Suleikha's 2025 Faves & Raves

A year-end pop culture round-up

Author

Suleikha Snyder
December 31, 2025

I read approximately 220 books in 2025 and streamed 62 shows/limited series. (Trust me when I say that those numbers aren’t a flex, they’re a coping mechanism.) As you might imagine, it’s hard to narrow down favorites when the field is that wide! So, I’ve tried to keep my round-up to books and movies released this year—with a few exceptions—and I’d be remiss if I didn’t plug my own novellas before diving into it!

Nobody’s Bargain, a one-night+more stand with a has-been bisexual rock-star: https://books2read.com/u/bxD0no

Frostburn, a MMF romantasy loosely based on The X-Files: https://books2read.com/u/47aYWq

June 6

December 17

Books

  • August Lane by Regina Black

  • The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

  • Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

  • Son of the Morning by Akwaeke Emezi

  • Starling House (2024) and The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

  • Warrior Princess Assassin by Brigid Kemmerer

  • My Season of Scandal by Julie Anne Long (2024)

  • Mercy Fletcher Meets Her Match by Aydra Richards

  • Bury My Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab

*Backlist honorable mentions: Beast by Judith Ivory (1997), Vivid by Beverly Jenkins (1995), Shadowheart by Laura Kinsale (2004), Beguiling the Beauty by Sherry Thomas (2012).  

TV shows

  • Chicago Med (NBC/Peacock)

  • Dark Winds (AMC+/Netflix)

  • Duster (HBOMax)

  • North of North (Netflix)

  • Monarch (Apple+)

  • Paradise (Hulu)

  • The Pitt (HBOMax)

  • Tempest (Hulu)

Movies

  • A Nice Indian Boy

  • Frankenstein

  • Freaky Tales (2024)

  • Thunderbolts

  • Sinners

  • Wake Up Dead Man

  • The Wild Robot (2024)

Munchies (a bonus category!)

  • Deep’s bitter gourd chips

  • Peanut butter Chex

  • Walker’s shortbread

  • Clancy’s Chicago mix popcorn

  • Cheez-Its

Thanks for reading, subscribing, putting up with my nonsense, etc. See you all in 2026!

-Suleikha