i didn't read as much fic this year as i wanted to, but i did do a better job of bookmarking the fics that stuck with me! some of these are from 2025, some of these are just some that i discovered this year as i've continued acclimating myself with the talents of the fandom!! (i am, after all, only in year 2 of hanging out in this corner of the internet.) so, once again, in no particular order...my recs for you to consider reading in 2026.
ps here's my rec list from last year!
i'll be fine, i'll be good by @kay-elle-cee
- i have recced this one on other occasions over the last year, but it deserved a place here because it is truly The Slytherin Lily Fic. and by that, i mean it's the only one i've read and the only one i see myself reading. kelsey is one of those people who could quite honestly write my least favourite trope ever and i'd still give it a go. she's that talented. this one is no exception and is one i've gone back to multiple times over the last year!
breaking through the clouds (feels impossible now) by @jilyxz
- okay. OKAY. i need everyone to read this fic. i've gushed quite a bit to jasmine about it, but truly...i need EVERYONE to be gushing to her! this is her debut fic and it's truly one of my most favourite things i read all year. it's a wip, but each chapter is so obviously a labour of love for these characters. she just Gets Them in a way i need absolutely everyone to witness. also, as someone who came into the jily scene last year...getting started with writing (whether it's first the first time ever or the first time in a fandom), can feel scary. so give her and any new authors you know of lots and lots of love xx
December's Valentine by @stonecoldhedwig
- i'll never stop laughing at james's sex puns. i can't, i won't. i refuse to even try!!!!!! this is peak modern au jily and the setting is just...perfect??? you know when you read a fic and you're just like, "god these characters are so meant for each other" and i mean...maybe that sounds dumb, because isn't that always what we want when we read fic about pairings we love? sure! but it doesn't always happen that way, does it? anyway, i wanna print this out and make a, like, coffee table book out of it and put it out every christmas for visitors of my house (not my young children) to read and love as much as i do
Just Keep Your Eyes On Me by @crossingwinter
- housemates-to-lovers is a vastly unexplored trope within the jily fandom...that i adore!!!! this one does it so so well. the pining, the marauders' banter, the hilarious mystery of james' job (i really love that bit so much). a fun 50k+ one-shot. ha!
songbirds in springtime by @ohhevans
- okay so the hardest part of this rec list was my having to choose only ONE of pen's fics. idk if anyone gets jily like she gets jily. but i ultimately had to go with this one, because it was my birthday fic and made me cry actual tears. jily and fleamia in one place. what more could a (this) girl want?! genuinely, pen's gorgeous prose paired with her just Getting james potter and lily evans (paired with!!!! her being my actual FRIEND) is a spectacular thing to witness. please read everything she has written ever and then get back to me and tell me what was your favourite. (i mean, tell her, too, but if you tell me, i can relay the message)
Come morning light by @startanewdream
- hunger games adjacent jily? idk how else to describe this tbh. i don't like the hunger games. but i loved this beyond reason. and it's not actually hunger games. JUST READ IT and you'll understand. arranged marriage and forced proximity are a couple of my favourite things, especially within universes like this one. lastly, the morally grey albus dumbledore agenda is alive and well in this fic and i loved the slightly twisted, haunted, creepy nature of this dumbledore.
someday we'll know by @startanewdream
- read the tags on this one!!! my bookmark said this and i'll leave it here because i have nothing more to say about this brilliantly heartbreaking fic: resurrection stone jily. rip my heart out and throw it into the sea please. gotta go kiss my husband real quick and tell if he ever leaves me i’ll kill him again
I Can't Read Your Mind (Though I'm Trying All The Time) by flowrday
- a potter family dynamic i can fully support and get behind! ahhhHHHH. the mutual pining in this one is especially good and you all know how much i love a good fake dating sitch. i'll just never get tired of the "hey mum, look at this beautiful, smart, clever girl i'm bringing home to impress you, no i'm not in love with her lolllll why would you SAY THAT"
Ice Baby by elixirsoflife
- i’ve never read a soulmate story before to my knowledge! and honestly i'm not entirely sure if i’ll ever read more because it's possible that this delightful fic has woefully misrepresented them all and set me up for failure anticipating as wonderful an experience as THIS EVERY TIME? not sure if it’s possible tbh. so bloody cute. 'the cutting edge' was my favourite movie when i was a teenager so this really set my ice hockeyXfigure skater heart alight.
fields of feverfew by @apalapucian
- a second hunger games related rec on this list? madness!!! but thus is the power jayne has over me. if she writes it, i read it...and this one was such an incredible use of that freewill. i always love the little beats of blackevans that shine through her jily fics and this particular story had one of my favourites. also, as someone who is squeamish, this wasn't overly gory, which is something i am always hesitant about when it comes to hunger games aus. truly, though, the focus of this fic was on the characters first, setting second...and i loved loved loved it!!!
Golden Love by GwenMontrose
- i honestly may have recc'ed this last year, i don't remember, but i reread it this year while doing some research for my jily tennis au (coming soon!!!!!) and it's just SUCH a bloody delight. i don't care if you don't care about tennis or swimming or the olympics or whatever. read this. my precious babies!!!!!!!
i don't know why i like you (but i do) by @firefeufuego
- maybe my favourite fic of 2025?! idk, but i think about it at least once a week, which is kind of...insane. right??? i rarely see enemies-to-lovers done in a way that makes sense for my understanding of the dynamic and characters of jily. but this fic does it splendidly. also, i grew up in oxford so this scratched my niche homesickness. anyway, this fic has absolutely everything i love. no notes!!!!!
hold me like you mean it by emerqldv
- fwb jily!!!!!! tis the season!!!!!! like, sorry, but i'll never be normal about these two idiots falling in love on accident again and again (cue charli xcx or whatever). I JUST LOVE THEM!
vaporwave
tangentwithtanner
andulkaphoto
kaledo-art
dailybridgerton
ellievsbear
