Once again, the post that truly keeps the Blog o’ Stuff alive, the “Highly Anticipated” annual installment of “What Did Rob Enjoy Reading the Most Last Year?!??!” That’s right folks, for the fourth in a row and 15th year overall, here are the books I enjoyed reading most the previous year! As I’ve done every year, here are the previous years I’ve put up a reading year in review, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2018, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006.
As I've done every year for the past decade and a half, I've contributed to SFFWorld's Favorite of the Year lists: Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, and Film/TV. We focus only on 2025/current year releases on our there are a lot of good books out there from previous years I haven’t read.
Horror, once again, is the genre that takes up the most space in the pie chart of “genres Rob read” in 2025. Fantasy is always going to be in my heart and is a fairly close second place, but Science Fiction keeps sliding down, unless you count some of the novels that tow the line between Science Fiction and Horror. The annual statistical rundown of the nearly 97 books I read in 2025:
- 56 2025/current year releases
- 1 2026 release
- 41 reviews posted to SFFWorld (including the Halloween Countdown Reviews)
- 56 can be considered Horror
- 44 can be considered Fantasy
- 13 can be considered Science Fiction
- 21 books by authors new to me
- 49 Books by women
- 10 total debut
- 17 audiobooks
- 1 Non-Fiction
So, without further adieu, below are the books I enjoyed reading the most in 2025. It was really tough to rank this group of books because there’s a very high level of quality and enjoyment across them all. Unlike our annual tally at SFFWorld, I’m not going to break these out by genre since a few of the novels can fit into more than one genre/category. I’ll start with my favorite overall novel, then go alphabetically by author’s last name. Oddly, the earliest last name in the alphabet on this list is “F.” Maybe I’ll note something additional about a few titles, too.
King Sorrow by Joe Hill
(Takes the top spot overall, it perfectly marries Horror and Fantasy)
Hill tackles a lot in this story and he is more than up to the task he sets for himself. One of the skills I most appreciate in a writer is when they are able to finely balance a story between epic and intimate. King Sorrow balances those elements very powerfully. We meet these characters at a critical time in their lives, young college-aged students (Gwen is a couple of years younger). For many people who attended college, decisions made at that inflection point of their lives – falling in love, deciding on a major which can direct a career path, friendships built – often to have lifelong affects. Many of my friends (myself included) met their wives when in college, many of those same friends or friends from that circle of friends, are in a job nearly 30 years later because of the path they started in college. Some of the decisions were great ones, others… well, those decisions especially when people aren’t fully mature and in desperate straits, can have negative impacts. Summoning a demon… or in this case, a dragon to help in a bad situation would qualify as life-changing, for certain. None of our heroes expected these decisions to be so long-ranging when they spoke the words that bound King Sorrow to them from the Long Dark.
The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson
(My Favorite Fantasy Novel of 2025, Top Debut of 2025)
Neema is a wonderful protagonist, richly drawn, empathetic, smart, vulnerable…human. Hodgson gave a point of view character who is thrust into a situation that is far beyond her comfort zone. She has no desires to sit on the throne, or compete in the tournament. Through her, we learn about the history of her nation, the magic of the world, and some secretive elements. ... The world-building is so well-done, it seems like Hodgson put a great deal of care and precision into all of the things readers don’t see on the page so that the events/characters/history readers do experience on the page feel natural and effortless. When you pare it down to the core / high concept, The Raven Scholar could be seen as Hunger Games meets murder mystery, plus courtly intrigue in a fantastical/magical setting. The Raven Scholar is full of tension on many fronts. But I won’t say too much more than that, it is very much one of those novels that works best without knowing too much about the pathways of its plot, discovering some of those revelations were wonderful. However, I feel this is a novel that would benefit quite well from a second reading.
The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi
This is the second novel I’ve read from Fracassi and it totally hooked me
In The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre, Fracassi gifts readers with a most unique final girl in a most unique setting. The title gives away the setting and it can be surmised that our heroine Rose DuBois (in her 70s) may be older than the typical final girl. She is a delight and a joy to get to know..This novel is far more than just a “Septuagenarian Slasher.” Case in point – Rose, I soon fell for her as a character, I loved her. A great writer gradually reveals layers of their story and characters and with Rose, Fracassi delivered a master-class in a slow reveal of the character. We knew what we needed to know about her when we knew it about Rose and when we knew more of her backstory it led to a wonderful, powerful reveal of just what an incredibly strong character Rose is. She kept her life history fairly close to the vest with the small circle of friends and acquaintances in Autumn Springs, just as she did with the readers.
Revelator by Daryl Gregory
I’ve read some stories as well as Gregory’s earlier novel (16 years ago!) The Devil’s Alphabet. Shame on me for not reading any of his work since that book because Revelator is an outstanding cult horror novel, one of the best I’ve ever read maybe. For me the highwater mark for that subset of horror is Todd Keisling’s Devil’s Creek and I’d say Revelator is on that level. Gregory does an incredible job of make place an integral character in the story, he crafts an empathetic, complex protagonist in Stella, but what he does with mounting dread and then a KICK-WHAM reveal is nothing short of amazing. My wife received this as a Christmas gift last year and said I need to read it and damn was she correct! I’ve seen the great Mother Horror singing this book’s praises for quite a while, too. I’m singing those praises, too. I read this in two days at the end of the year and the book screamed at me to include it in my favorite reads of the year, so here we are.
Play Nice by Rachel Harrison
Rachel Harrison has been averaging a new novel every year and for me, each novel is an Event and Play Nice just might be her best yet.
I will be completely honest and up front here – on the surface of this book – a book about a social media fashion influencer being haunted – chances are I might pass on reading it. Just not something (a social media influencer as protagonist) that thought I would connect with (says a person who posts regularly on social media talking about books and beer – yes, I can be a hypocrite). However, the fact that Rachel Harrison wrote this book made it a must-read. I’ve come to trust her over the course of the last few years and she absolutely delivered something very special in Play Nice. That something special starts with Clio.
Rachel Harrison has become one of the defining voices of Horror fiction the last half-decade.
The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
Alix Harrow tells stories like almost no other writer, we fans of fantasy should be thankful she plies her trade in our genre. Carrying this compelling story is Harrow’s lovely prose, which acts as a comforting blanket that you know took skill and effort to craft. The story is more than just a gender-flipped King Arthur story. Of course those echoes are present, but heroism, love, avarice, addiction to power, and love are part of the story, too. Owen and Una are the hearts of this story and their hearts are connected. But there are two additional characters who form help to flesh out the story: Queen Yvanne from Una’s timeline and the ambitious Chancellor Vivian Rolfe from Owen’s time.If it isn’t clear by this point, I loved this novel.
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
Somehow, Grady Hendrix gets better with every novel. Hendrix’s narrative style remains a strong point for his novels, easy-going prose, strong characters, relatable snarky descriptions. He does a lot of character building through the first third of the novel. The girls share their frustrations as well as physical and emotional with their situation. Miss Wellwood is built up as an easy to dislike antagonist, but as he always does, Grady allows empathy for his antagonist to seep in as the story moves through its phases. Supporting Miss Wellwood is the even-more insidious Doctor Vincent. While the emotional nastiness is on full display through that first third, don’t worry, there’s some gruesome nastiness once the witchcraft makes its presence known. Wellwood House reminded me a bit of Reverend Gardner’s Sunlight Home for boys in Stephen King & Peter Straub’s The Talisman.The timeliness of this novel is hard to ignore. Even though it was initially slated for a mid-2024 publication, the current climate in the United States is … shall we say not very kind to women, women’s bodies, and women’s health.
The Will of the Many by James Islington
Confession time: When this book first published in 2023, I saw almost universal praise across the genre landscape of reviewers / book blogs / etc. I read the author’s first novel The Shadow of What Was Lost and didn’t connect with the book as much as I hoped I would. I also saw many, many comparisons to Red Rising by Pierce Brown, a novel that, to put it very mildly, did NOT work for me. Those two things gave me a bias against reading this book. But the more I thought about it, the more I saw about the novel and how my “trusted reviewers/readers in the genre” wrote about this book, I wanted to try it. I am damned glad I did because I was very impressive with this novel, as all those words I put to screen prior to this paragraph attest. For my reading sensibilities, I think a more apt comparison, or “If you like that, then you’ll like this” recommendation that Red Rising would be Kate Elliott’s The Court of Fives.
Veil by Jonathan Janz
Janz is no stranger to stories where people are abducted by strange creatures (Children of the Dark) or apocalyptic fiction (The Raven, Blood Country), these are also common themes of horror. Here in Veil; however, Janz has seemed to level up in his storytelling on multiple fronts and he is an even more assured writer at this point. … Ultimately Janz may have crafted an even more effective alien invasion apocalypse than readers (and film viewers) are accustomed to experiencing. … His character work has always been top tier for me, but the empathy he infuses in Veil is even more potent. Writers often put a great deal of themselves into the characters (it is impossible for them not to do so, I think): John Calhoun is a high school teacher and married father of a son and daughter, Janz is a high school teacher, married and has three kids. Janz is a fan of Stephen King as is our protagonist. I’m not saying this personal infusion is a bad thing at all, in fact, I think the parallels only enhance the story, lend even more emotional weight to the story.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
Good Stab is an unkillable Indian who had a tussle with a Cat Man that should have killed him. But Good Stab did not die, he woke with a thirst and need for blood and, through his own words, takes many, many lives. The scene of Good Stab’s rebirth as a vampire is visceral, fascinating, and immediately iconic. There are other elements of vampirism Good Stab conveys that feel fresh and unique. The Vampire characteristics SGJ utilized in this world were constructed with careful consideration. These “traits” of SGJ’s vampire play out so well in the story and are just one facet of what makes The Buffalo Hunter Hunter such an incredible work. … There are some novels, they are rare I think, that as you turn the pages, you realize you are reading Something Special. That you’re reading maybe a game-changer of a novel, a Landmark Novel. I began feeling that way maybe one third or so through my reading experience of The Buffalo Hunter Hunter.
Keisling layers in the horrific and terrifying elements. I think getting older is a natural human fear, losing faculties, being alone, being taken advantage-of. Those three human fears are very much on display. Sundowner’s Syndrome is a real thin and it seems to make Alzheimer’s Disease tame. While I’m not near the age of Jerry, I’m closer to that age than I’d like to be and I won’t lie – I have thoughts about what my life will be like in 20-25 years. (Just writing that gave me a chill). At one point, The ‘Burbs (Joe Dante’s cult 80s movie featuring Tom Hanks and Bruce Dern) is called out and it feels pretty appropriate, even if the events in The Sundowner’s Dance eventually worms its way into my consciousness as a much more creepy-crawler horror novel.
The Stand: Complete and Uncut by Stephen King (audiobook)
It can be very much worth revisiting the books that shaped you. It is even more rewarding when you aren’t visited by the Suck Fairy and that book is even better than you remember it being. With the anthology The End of the World as We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King's The Stand publishing in 2025, I figured I was far, far overdue for a re-read of the classic post-apocalyptic novel. Listening to Neil McRobert, Nat Cassidy, and Chris Panatier talk about the book on their read through of The Dark Tower and adjacent novels further convinced me and let me tell you some happy crappy, I am sure glad I re-read the book. M-O-O-N that spells glad.
For this re-read (2nd or 3rd, if you count the original uncut) I consumed it via audio book as read/performed by Grover Gardner and it was maybe one of the best audiobook experiences I’ve ever had. I knew I enjoyed the book, why else would I have re-read it multiple times? But the last time I read it was maybe 30 or so years ago just before the amazing TV adaptation by Mick Garris aired. This novel has some of King’s best character work and some of the bets character work of any novel I’ve read. It is a classic and should be given serious consideration as The Great American Novel of the 20th Century. I think in past readings, I may have connected most with Stu, but I think this time around, Nick was my guy. I wasn’t that big of a fan of Larry in past readings, but I found his journey and maturation very, very rewarding. Not going to lie, when Grover read the line, “And that’s how they met Ralph Brentner” I may have teared up. All the old friends were getting together again! I am probably not going to allow three decades pass before reading this one again.
Throughout these novels, Kowal backs her story with solid science – she consults with Astronauts after all. Nothing posited seems far-fetched. As the time of the series gets farther away from the meteor strike that started everything and closer to our current day, some of the “headlines” about current Earth events that preface each chapter resonate with our current world. On one hand, that’s still almost 60 years separating the publication date of the novel and time in which the novel is set. On the other, science (especially as it relates to space travel and habitation) has been forced to advanced at a different pace than our own world, so the political climate of the novel resonating with our world isn’t too big a leap. What keeps these novels going; however, are the characters and Kowal has crafted extremely charming characters in Elma, Nathaniel, Leonard, Nicole, Parker (it was unexpectedly nice to see him return) as well as all the others. There was a scene towards the end the end of the novel that I found very believable: Elma is a problem solver, she’s always trying to make things right. Her role is somewhat reversed and somebody else is leading an initiative and had to put Elma in her place. It was a genuine moment and the kind of interaction I’d expect to see between trusted colleagues and friends.
The Dragon in Winter (Kagen the Damned #3) by Jonathan Maberry
It has been a nice challenge to get through any given year in the recent past without me reading a novel by Jonathan Maberry, he is so incredibly prolific. A standout from him (and overall in my reading journey in 2025) was the finale to his Cthulhu Epic Fantasy saga, set 50,000 years in our future. There were some interesting twists along the way and damn does Maberry know how to bring a series to a satisfying conclusion.
The Demon Awakens (DemonWars, Book 1) by R.A. Salvatore
Sometimes, it is a nice change of pace to go back to a classic, or at least a novel/work people consider classic. I’ll admit to some hesitancy, as a very, very seasoned fantasy reader, to take a look at this 25-year old epic fantasy novel that has garnered varied opinions over the years. … I was swept away by the novel, by Elbryan’s journey with the elves as he became a true Hero. I was pulled into Pony’s (a.k.a. Cat) plight as she relearned who she was. I was taken aback by the change Avelyn made from his initial introduction as devout monk to powerful, almost jovial cleric. I found the centaur Bradwarden to be a refreshing character. The friendship and camaraderie that developed between these characters felt genuine and real. … I am very, very happy I finally dove into this series. I’ve been knee deep in horror the past few years (more than 50% of what I’ve been reading), especially most recently so I was happy to dive into a novel like this, something that hit the familiar notes of epic fantasy I enjoy so much, along with some unexpected nuances, told with a very engaging pace. Had I picked up these books when they were first published when I was first getting into The Wheel of Time, Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams, and The Farseer by Robin Hobb, I suspect I'd hold them in very high regard, at least based on how much I enjoyed The Demon Awakens.
The Gathering by C.J. Tudor (audiobook)
The Gathering is the second novel I read by Tudor and it worked very, very well for my reading sensibilities. Tudor builds tension and suspense very powerfully throughout the narrative. She also elegantly marries crime fiction with horror since this is a vampire novel. I think there may be a sequel in the works, I hope so because I thought Tudor's take on the vampire was intriguing and a foundation for many stories to be told. This was an audiobook consumption and I thought the narrator, Lorelei King delivered a great performance.
Honorable Mentions
Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orïsha #1) by Tomi Adeyemi – An enthralling African-inspired young adult Epic Fantasy. I picked up the first book at NY Comic Con in 2024 and because of how much I enjoyed it, snagged book two at NY Comic Con in 2025.
The Place Where They Buried Your Heart by Christina Henry was one another awesome novel from Henry, who has been reliable for releasing a stellar horror novel every year for the past few years. This one packs a lot of heart and emotion.
Alison Gunn’s Nowhere, is her debut novel and a very gripping, powerful folk horror novel. I don’t think I’ve ever been this compelled to continue reading a novel featuring a protagonist I disliked so much. Some terrif, creepy scenes in this novel.
Chuck Wendig continues his streak of superb horror novels with The Staircase in the Woods, which hit on a lot of great cylinders for me. There’s the young kids being friends vibe like Stand By Me but it certainly takes a turn up the stairs to something dark. I loved this book.
