Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Summer 2025 to-Read List

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by That Arty Reader Girl. Each week, we are given a bookish topic to discuss. This week’s theme is Books on My Summer 2025 to-Read List. I don’t always make seasonal TBRs, as I tend to mostly focus on unread books on my shelves, but I thought it might be fun to give this a try.

Books on My Summer 2025 to-Read List

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three half brothers in line for the throne are killed in an “accident,” he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.

Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.

Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend . . . and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne–or his life.

Home Office Romance by Kintetsu Yamada

Nokoru has been working brutal overtime at a demanding job when the pandemic lockdown finally gives him the chance to telework from home. This new situation (and the time he saves on his commute) lets him rediscover old passions and new hobbies. The lush garden he creates on his apartment balcony provides a chance to get to know his cute neighbor, Natsu, a graduate student in archeology.

How do two adults build a relationship amid “social distancing,” when face-to-face interaction is frown upon, even dangerous? It feels like a tall tale to find an office romance at home, but these are strange times…

Summer at the Santorini Bookshop by Rebecca Raisin

After losing her job as a book scout, hopeless romantic Evie needs a fresh start. So when she hears that her eccentric grandmother has just taken on a small bookshop in Santorini, Evie jumps at the chance to visit her.

But life on the island is not as idyllic as it first seems. Gran has a tempestuous relationship with her landlord and he’s threatening to take the bookshop away from her. So when Gran asks Evie to fake date her landlord’s Greek God of a grandson, Georgios, to keep the family on side, she reluctantly agrees.

As the sun sets on Evie’s Greek holiday, can she save the bookshop – and fake date her way to love?

Forerunner by T.S. Pendramon

A fledgling young woman is called from her home in the dark of night as a sinister legend threatens the end of everything she loves…

Allabva was content with a quiet life, tending her mother’s orchard and nurturing a budding romance. She ignores legends of the Nightshade Unicorn, a frightful beast. After all, unicorns—Nomord—are peaceful, lighthearted, and all female.

But then a male Nomord, the Forerunner, singles her out, summoning her on an urgent mission to aid the great Shrongelin—another being from legend—and save the world from an impossible, evil menace. Now, she races against time and faces the realization that what she didn’t know can hurt her—and threaten the entire world.

The Homestead by James Leonard

Purity, Texas is a small, self-sufficient town where men like Simon thrive on hard work and skill.
But Nate Finger would rather do things the easy … and … the deadly way.

When he ransacks Simon’s homestead and kills his best worker, Simon must take on dual roles.
First : a surrogate father
Then : an avenger.

This isn’t about murder, it’s about justice.
For himself, his new son, and the charming but fierce Miss Bridgett Clark.

Nate didn’t just hurt Bridgett, he stole her dignity.
Now she’s going to steal something even more precious – Nate’s life.

When an unexpected romance blossoms between her and Simon, he promises to help her.
But the only way to stop Nate from hurting someone else is to hunt him down and lock him up for good.

And if locks don’t work, bullets will.

Simon never wanted a partner, now he’s got two. They may not be blood, but he loves them just the same. And he’s willing to do whatever it takes to keep them and the town of Purity safe.
Safe from Nate’s attacks.

How far will Simon go to protect his home, his family, and his life?

Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman

“Greetings, Crawlers! The training levels have concluded. Now the games may truly begin.”

The aliens have come, and they’ve transformed Earth into a multilevel, video game–like dungeon. It’s the newest season of the galaxy’s most watched game show, Dungeon Crawler World. Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They’ve already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever feline royalty are an almost unstoppable team. Their ratings are off the charts. Viewers can’t get enough. But the dungeon gets more dangerous each day, and now there’s a whole new problem to deal with: Quests.

They call it the Over City. A sprawling, once-thriving metropolis devastated by a mysterious calamity. But these streets are far from abandoned. An undead circus trawls the ruins. Murdered women rain from the sky. An ancient spell is finally ready to reveal its dark purpose. Can Carl and Donut solve the mystery in time?

And can Carl finally find some pants?

Germination by Seth Ring

For John Sutton, things are finally looking up… For now…

The farm is running smoothly, the local bandits have been pacified, and he is starting to understand how magic works. Though none of that will matter if he can’t get his Doom Points under control.

As Ellie seeks to join the ranks of Class Holders, the mystery surrounding her grandmother grows and the two of them set off to discover the truth. But her legacy as a Witch is not the only mystery that needs to be explored. A strange plant is growing in Ferdie’s field, and it’s given John a new quest.

Meanwhile, a secret organization spreading its tendrils of influence throughout the war-weary world is plotting to destroy the fragile peace John fought so hard to achieve. As the shadows that surround this world are peeled back, he’ll need every ounce of wisdom and restraint he has ever possessed to keep from blowing the whole thing up himself.

Edge of Anarchy by Kyla Stone

As the world descends into anarchy, home means everything…

Three weeks after the nation’s power grid goes down, chaos reigns. Food supplies have dried up. Fuel is running low. And the bleak, brutal winter is relentless.

Fall Creek has forged a shaky peace, but the cost for safety is proving higher than some are willing to pay. The town is a powder keg waiting to explode. Noah struggles to maintain order even as dissent and conflict threaten to destroy the community. With his son’s safety hanging in the balance, the wrong choice could prove devastating.

For Hannah, home is finally within reach. But it won’t be anything like she expected…

When the country goes dark, ordinary people find themselves facing the end of the world as they know it. With society collapsing before their eyes, they’ll have to risk everything to protect their home and the people they love.

Otherlands by Thomas Halliday

The past is past, but it does leave clues, and Thomas Halliday has used cutting-edge science to decipher them more completely than ever before. In Otherlands, Halliday makes sixteen fossil sites burst to life on the page.

This book is an exploration of the Earth as it used to exist, the changes that have occurred during its history, and the ways that life has found to adapt―or not. It takes us from the savannahs of Pliocene Kenya to watch a python chase a group of australopithecines into an acacia tree; to a cliff overlooking the salt pans of the empty basin of what will be the Mediterranean Sea just as water from the Miocene Atlantic Ocean spills in; into the tropical forests of Eocene Antarctica; and under the shallow pools of Ediacaran Australia, where we glimpse the first microbial life. 

Otherlands also offers us a vast perspective on the current state of the planet. The thought that something as vast as the Great Barrier Reef, for example, with all its vibrant diversity, might one day soon be gone sounds improbable. But the fossil record shows us that this sort of wholesale change is not only possible but has repeatedly happened throughout Earth history.

Even as he operates on this broad canvas, Halliday brings us up close to the intricate relationships that defined these lost worlds. In novelistic prose that belies the breadth of his research, he illustrates how ecosystems are formed; how species die out and are replaced; and how species migrate, adapt, and collaborate. It is a breathtaking achievement: a surprisingly emotional narrative about the persistence of life, the fragility of seemingly permanent ecosystems, and the scope of deep time, all of which have something to tell us about our current crisis.

Butter by Asako Yuzuki

There are two things that I simply cannot tolerate: feminists and margarine

Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in the Tokyo Detention House convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, whom she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has captured the nation’s imagination, but Kajii refuses to speak with the press, entertaining no visitors. That is until journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for her recipe for beef stew, and Kajii can’t resist writing back.

Rika, the only woman in her news office, works late each night, rarely cooking more than ramen. As the visits unfold between her and the steely Kajii, they are closer to a master class in food than journalistic research. Rika hopes this gastronomic exchange will help her soften Kajii, but it seems that Rika might be the one changing. Do she and Kajii have more in common than she once thought?

Inspired by the real case of a convicted con woman and serial killer—the “Konkatsu Killer”—Asako Yuzuki’s Butter is a vivid, unsettling exploration of misogyny, obsession, romance, and the transgressive pleasures of food in Japan.

I hope you enjoyed my Books on my Summer 2025 to-read List. What books do you plan to read this summer?