Let’s Talk Bookish: Underrated Books

Happy Friday! January has seemed to go pretty quick for me, which is a change from the usual. I hope it’s treating you all well.

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish discussion meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and Dini @DiniPandaReads. Each Friday, bloggers will write posts about a particular topic and share on their blog.

What makes a book “underrated”?

This is hard for me to answer, purely because I don’t keep up with what is actually ‘rated’, or popular in the book world. I’m very much in my own lane when it comes to what I consume, and a fair amount of what I read doesn’t get much notice in book spaces. I can probably guarantee that 50% of my 2025 reading list was books a lot of people wouldn’t have heard of, so in my eyes they are hidden gems already.

The technical definition for an underrated book would be something along the lines of books that a reader thinks deserve more attention. Applying that to what I said above, the way I’ll choose my underrated books will be which of that 50% do I think more people should read.

Did you read any books in 2025 that you think are underrated?

I think I definitely read a lot of books that are underrated! Some of my top books of the year are ones that a lot of people have not come across before outside of my recommending them. You’ve probably seen them here if you read my blog, but I rarely see them mentioned unless I am seeking them out.
My top underrated books of 2025, not counting brand new releases, are:

The Coral Bones by E.J. Swift
Mischief Acts by Zoe Gilbert
Gorse by Sam K. Horton

Did you read any books with underrated tropes (or micro tropes) or genres?

I think one of my favourite genres is underrated, and that genre is climate fiction. I think it is incredibly important in today’s world. While it is getting a little traction, since there is a prize for it as of 2025, it’s still pretty unread in the mainstream. As for tropes, I have zero clue, I don’t read books that get trope marketing, like romances.
Some great climate fiction books I read in 2025 are:

When There Are Wolves Again by E.J. Swift
Briefly Very Beautiful by Roz Dineen
The Way by Cary Groner

What are some of your favourite “underrated” reads from 2025 and of all time?

My favourite underrated author is definitely E.J. Swift, both her books are already mentioned above, as was Gorse by Sam K. Horton, and Mischief Acts by Zoe Gilbert. Aside from them, here are some of my other favourite books that I think are underrated. Bear in mind that I don’t spend a lot of time on social media so I may have missed some popularity around these. Also, I think it’s criminal that my first pick here only has 20 reviews on Storygraph, imo it’s a masterpiece of a book!