Our 2025 Staff Favourites

Whether you're looking for your summer reads or a gift for someone this festive season, our well-read booksellers have deliberated and debated and have (reluctantly) picked just two books each as their favourite reads of 2025. Some are new releases, some are classics to be revisted, but no matter what, we know you'll love them!

Owner of Boundless Books, Allyce, chose Hannah Kent's memoir Always Home, Always Homesick and Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy as her best reads of 2025.

Always Home, Always Homesick is Hannah Kent's exquisite love letter to Iceland, a land that has forged a nation of storytellers, her ode to the transcendent power of creativity, and her invitation to us all to join her in the realms of mystery, spirit and wonder. Allyce says: "This is such a beautiful book. I think this may be my favourite by Hannah Kent, although after finishing I am desperate to read Burial Rites again with this new context and fresh eyes. The writing is, as I’ve come to expect by now, absolutely gorgeous. Everything is beautifully described, the scenery, the people, her experiences."

Wild Dark Shore is a novel of heartstopping twists, dizzying beauty and ferocious love, and a story about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us is ending. Allyce says: "Beautifully written, but never losing the flow of the story. Right from the start there's a darkness, a mystery, and through the whole book I was pulled along needing to know what it was. Quietly devastating and a book that will stay with me."

Aimee chose Guts by Melissa Leong and Quicksilver by Callie Hart for her favourite reads of 2025.

Guts is gold Logie-nominated TV personality and food icon Melissa Leong's searing memoir exploring themes of abuse in the hospitality industry, racism, mental health and, for a light palate cleanser, the thrill of mouth-wateringly memorable food. Aimee says: "Guts felt like sitting down with someone who's been through it, honest, relatable, and full of small mindset shifts that actually stay with you."

Quicksilver is a dark, fast-paced romantasy with gritty characters and intense chemistry. Aimee says: "Quicksilver delivers from page one! Callie Hart creates a world full of secrets, danger and undeniable tension. With an addictive plot, emotional tension and high stakes, Quicksilver is perfect for fans of fantasy, romance and intrigue."

Bri's top picks for 2025 came in with Jen Beagin's Big Swiss and Susanna Clarke's Piranesi.

Big Swiss is a novel combining the heart and wit of Sorrow and Bliss with the joy and touch of surrealism in Schitts Creek. Bri says: "Wickedly funny and deliciously offbeat, Big Swiss is a darkly comic exploration of trauma, obsession and reinvention. Greta, a transcriptionist for a sex therapist, becomes fixated on a client she's never met until a chance encounter at a dog park throws her into a tangled, messy and wildly entertaining affair. Beagin's razor-sharp prose and biting humour makes this a compulsively readable novel that is as absurd as it is poignant."

Piranesi is an ethereal tale of mystery, solitude and discovery. Bri says: "Trapped within an endless labyrinth of vast halls and surging tides, Piranesi maps his strange, isolated world with quiet reverance. His only contact is the enigmatic Other, until unsettling clues hint at a greater, more disturbing truth. Blending dreamlike beauty with creepy unease, Clarke crafts an intricate fable of knowledge, memory and what it means to be free."

Dani's reading this year was won out by VE Schwab's The Invisible Life of Addie Larue and Sarah J Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses.

The Invisible Life of Addie Larue is the unforgettable tale of a woman who does a deal with devil to escape an arranged marriage and live an immortal life. Dani says: "Cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets, Addie's story is beautiful. An urban romantic fantasy that speaks to how people and connection can mean the most."

A Court of Thorns and Roses is the first book in the sexy action-packed bestselling romantasy series of the same name. Dani says: "One of my new favourite series of all time, this book introduced me to romantasy. An emotional and action-packed (with a fair bit of spice) series, expect to find fae, war, love and Sarah J Maas's dramatic writing."

Biddy's year of reading was topped by Bob Mortimer's The Long Shoe and Last One Out by Jane Harper.

The Long Shoe is a comedic mystery by bestselling author Bob Mortimer. Biddy says: "A deviation from my normal 'heartbreaking tale', Bob Mortimer's The Long Shoe found me at exactly the right time. I needed a laugh and boy did it deliver. I was shaking with laughter and at times unable to look at the page in case I'd burst out again. If you love Bob and fancy a laugh, then definitely give it a go."

Last One Out is the dazzling new outback crime novel by bestselling author Jane Harper. Biddy says: "I love Jane Harper books and eagerly await all her releases. Last One Out is definitely a favourite. I love the role of the Australian landscape, how I'm hooked after one chapter, and that I can't put it down until I've finished and found out whodunnit."

Latitia's top two for the year came in with Heir of Illusion by Madeline Taylor and Rose in Chains by Julie Soto.

Heir of Illusion is the first book in a brand new, highly-addictive and fast-paced series full of banter, tension and betrayal. Latitia says: "This was fantastic!! It has everything a romantasy needs. Enemies to lovers, morally grey love interest and a unique magic system. A must read!"

Rose in Chains is a lush romantic fantasy that's filled with intrigue, magic, and an irresistible enemies-to-lovers romance. Latitia says: "Rose in Chains is an unputdownable dark romantasy. I was absolutely smitten with Briony and Toven's relationshiop!!"

Jess's picks for 2025 are Barbara Truelove's Monsters and Mainframes and John Wiswell's Someone You Can Build A Nest In.

Monsters and Mainframes is the queer love child of pulp horror and classic sci-fi, about an intergalactic ship whose passengers keep dying in paranormal murders. Jess says: "Clever, bizarre and downright fun, this book is peppered with tributes to horror and scifi. A monster and AI story full of human heart and fresh enthusiastic energy, it's perfect for fans of Douglas Adams, Martha Wells and Becky Chambers."

Someone You Can Build a Nest In is a glorious, funny, occasionally slightly violent love story which asks us to examine - and re-examine - the meaning of legacy, family and love. Jess says: "This book snuck up on me and stayed with me long past my expectations. A cosy fantasy horror that explores the truly monstrous as well as the truly loving. Full of warmth and depth as well as some body-horror and gore thrown in for good measure."