Books I Read in 2025
Books I read in 2025 follow. A quick count of my list indicates I read 108 books this year.
January
- The Protector’s Resolve, Book 6 in Tales of Caledonia by Peter Wacht
- The Protector’s Victory, Book 7 in Tales of Caledonia by Peter Wacht
February
- Death on the Burnt Ocean, Book 1 in Tales of the Territories by Peter Wacht
- Monsters in the Mist, Book 2 in Tales of the Territories by Peter Wacht
- Dance of the Daggers, Book 3 in Tales of the Territories by Peter Wacht
- The Bloody Hunt for Freedom, Book 4 in Tales of the Territories by Peter Wacht
- A Spark of Rebellion, Book 5 in Tales of the Territories by Peter Wacht
- Shadows Made Real, Book 6 in Tales of the Territories by Peter Wacht
- Shadows Reach, Book 7 in Tales of the Territories by Peter Wacht
- Labyrinth Arcanist, Book 5 in Astra Academy by Shami Stovall
March
- The Queen’s Blade, Book 1 in The Queen’s Blade by D.K. Holmberg
- Storm in the Darkness, Book 8 in Tales of the Territories by Peter Wacht
- The Guild’s Bard, Book 2 in The Queen’s Blade by D.K. Holmberg
- The Anvil’s Mark, Book 3 in The Queen’s Blade by D.K. Holmberg
- The Traitor’s Trap, Book 4 in The Queen’s Blade by D.K. Holmberg
- The Delegate’s Demise, Book 5 in The Queen’s Blade by D.K. Holmberg
- The Fabricator’s Mask, Book 6 in The Queen’s Blade by D.K. Holmberg
- The Rebel’s Gate, Book 7 in The Queen’s Blade by D.K. Holmberg
- The Blade’s Burden, Book 8 in The Queen’s Blade by D.K. Holmberg
April
- The Crown’s Curse, Book 9 in The Queen’s Blade by D.K. Holmberg
- The Relic’s Secret, Book 10 in The Queen’s Blade by D.K. Holmberg
- The Soldier’s Key, Book 11 in The Queen’s Blade by D.K. Holmberg
- The Realm’s Sacrifice, Book 12 in The Queen’s Blade by D.K. Holmberg
- Fires Above, Heroes Below, Book 1 in Dragon’s Dawn by D.K. Holmberg
May
- Searing Skies, Stolen Flames, Book 2 in Dragon’s Dawn by D.K. Holmberg
- Whispers Amidst the Blaze, Book 3 in Dragon’s Dawn by D.K. Holmberg
- Taming the Raging Storm, Book 4 in Dragon’s Dawn by D.K. Holmberg
- The Flames of Reckoning, Book 5 in Dragon’s Dawn by D.K. Holmberg
- Memory of Glyphs Lost, Book 6 in Dragon’s Dawn by D.K. Holmberg
- Induction, Book 1 in Welcome to the Multiverse by Sean Oswald
- Countdown, Book 2 in Welcome to the Multiverse by Sean Oswald
- Collapse, Book 3 in Welcome to the Multiverse by Sean Oswald
- Resistance, Book 4 in Welcome to the Multiverse by Sean Oswald
- Contention, Book 5 in Welcome to the Multiverse by Sean Oswald
- Control, Book 6 in Welcome to the Multiverse by Sean Oswald
- Invasion, Book 7 in Welcome to the Multiverse by Sean Oswald
June
- Ritualist, Book 1 in The Completionist Chronicles by Dakota Krout
- Regicide, Book 2 in The Completionist Chronicles by Dakota Krout
- Raze, Book 4 in The Completionist Chronicles by Dakota Krout
- Ruthless, Book 5 in The Completionist Chronicles by Dakota Krout
- Inflame, Book 6 in The Completionist Chronicles by Dakota Krout
- Invent, Book 7 in The Completionist Chronicles by Dakota Krout
- Implode, Book 8 in The Completionist Chronicles by Dakota Krout
- Tenacity, Book 9 in The Completionist Chronicles by Dakota Krout
- Thesaurize, Book 10 in The Completionist Chronicles by Dakota Krout
- Thunderplump, Book 11 in The Completionist Chronicles by Dakota Krout
- The Serpent Stairs, Book 1 in Essence Wielder by D.K. Holmberg
- The Essence Crystal, Book 2 in Essence Wielder by D.K. Holmberg
- The Shattered Construct, Book 3 in Essence Wielder by D.K. Holmberg
- The Conduit’s Key, Book 4 in Essence Wielder by D.K. Holmberg
- The Essence Memory, Book 5 in Essence Wielder by D.K. Holmberg
- The Obsidian Crown, Book 6 in Essence Wielder by D.K. Holmberg
- The Emperor’s Secret, Book 7 in Essence Wielder by D.K. Holmberg
- Dungeon Born, Book 1 in The Divine Dungeon by Dakota Krout
- Dungeon Madness, Book 2 in The Divine Dungeon by Dakota Krout
July
- Dungeon Calamity, Book 3 in The Divine Dungeon by Dakota Krout
- Dungeon Desolation, Book 4 in The Divine Dungeon by Dakota Krout
- Dungeon Eternium, Book 5 in The Divine Dungeon by Dakota Krout
- Shattered Dreams, Book 1 in Ultimate Level 1 by Shawn Wilson
- Shattered Limits, Book 2 in Ultimate Level 1 by Shawn Wilson
- Shattered Boundaries, Book 3 in Ultimate Level 1 by Shawn Wilson
- New Dreams, Book 4 in Ultimate Level 1 by Shawn Wilson
- New Freedoms, Book 5 in Ultimate Level 1 by Shawn Wilson
- New Potential, Book 6 in Ultimate Level 1 by Shawn Wilson
- Ultimate Truths, Book 7 in Ultimate Level 1 by Shawn Wilson
- Ultimate Boundaries, Book 8 in Ultimate Level 1 by Shawn Wilson
- Crown Tournament 3, Book 3 in Kirin Arcanist by Shami Stovall
August
- He Who Fights with Monsters, Books 1–12 by Travis Deverell
September
- Ultimate Dreams, Book 9 in Ultimate Level 1 by Shawn Wilson
- Dispute, Book 8 in Welcome to the Multiverse by Sean Oswald
- Claws Out, Book 1 in Dragon Sorcerer by Sean Oswald
- Wings Spread, Book 2 in Dragon Sorcerer by Sean Oswald
- Tail Smash, Book 3 in Dragon Sorcerer by Sean Oswald
- Bite Down, Book 4 in Dragon Sorcerer by Sean Oswald
- Horned Crown, Book 5 in Dragon Sorcerer by Sean Oswald
October
- Watcher’s Test, Book 1 in Life in Exile by Sean Oswald
- Watcher’s Question, Book 2 in Life in Exile by Sean Oswald
- Watcher’s Fate, Book 3 in Life in Exile by Sean Oswald
- Watcher’s Repose, Book 4 in Life in Exile by Sean Oswald
- An Unwitting Prince, Book 5 in Life in Exile by Sean Oswald
- A Temperamental Enchantress, Book 6 in Life in Exile by Sean Oswald
- Untapped, Book 12 in The Completionist Chronicles by Dakota Krout
- Alchemist Apprentice, Book 1 in The Alchemist by D.K. Holmberg
- Alchemist Assault, Book 2 in The Alchemist by D.K. Holmberg
November
- Alchemist Illusion, Book 3 in The Alchemist by D.K. Holmberg
- Alchemist Adept, Book 4 in The Alchemist by D.K. Holmberg
- Alchemist Arcanist, Book 5 in The Alchemist by D.K. Holmberg
- Alchemist Mastery, Book 6 in The Alchemist by D.K. Holmberg
- Divine Creation, Book 10 in Ultimate Level 1 by Shawn Wilson
December
- Divergence, Book 9 in Welcome to the Multiverse by Sean Oswald
- Defiance of the Fall, Books 1–7 by J.F. Brink
Book Series Summaries
- Tales of Caledonia: Peter Wacht’s Tales of Caledonia follows protectors and warriors defending their homeland from both political threats and external enemies. The series leans into loyalty, leadership, and the burden of responsibility as its characters are pushed into increasingly difficult decisions.
- Tales of the Territories: This series expands Wacht’s world into a harsher, more volatile setting where survival is never guaranteed. It focuses on rebellion, shifting alliances, and the cost of freedom, with a steady escalation in stakes as conflicts spread across regions.
- The Queen’s Blade: D.K. Holmberg’s The Queen’s Blade is a progression-heavy fantasy centered around espionage, political maneuvering, and personal power growth. The series follows a character navigating guilds, intrigue, and hidden agendas while steadily becoming more dangerous and influential.
- Dragon’s Dawn: A more traditional fantasy arc from Holmberg, Dragon’s Dawn blends elemental magic, dragons, and large-scale conflict. It focuses on rising threats, ancient powers, and characters growing into roles that impact the fate of entire regions.
- Welcome to the Multiverse: Sean Oswald’s series mixes LitRPG elements with multiverse-scale stakes, where characters are thrown into a structured system of progression, survival, and conflict. It balances fast pacing with strategic growth and evolving powers across multiple worlds.
- The Completionist Chronicles: Dakota Krout’s Completionist Chronicles is a LitRPG series centered on optimizing builds, exploiting systems, and pushing mechanics to their limits. It’s heavy on progression, experimentation, and the idea of “breaking the game” through knowledge and persistence.
- Essence Wielder: This Holmberg series focuses on a magic system built around essence manipulation, with a strong emphasis on discovery and mastery. The story explores how power is gained, controlled, and weaponized in a world shaped by ancient constructs and hidden knowledge.
- The Divine Dungeon: Another Krout series, The Divine Dungeon flips perspective by focusing on a dungeon entity itself as it grows in power. It blends humor, strategy, and progression as the dungeon evolves alongside the adventurers trying to conquer it.
- Ultimate Level 1: Shawn Wilson’s series leans into a constrained progression concept—remaining at level one while still advancing in strength and capability. It focuses on creative problem-solving, system manipulation, and unconventional growth paths.
- Kirin Arcanist: Set in a familiar magical world, this series follows competitive and structured advancement through trials and tournaments. It emphasizes skill development, magical bonding, and high-stakes competition.
- He Who Fights with Monsters: Travis Deverell’s long-running LitRPG series follows a protagonist transported into a new world with game-like mechanics. It combines humor, philosophy, and escalating power progression while exploring morality, identity, and responsibility.
- Dragon Sorcerer: Sean Oswald’s Dragon Sorcerer series focuses on a protagonist tied to draconic power, blending traditional fantasy elements with progression mechanics. It emphasizes growth, transformation, and increasingly powerful magical abilities.
- Life in Exile: This series centers on characters displaced into a new world, forced to adapt quickly to survive. It combines survival, system-based progression, and character relationships as they build new lives under unfamiliar rules.
- The Alchemist: D.K. Holmberg’s The Alchemist series explores magic through crafting, experimentation, and knowledge. It focuses less on brute strength and more on precision, discovery, and mastering a specialized path to power.
- Defiance of the Fall: J.F. Brink’s series blends cultivation and LitRPG elements in a world transformed by a system apocalypse. It follows a lone survivor growing in power through relentless combat, exploration, and adaptation in an unforgiving environment.
A quick note on the summary and observations: they were generated with the help of AI based on my reading list. I think it will be a useful way to step back and spot patterns that may not be obvious while in the middle of reading. Looking across 2024 into 2025, the biggest shift is scale and commitment—I moved from sampling multiple fantasy series to going all-in on long progression arcs and pushing deep into entire series runs. There’s a clear preference for LitRPG and progression fantasy—systems, leveling, structured power growth—alongside consistent returns to authors like Shami Stovall, Peter Wacht, D.K. Holmberg, and Dakota Krout. It’s less about individual standout books and more about sustained immersion, following characters over dozens of installments and sticking with series long enough to see real payoff.