mystery

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 10/31/25]

October 31, 2025 — Leave a comment

Happy Halloween!

I felt like I didn’t accomplish much reading this month, but as it turns out, I did. I finished eight books! Maybe it was simply that I expected to knock out a few more Halloween-themed cozy mysteries. Or maybe it’s because it took me so long to get through Jane Eyre…

Anyway, here is what I read in October, complete with my ratings.

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Don’t Look Behind You (Emily Kazmierski)

Rating: 3.5/4

The Girl from Rawblood (Catriona Ward)

Rating: 4/5

Suicide Forest (Jeremy Bates)

Rating: 3/5

Listen for the Lie (Amy Tintera)

Rating: 4/5

Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë)

Rating: 2/5

What Lies in the Woods (Kate Alice Marshall)

Rating: 4/5

Eat, Pray, Hex (Tara Lush)

Rating: 3/5

Pretty Girls (Karin Slaughter)

Rating: 4.5/5

***

I am currently reading Survive the Night (Riley Sager) and The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde).

Progress: 65/75

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 9/30/25]

September 30, 2025 — Leave a comment

September has been a productive reading month for me! I have added a few fall- and Halloween-themed cozy mysteries to my TBR list, preparing myself for my favorite time of the year. And, of course, I’m still sticking to my original plan and going for the classics that I have yet to read (though I did not finish one this month).

Here are the books I read in September.

Hour of the Pumpkin Queen (Megan Shepherd)

Rating: 3/5

Sacrificial Magic (Stacia Kane)

Rating: 3.5/5

Lock Every Door (Riley Sager)

Rating: 2.5/5

They All Fall Down (Roxanne St. Claire)

Rating: 3/5

It Began With a Lie (Michele Pariza Wacek)

Rating: 3.5/5

Killer Content (Kiley Roache)

Rating: 4/5

The Girls Are All So Nice Here (L.E. Flynn)

Rating: 4.5/5

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I am currently reading The Girl From Rawblood (Catriona Ward) and Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë).

Progress: 57/75

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 8/31/25]

August 31, 2025 — Leave a comment

I think I’m back on track, at least with my reading challenge updates! Since I posted the catch-up blog on the 6th, I have finished six more books, including another classic (The Wind in the Willows).

I am very excited because we’re creeping ever nearer to fall and there are a few books I’ve been saving, ones that I feel are best read curled up under a fuzzy blanket with a candle burning and a mug of tea in hand. I can’t wait!

The Last One at the Wedding (Jason Rekulak)

Rating: 3/5

Friends Like These (Kimberly McCreight)

Rating: 4/5

I Think I Was Murdered (Colleen Coble/Rick Acker)

Rating: 3/5

A Cornucopia of Murder (Michele Pariza Wacek)

Rating: 4/5

City of Ghosts (Stacia Kane)

Rating: 4/5

The Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame)

Rating: 3/5

***

I am currently reading Sacrificial Magic (Stacia Kane) and Hour of the Pumpkin Queen (Megan Shepherd).

Progress: 50/75

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 8/6/25]

August 6, 2025 — Leave a comment

So, the blog has been on a bit of a hiatus for reasons that I will explain in a separate post. The only thing I’ve kept up with over the past two months is The Mostly Music 2025 Playlist, which means, of course, that I haven’t updated my reading challenge since May. But I am rectifying that right now! There will be another post at the end of this month, just to get back on track. For now, let me fill you in on all I’ve read in June and July.

You Shouldn’t Have Come Here (Jeneva Rose)

Rating: 3/5

The Collected (K.R. Alexander)

Rating: 2.5/5

There’s No Way I’d Die First (Lisa Springer)

Rating: 3/5

Rock, Paper, Scissors (Alice Feeney)

Rating: 4/5

Summer Rental (Rektok Ross)

Rating: 3/5

Spring Harvest (Rektok Ross)

Rating: 4/5

Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)

Rating: 2/5

Clown in a Cornfield (Adam Cesare)

Rating: 2/5

Carnival Kills (Caesar Daniels)

Rating: 3/5

Red Hot Murder (Michele Pariza Wacek)

Rating: 4.5/5

They’re Watching You (Chelsea Ichaso)

Rating: 4/5

I Know What You Did Last Summer (Lois Duncan)

Rating: 2/5

You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight (Kalynn Bayron)

Rating: 2.5/5

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I am currently reading A Cornucopia of Murder (Michele Pariza Wacek) and I Think I Was Murdered (Colleen Coble).

Progress: 44/75

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 5/31/25]

May 31, 2025 — Leave a comment

Y’all are going to laugh that it took this long, but I finally bought a Kindle. I’ve had Kindle Unlimited for two years, and I’ve been reading like a fiend on my phone. However, I decided I needed something with a bigger/adjustable display (after frequent headaches from the constant eye strain of looking at my phone and the computers at work). I decided on the Kindle Paperwhite and so far, I’m enjoying it immensely.

Anyway, I’m telling you that to tell you this: I’ve been sailing through novels since the device arrived! May has been productive. So much so, in fact, that I changed my goal for the year. I am now aiming for 75 books instead of 50.

Here is what I have finished over the past month.

The Cheerleaders (Kara Thomas)

Rating: 3.5/5

Satan’s Affair (H.D. Carlton)

Rating: 3/5

The Summer She Went Missing (Chelsea Ichaso)

Rating: 4/5

No Place Left to Hide (Megan Lally)

Rating: 4/5

Hide (Kiersten White)

Rating: 3/5

Such Quiet Girls (Noelle West Ihli)

Rating: 3.5/4

Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)

Rating: 3/5

The Final Scene (Steph Nelson)

Rating: 3.5/5

The Collector (K.R. Alexander)

Rating: 2.5/5

***

I am currently reading Little Women (Louisa May Alcott), The Collected (K.R. Alexander), and You Shouldn’t Have Come Here (Jeneva Rose).

Progress: 31/75

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 4/30/25]

April 30, 2025 — Leave a comment

Hello! I hope you have had a fantabulous April. Mine has been…well, I guess I’d say wash, rinse, repeat. Lol. Same shit, different month. However, I did read six books, so that’s at least one improvement, right?

Here are the books I finished with my ratings.

Every Summer After (Carley Fortune)

Rating: 4/5

A Peach of a Murder (Livia J. Washburn)

Rating: 3/5

The Stranger in Her House (John Marrs)

Rating: 4/5

The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne)

Rating: 2/5

Murder in Cottonwood Springs (Dianne Harman)

Rating: 2.5/3

Home Before Dark (Riley Sager)

Rating: 3.5/5

***

I am currently reading Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte), No Place Left to Hide (Megan Lally), and The Cheerleaders (Kara Thomas).

Progress: 22/50

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025 [Updated 2/28/25]

February 28, 2025 — Leave a comment

I finished six books in February! And one of those was A Tale of Two Cities (finally). Unfortunately, the Dickens novel was my only classic this month. I’ll do better in March.

Anyway, here are the books I read over the past 28 days, and my rating of each.

The Murder of Sleepy Hollow (Michele Pariza Wacek)

Rating: 4/5

Unholy Magic (Stacia Kane)

Rating: 4/5

Where the Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens)

Rating: 5/5

Babydoll (Christopher Robertson)

Rating: 4/5

Nettle & Bone (T. Kingfisher)

Rating: 4/5

A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)

Rating: 3/5

***

I am currently reading We Used to Live Here (Marcus Kliewer) and The House Across the Lake (Riley Sager).

Progress: 12/50

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2024 (12/27/24)

December 27, 2024 — Leave a comment

A belated Merry Christmas to you all! I hope your holidays have been festive and cheery and filled with love.

So, last month I hit my goal of 75 books for 2024 (I actually surpassed it). However, that doesn’t mean I stopped reading! And since I did complete a few more books, I decided I needed to post a reading challenge update for December, as well.

Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop (Emmeline Duncan)

Rating: 3/5

The Quiet Tenant (Clémence Michallon)

Rating: 5/5

Nothing More to Tell (Karen M. McManus)

Rating: 4/5

Mother Dear: A Slasher Novel (Ivy Tholen)

Rating: 3.5/5

***

I read 80 books in 2024. Some bad, some good, some absolutely memorable and definitely re-readable! I guess I’ll see y’all back here for the Goodreads Reading Challenge 2025!!!

Want to check out my year in books?

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2024 (11/30/24)

November 30, 2024 — 1 Comment

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!!! I hope y’all enjoyed your holiday, however you chose to celebrate it. Next stop: Christmas!

I have achieved my reading goal for 2024. Surpassed it, actually, and have three more books I’ve started. I may not finish those, though, because I like to reread the Harry Potter series this time of year.

Here are the books I completed in November.

Finale (Stephanie Garber)

Rating: 4/5

One of Us is Lying (Karen M. McManus)

Rating: 4/5

One of Us is Next (Karen M. McManus)

Rating: 4/5

One of Us is Back (Karen M. McManus)

Rating: 4/5

Good Girls Don’t Die (Christina Henry)

Rating: 1/5

Thanksgiving Day Massacre (Brian G. Berry)

Rating: 3/5

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I am currently reading The Quiet Tenant (Clémence Michallon), Nothing More to Tell (Karen M. McManus), and I’m still working on Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop (Emmeline Duncan).

Progress: 76/75

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2024 (10/30/24)

October 30, 2024 — 1 Comment

It has been a doozy of a month, and not in a good way. That’s very unfortunate, since October is typically my favorite month of the year. I still found time to read, though. I’ve been on a streak of interesting books, but I actually had one that I quit without finishing. The story was shaping up to be okay; however, the author couldn’t leave their personal opinions about racism out of the equation – which is fine to an extent, I just don’t need to read about it once every freakin’ paragraph.

Here are the books I did finish in October. I’m in a rush as I write this, so I will rate them but won’t bother with a short review.

Rune (Christopher Fowler)

Rating: 4/5

The Only One Left (Riley Sager)

Rating: 5/5

The Dead Children’s Playground (James Kaine)

Rating: 4/5

As someone who is from Alabama, I had to read this novel that focused on the stories surrounding Maple Hill Cemetery and the Dead Children’s Playground. Let me tell you – it did not disappoint.

The Cotton Candy Massacre: Part Treats (Christopher Robertson)

Rating: 5/5

Buried in a Good Book (Tamara Berry)

Rating: 4/5

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I am currently reading One of Us is Lying (Karen M. McManus), Finale (Stephanie Garber), and Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop (Emmeline Duncan).

Progress: 70/75