Hi everyone. Welcome to Bibliophilia Book Reviews. Since we are coming close to the end of June, I thought it’d be fun to do the Firsts of 2025 Book Tag. I’ve seen several book reviewers do this on their websites, and I wanted to do my own. The last four prompts to the tag, First DNF, First 5-star rated book, First Lowest Rated Book and First Surprise of the Year, are my addition. Here goes.
First Book I Read In 2025
A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
I first read this book in my early twenties, didn’t understand it very well, didn’t get the hype for it, and didn’t like it for a very long time. Then I picked it up again at the beginning of the year and loved it. Read my full review for it here.
First Book I Reviewed in 2025
Becoming A Druid by Mike Mollman
I was contacted by the author and kindly received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Read it here.
First Book by a Debut Author I Read in 2025
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Released in 2015, this award-winning first book of the eponymous series is the author’s debut novel. The final book in the series was published in 2020. Read my review here.
First Book by a New-To-Me Author I Read in 2025
Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker
I picked this book up in an attempt to diversify my reading habits this year. Cozy mysteries are one of my least read genres in fiction so I decided to give it a try. I liked it and tried to continue on with the series (I read books 2 and 3 as well) but I did not like the following installments as much as I liked the first, so I stopped. I will not continue on with this series.
First Book That Slayed Me in 2025
Daughters of Victory by Gabriella Saab
Svetlana’s story gutted me. Although I wasn’t a fan of the other characters in the story, both Svetlana and the antagonist very much made up for it. Read my review here.
First Book That I Wish I Could Get Back The Time I Spent Reading It in 2025
The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean
This book was disappointing and lackluster. I don’t recommend it. Read my full review here.
First DNF of 2025
We Were The Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter
I picked this up because of the TV show that came out recently. I did not like the writing style and did not connect with any of the characters. I put it down at 40%. Read my review here.
First Five Star Book I Read in 2025
City of Thieves by David Benioff
The first book I gave 5 stars to was A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. But that was also the first book I read this year and for the sake of not repeating myself, I will mention the second book on my list that I gave 5 stars to, and that is City of Thieves by David Benioff. I enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected. Read my thoughts on this book here.
First Lowest Rated Book of 2025
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
This is my most recent finished book. I did not like it very much. But it has cemented my knowledge that I am not a fan of dystopian fiction.
First Surprise of 2025
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
This is a surprise because I first tried to read it years ago and couldn’t get into it. And when I picked it up earlier this year in a second attempt to read it, I actually enjoyed it. Read my review here.
Well, there you have it. Those are all my firsts of the year. I hope some of these books stood out to you and that you added them to your TBR. See you next time!
