Hey, my lovely friends! We’re halfway through January already! One of my unofficial goals for this year is to read more books, specifically ones I haven’t read yet. I have a long list of recommended reads, and I’d like to get through as many of them as I can. This week’s post is a roundup of my top ten must-reads for 2025. You can be sure that I’ll be curling up with one and a London Fog on the next snowy day!
the vanderbeekers of 141st street
I’ve heard so much about this series, and this year it finally made its way onto my TBR. Stories with lots of siblings are always a favorite of mine, especially when there’s adventure around the corner!
blurb: The Vanderbeekers have always lived in the brownstone on 141st Street. It’s practically another member of the family. So when their reclusive, curmudgeonly landlord decides not to renew their lease, the five siblings have eleven days to do whatever it takes to stay in their beloved home and convince the dreaded Beiderman just how wonderful they are.
And all is fair in love and war when it comes to keeping their home.
sunrise on the reaping
I got so engaged with the Hunger Games plot that I read all three books in two weeks. Katniss Everdeen is amazing, and it’ll be interesting to see what made her mentor, Haymitch, the crazy but interesting character he is.
blurb: As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.
Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.
When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.
the blossoming summer
Anna Rose Johnson has quickly become one of my favorite authors, especially with her last book, The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry. The Blossoming Summer comes out this year, and I cannot wait to start reading. Put a young heroine in a historical setting, and have her learn about family and home? Sounds like the perfect book <3
blurb: Life in England is all Rosemary has ever known. . . but as WWII changes the world, no one’s life is left unscathed. Suddenly, she’s sent away to escape the devastation of London. Her grandmother’s house on Lake Superior is safe, but unfamiliar, especially as she discovers her parents have kept a tremendous secret.
Rosemary and her family are Anishinaabe—and no one is supposed to know.
Far from home but newly connected to a once-hidden part of her family, Rosemary develops a warm, close relationship with her grandmother… and a local boy whose love of gardening helps her to see the beauty in her unexpected circumstances. As Rosemary grows into her new life like a flower in bloom, she realizes that maybe she’s not as far from home as she thought.
coming home
I think that this is the final book in the American Adventure series, which I read over and over when I was younger. I never got to read this particular book though, so it’ll be good yet bittersweet to see what happens to my favorite characters.
blurb: As World War II comes to an end, Eddie Harrington develops polio, and he and his family worry about their brother, Steve, caught in the Battle of the Bulge, and their sister Alice’s fiance, missing in the Pacific, and welcome back their friends, the Wakamutsus, from internment camp.
pride and prejudice
I’ve seen almost all the P&P movies, so it’s probably time to read the book, right? The old classics have been near the top of my list recently, so this will probably be the book I’ll tackle next. I’m looking forward to reading more of Jane Austen’s writing!
blurb: When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited; he is indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever. In the sparkling comedy of manners that follows, Jane Austen shows us the folly of judging by first impressions and superbly evokes the friendships, gossip and snobberies of provincial middle-class life.
emily of new moon
Anne of Green Gables is my all-time favorite series. Since Emily is by the same author, I think there’s a pretty good chance I’ll love her series too. I’ve heard that it’s a sad story, which is great, because I love sad stories.
blurb: Emily Starr never knew what it was to be lonely—until her beloved father died. Now Emily’s an orphan, and her snobbish relatives are taking her to live with them at New Moon Farm. Although she’s sure she’ll never be happy there, Emily deals with her stern aunt Elizabeth and her malicious classmates by using her quick wit and holding her head high.
the hobbit
Up until December, I’d only ever seen the LOTR movies. But since it’s a classic series and I do love the classics, I decided it was about time to change that. I’m almost halfway done with The Fellowship of the Ring, and after that I’ll probably start The Hobbit. A bit out of order, but I don’t care 😆
blurb: Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum.
beyond mulberry glen
I follow Millie Florence on Instagram, and I was so excited to see that her newest book released! Middle grade fiction is one of my favorite genres to read, and I can’t wait to dive into this fantasy adventure.
blurb: Eleven-year-old Lydia Green doesn’t want anything to change. She lives happily in Mulberry Glen with her mismatched family of a fairy guardian, a philosopher, and twin troublemakers known as the Zs. But now, rumors swirl about The Darkness, a powerful force that dwells in the forest Tenebrae.
Lydia knows The Darkness is nothing to be trifled with, but when a foolish choice by the Zs puts her family in danger, she must leave home and face the strange magical world of The Valleylands.
Among the shifting library shelves and new friends of her quest, Lydia uncovers more questions than answers, and the Darkness begins to creep into her mind. If she wants to save her family, she will have to be braver than ever before.
let’s chat!
what’s on your TBR this year? have you read any of these books? do you have any favorites to recommend?
