The opening round of this year’s Goodreads Choice Awards is here! I’ve already worked my way through the nominees and cast my votes. Some categories seem to have a lot of very strong choices this year… although I’m still a little bitter about the elimination (a few years ago now) of the write-in option!

For the 2025 awards, here are the eligibility rules according to Goodreads:

Books published in the United States in English, including works in translation and other significant rereleases, between November 13, 2024, and November 11, 2025, are eligible for the 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards. Books published between November 12, 2025, and November 10, 2026, will be eligible for the 2026 awards.

We analyze statistics from the millions of books added, rated, and reviewed on Goodreads to nominate 20 books in each category. For the Audiobook category, nominations are based on the millions of titles added, rated, and reviewed both on Goodreads and Audible.

Opening round official nominees must have an average rating of 3.50 or higher at the time of launch. A book may be nominated in no more than one genre category, but can also be nominated in the Debut Novel and/or Audiobook categories. Only one book in a series may be nominated per category. An author may receive multiple nominations within a single category if they have more than one eligible series or more than one eligible stand-alone book.

So which books are nominated, and which did I vote for?

Let’s take a look at the opening round:

Category: Fiction

Of the 20 books nominated, I’ve read two:

I spy another four books on my to-read list:

… plus a few others that I’d consider maybe-someday books.

My vote: My Friends by Fredrik Backman

Category: Historical Fiction

I’ve read two:

And there are three on my TBR:

Plus, a bunch of others that I’ll likely loop back to at some point.

My vote: What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown (I loved Atmosphere, but figured Taylor Jenkins Reid will do just fine even without my vote!)

Category: Mystery & Thriller

Definitely not a go-to genre for me, so the only book I’ve read is:

Some of the others look interesting, but I’m not rushing to read any of them at this point. So obviously, Vera Wong gets my vote!

Category: Romance

Here, I’ve read a few more of the nominees:

Among the rest, I don’t have any added to my TBR just yet, but I see a few that look like they might appeal to me down the road.

My vote: One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune

Category: Romantasy

Again, not really my genre! But two titles I’d classify more as cozy fantasy than romantasy are listed, and I really enjoyed both:

I don’t see any others here that I’m planning to read.

My vote: I really could go either way, but I voted for A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna, which was wonderful.

Category: Fantasy

I’ve read four, and loved them all!

Two more are on my TBR… although I don’t see myself picking up the 800-page book anytime soon.

And honestly, of the rest, there are probably another 4 or 5 I’d be happy to check out as well.

My vote: Such a tough one! I voted for The Everlasting… but it was painful to have to choose just one!

Category: Science Fiction

I’ve read three (although it would not have occurred to me to list The Compound as a science fiction book):

On my TBR: None at the moment — but so many look good! I have a feeling at least a few more will end up added to my to-read list.

My vote: When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi

Category: Horror

I’ve read three:

On my TBR: As with the previous two categories, quite a few of the other books look good to me, but I haven’t actually added any to my reading lists yet.

My vote: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

Category: Audiobook

I loved listening to both of these:

And want to listen to:

My vote: Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry, narrated by Julie Whelan

Category: Young Adult Fantasy

I’ve read one, and am in the middle of another:

I don’t have any of the other nominated books on my TBR at the moment.

My vote: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Skipped categories:

I don’t vote in categories where I haven’t actually read any of the books, so this year I skipped:

• Debut Novel
• Young Adult Fiction
• Nonfiction
• Memoir
• History & Biography

Most of these categories have at least a book or two that I’d like to check out… we’ll see how that works out!

Wrapping it all up:

Did you vote in the opening round yet? Do you see any of your favorite books among the nominees?

I’d love to hear your recommendations for nominated books on my TBR lists or others I haven’t considered!

Overall, how do you feel about this year’s options? Any categories you wish they’d bring back? Any books you loved that really should have been nominated? Please share your thoughts!