nika

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books i read in 2025 ⟶ Street Rats of Aramoor by Michael Wisehart

To close out 2025, I chose to read an easy-to-digest series, just for fun, without any commitment to complex plots, and the stories proved captivating with lovable characters and great adventures.

Banished Hurricane Rockslide Sandstorm Wildfire Avalanche

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books i read in 2025 ⟶ Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

“Surely no one else lived like this - burdened by the tiniest details they assumed had enormous consequences. Surely no one else was so anchored by anxiety. Other people could stumble and shake their heads and move on. How she envied their lightness.”

“Those who had nothing substantial to brag about bragged the loudest.”

“Everyone knew that the nicer a library was, the better the work you did within it.”

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books i read in 2025 ⟶ Shadows Upon Time by Christopher Ruocchio

“Beauty cannot stay, nor endure—indeed, that a thing is and is gone next is part of what makes a thing beautiful. The preciousness of any beautiful thing—any good thing—lies in its scarcity. And because all things are scarce when measured against eternity and infinity, all things are beautiful—if seen at the right angle, if captured in the right light.”

“Come. There is yet work to do.”

So, I finished this journey. It wasn't enough. I will certainly read everything the author releases and I'm eagerly waiting for it; meanwhile, the series will be released in Portuguese in Brazil starting in 2026, and I will buy and reread it because I don't have the physical books.

When you call for it... It will be Quiet.

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books i read in 2025 ⟶ Gods of Blood and Powder Series by Brian McClellan

“Food, in my experience, is one of the few things that can cement a good friendship between strangers.”

― Brian McClellan, Sins of Empire

Map from The Powder Mage Universe

“Everyone needs to believe in something to feel truly whole. Sometimes that’s an emperor or a god or a politician. Sometimes it’s themselves. Other times it’s the promise of an ancient stone driving them mad. It mitigates the pain of real life, I believe.”

― Brian McClellan, Blood of Empire

“I’m sick of working for tin-pot dictators. Find me an underdog to fight for. As long as they can pay decently, of course.”

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books i read in 2025 ⟶ Harbinger Series by Jeff Wheeler

An empire of sky ships and floating cities

“That’s the thing about stories. They can touch on truths that some people just are not ready to hear.”

― Jeff Wheeler, Storm Glass

One of the strangest things about life is that we are as much defined by our hopes as we are our secret fears. We are, for the most part, the product of what we think about the most.

― Jeff Wheeler, Mirror Gate

“For in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increases knowledge increases sorrow.”

Cettie of the Fells and Sera Fitzempress

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books i read in 2025 ⟶ Long Price Quartet by Daniel Abraham

I'm always looking to read Daniel Abraham's next book, so I had to go back and read his debut series.

“Sometimes the hand pulls the puppet, sometimes the puppet pulls the hand, but the string runs both ways.” ― Daniel Abraham, A Shadow in Summer

“There were so many ways to be wrong. There were so many ways to break things.”

― Daniel Abraham, An Autumn War

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books i read in 2025 ⟶ A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers

"To see so many lifetimes of progress unfurled before us is far too jarring - almost incomprehensible. It makes us doubt our significance in the world. And a feeling of significance is so important to our survival."

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books i read in 2025 ⟶ The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley

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The cover art is what made me buy the first book; I like to enter a story without knowing absolutely anything, and that was the case here. I was very surprised by powerful women, sentient plants, mirror worlds.

“People do not take actions based on logic. We make choices based on emotion. Every one of us. Then we use what we call logic to justify our choices.”

“She is equal parts manic brutality and strategic fuckery.”

This series is one of the most original I've ever read, due to its almost relentless execution of ideas. The author doesn't waste time explaining anything, the world-building is rich and vibrant, and the plot is so dense that it demands a lot of concentration.

The author surprises at times with her bold decisions that still disturb me. She is not afraid to be original in every sense of the word, and this attitude of breaking paradigms is probably the reason why I feel so drawn to her narrative. Some elements she included in the story are at least controversial and questionable; the difference compared to other books where I found these same elements repugnant may lie in the execution.

May your choices be shaped by your hopes, not your fears.

Hurley tackles gender roles in a radical way; abuse in any form is unacceptable, and I personally don't like reading about it, but it's important to question the status quo from time to time to challenge these prejudices. She puts into perspective all the abuse that women suffer in fantasy (and in real life). Reading about atrocities committed against men in this way was a shock, as my pre-conditioned brain wasn't prepared for it. This is certainly a point of controversy for many readers, but for me, it provided a deep reflection on some deeply ingrained prejudices.

And light coming in the window just so And the wind through my fingers The only God that I know And it does not want me on my knees to believe

...

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books i read in 2025 ⟶ One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

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The Shepherd King

“To the quiet girls with stories in their heads. To their dreams—and their nightmares.”

“Be wary. Be clever. Be good.”

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books i read in 2025 ⟶ Empire of the Wolf Series by Richard Swan

Book1 The Justice of Kings

“Beware the idiot, the zealot and the tyrant; each clothes himself in the armour of ignorance.”

Book 2 The Tyranny of Faith

Stupidity loves company, whilst wisdom must prepare for a lifetime of solitude.

"Why do the commonfolk expend so much time, effort, and treasure in shielding their political oppressors from criticism? ’Tis a depressing state of affairs which persists like a tenacious wart."

Book 3 The Trials of Empire

"When one is faced with such naked evil, there is a temptation to believe that the commonfolk will see it for what it is. In reality it is tenacious, like a weed. It alters perceptions and tolerances slowly, insidiously. It must be fought constantly, and cut out at the roots."

I was drawn to this author by the cover of the book Grave Empire and decided to start by reading a previous series that was already complete. I began The Justice of Kings completely unaware of the story, and was rewarded with the pleasant surprise of the book being narrated in the first person by Helena. She is utterly believable and exudes empathy; it works perfectly to experience the story through the mind of the apprentice instead of the master. Another thing that surprised me was the legal aspect and its intertwining with the magic system, and how the story doesn't end when the hero captures the villain and we have the ritual of accusation, defense, and judgment.

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books i read in 2025 ⟶ Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

"Sometimes people do things to you that you can't do anything about. You just have to survive it and go on."

“I didn’t care what humans were doing to each other as long as I didn’t have to a) stop it or b) clean up after it.”

"Young humans can be impulsive. The trick is keeping them around long enough to become old humans."

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books i read in 2025 ⟶ The Book Of Doors by Gareth Brown

I’ve read it before, but as I get older, I find comfort in rereading favorites. It’s like spending time with old friends.

"The best place to enjoy a stormy night is in a warm room with a book in your lap."

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books i read in 2025 ⟶ The Heart of What Was Lost by Tad Williams

I read "The Heart of What Was Lost" in preparation for "The Last King of Osten Ard" — a sequel series to Tad Williams's "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn" trilogy.

The illustration is the cover of the final book of "To Green Angel Tower - Storm," from the "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn" series, created by artist Jeff Brown for the special edition of The Broken Binding.

I believe this illustration also has the vibe of THWL, which takes place shortly after the events of the first trilogy.

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books i read in 2025 ⟶ Of Empires and Dust by Ryan Cahill

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The longest book in the series, it was also the one I devoured the fastest. Many readers might find it lengthy and tedious to read about the small interactions and not jump straight to the next battle. But it's these quiet moments that I find most engaging in this book.

“I’ldryr viel asatar. I sanvîr viel baralun.” In fire we are forged. In blood we are tempered.

“We never truly lose the ones we love. They stay with us in everything we do. Those who affect us so deeply leave imprints that cannot be removed. We are who we are because of who we’ve loved and who we’ve lost – those things we do not decide. So never be afraid. Live boldly, love fiercely, and forgive quickly. Life is too short for anything else.”

“Let not any soul stay their conscience by the delusion that they do no harm if they take no part. The darkness of this world needs nothing more to triumph than good souls looking on and doing nothing.”

Art 1 by Ömer Burak Önal (The fall of The Order - this is a piece for the novel “The Fall” by author Ryan Cahill). This illustration is not from the book in question, but it illustrates a watershed moment in Epheria's history that leads to current events, and that moment is revisited through the eyes of Calen and Valerys in Of Empires And Dust.

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books i read in 2025 ⟶ Kallocaína by Karin Boye

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I loved the covers of the Brazilian edition of Kallocaína by Editora Aleph, art by Guilherme Manzi.

“O fundamento sólido e necessário da existência do Estado é a desconfiança mútua e profunda entre os homens.”

“The solid and necessary foundation of the existence of the State is the mutual and profound distrust between men.”

This dystopian novel, a precursor to 1984, shares many elements with George Orwell's book. This edition even has an extra chapter at the end where the translator compares several passages from these books, suggesting that Kallocaína may have been a source for 1984.

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books i read in 2025 ⟶ Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang

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“It’s much easier to tell yourself you’re a good person than it is to actually be one.”

“So many parents will try to kill everything brilliant about a girl in the name of giving her a good life, a safe life, a chance at happiness.”

“Because good people can turn desperate when the horrors are upon them—especially people whose culture of plenty has left them with no systems to cope with scarcity or cataclysm. Good people will turn monstrous when it’s down to their survival or someone else’s.”

“You know, arrogance never made a woman more attractive.' 'When I care how attractive you find me, I'll let you know.”

— It was like the first book I read by ML Wang, I became attached to the characters faster than any other book I've read this year. I usually don't care about characters in a standalone; there isn't enough time and development for me to care, but that doesn't happen here. It was such a quick read, I couldn't put the book down and I became immensely attached to both protagonists.