Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers creating and sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, participants were required to list the books they are most looking forward to in the first half of 2026. I did a list around this topic last week, so I am instead going to continue my recent trend of end of year and examining the best books released in 2025. As such I will be listening the top books I meant to read in 2025 but that I didn’t get a chance to.
2025 was an awesome year for books and I had such an outstanding time getting through a solid collection of books from new-to-me authors, exciting sequels and great older novels, most of which were fun and impressive reads. However, no matter how hard one tries there are always a couple of books each year that you don’t get the chance to read, either due to time constraints, lack of access or being too overwhelmed with other reads. As a result, this is a list loaded with regret as each book I mention below is one that I really wish I had taken the time to explore.
To complete this list, I pulled together some of the more interesting and compelling novels that I didn’t get a chance to read in 2025. Each entry was released last year and while knew that they were coming out I did not get a chance to read any of them. In many cases I have these books sitting on my shelf, silently and constantly judging me, and I will have to try and read them to stop their bookish glares. I was eventually able to cull my list of regret down to 10 entries with an honourable mentions section. This list is an interesting collection of books from across the genres and include several major 2025 releases I did not get the chance to look at.
Honourable Mentions:
Forged for Destiny by Andrew Knighton
A fun sounding fantasy novel about the downsides of destiny.
The final book in a young adult fantasy trilogy I was hoping to finish off last year.
The Devil’s Knight by P. W. Finch
An intriguing historical fiction novel with an awesome plot that grabbed my attention and which I’m still hoping to read.
A Song of Legends Lost by M. H. Ayinde
A very compelling 2025 fantasy debut that I regret not getting the chance to check out.
Top Ten Tuesday:
There Will Be Bodies by Lindsey Davis
One of the books I most regret not reading in 2025 was the latest book in one of my favourite historical fiction series, There Will Be Bodies by Lindsey Davis. The latest book in the always entertaining Flavia Albia series, There Will Be Bodies sounded like an excellent historical murder mystery, when the protagonist uncovers bodies related to the Pompei volcanic eruption. I really liked the sound of this latest Flavia Albia book and I’m still hoping to read it at some point this year, especially as I’m curious to see how Davies envisions ancient Romans looking back at the volcanic event.
Three Shattered Souls by Mai Corland
One of the big fantasy releases I had hoped to read at the end of 2025 was Three Shattered Souls by Mai Corland. The third and final book in Corland’s Broken Blades trilogy (which previously featured Five Broken Blades and Four Ruined Realms), Three Shattered Souls sounded like an excellent end to the trilogy, with the surviving damaged killer protagonists forced to face their enemies in a final fight. I’ve got copies of Three Shattered Souls on a couple of formats and I’m planning to read it this year as I’m very curious to see how everything ends in this series.
While I did manage to read Adam Plantinga’s cool 2024 debut, The Ascent, last year, I was unable to get my hands on a copy of the sequel, Hard Town. Following a rough former cop who keeps finding himself in deadly situations, Hard Town follows the protagonist as he travels to an unusual town and finds himself embroiled in a staggering conspiracy. I’m still extremely keen to read Hard Town at some point, especially as his first book was a wonderfully excessive and entertaining thriller, and I will probably try to get a copy of this sequel soon.
One of the more entertaining historical novels from 2025 I regret missing was Tyrant by Conn Iggulden. The second book in Iggulden’s Nero series, Tyrant follows on from the excellent 2024 novel Nero and features the teenaged future rule of Rome and his diabolical mother, as they pave his way to the throne. I’m still keen to read Tyrant, as it sounds like an amazing read, and it should be a ton of fun to get through.
The Last Soul Among Wolves by Melissa Caruso
A unique fantasy novel I’m sorry to have not read last year was the new Melissa Caruso novel, The Last Soul Among Wolves. The sequel to the excellent 2024 novel, The Last Hour Between Worlds, The Last Soul Among Wolves contained a unique locked room mystery, as a several friends are magically trapped in a house after an unusual will reading. I had an outstanding time with The Last Hour Between Worlds and this sequel sounded extremely good. I might attempt to read this sequel soon, as I am curious about how Caruso will top her previous cool story.
The Medici Return by Steve Berry
Probably the most surprising inclusion on this list for me is The Medici Return by Steve Berry, as I’m usually very good at reading Berry’s books as soon as they come out. The latest book in Berry’s Cotton Malone series, The Medici Return has a very interesting plot behind it, as the protagonist attempts to unwind an elaborate conspiracy from history when the legendary Medici family apparently return to Italy with a vengeance. This book sounds extremely awesome, and I’m hoping to read it before the next Cotton Malone novel comes out.
Valour by Richard Cullen
While I did manage to read Cullen’s early 2025 novel, Crusade, I didn’t get a chance to check out his other release from last year, Valour. The third book in the author’s Chronicles of the Black Lion, Valour sounds like another very exciting novel from Cullen, as the protagonist finds himself fighting pagans hidden in a deadly and remote European mountain range. I currently have Valour loaded up to read when I have a spare moment and the need for historical adventure, and I know I’m going to have a great time with this book when I do.
Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky
There were a few books from the always impressive Adrian Tchaikovsky I regret not reading in 2025, however, the most interesting sounding was Shroud. A fantastic and tense science fiction novel that sees two crash survivors trapped beneath the dark atmosphere of a forbidden planet, Shroud had a truly outstanding plot idea behind it, and I was very curious to see how it would unfold. I have no doubt that Shroud was a particularly incredible novel, and I really do hope I get the chance to read it at some point.
The Detective by Matthew Reilly
One big end of year release I very much regret not reading was the new novel from Australian author Matthew Reilly, The Detective. An interesting and apparently clever crime fiction read set in the American south, The Detective was very high on my to-read list for the last few months of 2025. Unfortunately, I could never seem to make time for it, which was a real shame considering how much I loved Reilly’s previous novel, Mr Einstein’s Secretary. The Detective is one of the big releases from last year I will attempt to read in 2026, and I cannot wait to finally explore Reilly’s excellent new novel.
The Book That Held Her Heart by Mark Lawrence
The final 2025 novel I want to highlight on this list is The Book That Held Her Heart by Mark Lawerence. The third and final book in Lawrence’s The Library trilogy, The Book That Held Her Heart follows on from the author’s excellent previous novels The Book That Wouldn’t Burn and The Book That Broke The World. I have been meaning to read The Book That Held Her Heart for a while, especially as I am curious about how this inventive fantasy series was coming to an end, and this final book sounds very impressive. I might try to read The Book That Held Her Heart in the next month or two, especially as Lawrence has a new book coming out soon with Daughter of Crows, and I look forward to seeing how he wraps up his last complex series.
Well, that is the end of my latest list and it looks like I have a lot catch-up reading to do if I am going to make a dent in it. There are some truly amazing-sounding novels on this list, and I fully intend to get through all of them at some point, although with all the outstanding books coming out in 2026, it might take me a little time. In the meantime, let me know what books you most regret not reading in 2025 in the comments below.
The Unseen Library 
I really need to try Iggulden. I love HF and he’s often reccommended.
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I hope you’ll be able to read at least some of these books this year!
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