Story for the Week
Every year, I join the Goodreads reading challenge. I typically average a book a week, so my goal is around the 50 mark to allow life to get in the way. While I had a handful of months where I read four or even five books this year, I started this year reading only three books in January and an abysmal two in February. 🫣 Needless to say, I didn’t quite reach my goal, but I’m still going with 50 for 2025.
If you like tracking what you read like I do, I took the leap this year and added StoryGraph to my list of tracking apps. Obviously, I still track on Goodreads, and I have continued using Bookmory, which I introduced in My Book Year in Review—2023 Edition. They offer a premium version for $30.99 a year, but the only reason I use Bookmory is that I like the calendar view. (No, I’m not kidding.) The subscription also gets rid of ads, which have gotten a bit more annoying, so I suspect this app might go away before the end of 2025.
The appeal of StoryGraph is data…lots and lots of data. First, you can import your entire Goodreads library, which is a nice bonus. I had to do some cleanup, but it wasn’t anything crazy. You can see graphics about your reading choices—lengths of books, genres, moods, average time to finish, pages read by day each month. You get the idea.
It also offers the options for users to include information about the book—pace, mood, character development, diversity. I don’t fill in that information myself, but it’s a cool offering. The app is free, but there is also a subscription version available if you are really inclined to dig into your statistics. It’s $4.99 a month, so pricier than Bookmory, but I’m not analyzing my reading to that depth. Maybe if it were a one-time fee, I would take that leap as well. 😉
As usual, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Facebook group My Book Friends. It is my absolute favorite. Organized by about a dozen authors, they have almost two dozen now who moderate. A different author hosts each day, they share personal stories, and they engage and interact with group members. It’s an amazing, uplifting, and positive group.
One of my favorite highlights of the year in this group is Bookapalooza, which happens on the first Sunday in December. There are giveaways galore throughout the day, and each author offers a prize of some sort. Some of them ask you to follow them, subscribe to newsletters. Others just want you to comment in response to a question they pose. Winners are chosen at random.
It’s not just the two dozen authors who run the group for Bookapalooza. They invite other authors to join in the fun. I was not able to participate as much as I wanted to this year because I did a lot of running around that day, but there were some great prizes offered. It’s so much fun to see the interaction and to discover new authors.
I read some fantastic books this year, and there were also quite a few snoozers and books that were just ok—more than last year.
If you haven’t yet read the books (and the blog posts) highlighted below, I highly recommend these 4- and 5-star reads. Next week, I’ll write about what I know I’ll be reading and reviewing in 2025. I have 26 books in the queue so far.
I hope you enjoy my book year in review. Bring on 2025!
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4-Star Reviews of 2024 (Includes 3.5 Star Reviews)
- The Clinic by Cate Quinn—mystery, thriller/suspense
Meg works for a casino in L.A., catching cheaters and popping a few too many pain pills to cope, following a far different path than her sister Haley, a famous actress. But suddenly reports surface of Haley dying at the remote rehab facility where she had been forced to go to get her addictions under control. There are whispers of suicide, but Meg can’t believe it.
Featured in The Museum I Hate to Love (January 14) - There Should Have Been Eight by Nalini Singh—mystery, thriller/suspense
They met when they were teenagers. Now they’re adults, and time has been kind to some and unkind to others—none more so than to Bea, the one they lost nine long years ago. They’ve gathered to reminisce at Bea’s family’s estate, a once-glorious mansion straight out of a gothic novel. When the weather turns and they’re snowed in at the edge of eternity, there’s nowhere left to hide from their shared history.
Featured in The Social Power of Television Dialog (January 21) - Innocent or Guilty? by A.M. Taylor—psychological drama, thriller/suspense
One morning ten years ago, the town of Twin Rivers changed forever when the body of Tyler Washington was found in the woods. For Olivia Hall, Tyler’s death heralded the start of her own personal nightmare—her twin brother, Ethan, was arrested for Tyler’s murder. Ten years later, Ethan is still in jail. Olivia is convinced he is innocent, and now, a true crime podcast has taken up his case.
Featured in Cliffhangers Make Me Want to Jump Off a Cliff (February 4) - Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering—mystery, thriller/suspense, women’s fiction
On a brisk fall night in a New York apartment, 35-year-old Billie West hears terrified screams. It’s her lifelong best friend Cassie Barnwell, one floor above, and she’s just realized her infant daughter has gone missing. Billie is shaken as she looks down into her own arms to see the baby, remembering—with a jolt of fear—that she is responsible for the kidnapping that has instantly shattered Cassie’s world.
Featured in Mean Girls Redux…Meaner (and Better) Than Ever (March 10) - Cancelled by Farrah Penn—teen/young adult
Brynn Whittaker has the looks, the grades, and a thriving “flirt coach” business that will help pay for her ultimate dream school: Stanford University. But when a highly incriminating video goes viral after the first rager of the year, Brynn finds herself at the center of a school-wide scandal of catastrophic proportions.
Featured in Being Held to Double (Impossible) Standards (March 17) - The One That Got Away With Murder by Trish Lundy—teen/young adult, mystery, romance, thriller/suspense
Robbie and Trevor Crestmont have a body count―the killer kind. Handsome and privileged, the Crestmont brothers have enough wealth to ensure they’ll never be found guilty of any wrongdoing, even if all of Happy Valley believes they’re behind the deaths of their ex-girlfriends. Lauren O’Brian might be the new girl at school, but she’s never been a good girl. With a dark past of her own, she’s desperate for a fresh start. Except when she starts a no-strings-attached relationship with Robbie, her chance is put in jeopardy.
Featured in That Mother/Daughter Bond Can Last a Lifetime (April 7) - Safe and Sound by Laura McHugh—general fiction
As kids, Amelia and Kylee were found unharmed in their upstairs bedroom the night their teenage cousin Grace, who was babysitting them, vanished from the farmhouse in Beaumont, Missouri, leaving blood all over the kitchen. Scrappy and driven, Grace, the first in their family to go to college instead of getting married and working at the meatpacking plant, had been on the verge of escaping their dead-end town. Her disappearance is a warning to any local girl who dared hope for better.
Featured in Home is Where the Heart Is…Within 100 Miles (April 14) - Summer After Summer by Lauren Bailey—general fiction, romance
Olivia Taylor’s marriage is in a death spiral when she agrees to come home to the Hamptons to help her father and sisters pack up the family estate. After years of financial trouble, someone’s finally bailing them out with a huge offer to buy their beachfront property, which is a good thing, although it means losing the home she grew up in, where her mother died, and where she first met Fred, the love of her life.
Featured in Happy (Early) Birthday to My Very Best Friend 🤗 (April 28) - You Belong With Me by Kathryn Biel—romance, romantic comedy
Twelve years ago, would-be sportscaster Hannah LaRosa’s life was forever changed when she spent one night with her friend, Callaghan Entay. Now she’s finally ready to launch her career, covering all the sports news that’s fit to report. And as much as she’d like to forget about her past with Callaghan Entay, he’s making news that she has to cover.
Featured in Will We See Tottenham Hotspur FC in 2025? (May 5) - The Paris Widow by Kimberly Belle—general fiction, mystery, thriller/suspense, women’s fiction
When Stella met Adam, she thought she had finally found a nice, normal guy—a welcome change from her previous boyfriend and her precarious jetsetter lifestyle with him. But her secure world comes crashing down when Adam goes missing after an explosion in the city square. As the French police investigate, it’s revealed that Adam was on their radar as a dealer of rare and stolen antiquities with a long roster of criminal clients.
Featured in Things You Don’t Think You Need on a Cruise Vacation (June 9) - It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover—women’s fiction, contemporary fiction
Lily has come a long way from the small town where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. And when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life seems too good to be true. As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and a link to the past she left behind. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.
Featured in When You Realize You’ve Become a Statistic…. (June 16) - The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord—romance, romantic comedy
June and Levi were best friends as teenagers—until the day they weren’t. Now June is struggling to make rent on her beachside tea shop, Levi is living a New York cliché as a disillusioned hedge fund manager and failed novelist, and they’ve barely spoken in years. But after they both experience public, humiliating break-ups with their exes that spread like wildfire across TikTok rabbit holes and daytime talk shows alike, they accidentally make some juicy gossip of their own—a photo of them together has the internet convinced they’re a couple.
Featured in Middle Child Syndrome…It’s a Thing (August 4) - Until Next Summer by Ali Brady—contemporary fiction, women’s fiction
Growing up, Jessie and Hillary lived for summer, when they’d be reunited at Camp Chickawah. The best friends vowed to become counselors together someday, but they drifted apart after Hillary broke her promise and only Jessie stuck to their plan, working her way up to become the camp director. When Jessie learns that the camp will be sold, she decides to plan one last hurrah, inviting past campers—including Hillary—to a nostalgic “adult summer camp” before closing for good.
Featured in “We are the CITs, So Pity Us….” (August 11) - Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive by Stephanie Land—memoir
At 28, Stephanie Land’s dreams of attending a university and becoming a writer quickly dissolved when a summer fling turned into an unplanned pregnancy. Before long, she found herself a single mother, scraping by as a housekeeper to make ends meet. Driven to carve out a better life for her family, she cleaned by day and took online classes by night, writing relentlessly as she worked toward earning a college degree.
Featured in Treating People the Way You Want to be Treated (August 25) - Get Lucky by Katherine Center—women’s fiction
Sarah Harper isn’t sure if the stupid decisions she sometimes makes are good choices in disguise—or if they’re really just stupid. After forwarding an inappropriate e-mail to her entire company, she suddenly finds herself out of a job. After years of trying, Sarah’s sister Mackie has given up on having a baby. Which gives Sarah a brilliant idea—an idea that could fix everyone’s problems. An idea that gives Sarah the chance to take care of her big sister for once—instead of the other way around.
Featured in Four Years Gone in a Heartbeat (September 15) - Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey—non-fiction, true crime
A fundamental principle of our legal system is a presumption of innocence, but once someone has been found guilty, there is very little room to prove doubt. These ten true stories shed light on Americans who were innocent but found guilty and forced to sacrifice friends, families, and decades of their lives to prison while the guilty parties remained free.
Featured in Please Select Me For Jury Duty (Like, REALLY Select Me) (October 6) - A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham—thriller/suspense
When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, her own father had confessed to the crimes and was put away for life, leaving Chloe and the rest of her family to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath. Now twenty years later, when a local teenage girl goes missing, and then another, that terrifying summer comes crashing back.
Featured in Trust Your Instincts Especially If the Vibe is Off (October 13) - To Die For by Lisa Gray—thriller/suspense, psychological drama
In the elite world of luxury real estate, it is often kill or be killed, something agent Andi Hart knows all too well—and after recent events, she’s ready to set her own rules. So when her boss challenges the team to find a buyer for a glitzy Malibu beach house, with a prize commission of a cool $1 million, she knows it’s her ticket to a new life. But she’s not the only one who not only wants but needs the money.
Featured in Is There Such a Thing as Too Much House? (October 20) - You Can’t Hurt Me by Emma Cook—general fiction, thriller/suspense, women’s fiction
Ever since Eva Reid was born, she’s felt no pain: she can get a paper cut, break a limb and even give birth without feeling a single thing. Her story has long captivated the minds of reporters and researchers—including Dr. Nate Reid, Eva’s husband and acclaimed scientist, renowned for his work in the Pain Laboratory. Also among them is Anna Tate, a ruthless journalist with a dark past of her own. When Eva is suddenly found dead inside her home, it raises a flurry of questions about the last night of her life—and who might’ve been involved.
Featured in Where Do You Fall on the Pain Tolerance Scale? (October 27) - Wishful Tails by Barbara Hinske—family life, small town fiction, women’s fiction
As the cameras roll for Season 2 of hit home-improvement show Wishes of Home, Pam Olson and Steve Turner dive into their biggest project yet: building the first no-kill animal shelter in their region. With their wedding just around the corner, they find themselves juggling work, wedding plans, and community service, while trying to squeeze in a moment or two of romance.
Featured in Wishing for Your Happily Ever After (November 17) - The Rival by Emma Lord—romantic comedy, teen/young adult
At long last, Sadie has vanquished her lifelong academic rival―her irritatingly charming, whip smart next door neighbor, Seb―by getting the coveted, only spot to her dream college. Or at least, so she thinks. When Seb is unexpectedly pulled off the waitlist and admitted, Sadie has to compete with him all over again, this time to get a spot on the school’s famous zine.
Featured in To Be or Not to Be…Late (December 15)
5-Star Reviews of 2024 (Includes 4.5 Star Reviews)
- The Getaway List by Emma Lord—romance, teen/young adult
The day of her high school graduation, Riley realizes two things: One, that she has spent the last four years trying so hard to be a Good Kid for her mom that she has no idea who she really is anymore, and two, she has no idea what she wants because of it. The solution? Pack her bags and move to New York for the summer, where her childhood best friend Tom and co-creator of The Getaway List―a list of all the adventures they’ve wanted to do together since he moved away―will hopefully help her get in touch with her old adventurous self, and pave the road to a new future.
Featured in Crossing the Line from Childhood to Adulthood…and Back (January 7) - Very, Very Lucky by Amanda Prowse—contemporary fiction, family life, women’s fiction
With kids to look after, an ailing mother and a neglected husband, life is full for Emma Fountain—too full, she realizes, when she wakes up in IKEA after falling asleep in one of the show beds. When her funny best friend Roz climbs in through her bathroom window one day to deliver terrible news, Emma’s belief that she can find a way around any obstacle crumbles in the face of a problem she just can’t fix. For recently widowed Thurston, life without his beloved wife of 62 years has lost all its joy and sense of purpose. That is until he finds himself driving his niece to work one day and meets Emma, whose busy days are the opposite of his own.
Featured in The Status Quo of the Stages of Grief (February 11) - The Light in the Hallway by Amanda Prowse—family life, women’s fiction
When Nick’s wife Kerry falls ill and dies, he realizes for the first time how fragile his happiness has always been, and how much he’s been taking his good life and wonderful family for granted. Now, he suddenly finds himself navigating parenthood alone, unsure how to deal with his own grief, let alone that of his teenage son, Olly.
Featured in When Your Annual Reading Goal is Already at Risk (March 3) - Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle—general fiction, romance, women’s fiction
Daphne Bell believes the universe has a plan for her. Every time she meets a new man, she receives a slip of paper with his name and a number on it—the exact amount of time they will be together. Finally, the night of a blind date at her favorite Los Angeles restaurant, there’s only a name: Jake. But as Jake and Daphne’s story unfolds, Daphne finds herself doubting the paper’s prediction, and wrestling with what it means to be both committed and truthful.
Featured in When Your Message from the Universe Smacks You in the Face (March 24) - The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center—romance, romantic comedy, women’s fiction
Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. When she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates―The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!―it’s a break too big to pass up. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone―much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script―it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.
Featured in For All the Boys I Dated in High School…. (May 26) - A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh—mystery, thriller/suspense
Stranded in the Welsh mountains, seven reality show contestants have no idea what they’ve signed up for. Each of these strangers has a secret. If another player can guess the truth, they won’t just be eliminated—they’ll be exposed live on air. The stakes are higher than they’d ever imagined, and they’re trapped. The disappearance of a contestant wasn’t supposed to be part of the drama. Detective Ffion Morgan has to put aside what she’s watched on screen, and find out who these people really are—knowing she can’t trust any of them. And when a murderer strikes, Ffion knows every one of her suspects has an alibi…and a secret worth killing for.
Featured in When You Realize You Have an Adult Child (June 30) - Swimming to Lundy by Amanda Prowse—general fiction, women’s fiction
Tawrie Gunn feels stuck. She’s spent her whole life in the same seaside town with her beloved Nana and grief-stricken mum, all of them still reeling in different ways from the tragic loss of Tawrie’s dad at sea. Desperate for a change, she challenges herself to take up wild swimming—every morning, no excuses, from March till September. Daring to take the plunge with the “Peacock Swimmers,” Tawrie feels alive in a way she’s never known. Suddenly it seems she might be able to step outside her comfort zone after all and let life surprise her—perhaps even dream of a future beyond the shores of Ilfracombe? Especially when, one day, she spots a man in a pink linen shirt who seems as eager for a new start as she does.
Featured in The Days are Long, But the Years are Short (July 21) - House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen—mystery, thriller/suspense, women’s fiction
On the outside they were the golden family with the perfect life. On the inside they built the perfect lie. A young nanny who plunged to her death, or was she pushed? A nine-year-old girl who collects sharp objects and refuses to speak. A lawyer whose job it is to uncover who in the family is a victim and who is a murderer. But how can you find out the truth when everyone here is lying?
Featured in The Philosophy of the Butterfly Effect (July 28) - A Wish for Forgiveness by Amanda Prowse—family life, small town fiction, women’s fiction
Verity Darby found it hard to believe that seven years had passed since she had arrived in Linden Falls, where she promptly fell in love with the small town and the people in it. Whether she believes in the magic that surrounds the old linden tree is neither here nor there, but one thing is for sure—she has found happiness and love, marrying army veteran Jack Darby, the love of her life. Now running Claudine’s bistro, as chef-patron, life is good! But when tragedy strikes, and a long-forgotten stranger makes a surprise appearance in town, the foundations on which Verity has built her life don’t seem quite so stable.
Featured in What Do You Wish for the Most? (November 10) - One More Wish by Tammy L. Grace—family life, small town fiction, holiday fiction
In the quaint town of Linden Falls, Millie King and her loyal golden retriever have found solace and a sense of belonging, reveling in the charm of the close-knit community. But Millie hides a secret that defines her past and holds her back from true happiness. Haunted by a trauma from decades ago, she is weighed down by guilt and sorrow. Determined to confront her past with the support of newfound friends Neva and Paige, Millie takes a leap of faith, risking everything she has built in Linden Falls.
Featured in Wishing Everyone a Favorite Work Call of the Week (November 24) - A Wish in the Wind by Kay Bratt—family life, small town fiction, women’s fiction, romance
It’s a new year and Linden Falls is a new place for Hunter Glenn and his daughter, Ava, to make a fresh start. When he goes to hang a wish on the tree in the center of town at the insistence of his daughter, a gust of wind strips it from his fingers and off it blows to somewhere who only knows. Nicole is a long-term Linden Falls local who has recently gone through a welcome revelation that has changed her life forever. When a slip of paper falls onto the tray she is using to serve a customer at the Crooked Porch, she might just find out that fate has even more in store for her.
Featured in Wishing for More from My Book Friends (December 1) - One Night, Two Holidays by Ali Brady—holiday fiction, romance
Jack had big plans for Christmas: fly home to see the family he misses like crazy, eat his weight in holiday cookies and enjoy plenty of forced-family fun in matching pajamas. Instead, a record-breaking snowstorm leaves him stranded alone in Chicago. Meanwhile, Nessa’s Hanukkah plans were…nonexistent. With her roommates off on their own adventures and her family busy elsewhere, she was ready to spend the holiday binge-watching TV alone. When a power outage takes things from bad to worse, the two neighbors join forces to help each other find the holiday cheer they’ve both lost.
Featured in Christmas Dinner Will be Lunch This Year (December 22)
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