July reading wrap up 2025

I feel like I spend July in England since I binged so many of the Emma M. Lion journals 😂😂. While I did a lot of things in July, I still managed to read quite a bit as well. I read 17 books and DNF'd one. And, until I put this post together, I had not realized how many 5-star reads I had this month! I can say with absolute certainty that I have never had that many 5-star reviews in a month (and probably won't again). Click on the cover of the book if you are interested in reading my review.

5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Vying for the Viscount

Title: Vying for the Viscount

Series: Hearts on the Heath #1

Author: Kristi Ann Hunter

Narrator: Anne Marie Giedon

Publisher: Bethany House

Genre: Historical, Christian Fiction, Regency, Romance

Source: Hoopla

My Review:

I don't know why I waited so long to read Vying for the Viscount. I have enjoyed every Kristi Ann Hunter book I have read, and this is no exception. Anne Marie Giedon does a fantastic job with the narration.

Top Ten Tuesday-Books with Honorifics in the Title

Happy Tuesday my bookish friends!! I hope you all are doing well. Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is: Books with Honorifics in the Title (“…an honorific is a form of address conveying esteem, courtesy or respect. These can be titles prefixing a person’s name, e.g.: Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms., Mx., Sir, Dame, Dr., Cllr, Lady, or Lord, or other titles or positions that can appear as a form of address without the person’s name, as in Mr. President, General, Captain, Father, Doctor, or Earl.” For more info, click here.) (Submitted by Joanne @Portobello Book Blog) This sounds like a fun topic and I am curious to see what I can come up with. I don't think I read a lot of books with titles, but we will see! Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and you can head over there to see what our other bookish friends are up to today.   

Top Ten Tuesday-Books with Honorifics in the Title

Physical copies I have not read:

The Governess of Penwythe Hall by Sarah E. Ladd

March Reading Wrap Up 2025

March was a mix of hard moments and fun moments. We had some sickness and I feel like I read more this month trying to relax from the stressful times. I read 25 books in March, but several were 2-stars so they won't be mentioned here. Click on the cover of the book if you are interested in reading my review.

5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

  

Pixels and Paint

Title: Pixels and Paint

Series: Trinket Sisters #1

Author: Kristi Ann Hunter

Publisher: Oholiab Creations

Genre: Christian Fiction, Contemporary Romance, 

Source: Own

My Review:

Pixels and Paint is Kristi Ann Hunter's first contemporary romance and I am here for it! She also writes historical fiction with humor.

Top Ten Tuesday-Marriage of Convenience

 Happy Tuesday my bookish friends!! I hope you all are doing well. Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is: Books that Include/Feature [insert your favorite theme or plot device here] (for example: unreliable narrators, coming of age, darkness vs. light, time travel, metafiction, a specific romantic trope, good vs. evil. cliffhangers, flashbacks, plot twists, red herrings, loose ends, stories within stories, meet cutes, symbolism, etc.) (submitted by Alice @ The Wallflower Digest) I really enjoy the Marriage of Convenience trope, so that is what I am going to share about today. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and you can head over there to see what our other bookish friends are up to today.   

Top Ten-ish Marriage of Convenience stories (click on the cover if you want to read my review):

February Reading Wrap up 2025

February was a weird month. We had a lot of sickness, followed by a lot of working having to make up canceled classes. I read 16 books in February and DNFed 1. Click on the cover of the book if you are interested in the review.

5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐    

 

A Pursuit of Home

Title: A Pursuit of Home

Series: Haven Manor #3

Author: Kristi Ann Hunter

Publisher: Bethany House

Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, 

Source: Library

My Review:

I have been looking forward to Jess's story since the series' first book! A Pursuit of Home did not disappoint! While it could be read as a stand-alone novel, I recommend reading the series to best understand the friendship between Daphne, Kit, and Jess.

Top Ten Tuesday-2024 Releases I was excited about but...

Happy Tuesday my bookish friends!! I hope you all are doing well. Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is: 2024 Releases I Was Excited to Read but Still Haven’t Gotten To (will you be prioritizing these this year?) This should be interesting. I don't remember release years but Goodreads should be able to help a girl out. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and you can head over there to see what our other bookish friends are up to today.   

2024 New Releases I OWN that I was excited to read and still haven't (in my defense, your honor, I got several of these in Nov/Dec):

Stacking the Shelves #152, Sunday Post #149, Sunday Salon #143

Hey my bookish friends! How was your week? We got more snow, which canceled a few of our classes, and my book club that was supposed to meet Thursday evening. I am feeling a bit under the weather, a respiratory thing, I think. I have another big book haul this week, but mostly library and review books. I plan to relax and do very little this weekend, what about you?!

December Reading Wrap-Up 2024

Happy New Year, my bookish friends!! I read 17 books in December. Click on the cover of the book if you are interested in the review.

5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

  

November 2024 Reading Wrap-Up

Here we are for another monthly wrap up fa la la la la la la la la. I have no idea how it is already December. It's hard to slow down and enjoy anything when time is marching along at warp speed. I feel like November was a good reading month, so let's get to it!  I read 17 books and DNF'd one. Click on the cover of the book if you are interested in the review.

5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Rendezvous update 2

So, part two of the JustRead Rendezvous 2024 reader event. You can read part one here. After lunch was another reader panel. Kimberley Woodhouse was the moderator of this one. Each author had to pick one of their characters to be and only answer as that character. It was hilarious. Several authors on the panel were suspense writers, and a couple were fantasy. Sara Ella was one of the authors and I loved her answers. She was in character as Alice in Wonderland from her book The Wonderland Trials. While I had read several authors books who were on the different panels throughout the day, hearing all the authors talk and interact made me want to read their books, even though several are genres I don't read. 

 

A Defense of Honor

Title: A Defense of Honor

Series: Haven Manor #1

Author: Kristi Ann Hunter

Narrator: Beverley A. Crick

Publisher: Bethany House

Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Regency Era, Romance,

Source: Library

My Review:

A Defense of Honor is the first book in Kristi Ann Hunter's Haven Manor series.

Top Ten Tuesday-Short Memorable Reads

Happy Tuesday, my bookish friends!! I hope you all are doing well. Today's Top Ten Tuesday is Top Ten Quick Reads/Books to Read When Time is Short (Books under 150 pages, or if you’re not a novella reader maybe spin this to be books you could read in a day or a single sitting.) (Submitted by Jennifer @ FunkNFiction.com and Angela @ Reading Frenzy) Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and you can head over there to see what our other bookish friends are up to today. 

I am not a huge novella reader but here are 10 novellas/short memorable reads

 

Top Ten Tuesday-New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2023

Happy Tuesday, my bookish friends!! I hope you all are doing well. Today's Top Ten Tuesday is New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2023. I read 57 new-to-me authors in 2023, so I will narrow it down to my top 10 that I am likely to read again. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and you can head over there to see what our other bookish friends are up to today. 

Top 10 New-to-me authors in 2023: (clicking on the book cover will take you to my review)

Kristi Ann Hunter - read 5 books and the book that made me want to read more

Analyzing my 2023 reading goals and Reading Challenges

At the beginning of the year I listed my 2023 Bookish goals. I am very much a type A personality. When I set a goal I have every intention of getting it, and I feel this internal pressure to finish what I started. As the year progressed, I was really feeling pressure to hit my book challenges, but had lost sight of my reading goals. So, let's see how I did!

Top Ten Tuesday-Favorite Books of 2023

Happy Tuesday my bookish friends!! Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is Favorite Books of 2023. I am not going to try to narrow my favorites down to ten. With over 40 books added this year to my favorites shelf on Goodreads, I will do my best to narrow it down to a reasonable number. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and you can head over there to see what our other bookish friends are up to today. 

Top 15 Favorite Books of 2023-Click on cover if you want to read my review

 

October Reading Wrap Up 2023

On the personal side, October was a hard month with my son's surgery and ongoing recovery, and having had (and still have) bronchitis for the last two weeks. I had some reading duds, but overall I think I had a decent reading month. I read 22 books and DNFed 1. Click on the cover of the book if you are interested in the review.

5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

An Inconvenient Beauty

Title: An Inconvenient Beauty

Series: Hawthorne House #4

Author: Kristi Ann Hunter

Narrator: Ann Marie Gideon

Publisher: Recorded Books

Genre: Historical Fiction, Regency, Christian Fiction, Romance

Source: Hoopla

My Review:

The Hawthorne House series is wonderful, and I recommend reading them in order.  I have enjoyed bingeing this series, and I am so sad that it is over! We finally get Griffith's story in An Inconvenient Beauty. I really enjoyed the narration from Ann Marie Gideon.