My 7 Five-Star Novels of 2025

With the caveat that I am drawn to a fairly specific kind of story—literary and historical fiction, usually centered on relationships or multigenerational families, which doesn’t always align with our sci-fi, fantasy, romance, or romantasy readership—these were my *only* five-star reads of the year. I like to think I’m pretty discriminating (only about 10-20 percent of what I read clears that bar), so if you’re into heartwarming, heartfelt, and occasionally heartbreaking fiction and looking for holiday recommendations, these were my favorites.

My Friends by Fredrik Backman — Backman has been my favorite author since The Beartown trilogy, and while I liked Anxious People quite a bit, My Friends is top-tier Backman. It’s about a painting. It’s about friendship. It’s about art. And yes, I know how sentimental Backman’s prose can be, but the man has an almost supernatural ability to land the exact line that makes my heart ache for his characters.

The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff — This one hits nearly all my preferences: a multigenerational love story about the marriage of Ryan and Lillian Bright, told from both of their perspectives and that of their daughter. Both enter the relationship carrying secrets—she has a son she’s hidden; he’s hiding an alcohol addiction—and those secrets eventually reverberate through their marriage and their child’s life. Good people, deeply flawed, doing the best they can.

Heart the Lover by Lily King — Lily King is often called the American Sally Rooney, and it’s easy to see why: her books focus on young relationships, sex, and are steeped in literary references. I happen to prefer King, and this tender novel about the lifelong relationship between Jordan and Yash, which begins in college, is exactly why.

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans — This book was recommended to me by every algorithm known to man, which is part of why I avoided it. The other reason was that I didn’t think I could be won over by a novel told entirely through the written correspondence of an elderly woman and the people in her life. I was wrong. It’s fantastic—very Backman-esque. A lonely, grumpy, bitter old woman finds happiness and connection in her twilight years. It takes a few pages to settle into the device, but once it clicks, it hits hard.

Buckeye by Patrick Ryan — For fans of Kristin Hannah, Buckeye is an excellent 2025 substitute. It follows three people in postwar America, bound together by secrets, an affair, and the quiet burden of guilt as they try to live with the choices they’ve made. This was my first Patrick Ryan novel, but the writing is so tender and so generous toward its characters that it definitely won’t be my last.

Home of the American Circus by Allison Larkin — I clearly have a type, which becomes impossible to ignore when everything’s laid out like this. This is another found-family novel about friendship, estrangement, and long-buried secrets that resurface when 35-year-old Freyan leaves Maine to return to her hometown of Somers, New York, to live in her estranged parents’ house. She reconnects with an old boyfriend and bonds with a niece who has long felt abandoned. Tonally, it fits right in with the rest of this list: warmhearted and lovely. If I had to choose a favorite among this year’s list, it’s probably this one.

Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson — Kevin Wilson is another favorite of mine, particularly for his ability to write about found families that are also genuinely funny. In this case, the family is literal: four half-siblings discover one another and embark on a road trip to find their estranged father, becoming a real family along the way.

Jeez. Seeing them all together like this is a little embarrassing. Am I estranged from my own family? Yes. Did I find a new one among my friends, a woman I met 23 years ago, and even this site? Also yes. But at least I’m not an elderly woman writing letters.