Favorite 2025 Reads
Liz Johnson is so good at delving deep into why a character struggles the way they do. A beautiful story of hope and love after heartbreak and neglect. So many wonderful dogs (and goats) in this story as well! More Newfies!!!
Noah Minor was dropped off a balcony as a baby and survived! Apparently, that fall enhanced his superpowers. What it also did, make the secret professionals in the superhero community doubt his ability to control his gifts. Does might make right, like Noah’s uncle claims, or are there even more important powers that Noah needs to hone than his strength?
I won both books in a contest and wow are they good!
Skillful storytelling that kids will devour and thoughtful messages that are threaded naturally throughout the action with a high level of craft. This series just thrilled my book-lover’s soul as well as my momma’s heart. I highly recommend!!!
This was such a fabulous book! As a mom of three sons, this book is perfect for the rough and rowdy kiddo in your life who has a hard time sitting still. Loads of action, cool bug facts, and fun characters who have built a bunch of traps to save the museum (and bugs) that they love! I highly recommend!!!
When my young adult son saw the title of this book he thought it was a pretty arrogant move on the author’s part. I laughed because this is such an ironic name for an incredibly fun story. The author needs out of her terrible publishing contract . . . and to do so, she must write the perfect romcom all while dealing with her incredibly difficult literary agent! It is hilarious and oh so fun. If you are a writer, there are even more layers. So great!
Nicole Deese writes with so much depth and beauty and you can tell that she understands both the value of and the cost of being in a ministry family! There are two common ways that PKs and MKs react to growing up in full-time Christian ministry. Our heroine goes one route (flee) and her brother goes the other (dig in and overachieve). This is her story!
Nicole Deese writes with so much depth and beauty and you can tell that she understands both the value of and the cost of being in a ministry family! There are two common ways that PKs and MKs react to growing up in full-time Christian ministry. Our hero goes one route (dig in and overachieve) and his sister goes goes the other route (flee all things church). This is his story!
Winter’s Chill by Morgan Busse is probably my favorite book by this author! And I have loved all of her books! This is book 2 in her Nordic Wars series and is just so good. While reading some books, I’ll find myself only interested in one of the viewpoint characters but this is not the case with Winter’s Chill. Both the hero and the heroine were engaging characters that I was rooting for the whole time. Ms. Busse paints the fantasy landscape beautifully and the different people groups feel vital and alive. There are bear riders people! Need I say more? Folks are riding bears and I love it! She does a wonderful job of making both the defending army and attacking army sympathetic as we recognize that powerful beings are oppressing and using the Nordic forces for their own nefarious plans. The tension is so high in this book! You want both sides to win and you want the truth to be revealed! You want the strange dreams that each character is plagued with to result in an against all odds romance! What will happen? Well, I guess I’ll have to wait until book 3! I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle!!!! I read to relax and I usually have an audio book (for when I’m in the kitchen), a paperback from the library, and sometimes an eBook going all at once. I enjoy reading and some books are better than others, but there’s nothing like opening up a REALLY good book to thrill the soul! This is that kind of book. I bought it for my 17-year-old son on a whim and borrowed it because the cover was so amazing. OH MY GOODNESS! This author is a true master of his art!!! Best known for The Last Unicorn, not only is he still alive (yay!) but Peter S. Beagle made me remember what it is like when a story truly sweeps you away. Beautiful writing, sarcastic and self-aware fantasy, and yet also a story that is able to make the reader feel deeply in ways I didn’t expect. This book is absolutely fabulous! I was left scouring my brain for who to recommend it to next and who would love it for Christmas. For parents: This general market YA novel has a handful of swear words (about like Ranger’s Apprentice) and a small amount of romantic tension between characters as they learn the difference between basic attraction and love. So so good!
Christian middle grade that is well-written and full of fine art, adventure, and important life lessons! A lovely story that takes the reader on a journey literally through the world of fine art (they travel in paintings) and into the bravery required to embrace the things you love that are difficult. Highly recommend!
I adore Karen Barnett’s national park books and this newest one is absolutely fabulous. Her previous vintage national park romances were wonderful, but her last three have taken a deeper turn with twisty dual timeline plots, more complicated themes, and relationships that truly show the author’s skills as a storyteller. Through Water and Stone kept me flipping pages quickly and wondering about both the plot and the characters throughout the day when I wasn’t reading. Add to that, her stunning descriptions of Zion National Park and this novel managed to hit that golden sweet spot between genre fiction and literary. It was exactly what I was looking for, a perfect read with both depth, beauty, and a plot that sent me galloping through the pages. It also made me want to visit Zion National Park! For those who don’t hike, this feels like a vacation in story form. For those of us who do, it inspires the next trip. A marvelous read all around!
Such a funny book! This hilarious romcom travels the high seas with a pack of scheming granny matchmakers and an enemies-to-lovers romance that is thwarting their very best efforts! Just what I needed to lighten my mood and bring me a bit of cheer on a hard day. Loved it!
With rich writing that you can sink into and enjoy, Robin W. Pearson weaves a story that makes you so incredibly angry at the characters . . . and then breaks your heart and puts it back together again. I would compare her writing to Kristin Hannah’s but with a swirl of Southern charm and hope at the end of the story. I don’t actually like Kristin Hannah’s books, but I love Robin W. Pearson’s stories so much! Because in The Stories We Carry I get the skillful writing, the charming setting, the deeply thoughtful characterization, but then this author does something special. She takes her characters to dark places and she heals them and when I put the book down my heart is just thrumming with that warm golden feeling of hope at the end of a hard battle. And isn’t that just the picture of us, broken and hurting, healed and glorious, stepping forward with our Lord into something more lovely than we imagined possible. Such a great book, folks! Honest, broken, and beautiful. So lovely to behold!
This book was absolutely amazing! One of my favorite reads of the year. I tend to shy away from WWII reads as they can begin to feel all the same but this author brought the unique history of the library of banned books to life in a way that is not to be missed. The characters were real. The tension was high. The spiritual thread was honest and true and the characters grew and changed. So lovely! Beyond five stars!!!
A beautiful Bible story book that follows Jesus and the grieving disciples on the road to Emmaus! Gorgeous artwork and Jesus Himself telling Bible stories that speak of His mission to live among us and rescue humanity from ourselves. So lovely!
