The end of January didn’t go very well, as I’ve been under the weather with the likes of the flu. Luckily, I didn’t have to go back and type most of this post since I kept up with the typing all month or this would be severely delayed.

I got quite a bit read this month so being under the weather these last few days has meant zero has gotten read.

Enjoy the recaps!

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Stupid Cupid by Ellie Hall

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rating explained:

I really enjoyed this one, mostly the ending which is why I gave it 5 stars.

Hayden was kind of a loner, a thriller seeker who was anti-romance. He sure could play up the hockey flirt card though.

I enjoyed Delaney’s quick whit and all the mess she got herself into.

This is the first book in the Nebraska Knights Hockey Romance series.

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Targeted by Lynette Eason, Lynn H Blackburn, Natalie Walters

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rating explained:

Enjoyable novellas packed into one book!! I love these three authors. If you’re looking for romantic suspense, a must read.

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The Parlor Game by Ashtyn Newbold

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rating explained:

I loved this. Loved it. Loved it.

Alexander is 🥵🥵🥵 and Anne says at the end, if he hadn’t have gone off to school, she could have known and fallen for him yearssss agoooo. From book one, I thought Miles was a great guy who would come back for Anne someday. Boy was I wrong. Lol

Such a great mystery and I loved how it ended. I can’t say enough good things about this.

A must read regency rom-com.

Book three in the Noble Charades series. I think this is the last book, but if there’s a fourth in the works, I’ll be the opposite of mad. Must read series in order!! Everything makes sense from book one after reading this one.

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Cinder Luna by Marie Soleil

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rating explained:

I found this series a while back and was completely intrigued. I love princess stories. The next book after this is the Beauty and the Beast inspired story that just released and that prompted me to buy both! Immediately.

Here we are after reading about Luna and Henry and I am captivated. So in love with this story and this series. So modern, yet there’s pieces that worked so well in the retelling that you see the glimpses of the original (happy version anyway 😂).

So many fun twists and turns, but the ending was everything.

I want to go watch all the movies now.

There’s a bonus epilogue that fully hints at the next story. This series is best read in order it was written because the stories do lead into each other, but if you’re okay with that… they are standalone stories, I guess. This is book one of the Once Upon a RomCom series.

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Isabelle and the Beast by Marie Soleil

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rating explained:

Words can’t express my love for Beauty and the Beast and I loved how Marie Soleil retold this beautiful story in a modern way.

Adam and Isabelle were amazing. I loved Adam’s grumpy nature and the way Isabelle didn’t back down. Ugh. Beautiful.

I can’t wait til NEXT YEAR (😩😭) for Lily’s story which is going to be based on Rapunzel, my other favorite princess story.

It’s not even accurate, but I kept imagining Glen Powell as Adam 😂😂

This is book two in the Once Upon a RomCom series.

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Cookies & Kisses by Marie Soleil

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rating explained:

Well, after reading the first two books in the series, I realized I needed to get and read the novella that kicks off the series. #NoobStatus

Super short and cute read! A grumpy sunshine story in a delicious setting. 🫶🏻

Novella (0.5) that kicks off the Once Upon a RomCom series by Marie Soleil.

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Redd, Whit & Blue by Ellie Hall

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rating explained:

I enjoyed this one. A friends to enemies to friends to more, LOL. Blue was cute!! She was kind of the pushing link between Redd and Whit. I loved the play on names for this book, too.

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Bookishly Ever Aftrr by Sarah Monzon

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rating explained:

I loved this one because I related so much to Emory. Tate was swoony and sweet, patient and considerate. It’s really short and if it were longer, we’d see more growth in her character, but it’s a really enjoyable love story between best friends.

Book one in the Book Nerds and Boyfriends Collection.

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Literarily for Keeps by Sarah Monzon

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rating explained:

I enjoyed the story itself, but I didn’t fully connect with the biblical message of this one. I didn’t feel like there was an acknowledgment of what is sin and repentance.

This was a fake marriage story and I loved how Landon was everything Ashleigh needed for the relationship, but also was more and stood up for her and others so easily.

This is the second story in Sarah Monzon’s Book Nerds and Boyfriends Collection. It helps to read them in order due to crossover, but they could be read in any order.

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Novelly Upon a Time by Sarah Monzon

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rating explained:

This was so cute!!! I loved the enemies to lovers that was really a friends to more 😍

Harper and Kyo were hilarious and I loved their unfolding story.

This is novella three in the Book Nerds and Boyfriends Collection.

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Not Until The End by Valerie M. Bodden

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rating explained:

Valerie can’t write a bad novel!! I’ve said it before, but I like repetition.

I could have finished this in a day or two if I just tried to 😂 downside of starting a million books.

Emma and Owen have things in their pasts and present that hold them back from moving on in the directions they’d otherwise want. Being older, they have more to think about and histories to consider. I loved their story, how everything was worked through with what God has planned – how they even met! – all came into play. So well written! I especially love Dan’s sermons. A must read!

Here’s a little excerpt I remembered to plop here:

“Do you think,” he said slowly, and Emma looked up from digging through the puzzle pieces that remained in the other half of the box. “That all of this the fire, the problems at the drop zone- is God’s way of saying I made a mistake moving the kids to Hope Springs?” Emma studied him as she considered the question. Was he thinking about moving away from Hope Springs already? She tried not to let her personal feelings about that possibility color her answer. “I think-” She spoke as slowly as he had, trying to formulate her thoughts. “That life is kind of like a puzzle. If you just look at an individual piece—” She picked one up and showed it to him. “It’s pretty unclear what it is or where it goes or how it fits into the big picture. But once it’s all together, it seems obvious. The problem is, we can only see all these little pieces, all these things that happen to us and to others, good and bad, but we can’t see how they fit together to make the big picture. But God is the master puzzle, uh …” She searched for the word. “Puzzle maker, I guess. He knows exactly where each piece goes, and he forms them all into this beautiful picture. It’s scary for us when we can’t see exactly where each piece we’re experiencing fits into that picture, but we can trust that he isn’t going to let even one piece end up out of place. He has a purpose for them all.”

This is book ten in the Hope Springs series.

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So Into You by Kathleen Fuller

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rating explained:

I gave this five stars, not because it was a feel good book (although it does have the happy ending, of course), but because it made me feel. Like ugh, talked about wrecked.

I related to the FMC, Britt (Brittany) in some ways, though her struggles were extreme. Hunter, with his life turned around but still feeling aimless, complimented her in the best ways.

I related to this story. The struggle with someone with a past. The alcoholic story. The fighting parents. The feeling of not being normal or enough.

The alcoholics in the story found Jesus and that’s mentioned, but the faith of the characters isn’t really brought out much in the storyline.

A story of second chances (even after many before that) and the story of love covers a multitude of sins.

A favorite of Fullers.

This is a standalone novel.

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When Alec Met Evie by Jenny Proctor

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rating explained:

I really enjoyed this story and the feels it provided were like 5 star feels. I loved the overarching love story between Evie and her best friend’s older brother. The way Alec stepped in and cared for her was beautiful and just showed his character in full force because we had glimpses of him in other books. A well rounded character holding things together while discovering his purpose outside of hockey.

There were a few moments for me that I didn’t like or didn’t relate to. I only remember one curse word, but sometimes I felt there were some suggestive language I wasn’t a fan of.

Talks of drinking, narcissism, absent parents, breastfeeding, and injuries throughout.

This is unfortunately the sixth and last installment in the Appies series by Jenny Proctor and Emma St Clair. 😭

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If I’m Found by Terri Blackstock

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rating explained:

Man!! A nail biter. I’m excited to see how this crazy pursuit ends in the next book. I listened to the audiobook again for most of this book because I really enjoy the audio narrator and it feels like I’m listening to a crime podcast. I ended up finishing this book by reading the physical book though because I couldn’t wait til the next day to listen while working!

With a novel like this, where someone’s trying to solve crimes and running from the law (or bad law enforcers…), they’re really smart but at times makes choices that you’re just like WHY. 😅 It’s like watching a scary movie and they go toward the noise or door instead of away and you know what’s about to happen but also scared when it does.

Anyway! This was just like the first, but peeled back more layers of Casey and Dylan, their faith and reconciling how even with evil in the world, God answers prayers and we can still find good in the world around us.

If you’re not a fan of true crime or crime shows in general, this may not be the series for you. General crime and abuse of different kinds are brought up and could be triggering.

This is book two in the If I Run series.

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If I Live by Terri Blackstock

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rating explained:

Okay, so I couldn’t wait.

I listened to the audiobook most of the day and then finished up reading the last few chapters as I laid on the couch not feeling too hot.

A great, suspenseful read with a happy ending for our main characters. Justice is always served.

Third and final book in the If I Run series.

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Always and Forever by Cathe Swanson

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rating explained:

I really enjoyed this story!

At times Penny honestly got on my nerves 😳👀 but it was mostly just that she didn’t see Brian as more than a friend and it was so obvious!

The overall story, the Swedish traditions, and little pieces about the other character made this enjoyable.

This is book one in The Glory Quilts series. Looking forward to the next book soon!

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Book goal for the year: 100

Books read this month: 16

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Have you decided on a reading goal for 2025?

Feel free to share in the comments what you’ve read so far this year! 🙂