A reading review of Q4 2025

abbybathurst
Dec 31, 2025
6 min read

The end of 2025 is upon us, so here is my final bookish round-up of the year, a reading review of Q4 2025.

2025 feels like it's flown by with us now heading into 2026. I can't quite believe how fast this year has gone, but it has been a successful 12 months when it comes to books.

I already reached my reading goal in Q3 and have continued to add to that number as we head into 2026. Across the first three quarters of the year, I read 81 books.

So let's get into my Q4 2025 reading review.

WriteWatchWork's Reading Review

Total Number of Books Per Month

In Q4, I read a total of 25 books. I slowed down towards the end of the year in terms of how many books I was reading because I found myself reading one book at a time, rather than two simultaneously.

However, I have read some incredible books in Q4.

In October, I read nine books. In November, I read eight, and in December, I've read nine books.

Overall, they were three pretty good months, with some diverse books included. Although December was mainly Christmas books.

Most-Read Genre

2025 has seen me read quite a few romance books, and that trend continued into Q4. However, I have also read quite a few other genres, including thrillers, fantasy, historical fiction, crime, and Greek mythology.

However, romance was the genre that came out on top, probably because of the festive romances I read in December.

Most-Read Author

In Q4, I read a wide variety of authors, totalling 25 different authors. This is more than the previous quarter, which I'm surprised at. The different authors I read across October, November and December are:

Agatha Christie
Alex Pine
Allie Oleander
Autumn Woods
Becka Mack
B.K Borison
Catherine Cowles
Cressida McLaughlin
Debbie Johnson
Erin Sterling
Hannah Grace
Harper Graham
Heidi Swain
Holly Jackson
Kandi Steiner
Kerri Maniscalco
Kristin Hannah
Laurie Gilmore
Lindsey Kelk
Madeline Miller
Melissa Bashardoust
Mia Sheridan
Nancy Peach
Rachel Gillig
Sarah Morgan

Out of these 25 authors, quite a few of them were new authors that I hadn't read before. These authors were: Alex Pine, Allie Oleander, Autumn Woods, Harper Graham, Kristin Hannah, Lindsey Kelk, Madeline Miller, Melissa Bashardoust, Mia Sheridan, Nancy Peach and Rachel Gillig.

My most-read author has to be Sarah Morgan. I absolutely love her Christmas books and managed to squeeze in a few in December.

Favourite Books

This year, one of my goals was to limit my five-star ratings. However, I've struggled with that because I have read some incredible books.

In Q4, there were quite a few five-star books that I read and ones that I will probably re-read in the future. It was hard to pick my top three, but I have made a decision.

My top book of Q4 has to be The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. I haven't read much historical fiction, and I was wary of this book not living up to the hype I've seen on social media. However, I fell in love with it. It is a challenging and quite horrific story given the subject matter, but it was incredible. Kristin Hannah's writing is beautiful, and the story is so powerful and emotional that I couldn't not rate it five stars.

Next up is All Together for Christmas by Sarah Morgan. As I mentioned above, I love Sarah Morgan's Christmas books, and her latest one is now one of my favourites. All Together For Christmas is such a relatable and raw story that I fell in love with the characters and the world of Cumbria. It's such a feel-good story that is the perfect Christmas read, and I'm so glad I read it this year.

The third and final book in my top three favourites is going to be Nightshade by Autumn Woods. I haven't read many dark academia novels before, but boy, am I hooked on that genre. I absolutely fell in love with this book and the characters. Everything about it was intriguing, mysterious, and I need book two right now!

Some other honourable mentions include One Dark Window; Throne of the Fallen; Secret Haven; A Touch of Magic at the Comfort Food Café; and Holiday Ever After.

Favourite Authors

I have so many new favourite authors from all the books I've read this year, and Q4 provided lots more. The three authors of my top three favourite books — Kristin Hannah, Sarah Morgan and Autumn Woods — are some of my favourite authors, but I'm going to pick three different writers.

So, my top three authors of Q3 are:

Kerri Maniscalco
Catherine Cowles
Hannah Grace

Kerri Maniscalco made me fall in love with her writing once again when I read Throne of the Fallen. I knew I enjoyed her writing style from loving the Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy, but reading Throne of the Fallen made me fall in love with it even more. Her intricacy of crafting in-depth fantasy worlds and characters leaves me in awe.

Catherine Cowles was one of my top authors from Q3, but I couldn't not choose her again. Catherine is a brand-new author for me this year, but I have fallen in love with her Sparrow Falls series and can't wait to binge her other novels. Secret Haven was one of my most anticipated releases this year, and reading that story had me on the edge of my seat.

My final favourite author of Q4 is Hannah Grace. I've read Hannah Grace's Maple Hills series, and I did enjoy that; however, she has stepped up her game with Holiday Ever After. I absolutely loved the small-town Christmas romance that left me feeling all warm and giddy. It was such an enjoyable read, and I hope Hannah writes more books in this series.

Best Book Surprise

The best book surprise of Q4 is Christmas Fling by Lindsey Kelk. This book came out this year, and was my first Lindsey Kelk book.

I'd heard good things about her as an author and have always been intrigued by her books. But Christmas Fling was such a pleasant surprise.

I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. I read it in two sittings and laughed so much. The writing was easy to read and the story hooked me from the first page.

The characters were great, and it was just such a funny, light-hearted read that was perfect for the build-up to Christmas.

Least Favourite Book

Unfortunately, Q4 had a couple of books that didn't meet my expectations, and for that reason, I'm listing them in this category. Now, bear in mind, I did enjoy all the books I read. However, these were my lower-rated books of Q4.

First up, we have Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan. I rated this book three stars. I went into it, knowing the basic premise of a love story between Beth and Archer, a man who is mute and has to use sign language to communicate. For me, this story had so much potential, and I think because I'd seen reviews of how emotional it was and how amazing it was, I put too much pressure on myself to agree.

Sadly, I didn't find the book that emotional, and I also found myself like skim-reading some sections. I didn't connect with the characters much, and I think that's probably why I enjoyed it less than I expected.

A similar thing happened with The Song of Achilles. Now, I rated this book four stars, and I am so glad I read it because I love Greek mythology and did enjoy it. However, I read this after reading The Nightingale, and for that reason, I didn't find it emotional compared to Kristin Hannah's novel. The writing in The Song of Achilles is beautiful, and I will re-read this book next year, but at the time in Q4 when I read it, it didn't live up to expectations.

25 Books for 2025

Over the course of the year, I've ticked off books from my 25 books for 2025 list. And in Q4, I managed to progress even further, reading seven books from this list.

The seven books on the list that I read in Q4 were: Five Survive (Holly Jackson), And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie), The Song of Achilles (Madeline Miller), Throne of the Fallen (Kerri Maniscalco), One Dark Window (Rachel Gillig), Fall With Me (Becka Mack), and Archer's Voice (Mia Sheridan).