And at long last, my Top Books of 2025 list is done. It pretty much confirms that 2025 was a fantastic year for books and I couldnt stick to a top 15, let alone top 10. Featuring books across 3 main categories- SERIES STARTERS/ STANDALONES, SEQUELS & FINALES. Also has BoTY Link - shorturl.at/3ErUG

Happy book bday to Jim Butcher for #TwelveMonths - The Dresden Files is my fav urban fantasy series & the 18th book gives us the same magic while being somber & reflective. My review - vinayvasan.substack.com/p/twelve-mon... Thanks to @orbitbooksuk.bsky.social

2026 is almost here & so are some amazing books. I had a fear that 2025 had truly spoilt us in terms of books but as I started building the 2026 list, there were so many books that I am now properly primed for 2026 vinayvasan.substack.com/p/26-for-2026

Such a fantastic sequel and is in the running for book of the year - this series is so much fun @jamesloganauthor.bsky.social I had fun reading the book as well as writing this review :)

Wow, this book was quite spectacular, fun and compulsively binge-able (yes I know what I just did there) - had an absolute blast Thanks for my review copy @netgalley.bsky.social @torbooks.bsky.social @bingewriting.bsky.social @thefantasyhive.bsky.social

I had a total blast reading & even greater one on sharing my thoughts on this fun roller-coaster ride - @davewragg.com knocks it out of the park, dealing with a life governed by violence & the possible impacts of it across relationships....

Someone's just thrown a bottle of Omega 3 tablets at me. I only received super fish oil injuries, but still.

Woohoo got the ARC approved for #IronRoad by @davewragg.com - thanks to @harpercollins.bsky.social @netgalley.bsky.social Cant wait to read about Ree & Javani's journeys pan out in this trilogy capper

Five Phantom Discount by Marcus Fell & Jason Krumbine was so much fun in an Ocean's 11 meets Ocean's 8 set in NYC's underground but with magic Thanks to @netgalley.bsky.social & Sterling & Stone for my review copy Review - vinayvasan.substack.com/p/five-phant...

It’s official. Studio Execs are now using Chat GPT to evaluate screenplays. Here’s proof from a friend’s pass letter: Not only is it vague and unhelpful, it references one specific — an antique camera. The problem? THERE’S NO ANTIQUE CAMERA IN THE FUCKING SCRIPT.

Yaay for the #SistahSamurai sequel - cant wait for it @obeytheauthor.bsky.social

A @guygavrielkay.bsky.social book is an event book & #WrittenOnTheDark hews exactly to the template and yet it is so beautiful, soulful & ruminative. There is longing, beauty, loss & ultimately a sense of wonder & melancholy when you finish the book. Mini review below

You know what you are getting when you crack open a @guygavrielkay.bsky.social book - Luxurious, generous writing combined with fascinating slightly melancholic leads with complex, checkered pasts in a Franco-Italian setup - Happy book bday for #WrittenOnTheDark - 20% in & loving it already

Happy Book bday to @caitlinrozakis.bsky.social for The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teachers Association - this was so much fun in an entirely relatable way (esp as a new parent) - and a prophecy to boot as well Thanks to @titanbooks.bsky.social for my ARC of this one - my mini review below

The Devils by @joeabercrombie.com is possibly his most commercial work with trademark Abercrombie-ism studded throughout - the book is pretty much MCU style blockbuster with an added James Gunn-ish edginess. Unputdownable & immensely enjoyable, if a bit predictable and self-aware

Your reminder that someone can appear to be at the top (of the world, of their field, etc) and feel rather dramatically differently. I'm glad Jim worked through his issues, is still here with us and is still writing the books so many people love. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/b...

Anji Kills a King hews closely to what John Wick might call "Consequences" following Anji's killing of the King right off the bat. What follows is a thrilling, grimy, gritty journey Review - shorturl.at/D13Dy Thanks to @netgalley.bsky.social @torbooks.bsky.social @bookreviewskill.bsky.social

Happy book bday to Evan Leikam (@bookreviewskill.bsky.social) for #AnjiKillsAKing - Halfway through this book, I am super intrigued on how the relationship between Anji & Hawk is developing & where this story is going to go

In @bookreviewskill.bsky.social 's Anji kills a King, Anji kills a King in the 1st chapter itself

In what I hope is the first of many, here is my #NotAReview of #Sinners where I examine the Art of the Setup across themes I propose to do this not to review but to talk off the elements that I found fascinating in movies & TV shows My #NotAReview - vinayvasan.substack.com/p/not-a-revi...

Godfather 3 meets The Dark Knight meets the trials & tribulations of Fitz in this status quo changing 4th installment of the underrated Fetch Phillips Archive by @longlukearnold.bsky.social Thanks to @netgalley.bsky.social @littlebrown.bsky.social Review - vinayvasan.substack.com/p/whisper-in...

In what might be a rarity (for me), I actually have my May reads properly planned out & I am really excited for each and every one of them - May can’t get here soon enough #MayBookPlanning

You got to hand it to @longlukearnold.bsky.social - #WhisperInTheWind (Fetch Philips #4) had the whole Godfather 3 meets the Dark Knight meets some fabulous detective-ing going so wonderfully well - yet again a #FetchPhilips book ends in another change to the status quo - Terrific

Vengeance of Asgard is @baptistepinsonwu.bsky.social at his furious frenetic best, concluding the Army of One trilogy in thrilling apocalyptic fashion. Check out my review below vinayvasan.substack.com/p/vengeance-...

#Scales by Christopher Hinz is Jurassic Park taken a step further with Dino-Humans and a side of cannibalism - it is thrilling, fast-paced, exciting and fun and packed with tons of ideas. I am thankful to @angryrobotbooks.bsky.social @netgalley.bsky.social My review - shorturl.at/YywJ4

Vinay reviews Baptiste Pinson Wu's Japanese mythology-inspired YA BLOOD OF THE KAMI: "an ode to the love of mythology and history, and it shows in every page of this book" Read more: tinyurl.com/mu7yd6aa

I fell in love when I saw the cover the first time & I am happy to say the book does complete justice to the hype of the cover - I loved #BloodOfTheKami by @baptistepinsonwu.bsky.social My review of this "Lone Wolf & Cub" adventurer in a mystical Japan - vinayvasan.substack.com/p/blood-of-t...

And that’s Shroud done - a fabulous book that lures you in with a trope & hits the counter-trope pretty hard Thanks @torbooks.bsky.social @netgalley.bsky.social @aptshadow.bsky.social for my copy of this

Vinay reviews Adrian Tchaikovsky's latest first-contact sci-fi SHROUD: "It is in turns atmospheric, thrilling, dangerous, reflective, and ruminative but entertaining and suspenseful all the time" Read more: tinyurl.com/msksm65n

And thats a wrap on what might already be book of the year.... So much fun!!!!!! and it was a joy and pleasure to read this book and series @robertjbennett.bsky.social @netgalley.bsky.social @thefantasyhive.bsky.social

Today Vinay reviews the follow up to Robert Jackson Bennett's hugely popular The Tainted Cup, A DROP OF CORRUPTION: "Wicked, imaginative, chaotic, unputdownable, and a lot of fun" Read more: tinyurl.com/yp34967v

Space Brooms by @agrwrites.bsky.social is so much fun - I did expect a bit of a satirical funny work in the vein of Joe Zeija’s Epoc Failure series - but this is turning out to be a proper page turning space adventure thriller with a totally lost & hapless lead

Ohh a new book in the #RoseThrone world by Peter McLean - that is so awesome. Really looking forward to it - am a huge fan of the War for the Rose Throne series!!!! #PavedWithGoodIntentions out in June 2025

#ADropOfCorruption by @robertjbennett.bsky.social is easily among the frontrunner to be book of the year!!!!! Wicked, Imaginative, Chaotic, Unputdownable, & a lot of fun, A Drop of Corruption ups the ante of the series even further with Ana the star & Dinios the heart Review - shorturl.at/9dlWN

#SpecialDelivery [email protected] was so much fun - almost like early stages of the Rebel Alliance in Star Wars meets Startship Troopers - a fabulously breezy entertaining popcorny book

Happy #internationalwomensday everyone! It inspired me to share a few of my fave books by female authors that can be read as standalones. Please feel free to let me know your favourite female authors and/or tag them!

Happy #InternationalWomensDay Check out these amazing standalone books be female authors below ⬇️ And for more amazing female authors please check out our #WomeninSFF section on The Fantasy Hive: fantasy-hive.co.uk/category/fea...

An absolutely fantastic series with a narrator voice unlike anything you would have ever read @cmcaplanwrites.bsky.social

Triggernometry trilogy by @starkholborn.bsky.social is Mathematical Fahrenheit 951 in an alternate Wild Wild West - Its also a prime example of how a complete storyline can be packed in 3 short novellas - its an ode to the love of maths & SFF genre My review- vinayvasan.substack.com/p/triggernom...

And look at Diplomacy of the Knife standing proud with other awesome picks for the month Cc @cmcaplanwrites.bsky.social

❗️When America has your back: The Economist on the background of recent events

Happy book bday to @aptshadow.bsky.social for #Shroud - I am 50% into the book & continue to be amazed on how unexpected of this book is turning out to be (in a fabulous way)

"At its best, THE DIPLOMACY OF THE KNIFE evokes some of the best plotting of ASOIAF with some of the best character work and suffering of Fitz - and that makes this book extremely special." HI YOU GUYS GOTTA CHECK THIS REVIEW OUT THIS IS INCREDIBLE

The Four of Mercies by @cmcaplanwrites.bsky.social is just incredibly insane, chaotic, messy, unhinged & inventive in a truly delightful way. I am thankful for the ARC of the 2nd book & also to @esmayrosalyne.bsky.social for her fabulous review - reviews truly matter, let no one tell you otherwise

Happy book bday to @gouravmohanty.bsky.social for #DanceOfShadows - I just cant wait to lay hands on what promises to be an amazing sequel - this Mahabharata inspired grimdark Indian fantasy rocked my world with the 1st book & easily among the most anticipated book of the year

And that’s my review of @zbsteele.bsky.social ‘s sleek, fun & well written novella - An Inkling of Flame - tons of character work in a relatively slim 89 pager, it does whet the appetite My review - vinayvasan.substack.com/p/an-inkling...

#SomethingBeautiful the Duomo lit up on the edge of night

Happy book bday to @cmcaplanwrites.bsky.social for #DiplomacyOfTheKnife - it takes the dynamics of the fustercluck of a family from Book 1 and throws in fusterclucks with respect to human inventions and kills - Unhinged in the best way, I am looking to see how this ends given I am at 75% in