top 7 of 2025!

# 7 - old soul by susan barker

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

old soul gives me the same feeling of an expansive, frightening world that spans decades and continents that my #1 favorite novel of the year did (no spoilers!). i love time-hopping, jet-setting horror! the lore in this story is fascinating, it’s like discovering a pile of essays on a topic you wish you never found out about. i enjoyed the many tales of possession, all the connections and mysteries to make as the novel unfolds.

# 6 - brother by ania ahlborn

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

i had never read ania ahlborn before and wasn’t sure what to expect from her, but brother surprised me in all the best ways. i think it has mixed-to-positive reviews, but as a longtime lover of horror, i loved the twists on the slasher genre and the look into a severely fucked-up murder family. the story took me for a ride, the setting was beautifully oppressive southern heat all the way through, the relationships and romance moved me because i love seeing people against impossible odds. if you wish texas chainsaw massacre had a little more melodrama, check it out!

# 5 - bat eater and other names for cora zeng by kylie lee baker

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

this book had me in a grip! it’s nasty, it’s gag-inducing, it’s real about how humans can be awful. i am not the biggest fan of ghost stories, but these ghosts are truly menacing, and more interesting than the typical tales we see in american media. this one is a brutal read from the first chapter and certain parts of it are still seared in my brain. hungry ghosts and crime scene cleanup contributed to a uniquely disturbing and satisfying emotional arc with the main character and her dearly departed sister.

# 4 - the lesser dead by christopher buehlman

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

an audiobook performed by the author that truly goes for the jugular! ha-ha. this was a surprise hit for me. though i know it has a great reputation among horror fans, i was surprised by just how much i enjoyed this romp through the underbelly of new york. in my 2025 reads, i had an affinity for the idea of perception, and a lot of my favorites were stories that play with the information they feed to the reader. the lesser dead is a fantastic story to puzzle out, and listening to it in audio format adds a dimension that text couldn’t.

# 3 - the elementals by michael mcdowell

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

did you know a book can jumpscare you? i screamed out loud at a few of the frights in this novel. the original cover is absolutely gorgeous, by the way, i hope to find a copy of it someday. also, michael mcdowell wrote beetlejuice - fun fact. this book integrates sand in similar ways, transforming a beach vacation humid and dreamlike. the climax wasn’t my favorite, but the atmosphere and buildup had me flipping pages like a maniac, fearing the beach.

# 2 - i’m thinking of ending things by iain reid

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

i’m late to this one, of course, but this was a very powerful experience for me. i listened to the audiobook on my own, then watched the movie with my partner after finishing it. i’m not much of a crier, but we were both in tears for the end of the movie. it’s hard to explain why this is so powerful without saying too much, so let me say instead that i was just as terrified by the story as i was moved by it. it’s another tale of perception, even deception, and the masterful control over the atmosphere easily made it one of my favorite novels. i love what the movie adaptation added to the story too, which is rare for a book/film duo. the audiobook performance is impressive and has moments that made me gasp in fear! i don’t think this is everyone’s cup of tea but i love it, i was grateful i got to experience it the way i did.

# 1 - our share of night by mariana enriquez

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

one of the first novels i visited early in 2025 and one that will always stay with me. it truly set the tone for the year and i knew i'd have a hard time finding anything better. there are many novels that are dear to me, but this one surpassed them all to become my all time favorite. i wanted it to keep going forever because of the lush prose and brilliant atmosphere. the characters in our share are my favorite in all of literature because of how raw they are. the exploration of humanity with a backdrop of authoritarianism, religious fanaticism, and true objectification is divine. our share transported me to some of the darkest places i’d seen in literature and made me wish there was even more to read about in this horrid, depraved world. even after all of that, the enduring concept in this book, for me, is what love drives people to do in the worst circumstances.