Mini-Reviews: Books in 2025 [Long List]

I was ready to write bad angsty poetry on my never-ending reading / blogging slump in the first half of 2025. But luckily, the second half got me out of slump valley in record time. Here’s a quick record of everything I read and (mostly) liked in the past year.

Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross

This book reminded me a lot of Madeline Miller’s Circe, as if retelling a mix of Norse and Greek/ Roman mythologies. The lead character is Matilda, a messenger god who can travel across realms. She falls in love with a mortal, and that does not sit well with a trickster crafty god who hungers for more power and dominion. The story reads like a folktale about how a puny messenger god defeated the crafty god, won a mortal’s heart, saved several people, and learnt the surprising truth of her own heritage. The plot seems strangely familiar and also sometimes a little predictable. But I am a huge fan of the exquisite writing style, intriguing characterizations and the truly stellar world-building.

Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods

I had posted a review here before, and quoting from the review.

The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig

I had posted a review here before, and quoting from the review.

The New Magdalen by Wilkie Collins

I had posted a review here before, and quoting from the review. Thanks to Classics Club, without whose reading challenge, I may not have picked up this hidden gem. And thanks also to LibriVox, whose recordings help to combine health/ Nature walks with classic books.

Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin

I was eager to read an account of Abraham Lincoln’s life and saw several recommendations for the book, Team of Rivals, and its audiobook narrated by Suzanne Toren. I am not an avid non-fiction reader and I have still a while to finish this, but what I have read/ heard so far, I don’t regret a single moment of this. Never a dull moment. The 1860s were a period of great change and also of great idealism, not just in Lincoln’s vision but also those of his contemporaries. What a fascinating period in history and (seems to be) what a wonderfully researched and well-written account.

The Second Death of Locke by V.L. Bovalino

It’s difficult to separate this book from poetic verse, the writing is that good. But… it’s also very angsty. Very, very angsty. Perhaps the audiobook emphasized the brooding melodramatic quality of it. Strangely, it reminded me of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Though this one ends with a HEA. An island that was the source of magic has disappeared because the heir to the island has died. But has it? Can both be found or revived someday? Our leads, Kier and Grey, a knight and his well source of magic, have been tasked to find out.

The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson

A very ambitious plot going on here, with a full cast of colorful characters and multiple alternating perspectives. The writing is dry, tense, snarky by turns, and exceptional. And yet, in my (likely unpopular) opinion, I found the book too scattered across too many plot-lines… to the point that I found myself bored and had to fast forward sometimes. The book changed themes so often that it felt like whiplash. It had curious mixes of Asian inspired fantasy by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurts, Victorian snark similar to Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, footnotes very similar to Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and action scenes to rival any dashing Urban Fantasy. Unfortunately, this kind of “fusion” work didn’t work for me – but I know a lot of readers have loved it.

The Next Conversation: Argue Less, Talk More by Jefferson Fisher

If you want to brush up on communication skills, Jefferson Fisher’s podcast is THE podcast to listen to. He has just the right thing to say in the most triggering of situations. His many years of experience as a trial lawyer have come with several nuggets of wisdom which we can all use without fumbling or sounding fiery, artificial, dishonest, or snappish. His book Next Conversation was naturally my next big pick and it did not disappoint.

The Road of Bones & Kingdom of Claw (The Ashen Series) by Demi Winters

I was amazed by how good these lesser known Viking-inspired books were. The first book is slow, exceedingly slow, so possibly a lot of people would have given up midway. But once we get to Book 2, what a fantastic tale! Silla is on the run for her life from an evil queen and seeks help from a notorious and unwilling gang, and we have a road quest. The ruthless assassin sent by the queen made for a most intriguing villain, one of the best I had come across in recent years – crafty and complex and very 3D. The audiobooks narrated by Islay Jacobs are especially recommended.

Vardeshi Saga by Meg Pechenick

A very interesting mix of “first human/ alien contact” space opera and the importance of intercultural linguistics. After many years of waiting, the Vardeshi, an alien race, reaches out to the human community for an exchange of diplomatic ambassadors, and a human girl Avery, who understands their language, is sent off as the human envoy to their planet. This book is tense and spooky, and I was so afraid for the human girl. It reminded me of The Sparrow and Arrival, both pieces having played with the idea of an alien language and how language stores our history. I have only read Book One yet, and I had to keep putting it down because it was getting so intense!

Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw (Dr. Greta Helsing Series, #1)

A new and solid Urban Fantasy (UF) series after a long time! Dr. Helsing is a doctor to the supernatural community living on the fringes in London, (usually) hidden away from human community. In Book 1, we see the rise of a dangerous anti-supernatural cult-like group. The characterizations and cozy found family vibes are the book’s greatest strengths. The writing also uses such interesting descriptions – e.g. the “garlic shock” for vampires, creatures that are “lunar-sensitives”, “differently alive” or have “metaphysical sensitivity”. Also, you can read the book at your own pace, in small doses every now and then, and still remember it well.

She Died a Lady by John Dickson Carr

I really tried, but could not finish this book, which many have hailed as one of Carr’s best. A lady who has been having an extramarital affair kills herself and her lover in a double suicide pact and then they both jump off the cliff. But was it really suicide? Maybe some day I will go and speed-read the last 2 chapters to know who did it, but something about this book irritated me immensely at the one-third mark and… DNF.

{Other DNFs: The Serpent [Atlan 1] by Jane Gaskell (classic SFF from 1985, full of sensitive triggers); The Blighted Stars (The Devoured Worlds, #1) by Megan E. O’Keefe (space opera with interesting technology & mining politics, found it boring); Angelfall by Susan Ee (dystopian Urban Fantasy with human-angel dynamics, too YA for me); and Into the Deep Wood: The Witch by Polina Volkova (folklore-based, excellent audiobook narration by Caitlin Davies, but shockingly dark and creepy).}

Personality Plus by Florence Littauer

I am always on the hunt for new personality quizzes, and this one was recommended by a friend. I loved this! Without getting too complex, it seems to capture the basic life themes across Popular Sanguine, Peaceful Phlegmatic, Powerful Choleric, and Perfect Melancholy. I thought it was very wisely and compassionately written with some good practical advice for understanding ourselves and others.

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