Obviously, you’ve got your stacks of Western Living on hand for your holiday reading… but when you’ve read all our back issues cover-to-cover, we’ve got a few recommendations for what to grab next. These are the reads that stuck with our editorial team this year.

The Best Books Our Editors Read in 2025

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

Two separate friends told me they read this cover-to-cover in the span of a few days, they were both so engrossed in the story of a mysterious disappearance at an American summer camp in 1975. It took me a bit longer (there’s weirdly not a lot of leisure-reading time left when you’re raising a toddler and falling asleep on the couch at 10 p.m.) but I can confirm the thriller is, in fact, a page-turner. Author Liz Moore masterfully conjures up tension with the dreamy, leisurely pace of the story and flips through time and between the perspectives of campers, counsellors and the pill-popping camp owner to reveal the answers to mysterious camp happenings, both new and old. It’s a well-drawn world with richly sketched characters who would all be perfectly at home in some sort of must-watch HBO mini-series starring Nicole Kidman. Warning, though, that it will make you reconsider ever sending your child to summer camp. (Although it certainly would allow for more reading time… hmmmm…)—Stacey McLachlan, senior editor

Awake: A Memoir by Jen Hatmaker

The opener of this memoir hooked me right away. Jen Hatmaker, lying in bed with her husband of 26 years, overhears him leaving a VOICE NOTE for a woman that, spoiler, turns out to be his mistress. The deception kicks off what ends up being the most harrowing journey of her life, going from being a confident leader to a self-described “divorced wreck” on antidepressants and anti-anxiety meds. But instead of this being a “woe is me” tale of losing everything, Hatmaker describes how she reclaims her power in the year after leaving her husband, embracing authenticity, finding radical agency and creating healthy relationships. This surprisingly funny tell-all reveals how we can find ourselves lost at sea, but also find our way to shore, and be stronger because of it. —Darcy Matheson, editor in chief, BCBusiness

 

The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan

What a treat to read this book at the end of the year, after I thought I’d already chosen my favourite books of the year (Margo’s Got Money Troubles, a book I’ve now read twice and delighted as much the second time through, and Atmosphere, both a deep dive into ’80s astronauts and a love story for the ages). I finished this one just a few nights ago, and could not put it down. The fictional Cate Kay is a bestselling author who’s a mystery in her own right—her identity to the general public is a secret, and she’s managed to keep it that way. But she’s finally opening up about who she is in her tell-all—starting with her best friendship with Amanda in a small town they’re both desperate to escape. “What you need to know about me and Amanda is that no friendship like ours had ever existed. We basically redefined the medium, elevated it to an art form.” Tragedy strikes, and for a series of reasons, she flees and leaves Amanda and all who knew her behind. You’re left rooting for her to figure it all out, to accept love and reject the manipulators in her life—and the ending was so ultimately satisfying I needed to take a break from reading for a few days. The perfect cozy winter read.—Anicka Quin, editor-in-chief, Western Living

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

I’d seen this novel on Reese’s Book Club years ago, but found myself picking it up during a year of deeply missing my hometown, Jaipur. Set against its quaint backdrop, the plot follows a determined and resourceful henna artist, Lakshmi, as she navigates high society, business, family, class and caste clashes, and more. The storytelling is gripping and perfect for a cozy winter read. You’ll find yourself getting dearly attached to Joshi’s rich, vivid world and character-building, and like me, be delighted to find that the book comes with not one, but two sequels! —Mihika Agarwal, senior editor, BCBusiness

The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante

So many people have recommended the Italian author Elena Ferrante to me, and I always nodded and said, “Oh yes, I know, I should read that. I want to! I’ll add it to the list…” only to do just that and never get around to it. But when somebody physically handed me The Lying Life of Adults and told me to read it, I did so mostly out of desperation to return it. And boy, was I glad I read it first. Though pseudonymous author Elena Ferrante’s most popular book series is probably My Brilliant Friend, I’m glad The Lying Life of Adults was my first foray into her works. The standalone novel follows the young Giovanna as she navigates the early years of adolescence growing up in Naples, Italy. Her life is disrupted when her brash and estranged aunt shatters her sheltered worldview, exposing her to two different, contradicting sides of the city. This book offers a refreshing perspective on coming of age, showcases complicated relationship dynamics between family and friends, and tackles lofty topics like religion and class commentary in an apparent but not spoon-fed way. The writing was unlike anything I’ve ever read—so huge kudos to Ann Goldstein, the translator. The way Giovanna thinks and the way the characters talk is just so Italian, yet I read it in English. And I just discovered it’s a TV show on Netflix as I wrote this—so now I know what I’m adding to my holiday watchlist. —Sandrine Jacquot, editor, BCLiving

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