Amazon has announced Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall as its ‘Best Book of the Year in the UK’ for 2025.
The emerging British author's powerful novel was published in March this year and has since been picked up for film adaptation, quickly becoming a Sunday Times bestseller and attracting acclaim from Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club.
Set amid the seemingly tranquil English countryside inspired by Hall's own home, Broken Country follows Beth, whose life on the farm with her gentle husband Frank is irrevocably fractured by the return of Gabriel Wolfe, her passionate yet forbidden first love. It's a gripping blend of romance and thriller that takes readers on a journey through love triangles, family tragedy, and courtroom drama, exploring themes of grief, infidelity, and the ultimate lengths people go to for love.
The book took the top spot over other shortlisted titles such as The Intruder by Freida McFadden and nonfiction favourites including the bestselling The Let Them Theory by award-winning author and podcaster Mel Robbins.
Each year, the shortlist is hand-selected by the Amazon Books UK team to celebrate the titles they’ve loved most. Alongside their expert editorial critiques, the team considers a range of factors during their decision making, including reader reviews and Amazon Charts data.
The 10 best books of 2025 in the UK
*across all categories, in no particular order
‘Broken Country’ by Clare Leslie Hall
Winner of ‘Best Book of the Year’
Beth was 17 when she first met Gabriel and she thought it was the start of her great love story—but when Gabriel left to become the person his mother expected him to be, she was broken. It was Frank who picked up the pieces and together they built a home very different from the one she'd imagined with Gabriel.
She feels so sure that, after everything, this was the life she was supposed to be leading. But when Gabriel comes back, all Beth's certainty about who she is and what she wants crumbles.
‘The Names’ by Florence Knapp
In 1987, after a devastating storm, Cora must decide whether to follow her husband's family tradition by naming their newborn son after him, despite her reservations about perpetuating a legacy of domineering men.
This pivotal choice creates three possible futures: one where he becomes Bear, a name chosen by his sister; another as Julian, the name Cora preferred to help him forge his own identity; or as Gordon, named after his father and raised in his harsh image. Through these three parallel versions of one life, the story explores how a single decision shapes a family's trajectory and demonstrates love's resilience in the face of whatever fate delivers.
‘Flesh’ by David Szalay
15-year-old István, a shy newcomer in a Hungarian apartment complex, struggles with social isolation until he develops a clandestine relationship with his married neighbour, a woman near his mother's age, sending his life into disarray.
Years later, his trajectory takes him from the army to London's elite society, where he rises through the ranks of the super-wealthy, yet finds himself conflicted between genuine connection and the trappings of privilege—a tension that threatens to unravel his carefully constructed world as he navigates the complex currents of money, power, love, and intimacy.
‘The Let Them Theory’ by Mel Robbins
In The Let Them Theory, New York Times bestselling author Mel Robbins presents a transformative approach to happiness centred on two powerful words: "Let Them." Robbins argues that feeling stuck or frustrated stems not from personal shortcomings but from surrendering power to others' opinions and judgments. By embracing the "Let Them" mindset, readers can break free from the exhausting cycle of trying to control everything and everyone, redirecting that energy towards what truly matters—their own happiness, goals, and well-being.
‘Padella’ by Tim Siadatan
From a low and slow spicy pork ragu, to creamy gorgonzola gnocchi and rich tomato cannelloni, this is the ultimate pasta-lover's cookbook and the long-awaited debut from Padella, the iconic London restaurant.
‘The Intruder’ by Freida McFadden
During a violent hurricane that threatens her isolated wilderness cabin, Casey discovers a blood-covered young girl lurking outside her window who refuses to explain her origins or relinquish the knife clutched in her hand. As the storm intensifies, Casey makes a disturbing midnight discovery that escalates the situation from unsettling to dangerous—the mysterious girl harbours a dark secret she's willing to kill to protect.
‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ by Suzanne Collins
On the dawn of the 50th annual Hunger Games, Haymitch Abernathy of District 12 tries to focus only on surviving the day and being with the girl he loves. When his name is called, shattering his dreams, he's torn from his family and transported to the Capitol alongside three fellow District 12 tributes. As Haymitch enters the arena, he realises the Games are designed for his failure, yet something within him ignites a determination not just to fight, but to make his resistance resonate far beyond the deadly competition itself.
‘Shadow Thieves’ by Peter Burns
In an alternate London, 13-year-old street thief Tom Morgan is desperate after his friends are captured and sent to a brutal workhouse. When the mysterious Corsair offers him a place at a secret boarding school for thieves in the Alps, Tom accepts, hoping to gain skills to rescue his friends. But as he becomes immersed in the Shadow League's world of secrets and danger, Tom faces a dual challenge: saving his new schoolmates from approaching dark forces while finding a way to return home and free his original companions.
‘Is a River Alive?’ by Robert Macfarlane
In Is a River Alive?, celebrated writer Robert Macfarlane presents a transformative perspective that rivers are not merely resources for human exploitation but living entities deserving recognition in both our imagination and legal systems. Through an exhilarating global journey, Macfarlane explores this ancient yet urgent concept across three threatened waterways: the cloud-forest rivers of northern Ecuador endangered by goldmining, the damaged waterways of southern India where activists fight for their survival, and northeastern Quebec's wild Mutehekau (Magpie) River, which faces destruction from damming projects.
‘When Gavin Met Stacey and Everything in Between’ by Ruth Jones & James Corden
When Gavin Met Stacey and Everything in Between is the story of how Ruth and James turned their little show about ordinary life into a full-on cultural phenomenon. As they recount the highs and lows they faced along the way, Ruth and James explore the journey of their real-life friendship, the making of the show, and the relationship between Nessa and Smithy that had the nation glued to their screens.
For more on our Best Books of the Year, please visit amazon.co.uk/bestbooksoftheyear
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