MANILA, PHILIPPINES – With everything going on in the world, stories remain a source of comfort, clarity, and connection—perhaps now more than ever. And while 2025 isn’t over yet, it has already brought us a wave of remarkable reads: books that stirred our hearts, challenged our minds, and kept us turning the pages late into the night. So we asked around: which 2025 release stood out to you the most? Check out recommendations from your resident bookworms, members of the First Look Club, and the Fully Booked reading community.
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto
Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: January 14, 2025
Water Moon was the first book I finished in 2025, and it remains the best book I’ve read so far this year. It has magic, mystery, and a thought-provoking theme of choices. It even has one of the best covers I’ve seen this year! However, what I truly appreciated about Samantha Sotto Yambao’s book is how it has helped me connect with my bookish friends and family, many of whom have expressed interest in reading it — some have already shared their reviews with me. It’s been a fantastic conversation starter throughout the whole year. – Raven Lingat, @thoughtstarters, First Look Club
We Do Not Part by Han Kang
Genre: Literary Fiction
Release Date: January 14, 2025
I would highly recommend this book to everyone, although it is a heavy and harrowing read. I think it’s not only a worthwhile memorial of the loss and resilience of those affected by the Jeju Massacre, but also a reminder that its atrocities are not at all far behind us or unique to a singular event. We carry the events of history with us in everything we do; if we aren’t careful, they’re bound to happen again. We witness horrors regularly that are not unlike the horrors described in the book, with state-sanctioned violence, genocide, and bigotry continuing to leave many people hurt. We Do Not Part compels us to not look the other way, and to fight tooth and nail to ensure that compassion and connection endure. – Erin Sajonas @erindumpling, First Look Club
Strange Pictures by Uketsu
Genre: Horror
Release Date: January 14, 2025
Strange Pictures by Uketsu really stood out for me this year! It’s unique in its presentation of its mysteries: very visual, very deliberate in pacing, and very much aware of its medium. It’s as sly and clever as a book can be—a fantastic read from start to finish. I’m looking forward to reading the next book, Strange Houses! – Jed Castillo, First Look Club
The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica
Genre: Horror fiction
Release Date: March 4, 2025
My current top read for 2025 is The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica. If The Handmaid’s Tale and The Promised Neverland had a baby, it would be this. The Unworthy is my very first Baztericca book and I am amazed by it. Reading it felt like I was transported to a post-apocalyptic world where everyone seems to have lost their marbles. It was a terrifying and intense experience. – Cerize Sicat @cerizeseries, Reading community
Accidents Happen by FH Batacan
Genre: Crime fiction
Release Date: March 11, 2025
Accidents Happen is my top read of 2025 so far. This book pulled me out of my reading slump! I enjoyed this short story collection just as much as F.H. Batacan’s Smaller and Smaller Circles. The anthology dives into the dark underbelly of the Philippines, which explores not just crime, but also the real issues that are tangled with it, such as class, corruption, and violence. I’d recommend this book to everyone.– Paula Abiog @pagesandlattes, Freelance Writer
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Genre: Dystopian fiction
Release Date: March 18, 2025
Propaganda I’m not falling for: Sunrise on the Reaping is just fan service. Haymitch’s story is a crucial addition to the Hunger Games series, one that will change the way you look at the original trilogy forever. It’s about the frightening power of propaganda, the implicit submission that keeps oppressors in power, and the battles you lose before winning a war. Devastating but ultimately hopeful, this book will break your heart, then put it back together. The epilogue will have you sobbing in the best way. – Lyka Aguirre @lykalikesbooks, First Look Club
The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
Genre: Literary
Release Date: May 13, 2025
Ocean Vuong said in an interview that literature is like a house that we enter and leave with a richer sense of ourselves. That’s what happened to me when I read this book. His sincere effort to capture both the mundane and the grand from society’s fringes inspired me to become more attuned to people’s capacity for tenderness. – Nicole Macarandang @_cultclassics, First Look Club
Awake in the Floating City by Susanna Kwan
Genre: Dystopian Fiction
Release Date: May 13, 2025
For someone wracked with anxiety over the inevitable climate disasters soon to befall us,Awake in the Floating City offers hope and meaning even in the face of death and gradual but inevitable devastation. Through the relationship between the Bo and Mia, which morphs from caregiver-client into unlikely intergenerational friends and then eventually closer to a surrogate mother-daughter, Susanna Kwan leads the reader to understand that there is meaning in remembering, that we ourselves can be vessels of each other’s history. Set in a San Francisco beset with unending rain and eroding landscapes, Awake in the Floating City both grieves deep loss and celebrates life in its pages. The way Bo turns to art and community gives me a template to follow when I myself will come face to face with the crumbling of life and the planet as we knew it. – Ilia, Fully Booked
The Passengers on the Hankyu Line by Hiro Arikawa
Genre: Cozy fiction
Release Date: June 3, 2025
Having ridden the Hankyu Line myself, this book made me miss Japan deeply. The Passengers on the Hankyu Line is a quiet, heartfelt exploration of fleeting connections, each chapter set at a different station, gently looping back to reveal how small moments between strangers can have a lasting impact. Told through loosely connected stories of strangers on a train, each chapter offers a glimpse into someone’s personal struggle, healing, and growth. This book is one of the most memorable 2025 releases I’ve read so far. It is quiet, heartfelt, and rich with emotional resonance. Nana, @thetravelingreader, Reading Community
Vital Signs by Ronnie Baticulon and Marjorie Evasco
Genre: Short story collection/Fiction
Release Date: June 19, 2025
Leave it to award-winning Filipino writers to make death, loss, and grief devastatingly beautiful. Reprieve tells the story of a family forced to adapt after their father, a doctor, suffers a sudden stroke that changes everything. Packing for the Moon is a heartbreaking story about the bond between father and daughter. Sandosenang Sapatos reads like a YA story—simple in its execution, yet powerful enough to break your heart before sewing it back together. These are some of my favorite stories in Vital Signs, a collection of short stories about illness, loss, and health care. I read this in the middle of dealing with the loss of my mom, so every story here hit close to home and moved me to tears. — Alina, Fully Booked
The Midnight Shift by Cheon Seon-Ran
Genre: Paranormal Mystery
Release Date: August 12, 2025
The Midnight Shift feels like the gentle pitter-patter of rain. Like watching the world from inside—sound muted, near but out of reach. If you’re looking for a book that hums with the ache of being alone and awake at 3:00 a.m., then read this. But don’t expect a resolution wrapped in a pretty bow. Think of it as an extension of the sadness you’ve been carrying for so long. Like walking home alone after your midnight shift, under the streetlights that never quite reach the pavement. Or the last words you said to someone, not knowing it was the last time you’d see them. – Dan Loza, First Look Club
There are plenty of great reads to discover. Your Best Book for 2025 is just around the corner.
