This year was great for book releases, and we were blessed with so many wonderful titles. Before the year is up, though, and we enter 2026, which is expected to be just as good a year, let’s not forget what amazing books we read in 2025. From dystopian to fantasy to fiction to romance, there is something for everyone in this article. Together, we are diving into unforgettable fictional worlds from books released in 2025.
We visited a whole new Panem.
We were graced with another step into the world of Panem and District 12 with Suzanne Collins’ Sunrise on the Reaping. It follows one of our beloved characters, Haymitch, who is a teenager and gets reaped to be in the Hunger Games. It is a story full of heartbreak, nostalgia, resilience, and lovable characters, making it a memorable world to return to. There is nothing like coming back to a world we loved when we were younger.
We explored Navarre and the Empyrean in more depth.
We finally left Basgiath College and explored more of Navarre and the Empyrean in Rebecca Yarros’ book Onyx Storm. It continues Violet’s story as she builds an army against the Venin and finds a cure. It is full of exploration, adventure, and twists, making you feel like riding an emotional dragon… rollercoaster. We get to see more than we have seen so far in her books, and it is a beautiful and dangerous world that any dragon lover out there would love to be a part of (safely, of course).
We visited a cute coffee shop in Cinnamon Springs.
Cinnamon Springs is a cute small town that we got introduced to this year from Kat T. Masen’s How to Break My Heart. There is nothing more small-town than an enemies-to-lovers story where the female main character, Eva, owns a bakery with her one best friend, while her other one is getting married last minute. It is full of community and history, with no drama whatsoever… right? It is the perfect cozy town to cuddle up with and dive into.
We went back in time in New York.
In Kate Belli’s The Gallery Assistant, we are taken back to the early 2000s in Brooklyn, New York. Side by side with Chloe, the protagonist, as we solve a murder that happened to an artist her gallery had signed. We travel on the subways, through the bars, and through the different cities of New York as Chloe tries to prove to everyone that she is not misremembering things, knows what happens, and has to solve it. There is nothing quite like murder mysteries in New York. Learn more about this book by checking out our featured review!
We joined writers on Little Crescent Island.
Two writers meet on Little Crescent Island in Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry. The sunshine woman, Alice, and the grumpy man, Hayden, are together on this beautiful island, writing a biography on a girl no one has seen in years. On this sunny and adorable island, we enjoy a sunshine/grumpy romance, and work breaks down a story we aren’t getting in full. What is more enticing than two opposites working on a book about a woman on an island?
We saw a creepy mystery in the Virginia mountains.
Deep in the Virginia mountains is a small valley known as Wyatt Valley. In Megan Miranda’s book You Belong Here, we follow Beckett as she does everything she can to avoid Wyatt Valley and the horrors that happened there when she was in college, but we go back once her daughter applies to college there. We soon learn that this perfect college town isn’t what it seems; instead, we have entered a town with a dark past and many secrets.
We saw Stanford’s campus.
We join swimmer Scarlett as she works towards med school and disciplined gold medalist Lukas at Stanford in Ali Hazelwood’s Deep End. Ever wanted to know the pressures of sports and academics in a rigorous school like Stanford? Now you can, as we watch Scarlett and Lukas from an “arrangement” that only heats up as the Olympics draw near. It is the perfect world for academic rivals and competitive people.
We traveled in space with NASA.
We traveled from Texas to NASA and space with Joan, as described in Taylor Jenkins Reid’s book, Atmosphere. As a professor in 1980, Joan was content until she saw that NASA needed people and knew she had found her passion. We visit space training programs as Joan prepares for a life-changing trip to space that changes everything. We get to see into the past and Joan’s exploration of space, and it is perfect for all who would love to see space from our couches.
We saw the New Republic and Ark Island again.
Another nostalgic world we re-enter is the New Republic and Ark Island from Watch Me by Tahereh Mafi. We follow James, Aaron’s younger brother, as he tries to break into the evil regime’s base on Ark Island and Rosabelle, a trained assassin on Ark Island. We see more of the Restablishment in their homeland, a place that Aaron could never breach. It is a new world, wrapped in nostalgia. How can one say no?
We visited Rose Hill for the last time.
We visit spicy, emotional, and small-town Rose Hill for the last time in Elsie Silver’s Wild Card. Nothing is more fun than watching Gwen, the female main character, resist her ex-boyfriend’s father, Bash. Rose Hill is the perfect world if you need drama-filled romances, and you get that here. Bash is trying to rebuild a relationship with his son, while Gwen is trying not to disrespect her ex-boyfriend by being with his dad. However, can desire really be shoved away for the sake of everyone around them? Rose Hill’s magic might just take effect instead.
These were some of the fun, adventurous, and romantic worlds we could visit in 2025. There is a world out there for everyone to read, and in 2026, more are to come. Maybe it is even time for a reread!
Want to learn more about Kat T. Masen’s book? Click here.
For the team’s recommended books released in 2025, click here.
