19 books I read in 2025 is a short post about the books that I’ve read during 2025. I actually read two more books but those are non-fiction so they aren’t mentioned here. I mostly get my books from my local library so most of these books are Croatian translations of the original editions. I read only two books in English and those were The Valentine’s Card book and Mistletoe and Magic book. This year I read more books by Croatian authors.

This post won’t divulge much about the actual content of the books mentioned below so you don’t have to worry about spoilers if you want to read them too.

19 books I read in 2025

Nick Spalding: Love…And Sleepless Nights

I laughed really hard while reading this book about how relationship changes after pregnancy and childbirth. So, naturally I was delighted when I found its sequel Love…Under Different Skies (it can be read as a standalone book though). This time the couple moved to Australia and they faced new, different challenges. Honestly, this book was less funny than the previous one.

Triona Walsh: The Snowstorm

Excellent crime story. Six friends reunite after a long time in a house on a remote Irish island when a body is found. No one can leave the island because of the major storm. The killer is among them but who is he? I really enjoyed this book which reminded me a bit of Agatha Christie’s book And Then There Were None.

Richard Osman: The Last Devil to Die

This is the fourth book in the Thursday Murder Club series. I really like this book series so I’ve enjoyed this sequel very much too. This time the group tries to solve the murder of an antiques dealer and gets involved in art forgery and drug trafficking.

Juliet Ashton: The Valentine’s card

A Valentine’s card that arrives after the lover’s death..will our heroine open it and find out the truth? A decent enough chick-lit book.

John Scalzi: Starter Villain

This was quite an unexpected story. Super intelligent spy cats, big inheritance and dolphins that want to form a trade union… sounds bonkers but it was such a fun book to read.

Clare Pooley: The People on Platform 5

Lovely book about a group of strangers that see each other every day and then something happens which prompted them to start talking to each other. New friendships and new relationships blossom and everyone’s life gets better.

Jenny Colgan: The Bookshop on the Shore

I loved this witty and warm-hearted book about a single mom who moves to Scotland to be a nanny in a Scottish castle. I actually read its prequel The Bookshop on the corner in 2023 (but you can read just this book too).

Gareth Rubin: The Turnglass

This is a tête-bêche style book (a term borrowed from French) meaning that a book has two beginnings and two ends that meet in the middle. You must read the two stories simultaneously to get the best of it. One story is set in 1930s California while the other is set in 19^th England. Great crime fiction book.

Hazel Prior: How the Penguins Saved Veronica

An old lady comes to Antarctica to decide if penguins are a worthy cause to leave her fortune to but she manages to open her heart to her estranged grandson and life itself. If you love penguins, you’ll love this book.

E.G.Saenz de Urturi: Crni Časoslov

An amazing crime fiction book by a Spanish author but I can’t find its English translation or the proper Spanish title so I kept the title in Croatian. All bibliophiles should read this book.

Lucy Gilmore: The Lonely Hearts Book Club

A librarian sets up a book club to help an elderly lonely man. Good story with some great characters but it wasn’t one of my favorites.

Helene Sula: Mistletoe and Magic

I actually bought Sula’s book cause I saw it on her Instagram stories and since I wanted something festive to read I decided to get it. It’s a lovely festive read about an American woman who goes to England to find herself after some disappointments in her life.

I read more Croatian books this year. I stumbled upon Anđelka Kliment‘s cosy crime books a few years ago and liked them so I read another one (Sve je počelo na Uskrs) in 2025. I discovered another crime writer and read two very interesting books that are set in my neck of the woods ( author Milan Zagorac and his books Žena koja je voljela Henninga Mankella and Kralj ribar).

I read a very interesting book about Denmark. It’s a kind of a collection of essays or diary entries of one Croatian woman who moved to Denmark with her family (Kristina Wolsperger: Danci i stranci). She comments on the Danish daily life and makes comparisons with Croatian ways.

I read two different travel books. One is a collection of personal travel stories (Vanja Spirin: Plavuše za neznalice) and another one is a mix of history and art history about Vienna, Rome and Istanbul (Ivana Šojat: Tri carstva).

So, which books did I like the best? All the crime fiction books but I especially liked The Snowstorm, The Turnglass and the Spanish book. I also really liked the first Spalding’s book.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think about them? Would you recommend me some of the books that you have read?

You can also take a look at my previous book review posts if you want to (2020 , 2021 , 2022. 2023, 2024 ).