My 2025 Book Awards

Looking back at all of the books I read in 2025, I came up with some distinct favorites and thought I would share them with you in my own version of a book awards again this year. 🙂

I broke the books into several categories (because who can choose just a few books?)

These are all books I read for the first time in 2025. Some are old, some are brand-new (and there’s one that hasn’t even been released yet), but all were amazing, and I ended up buying several of these.

Without further ado-my 2025 Book Awards!

Picture Books

 Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White-great book! I really liked this one.

The Man Who Didn’t Like Animals by Deborah Underwood-this is wonderful! It’s basically a prequel to Old MacDonald. Very fun.

Emmie Builds Something New by Marjorie Crosby-Fairall-inventive with a great message.

Christmas Farm by Mary Lyn Ray-beautiful and heartwarming.

Illustrations

Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey-beautiful book!

The Little Fir Tree by Margaret Wise Brown-I love Jim LaMarche’s illustrations so very much!

The Christmas Book Flood by Emily Kilgore-I love the bright colors and collage-style art!

The Bakery Dragon and the Fairy Cake by Devin Elle Kurtz-love the beautiful soft colors and all of the amazing detail.

Adult Books from a Series

 The Nature of Love (Love in the Spotlight #3) by Toni Shiloh-unusual premise, great writing, and a beautiful love story.

Uneasy Street (Sons of Scandal #3) by Becky Wade-loved this whole series so much-very good!

My Lucky Charm (Holidays with Hart #2) by Courtney Walsh-great writing, fun characters-very good!

Honorable Mention

Royally Rearranged (Sweet Royal Rom Com #1) by Emma St. Clair-very unique premise! Great book!

Chasing Secrets (Elite Guardians #4) by Lynette Eason-another with a unique plot!

O, Deadly Night (A Year-Round Christmas Mystery #8) by Vicki Delany-I do love this series and I am glad there was another book this year. This was another good one!

Fiction

So Into You by Kathleen Fuller-so different from anything I have read before. This one was really well done.

Definitely Maybe Not a Detective by Sarah Fox-I hated to see this one end, and really hope there is another one! Very, very good! **Please note: this book will be released on January 6, 2026.

Christmas Wishes and Accountant Kisses (Letters to Mrs. Claus #12) by Madeline Smith-the perfect Christmas novella. I enjoyed this one so much.

Non-Fiction

Rebel Without a Crew by Robert Rodriguez-this was absolutely fascinating. I would definitely recommend the audiobook of this one as it is read by the author and he adds side-notes throughout the book.

Lillian Trasher: The Greatest Wonder in Egypt by Janet and Geoff Benge-wow! What an amazing biography about a fascinating lady!

Roar Like a Lion: 90 Devotions for a Courageous Life by Levi Lusko-this was a great devotional to read to the kids!

And finally, I have one more category on my list for this year. This is my favorite read of the entire year. 

The winner is……

My Phony Valentine (Holidays with Hart #1) by Courtney Walsh

For anyone who has been keeping track, yes, this is my third year in a row picking a Courtney Walsh book as my favorite. She writes such great books.

There was close competition this year as I also really loved Definitely Maybe Not a Detective and Christmas Wishes and Accountant Kisses, but My Phony Valentine was my favorite.

You can’t go wrong with any of the books I have listed though. There were definitely some great reads this year.

So, there you have it-my favorite books of 2025!

I hope you found this interesting, and that you maybe even found a new book or two to read for next year.

Have a great day and stayed tuned for lots more reading posts in 2026!