I’m a day early with this, but that’s because tomorrow I intend to drop my yearly wrap-up, complete with my top 10 reads of the year and honorable mentions, so keep an eye out for that.

This past month I read 19 books, which has been the norm for me as of late. It’s cold out and I really don’t feel like doing anything outside, and I find myself having trouble staying focused while watching anything on TV, so books it is. Honestly, I’m okay with this! Here are my top 4 reads of the month:

Here’s a list of all of the books that I read this month in their rating category. Click the link to read my review.

5 star

• Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

4-4.75 Star

• Christmas Eve Love Story by Ginny Baird
• Among Serpents by Marc J. Gregson
• Dancing on Broken Glass by Ka Hancock
• A Home for the Holidays by Taylor Hahn
• Talking at Night by Claire Daverley
• What it’s Like in Words by Eliza Moss
• Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
• The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owen
• Our Winter Monster by Dennis Mahoney (review will post on 1/10/25)

3 – 3.75 Star

• I Might be in Trouble by Daniel Aleman
• Missing White Woman by Kellye Garrett
• The In-Between Bookstore by Edward Underhill
• Vantage Point by Sara Sligar
• Definitely Better Now by Ava Robinson
• You Can’t Hurt Me by Emma Cook
• The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey by Astrid Dahl
• Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce
• Single Player by Tara Tai

1-1.75 Stars:

• The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia (No review. I finished this one but did not connect with it at all.)

Cheers to a new year! I’m excited to kick off my reading challenges for the year, and have a few books dedicated to satisfying not only my January prompts, but also a couple from my 25 in 2025 reading prompt list and one from my 25 TBR in 2025. Here’s what I’m looking forward to in the month ahead and a list of a few others on my list:

ARCS:

I have a few ARCS that I need to get through, and they are:

• Murder in the Dressing Room by Holly Stars (This will also fulfill my January prompt of reading a debut novel.)
• I Think They Love You by Julian Winters
• The Family Inside by by Katie Garner
• Listen to Your Sister by Neena Viel
• The Bones Beneath my Skin by TJ Klune
• First Time Caller by B.K. Borrison

I’m also planning to read the following:

• The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon (This will satisfy one of the 2025 reading challenge prompts – The first book in a new to you series)
• The Block Party by Jamie Day (This will fit my January prompt of a book that takes place during a celebration)
• The Darkest Child by Dolores Phillips (This will fit my January prompt for a book that takes place during the Civil Rights movement)
• More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova (part of my BOTM box)
• Cross My Heart by Megan Collins (an Aardvark Pick)
• We Could Be Rats by Emily Austin (another BOTM pick)
• A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall (another BOTM pick)