Beth’s Favorite Books of 2025

Here are my favorite books of this past year. In no particular order because I don’t think I truly liked one more than another. Cop out as that may be, it’s how we are rolling.

  1. The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater – Historical fiction but with Maggie’s signature magical elements. Set against the backdrop of WW2 in a luxury hotel in West Virginia. Instead of their normal clientele, they are serving the diplomats of the United States enemies.
  2. The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh – I do love a good Vampire book, and this one is no exception. As soon as I finished, I had to go to my library to get the next one.
  3. The Dark Mirror by Samantha Shannon – This series just keeps getting better and better. Fleshing out more of the world to include outside of Scion, and for once, a hopeful ending.
  4. Accomplice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer -This series is so funny. I can’t help be amused by the whole premise and story. So glad to find out that it isn’t a trilogy and more books to come because I am not ready to say goodbye to these characters.
  5. Red City by Marie Lu – The complicated world we live. Nothing is black and white. What would you do for family? Power is addictive, but it is also destructive.

Review: Accomplice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

I am so glad I found this series because it continues to entertain me. It is funny, charming, and all the characters are so damn likable. I can’t get enough of the back and forth between Evie and Trystan. I cheered when Becky finally kissed Blade and then immediately ran off. lol. I am glad that we got more of Kingston and his story. It was just a treat to read. We begin not that long after the last book ends. King Benedict has taken one of the Guyvre’s needed to fulfill the prophecy, and Trystan’s magic is going haywire every time he is around Evie. Evie and Lyssa are coping with the return of their once-thought-dead mother. There are a lot of feelings going around. As there should be. A lot has happened to our beloved Villain and his crew. It still amuses me that he runs his villainous empire as any other corporate company with HR and finance teams. He may be the Villain, but he does know how to take care of people. Something that Trystan is just discovering he has been doing all along, but now he is discovering he actually cares. To save the magic, they must figure out the prophecy that they don’t know, but King Benedict does. Hijinks ensue. Twists and turns happen, and oh boy, did we get a fun ending. I thought this was a trilogy, but we are getting at least another book. Which is great because I am not ready to leave these crazy characters.

What I’m Reading Now: Accomplice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

October’s book club this month is “Heroes who are actually the villain”. Inspired by Columbus Day. I couldn’t find a book on my TBR that fit the bill, so I decided to go with this one. In the world of the series, our main characters are seen to be the villain’s but in truth, they are the heroes. True, one does use his interns as target practice, but still, the good guy.