Book Recommendations Archives - P.S. Bookish

Blog
Services
Contact
Shop

reading | writing | editing

Blog
Contact
Home
Policies
Services

Top Ten Books of 2025

Book Recommendations · January 8, 2026

Top Ten Books of 2025

Info

Policies
Contact

Explore

Services
Blog

📚October Reading Wrap-up✨ Literary Fiction: 5⭐-

📚October Reading Wrap-up✨

Literary Fiction:
5⭐- Andromeda by Therese Bohman
2.5⭐- Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
5⭐- Ruins by Amy Taylor
4.5⭐- Godshot by Chelsea Bieker
3.5⭐- The Sun Was Electric Light by
4⭐- Discontent by Beatriz

Nonfiction:
5⭐- A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

Mystery/Thriller:
4.5⭐- The Killer Question by Janice Hallett
4⭐- Where He Left Me by Nicole Baart

Historical Fiction:
5⭐- The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis

Romance:
3⭐- Ordinary Love by Marie Rutkoski

Fantasy:
4⭐- The Women of Wild Hill by Kirsten Miller

Thank you to the tagged publishers for the gifted copies 🫶

💬 What were your favorite reads of October ❓

#octoberwrapup #readingwrapup #octoberreads #bookstack #AtriaPartner #gifted #williammorrowbooks #bookish #readersofig #booksaremylife #bookstagrammers #monthlywrapup #readingwrapped

Bookish POVs... 🩵 When you read an author for the

Bookish POVs...

🩵 When you read an author for the first time and then immediately want to read everything they've ever written - that was my experience with A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf (nonfiction/essays/classics) - A reflection on the philosophy of women in fiction.

💚 When you almost let the mixed reviews keep you from reading it, but something about the book just keeps calling to you, so you say f*ck and read it anyways, and then you absolutely love it - The Hounding by Xenobe Puirvis (historical/literary/horror) - A genre-blend, set in 1700s England, where the residents of a small town are convinced that a group of five sisters are turning into dogs - with themes of girlhood, religion, belonging, and the dangers of mass hysteria.

💙 When you instinctively feel connected to a book and know that you’re going to need lots of tabs and time to savor it - Ruins by Amy Taylor (literary/romance/drama) - An incredibly gripping story, the style of prose and the flow of the writing carries you through a story with dark undertones on marriage, intimacy, motherhood, and mental health.

Highly recommend all three of these books! I really enjoyed my time in each of them.

💬Can you relate to any of these POVs? Which book was it?

#aroomofonesown #virginiawoolf #thehounding #xenobepurvis #ruins #amytaylor #bookrecs #bookreviewer #recentreads #bookishpov #readinglife #fivestarreads #literary #nonfiction #litfic #historical #horror

📚💌 Bookmail Monday ✨️ From @fsgbooks The Wayfind

📚💌 Bookmail Monday ✨️

From @fsgbooks
The Wayfinder by Adam Johnson - historical/literary

From @williammorrowbooks
The Women of Wild Hill by Kirsten Miller - fantasy/horror

From @atriabooks
I Found You By Lisa Jewell - mystery/thriller
A History of Fear by Luke Dumas - horror

From @bookofthemonth
The Ten Year Affair by Erin Somers - literary/romance
Flat Earth by Anika Jade Levy - literary

So grateful to all the mentioned publishers for my gifted copies! 🙏🫶

💬 Any of these titles on your tbr❓

#AtriaPartner #gifted #williammorrowbooks #atriabooks #fsgbooks #newbooks #bookhaul #bookmailmonday #tbrstack #bookishlife #readinglife #bookmail #readerslife

At a rural pub called The Case Is Altered, the wee

At a rural pub called The Case Is Altered, the weekly trivia nights take a deadly turn after mysterious newcomers arrive and disturb the status quo of its regulars. The owners of the pub, Sue and Mal, are hiding secrets of their own, but the past always catches up.

As you can see, Janice Hallett is an auto-buy for me! No one is doing mixed media like her - she really is a master at it. The stories are always so unique, the plotting is incredibly clever, the characters are very memorable, and it’s all tied together with witty humor. If you love a fun, exciting mystery that feels both thrilling and cozy, this is the book for you!

New personal ranking order:
1️⃣The Examiner
2️⃣The Killer Question
3️⃣The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels
4️⃣The Appeal
5️⃣The Twyford Code

Thank you to @atriabooks and @atriathrillers for the newest release of one of my favorite authors! 🫶🙏

#AtriaPartner #thekillerquestion #janicehallett #autobuyauthor #recentread #bookrec #bookreview #bookish #readersofig #reviewersofig #bookishinfluencer #mysterythriller #mixedmedia #newrelease #thrillerbooks #cozymystery #readinglife #booksaremylife

Wow, this blew my mind! 🤯 A Texas desert motel whe

Wow, this blew my mind! 🤯 A Texas desert motel where time works differently, supernatural horror, and cosmic dread all woven into one unforgettable experience.

This one starts out totally full-throttle insane, and immediately hooks you.

Full of existential terror, it feels like being in The Twilight Zone. You’ll be saying, “WTF is going on here!?” multiple times.

All the interwoven threads are so expertly, intricately crafted.

I was taking notes, trying to piece everything together… and then that first major twist💥I put the book down, stared at the wall, and flipped pages back and forth while saying, “no f***ing way.”

I actually looked exactly like this: 😱 Absolutely brilliant… genius!

If you love mind-bending horror, you NEED to read this 😵‍💫

💬Have you ever read a book that made you put it down and stare at the wall for a while? 🤔

My Rating: 5⭐

🙏🫶 Huge thank you to @atriabooks and @atriathrillers for my gifted ARC!

#themidnightknock #johnfram #horror #thrillerreads #horrorbook #bookreview #AtriaPartner #gifted #bookcontent #bookishcreator #readinglife #readingupdate #bookrec #mustreadhorror #newbookrelease #octoberbooks

Full disclosure, I took this picture months ago 😆

Full disclosure, I took this picture months ago 😆 but I was waiting to post it until I’d read Mellors’s book and then, for literally no reason at all, I never got around to it.

But now I’m happy to say I have *finally* started reading Cleo & Frank and I am LOVING it! I only got about 10 pages in before realizing that tabbing alone just wasn’t going to be enough - I needed to be full on annotating.

I’m now around 60 pages in, taking my time to savor it, and reading other books in between sprints of this one.

As for the other books featured, I read them both earlier this year. Very Cold People I gave 5⭐ - I love Manguso’s writing, highly recommend this one and her other book, Liars. Acts of Service was a 3.5⭐ read for me.

💬What is a book that you’ve been putting off reading for no reason❓

#cleopatraandfrankenstein #cocomellors #actsofservice #verycoldpeople #sarahmanguso #lillianfishman #bookflatlay #readingupdate #currentlyreading #bookrec #litfic #literaryfiction #bookreviewersofig #bookishlife #bookishcommunity

💬❓ What’s the most recent book you read that is no

💬❓ What’s the most recent book you read that is now a favorite of the year so far? (because i’m always looking for more tbr recs)

💛What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown

This one definitely deserves all the hype it’s been getting! I don’t think I’ve read anything quite like it, with such a unique premise. I loved the blend of genres and I felt such empathy for Jane and all that she goes through. I never knew where this one was going, it kept me guessing and invested in how everything would come together.

However, it just didn’t quite live up to my expectations of it. The first half felt like a definite five star read but then the story shifted in ways that weren’t as compelling and it started to drag. It could have been cut down by about 50 pages to make it more impactful.

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

🩷The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff

A multi-generational story told from several perspectives about a family affected by addiction. It explores the impacts that trauma can have over generations.

This one is for all the emotional family saga lovers out there!

It is one of few books that have actually made me cry. My only complaint is that I wanted more, I wanted it to be longer. The vastness of everything it explores, and so deftly too, is incredible for such few pages.

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (definitely a new favorite of the year)

#whatkindofparadise #thebrightyears #sarahdamoff #janellebrown #recentreads #bookreview #bookreviewer #minireviews #bookrecs #bookofthemonth #bookflatlay #bookish #readersofig #readinglife #bookstagrammers #litfic #contemporaryfiction #historicalfiction #familysaga

🍂Do you like to curate your shelves for a seasonal

🍂Do you like to curate your shelves for a seasonal journey?

At the start of every new season, I like to recalibrate my shelves. By making space for books that actually fit my current mood, I get even more excited about the books I own.

I like to start with the must reads, then pull all the ones that are calling to me. Usually it’s easiest to pick the ones that I’m most and least excited about. Then, the rest I slot into the middle shelf.

#bookshelf #bookshelforganization #bookishlife #readinglife #bookishcommunity #tbrshelf #gifted #AtriaPartner #atriabooks #falltbr #seasonaltbr #organizemybookshelf

Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2026 P.S. Bookish · Theme by 17th Avenue