Best and Worst of 2025

 Best

                

First Place:            Time After Time

Mikki Daughtry

                                ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

In this dual-timeline romance, college student Libby spends her entire savings fund on an old Victorian fixer-upper and settles in to renovate as she connects with a love story that unfolded in this house one hundred years ago. A blending of historical and contemporary love stories, Mikki Daughtry mirrors two romances full of wit and longing and forbidden hopes and dreams. Though jumping between timelines means getting pulled from a favorite cozy love story a few times as readers bounce back and forth, this romance is the perfect sort of home-renovation escapism in which to lose yourself.

Runner-Up:         Leaving the Station                                  Jake Maia Arlow

                                ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

In this Thanksgiving break romance, Zoe finds herself escaping a disastrous first semester at college on a cross-country train journey where her annoying seatmate might just be growing on her. With a healthy serving of flirty banter (and some more serious debate), Jake Maia Arlow creates a nuanced discussion of sexuality and gender identity, a messy interpersonal journey (both past and present), and a debate-forward romantic tension in the span of just a few liminal-space days. Though the ideal audience here skews older than the general YA readership, the feeling of figuring-it-out that permeates this book will hit the right notes for readers of any age.

Runner-Up:         The Last Bookstore On Earth                       

Lily Braun-Arnold

                                ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

In this bookish apocalyptic novel, Liz Flannery shelters in the bookstore where she used to work in the aftermath of a devestating, ecology-wrecking Storm, but with another Storm on the horizon and human tensions rising, her bubble of security is ready to burst. A warm-and-cozy contrast to the usual bleak apocalyptic imagining, Lily Braun-Arnold builds an apocalypse worth living through (and a life worth fighting for) in this silver-lining sci-fi. Though Liz's lack of apocalypse-hardened exterior might be frustrating at times, the bookish warmth and belief in human goodness that permeates this should-be-bleak future world makes it well worth taking shelter in these pages.

Worst

                                     

First Place:             An Ocean Apart                

Jill Tew

                                    ⭐⭐

In this watery dystopia, Eden Lowell takes her chance to exact revenge on the resource-stealing upper class by infiltrating a dating show meant to find a CEO's son the perfect match for his water-rich cruise ship life. With off-the-walls twists and social commentary that lacks follow-through, Jill Tew creates a dystopian sci-fi that fails to critique the bad behaviors it presents. Though this book provides an interesting world of rising waters and glitzy cruise ships for the wealthiest to escape to, the bland cast of characters and well-tread plot won't be making any history books.

Runner-Up:           Woven From Clay                            

Jenny Birch

                                    ⭐⭐

In this Jewish mythology-inspired fantasy, Terra Slater's perfect senior year is ruined by the arrival of a new boy in town who just won't leave her alone (because he insists she's been created by some sort of dark magic). Though this golem fantasy brings a fresh type of mythical monster (or, in this cage, not-so-monster) to the page, Jenny Birch fails to create a compelling new voice in YA fantasy, relying instead on tropes and character archetypes that feel more 2000s than 2020s. Though the bones of this story are solid, the plot hinges on secrets kept for no reason and characters with motivations as complex as the mud they're made from to create a not-so-compelling read.

Runner-Up:             Red as Royal Blood

Elizabeth Hart

                                    ⭐⭐⭐

In this historical (?) royal mystery, palace maid Ruby finds herself suddenly thrust into a life of luxury (and deadly intrigue) when the old king dies and names her his sole heir, disinheriting his children in the process. Though the concept has the potential for a lot of fun and wit, Elizabeth Hart creates a book that is instead confusing and hard to place. Though it is a quick and easy read with a few nice murder-mystery-style twists, the lack of genre placement and slightly-too-mature content for the writing style make it a hard read in which to invest.

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