Wrap Up | January 2025

Our first reading month of 2025 is over and it’s time to tell you about everything we’ve read. Did our reading year start off well? Keep on reading our January wrap up to find out!

Candyce

January started off a little slow for me, but I ended up reading 24 books (9 audiobooks, 5 paperbacks, 4 eARCs, 3 eBooks, and 3 eBooks on Kindle Unlimited). Starting off my year with 11 five star reads is something I’m really happy about. Hopefully I can keep my year going this way! Let’s talk about what I read last month.

Not in Love – Ali Hazelwood

Ali Hazelwood is one of my auto-buy authors and for some reason it took me months to read Not in Love. I’m glad I did though. This book may be a bit different than her others, and a bit the same, but I really enjoyed Rue and Eli’s story.

As Good As Dead – Holly Jackson

I finally finished the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series! I’m so glad I finally picked it up. As Good As Dead definitely has some twists I never saw coming, and it does get darker than the first two books. This book was over 500 pages, but I felt like it was over before I knew it.

The Bright Sword – Lev Grossman

The Bright Sword was my in person book club read for the month. This is a King Arthur reimagining. While I enjoyed lots of this book and how the characters were introduced, I do feel like this book could be about 200 pages shorter than it was.

An Ember in the Ashes – Sabaa Tahir

An Ember in the Ashes was a reread for me, but I forgot so much. The first time I read this book was almost 10 years ago, so that’s not too surprising. I’m glad I’m reading this series all over again!

Goodbye Days – Jeff Zentner

The Serpent King was the first book I read by Jeff Zentner and I knew he wrote emotional books after that one. Goodbye Days hit just a little harder though. Our main character loses his three best friends after a car accident. The accident happened after he texted the driver. So not only is he dealing with his friends being gone, there are also people trying to put the accident on him. I was definitely tearing up a few times while reading this one.

A Sea of Unspoken Things – Adrienne Young

Adrienne Young writes dark and atmospheric books and A Sea of Unspoken Things was no different. This one also deals with grief and the mystery of how our main character’s twin died. When she goes back to the town she left 20 years ago, it brings back a lot. A Sea of Unspoken Things was another reminder why I love this author’s writing so much.

Beautiful Ugly – Alice Feeney

Beautiful Ugly is Alice Feeney’s new book and it seems that readers either love it or don’t. Thankfully I’m one of the readers who loved this one. Yeah, it’s a bit out there in some senses, but I had a great time.

Brewed with Love – Shelly Page

Brewed with Love was a heartwarming, witchy book with a forced proximity/second chance romance. This was a quick read and I had a good time. I will say that the book took on a bit too much in some senses. All in all, I still enjoyed my time while reading Brewed with Love.

A Serial Killer’s Guide to Marriage – Asia Mackay

A Serial Killer’s Guide to Marriage has an interesting concept, but it was a slow start. I felt like things got a bit repetitive before we got any of the suspense this book was promising. In the end it did deliver and the dual POV kept me pulled in. This was a case of things would’ve gone a lot easier if people communicated.

Only and Forever – Chloe Liese

Only and Forever is the final book in the Bergman Brothers and it was everything I needed. This one was funny, heartwarming, sad, spicy, and everything in between. Viggo’s book was worth the wait and his romance with Tallulah was everything. I love how everything wrapped up and I’ll definitely reread this series in the future.

Faith: Taking Flight – Julie Murphy

Julie Murphy has written a few books that I loved and I decided to give Faith:Taking Flight a try. I love the idea of a plus-sized character having superhero powers. The concept was a lot of fun, but I feel like there was a bit too much in one story. Besides the mystery Faith starts investigating, there’s a romance, friendships, and things going on with her family.

The Teller of Small Fortunes – Julie Leong

A cozy fantasy is something I’ll always be excited to read and I’m glad I read The Teller of Small Fortunes. This is such a cozy story that puts a lot of time in found family, and I loved it. This book had me laughing and even shed a tear. The fact we had a cat companion made this even more fun for me.

All the Missing Pieces – Catherine Cowles

Catherine Cowles is an author I read for the first time last year, so I had to read All the Missing Pieces. She writes amazing romances and knows how to balance that out with the suspense side of the books she writes. The podcast element made this book even more interesting.

The Doctor – Nikki Sloane

A few years ago I read The Pool Boy by Nikki Sloane and I really enjoyed that spicy story. So I decided to give The Doctor a go. Unfortunately, this age gap romance didn’t work for me at all. It was mostly sex scenes, only one POV, and some scenes just made things a bit uncomfortable.

Blood & Steel – Helen Scheurerer

Blood & Steel is a fantasy romance I keep seeing everywhere. The first book in the spinoff series just released, so it seemed like the perfect time to read this series. Thea and Hawthorne’s story had me reading this book in two tries. Seeing how it’s 550 pages, it’s clear that I loved this book. I’ll be reading the sequel this month.

Mr. Broody – Piper Rayne

Henry and Jade’s second chance romance was the best and it had me laughing out loud. These characters really took the time to get to know each other again and really talk. That was so heartwarming. I also loved the fact that Mr. Broody had a full cast audiobook. It’s so much fun to listen to.

The Brawl & The Brood – Devney Perry as Willa Nash

I finally finished the Calamity Montana series last month. Ronan & Larke and Wilder & Iris’ romances were both amazing and I couldn’t put them down. Finishing this series makes me want to go and read more of Devney’s backlist.

After Life – Gayle Forman

After Life had a great concept, but for some reason it didn’t work for me. I still haven’t quite figured out why. I liked the different POVs and the past and present moments, but maybe it was just a bit too much?

Playing Flirty – Shameez Patel

Playing Flirty caught my eye because our FMC designed her own board game. This is a rival to lovers/best friend’s brother romance and I really enjoyed it.

The Art of Catching Feelings – Alicia Thompson

The Art of Catching Feelings was an interesting romance. I loved that our main character was the one who called out a baseball player at a game and then when she apologized, part of her message was cut off, so he didn’t know that’s why she sent the message. Things get messy though when she meets him in real life and doesn’t say anything about the messaging. And that’s where things get tricky. I would’ve loved this a bit more if that wasn’t kept a secret for so long.

The Guncle Abroad – Steven Rowley

The Guncle was one of my favorite books a few years ago and I was excited when I saw we were getting this sequel. While I didn’t love The Guncle Abroad as much as the first book, but it was still really good. I loved how it showed that grief doesn’t magically disappear and losing someone takes time to process.

Under the Surface – Diana Urban

Under the Surface was a book I was really looking forward to, but it fell just a bit flat for me. The setting being in the Paris catacombs was really interesting and definitely gave some suspense I was hoping for. I just didn’t completely understand the dual POV. I guess I was hoping it would keep me on the edge of my seat just a little bit more?

Such Charming Liars – Karen M. McManus

I’ve enjoyed previous books by Karen M. McManus, and I’m said this didn’t work for me. I’m thinking it was because the book was a bit slow. No plot twists happened until after halfway through the book. I was also confused a lot of the time with the characters calling their parents by their first names.

Isabelle

While I didn’t read as much as Candyce, I am really happy with the fact that I did read 7 books during this busy month. I did have 3 rereads already haha, but also some bigger books so I’m content!

SpyxFamily 2 – Tatsuya Endo

I finally read this second volume and it was so much fun! It reminded me why I wanted to read this series in the first place and I am already looking into getting more volumes. This might be my next manga series I want to get caught up on!

The Reckoning – Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti

I really enjoyed this third Zodiac Academy book. Like I said before, it’s not the best book series ever but it’s addictive for sure! I like where the story is going and I can’t wait to continue. Based on some reading guides by other readers I’m diving into the Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac series first, but I will be back with this one right after.

Jade City – Fonda Lee

I have had this one on so many lists and I am so glad I finally picked it up. It was a great story with an interesting world and magic system. I will for sure pick up the rest of the series, hopefully soon! It’s so exciting to think about where I think the series will be going.

Fourth Wing, Iron Flame & Onyx Storm – Rebecca Yarros

I had to reread the first two books before diving into Onyx Storm. With a new release like this, I like to have the details fresh in my mind. And I think that was a great decision! I really enjoyed my read of Onyx Storm, although I don’t think it’s my favorite out of the three books we currently have. Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for the fourth book.

Harry Potter & the Philosopher’s Stone – J.K. Rowling

I was feeling really stressed and had been laying awake for hours. So I decided to go for a comforting audiobook and went with the Harry Potter series. It was just what I needed and it helped me finally fall asleep at 4 in the morning.

So that’s our January wrap up! Have you read any of these? Or how was your reading in January? Let us know in the comments. We’d love to hear from you!

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