I read sixty-four books in 2025. Some were good. Some were less good. One was awful. But five novels stood out among the rest as absolute bangers. Interestingly, all five were from authors I’d never read before!

So what were these top five books?

Evan Leikam’s Anji Kills a King

Anji Kills a King is Evan Leikam’s debut novel, and I will certainly be reading his next book.

After assassinating the king, Anji bolts with a million-dollar bounty on her head. A group of bounty hunters known as the Menagerie pursue her—and a brutal cross-country fight begins. It’s well written, but the biggest appeal is Anji herself. She’s an indefatigable protagonist. If you love an underdog who refuses to quit (or shut up), you’ll probably enjoy this book. Anji reminds me a bit of Gideon the Ninth (although Moira Quirk’s phenomenal narration may have also contributed to that).

This novel also doesn’t goof around; it kicks off with a bang. In fact, it has the strongest opening of any of the books I’ve read this year. I was instantly hooked. I have some qualms about some of Anji’s choices in the back half of the novel, yet I remained gripped the entire way through.

The worldbuilding is interesting, with magic that takes time off the user’s life and drugs that turn people into literal monsters. We didn’t seem much of that first element, but I assume it will be explored more in future books.

Overall, it is a captivating and well-written story, and it offers some unusual takes on the typical fantasy tropes.

Joe Abercrombie’s The Devils

Want to go on a road trip with a werewolf, immortal knight, monk, elf, necromancer, jack-of-all trades, vampire, and empresses? Well, that’s an odd request, but have I got the book for you!

Joe Abercrombie’s The Devils is masterfully written. It juggles eight major characters, including six point-of-view characters, and most of them have meaningful character arcs. Vigga, Sunny, and Balthazar Sham Ivam Drax stand out among the bunch, but the other characters are still delightful.

Because of the rapid point-of-view shifts, it took me a little while to get into this story. Sometimes I had no idea who’s head I was in, but once it truly gets moving (and Vigga shows up), it’s a nonstop ride.

So what’s the plot? A fantasy version of the Suicide Squad is tasked with bringing the supposed rightful heir to the Serpent’s Throne. Along the way, all the other claimants try to stop them.

It manages to be both campy fun, disturbingly harrowing, and oddly heartwarming. I actually teared up at one point, and some of Vigga’s lines had me laughing aloud. I never knew where it was going. It zigged every time I thought it was going to zag. The multi-character fight scenes are also some of the best I’ve ever read.

Melissa Caruso’s The Last Hour Between Worlds

The Last Hour Between Worlds came out in 2024, but I only got to it in 2025. It’s a fun story featuring badass women with swords, crazy worldbuilding and magic, and lots of quirky characters. It’s also narrated by the wonderful Moira Quirk if you prefer reading with your ears vs. eyeballs.

Kembral Thorn, an investigator on maternity leave, attends a year-turning ball hoping for a relaxing night away from her baby. Instead, everyone at the party is murdered, which is a real bummer, until the clock chimes and then everyone is suddenly alive again. Kembral must figure out what is going on and save everyone at the party—which of course requires teaming up with her crush/nemesis, the cat burglar Rika Nonesuch.

The plot is a bit complicated, but it all came together in a clear fashion that followed the magical rules Caruso created. However, the main appeal of this novel is the characters. The characters were fun, quirky and capable (although maybe a bit too quippy)—and most of them have a secret, which really complicates Kembral’s efforts. I enjoyed the worldbuilding from the “blood on the moon” swearing to the unique magic system based around “echoes,” which are essentially parallel worlds.

The sequel, The Last Soul Among Wolves, came out in 2025, and it’s also enjoyable (but not quite as thrilling as the first book).

Caitlin Starling’s The Starving Saints

After six months under siege, tensions at Aymar Castle are running as high as food is running low. People start turning to cannibalism. The king demands a miracle from Phosyne, the madwoman who holds a strange sort of magic based on a logic even she cannot understand. And then a miracle seemingly arrives…

The Starving Saints is a bizarre and dark story that certainly won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it was 100% mine. If you’re at all interested in medieval horror, I think you’ll enjoy The Starving Saints. I’ve seen many people describe it as a fever dream, and that is entirely accurate.

There were two elements that stood out: (1) twisted and compelling character relationships and (2) magic that truly felt magical.

All three leads were compelling: the mad ex-nun Phosyne, the disillusioned knight Ser Voyne, and the noble-lady-turned-ratcatcher Trelia who is set on revenge. The trio have a twisted relationship that only grows more convoluted as the novel advances.

Overall, this was a masterful story, and I have no real criticisms. I doubt there will be a sequel, but I’d buy it in a heartbeat.

Matt Dinnamen’s The Butcher’s Masquerade

Earth has been overtaken by aliens! The survivors have been put into the Dungeon Crawl, a televised game show controlled by a system AI. The participants’ goal is to make it through an eighteen-level labyrinth filled with traps and monsters. No one has ever made it past level fifteen, but hey, maybe Carl and his cat, Princess Donut, will be the first.

It’s an utterly absurd premise, yet Matt Dinniman uses it to craft an amazing narrative about people (and a cat and a goat) working together to overcome seemingly impossible obstacles. It’s got humor, heart, action, and weirdness galore.

I was initially skeptical about this series at first, because it is a LitRPG and I don’t play any video or roleplaying games, but I’m so glad I picked it up.

I enjoyed the first four books in the series, but book five, The Butcher’s Masquerade, kicked it up to eleven and knocked it out of the park. My major qualm with the first four books is that Carl’s team feels overpowered. They never seem at risk of losing. Book five ups the stakes and changes that! It also really highlights two of my favorite side characters: Prepotente and Samatha.

That brings us to the major appeal of this series: the characters. Carl is a larger-than-life and likeable protagonist and a genuinely good guy who wants to help everyone. Donut (the cat) is charming, and they quickly become an inseparable and supportive team, and they surround themselves with a group of similarly good people who become a family.

Also, the narration by Jeff Hays is mind blowing. I strongly recommend the audio version (although it’s exclusive to Audible). And while this book was technically published in 2022, I (like many people) only read it this year after Ace Books re-published it.

Honorary Mentions

Honorary mention goes to several older books that I only read this year: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas, The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht, and The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling.

What was your top read of 2025? Comment below.

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