Books I Read & Loved in 2025

Midwife and healer Martha Ballard (a la Outlander’s Claire Fraser) keeps a diary of the deliveries she performs and the daily happenings in her small town–which lands her at the center of a murder trial in late 1700’s Maine.

This coming-of-age book set in Iran begins as two seven-year-old girls become fast friends, and follows them over the course of decades as they grow apart, face traumas and challenges, and struggle to reconnect.

I am officially in my Lily King era thanks to this gem. Casey is an aspiring novelist who wants to live a rich creative life but is mired in student loans and grief over the death of her mother. Smart, sad, funny, un-put-downable.

Immediately after finishing Writers & Lovers, I started this one–and was thrilled to find out that it has the same main character! King is a master at writing about complicated people and relationships in a way that feels so real.

A speeding car carrying a drunk politician and a young woman flies off a bridge and plunges into the dark water below (think Kennedy and Chappaquiddick). Dark, atmospheric, and tense.

Phoebe arrives at a pretty Rhode Island inn prepared to end her life but is mistaken for a wedding guest. When she’s confronted by the bride, they form an unlikely bond.

Thought I couldn’t hate social media and the billionaires who pull the strings more, but I did after reading this jaw-dropper, written by someone who was at Facebook from the very start. Turns out that behind the scenes, it’s even worse than we all thought.

She’s a music snob, he’s a songwriter. When they meet in college in 2000, they form a bond that’s part will-they-or-won’t-they friendship and part messy musical partnership. If your college years were marked with unrequited love and sitting around talking about music, this one’s for you.

This is Medusa’s origin story, told from her perspective, with the assembled cast of characters including petulant Athena and brutish Poseidon. I listened to this one, read by the author, whose British accent made it a joy.

Jess and Josh have tons of romantic chemistry, but it’s complicated–by politics, personal values, and issues of race and class. This one stuck with me.

I love getting lost in a Jennifer Weiner novel, and this one is like “Daisy Jones and the Six” crossed with Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” crossed with the Mamas and the Papas VH1 “Behind the Music” special, in all the best ways.

Somehow, a book about a young, broke, single mom starting an OnlyFans account to avoid getting evicted was a total feed-good read. Did I mention her dad’s a lovable pro-wrestler?

When June steals a manuscript from her writer-frenemy Athena and passes it off as her own, things get real. Real quick. Along the way, the author tackles issues like diversity, racism, cultural appropriation, and the scourge that is social media.

Where are my fellow people-pleasers who second guess every conversation and weird look? This book is just for us! I listened to this (it’s read by the author) and felt so very seen. Nodded through the whole thing.

Ali’s feeling stuck while she navigates a divorce and grief over her mom’s death. After a meet-cute at the hardware store, romance ensues–but he turns out to be her friend’s younger brother who used to go by “Scooter”. Awkward! Sweet! A salve for my burned-out 2025 brain!