What I Read In November 2025
I read 8 pretty phenomenal books in November, and DNF’d one. Let’s talk about it!
November ended up being a big fantasy month for me, with Mistborn, Black Sun and Quicksilver being 3 of my 4 physical reads. I also threw in 2 nonfiction books, both of which were phenomenal. Round it out with a steamy romance and two literary fiction novels, and we’ve got one well-founded month of reading in my books!
I really enjoyed every book listed here, but some clear front-runners for me were The Push by Ashley Audrain; Women, Race & Class by Angela Y. Davis; The Year I Met My Brain by Matilda Boseley; and Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse.
I did not finish one book I started in November: Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan. I tried to listen to this on audio but found the dialogue to be very stilted and unrealistic. After about 45-minutes I decided to put it down because I just couldn’t look past it. That said, I may attempt to read it physically in the future, and I’d still strongly recommend folks check it out for themselves!
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I went into this book completely blind and had no idea what to expect. What I found was a twisting, turning, epic story looking at motherhood, grief and self-reflection. The story follows a young woman after the birth of her baby girl, who ends up being very different from what she expected, especially when “mysterious accidents” often happen when the young girl is around. Interwoven in her story is the story of her grandmother and mother, two women who faced their own hurdles with motherhood, ultimately affecting the storyline from a generational aspect. I’d strongly recommend this to anyone who likes literary fiction with a hint of mystery.
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It’s no surprise that this collection of essays was profound, critical and insightful because Angela Davis is one of the most profound, critical and insightful writers I’ve ever read. Through 13 chapters Davis explores womanhood in and post-slavery, class and race in the early women’s rights and suffrage movements, women in the early communist movement, rape and racism and so many other important topics. This is the type of book I think should be required reading because everyone should learn this history.
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This book has been recommended to me countless times over the past year or so, and for good reason. The Wedding People is totally unlike anything I expected it to be, and it continued to surprise me throughout the story. It follows a middle-aged woman who goes to a fancy hotel to end her life, only to find she’s the only guest not at the hotel for a wedding. She and the bride find they can’t stop confiding in one another, and before she knows it, the main character realizes not only does she want to live - she wants to change the way she lives. I really enjoyed this one and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys literary fiction!
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This book is perhaps the most impactful one (for me, personally) that I’ve read all year. dMatilda Boseley writes about her late-stage ADHD diagnosis as a woman, interweaving personal anecdotes with research and history. As someone who was diagnosed with ADHD earlier this year, this was one of the best books I could have read to understand my diagnosis, how I was missed for decades and what this new information means for my life moving forward. It’s a book I wish I could have all of my friends and family read so that they can better understand my brain and why I do certain things the way I do. I strongly recommend this to anyone who has ADHD, suspects they have ADHD, or who loves someone with ADHD. It’s a great audiobook (read by the author in her Australian accent) and is at turns very funny and informative. Absolutely loved it.
We have copies coming! Check back soon.
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It’s official: this is my favorite Ali Hazelwood, and I’m saying that as someone who really did not like the main female character for the first quarter or so of the book. I could not get enough of the connection between Scarlett and Lukas, the two main love interests. This book was essentially 50 Shades of Grey done right, and with way more plot. I’d recommend for anyone looking for a steamy romance!
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I re-read this book for the second time and enjoyed it just as much as my first read-through. The Mistborn series stands as one of my all-time favorite fantasy series. I love the world, the magic system, the main character, Vin, and really everything about it. Mistborn is the type of book you can tell Brandon Sanderson truly enjoyed writing, and it makes me truly enjoy reading it. It’s a fun story, but that doesn’t mean it lacks in depth. It’s truly just a joy to read. I strongly recommend this trilogy to anyone looking for fantasy recommendations!
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Fun fact: A regular of ours came in earlier this year and absolutely gushed about Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse, so I added it to my list and put it in our fantasy section. Since then, I’ve had countless others recommend it to me as well, and now I can see why. It’s a phenomenal fantasy that hooks you right from the first chapter. The world is inspired by civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas, and it was a breath of fresh air to read a fantasy that’s not about the Fae and based on European mythology. The story is told from three POVs, which I absolutely loved, and ends in a cliff hanger, but not to worry - this trilogy is completed, so no long waits for the second or third books. Definitely recommend for my fantasy lovers out there! I’ll be picking up book #2 real soon ;)
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Don’t come for me romantasy lovers - I finally read Quicksliver, and while I thought it was fine, I definitely don’t think it’s anything groundbreaking. It’s a fun romantasy and the storyline absolutely kept me engaged, but I could not STAND Kingfisher, the male main character, through this entire book, and I found his actions pretty inexcusable, even after learning more of his back story. I loved many of the other characters, including the female main character, but his actions made it hard to enjoy the book at times. That said, I did enjoy reading this book! I just wouldn’t rank this as my favorite romantasy, and it didn’t quite live up to the hype for me. I’d still absolutely recommend it to romantasy lovers who enjoy Fae/Human worlds colliding and fated mate tropes.
Need other recommendations? Ask me for some ideas!