Thanks to Lindy Gomm for sharing her favorite books read during 2025. I hope you’re excited about reading this last list. I always seem to add a book or two to my TBR pile after reading Lindy’s Thursday posts. Thank you Lindy!

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Here are my ten favourite reads of 2025, in the order I read them.

DOWN A DARK RIVER by Karen Odden

Scotland 1878. Scotland Yard inspector Michael Corravan – Irish, former bare-knuckles boxer, tenacious when solving cases, tends to barrel his way through not caring who he might offend along the way. Ably assisted by his young colleague Mr. Stiles – quietly intelligent, empathetic, and just as dogged as Corravan in his own way.  A riveting tale about both the disappearance of the wife of a wealthy gentleman and of a murdered young woman, placed in a boat and left to float down the Thames. Excellent writing, convincing characters, compelling narrative.

THE WHALEBONE THEATRE by Joanna Quinn

Right from the first page we’re drawn into the story as 3-year-old Cristabel waits for her widowed father to arrive back at the family estate with his new wife, Cristabel’s new mother whose main aim seems to be to host lavish parties. Eventually the family expands with a sister (Flossie) and later a brother (Digby). All three children are largely ignored/neglected by their parents, and grow up left to their own devices; which mostly involve elaborate games of imagination courtesy of fiercely independent Cristabel. At one point a whale washes up on the beach and rots away until only bones are left, and a theatre is made out of its huge rib cage bones. This theatre plays a large role in the children’s lives. It’s an eccentric upbringing and existence for these three, with very little experience of life beyond the family estate.

Then comes WWII and we see how these three siblings cope with the war and how they each contribute in their own way, according to the characters of each of them.

A story that feels immediate and real and is emotionally compelling, with a strong sense of time and place, with vivid characters. 

THE SECRET BOOK OF FLORA LEA by Patti Callahan Henry

A gorgeous, heart touching story told in the dual timelines of 1940 and 1960. 

Two sisters, 14-year-old Hazel and 5-year-old Flora are evacuated to the British countryside to keep them safe from bombings during the Blitz. To distract her little sister from the frightening uncertainty of being evacuees, Hazel spins a magical tale of a secret land that’s just for the two of them, where they will always be safe. Then the unthinkable happens and in a moment of inattention on Hazel’s part, little Flora disappears and her constant stuffed-animal companion is discovered on the riverbank. Guilt and torment follow Hazel, and twenty years on, her entire life and the choices she makes are still being defined by them. She never ceases to look for, and to hope that, somehow Flora is still alive; however unlikely.

Hope, despair, emotions, wonderful characters, and transportive storytelling.

THE LONELY HEARTS BOOK CLUB by Lucy Gilmore

A sweet and entertaining read. It’s certainly about books but also much more. It’s about people living their lives and whether they realize it or not they’re lonely, and are careless about how their words and actions affect others – in ways both good and bad and sometimes for years, and how together they can begin to heal.

Sloane is a librarian and even though her boss shoots down her ideas for the library, she loves her job. One day she sees an old man browsing and asks if she can help him. Turns out Arthur is the grumpiest, downright mean person ever, but she perseveres and he deigns to tolerate her, and she begins to look forward to their daily talks/insults/arguments. But then he stops coming and she’s worried about him. The rest of the book is the story of what happens next. This was a lovely book. The core group of five or six characters each get their turn to continue telling the story as it progresses, which gives us insight into each one. I think I’ve made it seem like it’s all doom and gloom but it absolutely isn’t. It’s written using lots of humour and just enough angst to make me care, and to wish that I too was part of this caring, supportive book club.

FINDING FLORA by Elinor Florence

A compelling historical fiction novel set in the early 1900s. Married for just one month, Flora makes an impulsive decision to escape from her abusive husband. Risking her life she jumps from the moving train they’re travelling in, into the Alberta prairie. 

Because of a kindness from someone she meets, Flora ends up being able to claim a homestead on the prairie. She knows nothing about farming but she has three years in which to meet the government’s requirements to make the homestead viable before she can receive title to the land.

Her three nearest neighbours are also women – a widow with three children, two American women, and a Metis woman. Nothing is easy for any of these women. They need to learn about farming, they need to deal with the fact that many people look upon them as landgrabbers stealing land from British men, and the fact that they are women means they’re not taken seriously and have more official hoops to jump through than any man ever would. There’s also the ever-present threat of Flora’s husband coming after her. They do get a bit of help from some unexpected sources. 

The author does a wonderful job of seamlessly working a lot of interesting history into this great book.

I SEE YOU’VE CALLED IN DEAD by John Kenney

Bud is an obituary writer although he hasn’t been doing a good job of it for a while now. He’s not enjoying life and is in a bit of a depression since his wife left him. He gets drunk one night and decides he should write his own obituary. It isn’t a serious one and is full of untruths, but he accidentally hits ‘send’ and now it’s out there. The newspaper company wants to fire him, but because of the obituary he’s technically dead and dead people can’t be fired. While his job is hanging in the balance, Bud somehow ends up going to the wakes and funerals of complete strangers, and learns a few things.

Up to this point you think the book is going to just be a funny story about a man who made a silly mistake.  And it is indeed darkly funny but it is also SO much more. It breaks your heart but also puts it together again. It’s subtly profound. The dialogue is superb. We feel a connection to each of the supporting characters, who are each in a difficult situation of their own and we are let into their worlds and find out how they cope, how they deal with life – and death – and it’s just all so believable. But so funny and readable and wise. By the end you’re so thankful to be alive and are determined to make the most of every day.

When I finished the book (in just over a day) I wanted to begin it again right away.

THE LADIES ROAD GUIDE TO UTTER RUIN by Alison Goodman

We’re back in Regency England with unmarried sisters Augusta (Gus) and Julia. 

After rescuing Lady Hester from an insane asylum, they hide her at their home. They have help from Lady Hester’s brother, Lord Evan (and Gus’s love interest) although he is wanted for a twenty-years-earlier murder and has to keep a very low profile.

Hester’s other brother, Lord Deele had committed her to the asylum because she was in a relationship with another woman (who is also staying with Gus and Julia.) Hester is in a bad way after her time in the asylum, but the secret is out and they must move her to a new safe place so Lord Deele won’t find her.

Meanwhile, Evan is on the run from a Bow Street Runner who has been tasked with finding him and bringing him back, as well as a from ‘thief takers’ who have orders to kill him. Evan might be innocent but because the murder took place twenty years ago, finding someone who was around at the time that can help prove his innocence now, is frustratingly impossible.

The book is action-packed, as Gus, Julia, and Lord Evan, along with Gus’s trusty butler Weatherly hurtle from one fraught situation to another, and just when you think you might be able to catch your breath yourself for a minute, they’re right into another one. 

Gus and Julia are wonderful heroines –they don’t always agree on the methods, but they always fight for what’s right, they care wholeheartedly about the people who matter to them, they’re brave and resourceful, and they never give up. A hugely entertaining book.

THE SWEET SPOT by Amy Poeppel

I had such fun reading this book! There are many characters, several story lines, I laughed often, there’s family chaos (in a good way), and touching moments too. 

Not sure how to even begin summarizing the plot but here goes: 

Lauren (a ceramic artist), Leo, their three children and a dog have an opportunity to live in a brownstone in Greenwich Village for a couple of years while the owner is away for work. Her career has just gotten a big boost due to Felicity, the owner of an upscale artisan’s shop, who has fallen in love with Lauren’s work and offers to sell it in her shop.

Then there’s Melinda whose husband has just left her for a younger woman – Felicity! Worse, they’re having a baby; and Melinda is incandescent with rage and hurt.

We also have Olivia, a young and clever marketing woman who works for … Felicity.

You can already tell everything’s getting complicated. But there’s also Lauren’s mother who comes to help out. A bartender. The owner of the brownstone. Melinda’s ex-husband. A baby. And a myriad of other characters. All of them add greatly to the fun of the story.

This is a book about ‘families – lost, found, and made’, love, forgiveness, the messiness of life – and how this endearingly varied cast of characters finds their way through, all while making us laugh. It’s a book with a lot of heart, and I loved it. It’s one of the rare books that I will keep even though my bookshelves are far too full already.

HER FORGOTTEN PROMISE by Corin Burnside

Told in dual timelines – 1944 and 2014 – revelations and stories are grippingly and emotionally teased out during each one. It felt like I was right there.

Margaret and Agnes meet as young women while working during WWII with the WAAF (Women’s Auxiliary Air Force) as radio operators. They become the best of friends, eventually sharing an apartment. Then one day Agnes is gone without a word of explanation. Seventy years later, near the end of her life, Margaret still wonders what happened to Agnes.

On a visit to her Aunt Margaret, Claire discovers that even though her aunt’s memory is fading in and out, she seems desperate to know why Agnes left and why she never returned, but Claire has never heard her aunt mention Agnes before. Despite problems of her own, Claire is determined to find out what happened so she can provide some answers for her aunt. Claire’s research in England gives her access to Agnes’s war record which seems to imply that answers might be found in France from the time when the French Resistance was at its height, so that’s where she goes.

What follows is a wonderful, character-filled story of love, heartache, and sacrifices. And resilience and courage. There are unbearably tense scenes, and an equal number of emotionally fraught ones. I’m not doing the book justice at all, but it was certainly an immersive experience, and I felt every emotion – rage, upset, hope, admiration, and fear; and the story was a reminder of the impossible things and decisions that everyday people had to endure and to make during the war. But above all it was a terrific story and I loved spending time in it.

THE SPIRIT OF SCATARIE by Lesley Crewe

A historical fiction novel set on Scatarie, a real island off the coast of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, where fishing is the lifeblood. The story is told/observed by ‘the spirit of Scatarie’, the ghost of a teenage girl who perished along with her younger sister when the ship carrying them from Ireland to Canada was shipwrecked on the rocks of the island. From time to time this ghost gives her thoughts and opinions but neither they nor the ghost are ever distracting from the main story; this spirt is more like another of the characters but plays a more in-the-background role.

But this is really the story of three main characters – Hardy, Sam, and Mary Alice – all born on the island on the same day, Christmas 1922. These three have been the very best of friends their entire lives and the story follows them from when they’re tiny children to well-into-adulthood. WWll also features in the story.

Community is everything on Scatarie; it would be difficult to survive the hard life here without help from friends and neighbours. There’s no electricity, no running water, no indoor toilets, no phones. The storms, wind, unpredictable and dangerous weather, and cold icy winters only add to the hardships. But Scatarie can also be achingly beautiful and the people who live here are fiercely loyal to their home.

Told in a simple straight-forward style, the situations and emotions were all the more affecting and moving because of it. Each and every character was brought to life so effectively and with surprising depth that my heart ached when theirs did and equally I felt joy when they did. They were quite real to me.

One of my favourite things about the book was the feeling of comfort I derived from the idea (written about so engagingly and skillfully) that the spirits of our much-loved and departed friends and family are always still nearby and actively watching over us and trying to make sure we’re cared for.

A top read for me this year.

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Thank you so much, Lindy. I’m so glad we do this every year because I enjoy seeing all the lists of your favorite books.

Now, I’ll try to remind you again, but next Friday, March 6, we’re going to talk about Comfort Reads. It’s just like “What Are You Reading?” on Thursdays, and it’s a one-time post. What books do you return to for comfort? (My favorite is nonfiction, but I’m sure I’ll mention one or two others.) What book can you turn to if you can’t get into anything else? Is there a book that jumpstarts your reading again? It should be fun, and I’m sure we’ll all have different titles. We’ll still do next week’s “What Are You Reading?”, but if you’re around on Friday stop in to talk about your comfort reads.