I have just looked through my list of reads for 2025 and realised I read 47 books. Which is 20 books less than I did in 2024! Between our house build and move, podcast launch and studying to become a s-x counsellor this year, I had less reading time. I also think it is because my wonderful book club has a new rule that dictates that we can only buy books that score higher than a 4 on Good reads, which means that we have had some cracking reads but they certainly aren’t always ‘light’ reads.
I have also found my phone to be particularly distracting this year. It has been awfully consuming and I have realised that I use it as a numbing tool when I am feeling overwhelmed by the traumatic stories in my Pelvic Health Practice. Phew, I have never heard such awfully traumatic information as I have this year. 2025 has yielded some of the most complex and awful emotional and s-xual trauma for the ladies I treat and I just can’t seem to not let it affect me. My practice was also extremely busy this year and I taught a 2 day face to face Physio course most months, so it was unsurprising really that when October hit, I had a bit of an emotional all fall down which lead to some big and scary (but good) decisions for me for 2026.
My brain being overloaded with heavy information has also resulted in me seeking out unputdownable light rom com’s. Books where I know they will end up together, and usually with some saucy spice in there too! Reading a number of books in this genre this year has also helped as suggestions to my ladies battling with low libido! Not many of them made my 5 star list though!
We have also had a wonderfully busy past few weeks getting set up and hosting my sister’s Wedding on our home farm which left no time for reading!
26 of the 47 books I read this year I gave 5 stars. I will also share the ones I gave 4 stars (as I know there are some in my 4 star list that other people loved and I didn’t love enough to give a 5 star).
I also have a few audible reads on my 5 star list as I listened to them on my commute to and from work.
My book of the year was The Many Lives of Mama Love, by Lara Love Hardin (I know a few of you also have it at the top of your list, and then there were a few of you to my shock and horror that didn’t love it as much!)
My second was My Friends by Fredrick Backman. I don’t actually know why that book resonated so much with me.
So here we go. My top reads of 2025.
The Many Lives of Mama Love. This is the true story of a soccer Mum in the US who becomes a heroin addict and lands up in jail. I could not put it down. I hated her and loved her depending where we were in the story. I honestly can’t understand who two of my friends who usually love the same books as me didn’t like it!
My Friends. A deeply moving story of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life twenty-five years later. I loved this.
The Lion Women of Tehran. A tale of friendship, betrayal and redemption set against three transformative decades in Tehran, Iran. This was wonderful.
Broken Country. Beth’s first love returns to the village she has never left. His family had never considered her good enough and she is happily married to another man, but he needs help with his son. I read this in one go!
Eloquent Body. Oh my goodness I LOVED this book so much. Musings and reflections from a South African Doctor who seems to be as fascinated by how the body holds trauma as I am. I found this in the library at the Buddhist Retreat Centre in May this year and devoured it. I have tried to order my own copy, but have been unable to find one! My internet stalking of Dawn reveals that she runs writing retreats, I would love to attend one in 2026!
The God of the Woods. Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.
The Gift or Rain. Set during the tumult of World War II, on the lush Malayan island of Penang, The Gift of Rain tells a riveting and poignant tale about a young man caught in the tangle of wartime loyalties and deceits. I battled knowing in this book if I loved or hated the protagonist. I also spent a huge amount of time googling Penang island as found the context the book was set in so fascinating!
All the Wicked Girls. My 2024 book of the year was All the colours of the Dark, also by Chris Whitaker. Oh my goodness CAN THIS MAN WRITE A STORY. I would love to meet the man behind these stories! Everyone loves Summer Ryan. A model student and musical prodigy, she’s a ray of light in the struggling small town of Grace, Alabama – especially compared to her troubled sister, Raine. And then Summer goes missing.
We Begin at the End. Another incredible book by Chris Whitaker! His ability to create engrossing stories set in small towns with characters whose relationships span generations is pure genius. Duchess Day Radley is a thirteen-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Rules are for other people. She is the fierce protector of her five-year-old brother, Robin, and the parent to her mother, Star, a single mom incapable of taking care of herself, let alone her two kids. Highly recommend you read this!
The Favourites. This is the first novel I have read about professional ice skaters and I loved it! I also liked how it was written. If you enjoyed Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid, I think you will love this too!
Speak to me of Home. I had high hopes for this book as I loved American Dirt by her! And it did not disappoint.
On her wedding day in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1968, Rafaela Acuña y Daubón has mild misgivings, but she marries Peter Brennan Jr. anyway, in a blaze of romantic optimism. She has no way of knowing how dramatically her life will change when she uproots her young family to start over in the American Midwest, unleashing a fleet of disappointments.
The Sex Lives of African Women. One of my very intelligent and well read patients suggested I read this book when I told her I was embarking on my s-x counselling course. Wow did it open my eyes. It was the most brilliant starting point for some of the content and case studies we covered in my course. Each chapter is a stand alone story and while it won’t appeal to everyone it got a 5 stars from me.
Atmosphere. I did not expect to love this as much as I did! Women astronauts, the love of an auntie. The meaning of life. Is there anything that Jenkins Reid can’t write about? This is spectacular! My other faves of hers are Daisy Jones and the six as I already mentioned and The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo. This is the Taylor I would most like to meet!
Why good Sex Matters. Again maybe not a read that will appeal to everyone, but I heard Dr Nan Wise speaking on a podcast and then ordered her book where she discusses her research on doing brain MRI’s of women while they orgasmed. Absolutely fascinating research and I also just like her approach life!
Mating in Captivity. My s-x counselling course catapulted me head first into having the biggest girl crush on Esther Perel. I have listed to hours and hours of her podcasts and I am fascinated by how she thinks and approaches her clients problems. I loved her book!
Heart Bones. Ok now we start with the books that I read to distract myself when overwhelmed and these were the ones that truly did the trick and I gave 5 stars! We know Colleen can tell a gripping story and this was unputdownable!
Just for the Summer. I don’t even remember reading this and just had to google the storyline as I see it on my 5 star list! The following does however ring a bell. ‘Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it’s now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They’ll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out, and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea… and it just might work’. Thanks Goodreads!
Wild Love. Saucy writing with characters who have good depth to them! An easy romantic escape. Wild Eyes in the same series I gave 5 stars to too!
The Girl with the Suitcase. Lesley Pearce is another author who you know you can rely on for a good page turner! When Mary meets a glamorous stranger named Elizabeth she realises their lives couldn’t be more different. Elizabeth is beautiful and charming, about to set off on a dazzling adventure to Ireland where she’s inherited a grand house. Mary, shy and meek, has nothing to look forward to but the dreary life of a maid in Hampstead.. And then things change!
Funny Story. Emily Henry just writes books I love. Great characters and romantic stories and I will forever read anything she publishes!
The Love Hypothesis. Ali Hazelwood is my new favourite romantic saucy writer of the year! While I didn’t give any of her other books 5 stars, they are just wonderful easy reads! I just leant this to a friend who hasn’t read a book in years and wants to kick of her reading career and read something gripping!
These were my 5 star Audible listens:
Four Thousand Weeks by Oilver Burkman. We likely have 4000 weeks on this earth, how do we make them count? I love his outlook and observations on life!
The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins. If you have managed to read this far then you have likely already read this book this year so I don’t even need to explain it!
Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness by David Treleaven. While mindfulness is so beneficial for many people, we can not deny that for some people it can be very triggering, and as mindfulness teachers we need to be very aware of this.
Healing Sexual Trauma by Peter Levine. A world leader in understanding, acknowledging and treating trauma, this was a great listen in my line of work.
And these are my 4 star reads:
The Dilemma by BA Paris. Read this early in the year and only gave 4 stars, but I have thought about this story since!
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. I had such high hopes of a 5 star here as I ADORED Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by her!
Onyx Storm, by Rebecca Yarros. The Fourth Wing was by far the best one!
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. I know lots of you loved this.
The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center. This was sweet.
Open When (audible) by Dr Julie Smith. I far preferred her first book.
And Hear Me Roar, Abi Dare. I thought Girl with the louding voice was much better.
The Briar Club, by Kate Quinn. I know others REALLY loved this. Maybe I would have preferred it if I had read it all in one go?
The Wedding People by Alison Espach, phew this was too slow for me.
The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons. This was sweet.
Love, Theoretically, by Ali Hazelwood. This was great. just not 5 star great.
True Colours by Kristin Hannah. The Women is still my favourite of hers!
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. I think I read this too slowly over the busy-ness of the Wedding! As I know it’s been book of the year for some of you!
Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood. Ali I will still read all your books, even if I don’t give them 5 stars!
Well well done if you have made it this far! I am looking forward to more reading in 2026 on my new paper white kindle I got for Christmas!
What were your favourite reads of 2025?