For 2025, I set a conservative target of reading twelve books. After the first six months, I was ahead of schedule having read these nine:
- What You Did by Claire McGowan
- Orbital by Samantha Harvey (full review here)
- Amatka by Karin Tidbeck
- The Infinite and the Divine (Warhammer 40,000) by Robert Rath
- Penpal by Dathan Auerbach
- The Final Empire (Mistborn Saga #1) by Brandon Sanderson
- Mirror Me by Lisa Williamson Rosenberg
- The Ghost Writers Club: A Novel by Cody Wayne Morris
- Dracula by Bram Stoker (full review here)
You can see my thoughts on the first four in my Q1 report, and the other five in my Q2 report.
Entering the second half of the year, there was no doubt I was going to smash my target, but I decided not to change it. I’d rather the record show I did far better than I thought I would, and then set a tougher target for next year.
I like to mix up what I read, so participated in the summer reading challenge on Goodreads – I thought picking from their selections would broaden my horizons. I completed it, but there were mixed results; I’ve specified the books I read for the challenge.
I don’t think I’ll take part in the autumn challenge, there are too many books I already own that I want to read (and the pile is growing faster than I can read them).
Ok, intro over. Here’s the books I read in Q3 of 2025…
1. The Sandman Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4 by Neil Gaiman
The Lord of Dreams reclaims his kingdom.
I’m not going to review and score these until I’ve finished the whole run of 11 volumes.
I will say, however, that it hasn’t been what I expected. The first two volumes were one long story which I was enjoying; volume three veers off into standalone shorts; I don’t know yet if the events of volume four will continue into future volumes. I hope so.
2. Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse #1) by James S A Corey
A mysterious attack on a mining spacecraft puts the galaxy on the path to war.
This is a really good read. The quality of the writing is high, and the plot’s twists and turns are unpredictable without being silly. I wouldn’t classify this as really hard sci-fi – it avoids long passages of technical discussion – so I can see why it gathered a large audience and was made into a TV show. Recommended.
My score: 5 out of 5.
3. Animal Farm by George Orwell (for the Goodreads summer challenge)
The corruption of power told through the medium of animals taking over their farmyard.
It’s a classic for a reason. If you didn’t think Trump and Farage were pigs before, you will after reading this.
I was taught it in school, and it should be required reading for all (like Orwell’s more famous 1984).
My score: 4 out of 5.
4. Kill For Me Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh (for the Goodreads summer challenge)
Two victims of violent crime who’ve never met before agree to kill the other’s attacker for them.
Below is the scathing review I posted on Goodreads, in full (including spoilers):
I’m stunned this has been so well reviewed and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
There are several occasions throughout where characters are conveniently stupid to prop up the plot or raise tension, but there were enough other nice ideas that this was heading for a 3 out of 5 from me.
But the “showpiece” twist took that convenient stupidity to another level. I can’t remember ever being angry when I’ve finished a book before, but then I can’t remember ever reading a book that felt so insulting to its audience.
The whole conclusion rests on the idea that contact lenses are enough of a disguise to make someone unrecognisable. One of the female characters works out that several murders are linked by the victims’ spookily-similar appearance, yet doesn’t notice the man sat next to her is also a dead-ringer because he has brown eyes instead of blue. Even when the text stresses how all the men are near-identical, none of the other characters notice — not even a detective who’s famed for closing impossible cases because of his attention to detail.
During the finale, the woman that this man attacked doesn’t recognise him until he takes a contact lens out. Just imagine if they tried to film it, and it relied on no viewer recognising Brad Pitt because his eyes are a different colour.
I’m going to give the author more respect than he gave his readers and assume he knew this was ludicrous but decided no-one would notice. With contempt like that, he deserves to lose more than just me as a reader.
My score: 1 out of 5
5. Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (for the Goodreads summer challenge)
A struggling author steals the work of a dead friend and battles to maintain her success, reputation, and sanity.
Another book that I don’t think deserves some of its glowing reviews, although not to the same extent as the one above. Its commentary on racism and social media was heavy-handed; I didn’t feel the need to be hit. repeatedly. over. the. head. with messages that weren’t particularly original or profound. Main characters don’t need to be nice, but it does need to be enjoyable spending time with them.
It’s not bad, but I can’t say I enjoyed it much.
My score: 3 out of 5.
6. Dissolution by Nicholas Binge (for the Goodreads summer challenge)
An old woman enters her husband’s memories to try to save them from Alzheimer’s.
An interesting novel which should reward repeat reads. The chapters alternate between the wife in the current time period and her husband’s memories, and it’s a structure that works nicely for this story. It had the potential to be confusing, but isn’t, although I did notice one plot inconsistency that wasn’t explained. The characters feel well-rounded, with the exception of the big bad who becomes a bit of a caricature. I’m glad I read it, and would recommend for people who like to be provoked into thought.
My score: 4 out of 5.
7. Blood Slaves (The Blood Saga #1) by Marcus Redmond (for the Goodreads summer challenge)
An “alternate history” in which plantation slaves become vampires to get revenge on their owners.
This wasn’t my cup of tea; the action felt a little too “Hollywood action movie” for my preference in what was otherwise some serious subject matter. There were some good parts, but there were also parts that were objectively not so good: for example, there were inconsistencies with the vampires’ abilities; and the last reveal of a special vampire power felt cartoony.
I gave it time, but I still find it difficult to separate the “not my cup of tea” from the “not well written”, so I’ve gone for the latter.
My score: 2 out of 5.
8. Annie Bot by Sierra Greer (for the Goodreads summer challenge)
An android struggles to be the perfect female partner she was designed to be.
I’d describe this as a low-spice romance told from the perspective of a sexbot – an interesting concept that kept me invested throughout. But I was left feeling a little unsatisfied. I can’t quite put my finger on why – the ending felt inevitable, wasn’t a cheat, or particularly bad, it was just a bit… oh.
I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone, but if the idea intrigues you, it’s well written and an enjoyable enough read.
My score: 3 out of 5
And that’s it for the past three months.
What’s next? I’m currently about halfway through Moby Dick; after that, I’m a mood reader, so I’ll see what I feel like reading next. I’ve got a few sci-fi and fantasy books in my TBR pile(s) so might select one of those.
If you want to keep up to date on what I’m reading, you can follow me on Goodreads.
If you have any recommendations, please leave them in the comments. Thanks!
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