Quick update: I’ve decided to join the cool cats on StoryGraph! Check me out!
https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/ac_bookaddict
Also, check out this awesome teaser Saige made for Losing Air!
Now back to the post!
If you’ve been following us for a while, you might remember this post, where I put 32 of my favorite books from the first half of 2025 in a tournament-style bracket, facing off against one another.
It was a terrible time. It was like choosing between your children.
And for some reason, at the end of that post, I promised to do it again at the end of the year.
Screw you, past me.
The good news: I only read about 60 books in the second half of 2025, as opposed to the ~100 in the first half.
The bad news: There were some really good ones in there.
The Players
A Dowry of Blood by ST Gibson
The Hole by Hye-Young Pyun
All That’s Left in the World by Erik J Brown
Freakslaw by Jane Flett
20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill
Morning Star by Pierce Brown
We Are Always Tender With Our Dead by Eric LaRocca
Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin
Golden Son by Pierce Brown
The Honeys by Ryan La Sala
Devolution by Max Brooks
Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
You by Caroline Kepnes
Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes
Making History by KJ Parker
Remember that even just being on this list means I thought the book was fantastic. There are no losers here. Kinda.
ROUND ONE
Winner: A Dowry of Blood This was a really tough decision right off the bat. I still think about both of these stories. They both made me want to read more from their authors. I went with Dowry because it was a more complete narrative, I guess. I don’t know. I already hate this.
Winner: Freakslaw This is a bummer. Erik J Brown really deserved to go further than round one. But Freakslaw is likely to plow through a lot of contenders here. That prose was just so unique, and it was so much fun seeing a shit show unfold before my eyes.
Winner: Morning Star Wow, Joe Hill never even stood a chance. But come on. That thing with the Obsidians? Sevro being Sevro? That ending??? Morning Star is the ringer in this competition for sure.
Winner: Fever Dream You know what, I surprised myself here. These were both amazing standouts in December for me. But Fever Dream was just written in such an original, off-putting way that it stole the cake right out from under Eric’s nose. Plus, horses are a fantastic way to make something even creepier. Go check it out, it’s really short and will mess you up.
Winner: The Honeys Alright, this might get me in hot water. I know Golden Son is the generally agreed-upon favorite of the first trilogy. But… I liked Morning Star better. I know. Throw your drink in my face, I stand by my opinions. I still loved it, but The Honeys made a much bigger impact on me as a story. I can’t wait to read more from Ryan.
Winner: Delicate Condition This is one of those choices that I feel sick making. I picked Delicate because that scene with the woman in her bed scared the shit out of me. These are both great though. Ugh.
Winner: You Alright what the hell. After seeing Matt Dinniman in person during Dragonsteel Nexus this year, this feels a little sacrilegious. But listen. I was more addicted to You than DCC. I don’t know what it was, but that’s just how it went down. Also, both of these were audiobooks for me. And they were both equally as good. Seriously. Santino Fontana (Tri-Cities rep, ayy!) just delivers the most chilling yet hilarious narration I’ve ever heard.
Winner: Hidden Bodies This one really made me stare at my screen for a few minutes. Making History is so short and sweet and fucking hilarious. But Hidden Bodies just got so weird in a good way, and I ate up the whole audiobook in just a couple days. Seriously, it’s literally ‘Joe Goes to Hollywood’. What a romp.
ROUND TWO
I am suffering.
A Dowry of Blood vs. Freakslaw– Winner: A Dowry of Blood
Morning Star vs. Fever Dream- Winner: Morning Star
The Honeys vs. Delicate Condition- Winner: Delicate Condition
You vs. Hidden Bodies- Winner: You
This is only going to get worse.
ROUND THREE
Kill me.
FINALS
Let’s talk about these two.
If you’ve read the Red Rising trilogy, you get where I’m coming from here. We went through so much in this book. We started at such an insane point after the events of the previous book, and somehow the hottie of the book world, Mr. Brown, brought this baby full circle. We cry. We cheer. We cry again. We cry some more, for about ten minutes this time. Look, I don’t see how a trilogy could be more epically concluded. The ending is so unexpected yet satisfying that I’m honestly considering stopping here. But I know I won’t.
Something you need to understand is how ravenously I devoured this book. Now, I had seen the first two or three episodes of the Netflix show years ago, so I had a baseline for the characters. I think it only helped with how invested I got. Santino Fontana (hi again) was almost a better Joe than Penn Badgley himself, which is insane, because that guy was born to play Joe. The chaotic breakdown of the stream of consciousness whenever Joe was having a shitty time was just so expertly done, and I was tense the entire book. I was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop and I just couldn’t believe, again, that Caroline had me rooting for this fuckin’ dude.
WINNER
Congratulations. This was awful. I need to go down a roll of Tums.
I’m never doing this again.
Oh shit.
Now I have to put You up against the last half’s winner.
Listen. We don’t have to do this. We really don’t.
You’re not going to get mad at me if I don’t do it, right?
Right?
Okay good. Cuz I’m straight up not doing it.
Deal with it.
Ugh. Fine. Maeve Fly.
Monthly Writing Goal Update
Word Count: 8,287 / 20,000
I had absolutely no time to write this week! I was so busy at work, not to mention with my eCornell Creative Writing Certificate, that I only managed to squeak out a little over a thousand words. All of them were in Project Romantasy.
BUT! I have been doing some amazing character and worldbuilding work in my current class for the certificate, and I’ve got a bunch of stuff that’s sitting there all prepped, just waiting to be thrown on the burner. Once I actually just have the time, this story is going to fly out of me faster than bad Taco Bell.
Sorry for that image. But you know.
Wish me luck during this coming week!
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