”

if you need to have a good cry, read the someday suitcase. it’s quiet & beautiful.

books that almost made this list

or they would have if i had more time to write

teaching a stone to talk by annie dillard, lady jayne disappears by joanna davidson politano, the great gilly hopkins by katherine paterson, and my ántonia by willa cather.

my 2025 year in books

number of books read: 85
pages read: 28,183
longest book: jane eyre
shortest book: you want women to vote, lizzie stanton? (school read)
my average book length: 331 pages
highest rated on goodreads: on wings of devotion
my average rating: 3.9

now, it’s your turn!

i’m hoping to do a post with my 2026 tbr (or at least some of it!) soon so look out for that! what was your favorite book you read this year?

thanks for reading!
pearl 🤍