A running tally of the books that I have reviewed this year, updated and reranked after each book that I finish. Explore the latest reviews and discover hidden gems with insights from BarlinsBooks, your literary companion for top new releases.

★★★★★ A "tradwife" and Instagram influencer has cultivated a seemingly idyllic life for herself and family, but it's all upended when she wakes up one day in 1805.

★★★★☆ A war novel blended with humor and social commentary that pits peace-loving settlers of a planet against an invasion of giant robots intent on killing them.

★★★☆☆ The third and concluding book the "Arc of a Scythe" trilogy answers a myriad of open questions but plods along for much of the story.

★★★☆☆ An interesting start to a series, but be warned that this is purely setup for a broader story with no resolution in this first installment.

A running tally of the books that I have reviewed this year, updated and reranked after each book that I finish. Explore the latest reviews and discover hidden gems with insights from BarlinsBooks, your literary companion for top new releases.

★★★☆☆ A modern take on Lord of the Flies, centered around a reality TV show, where winning depends on who can be the most self-absorbed and materialistic.

★★★★★ A young woman with special powers infiltrates a training program for the military while working undercover for a resistance organization.

Amazon's Top 100 Books of 2025. How do they compare to Barlin's Books rankings for the year? Where did they get things right, and where did

★★★★☆ A continuation of the Arc of a Scythe series, the novel picks up where book one ended as the scythedom becomes increasingly divided.

★★★★★ Two teenagers are forced to compete to become a Scythe, whose job is to control overpopulation by killing a set number of people each year.

★★★☆☆ A B-52 bomber that has been missing for over 60 years suddenly returns to U.S. airspace in 2025...and it's carrying a nuclear bomb.

★★★☆☆ A colonizer from Earth is stuck on an alien planet and must unravel the internal politics of the local species while trying to survive

★★☆☆☆ A non-binary monk leaves on a journey to find themself and in the process encounters a robot who is seeking to learn what humans need.

★★★★★ A satisfying conclusion to one of the better sci-fi trilogies I have read, the Sentinels once again try to defy odds to save humanity.

Inspired by an underwhelming list from Goodreads, this counts down a far superior list of the Top 50 books of the last 5 years (2020-2024).

★★★☆☆ An alternative take on Stranger in a Strange Land; social commentary abounds as an 1847 explorer tries to acclimate to modern society.

★★☆☆☆ An unfocused debut that combines elements of Minority Report with a grisly ghost story, an all-powerful being, and more. It's a mess.

A running tally of my "Best Books of 2023", updated each time I finish a book throughout the year.

★★★★★ Set in a near-future society that feels all too possible, prisoners fight in gladiatorial death matches for a chance at freedom.