8 Books That the Marie Claire UK Team Couldn’t Put Down in 2025
When you need a good book recommendation, the Marie Claire UK team is an excellent resource. Copies of our favourite reads are on always on rotation here at MC HQ, and I've picked up some truly brilliant recs over the years thanks to the impressively speedy readers I work with. Whether you're looking for gripping page-turners or a book for your beach bag, the best LGBTQ+ books or powerful feminist literature, there's always an editor on hand with superb suggestions.
So, in an attempt to catch anything I might have missed in 2025, I turned to some of the team's biggest readers to find out what they devoured this year. While I've thoroughly enjoyed exploring the world of short stories, we have Editors who fell in love with contemporary classics, some who dove into conspiracy theories, and others who revel in the joy and chaos of romantic relationships.
Here are the 8 books MC UK 's editors loved in 2025.
Marie Claire UK editors pick their favourite books of 2025
Picked by Jadie Troy-Pryde, News Editor: "I came across this surreal and brilliant collection of short stories by Bora Chung, and fell instantly in love with the weird and wonderful tales. Dancing somewhere between magical realism and horror, the self-contained narratives feel like a set of slightly unnerving fairytales - some laced with humour, others with a much darker edge. I devoured them all in two days, and I'm a painfully slow reader. You'll be utterly gripped."
Picked by Amelia Yeomans, Junior Shopping Editor: "If you love books that are character-led, this is the perfect read. It follows four sisters in Chicago and one of their partners, and it's so beautifully written. With themes of sisterhood, grief, romance, and religion, it touches on crucial parts of the human experience with an ultimately uplifting conclusion. I read it in record speed."
Picked by Ally Head, Senior Health and Sustainability Editor: "Several editors on the MC UK team recommended this book last year, and I finally got around to it in January. It's so beautifully written, the characters are so real and raw, and the way that Oisin McKenna writes about London is incredibly vivid. Nothing else I've read this year has had the same impact on me."
Picked by Dionne Brighton, Social Media Editor: "Given to me by a bar owner in Margate, Four Stars: A Life. Reviewed became my absolute favourite read of 2025. It's funny, it's witty, and so painfully relatable. When I finished it, I found myself reviewing everything I did. A solid five stars."
Picked by Nessa Humayun, Beauty Editor: "I’ve put off reading this book for years, but felt drawn to it this year. It’s a remarkable story in both its fact and fiction; published to very little fanfare back in 1965, Stoner had a resurgence in the early aughts—which is when I first purchased it. It’s a simple story of a man’s unremarkable life, which sounds bleak but it’s a reminder that meaning can be found in even the smallest of moments. I won’t say more because it’s so very worth a read."
Second pick by Amelia Yeomans, Junior Shopping Editor: "Following a young girl's first love and exploration of her sexuality in a small town in Ireland, Sunburn is a tender coming-of-age novel about society's expectations, and how the protagonist changes as she grows up. A very sweet but, at times, heart-wrenching read with compelling character observations."
Second pick by Jadie Troy-Pryde, News Editor: "This book made me laugh and stressed me out in equal measure. Author Madeleine Gray balances humour and heartbreak in this story about infidelity, from the view of 'the other woman'. As the protagonist's affair with a married man unfolds, you'll be frantically turning the pages - torn between wanting to talk some stern sense into her, and giving her a big hug."
Picked by Maggie Joyner, Junior Social Media Editor: "There's nothing that relaxes me more on a holiday than kicking back with a cocktail and a good book. And if you think conspiracy theories and poolside reading don’t go hand in hand, think again. This book isn't just full of wild theories - it aims to analyse historical events without bias, and ultimately, leaves it up to draw your own conclusions. Super interesting if you like digging deeper into conspiracies and unsolved mysteries."
