The Hugo Awards for 2025 will be announced on August 16, 2025 at Seattle WorldCon.

The finalists for best novel:

• The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (Del Rey, Hodderscape UK)
• The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (Avid Reader Press, Sceptre)
• A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher (Tor)–mentioned in this post
• Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tordotcom)
• Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Orbit US, Tor UK)
• Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell (DAW)–mentioned in this post

Disclaimer: I review only the novels. Go to the Hugo Awards web site to find the finalists in other categories.

Today’s will be an easy post for me to write, because I have already reviewed the two books I’m mentioning. I do have a few things to add, though, and if you missed my earlier posts with the reviews and you are following/reading these novels, I will link to them in this post.

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher (Tor)

T. Kingfisher is the pen name of the author Ursula Vernon, who writes under both names for different audiences–T. Kingfisher for adults/young adults, and Ursula Vernon for children. She is a force! See her web site–here it is again–to enter her kingdom of delights. A Sorceress Comes to Call is fantasy, but it appeals to Bridgerton/Regency romance and cozy house mystery readers as well. See my review HERE. A Sorceress Comes to Call was short-listed for the 2025 Nebula Awards and won the 2025 Locus award for best fantasy novel. It is so much fun to read.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell (DAW)

This novel is simply amazing. Not only is it highly entertaining, but it also deals with important issues–a great combination. See my review for it HERE, as one of my posts about novels short-listed for the 2025 Nebula Awards, and my mention HERE, when it won the 2025 Nebula Award for best novel. It also won the 2025 Locus Award for best first novel. Now here it is, short-listed for the Hugos too. Here’s a fascinating conversation with the author.

NEXT UP: The last two short-listed novels for the 2025 Hugo Awards.