Reading Lately: December 2025 Book Reviews

Which books are worth the read and which should you skip? Find out what books I’ve been reading lately and whether I recommend them.

It’s a whole new year but before I get wrapped up in my new releases and new Reading Challenge, I figure I should write up the reviews of my last few reads of 2025.

Since I finished the 2025 Reading Challenge in November, my December reading didn’t have my usual rush to finish the prompts. Instead, I mostly focused on catching up on backlist books.

Scroll down to see my reviews, and, as always, be sure to let me know what you’ve been reading lately in the comments!

Living in a cramped apartment with her husband in DC, Margo Miyake is desperate to move into a home in the suburbs where they can expand their family. After eighteen months and almost a dozen failed bidding wars, Margo feels like it will never happen. When Margo gets a tip about the perfect house that will go on the market soon, she begins obsessively stalking the homeowners, willing to do anything to guarantee she gets this house.

I can’t say that I’ve ever read a real estate thriller before. Margo’s obsessive personality really worked for the story. She’s not likeable but she makes the perfect villain protagonist. Based on the publisher’s description, I was worried Margo’s stalking would get dragged out. To my delight, the homeowners quickly realize what she was up to. Instead, Best Offer Wins turns into a deliciously dark read about the lengths she will got to get what she wants.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 25 November 2025
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Amy Griffin has always been a runner: as a child in Texas, as an athlete at the University of Virginia, and throughout her years of career and motherhood in New York. But her picture-perfect habit hid a darker secret – Amy has always been running from her childhood trauma that she has been hiding even from herself. Griffin’s heartbreaking memoir recounts her journey using psychedelic therapy to recover repressed memories and the limits of the justice system. Griffin also ponders the way women are trained to maintain appearances instead of trusting themselves.

Although a difficult topic to read about, Amy Griffin presents a well-written memoir (and well-narrated audiobook) about recovering memories of her horrible childhood sexual abuse. While the topic is never easy to read about, I found Griffin’s account of how she processed her trauma valuable. I found Griffin’s never-ending quest for perfection relatable and was interested to read about how her trauma can affected her before and after she recovered her memories. 

My Rating:
Publication Date: 11 March 2025
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In 1996, Tess’s mother lands a job as a cook at an affluent Virginia estate. Over the summer, the outspoken Tess falls madly in love with Grant Alexander, the wealthy boy next door, until the summer ends in tragedy. Two decades later, Tess and Grant find themselves both running for Governor of Virginia with their long-kept summer secrets threatening to shatter their lives and political careers.

The Summer We Ran builds an acceptable dramatic teenage summer romance and then completely fails with its modern storyline. For starters, Tess and Grant are both happily married at the start of the book which really makes you not want a happily-ever-after that will ruin their marriages. The twist was obvious from a million miles away and Ingram apparently thinks that people cannot change at all even after 20 years. Worse, Ingram seems to know nothing about politics because the political realities were poorly-thought out and almost an afterthought.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 3 June 2025
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Like her mother and grandfather, Rainy March is a book witch. She hops in and out of fictional works to protect them from malicious alterations or rogue heroes. The most important rule: you can’t eat, drink, or sleep in a book or you can become a part of the story. And you definitely can’t fall in love which is why Remy is no longer allowed to visit her favorite mystery series. When Rainy’s grandfather disappears and a treasured book is stolen, Rainy teams up with detective Duke of Chicago to solve the case as they jump in and out of some of literature’s most classic works.

After being charmed by The Wishing Game and frustrated by The Lost Story, I found The Book Witch to be only tolerable. While jumping through literary classics sounds whimsical, I found the story tended more toward cheesy than I enjoy. It didn’t help that I found both Rainy and Duke to be obnoxious. At least the premise was original and the big twist was decently surprising. Although I wasn’t crazy about The Book Witch, I think many book lovers who enjoy a cozy nostalgic feeling will find the story endearing. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Ballantine Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 7 April 2026
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You know how in Hallmark movies, the boy visits a small town and ditches his city girl for the small town beauty. Cutthroat literary agent Nora Stephens just happens to be the city girl who is always left. When her pregnant sister begs her to take a sisters’ trip to the small town from her favorite novel, Nora finds the town not nearly as charming in real life. Until Nora runs into Charlie, a brooding editor from the city. Suddenly, Nora and Charlie begin to see each other differently in this enemies-to-lovers read.

I think Book Lovers is my favorite Emily Henry book I’ve read so far. Nora’s sarcasm and the flip of the Hallmark trope caught me off-guard and made me laugh. Nora and Charlie were a fun evenly-matched couple full of clever banter. I breezed through the novel and felt completely satisfied with its combination of wit and charm that makes for the perfect beach read.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 3 May 2022
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After a one-night stand, city-girl doctor Alexis has her heart stolen by country boy Daniel Grant, a carpenter ten years her junior. Alexis finds herself enchanted by Daniel and his small town but the town is hours away from her elite hospital job. Besides, her wealthy parents and friends would never approve and desperately want her to reunite with her surgeon ex-boyfriend. With so many differences between them, can Alexis find lasting happiness with Daniel?

Having really enjoyed several of Abby Jimenez’s romances, I decided to read her break out novel. Part of Your World was cheesy and predictable starring a “perfect” guy with nary a flaw in sight which gets old really quick. Alexis was a stereotypical rich girl with no basic life skills and a grating people-pleasing personality. I like her later books more than this one; I feel like she’s definitely grown to add more nuance into her recent romances.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 19 April 2022
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A former newscaster, Penn Holderness became a social media sensation with his viral parody songs and won the Amazing Race with his wife Kim. Penn gives a firsthand account of his life with ADHD and the difficulties of living in a world that is not designed for how his mind works. Penn and Kim educate on the science of ADHD and share strategies to help make life easier while acknowledging the struggles and the strengths that ADHD has given Penn.

More anecdotal than scientific (though they do strive to be factual), ADHD is Awesome was informative and shared great insights from the perspective of someone with ADHD. Penn and Kim are charming and I loved the positive spin that ADHD isn’t bad, just different. I feel like I have a better understanding and more compassion for people with ADHD. I would highly discourage you from listening to the audiobook because they struggle to narrate it themselves. Kim races through the science sections at lightning speed and Penn keeps adding asides to the text that ruin the flow. The content of the book was fine but the audiobook was rough.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 30 April 2024
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While technically an adult series, Red Rising is one of the best science fiction books to get teens who love the The Hunger Games into sci fi. Living in a highly segregated society on Mars, Darrow belongs to the Red caste, the lowest of the low. Darrow is happy with his lot in life knowing that the Reds’ hard labor is getting Mars ready for future generations. Until Darrow realizes it’s all a sham. The elite Gold caste is simply using the Reds as slave labor. Can Darrow infiltrate the Gold military academy and bring down his enemies?

It’s been years since I last read Red Rising so I was happy for the chance to reread it for a family book club. Red Rising reads like young adult fiction with a fast-paced plot and an older teen protagonist. Brown does an excellent job building an interesting world with a fascinating caste system. The first book of the series mostly focuses on crazy war games at the Institute in a The Hunger Games meets Ender Games vibe. However, unlike The Hunger Games, Red Rising leaves the arena behind and moves on to epic space battles in the successive books.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 28 January 2014
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Enter the Grishaverse in Leigh Bardugo’s debut novel, which set up the world for all of her subsequent young adult fantasy novels. The once-great kingdom of Ravka has been split in two by the Shadow Fold, an impenetrable realm of shadow and monsters dividing the kingdom. When patrolling the border, Alina Starkov is surprised to discover in herself a hidden magical ability and finds herself whisked away to train with the Grisha, the kingdom’s magical elite. For Alina might be the only one who can save the kingdom, if she can learn to understand the Grisha … and her own heart.

I’m about a decade late to the game but I finally sat down to read Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone series and I can see why it was so popular. Bardugo does an excellent job building a Russian-inspired fantasy world with a defined magic system and likeable characters. The “Ordinary Girl becomes the Chosen One” storyline is fast-paced and fun with a love triangle that is appropriate for younger YA readers. With plenty of twists and turns, Shadow and Bone keeps you entertained and excited to read the next novel in the series.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 5 June 2012
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After escaping the confrontation in the Shadow Fold, Alina and Mal try to run away across the True Sea. Yet Alina cannot escape her past and with the help of a privateer, she returns to Ravka determined to lead the Grisha in the fight against the Darkling. But the Darkling’s power has grown and he can now create terrifying dark monsters that Alina isn’t sure she can defeat even with her growing abilities.

Siege and Storm is a solid sequel to Shadow and Bone; it didn’t hold my attention quite as much as the first book but was still entertaining. Bardugo spend a lot of time on Alina’s character development as she fears her ambitions and desire for more power might lead her to the same corruption and greed. I have to laugh because Bardugo resolved one love triangle in the first book and immediately entered Alina into a new one. However, the charming Prince Nikolai was a nice counterbalance to the brooding Mal and is a great addition to the series.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 4 June 2013
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In the conclusion of the Shadow and Bone series, the Darkling has taken over Ravka. After failing to destroy the darkling, Alina must regain her strength deep in a network of caves. With the help of Mal, she sets out to find the last amplifier and reunite with Prince Nikolai’s troops to stage one last confrontation with the Darkling. But the cost of the firebird might be too great for even Alina to stand.

You judge the last book of the series by its ending and, unfortunately, Ruin and Rising‘s ending did not leave me satisfied. Bardugo made some bold choices to wrap up the series which, while not out of left field, were not how I would have chosen to end things. Besides the ending, the love triangle was strung out longer than necessary and fell flat and the narrative spend too long building to the climax. As I got closer and closer to the end, I kept wondering when the epic conclusion was going to happen. Overall, Shadow and Bone was a fun trilogy to read and I’m excited to explore the GrishaVerse more in Bardugo’s other bestselling series, Six of Crows and King of Scars.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 17 June 2014
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I always seem to have multiple books going at once. Here’s a peek at what I’m currently reading.

What’s up next for me? Before I let you go, here are a few of the titles I’m hoping to get through this upcoming month.

Be sure to come back next month to see which ones I read.

Which Books Did You Read in December?

What books did you love this month? Which books can you not wait to read? As always, let me know in the comments!

More Book Lists to Enjoy:

• Reading Lately: November 2025
• November & December 2025 Book Releases
• January 2026 Book Releases
• The Best Books of 2025
• Booklist Queen’s 2026 Reading Challenge

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