End Of Year Survey 2025

After researching some end-of-year book tags, I decided to do this one because I feel it's got the most interesting questions, and it sums up the year nicely 😄 You can check out the OG End of Year Survey on the author's website - The Pe.rpetual Page-Turner. No need for a longer intro because the tag explains itself, so let's just jump into the questions!

 1. Best Book You Read In 2025?

 

I might be cheating a bit with picking two books but here's my reasoning: if I had to pick a book that impacted my reading the most this year, that would be Akarnae. I can't truly look at it on its own, in my mind, the whole series is connected and if you asked me, I couldn't honestly tell you that this first one is the best of the series. On the other hand, if I had to pick a book that's the best on its own, that would be The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

I already talked about this in my previous reviews and book tags, but this is the only book that fits this question 😂 It's the only book I was so excited to read that disappointed me. I gave it 3 stars so it's not all that bad, but it doesn't have the same vibe as the first two. Also, the ending was bad.

 3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?  

Since the last question was of the negative variety, I decided to pick a book that surprised me in the best way - The Golden Prince. I mean, look at that cover 😂 I expected something very fanfictiony with lots of tropes and for the romance to be the main focus with absolutely nothing else BUT

The story is far more complex and I LOVED both main characters. They were sort of reversed Rapunzel and Flynn because in this retelling, Maisie is the badass thief and Thomas is the hopeful, naive prince. READ IT PLEASE.

 4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read ?

I didn't know how to answer this question because any book I love, I end up gushing about and recommending on my blog 😂 I chose this one because a few days after I finished it, my best friend came over and I couldn't stop talking about this book so she added it to her TBR immediately. So, I guess this counts, right? 😂

 5. Best series you started in 2025? Best Sequel? Best Series Ender?

  

Let's be real, I could've easily just put Akarnae (and it's sequels) in all three places because that is a 5-book-long series of perfection but I wanted to be fair and give the spotlight to some other series as well 😂 Another amazing seris I started in 2025 is definitely Space Janitor! It's so funny, cozy and a mix of two of my fave things - murder and space shenanigans 😂 

Next up is Twisted Fates, the 2nd book in its trilogy. While I rated the last book in the series slightly lower with a 4.5 rating, this book is still firmly a 5-star read in my mind. It complemented the first book nicely and gave us lots of new plot twists to think about.

Lastly, the only series ender that I could possibly talk about is, of course, Vardaesia - the fifth book in the Akarnae universe. Literally NOTHING could beat the satisfaction I felt after reading this, the happiness that overwhelmed me after learning my fave characters are doing well and have their HEAs ♥

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2020?

Julia Huni definitely deserves this spot because I binged her Space Janitor series and I plan on devouring the rest this year 😂

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

My first ever manga, and it was a huge success! The humor, the storyline, the characters...everything was just the way I like it 😄

 8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

When you read an Ally Carter book, you can be sure it's gonna be full of spy action and hilarious banter. I can't wait to read the sequel this year!

 9. Book You Read In 2025 That You Would Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

I don't reread books this fast, so I'm gonna have to say none 😅 Usually, I either reread a) my fave books every couple of years or b) a book that has a sequel coming out, but I don't remember anything 😂😂 None of the books I read this year fit these categories so yeah...

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2025?

 

I couldn't choose between these two because they're both so gorgeous and they both give me that sense of warmth, belonging, and a tiny bit of mystery.

11. Most memorable character of 2025?

Ethan Wyatt, the greenest green flag ♥

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2025?

Basically half of the book was highlighted after I was done with it. It's got so many beautiful, inspiring quotes without being too dramatic or too pushy. Reading this book felt like a warm hug. You feel like you can do anything, but it also encourages you to rest and look at your previous accomplishments.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2025?

I kinda already answered this in the question above so yeah...read that again 😂

 14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2025 to finally read? 

This book was published IN 2019!! It's been on my radar for so long, and it's also been on multiple reading challenges as an option because it fits so many prompts. Aside from all that, it's also one of my favorite subgenres - a time travel sci-fi mystery book. In case you're wondering, of course I loved it and all of its sequels. So why didn't I read this sooner???

 15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2025?

„Reading makes you deviate further from the textbook definition of success because books don’t make us go ahead of or above anyone else; they guide us to stand alongside others.”

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2025?

 

On the left is a Space Janitor novella with 86 pages, on the right is the final book in The Jasad Heir duology with 681 pages.

 17. Book That Shocked You The Most

For a cozy mystery, this has one of the more shocking twists I have read! I didn't expect this in the slightest! There's also the fact that it shocked me how good this book is 😂😂 The cover is cringe to say the least but the content is so so good.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

Ethan and Maggie are amazing together and they understand each other so well ♥

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

The friendship between Sylvia, Sefa and Marek is so wholesome and despite living in a cruel, dark world, they managed to find some warmth in it.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2025 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

 

I've previously read The Prison Healer trilogy by Lynette Noni and I've also read the Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter - ALL of which I absolutely adored.

21. Best Book You Read In 2025 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure/Bookstagram, Etc.:

I mean...do I need to state the obvious? 😂 Liliana has been raving about this series for ages and this year, I finally caved in and it was the best decision of my life 😂

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2025?

I know I keep mentioning the same book over and over again but it deserves it!!! Ethan is genuinely such a nice guy and he wants Maggie to be the best she can be. He's always there for her, even though she sometimes doubts him and his intentions.

23. Best 2025 debut you read?

A magical realism, mystery novel where a girl tries to solve her friend's disappearance while also dealing with her own problems.

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

Magical doorways, creatures, schools for gifted people, floating islands...this book has it all 😍

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

I've already talked about Space Janitor and Ally Carter's books so the next one in line would be Full Speed to a Crash Landing! The whole series is so much fun with lots of action, some scheming and of course, banter.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2025?

While I didn't cry reading this, I was definitely very emotional and experienced some form of sadness. The thing is, while this book has it's romantic elements, it's also a story about grief and family relationships. Every time Eliza spoke to her mother and thought about their relationship, I couldn't help but feel for her. It was so realistic and raw and so unexpected in a cute book about two teens fighting for the salutatorian title while also falling in love.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

 

Both of these have less than 1500 ratings on GR and both of them were amazing. Beauty Reborn is a soft, low-angst, vibey Beauty and the Beast retelling and many people thought it was too boring while I thought the slow pace is what gave it its charm. There are no high stakes, just two people slowly getting to know each other in less-than-ideal circumstances. Eliza, from Scratch is a novel that has so many important topics covered, and each was dealt with care and love.

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

I have to admit, there hasn't been anything soul-crushing per se, but one that came close is, of course, the newest Hunger Games release. This probably would've crushed my soul more had it not been set before THG. This way, I already knew most of these people would die, so I was kinda prepared for all the distruction and sadness 😅

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2025?

If you asked me right now what this book is about, I wouldn't know how to summarize it all. I'm gonna use the official description on GR and say that it's "a speculative YA mystery, where a Black teen with premonition-like powers must solve her friend's disappearance before she finds herself in the same danger." I've never seen a protagonist in a contemporary novel with such powers before - she can sense that you need a random object before you know that you need it.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad?

I HATED what they did to my main characters. It's almost like the author decided the first 2 books weren't important and completely switched the tone and the focus. I was so disappointed and mad. Harper and Rhen got what is the opposite of character development.

That was the end of the "Best in Books" part. This survey usually has 3 parts but when I read the second "Your Blogging/Bookish Life" part questions, I realized I had nothing interesting to say 😅 That's why I'm immediately skipping to the third part "Looking Ahead" 😂

1. (One) Book You Didn’t Get To In 2025 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2026?

 

These two sequels came out in 2025 and I should've already read them  😂😂

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2026 (non-debut)?

 

Two of my fave authors have new books scheduled for this year and I'm super excited for both!

3. 2026 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

 

One is a cozy romantasy, the other is a murder mystery Little Woman retelling 😍

 4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2026?

One can never have too many Inheritance Games sequels/spin-offs 😂

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2026?

We'll I'd definitely want to try and read more books. I know it's not realistic of me to expect to read 100+ books like I used to when I went to college and had nothing better to do, but still. I'm lucky enough that my job isn't stressfull most of the time and I always have afternoons off so I think I can pull off 80 books this year. 

When it comes to blogging I'm gonna make an executive decision and stop doing what I always do - wish for more reviews 😂 Look, I'm just not a review person and that's fine. Instead, I'll hope to write more posts in general, but specifically, posts I love doing. It may be lists, it may be cover comparisons, whatever it is, I refuse to force myself to write posts I find difficult or stressfull to do. So yeah, I guess my blogging wish is to have fun and go with the flow 😄

 What are your blogging plans? Did you also do this book tag? Drop a link in the comments!