Showing posts with label Must Read Books. Show all posts

Book Bloggers’ Picks: One Must-Read Book We Loved This Year

There’s something magical about discovering your next great read through a fellow book lover’s recommendation. Whether it’s a story that broke your heart, a novel that made you laugh out loud, or a book that reminded you why you love reading in the first place, those personal favourites always stay with us.

This year, I’ve invited a few wonderful book bloggers from across the community to share one must-read book that truly stood out for them. From heartwarming contemporary fiction to gripping thrillers, these are the stories that made a lasting impression.

So, put the kettle on, settle in, and get ready to add a few more titles to your reading list — because these are the books we couldn’t stop thinking about.

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Must-Read Books Recommended by Bloggers

My Pick: The Summer Dare by Joanna Dodd.

About the book:

The Summer Dare by Joanna Dodd book cover

Six weeks of friendship. A lifetime paying for it.

They were the cool girls. Two years older, oozing glamour. She could prove herself worthy of their friendship. She could do the dare.

Twenty-five years later, Lucy has a perfect life. She is still friends with the cool girls. All except one. Maddie. The one they never saw again after the dare. They don't talk about her. They don’t think about her. It is as though she never existed until…

Lucy gets a text from an unknown number. Why didn't you tell them where I was?

The past hurtles into the present and secrets push their way to the surface.

Who is the message from? Is Maddie back? Or is someone else set on exposing the truth and seeking revenge?

A gripping domestic psych thriller perfect for fans of Shari Lapena, S.E. Lynes and Lisa Jewell.

Why You Should Read It:

"You know when a book catches you a bit off guard – in the best possible way? That was my experience with The Summer Dare by Joanna Dodd. I went in with no real expectations and came out with plenty to think about. It’s one of those stories that quietly gets under your skin – not loud or flashy, but full of little moments that stay with you."

Read my full review of The Summer Dare here.

Blogger: Sifa from Sifa Elizabeth Reads

Her Pick: That'll Teach Her by Maz Evans

About the book:

That'll Teach Her by Maz Evans book cover

A headmistress is dead. The circumstances are suspicious.
And as every parent knows, being on the school group chat can be murder...

As educators go, Claudia Stitchwell makes Miss Hannigan look like Miss Honey.
But when the reviled headteacher drops dead in the school hall, a group of sceptical parents suspect the nut allergy explanation doesn't add up - they believe someone wanted to teach Miss Stitchwell a lesson.

Only four people could have killed Stitchwell: Hattie, the adored school cook; Kiera, the hard-working teaching assistant; Clive, the loathed school bursar and Ben, the popular deputy head. All of them are liars... but only one is the murderer.

Piecing together evidence from the daily drama and drudgery of the parents' group chat, local press, police reports, school newsletters, and good, old-fashioned gossip, the determined detective parents are doing their homework to crack the case.

Will you spot the clues? Can you deduce whodunnit? And for the love of all things holy, does anyone have this week's spellings?

Why You Should Read It:

“One of my favourite books this year that I don't hear enough people talking about! This is a murder mystery where the parents' group chat get sleuthing!”

Check out her full review of That'll Teach Her here.

Find Sifa online: @SifaPoulton

Blogger: Meshi from Twirling Book Princess

Her Pick: I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com by Kimberly Lemming

About the book:

I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com by Kimberly Lemming book cover

A hilarious and sexy romance about a woman who gets dropped on a strange planet only to fall for not one, but two, aliens, from the author of I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf.

Dorothy Valentine is close to getting her PhD in wildlife biology when she’s attacked by a lion. On the bright side, she’s saved! On the not-so-bright side, it’s because they’re abducted by aliens. In her scramble to escape, Dory and the lion commandeer an escape pod and crash-land on an alien planet that has...dinosaurs?

Dory and her new lion bestie, Toto, are saved in the nick of time by a mysterious and sexy alien, Sol. On their new adventure, they team up with the equally hot, equally dangerous Lok, who may or may not be a war criminal. Whether it be trauma, fate, or intrigue, Dory can’t resist the attraction that’s developing in their trio....

As this ragtag group of misfits explore their new planet, Dory learns more about how and why they’ve all ended up together, battles more prehistoric creatures than she imagined (she imagined...zero), and questions if she even wants to go back home to Earth in this hilarious and steamy alien romance adventure comedy romp.

Why You Should Read It:

“Chaos. There is a lot of things going on and at times I was just running along laughing and giggling and wondering if things could get even more chaotic. And yes, yes that was possible. If you thought getting abducted by aliens, landing on a planet, getting mates, then a whole plot with aliens coming after you + evil (or are they) aliens trying to capture you and your mates, not to mention all the dinosaurs. Be prepared to get chaos-fied. But in a good way.”

Check out her full review of I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com here.

Find Mehsi online: @Mehsi_Hime

Blogger: Ester from Cozy with Books

Her Pick: Hard Reset by Rachel E. Beck

About the book:

Glitch is out of options. The money has run out, her old enemy is closing in, and winter in Neosaka threatens her survival. When an old acquaintance calls to offer her a job that will solve all her problems, Glitch knows it's a trick to lure her out into the open. Unfortunately, she's going to have to take it anyway.

Armed with her hacking expertise, her distrust, and a chronically cheerful AI, Glitch has one night to steal a computer program from the heart of Neosaka's largest gaming corporation and deliver it to the buyer by dawn. It's only after she's committed to the job that she realizes her own friendly-but-violent team may be as much a threat to her as the shadowy mercenaries hunting her across the city.

Why You Should Read It:

“It felt like I just started and already devoured the entire book… Every time The Glitch Log series makes it onto my upcoming TBR, it’s always amongst my most anticipated reads of the year and they never fail me either.”

Check out her full review of Hard Reset here.

Find Ester online: @BooksCozy

Blogger: Carol from Reading Ladies

Her Pick: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

About the book:

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans book cover

Throughout her life Sybil Van Antwerp has used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings around half past ten Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.

Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has. A mother, grandmother, wife, divorcée, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.

Why You Should Read It:

“The Correspondent is a compelling, character-driven story. I found it unputdownable and read it in two days. I love complicated, complex, and unique characters, and Sybil has secured a spot on my list of favorites.”

Check out her full review of The Correspondent here.

Find Carol online: @ReadingLadiesBC

Blogger: Cat from The Strawberry Post

Her Pick: Bad Badger – A Love Story by Maryrose Wood & Giulia Ghigini

About the book:

Bad Badger – A Love Story by Maryrose Wood & Giulia Ghigini book cover

For fans of Odder and Skunk and Badger comes a heartwarming story of an unlikely friendship between a gull and a badger.

Septimus is not good at being a badger. He adores the sunset. He dreams of going to Venice. And he lives alone in a charming cottage by the sea. He’s not unhappy with his tidy, solitary life, but there are times when being so bad at badgerdom makes him wonder if he’s even a badger at all.

When a gull of very few words lands on the windowsill, Septimus leaps at the possibility of friendship. However, his new confidant soon goes missing and Septimus is bereft. Determined to find his best—and only—friend, he ventures into new territory and encounters a cast of surprising characters. Can Septimus be as brave and bighearted as he’ll need to be to find Gully? Or is he really a bad badger after all?

Bad Badger is a young middle-grade novel about badgers, gulls, and learning that staying true to yourself means knowing who you are to begin with.

Why You Should Read It:

“It’s a fun story with a beautiful message of acceptance and friendship. It’s also just a brilliant and slightly different story to anything I’ve ever read before, Septimus’s character will really grow on you, as will Gully’s, and it’s a delightfully illustrated book which I’m sure many children (and older) will enjoy reading and a favourite of mine I’ll certainly be reading again.”

Check out her full review of Bad Badger – A Love Story here.

Find Cat online: @TStrawberryPost

Blogger: Annie from Left on the Shelf

Her Pick: The Self-Made Saint by Alexandra Addams

About the book:

The Self-Made Saint by Alexandra Addams book cover

Judith Drainger has always played life by her own rules. But these days life seems to be playing her right back.

Divorced, orphaned and forcibly retired, 59-year-old Judith is determined to seize the opportunity to leave her broken home in London and move across the world to Australia. Here she reunites with her estranged adult daughter Cassandra - only to land smack bang in the emotional quagmire of her daughter's anger and abandonment issues. To make matters worse, Judith can see her new granddaughter Emily has a serious health issue, but her offers of help are ignored and rejected.

When an accident knocks her off her feet, Judith is swamped by the kindly care of her nosy new neighbors. Yet, when given a chance to become a part of their community, Judith shocks even herself by making a series of unforgivable blunders. Realizing if she's to have any hope of reuniting her family, this well-meaning but stubborn curmudgeon must learn the power of saying 'sorry' - and what it actually means to be a good person.

A tender and uplifting novel championing the complex realities of family, solidarity and friendship.

Why You Should Read It:

“I enjoyed being immersed in the environment and the characters, both Judith and those around her. The Australian setting was perfect and well portrayed. This was a fabulous book to read.”

Check out her full review of The Self-Made Saint here.

Find Annie online: @leftontheshelf1

From heartwarming contemporary novels to thrilling mysteries and delightfully quirky stories, these must-read books of the year showcase the incredible range of fiction that captivated readers in 2025. Whether you’re looking for your next page-turner, a story that will make you laugh or cry, or a book that will stay with you long after the last page, these blogger picks are sure to inspire your TBR.

We’d love to know — what’s your must-read book of the year? Drop your recommendation in the comments with your pick! Let’s keep the bookish conversation going.

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Must Read Books

10 Amazing Thrillers You Need To Read

I love a good thriller. Whether it's a domestic thriller, psychological thriller or any other kind of thriller, this genre is one of my favourites.

Over the years I've had the pleasure of reading some books in this genre that really had that extra wow factor and left me feeling like 5 stars just wasn't enough. For this post I'm showcasing some of the best thrillers I've read.

High Rated Thrillers Worth Reading

The following books are listed in no particular order. All are worthy of your TBR list 😉

All Our Darkest Secrets by Martyn Ford

Book Club Kit - My Review - Amazon - Goodreads

He’d do anything to protect his wife. But what if that meant making the biggest mistake of all?

James Casper is one of the good guys. A DEA agent. A loyal husband. With his sights set on the man at the top of the city’s opioid crisis, James is about to make the biggest bust of his career.

Then his beloved wife Rosie does something terrible, and James must choose: report it―or help her. He knows how this works, and he tells himself he’s smart enough to get away with murder. But James’s worst enemy knows what they have done―and he won’t hesitate to use it to manipulate him.

James is dragged into a dark and dangerous world. As events spiral and loyalties are tested, he realizes there’s only one way out. And that is to be even more ruthless than the people he’s working for.

Whatever happens, no matter how far he falls, at least he’ll still have Rosie.

Won’t he?

Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson

Book Club Kit - My Review - Amazon - Goodreads

Years ago, bookseller and mystery aficionado Malcolm Kershaw compiled a list of the genre’s most unsolvable murders, those that are almost impossible to crack—which he titled “Eight Perfect Murders”—chosen from among the best of the best including Agatha Christie’s A. B. C. Murders, Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train, Ira Levin’s Deathtrap, A. A. Milne's The Red House Mystery, Anthony Berkeley Cox's Malice Aforethought, James M. Cain's Double Indemnity, John D. MacDonald's The Drowner, and Donna Tartt's The Secret History.

But no one is more surprised than Mal, now the owner of the Old Devils Bookstore in Boston, when an FBI agent comes knocking on his door one snowy day in February. She’s looking for information about a series of unsolved murders that look eerily similar to the killings on Mal’s old list. And the FBI agent isn’t the only one interested in this bookseller who spends almost every night at home reading. The killer is out there, watching his every move—a diabolical threat who knows way too much about Mal’s personal history, especially the secrets he’s never told anyone, even his recently deceased wife.

To protect himself, Mal begins looking into possible suspects . . . and sees a killer in everyone around him. But Mal doesn’t count on the investigation leaving a trail of death in its wake. Suddenly, a series of shocking twists leaves more victims dead—and the noose around Mal’s neck grows so tight he might never escape.

Poison Orchids by Sarah A. Denzil & Anni Taylor

My Review - Amazon - Goodreads

Two broke young backpackers are grateful to find fruitpicking work at a farm, but something seems very strange about the owner and his workers.

Backpackers Gemma and Hayley hitchhike for days to make it to the remote Llewellyn Farm. The owner, Tate Llewellyn, welcomes them in. Kind and charismatic, Tate seems to spend most of his time cultivating rare orchids in his greenhouse.

The weeks go on, a blur of fruit-picking, parties, campfires and wading beneath waterfalls in the nearby hot springs. Tate calls the girls his orchids...his pretty orchids...

Until the night the girls find themselves on a dark highway, bruised and bloodied.

How did everything go so wrong?

Senior Detective Bronwen McKay and psychologist Megan Arlotti question the terrified girls. But Hayley and Gemma are telling two very different stories of what happened to them over the past three months.

Which story is the truth and what are the girls afraid to tell?

Girl, 11 by Amy Suiter Clarke

My Review - Amazon - Goodreads

Elle Castillo once trained as a social worker, supporting young victims of violent crime. Now she hosts a popular true crime podcast that focuses on cold cases of missing and abducted children.

After four seasons of successfully solving these cases in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, Elle decides to tackle her white whale: The Countdown Killer. Twenty years ago, TCK was terrorizing the community, kidnapping and ritualistically murdering three girls over seven days, each a year younger than the last. Then, after he took his eleven-year-old victim, the pattern—and the murders—abruptly stopped. No one has ever known why.

When Elle follows up on a listener tip only to discover the man’s dead body, she feels at fault. Then, within days, a child is abducted—a young girl who seems to fit suspiciously into the TCK sequence halted decades before. While media and law enforcement long ago concluded that TCK had suicided, Elle has never believed TCK was dead. She had hoped her investigation would lay that suspicion to rest, but her podcast seems instead to be inciting new victims.

Stone Cold Heart by Caz Frear

My Review - Amazon - Goodreads

After a brief stint in the Mayor’s Office, Detective Constable Cat Kinsella is back at the London Metropolitan Police, wisecracking with her partner Luigi Parnell and trying to avoid the wrath of the boss, DI Kate Steele.

But for Cat and Parnell, it’s serious business when a young Australian woman turns up dead after a party thrown by her new boss. The initial investigation of Naomi Lockhart's murder points to Joseph Madden, the owner of a coffee shop around the corner from police headquarters. Madden insists he’s innocent, that he was home with his wife Rachel at the time of the murder. When police question her, Rachel contradicts his alibi, swearing that she was home alone.

While the team builds its case against Joseph, Cat is tasked with getting to the heart of the Maddens’ marriage. Cat knows that one of them is lying—but the question of which one, and why, is far more complicated than she could have expected. As she tries to balance the demands of the investigation with a budding romance and unresolved family drama, Cat has to decide how far she’ll go to keep her own past mistakes buried.

With her trademark wit and brilliant plotting, Caz Frear ratchets up the tension and keeps you guessing as she explores the secrets we keep from our loved ones—and the ones we’d kill to keep safe in the dark.

The Perfect Wife by JP Delaney

My Review - Amazon - Goodreads

Abbie awakens in a daze with no memory of who she is or how she landed in this unsettling condition. The man by her side claims to be her husband. He’s a titan of the tech world, the founder of one of Silicon Valley’s most innovative start-ups. He tells Abbie that she is a gifted artist, an avid surfer, a loving mother to their young son, and the perfect wife. He says she had a terrible accident five years ago and that, through a huge technological breakthrough, she has been brought back from the abyss.

She is a miracle of science.

But as Abbie pieces together memories of her marriage, she begins to question her husband’s motives—and his version of events. Can she trust him when he says he wants them to be together forever? And what really happened to her, half a decade ago?

Beware the man who calls you . . .

THE PERFECT WIFE

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

My Review - Amazon - Goodreads

A murder mystery novel inspired by Agatha Christie with a dash of Groundhog Day and a hint of Quantum Leap and Downton Abbey.

Aiden Bishop knows the rules. Evelyn Hardcastle will die every day until he can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest at Blackheath Manor. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others. With a locked-room mystery that Agatha Christie would envy, Stuart Turton unfurls a breakneck novel of intrigue and suspense.

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a breathlessly addictive mystery that follows one man's race against time to find a killer, with an astonishing time-turning twist that means nothing and no one are quite what they seem.

The Art of Fear by Pamela Crane

My Review - Amazon - Goodreads

A fearless detective. A stolen child. And a killer just getting started.

From USA Today best-selling author Pamela Crane comes a terrifying tale of small-town secrets and murder.

Ari Wilburn’s life ended long ago—the day she watched her little sister die in a tragic accident and did nothing to stop it. Crippled with self-blame and resented by her parents, she stumbles through life … and onto an unexpected clue that casts doubt on whether the death was accidental.

Now a psychological wreck, Ari joins a suicide support group where she meets Tina, a sex-enslaved escapee whose daughter is missing and her long-lost father dead. Suicide, police ruled it. But Tina suspects foul play. As a bond develops between the women in their shared loss, they’re dragged into playing a dangerous game with a killer.

A serial killer with a deadly message.

Faced with a murderous wake-up call and two possibly linked deaths, Ari’s investigation puts her next on the killer’s list. But she’s never been one to back down from a fight.

Needing closure, Ari must face her demons and the killer behind them … or lose everything she loves.

The Killing Game by JS Carol

My Review - Amazon - Goodreads

Imagine you are having lunch at an exclusive restaurant, filled with Hollywood’s hottest stars. And a masked gunman walks in and takes everyone hostage.

You must bargain for your life against a twisted individual who knows everything about you. He also has a bomb set to detonate if his heart rate changes.

If he dies. You die.

You have four hours to stay alive.

What would you do?

A heart-stopping thriller with plenty of twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat, for fans of Peter Swanson, Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay.

The Girl Before by JP Delaney

My Review - Amazon - Goodreads

Please make a list of every possession you consider essential to your life.

The request seems odd, even intrusive—and for the two women who answer, the consequences are devastating.

EMMA

Reeling from a traumatic break-in, Emma wants a new place to live. But none of the apartments she sees are affordable or feel safe. Until One Folgate Street. The house is an architectural masterpiece: a minimalist design of pale stone, plate glass, and soaring ceilings. But there are rules. The enigmatic architect who designed the house retains full control: no books, no throw pillows, no photos or clutter or personal effects of any kind. The space is intended to transform its occupant—and it does.

JANE

After a personal tragedy, Jane needs a fresh start. When she finds One Folgate Street she is instantly drawn to the space—and to its aloof but seductive creator. Moving in, Jane soon learns about the untimely death of the home’s previous tenant, a woman similar to Jane in age and appearance. As Jane tries to untangle truth from lies, she unwittingly follows the same patterns, makes the same choices, crosses paths with the same people, and experiences the same terror, as the girl before.

What are your favourite thrillers? Have you read any of these books? If yes, what did you think of them?