Some of My Favorite Books for the Second Quarter of 2025

The first quarter of 2025 was hit or miss for me on books. I loved some reads while other titles didn’t work like I am expected they might. Thankfully, the second quarter produced more books that resonated with me. As in previous years, I am keeping a running list of my favorites so that at the end of the year, it is easier to compile my “best of” list. This really helps me narrow down my list as the years progresses.

As she does each quarter, one of my favorite bookstagrammers, Kelly Hooker of @kellyhook.readsbooks, joins me on my podcast for a discussion about our full list of top reads for that quarter. This episode will run soon so be on the lookout for that, and at the end of the episode, we talk about the best of the year so far as well.

Here are four of my favorites for the second quarter of 2025:

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (fiction) – Most mornings, 73-year-old Sybil Van Antwerp sits down to write letters – to her brother, to her best friend Rosalie, to Joan Didion and Ann Patchett to give them her thoughts on their latest books, and to one mysterious person to whom she writes regularly but never sends her missives. When letters from her past force her to do some self-reflection, Sybil realizes that she must reconsider some long-held beliefs. Sybil’s wry wit and clever sense of humor are present throughout, and the letters she writes and receives are a joy to read. The Correspondent explores the importance of literature, making connections, expanding worldviews through experiences, as well as the ups and downs of a long life. Both heartwarming and heartbreaking, this will be one of my top reads of 2025; I loved the reflections on love, loss, parenting, family, and most importantly the passage of time. This book will appeal to fans of thought-provoking books and memorable characters as well as those who love epistolary novels and those who are drawn to the power of the written word.

Heartwood by Amity Gaige (fiction/mystery) – Heartwood follows a search and rescue team racing against time when an experienced hiker disappears on the Appalachian Trail in Maine. The story is told through the perspectives of the rescue team, an armchair detective, interviews with other hikers, and letters the missing hiker wrote to her mother while on the trail. While the book is character driven, it is incredibly compelling, and the mystery inspires larger questions about the many ways in which we get lost and how we can be found. The cast of characters are delightful, and Gaige’s depictions of Maine and the Appalachian Trail are so vivid that they transport the reader to these locales. This book is a good fit for readers who enjoy a strong sense of place as well as for fans of beautiful writing and stories about nature and the outdoors.

What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown (mystery) – In What Kind of Paradise, Janelle Brown evocatively wrestles with the effects of progress, technology, and power through the lens of a fierce and lonely girl and her paranoid and extremist father. Jane has spent her entire life in rural Montana living off the grid with her father. He is evasive about their past, claiming only that her mother died in a car crash that led them to move to Montana. He educates Jane with 19th-century philosophical works and leaves her regularly for week-long jaunts. When she accompanies him on a trip that ends in murder, she realizes that nothing is as she believed it to be. This gorgeously told story captivated me from page one. Brown brings to life the early days of the internet with vivid detail, creating such a tense experience for the reader who understands how drastically different things are today from how early internet pioneers wanted or expected them to be. This haunting page turner explores right and wrong, extremism, technology, and family; it will stay with me for a long time. This book is for fans of stories about current events and technology and for those who love beautiful writing.

The Whyte Python World Tour by Travis Kennedy (fiction/thriller) – This hilarious and irreverent novel stars Rikki Thunder, a member of Whyte Python, a heavy metal band who is recruited by the CIA in the late 1980s to go behind the Iron Curtain and help spark a revolution through the power of rock. While this might sound like a strange premise, it is loosely inspired by allegedly true events. The Whyte Python World Tour is one of the most entertaining books that I have read this year. Rikki Thunder is a gem: naïve, unintentionally humorous, and a fabulous narrator. Kennedy weaves humor, heart, history, music, travel, and so much fun into this page turner. It is one of my top reads of 2025. This one will appeal to fans of creative stories, 1980s nostalgia, genre mashups, and laugh-out-loud stories.

I would love to hear your favorites so far of 2025. Feel free to drop them in the comments below.

For more book recommendations and bookish thoughts, see Cindy’s monthly Buzz Reads column, her award-winning Thoughts from a Page Podcast or follow @ThoughtsFromaPage on Instagram.