Favorite Reads of 2025
- jodygerbig
- 21 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Clearly, this year I—and many of my colleagues—were into speculative, gothic stories. But how appropriate for the season, as A Christmas Carol is one such tale! Gothic stories are perfect for reading on cold, dark nights, next to a cozy fire or under the covers.
Below are my favorite reads of the year, in no particular order. Choose something from the list to buy for an appropriate reader. Enjoy.
Maybe not for everyone, but I loved this weird speculative horror so so much. Reminiscent of the eerie ‘90s movie, The Abyss, it tells the story of a researcher Miri who returns from a deep-sea dive traumatized by something she can’t discuss with her partner. Whatever happened down there, it changed her. A bit slow but short, this novella is for a niche crowd for sure. I savored it. Great for book clubs—so much to discuss!
Atmospheric and exotic, this literary suspense feels Gothic and haunting, the characters trapped on an Antarctic island about to be swallowed by the sea, charged with the task of protecting the world’s seed bank, even as every scientist has left. When a woman washes ashore, claiming to be searching for her husband, and the family remaining on the island refuses to give her straight answers, tension ensues. Though I was disappointed with the end of this book, which should have (from an editor’s perspective) ended differently, I thought the rest was worth reading.
An underrated gem read by my book club and recommended by a friend, this literary drama follows Ruth, whose one goal is to love her broken family into some form of wholeness. Both sad and hopeful, haunting and beautiful, the main character reminds me of Olive Kitteridge, tough but unwilling to harden into decay.
An oldy but goody you can now buy from your library for a few bucks, this tome took a while to read, but the saga was worth the extra time living with the Barnes family, a dysfunctional, hapless yet funny Irish gang. Told from each of their perspectives, the novel analyzes where the family went wrong and when, all leading to one decisive moment, which allows readers to decide for themselves whether they will—or can—redeem themselves.
When a nine-year-old goes missing, and the father was the last to see her, everyone has questions. But the stories everyone tells police about Avery’s past and the day she disappeared are not so clear-cut. Who’s lying? They can’t all be telling the truth. For domestic suspense fans, this one will keep you guessing and asking who you can trust, the badly behaved adults living in this upscale neighborhood or the sneaky, insecure kids who detest them. A fun, fast read (and for the writers, a pantsed thriller.)
A favorite among my writing friends, this #ReadwithJenna Book Club Pick details Phoebe Stone’s last hurrah at the grand Cornwall Inn during the weekend of a wedding. Mistaken for a guest, Phoebe becomes one of the wedding people, and each day she hangs with them is one in which she must postpone her own demise. Heartwarming, funny, and different, this book is a great holiday read.
SPECIAL RECOMMENDATIONS, books written by clients/friends—I have to plug my friends’ books! Even so, each one would make my list on its own.
I read an early version of this novel by friend and critique partner, Brianne Sommerville, and I was up late reading even when it was a rough draft. This page-turning suspense, involving a dead girl’s diary, an old house in need of cleaning, a small town, and an outsider experiencing strange events, has a gothic mood, perfect for Christmas.
I have read this book over several iterations, but I recognized its potential when I heard Sarah pitch the concept years ago. As smart and savvy as Sarah is, I knew her original story would be groundbreaking.Dating rented corpses? Sure, why not? Liv, a dating app that matches people with dead bodies is the hot new trend. But this story isn’t just about how dating has gone off the deep end. It’s a commentary on the dangers of venture capitalism. A darkly funny and poignant speculative book-club horror, this novel will have you cringing, laughing, and questioning who we let lead us into the future. Keep an eye out for this one, launching in February and destined for endless related projects.
We’ve all been there: silenced at a meeting, made to feel like we are trespassing in our own homes, our leaders acting more like prison wardens than trusted guardians. It’s that universal touch that makes readers both cringe and root for the heroin in the first scenes of Katy’s timely story about a New England public school gone authoritarian and one single mother’s attempt to break that system. Addressing misogyny, parental responsibility, corruption, and education, this propulsive page-turner has something for anyone.
When Bren Wendell writes a column about her dream, she thinks it will flop. Instead, it goes viral, thousands claiming they’ve had the same dream. When hysterics break out, people claiming the dream is a sign, Bren investigates further, discovering perhaps too much about human tendencies along the way.Well, Well, Well is a smart, tense speculative book-club novel about how chaos breaks loose. All it takes is one enigma to start public panic. In the vein of Kevin Wilson’s Now is Not the Time to Panic, Jody’s most recent novel will keep you thinking about our collective unconscious, responsibility to the truth, and the role of media in shaping our actions. Make no mistake, though Jody is a mostly indie author, her work is tight, sharp, and highly undervalued. This woman needs an agent and a Big Five publisher!
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