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

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

***

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]

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 2/28/25]

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

Update: Goodreads Reading Challenge 2023 (1/13/23)

I finished Stacia Kane’s Unholy Ghosts, and I was right – I am definitely reading the whole series. I loved the story, the characters, her writing style… Overall, I’d rate the book 4.5 out of 5.

I also ran through the third book in Katherine Arden’s Small Spaces series, Dark Waters.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the kind of kids’ book I wish had existed when I was a kid. So many of the “scary” books I read back then fell short. They weren’t even creepy (to me). But Arden’s tales of The Smiling Man are eerie, and the entity is not easily beaten or discovered to be anything less than frightening.

Rating: 4/5

And last but not least, I have started my fourth book of the year, The Creeper by A.M. Shine. I read a recommendation of this book on Jenny In Neverland’s blog [check out the post here]. So today, I plan to drop my car off at my mechanic’s then curl up with a blanket, a cup of coffee, and this suspenseful chiller from Shine.

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2023

I have started my Goodreads Reading Challenge for 2023! I’ve already finished one book – Ask for Andrea by Noelle W. Ihli – but to be fair, I started it back in November. Lol. It counts, though, because I finished it this year.

I have since started my second book, Stacia Kane’s Unholy Ghosts. It is the first in the Downside Ghosts series. (I needed a new series to get invested in after finishing The Morganville Vampires.)

Unholy Ghosts is an urban fantasy novel that centers entirely around, you guessed it, ghosts. Here’s the synopsis, per Google Books:

“The world is not the way it was. The dead have risen, and the living are under attack. The powerful Church of Real Truth, in charge since the government fell, has sworn to reimburse citizens being harassed by the deceased. Enter Chess Putnam, a fully tattooed witch and freewheeling ghost hunter. She’s got a real talent for banishing the wicked dead. But Chess is keeping a dark secret: She owes a lot of money to a murderous drug lord named Bump, who wants immediate payback in the form of a dangerous job that involves black magic, human sacrifice, a nefarious demonic creature, and enough wicked energy to wipe out a city of souls. Toss in lust for a rival gang leader and a dangerous attraction to Bump’s ruthless enforcer, and Chess begins to wonder if the rush is really worth it. Hell, yeah.

I’m enjoying it so far, and I’m over halfway through. All of the characters that have been introduced are likable, even those without many redeeming qualities. I like Stacia’s writing style, as well.

I’ll give my rating with my next update! And please consider joining me for the challenge this year!