Good morning, Cyberspace!

It’s BLOGMAS! Okay, okay, so I’m jumping on the bandwagon a week late, I know. The last day of school was on Friday (yay!), which means that all of my assignments, finals, and other such nonsense that I’ve been working on for the past few months are COMPLETE. Dobby is a free elf! It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! Huzzah!

This year, the holidays are feeling a wee bit different. I’ve had a slew of life and health complications since October, which eventually brought me to my knees and the hospital. (It was a terrible time all around. 10/10 do not recommend.) However, throughout this entire year, I have seen the Lord’s hand at work even more prominently than ever before. He has been working on my heart, my soul, and my ability to trust Him above all else in ways I didn’t even realize. All of it has really given me a lot to think about as this year draws to a close, but above all else, I find myself in a deep well of gratitude. My family and friends have been there for me like no one else the past few months. It has truly given me so much to be thankful for! And while I know I’m not nearly out of the woods yet, I know that there is so much good on the horizon.

Which is why I have decided to fully embrace Blogmas with open arms! This month, I want to look back on all of the good that has happened this year, alongside all of the crazy. The goal is to post every single weekday leading up to Christmas, starting now! Some days–like today–will be bookish! Some will be writerly. Others will be more life-ish and Christmas-y! Overall, it’s about to be a fun, creative month of hodge-podgery, and I hope that you guys enjoy my wonky thoughts as much as I enjoy writing them!

Without further ado, let’s get started and dive right in!

BLOGMAS, 2025 – MY TOP READS OF 2025

Unfortunately, this is not a list of best books published in 2025. Despite the fact that I like to think I’m pretty bookish, I don’t stay up to date on the year’s hottest trends. Instead, I’m more of a mood reader, and the books I read tend to be all across the spectrum of publication years. Still, I’ve read some super fun books this year–and even discovered a new favorite author!–so I think there’s a plethora of things to discuss on this topic!

All the links will lead to Storygraph (my preferred tracker over Goodreads). If you’d like to follow along with what I’m reading, feel free to visit my Storygraph profile right here! (Silent judging of my reading habits is 100% encouraged.)

Let’s begin!

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THE TENANT by FRIEDA MCFADDEN

We’re gonna start off with one of my absolute favorite reads of the year… The Tenant by Frieda McFadden was wild. Of course, this was my first McFadden, so I genuinely had no clue what I was getting myself into when I downloaded this book to my kindle (because, yes, I got a kindle this year, as well!). I should have known how good these books would be based on how they flew off the shelves like hotcakes at the library. But little me didn’t fully realize what I’d done until 12:00AM on a work night, when I got to the 70% mark and realized I was locked in.

Frieda McFadden is a great writer. Of course, I then proceeded to read a ton of her other books over the course of the next week or so, and consequentially burned myself out on her writing style, but I’m happy to say I’ve recovered and plan on reading more McFadden soon!

(There IS some conjecture over whether or not her formula for writing is a little AI-y, so I’d be interested to dive into that in a later post if people have more information on that and/or are interested in my thoughts…?)

THE TWISTED ONES by T. KINGFISHER

…this book.

There was some content in this book which prevented it from reaching 5 stars, but OH MY GOODNESS. I read this book during my first ever 24-hour readathon back in February, which was a MISTAKE because we were spending the night in a treehouse.

In the middle of a wood.

With the bathroom a good 3 minute walk from the hut.

In the dark.

You know what a bad book to read on such an excursion would be? A CREEPY STORY SET IN A FOREST. But alas. It was an experience I shall not soon forget! This was also a really good book for a readathon, because it was fast-paced, easy to slip into, and absolutely holds your attention. Of course, my friends decided to pick happy books that didn’t make them jump at every crackling branch, but to each their own, I suppose…

THE GIRL IN BLUE by PG WODEHOUSE

Another 5 star read! The young adult group at my church read this for one of our book club meets, and it was sooo cute. It was sweet and fun, but also incredibly witty! This was my first Wodehouse, and I am definitely interested in reading more from him! In fact, I believe Leave It To Psmith is on my TBR for 2025…

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS by AGATHA CHRISTIE

I guess this was the year for new authors! This was my first completed Christie, and one that I’ve been meaning to read for years. Murder On The Orient Express is the book that everyone associates with Christie, and thankfully I wasn’t too knowledgeable of the plot before I dove into it!

Another book club pick from my small group, this ended up being an incredibly enjoyable read. The characters were clever and funny, and Christie’s writing style is very easy to slip into. Highly recommended for people who are looking to get into classic literature but may need a calmer pool to dip their toes into!

THE COWORKER by FRIEDA MCFADDEN

Okay, so McFadden is making it on my top 5 list twice… Can you blame me? These books are good. Full disclosure, I have discovered that I adore psychological thrillers, and therefore I will most likely be talking about these a lot more in the future… Anyway, The Coworker was my second favorite of the McFadden novels I’ve read this year. I feel like McFadden has a very formulaic way of writing (mentioned previously; probably how she manages to produce so many books), but this one went against the grain a little bit, which was a welcome change for me!

One of the things I love about McFadden’s storytelling is that she always manages to keep you guessing until the end. I honestly can’t remember if the ending was super satisfactory for me or not–I think in some ways it was, in others it wasn’t–but I do remember that the lead-up was amazing, and therefore worthy of the 4.75 star rating I gave it on Storygraph!

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TALK TO ME, PEASANTS!

All righty, folks! Those were my top 5 reads of 2025! Of course, with every top read, there is a bottom read… or perhaps it is more frequently known as worse read. And those results shall be sailing onto the blog tomorrow! I’ve read some doozies this year, so prepare yourself for some insanity…

Until then, let me know what your favorite reads of 2025 are! And until next time…

*flings cookies in the air and disappears*