Powder & Page’s Best Books of 2025

It’s that time of year again where I share my 20 favorite books of 2025. The books selected are rated either 5  or 4.5 stars and you can check out my full review by clicking on the title links!

A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson – 5 Stars
A political fantasy with properly nasty villains, a main character looking out for her own interests, and plenty of dragons.

Grave Empire by Richard Swan – 4.5 Stars
The Sovan empire has a brand new set of supernatural problems to face (other than the dual-headed beast of capitalism and colonialism). 

The Blighted Stars by Megan E. O’Keefe – 5 Stars
A great blend of science fiction and horror with a satisfying romantic subplot. This has fantastic world building and a complicated plot that I couldn’t get enough of.

A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett – 5 Stars
Somehow this book upped the ante and made me love this series even more! I absolutely love the mystery, the worldbuilding, and most of all, Ana and Din!

The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson – 5 Stars
2025 was the year of the mysteries set in fantasy world and I LOVED IT! The Raven Scholar is a layered book with fantastic world building, well rounded characters, and some plot reveals that absolutely gave me whiplash.

This Monster of Mine by Shalini Abeysekara – 5 Stars
A surprisingly dark story with wonderfully grey characters. I can’t recommend this book enough if you’re looking for a solid political fantasy with a mystery element and so much yearning that it could drown you.

Advocate by Daniel M. Ford – 5 Stars
Possibly the most underrated fantasy series I’m reading at the moment. Also, this has a very determined woman doing crimes in the name of justice, so how could you resist?

Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry – 5 Stars
This book has top-tier banter, has a well paced romance that grows over time, and blessedly has a main character that isn’t a total hothead warrior like those so prevalent in romantasy today.

Entreat Me by Grace Draven – 5 Stars
I think this is the best Beauty and the Beast inspired work I’ve ever read. 

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley – 5 Stars
I expected this to be popcorn fun with some spice. What I did not expect was the level of bawdy humor (loved it) and the ridiculous amount of tangible yearning. There’s no insta-love here. Only insta-hate.

Magician: Master by Raymond E. Feist – 5 Stars
The character arc I was hoping for throughout Magician: Apprentice! This really fleshed out the characters, the world(s), and the conflict and I appreciated the fact that this book didn’t waste time on tedium.

The Incandescent by Emily Tesh – 5 Stars
The Incandescent is an excellent magical school story and seems to delight in thumbing its nose at several criticisms of the Harry Potter books that I’ve seen over the years. Somehow the plot kept getting more interesting after what would be the climax in most books.

The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow – 5 Stars
It’s been months since I read this and I’m still thinking about it. It’s beautiful and heart-rending and I kind of want to read it again already. 

For Whom the Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn – 5 Stars
At its heart For Whom the Belle Tolls is a hilarious romantic fantasy with wonderful friendships, found family, and humor that I think anyone who deals with the public as part of their job can appreciate.

This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman – 4.5 Stars
The audiobook format for this series is a game changer and This Inevitable Ruin was amazing. I can’t begin to describe the plot in any way other than “gloriously chaotic suffering” thanks to the myriad plotlines that are constantly shifting and well, it’s Faction Wars, so someone’s suffering is guaranteed. 

The Second Death of Locke by V.L. Bovalino – 5 Stars
I appreciated being thoroughly traumatized by a book with a romantic lean to it for once. This book is absolutely brimming with feeling and I especially loved the first half!

Princess of Blood by Sarah Hawley – 5 Stars
Princess of Blood is somewhat less action packed than the first book, but as a professional Enjoyer of Court Politics, I couldn’t get enough. I also love that the fae are truly awful beings in this world rather than merely sexy arm candy.

Turns of Fate by Anne Bishop – 4.5 Stars
This book was so hard to put down and I loved the world and each of the main characters. 

Brimstone by Callie Hart – 4.5 Stars
This was a solid sequel that was an absolute blast to read! The only thing I hated was the cliffhanger ending that I now have to wait another year for to get the sequel and therefore the resolution.

The Strength of the Few by James Islington – 5 Stars
I haven’t written my review of this yet but holy shit ya’ll! This book was everything I could have hoped for in a sequel and then some. It was traumatizing in all the best ways.