2025 Reading Wrap Up

 

I had a interesting, emotional filled, action packed reading year filled with mystery, fantasy,  science fiction, non fiction, thrillers, dragons, and romance. I traveled through outer space to the Antarctic to Eastern Europe to fictional lands in the middle of the ocean. I read 93 books, out of which 15 were rereads and only 7 were ebooks. Plus 34 were new to me authors.  Which means I did a great job at clearing my shelves, only I don't remember which ones were new versus dusty.  Guess I should have kept better track of that.  And now that I look back at the books completed, I'm contemplating changing some from 4 stars to either 5 stars or 3. What a conundrum. 

The stories (in no particular order) that really stood out this year were:

Stuart Turton's 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - a fantasy mystery which kept me on my toes keeping track of the characters and the storyline. Very convoluted, but intriguing and unique mystery which went all over the place.  Was everyone in on it?  Too many people, secrets, behind the stairs politics, above the stairs agreements, black mail, murder, and love affairs.  The characters never quite knew who to trust. Loved the description and imagery.  

and from one of my favorite writers, Cassandra Clare’s Sword Catcher - the beginning of a 4 book series which is full of dark magic and secrets and was excellent. The story captured me from the very beginning and held my attention the whole way through. Made me mad, confused, glad, and sad. Who would rue the day?  To be continued in the next book, The Ragpicker King which fortunately I have. 

The Last Love Note by Emma Grey - A story about grief, love, loss. A story about powering through, resilience, humor, honesty, and family.  Never letting go, but moving forward, finding your way without the love of your life, and somehow falling in love again with the one was right in front of you all along.   I laughed, I cried, I laughed some more. One of those stories I'll have to get in paperback to read again.

I discovered Fredrick Backman this year and will definitely be reading more of his stories. My Grandma Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry was such a sweet, heartwarming, hilarious, intense, imaginative story.  Made me laugh, made me cry, made me wonder, as well as want to shake a couple adults for their attitudes. All the feels. At first, all the bickering between everyone turned me off. But once I got past that, the story took off. 

Plus Britt Marie was Here turned into a very moving story.  She’d  lived her life for some one else and lost herself in the process.  She’s socially awkward, a bit ocd, and maybe a little autistic (imho). She ends up in a small town, full of misfit, oddballs, juvenile delinquents, and more and finds her backbone as well as a found family. It’s sad and funny and the ending is a bit vague which left me wondering. 

I finally gave in and read Robin Hobb’s Assassins Apprentice #1 in the Farseer Trilogy which was  excellent. Hobb’s writing is really good and flows and her world building, empathy, and emotions were so well done, you’d think you were watching a movie. Looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy, then exploring Ship Traders.   

Oh my goodness! I couldn't put down Dean Koontz The Forest of Lost Souls.  One woman pitted against a megalomaniac and his cohorts and small town politics.  Full of mysticism, nature, good and evil with wonderfully written characters and descriptions. Once I started it, had to finish, reading long into the night. Well worth losing sleep over. 

A unique fantasy/science fiction story by a new to me author was Gareth Brown's The Book of Doors in which a woman finds a book and stumbles upon a door which opens a world of travel, lying, killers, time loops, and all kinds of trouble. For every emotion, there is a book which in the wrong hands can either reek havoc or in the right hands bring healing. Full of chilling twists and turns that captures your attention and keeps you hanging on for the ride. 

And Dan Brown does it again with The Secret of Secrets in the Robert Langdon universe.  His girlfriend unwittingly captures the attention of the CIA and steals her ideas and her book about human consciousness and death experiences to create spies out of the  people on the edge of life who can see what's happening around them before they come back to their bodies. Fantastic story full of science, mystery, history and even the Golem created by a 16th century rabbi in Prague.  

And last but not least, two non fiction reads: 

All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum and me written by a museum guard, Patrick Bringley, which gave me an appreciation for art and how to look at it. It was a delicious read with made me want to back to New York and explore The Met for several days. 

and Victoria Erickson's Edge of Wonder: Notes from the Wildness of Being  - A little non fiction book of  beautiful poetry written in a way that was inspirational, warmhearted, made me think, and really spoke to me. No iambic pentameter for me. LOL! So good, I wanted to buy a dozen extra copies and send them out as gifts. 

I'd love to gather all these authors in a room and listen to them for days.  

Reading Log as of March 23rd

Happy Sunday! Literary Linguistics – the interface between literature and linguistics and the study and analysis of language. Since one of our 52 Books Bingo categories is linguistics, I figured it would be fun, and ended up following so many rabbit holes on the internet, I forgot what I was there for. 

One book I stumbled across was Lexicon by Max Berry which captured me attention right off and I had to work really hard to not to buy it right then and there. Listed as a cerebral thriller you just gotta read the excerpt to get caught up.  But that could be just me…. LOL!

“They recruited Emily Ruff from the streets. They said it was because she’s good with words.

They’ll live to regret it.

They said Wil Parke survived something he shouldn’t have. But he doesn’t remember.

Now they’re after him and he doesn’t know why.

There’s a word, they say. A word that kills.

And they want it back . . .”

It’s on my wishlist for later.

I finished Cassandra Clare’s Sword Catcher which is the beginning of a 4 book series which is full of dark magic and secrets and was excellent. The story captured me from the very beginning and held my attention the whole way through. Made me mad, confused, glad, and sad. Who would rue the day?  To be continued in the next book, The Ragpicker King. 

Currently reading The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton which is convoluted and thrilling and the writing is awesome.

“Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered at 11:00 p.m.

There are eight days, and eight witnesses for you to inhabit.

We will only let you escape once you tell us the name of the killer.

Understood? Then let’s begin . . .

Evelyn Hardcastle will die. Every day until Aiden Bishop can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others . . .”   So so very good.

Also dipping my toes into a light hearted romantic comedy (very flufferton) Lease on Love by Falon Ballard.

Our Saturday night movie was Electric State with Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt.  Enjoyed the heck out of it. 

 

Reading Log as of March 16th

 

Who else is kickin up their heels with the arrival of Spring on March 20th?  I think springtime is my favorite season. The temperatures are perfect, the flowers are starting to bloom, the urge to take on a new project, or declutter. And read new books or dive into old favorites.  

I gave up halfway through Marie Brennan’s 3rd book in her Lady Trent series – Voyage of the Basilisk because it isn’t holding my attention at all. Lot happening but it isn’t with the dragons. More about the characters than anything else. The first two books were excellent, this one not so much.

Currently on Cassandra Clare’s Sword Catcher which is holding my interest.

Continuing with Les Miserable and made it through Book 2 with the introduction of Jean Valjean.

Switched to reading Patricia Briggs Mercedes Thompson at bedtime and currently on Bone Crossed.

Have to figure out my Spring books. Added a few to my wishlist but will have to pick from my shelves since book ban is still in affect.

Our Saturday night movie was V for Vendetta with Natalie Portman which I thought I'd seen before. Maybe I had years and years ago but had forgotten so enjoyed it! 

Reading Log as of March 9th

 

I finished 3 books that had been in progress for a few weeks:

The Radcliffe Ladies Reading Club by Julia Bryan Thomas which was heartwrenching as well as heartwarming. Set in the 50’s, a divorced woman opens her own bookstore and starts a reading club. 4 students from Radcliffe college join her and the discussions surrounding Jane Eyre, Age of Innocence, A Room of One’s Own, Anna Karenina, and the Great Gatsby reveal the innocence and morals and upbringing of the 4 disparate 18 year olds.  Trigger warning: abuse and rape

Louise Penny’s The Grey Wolf, #19 in the Armand Gamache series was interesting as Armand discovers a conspiracy among the upper eschelon of the Canadian Gov’t. No one is telling the truth, hiding messages, and clues, misleading, and misdirecting him in order to foil his finding the truth.

Naomi Novik’s Black Powder War, #3 in the Temeraire series which had Laurence and co stuck in China, until they escape with 3 eggs, make it to Austria, only to be pressed into service to help fight the War against Napoleon.  Wonderful story but quite grueling for not only the characters but the reader as well as there was much action and many twists and turns.

My reading mood changed from a James Rollins thriller to Cassandra Clare’s fantasy, Sword Catcher which is capturing my attention.

July Reading Log

June 29:  Currently curled up with Cassandra Clare’s fantasy in the 2nd book in the series of The Dark Artifices with Lord of Shadows; Ruth Ware’s mystery The It Girl, and Mariana Zapata’s romance From Lukov with Love.

July 7:   I finished From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata.  Jasmine was annoying and oblivious and blinked a hell of a lot. One reviewer took the time to count how many times the characters blinked:  176.  *facepalm*

The characters were older but acted like they were in their teens and there was way too much angst and way too much time getting to the point. It was tempting to give up but didn’t because there was just enough there that made me want to find out who or what Lukov was giving up for Jasmine in order to be her skating partner.

Rating:  ***

Still in the middle of Lord of Shadows and The It Girl and about to begin the ebook of  Seven Year Slip.

Off to watch Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire.

July 14: Never thought I’d be the type of person to have a book in every room and read whichever one is there. Still working on  It Girl by Ruth Ware (Bedroom),  V.E. Schwab’s Darker Shade of Magic (Living Room) and  Cassandra Clare’s Lord of Shadow’s.(Kitchen read)  Plus an e book for where ever: Ashley Poston’s Seven Year Slip.

Added two more dragon books to my stacks:  Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim and Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen.

Saturday Night movie:  M. Night Shyamalan’s Old

From the NY Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century list,  I’ve read and finished  Wolf Hall, The Road, Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay, Fifth Season, and Station’s Eleven.

I started but couldn’t get into – David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas. I haven’t been able to get into any of his books. Just don’t like the writing.

Want to read the rest of Mantel’s Wolf hall series. Also Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead which is on my tbr because I loved The Poisonwood Bible. Plus Adichie’s  Americanah because I greatly enjoyed Half of a Yellow Sun. Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go because enjoyed Remains of the Day and Klara and the Sun.

July 21:  Finished Ruth Ware’s It Girl and would have never guessed who the culprit was. Gripping and dark, written in Before and After alternating chapters which was an interesting way to tell the story.

Rating:  ****

Also finished Ashley Poston’s Seven Year Slip which was quite good.

Rating ****

Almost finished with Cassandra Clare’s Lord of Shadows and not sure I’ll continue on with the series. The main characters are way too emotional.

Rating ***

Still in the midst of Darker Shade of Magic.  Too many books waiting in the wings to decide what’s next.

July 27: Finished Patricia Brigg’s Winter Lost which was so very good and now I want to go back and read the series over again. 

Rating:  *****

My water book is A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvia Cathrall in which the story is shown through letters to each other:

“A beautiful discovery outside the window of her underwater home prompts the reclusive E. to begin a correspondence with renowned scholar Henerey Clel. The letters they share are filled with passion, at first for their mutual interests, and then, inevitably, for each other.

Together, they uncover a mystery from the unknown depths, destined to transform the underwater world they both equally fear and love. But by no mere coincidence, a seaquake destroys E.’s home, and she and Henerey vanish.

A year later, E.’s sister Sophy, and Henerey’s brother Vyerin, are left to solve the mystery of their siblings’ disappearances with the letters, sketches and field notes left behind. As they uncover the wondrous love their siblings shared, Sophy and Vyerin learn the key to their disappearance – and what it could mean for life as they know it.”

Also reading ebook Rebecca Yarros’ The Things We Leave Unfinished which is combo present day and past also involving letters so looks like I have a theme going:

“Twenty-eight-year-old Georgia Stanton has to start over after she gave up almost everything in a brutal divorce—the New York house, the friends, and her pride. Now back home at her late great-grandmother’s estate in Colorado, she finds herself face-to-face with Noah Harrison, the bestselling author of a million books where the cover is always people nearly kissing. He’s just as arrogant in person as in interviews, and she’ll be damned if the good-looking writer of love stories thinks he’s the one to finish her grandmother’s final novel… even if the publisher swears he’s the perfect fit.

Noah is at the pinnacle of his career. With book and movie deals galore, there isn’t much the “golden boy” of modern fiction hasn’t accomplished. But he can’t walk away from what might be the best book of the century—the one his idol, Scarlett Stanton, left unfinished. Coming up with a fitting ending for the legendary author is one thing, but dealing with her beautiful, stubborn, cynical great-granddaughter, Georgia, is quite another.

But as they read Scarlett’s words in both the manuscript and her box of letters, they start to realize why Scarlett never finished the book—it’s based on her real-life romance with a World War II pilot, and the ending isn’t a happy one. Georgia knows all too well that love never works out, and while the chemistry and connection between her and Noah is undeniable, she’s as determined as ever to learn from her great-grandmother’s mistakes—even if it means destroying Noah’s career.”

Finished Darker Shade of Magic. Rating:  *****

Saturday night movie: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Also finished two ebooks: Get a Life, Chloe Brown byTalia Hibbert which was a contemporary romance about a disabled heroine. Rated ***  Plus You, Me, and the Colors of Life by Noa Walker which was a heartbreaking story about terminally ill woman who falls in love, gives back to those in need, and finds something positive about every day, e.  Rating ***

Eight book of which half were physical and half E books. Not so bad. 

June Reading Log

 

June Reading Log

June 1 - I have a couple chapters left in my bedtime read – Armada – and three quarters done with Lady Midnight.  In the midst of ebook When Women were Dragons.

Waiting in the wings: Nora Roberts Mind Games and Marie Brennan’s 3rd book in the Lady Trent series – Voyage of the Basilisk as well as Death of Vivek Oji.

Off to watch Godzilla Minus One.

As part of the Shadowhunter series, Cassandra Clare's Lady Midnight was good with Emma and her Parabati, Julius going from fire to fire and also fighting the fire within themselves about each other since it's forbidden.  

Rating ****

June 8: Finished Mind Games by Nora Roberts which was unique, clever, gut wrenching, scary, and heart warming all in one. Nora's books are generally five star reads for me. 

Rating *****

Still in the midst of Zodiac Academy (bedtime read) and When Women were Dragons (ebook) and started The Bone Ships by R. J. Barker which was a random pick.

“For generations, the Hundred Isles have built their ships from the bones of ancient dragons to fight an endless war.

The dragons disappeared, but the battles for supremacy persisted.

Now the first dragon in centuries has been spotted in far-off waters, and both sides see a chance to shift the balance of power in their favour. Because whoever catches it will win not only glory, but the war.”

June 12: Finished Zodiac Academy and won’t be continuing the series. Sort of a college age Harry Potter and the twin girls/woman are clueless and don’t learn from experience. Stepping into one fire after another,  although they know they can’t trust a soul, and the four male heirs are skeezy. 

Rating: ***

Also finished When Women were Dragons  which tells the story of how women were treated in a dystopian world set in the 50’s when they became dragons and how the world dealt with it and how their families dealt with it. Made me mad and sad at the unfair treatment of not only the women, but their children.  Interesting premise.

Rating: ****

Currently reading The Bone Ships which dragged me in and captured me with the unusual story.

Rating:  DNF. Will try again another time.

Father's day:  Went to Texas for a Week to see my dad, and as soon as we got home, went to see John's dad. Lots of traveling. I'm pooped.

June 22: The year is zipping right along, full of zingy and Zen reads, full of zaddy characters, zaffre settings, and zeal.  I added to my stacks when on vacation in Texas when we stopped by a Barnes and Noble while waiting for a table at the restaurant across the way, plus found a little book store at the airport while waiting for a very delayed flight to return home. Plus I had fun exploring my nieces and nephews book shelves and since we have similar tastes in science fiction and fantasy, chatting about stories.  And now I’m off again for a belated father’s day celebration with my father in law so time is short.

June 25: Given up on the last three books in the middle because just not capturing my attention.  Have gotten halfway through Librarian of Crooked Lane but so far haven’t seen her do much librarian work. More sleuthing than anything else.  Ready to dive back into V. E. Schwab’s Darker Shade of Magic. Maybe the 3rd time will be the charm.

June 29:  We’re headed into a heat wave this coming week, and I’m peopled out, so totally ready to hibernate in the cool with one or two or three books. We’re past the halfway point in our 52 Books journey and moving backwards through the alphabet from Z to A. We can be zen, we can zoom, we can zigzag, we can stay in the zone. We can read books that move in reverse chronology. We can read books about Z and the art of … motorcycles, writing, saving the planet, or even the art of stand up comedy. We can read about zoo’s or zombie’s or zorro or zealots. There are so many ways we can go.

Finished The Librarian of Crooked Lane #1 Glass Library - C.J. Archer.  Good but.... ***

And completed my bedtime reread of Venus Prime V: Breaking Strain - Paul Preuss ****