My 2025 Top 10 Books You Should Start in 2026

Here are the top 10 books I read in 2025! These are some of my favorite books this whole year in no particular order. They’ve made me laugh, cry, and gasp in shock. All of these are beautifully written, and hits my heart in a way the just made me think about these books long after I’ve read them. Some are also amazing as audiobooks! If you are in a book slump right now, or just want to get into reading, these are great books to start with in 2026!

My 2025 Favorite Books – Join My Virtual Book Club!

I want to quickly do a book review of my top 10 books of 2025. It was such a good reading year! We’ve read so many different genres from sci-fi to I cannot wait to continue reading more great books in 2026. 

By the way, I’ve restarted my virtual book club on Instagram! Join our little group of avid readers now, and comment down below or on our Instagram what you want to see in the book club! I’m thinking of pairing a book with some food and drinks inspired by the book. So, we can cook together each month and discuss the book online!

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

First off, we got Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This book is set during the early NASA space program and it follows Joan Goodwin, an amazing scientist who got picked to be trained as an astronaut. This book talks about ambition, love, and self-discovery within dual timelines, past and present. So, you slowly discover the whole plot as you jump back and forth between the two. Just like any other Taylor Jenkins Reeds book, the character development from this book is unreal, as if you’re reading a documentary. To this day, I feel like I’m still thinking about this book all of the time.

I read this through a combination of audiobook and reading, and both are amazing. The audiobook feels just like listening to a movie, so I highly recommend it. I don’t want to spoil too much, but I ended up bawling my eyes out. I did not want the book to end at all. 4.5 out of five stars. Highly, highly recommend. If you’re new to reading, I highly recommend picking up one of Taylor Jenkins Reed’s books. This is the fourth book I’ve read by her, and every single one of her book has been an above four star read for me.

Bravery is being unafraid of something other people are afraid of. Courage is being afraid but strong enough to do it anyways.
– Vanessa

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Next up, we got Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. This is a sci-fi book that follows a man who woke up in the middle of nowhere in space and trying to save the world. The book was funny, emotional, and packed with super-interesting scientific facts. This was my first ever sci-fi book ever. I’m normally not someone who enjoys those types of books, but this one completely, completely surprised me. The plot twists were completely unexpected, and I think it was just so nicely done.

I would say it was probably my top audiobook of all time. The audio book was so nicely done that I actually highly recommend listening to this book instead of reading it. I think this book changed my mind about sci-fi books entirely! Five out of five star. I cannot wait for the movie to come out this year!

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

Next up, we got Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez. This book is about a girl who meets a guy named Justin, who has a curse where every single person he dates finds the love of their life after they break up. Since she also has the same curse, they met up together for the summer to hopefully cancel out the whole curse altogether. This book was witty, funny, and had absolutely top-notch chemistry. I honestly could not put the book down.

This was my first book written by her and will definitely not the last. Her writing is so so good and she is so good at writing banter. But what I love the most about Abby Jimenez’s books is that they’re not just rom-com. They also dive deep into self-development, healing, trust, and just so much more. The side characters and the side plots are also five out of five stars in this book. Highly recommend checking out her books. If you haven’t read any of them yet, start with this one!

“You’re not asking for too much. You were just asking the wrong person. Ask me instead.” 

“In a world where you can choose between anger and empathy, always choose empathy.”

Sometimes the best way to show love or be kind to someone is to meet them where they are.

Say You Remember Me by Abby Jimenez

Because I love Just for the Summer so much, I end up picking up Say You Remember Me, also by Abby Jimenez. I believe this is one of the top read books of 2025. It was so beautifully written, it put me through an emotional roller coaster. This contemporary romance talks about self-development, friendship, love, family, and so much more. Just like her other book, the subplot in this book is amazing. You will not be able to put it down. This book does bring up some really hard topics, such as taking care of someone suffering from early onset dementia and the process of seeing someone you love slowly slip away. Nevertheless, it’s still such an amazing book. It got me laughing, crying, all the emotions I can think of. It’s 4.5 out of five star. Highly recommend!  

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Next up, we got Daisy Jones and the Six. This book follows Daisy Jones, a very talented singer that’s part of a 70s band, and their journey of becoming the next big hit. It is so messy, so much drama, so interesting, and so much self-development. This book is written like a documentary. In fact, I refuse to believe that these are not real characters. Honestly, I feel like I was a fly on the wall watching this whole thing unfold in front of me. I couldn’t put the book down. I finished it in less than 2 days.

This is one of my favorite books of all times by Taylor Jenkins Reid. In fact, I think I like it more than her iconic Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. But, they’re both five out of five star books for me. I did a combination of audiobook as well as reading and I think they’re both amazing. They also have a tv show, but I didn’t finish it. I will say the first few episodes were pretty good. I did really like the soundtrack as well. So, definitely listen to that after you’re done reading the book. Five out of five star, must-read book! 

I had absolutely no interest in being somebody else’s muse. I am not a muse. I am the somebody end of story.
– Daisy Jones

The Seven-Year Slip by Ashley Poston

Next is The Seven-Year Slip by Ashley Poston. I cannot believe it took me so long to finally read this book. This book is a time-traveling romance that talks about love, grief, and finding someone that truly truly loves you, no matter the timeline. I really, really, really love the way this book described grief, so beautifully and perfectly. I love how it talks about how it changes you, how it shapes you, and how it’s okay to love and also live with grief at the same time.

Even though it is a time-traveling romance, it doesn’t really focus how that happens, but more the romance aspect instead. I actually really really loved how perfectly done that was in this book. It is a little bit slower in the beginning, so it took me around a day or two to finish it, but once it gets started, you cannot put it down. Definitely a five out of five star book!

Nothing lasts forever, not the good things, not the bad. So just find what makes you happy and do it for as long as you can.

Fourth Wing & Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

Of course, we’ve got Fourth Wing, as well as Iron Flame, the 2nd book of the series, by Rebecca Yarros. It took me a full year of trying different fantasy books from different series after I finished ACOTAR. Nothing stuck until I finally picked up Fourth Wing. Ever since, I have been hooked. In fact, me and my girlfriends are reading it right now, and we cannot stop talking about it. It is so fast-paced, so interesting. There’s so much drama. It is so fun to read.

Just like any other fantasy series, I will say it does take around 10 chapters to build the plot and to really invest in the story line. But I would say it’s a little bit faster than other fantasy books I’ve read. I know there are mixed reviews, but both of these books were a five out of five star book for me. It’s another one of those books where once you’re into it, you cannot put it down. It is so so addicting.

I’m still debating if I want to read the third book just yet. She hasn’t announced when she’s going to release the fourth book and I hate waiting around. So, I think I might wait until then to start reading the third book. If you’re someone who loves enemy to lover, wars, strategies, dragons, fantasy world building and everything like that, you will really, really love this series. Five out of five star. Cannot wait for the fourth book!

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

Of course, we have to include an Emily Henry book: Great Big Beautiful Life. The best way I can describe this book is a combination of the banter and chemistry of Emily Henry’s rom-com books with the storyline and depth of Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I saw a lot of mixed reviews when it comes to this book, because it definitely is not a romcom, but more of a woman literary fiction instead. The plot is packed with a lot of self-growth and self-development, but is really beautiful if you go into it with the right expectations and mindset.

If you’ve been here for a while, you know I have a love-hate relationship when it comes to Emily Henry books. They’re usually either a five-star book for me or they’re a one to two star book. Luckily, this one was a five. It’s really beautifully written, and the subplot is also amazing. Is it my favorite Emily Henry book? Probably not. I think Funny Story last year was my favorite book of all time by her, but it’s still something that I highly recommend. Five out of five star. Cannot wait for Emily Henry’s 2026 books!

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConna

Next, we got Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy. It is so hard to describe what genre this book is in. In fact, when I picked up this book at the bookstore, the staff told me, “Go into it with no research at all and you’ll so and you’ll be super super surprised by the whole plot.” I don’t want to spoil too much for you guys. All I can say is this writer specialized in nature writing. She is so good at describing every single aspect that you feel like you’re in the book with the characters. So, I even till this day can remember how cold, how dark, and just how gloomy the whole space feels while reading. This is probably one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read in my life.

Keep in mind, there is a lot of trigger warnings for this book. So, defiinitely look those up before going into it. Also, I DO NOT recommend the audiobook at all. I think it’s one of those books that you have to read instead of listen. But overall, if you do read it, I’ll give it a five out of five star. Highly recommend!

You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao

Last but not least, we got You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao. The story follows Julie, who recently unexpectedly lost her boyfriend Sam. As she dealt with the difficult and the reality of facing this grief, she found a talk to him somehow on the phone. It is such an emotional roller coaster, I literally cried from the first page all the way till the last. It was so beautifully written and I think if you’re someone who is going through grief, this is a book that you can probably relate to as you follow through their journey. Yes, it is a very hard book to read while going through grief, but you feel like the author really does understand the full process of losing someone, and how your perspective of life changes through that.

This is the first book I read in 2025. So, it feels like a full circle moment to be mentioning it in my 2025 Top 10. I give it a four out of five star because I think the plot is beautiful, but I definitely think there could have been some deeper character development. It is a YA book, so I think that is why they kept it really, really high level. Overall, I really, really enjoyed it, and I really want to read more of his books in the future.

More of my Past Book Reviews!