By all accounts, it is a long way from Tucson to Navarre, the other-worldly setting for Rebecca Yarros鈥檚 romantic fantasy, 鈥淥nyx Storm.鈥
Clearly, though, it is a road well-traveled.
The Pima County Public Library released its annual tally of checkouts this week, and 鈥淥nyx Storm鈥 headed the list as the library鈥檚 most often requested book in 2025.
Library cardholders borrowed print, e-book and audiobook versions of 鈥淥nyx Storm鈥 a total of 7,565 times, easily outdistancing 鈥淭he Women鈥 by Kristin Hannah (6,580) and 鈥淛ames鈥 by Percival Everett (4,905).
The No. 1 book among nonfiction titles was 鈥淐areless People鈥 by Sarah Wynn-Williams.
The most popular children鈥檚 book was 鈥淭he Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster鈥 by Mo Willems.
People are also reading…
All in all, some 5.5 million books were distributed by the library鈥檚 electronic lending system and 27 neighborhood branches.
鈥淥nyx Storm鈥 is the third installment in Yarros鈥檚 Empyrean Series, and聽鈥 like 鈥淔ourth Wing鈥 and 鈥淚ron Flame鈥澛犫 it took America by, well, storm.
Published last January, more than 2.7 million copies were sold in the first week alone.
A recent headline in the New York Times, 鈥淗ow Rebecca Yarros Packed Dragons, Magic and Steamy Sex into a Blockbuster Fantasy,鈥 sums up the appeal of 2025's most-checked out book.听
A recent headline in聽the New York Times, 鈥淗ow Rebecca Yarros Packed Dragons, Magic and Steamy Sex into a Blockbuster Fantasy,鈥 sums up the appeal.
The central character is Violet Sorrengall, whose weakening health mirrors Yarros鈥檚 own. Once mocked for her physical shortcomings, Violet now rides dragons with the best of 鈥榚m.
Library Director Tess Mayer said the success of 鈥淥nyx Storm鈥 is noteworthy on several fronts.
鈥淭o see a romantic fantasy on top of our list shows how far that genre has come in just the last four or five years,鈥 Mayer said. 鈥淢aybe it tells us people are looking to escape a little. Maybe we all want more happy endings.鈥
She also sees evidence that young adults are reading again.
Pima County Public Library collection development librarian Jessica Pryde, left, and Library Director Tess Mayer with 2025's most-checked out book, "Onyx Storm." 鈥淭o see a romantic fantasy on top of our list shows how far that genre has come in just the last four or five years,鈥 Mayer said. 鈥淢aybe it tells us people are looking to escape a little. Maybe we all want more happy endings.鈥
鈥淚 see studies that say fewer people are reading now, but it looks to me like young people may be reading more. Gen Z and young millennials are driving books like 鈥極nyx Storm.鈥 Young people are the ones reading romantasies.鈥
And Mayer was struck by how different the print, e-book and audiobook lists were from one another.
鈥淲hen you look at our print book list and our audiobook list, you see 20 different titles. There isn鈥檛 a single book that appears on both. Not only are readers being drawn to certain authors, there鈥檚 a certain way they want to enjoy them, too.鈥
The library鈥檚 annual loan lists are compiled each January by its Collection Development team, the buyers who select and order titles many months before their scheduled release. The group is managed by Lorenia Diaz and staffed by selectors Jessica Pryde, Elizabeth Taylor, Michelle Creston and Sara Vega.
Pryde said they study the year-over-year totals looking for trends, movement and changing tastes.
The most notable trend of late has been the emergence of romance and romantasy as powerhouse genres.
鈥淭hanks to BookTok and word of mouth, romance and romantasy just exploded during the pandemic,鈥 Pryde said. 鈥淩eadership grew something like 300% in two or three years. Authors like Colleen Hoover and Sarah J. Mass became superstars almost overnight, and now Yarros is one, too.鈥
Yarros鈥檚 previous book, 鈥淚ron Flame,鈥 was No. 2 on the library鈥檚 鈥渂estseller list鈥 in 2024.
Local librarians were ready for 鈥淥nyx Storm鈥 in 2025. On the day of its release, 50 print books, 100 e-books and a healthy supply of audiobooks all were available, and demand for all three formats has been steady ever since.
The result: 鈥淥nyx Storm鈥 became the first romance book ever to win the library鈥檚 unofficial 鈥渞eaders choice award.鈥
Conventional mysteries continued to be a popular pick by library cardholders. Longtime favorite Michael Connelly authored two of the top 10 titles, 鈥淭he Waiting鈥 and 鈥淣ightshade.鈥
New-age mystery master Frieda McFadden authored three: 鈥淭he Housemaid,鈥 鈥淭he Crash鈥 and 鈥淭he Tenant.鈥
Last year鈥檚 No. 1 book, 鈥淭he Women鈥 by Kristin Hannah, showed surprising stamina at No. 2.
Library cardholders checked out some 3 million books, 1.3 million e-books and 1.2 million audiobooks last year.
鈥淲hen people think of the library, they probably think of bookshelves with printed books, but almost half of all our checkouts are e-books and audiobooks now,鈥 Pryde said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great that so many people can find their own favorite way of enjoying a good book.'鈥
And especially great they can all go to the library to find it.
Footnotes
- Stacks Book Club in Oro Valley will host a launch party for Tucson author Victoria Maizes on Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 6 p.m. Maizes, the director of integrative medicine at the University of Arizona, is celebrating the release of 鈥淗eal Faster鈥 from Simon & Schuster. For more about Tuesday鈥檚 program, visit聽.
- Poets Eleanor Wilner and Alicia Ostriker will read from their latest collections Thursday, Jan. 29, at the UA Poetry Center. The event is sponsored by John Hudak in memory of his parents. For additional information, visit聽.听
- Organizers of the Tucson Festival of Books are alerting patrons that the University of Arizona will institute a clear bag policy for this year鈥檚 festival, March 14-15. Readers hoping to attend author sessions will need to bring books and personal items into the venues in clear plastic bags. To learn more, visit聽.
