Goodbye
(and good riddance), January!!
WOW,
January 2025 was an awful month as I live fairly close to the three horrible
fires in So Cal. It will take years to return to normalcy. but we are
#LAStrong.
I read and listened to books to distract myself from the chaos and avoid doomscrolling. This is the most books (audiobooks and eBOOKS) I have ever read in a month - EIGHTEEN. Yeah, me!!
So I have made some changes to my Monthly Wrap-up which should make it more streamlined and easier to navigate. I’m always making small changes to improve this book blog.
Additionally, I have started using StoryGraph. There is much more analysis and graphs! I'm going to continue to explore and understand StoryGraph better. So far it is easier to use, well-thought-out, and a strong competitor to Amazon-owned Goodreads. What’s not to like?
Going forward, I will consider all 5-star books as nominees for the Best Books of 2025 with an eBOOK and an audiobook category. We should see a gradual increase in the list of nominees as we go through 2025.
For January, there were ten eBOOKS and two audiobooks that were 5-star reviews!
BEST BOOKS FOR JANUARY 2025
eBOOKS
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman
The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis
What Happened to the McCrays? by Tracey Lange
More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova
Paris Undercover by Matthew Goodman
The Bookstore Keepers by Alice Hoffman
Come Fly with Me by Camille Di Maio
The Memory of Cotton by Ann K. Howley
The Secret History of Audrey Jones by Heather Marshall
Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall
JANUARY
Me by Elton John
Let’s Call Her Barbie by Renée Rosen
GOODREADS READING GOAL
My goal is to read 101 books in 2025. As of January 31st, I have read 18 books, or 17.8% of my goal.
JANUARY 2025 STATISTICS
18 total books
13 ebooks; 5 audiobooks; 0 physical books
8 books - ARC (Advance Reader Copy)
9 books - Library
0 books – Purchased
0 books - Amazon First Reads
0 books - Book Club Girl
1 book – author gifted
Audio listening time in January 2025: 51 hours, 19 minutes
Pages read in January 2025: 2,255 pages
Average review rating: 4.69 stars
JANUARY 2025 BOOK RATINGS with BOOK COVERS
eBOOKS
5.0-star eBOOKS
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman LINK
The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis LINK
What Happened to the McCrays? by Tracey Lange LINK
More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova LINK
Paris Undercover by Matthew Goodman LINK
The Bookstore Keepers by Alice Hoffman LINK
Come Fly with Me by Camille Di Maio LINK
The Memory of Cotton by Ann K. Howley LINK
The Secret History of Audrey James by Heather Marshall LINK
Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall LINK
4.5-star eBOOK
The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict LINK
4.0-star eBOOKS
Let Us March On by Shara Moon LINK
The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn LINK
Audiobooks
Me by Elton John LINK
Let’s Call Her Barbie by Renée Rosen LINK
4.5-star audiobook
Whiskey Tender by Deborah Jackson Taffa LINK
4.0-star audiobook
Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old by Brooke Shield LINK
3.5-star audiobook
The Girl on the Balcony by Olivia Hussey LINK
NOTE: There were no 3.5-star or 3.0-star eBOOKS or 3.0-star audiobooks this month.
If you want to read my full review of any of these books, there are individual review links for each ebook or audiobook next to the book title and author (under JANUARY 2025 BOOK RATINGS with BOOK COVERS just above). Click on the specific book link ink to get to that book review.
If there is anything you would like to see in future monthly wrap-ups, please reach out! My primary goal is to make it easy for YOU to find new books to explore and read!
Happy reading!
Dorothea 💜
P.S. You can find out more about my book ratings HERE.
