Even GRANDMA is not safe from Anna Smith Spark! I'll have to put that on the list. And I love that Piranesi made the list, that book was such a weird kind of mysterious that worked amazingly well.
It's dark and not for everyone but sooo so good. I'd love to chat with you if you give the trilogy a try. Couldn't agree more about Piranesi, glad you had such a great time with it too.
Congratulations, my friend! You're amazing, and I'm so glad you're here in the booktube community! Also I'm jealous of how incredibly thoughtful and thorough your written reviews are. Fantastic list of favorites.
Nice list! You love your character driven stories 😅! Piranesi was stellar!!! I loved that one. Took me by surprise as well. I love your kitty! I have a black cat too ❤
I do love my character driven stories. I like plot as well but if I’m not invested in the characters then my enjoyment goes down. Thrilled you enjoyed Piranesi too! Such a great read! Adorable 😻 I’m sure they get all the love and snuggles.
Congrats on the 3 year Booktube anniversary, it's been a joy to be on this journey with you and I can't wait to see what the future holds!! Also, woooow, that is such a high average rating, I only came out at 3.9! Love love love Empires of Dust, that story has imprinted onto my soul hahaha. And all your other favourites are also high up on my list (no surprise!), though I have yet to read The Gallant. Hope you find many more new faves in 2025 🥰🥰
Thank you so much Esmay and for all the support over the years and being able to share, chat and just be in good company during that time. 3.9 is pretty good considering how much you read! Will you be doing a top list? Yes!!!! As it should XD It's not a story easily forgotten. I would love to hear your thoughts on the Gallant if you decide to pick it up. There's a bit of a love story to it but not in the way you might think. Happy reading for 2025 and all the best in this new year
Ooh, House of Sacrifice. Now I feel guilty book 1 has sat on my shelf for several years... I agree, The Blue Flames was awesome! Best of the year for me were: - Born of Light and Shadow (Legend of Adani #1) by Ryan Kirk - The Navigator's Children (Last King of Osten Ard #4) by Tad Williams - The Trials of Empire (Empire of the Wolf #3) by Richard Swan - The Phoenix Keeper by S.A MacLean - The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan #1) by Robert J Bennett - Warlords of Wyrdwood (Forsaken #2) by RJ Barker
Thrilled you enjoyed The Blue Flames too and I hope you enjoy the Empires of Dust if you decide to pick it up. Lots of great sounding reads on your list and some are on my TBR for this year, glad they made it to your top reads. Cheers to good books and times in 2025!
Congrats for 3 years on BookTube! My favourite read from last year was The Storm Beneath the World by Michael R. Fletcher. The world building and characterisation was next level. He just released new cover art too.
Awesome video Kayla! I’m convinced that I missed stuff during my initial read of Piranesi as well. I’ll reread it one day. That’s the highest praise I’ve seen for Anna Smith Spark. I’ll have to check them out.
Thank you so much Chas! Thrilled you enjoyed Piranesi too and I hope the reread is everything you hope for. I’d love to hear how it goes for you if you try The Empires of Dust trilogy. It’s not for everyone, but dang when it works, it’s glorious!
Wow, Kay! I'm absolutely speechless that Sundered Moon made it into your top 5, it is honestly such an honour! Thanks so much for giving my books a chance!! 🥲 And a huge congrats on 3 years! That is a giant milestone, and I hope you know how much you've contributed to make this community what it is! Ps: Piranesi was SO good. I also finished The Blue Flames recently and it blew me away!! I need to read these other ones on your list asap! 😊
You earned it Zammar! Thank you for the story and I look forward to more of your writing down the road. Thank you so much, that means a lot! Yes! Love to hear you enjoyed Piranesi and The Blue Flames so much! I hope you enjoy the others and I would love to hear your thoughts on them
Congratulations on 3 years Kayla! Looking forward to many more years of the Hidden Shelf!
Thank you so much Rob and for all the support over the years. Wishing you all the best in 2025
Even GRANDMA is not safe from Anna Smith Spark! I'll have to put that on the list. And I love that Piranesi made the list, that book was such a weird kind of mysterious that worked amazingly well.
It's dark and not for everyone but sooo so good. I'd love to chat with you if you give the trilogy a try. Couldn't agree more about Piranesi, glad you had such a great time with it too.
Congratulations, my friend! You're amazing, and I'm so glad you're here in the booktube community! Also I'm jealous of how incredibly thoughtful and thorough your written reviews are.
Fantastic list of favorites.
Thank you so much Tori! Cheers to another year of videos and friendship. Now to destroy my tbr with your book recommendations XD
Congrats on 3 years!!!!
Thank you so much Andrew!
Happy 3 years Kayla!! What a milestone. All the best for the year ahead ❤
Thank you so much Josh! And thank you in advance for the stories on my tbr this year 😏
The house of Sacrifice sounds so good! Thanks for sharing!!
It’s such a great finale to the trilogy. I hope you enjoy it if you decide to pick it up!
@@KaysHiddenShelf It is on my never ending TBR list haha I hope to get to it this year
Nice list! You love your character driven stories 😅! Piranesi was stellar!!! I loved that one. Took me by surprise as well.
I love your kitty! I have a black cat too ❤
I do love my character driven stories. I like plot as well but if I’m not invested in the characters then my enjoyment goes down. Thrilled you enjoyed Piranesi too! Such a great read!
Adorable 😻 I’m sure they get all the love and snuggles.
Congrats on the 3 year Booktube anniversary, it's been a joy to be on this journey with you and I can't wait to see what the future holds!! Also, woooow, that is such a high average rating, I only came out at 3.9!
Love love love Empires of Dust, that story has imprinted onto my soul hahaha. And all your other favourites are also high up on my list (no surprise!), though I have yet to read The Gallant. Hope you find many more new faves in 2025 🥰🥰
Thank you so much Esmay and for all the support over the years and being able to share, chat and just be in good company during that time. 3.9 is pretty good considering how much you read! Will you be doing a top list?
Yes!!!! As it should XD It's not a story easily forgotten. I would love to hear your thoughts on the Gallant if you decide to pick it up. There's a bit of a love story to it but not in the way you might think. Happy reading for 2025 and all the best in this new year
Ooh, House of Sacrifice. Now I feel guilty book 1 has sat on my shelf for several years... I agree, The Blue Flames was awesome!
Best of the year for me were:
- Born of Light and Shadow (Legend of Adani #1) by Ryan Kirk
- The Navigator's Children (Last King of Osten Ard #4) by Tad Williams
- The Trials of Empire (Empire of the Wolf #3) by Richard Swan
- The Phoenix Keeper by S.A MacLean
- The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan #1) by Robert J Bennett
- Warlords of Wyrdwood (Forsaken #2) by RJ Barker
Thrilled you enjoyed The Blue Flames too and I hope you enjoy the Empires of Dust if you decide to pick it up. Lots of great sounding reads on your list and some are on my TBR for this year, glad they made it to your top reads. Cheers to good books and times in 2025!
Congrats for 3 years on BookTube!
My favourite read from last year was The Storm Beneath the World by Michael R. Fletcher. The world building and characterisation was next level. He just released new cover art too.
Thank you so much! I’ve had that one on my tbr and saw the new cover. It sounds fantastic, and I’m thrilled to hear it was your top read last year. 🔥
Awesome video Kayla! I’m convinced that I missed stuff during my initial read of Piranesi as well. I’ll reread it one day. That’s the highest praise I’ve seen for Anna Smith Spark. I’ll have to check them out.
Thank you so much Chas! Thrilled you enjoyed Piranesi too and I hope the reread is everything you hope for. I’d love to hear how it goes for you if you try The Empires of Dust trilogy. It’s not for everyone, but dang when it works, it’s glorious!
Awesome list, I’ll be getting to Riven Earth and Sundered Moon soon and super excited for all the others as well! Love me some dark reads
Yes! I hope you enjoy the duology and can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it as well as the others. 🔥🔥🔥
Happy BookTube anniversary! 🎉
Thank you so much! 🥰
KITTY
The only part of this video that matters and her next appearance won't be until 2026 or when she says so XD
Wow, Kay! I'm absolutely speechless that Sundered Moon made it into your top 5, it is honestly such an honour! Thanks so much for giving my books a chance!! 🥲
And a huge congrats on 3 years! That is a giant milestone, and I hope you know how much you've contributed to make this community what it is!
Ps: Piranesi was SO good. I also finished The Blue Flames recently and it blew me away!! I need to read these other ones on your list asap! 😊
You earned it Zammar! Thank you for the story and I look forward to more of your writing down the road.
Thank you so much, that means a lot!
Yes! Love to hear you enjoyed Piranesi and The Blue Flames so much! I hope you enjoy the others and I would love to hear your thoughts on them
🫣 Quite a theme of ‘damage’, ‘insanity’, ‘disbelief’ and having a good time in this set! 😆
I live for emotional destruction by books apparently XD