2025 Reading Plans/Challenges

 

Once again similar to last year, I have taken some time to really figure out what challenges I want to do in 2025.  I pretty much do them for my own enjoyment, but I want to make sure they are something I could realistically achieve.  I scoured the web and found a few which I not only wanted to share with you but also wanted to document for my own tracking purposes.  

As always, I will still be doing several buddy read with Stormi each month and I also participate in an Facebook book club called "Scream with Mel" where we read and discuss what is usually a backlisted horror book each month.  

What an Animal 2025 - Hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews

This challenge consists of reading book where an animal is prominently featured.  The animal could also be a supernatural "animal" such as a dragon, werewolf, vampire, etc.  You get the drift. I am going for the highest level, LEVEL 4 which is 21 or more books.

LIBRARY LOVE CHALLENGE - Hosted by Books of My Heart

This challenge has three different semesters when you commit to reading 12 library books each 4-month semester.  There are lots of giveaways and stuff so if you use your library, including Libby or Hoopla, then I highly suggest you check this out.

Taylor Swift Challenge/Horror Edition

I found this in a Facebook horror group I am in, and it looked fun.  I'm not a HUGE Swifty but did really enjoy her Folklore and Dead Poet's Society albums.

2025 Books of Horror Reading Challenge

This came from the same Facebook group.  I tried to do the same one last year and hit 20 of 24 prompts. 

TBR and Beyond 2025 Reading Challenge

This is the same group I do the "Scream with Mel" book club and I didn't do this last year but saw it and thought I'd give it a go.  I can't seem to get the picture uploaded but it basically has  different prompts.

So there you have it.  I definitely allow books to double up across challenges, just not within the same challenge.  And the last three are really the only ones where I have to make books fit prompts, so I figure it's doable.  And if not, that's why they are called challenges right?

Feed Your TBR - The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club

 

Can't Wait Wednesday, which I have adapted to better suit my blog as "Feed Your TBR" is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight highly anticipated books.  It is based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme which used to be hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

June 24, 2025

FROM GOODREADS: The body in the closet was going to be a problem. Kathryn Hu knew it. Yes, Tucker Jones was a cheating scumbag, and yes, she’d agreed to meet Olivia and Elle—Tucker’s other girlfriends—to exact revenge for all he’d put them through… But then they found him. Dead.  

Do they look guilty? Yes.

Do they feel guilty for having wished him dead just hours before? Maybe a little.

But—solid motive and a crime scene covered in their DNA aside—they’re innocent. They swear.

To clear their names, Kat, Olivia, and Elle team up to find the real killer. But as they go undercover and lie to everyone, including the hot detective working the case, they realize that every person in their ex's life had a reason to want him dead. Will they uncover the truth before they go down for a murder they didn't commit?

Filled with humor and shenanigans, The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club is a romp of an adventure by award-winning author Gloria Chao, perfect for fans of Dial A for Aunties, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It and John Tucker Must Die.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT: I think this mystery sounds like a lot of fun and come on and I love the idea of all the exes working together.

WHAT BOOK CAN'T YOU WAIT FOR THIS WEEK???

    

2 Bloggers 1 Series - Woodrose Mountain

 

Stormi and I figured it was time to knock another book off in the Hope's Crossing series. There are so many of them, it's really pretty scary.  The thing I love the most about this series is it is filling the Virgin River void.  The books really are kind of similar but Stormi and I both agree the Hope's Crossing series is a bit darker.  So read on for my thoughts and then check out what Stormi thought over at Storm Reads.

 

TITLE: Woodrose Mountain (Hope's Crossing #2)

AUTHOR: RayAnne Thayne

PUBLISHER: HQN

PUBLISHING DATE: December 27, 2011

PAGES: 336   

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: Hope's Crossing is still reeling from a devastating accident, but one occupational therapist may be exactly what the town needs… 

Evie Blanchard was at the top of her field. But when burnout forces her to walk away from her job as a pediatric occupational therapist, she moves from Los Angeles to Hope's Crossing seeking a quieter life. So, the last thing she needs is to get involved with the handsome, arrogant Brodie Thorne and his injured daughter, Taryn. 

A self-made man and single dad, Brodie will do anything to get Taryn the rehabilitation she needs…even if it means convincing Evie to move in with them. And despite her vow to keep an emotional distance, Evie can't help but be moved by Taryn's spirit or Brodie's determination to win Evie's support—and her heart. With laughter, courage and more than a little help from the kindhearted people of Hope's Crossing, Taryn may get the healing she deserves—and Evie and Brodie might just find a love they never knew could exist. 

MY THOUGHTS: Even though it had been a while since I read the first book in this series, it was easy to fall back into the world of Hope's Crossing.  Reading this series gives me the same kind of comfort that reading the Virgin River series do and I'm glad to say I seem to fly through them just as quickly.

Brodie's 15-year-old daughter Taryn suffered a traumatic brain injury in the accident that took the life of a classmate and put the mayor's son on trial for drinking and driving.  Taryn finally came out of her coma and has been in a rehab facility but due to her obstinance and teenage attitude, they have asked that she be moved.  Brodie asks Evie, who was physical therapist before moving to Hope's Crossing and starting a new career creating jewelry. Evie has her own reasons for not wanting to go back to that life, but she eventually agrees to help long enough for Brodie to find a permanent replacement.  But just how attached, and to whom, will she become along the way?

I love a good enemies-to-lovers trope and enjoyed seeing the tension between Evie and Brodie transform into something different.  Taryn could be a real brat at time but considering she is just a teen whose life has been completely turned upside down, I think she has a reason to act that way at times.  This installment also shows a lot of character growth from many of the characters and was really pleased with the way it ended.  I will say there is something that happens with Evie's adorable labradoodle, Jacques, which really hit me hard and it probably the reason I knocked the book out of a 5-paw rating.  Don't worry, Jacques doesn't die but Evie commits such a selfless act that I know right now I could never do.  Good for Evie, but I still hated reading about it.

If you are looking for a new series to try and like women's fiction from time to time, check out this one.  I'm looking forward to reading the next book and as an author, I think that's exactly what you are looking for from your readers when writing a series.  Also, all the books are already released so I can decide to pick it up whenever I want.

MY RATING: 4 PAWS

What the Heck Did I Just Read?

 

TITLE: Victorian Psycho

AUTHOR: Virginia Feito

PUBLISHER: Liveright

PUBLISHING DATE: February 4, 2025

PAGES: 208   

SOURCE: ARC

FROM GOODREADS: Winifred Notty arrives at Ensor House prepared to play the perfect Victorian governess—she’ll dutifully tutor her charges, Drusilla and Andrew, tell them bedtime stories, and only joke about eating children. But the longer Winifred spends within the estate’s dreary confines, and the more she learns of the perversions and pathetic preoccupations of the Pounds family, the more trouble she has sticking to her plan. Whether creeping across the moonlit lawns in her undergarments or gently tormenting the house staff, Winifred struggles at every turn to stifle the horrid compulsions of her past. When her chillingly dark imagination breaches the feeble boundary of reality on Christmas morning, Winifred is finally ready to deliver on her generous gifts. Wielding her signature sardonic wit and a penchant for the gorgeously macabre.

MY THOUGHTS: Every once in a while, I will find a book that calls to me and I'm not quite sure why.  I saw this categorized as horror and Gothic, which I am sure you know are some of my favorite buzzwords, and knew I wanted to give it a go.  And boy, am I glad I did!  I finished this book several days ago and it is STILL sticking with me. 

Ms. Winifred Notty is a governess by trade, even though it's pretty obvious she doesn't really like children.  As the book opens, the reader sees her arriving for a new position at Ensor Houss for the Pounds family.  Slowly Winifred falls into a routine carrying for the odd children, Andrew, who is weak but still the apple of his father's eyes and Druscilla, who is a bit peculiar with a hint of dangerousness mixed in.  Winifred slowly becomes closer to Mr. Pounds, but not without the notice of Mrs. Pounds and as the book progresses, Winifred's behavior becomes more and more odd. 

I don't want to say too much about this book.  It's not an extremely long one and honestly, I think it's best to go into it with little information.  As I was reading, I have to admit, I didn't like any of the characters and the children confirmed my life-long decision to not procreate.  But man was I sure fascinated by all of them.  At times the book reads like a fever dream and some of the sardonic thoughts in Winifred's mind did make me chuckle.  I couldn't wait to see what happened next and devoured this book in two sittings.  I also have to add, this book is not for the faint of heart and the ending... What an ending! 

If you love Gothic horror and unhinged plots and characters, this is the book for you.  There is a twist in Victorian Psycho I didn't see coming but once it had been revealed, it made so much sense.  I definitely plan on going back and reading Feito's debut novel, Mrs. March.  Even days after finishing it, I find my thoughts going back to this book.  I need more from this author and can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

MY RATING: 5 PAWS

 

Wait, I Was Supposed to Watch for Reindeer???

 

TITLE: I Pitty the Yule

AUTHOR: Kathryn Mykel

PUBLISHER: Independently Published

PUBLISHING DATE: December 10, 2024

PAGES: 96   

SOURCE: Kindle Unlimited

FROM GOODREADS: A small-town sleuth must sift through sweet secrets and bitter rivalries to uncover the killer hiding in plain sight. With her one-eyed pit bull, Bruizer, Rena Mulberry dives paws first into the mysterious death of diva Delia Winters, strangled by holiday lights. 

The suspects—including her festive boyfriend—are piling up fast. Rena must untangle a web of secrets, bake-off drama, and zany townsfolk to catch the killer before her holiday spirit fizzles out forever. 

Can Rena crack the case, or will the truth remain tangled up?

MY THOUGHTS: This read was a carryover from the holiday season which I finished in early January.  I guess it's no surprise why I grabbed it, and while I am glad that I met Bruizer, overall, this book was just "meh."  

Rena is doing her best to avoid most holiday activities when town diva, Delia Winters, is murdered.  Rena's boyfriend becomes the prime suspect and I'm not sure why she thinks she is capable of finding the real culprit, she jumps right in and starts investigating.  Of course, this greatly upsets the town sheriff who is onto her every move and almost ends up getting herself arrested. However, instead of arresting her, he makes her participate in the holiday bake-off even though she is a horrible baker and isn't a huge fan of the holidays.

This book was cute but a bit weak plot-wise.  I should have guessed all along the murderer because once it is revealed, it is so obvious I wanted to smack myself.  Rena's pit bull Bruizer clearly steals the show in the book and since he goes everywhere with Rena, it's not hard for him to do.  I loved all of his sneaky antics, and I think anyone who loves animal sidekicks would as well. 

Overall, an okay Christmas read with a fabulous dog which made it bearable.  Oh, and the reindeer.  At the end of the book is a note from the author asking if the reader found all of the reindeer mentioned in the book.  No Ms. Mykel, I didn't.  I didn't know I was supposed to be looking and I'm afraid if I had known, it might have made the book even less enjoyable.  

MY RATING: 3 PAWS 

Feed Your TBR - The Mean Ones

 

Can't Wait Wednesday, which I have adapted to better suit my blog as "Feed Your TBR" is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight highly anticipated books.  It is based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme which used to be hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

September 1, 2025

FROM GOODREADS: So what if Sadie hears talking dead animals and a strange, comforting male voice in her head? The therapist insists these are just symptoms of PTSD. It makes sense considering that she hid under the bed and watched as her best friends were slaughtered.

But the murders were seventeen years ago, back when her name was Sabrina. Now, she’s Sadie: a perfectly normal 29-year-old. She works as a physical therapist assistant and lifts weights with her boyfriend, Lucas, who’s the sweetest, most considerate man—as long as he’s not angry. But when Lucas spontaneously agrees to join a couple's trip to a cabin in the woods, the visions get worse, a strange figure stalks her during the night, and that male voice in Sadie’s head keeps calling, asking her to do things she’s never fathomed.

Sadie’s not sure if it’s her paranoia or something else entirely . . . But she is sure of one thing—this time, she’s not going to sit idly by as everything starts to unravel.

WHY I CAN'T WAIT:  I honestly wasn't going to feature another horror this week but when I saw this cover, that notion was sunk.  I need to know what dead animals Sadie hears in her head and I need to see something bad happen to Lucas.

WHAT BOOK CAN'T YOU WAIT FOR THIS WEEK???

2 Bloggers 1 Series - Dead Beat (Dresden Files #7)

 

I am happy to say I am stilling marching along reading the Dresden Files series.  Sometimes I end up leaving the book until the end of the month which means they run into the next month, but it is what it is.  I need to start them earlier.  But Dresden, as much as I love him, can be exhausting so once I finish a book, I usually need a few weeks before diving back in.  So read on for my thoughts about book seven and then hop over to Stormi's to see her thoughts.  

 

TITLE: Dead Beat (Dresden Files #7)

AUTHOR: Jim Butcher

PUBLISHER: Ace

PUBLISHING DATE: May 3, 2005

PAGES: 528   

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: Meet Harry Dresden, Chicago's first (and only) Wizard P.I. Turns out the 'everyday' world is full of strange and magical things - and most of them don't play well with humans. 

That's where Harry comes in. Luckily, however, he's not alone. Although most people don't believe in magic, the Chicago P.D. has a Special Investigations department, headed by his good friend Karrin Murphy. They deal with the . . . stranger cases. It's down to Karrin that Harry sneaks into Graceland Cemetery to meet a vampire named Mavra. Mavra has evidence that would destroy Karrin's career, and her demands are simple. She wants the Word of Kemmler - and all the power that comes with it. But first, Harry's keen to know what he'd be handing over. Before long he's racing against time, and six necromancers, to get the Word. And to prevent a Halloween that would truly wake the dead. 

Magic - it can get a guy killed.

MY THOUGHTS: While I am really enjoying reading this series, I have to admit, I sometimes wonder how much more Harry can take (spoiler alert - apparently a lot as there are close to 20 books in the series to date). 

In this installment, necromancers have invaded Chicago and are trying to find an old book which will enable them to assume complete power over the city and wipe out tons of people in the process. In addition, the vampires are after Harry because they also want the book, and they are threatening to ruin Harry's friend and head of the Supernatural Investigative Unit, Murphy's life and career if he doesn't deliver.  Harry ends up enlisting one of the city's medical examiners, Butters, to assist him.  That is if he doesn't get him killed first.  

I loved seeing some familiar faces working with Harry to save the city.  Butters is quickly becoming a favorite and can I just say Mouse, Harry's dog, better never die.  I will simply not survive it. I wish Murphy had been in this one but she took off on vacation with someone I predicted would play into her future after the last book.  

I plan on reading the next book in January but need to start a bit early.  This one was a whopper and ended up running into February.  The only issue is these books exhaust me with everything Harry does and all the trouble he finds so I am needing a few weeks into between them.  I do need to get back on schedule instead of running behind.  I really can't wait to see what trouble finds Harry next!

MY RATING: 4 PAWS