Month: December 2025

Here is the second half of my list. I did have a little difficulty picking the final books, but I finally narrowed it down.

When Forty Blooms by Jacinta Howard

I found this author later in my reading journey, but I am still excited about her. She managed to write a book that displayed a healthy relationship with minimal drama. I know people love a book with drama and angst. It has to be this climax where someone gets hurt from miscommunication and then break up. Then, the other person is running around trying to win them back. They finally have the talk they should have been had and then everything is okay 🙄. Good grief! In When Forty Blooms, Simone is turning 40 and she is ready to live a little. It is a second chance romance that is sweet and heartwarming.

An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris

Remember how I said I like a strong female lead that also kicks ass. Lizbeth is all of that. Lisbeth is a hired gun. People hire her for security or package delivery. She is determined to complete every mission. I like how she isn’t invincible in this story. She gets hurt and has to recover. I know it is fiction, but it seems a little more realistic. An Easy Death is book 1 in a series of 6. Book 6 threw me off a little. The author is saying it is the final book, but I hope not. It has a weird ending. I still recommend the whole series.

House Witch by Delemhach

This a really good, entertaining read. I laughed some many different times throughout this book. The story centers around a male witch, who doesn’t want anyone to know he is a witch, whose powers only work when he feels like a place is his home. There are two other books to go along with this one, The House Witch 2 and The House Witch 3. I recommend the series. It does get a little serious as the story goes along, but it is still entertaining.

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

This book let me know that any job you can think of, it can be done. Clover is a death doula. What? That’s what I said. She sits with people through their last days of life.  I think that would be a sad job, but also fulfilling. To be the person who does not let a person die alone. You can only imagine what they say at the end. Clover collected their those thoughts.

Stolen Focus by Johann Hari

I am not a heavy reader of non-fiction books, but I do enjoy them. I have been listening to my non-fiction books, but they are better if I read them. I tend to zone out if the narrator doesn’t grab my attention. This book is about all of the distractions that were purposely created to get our attention. These companies are constantly thinking of ways to get us hooked and using these computer nerds to do it. It was enlightening to learn all the devious ways and possible solutions.

An honorable mention is a two part series I read that helped me get a good number of books in this year, The Librarian of Crooked Lane and The Watchmaker’s Daughter by C. J. Archer. The first series starts with The Watchmaker’s Daughter. I actually read this after the second series, The Librarian of Crooked Lane, because I didn’t know there was a prequel. Each series has about 12 books. Very helpful if you don’t want to keep searching for books.

Have you read any of these books? If you decide to check them out, please let me know what you think. Be well and whole. Much Love 🧡 💚

I have successfully completed my book goal of 104 books for the year. I have actually surpassed it because I love books and I am still finding books to read. My favorite genre of books was romance novels for as long as I can remember. I don’t know when it changed. Well, it didn’t exactly. I still like a romance novel, but I need it to have something else going on. And I need it to have mild sex scenes. As I have said before, we know how it is done, we don’t need a blow by blow, literally 😆. To reach my goal, I opened myself up to a few other genres that I don’t normally read. I am glad I did because I found some heartfelt books, books that made me laugh out loud, and some duds. I am not usually a quitter, but the duds let me know that my time is precious, and it is okay to walk away from something that doesn’t suit me.

I was asked to pick my top ten books out of what I have read this year. I am tempted to cheat a little. I read some good books last year too. I kinda want to throw a couple in here. I won’t 😕. I mean, I should be able to pick 10 books out of 104. I think the struggle is that I read a few series. It is hard to pick just one book out of the series. Especially if it is the second book, then I have to tell you to read the first one too. I’m probably overthinking this.

Well, these are my first 5 picks, in no particular order. I don’t know if I have a favorite.

Lulu Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller

You know what’s strange, I really enjoyed this book, but I don’t remember looking for other books by this author. Maybe because this was early in my book journey and I wasn’t hurting for books to read. This novel is a little political, but definitely worth the read. It has some funny moments as well.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

This is a book of what ifs. I know we have all thought about how different our life would be if we just did this one thing differently. Or this other thing. In this book, the main character was given an opportunity to see. This book was so good, I went and found other books by Matt Haig. Let’s just say, don’t do it. I actually did finish the other two books, but I couldn’t tell you what either of them were about.

Bride by Ali Hazelwood

Vampires, werewolves, and humans. This is kind of a romance novel, but with a bunch of other elements. I remember I loved the vampire and werewolf movies, Underworld, with Kate Beckinsdale. I love a strong female character especially when she is kicking ass. This book covers the marriage of a female vampire to a werewolf for the good of the world. We women are always being sacrificed, and yet, we are always being devalued. Weird, when obviously we are the glue that holds the world together. Now, I don’t recommend the second book in the series, Mate. It was a DNF for me.

Spellbound by Phil Hanley

Phil Hanley is a comedian I found on YouTube. His crowd work is phenomenal. He did release a special, but most of what he shows is YouTube shorts. He is dyslexic and in Spellbound he shares his journey with dyslexia, modeling, and becoming a comedian. I recommend the audiobook for this one. He actually read it! Once you hear his story, you will be proud of him for narrating his book.

The Seven O’clock Club by Amelia Ireland

This book was one that did not fall under my usual genre, but drew me in and I enjoyed it. You know something is going on, but when the twist happens, you are totally unprepared. And anyone who says they figured it out before it happened, is a damn lie. I don’t want to say much, just read it! It does get a little cheesy in the end though.

If you have already read any of these books, I would love to know what you think about them. If not, check them out! Happy reading or listening, whichever one works for you. Be well and whole. Much Love 🧡 💚