Our favourite reads of 2025

From Ian McEwan to Lily King and Brian Eno, these are our reviewers’ top picks from the past 12 months...

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JANUARY ■ Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (Piatkus): The third instalment of The Empyrean series sees dragon rider Violet Sorrengail embark on her next adventure.

Our verdict: “Full of action, suspense and intrigue, Onyx Storm is the ride you've been waiting for.”

■ What Art Does: An Unfinished Theory by Brian Eno and Bette A (Faber & Faber): In this masterful coffee table book, sideburns, football chants, waterslides, love letters and poodle grooming all count as art.

Our verdict: “A timely reminder that art is not something that can be defined by its auction or social media value.”

FEBRUARY

■ The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer (Bantam): Set against the wild cliffs of the North Yorkshire coast, this thrilling mystery of greed and obsession explores a time when birds’ eggs were compulsively, jealously collected.

Our verdict: “Full of intrigue, humour, joy and sadness, this book is a unique and beautiful thing.”

■ Three Days in June by Anne Tyler (Chatto & Windus): Pulitzer Prizewinning Tyler does it again, examining fractious family relationships over a tumultuous wedding weekend.

Our verdict: “Tyler’s acerbic humour, irony and depictions of tangled personalities will leave the reader smiling and wincing in equal measure.”

MARCH

■ Greater Sins by Gabrielle Griffiths (Doubleday): An atmospheric debut, steeped in secrets and folklore, Greater Sins sees two apparent strangers pull a perfectly preserved body from a peat bog in 1915.

Our verdict: “Fear, suspicion, anger and love all weave through the story's dual narratives, creating a compelling and powerful read.”

■ A Thousand Blues by Cheon Seon-ran, translated by Chi-Young Kim (Doubleday): In 2035, robots are everywhere, including teen Yoenjae’s robot-jockey called Coli, who once rode a racehorse named Today.