Top 25 Reads of 2025

I know I say this every year about "this year being a great year for books" and it is true - every year is a great year for reading books as I tap into the minds of authors and see what lies beyond my horizons. 

This year I once again hovered around the horror realm and I did stray a little bit into true paranormal along with some true crime but the books that made this list are either horror or have some type of horror within them and as most of you know horror is my favorite genre. 

It is always hard to try to figure out what books make this list but I do have 25 books that kept my insomnia fueled throughout the year. I discovered new authors to explore and revisited authors I have read in the past. 

So without further ado here are the 25 books that fueled many a night and kept me glued to my kindle and all authors are listed in no particular order. 

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HORROR/HORROR SUSPENSE

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JOHN EVERSON

My Blog Review Link:

Five Deaths for Seven Songbirds

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

                    

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CATHERINE CAVENDISH

My Blog Review Link:

The Stones of Landane

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀

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JOHN DURGIN

My Blog Review Link:

The Envelope

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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JEREMY EADS

My Blog Review Link:

Reptile

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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GRAHAM MASTERTON

My Blog Review Link:

Heirloom

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

                               

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DUNCAN RALSTON

My Blog Review Link:

Helloween

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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WILLIAM MASSA

My Blog Review Link:

The Exorcist's Code

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

                  

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TAMARA THORNE & ALISTAIR CROSS

My Blog Review Link:

Five Nights in a Haunted Cabin

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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JED KENT

My Blog Review Link:

Behind These Walls

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀

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THOMAS SMITH

My Blog Review Link:

Something Stirs

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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DAEMON MANX

My Blog Review Link:

The Ojanox 1: Scream in the Dark (The Ojanox Series Book 1)

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

 

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PHILIP FRACASSI

My Blog Review Link:

Boys in the Valley

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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JEFFREY CASTON

My Blog Review Link:

FOOD: All Hate the King (Food #5)

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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MICHAEL PENNING

My Blog Review Link:

Devil Music

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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J.D. ALLEN

My Blog Review Link:

Tombstones

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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STEVEN PAJAK

My Blog Review Link:

The Devil's Doorway

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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W.D. GAGLIANI & DAVID BENTON

My Blog Review Link:

Acolytes of the Dead

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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TIM CURRAN

My Blog Review Link:

Blackout

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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JEFF STRAND

My Blog Review Link:

Your Body Will Never Be Found

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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CANDACE NOLA

My Blog Review Link:

Shadow Manor

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

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DAVID IRONS

My Blog Review Link:

Night Creepers

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

                                   

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JEFF DEGORDICK

My Blog Review Link:

Ghostlords (The Haunted Hamlet #4)

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

                                  

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SAM WHITTAKER

My Blog Review Link:

I Bought A Haunted Thanksgiving Table

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀

                            

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NICK ROBERTS

My Blog Review Link:

The Exorcist's House: Resurrection (The Exorcist's House #3)

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀

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LEE MOUNTFORD

My Blog Review Link:

Dark Spirits: The Watcher (Book 1 in the Dark Spirits series)

My Rating: 💀💀💀💀

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New to me Authors:

Jed Kent

Thomas Smith

Daemon Manx

Philip Fracassi

Steven Pajak

W.D. Gagliani 

David Benton

David Irons

Sam Whittaker

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Final Thoughts:

This was another great year for horror and I spent lots of time in my favorite genre this year. I have more horror books than any other genre stuck in my cloud - literally thousands of books are in there and 90% of them are all horror. So this year I decided once again to stay within my favorite genre and knock some more horror books off my tbr shelf. 

By staying within horror I found some new to me authors and visited authors that I have read in the past. There are tons of great horror books out there still that I need to read and explore. Looking forward to stepping back into the horror realm in 2026! 

Till next year! Happy Reading! 

The Yuletide Butcher by Mike Duke

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Four "Merry Slasher" Stars

Will the Police Catch Their Man? 

A small taste of what lies within:

The Yuletide Butcher is hard to catch as law enforcement have been pursuing the killer for years as he only kills the day after Christmas and he is long gone before they arrive on the scene. 

As the police are tied up with trying to catch a killer, Jack Randall an upstanding citizen of the community hates his life and wants to get away from his family but things start to go south when the police start looking his way on maybe somehow being connected to the Butcher!

That is about all I can hand out with a small taste so if you want to know more then go read this book! 

Thoughts:

This was my first time reading this author and it won't be my last. I fell directly into the storyline and stuck with it as I put down my other books I was reading to just read this book. The pace is fast with this story as it moves quickly with different things happening. 

I really liked the characters in this book and I kind of had a feeling of the mystery of who the Butcher could be and the brutality of the killings just slams into the story as it kept me rooted in my easy chair! Looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future. 

Attached is the author, Mike Duke, profile page from Amazon:

Mike Duke

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review

Shadow Detective (Books 7 - 9) by William Massa

 

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Five "Action Packed Kick Ass" Stars

I am going to set each book out with a taste and then give overall thoughts for all three books.

Book 7: Witch Wars

Mike Raven is back in this installment as he is fighting a powerful witch who has captured his friend and mentor, Joe Skulick's soul and trapped it into an artifact. The witch has summoned all her witch minions to fight off Mike but Mike is determined to do whatever he can to get his friend's soul back and do what he can to put an end to the witch and her reign on the Mike's city! 

Book 8: Crimson Circle

Mike Raven is still fighting the good fight within this story as the Crimson Circle has made a return and Mike along with his allies will need to stay on their toes if they want to protect the city! 

Book 9: Hell Breaker

Mike Raven is taking the fight to hell this time as the demon, Morgal is not finished with Raven as Archer needs to be saved and Raven will go through Hell or high water to get her back! 

Overall Thoughts:

All three books were action packed, fast paced, suspense filled with tons of tension as Mike Raven fought the fight to save his city from demons and other entities! 

I took my time reading this three book omnibus collection to absorb all the stories within. There are two more books in this series though which came out while I was absorbed in this omnibus collection. Looking forward to stepping into the last two books in the future to wrap up this series. 

Attached is the author, William Massa, profile page from Amazon:

William Massa

Attached is my Goodreads review:

My Review

A Dark World by David Kempf

 

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Four "Crime Capers" Stars

Crime Confession or Hoax?

A small taste of what lies within:

Melody, a defense attorney receives an unexpected letter with details from a crime that was committed and the man that sent the message is wondering if she would represent him. But when Melody receives another letter from the man is when she receives a twisted jolt! 

That is about all I can hand out with a small taste as this story is super short so if you are intrigued then go read this short story!

Thoughts:

I never know what to expect when stepping into a Kempf story and this story took me down a dark path of crime deeds. Even though the story was short it packed a punch of emotion with why the crimes were committed and then the story takes a 360 degree turn which made me wish this had been a novel as I wanted to read more with these characters. :)

I read the book within just about an hour and the pace was fast from beginning to end. Another great book by this author and looking forward to reading more by him as I have a few more simmering on my kindle. 

Attached is the author, David Kempf, profile page from Amazon:

David Kempf

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review

I Bought a Haunted Thanksgiving Table by Sam Whittaker

 

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Five "Twisted Terror" Stars

Be Careful of What You Buy in a Thrift Store! 

A small taste of what lies within:

Scott and Wendy are browsing through a thrift store when Wendy sees an antique table that would be perfect for Thanksgiving. Scott isn't so sure about it as to him the table gives off some kind of creepy vibes but he shrugs it off and they end up buying the table. 

As soon as it is delivered some crazy things start to happen involving the table and within just a day or so Wendy starts experiencing sleepwalking issues and zoning out episodes. Scott knows that it is somehow connected to the table but what he doesn't know is that he will be regretting ever laying eyes on that table as the table seems to have a life of its own! 

That is about all I can hand out with a small taste so if you are intrigued then go read this book!

Thoughts:

This was my first time reading this author and I was hooked into this book right away as the story just flows along. The story kept me glued to my kindle as I had a hard time putting it down! The story moves fast as the pace picks up with more things happening to the characters. 

There is a twist though near the end of the book that I wasn't expecting and the book literally accelerated into high gear and I finished the last 20% within an hour as I could not break away from the story!

Looking forward to reading more books by this author as it seems he has quite a few books floating around out there in the book world! 

Attached is the author, Sam Whittaker, profile page from Amazon:

Sam Whittaker

My Goodreads Review:

My Review

A Christmas Haunting by Blake Croft & Ashley Raven

 

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Four "Haunting Holiday Horror" Stars

What Lurks in the Family Photo Album?

A small taste of what lies within:

Vincent and his wife Ally are trying to deal with the loss of his parents right before Christmas. Vincent starts to go through all his parents belongings in their home but when he comes across the family photo album he notices something strange with all the pictures. 

All the pictures have some sort of anomaly within each photo and the same image lies throughout all the photos. Upon closer inspection, Vincent realizes that the anomaly is really a ghost girl embedded within each picture! What is going on and why do all the pictures have this ghost girl?

That is about all I can hand out with a small taste so if you want to know more then go read this short story!

Thoughts:

This short story packs a holiday punch as there is quite a bit of suspense and intrigue throughout the story then the pace picks up when more is revealed with the characters. The short story is not spooky or scary but it has a few creepy moments but it mostly becomes a holiday haunting tale of emotion and mystery. 

This was my second book by these authors and it won't be my last as they have quite a few books out there to read. Looking forward to stepping into more of their work in the future. 

Attached is the author, Blake Croft, profile page from Amazon:

Blake Croft

Attached is the author, Ashley Raven, profile page from Goodreads:

Ashley Raven

My Goodreads Review:

My Review

The Hellfire House (Book of Shadows # 5) by Michael Penning

 

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Five "Spooky Shivers" Stars

What Lies Within Harrowspire? 

A small taste of what lies within:

Anna Jacobs is back in this fifth installment as she makes her way to Brimwatch Isle that holds the haunted house of Hallowspire which used to be owned by the occultist Alistair Thorne. 

Anna is determined to do whatever it takes to save her mother's soul and the only place that will let her perform the ritual lies within Hallowspire however will Anna be able to pursue her endeavor to see it through or will she be stopped by the haunting forces that reside deep within the halls of Hallowspire? 

That is about all I can hand out with a small taste without giving away spoilers, so if you want to know more then go read this book! 

Thoughts:

Once again I was thrown right back into the world of Anna Jacobs as the author, Michael Penning starts this book out with some swashbuckling action aboard a ship heading to the island! 

When Michael Penning writes these stories you are transported into the book and the room around you disappears! All that matters is what the characters are going through as they endure whatever they are dealing with and once again Anna Jacobs has to deal with quite a bit of resistance as she makes her way toward Hallowspire! 

The pace is fast and this story moves quickly just like all the other books in the series. There is no slow down and I had a hard time putting this book down as I wanted to find out what was going to happen next! 

Lots of spookiness resides deep within this book and this book was another insomnia fueled ride!

Attached is the author, Michael Penning, profile page from Amazon:

Michael Penning

My review from Goodreads:

My Review

The Exorcist's House: Resurrection (The Exorcist's House #3) by Nick Roberts

 

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Four "Devilish Demon" Stars

The Evil is Coming! 

A small taste of what lies within:

Nora and Maren must move on after the events of losing part of their family in the last book and as Nora and Maren try to settle into their new life they are met with resistance as the demonic evil never leaves as it will always linger in their lives no matter how far they run! 

That is about all I can hand out with a small taste without giving away spoilers so if you are intrigued then go read this book and series! 

Thoughts:

This book was a spook ride as I was careening along with some creepy vibes throughout most of the book and the author, Nick Roberts wraps up this trilogy tight and brings to light answers to questions that laid within the previous books. 

The occult and demonic theme pulses throughout the most of the book and the last half of the book moves a little faster then the beginning of the book. The first part of the book just seemed close to a slow burn but after the 40% mark the pace picks up and moves quicker. Looking forward to reading more work by this author as I have a few books on my kindle that I need to pursue of his work. 

Attached is the author, Nick Roberts, profile page from Amazon:

Nick Roberts

My Goodreads Review:

My Review

Shadow Manor by Candace Nola

 

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Five "Mysterious Haunting"Stars

What Lies Within The Abandoned Manor?

A small taste of what lies within: 

Sinclair gets dropped off in the middle of nowhere by a date gone wrong during a thunderstorm. Sinclair finds an old abandoned manor to stay in while she waits out the storm, but once she gets inside the house closes in around her and the atmosphere shrinks to a spooky feeling as she wanders around the manor. 

On her wandering adventure through the manor Sinclair comes across an old diary that belonged to a woman that used to live there, but little does she know that the ghost of the woman still lingers and the ghost has a message to share! 

That is about all I can hand out with a small taste without giving away spoilers so if you are intrigued then go read this book!

Thoughts:

Wow! This story just grabbed me and took me on an emotional spin as this story goes far beyond a haunted house with ghosts as author, Candace Nola weaved a tale of what a ghost still feels in the afterlife - the anguish and despair continue on with things that happened in their life. 

This was a different kind of ghost story and it packs an emotional punch! There was a little bit of world building in the beginning of the book with the character Sinclair making her rounds within the manor but after the 30% mark the pace of the book picked up speed and when the ghost makes an appearance is when the story escalates! 

I felt that the story was spooky but not leave the lights on spooky - it is not that kind of story that is meant to scare the pants off of you - it is a story about pain, grief, anger and love. 

So if you want a different kind of ghost and haunting tale then check out this book. 

Attached is the author, Candace Nola, profile page from Goodreads:

Candace Nola

Attached is the author, Candace Nola, profile page from Amazon:

Candace Nola

My Goodreads Review:

My Review

Shadowland (The Ravencrest Saga Book #4) by Tamara Thorne & Alistair Cross

 

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Five "Chiller Thriller" Stars

Something Spooky is Afoot on the Ravencrest Property!

A small taste of what lies within:

Belinda Moorland along with Grant, Eric and crew have been invaded by a haunting that begins in the kitchen of all places in the opening of this book!

From there something stirs the air within Ravencrest Manor as a ghostly manifestation has set its sights on everyone in the manor. The entity seems playful at first with doing different kind of tricks like mop spinning but as time goes on the entity takes on a different form - a darkness has invaded the manor and this time around the seriousness of this entity has decided that it is on mission to maybe destroy them all!  

That is about all I can hand out with a small taste without giving away spoilers so if you want to know more then go read this book and series! 

Thoughts:

I took my time reading this story as I wanted to absorb all the atmospheric feelings of Ravencrest. Sometimes I will slow down my reading to slip inside the story itself as I want to feel what the characters are feeling as they experience the hauntings that run amok in the manor. 

This story was a spooky one too and I probably say it every time when I read a book in this series that "this one was the spookiest yet" but I feel that this fourth book in the series kept me riveted as I wanted to stay wrapped up within the manor along with the characters. The manor this time has a haunting that runs rampant keeping the characters on their toes and keeping me sitting in my chair most of the time. 😁 

Another great book in this series and looking forward to reading book five The Bride of Ravencrest which just released last month in October. 

Attached is the author, Tamara Thorne, profile page from Goodreads:

Tamara Thorne

Attached is the author, Tamara Thorne, profile page from Amazon:

Tamara Thorne

Attached is the website of author, Tamara Thorne:

Tamara Thorne

Attached is the author, Alistair Cross, profile page from Goodreads:

Alistair Cross

Attached is the author, Alistair Cross, profile page from Amazon:

Alistair Cross

Attached is the website of author, Alistair Cross:

Alistair Cross

My Goodreads Review:

My Review

Your Body Will Never Be Found by Jeff Strand

 

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Five "Killer Thriller Chiller" Stars

What Would Happen If You Broke Down in the Woods? 

A small taste of what lies within:

Arden with his wife Laurie and their two children, Nick and Misty end up getting lost in the backwoods of Georgia even though Arden was relying on his GPS which didn't help. But when they end up running out of gas in the driveway of a house with a warning sign things do not bode well especially when a man comes walking out of the house with a shotgun! 

When Misty needs to use the bathroom is when things become escalated as the man tells them that she can use the bathroom in the house - Arden decides to take Misty and go inside. However as time goes by with no return from Misty or Arden, then Laurie starts to panic as to why is it taking so long?!

That is about all I can hand out with a small taste so if you want to know more then go read this book!

Thoughts:

Wow!! This book was freaking brutal with tons of tension, tons of extreme situations, and tons of psychological terror that just took me on a horror ride into the unknown! I kind of flew through this book as there was just so much happening that it was hard to put down! 

I really liked all the characters in this book - even the villains I considered true villains as they were evil enough to make me root more for the family and less for the villains.  

This book also made me think as I have driven desolate roads before with hardly any traffic and being out in the middle of nowhere. What would happen if I broke down - I would be at the mercy of whoever came along. The author, Jeff Strand takes those fears of the unknown traveler and takes it to the next level as no one knows what kind of people live out in the woods whether they will be helpful or not.   

So if you want a book that will keep you up all hours of the night and you don't mind some extreme splatter situations then go read this book! 

Attached is the author, Jeff Strand, profile page from Goodreads:

Jeff Strand

Attached is the author, Jeff Strand, profile page from Amazon:

Jeff Strand

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review

Frendo Lives (Clown in a Cornfield Book 2) by Adam Cesare

 

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Four "Twisted Slasher" Stars

Kettle Springs is Back in the Headlines!

A small taste of what lies within:

Quinn and her friends are back in Kettle Springs once again as they are still trying to get over what happened there the year before. Though this time there are more things going on within the town as Frendo is back and he is ready to do some slasher damage for all that comes into his path! 

That is about all I can hand out with a small taste without giving away spoilers so if you want to know more then go read this book! 

Thoughts:

This book started out kind of fast then it slowed down some as the pace was up and down a little bit which almost turned the story into a slow burn however it picked up speed around the 40% mark which kept me reading the book late into the night one evening and that put me up to about the 60% mark. 

Lots of slashing and hacking once again within this book which has quite a bit of blood being sprayed in every direction. The cast of characters are back with a vengeance in this book as they try to protect the town of Kettle Springs. The first book just seemed more fast paced than this book but either way I thought it was a great sequel to the first book. I own the third book in this trilogy so at some point I will wrap it all up with reading the third book sometime in the future. 

Attached is the author, Adam Cesare, profile page from Goodreads:

Adam Cesare

Attached is the author, Adam Cesare, profile page from Amazon:

Adam Cesare

Attached is my review from Goodreads:

My Review