And here we are at the first wrap-up of 2025!

January was a pretty impressive reading month for me, I’ve made really good headway in all the challenges I’ve decided to partake in this year. I read 18 books in total which puts a nice dent in my 2025 Reading Goal of 52. Three books from the Romanceopoly 2025 Challenge, seven books from the ✨TwentyOffMyShelf 2025✨challenge, and one book from my own Non-fiction reading 2025.

January also felt like a successful reading month because I didn’t reread any books, now I think rereading is a form of self-care and I wouldn’t normally care about how much I reread, but I wanted to set myself a little January challenge to only read books on my TBR. The fact I reread for comfort and didn’t reread in January when the world is burning and even more scary than normal (and it’s normally pretty darn scary) is an absolute miracle. I might need to reward myself with a reread! 😀

So before we get into the wrap-up I’ve a few housekeeping updates:

1. I’ve decided to stop using Goodreads links on the books I mention. I know it’s impossible to beat the Zon and that when it comes to supporting a lot of authors I read, Amazon is a necessary evil, so I’m not advocating to boycott them but I would like to do my bit by not pushing users to Goodreads and instead direct users to a platform created and run by a Black woman, so all links will bring you to The StoryGraph.
2. While The StoryGraph is a great book catalogue site it’s not terribly social which is something I always liked about Goodreads. I’ve actually met many people on Goodreads over the years who became real life friends that I’ve visited and talk to regularly, so I didn’t want to lose that social aspect. Therefore I’m also listing my books on Fable. Now Fable had a pretty terrible start to the year with some really problematic AI controversy in relation to their yearly wrap-ups, I was close to deleting the whole thing but they eventually admitted the AI was trash and took the AI generated comments off the wrap-ups while they work on it. Making it less racist and ableist would be a good place to start. So, all that to say that with listing my reading on Fable, I’ll have some nice graphics at the end of every month, so instead of using GIF’s (which I love but definitely slow me down getting wrap-ups posted) I’m going to use Fable graphics and The StoryGraph when I want to show some more in depth statistics.
3. With the Romanceopoly 2025 Challenge and Non-fiction reading 2025 I’ll be posting book reviews as I read the books for those challenges and rather than post them twice and make the wrap-ups too long I’ll link them to the original post instead. Hopefully that will direct some traffic to those posts as well but I won’t hold out too much hope! 😀

So with that being said, let’s get to the January 2025 – Wrap-up!

The C*ck Down the Block (The Cocky Kingmans #1) – 3.5⭐& The Wiener Across the Way (The Cocky Kingmans #2) – 3.5⭐ by Amy Award

The C*ck Down the Block (The Cocky Kingmans #1) post was my first prompt — Frostwood Village, Pin & Peak Lanes — in Romanceopoly 2025 Challenge

The Wiener Across the Way (The Cocky Kingmans #2) post was posted as a collage and review.

The Night Raven (Crow Investigations #1) – 4.25⭐, The Silver Mark (Crow Investigations #2) – 4⭐, The Fox’s Curse (Crow Investigations #3) – 3.5⭐, The Pearl King (Crow Investigations #4) – 3⭐by Sarah Painter

The Night Raven (Crow Investigations #1) post was my second prompt — Mystic Pines, Frostwood Village — in Romanceopoly 2025 Challenge

This series started out really strong for me, closed door scenes and all, but I just got very frustrated with Lydia and by the time I finished The Pearl King I felt like she was her own worst enemy and she is absurdly naive. I’ve never been a member of a gangland family but I know a lot more than her and that doesn’t seem like it should be possible, especially given her profession! 

I found the Pearls and their relationship to the Fae very intriguing though and I think I will read the rest of this series but for now I need a Lydia break.

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams – 4.5⭐

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde was posted as a college and review.

Lost and Lassoed (Rebel Blue Ranch #3) by Lyla Sage – 3.75⭐

As suspected, Gus and Teddy’s story was adorable. There is no way the two of them could rub each other the wrong way to such a degree and then not have lots of chemistry!

I really didn’t like Gus in the previous books, I like me a grumpy MMC but he was a total asshole a lot of the time and with this book we get to really dig into his character and what makes him act the way he acted in previous books. I don’t think taking on everyone’s problems is a valid excuse for being a tool but he did learn and grow so I guess he is forgiven. The dirty talk certainly helped! 😂

I loved Teddy in previous books and I loved her even more in this. I love a self aware queen and she was exactly that. Teddy knows she is having complex feelings about Emmy heading off in a different direction in her life, she knows that and tries to work through those feelings. I think she would have gotten there had Emmy not pushed her into confronting her feelings, thankfully their friendship is a beautiful thing and they got everything sorted.

One of the things I really enjoy about this series is how Gus and Cam coparent Riley. How Cam encourages Gus to pursue Teddy, someone who would potentially become her daughter’s stepmother, was next level! I absolutely love Cam, and can’t wait for her and Dusty’s book. I really like Lyla Sage’s FMC!

The authors note about her dad was particularly beautiful. She made me cry! The father/daughter relationships in this series are lovely and it was very poignant in this book. I know she doesn’t want her dad to read this book (very fair 😂) but I’m glad she was allowing him to read the note about how she feels about him!

The House Witch and The Enchanting of the Hearth (The House Witch #1) – 4.75⭐, The House Witch and The Charming of Austice (The House Witch #2) – 3.75⭐, The House Witch and When the Cat Spells War (The House Witch #3) – 3⭐by Delemhach

The House Witch and The Enchanting of the Hearth was my third prompt — Crystal Lake, Frostwood Village — in Romanceopoly 2025 Challenge

I really did enjoy this series but what started as very low stakes took a turn in the end. I mean there is a war on the way so it’s not shocking but all the deaths in the last book were shocking!

We do get a lovely HEA but it was hard won. I kind of want to read the fourth book but the reviews aren’t great and I’m not sure I want to dedicate time to it right now. I would like to see what all the characters got up to over a 20 year period though! Maybe I’ll take a wild hair at some stage and read it.

Hoops Shorts: A HOOPS Novella Collection (Hoops #2.6) by Kennedy Ryan – 4.5⭐

Finally got around to The Hoops novellas. Honestly would have read a full length novel for these two couples, Ean and Quinn in particular, their story felt super short.

Loved it all though and we get little cameos from our favourites. This was my last Hoops stories left to read, sad to have no more! 😞

A Game of Hearts and Heists (Girl Games #1) by Ruby Roe – 2.5⭐

Meh…

I feel like this is a case of a great premise with poor execution!

I loved the sound of this but just didn’t enjoy it. The world building was poor, the plot weak and the main characters were kind of annoying. Scarlett was only moderately annoying but Quinn was almost a caricature at times. The ‘how dare she’s’ and over the top drama got really old and then just made me extra mad at her for not communicating. I mean Scarlett is fairly emotionally stunted but at least she shares ‘some’ of her history. Quinn’s whole deal made no freaking sense and was just annoying.

It was plenty spicy but I disliked Quinn so much I didn’t really care.

I was intrigued by the secondary characters, Morrigan and Stirling in particular, but I’m not sure I have it in me to read another story with a plot that doesn’t really make sense and as result I care little about!

Without You by Marley Valentine – 4.5⭐

Oh this one was EMOTIONAL!

“Sometimes I wonder if death really is the worst thing, because being alive and feeling so empty and hollow seems to be much worse.”

Deacon was incredibly emotionally constipated but who can blame him? His mother was really hard work and we learn as we read that her grief is not the actual reason for her behaving so badly, she has been like that Deacon’s entire existence. It’s so bad that she even treats Julian as more of a son then she does Deacon. It makes total sense to me why Deacon was so angry and jealous of Julian!

Deacon working through all his feelings and Julian beginning to live again after they lose Rhett was utterly bittersweet. There were lots of ups and downs for them both emotionally and there were times I wasn’t sure why either one behaved the way they did but then again grief often doesn’t make sense and it felt like they needed to go through all the feelings to get their HEA!

Turns out they were both teddy bears and once the communication started they became A+ communicators and so protective of each other. It was adorable!

“You’re the beat of my heart, the blood in my veins, the strength in my bones. None of me works without you. And if you need me to tell you every fucking day for the rest of our lives, then I will, because you are more than enough. You’re everything.”

Holding the Reins (Silver Pines #1) by Paisley Hope – 3⭐

This was cute but Cece had a way of annoying me that kind of ruined the vibe for me. Also, there were a fair few consistency errors that bothered me a bit, like Cece removing her tights while keeping her shoes on. I know it’s silly to be annoyed by such things but it bothers me. 🙈

Nash and his dirty talk saved the day!

It’s highly likely I’ll read the rest of the books in the series though! 😂

Icebreaker (Maple Hills #1) by Hannah Grace – 3.75⭐

So I’m not a big NA fan and college romance would be my least favourite of the ones I do read, I mean I’m old now and those college years were awkward AF, and I was an idiot, so I don’t need to think about those days, but I actually enjoyed this one.

I will say that I do agree with what other people have said about the length of this, it was honestly about 100 pages too long. It wasn’t that the length ruined it but it made it drag just a little.

Nathan was real green flag energy, as were the rest of the hockey team. It’s nice to have ‘jocks’ not be assholes in books and it’s even nicer when they are all big on consent! I’ve said it before and I hope I’ll say it many more times in the future, but I do love how the new wave of romance books deals with consent. Consent is just sexy!!

Anastasia irked me with how she dealt with Aaron and I actually understood why Nathan struggled, but it really highlighted how they both communicated and gave Nathan a chance to do a grand gesture which I guess adds to the drama. I will say, the way these two communicated was fab but I dunno, as a former 21 year old I find it hard to believe, then again I wasn’t in therapy since I was 9 so maybe that has a lot to do with it. 😂

One of the reasons I decided to read this was because of all the drama on booktok about the smut in a book with a ‘cartoon cover’ that could be mistaken for a children’s book! 🙄 Obviously that’s dumb, and there is a disclaimer at the beginning that this book contains 18+ content and is not for children so if this book ends up in the hands of a kid under 18 that’s a parent problem.

I mean it was smutty I suppose, but very tame compared to adult books I’ve read, and I guess on the higher end of the scale for NA?! It was all very sex positive though and sex positivity and consent in books for new adults is great in my opinion. I feel like a few 20 year old boys could do with reading this as well.

The big letdown for me was the epilogue pregnancy at not even 24 years old. I don’t think those epilogues are necessary in adult romance so I find them even less so in NA.

Want Me (Extracurricular Activities, #1) by Neve Wilder – 3.25⭐

Okay so look, this is what it is! This was originally a serial story and it’s spicy so therefore you get a hit of smut right from the very first chapter. It’s not instant love though, and because it’s NA, and college guys, the start of their relationship is actually very believable! 😀

With it being NA there is a ‘coming out’ trope and they are often painful to read because I hate when people are judged for who they are attracted to when everyone is an adult, but this went much better than I expected and the only thing that was painful to read was how Nate treated Eric while he was working through his feelings, I mean I totally get it and it’s angsty stuff but I just didn’t like how behaved towards Eric. Luckily, it being a serial story, things had to get sorted quickly and when Nate was ready he WAS ready, just straight out blurting it out to everyone. I was super proud of him!

This was fun, I’ve read two NA college romances with a main character called Nate back to back though so can’t see myself diving into the next one anytime soon. Glad to have knocked this off my KU shelf though, it’s been there an age!

The House of My Mother by Shari Franke – 5⭐

First non-fiction of 2025 – The House of My Mother by Shari Franke. I used to do a read 12 non-fiction in a year challenge, I haven’t done it in a couple of years and decided to bring it back for 2025. This one is really worth a read and also worth thinking about the ethics of family vlogging.