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  • My FIVE Favorite FIVE Star Reads from November 2025!

    My reading month in November was great! It wasn’t my highest reading month of the year, but I did read a lot and I simply loved so many of the books I read. It was very difficult to narrow down five books for this month (and I may have cheated just a tad).

    I read 16 books in November and 5,341 pages, for an average of 334 pages per book. I read 12 books by female authors and 4 books by male authors. I borrowed 8 books and owned 8 of the books I read. I read 1 physical book, 6 eBooks, and 9 audiobooks. I read 7 books that are a part of a series, finishing 4 and starting 0, while DNFing 2 series. I read 3 middle grade, 1 young adult, and 12 adult books. I shared 2 read alouds with my kids and read 2 new releases. Of the 33 books on my yearly TBR list, I read 0 books and DNF’d 2, leaving me with 1 unread book on the list. I read 10 five star reads, 3 four star reads, 4 three star reads, and 0 one or two star reads.

    Here are my favorite reads from last month!

    So True a Love by Joanna Barker

    This regency romance mystery is the second in the series, though they can both be read as stand alones. I love this series, I wish there were twelve more! It’s a little cheesy, but super fun to follow the main characters as they solve mysteries together while falling in love.

    Death Comes at the End by Agatha Christie

    Death Comes at the End is a little bit of a different book for Agatha Christie than usual–it’s more historical, set in ancient Egypt in 2000 BC. For that reason, I was nervous to read it, but I got sucked in and couldn’t put it down. Despite the different setting, it is very much a classic Agatha Christie book, with great characters, amazing set up for a murder mystery that keeps you turning pages, and a twist at the end.

    The Love Haters by Katherine Center

    The Love Haters is Katherine Center’s newest book and was so fun. Katherine Center always has fun and quirky main characters and this was no exception. While the story got a little silly at times, it did so in the best way possible for a rom com. It was fun and light for the most part, but with a more serious plotline (following body image) to give it a little depth. I loved the family relationships and the healing that took place as well.

    Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee

    Stacey Lee is one of my favorite authors for historical fiction and I’ve been reading through her backlog. Despite being published quite a few years ago, Outrun the Moon really lived up to my expectations. This has a hate-to-friendship that is very satisfying, a focus on family and grief, and a strong female lead who is so fun to read about. On top of all that, I learned a lot about this time in history, in way that makes the story come alive.

    Two Truths and a Murder by Colleen Cambridge

    Two Truths and a Murder is the fifth book in the Phyllida Bright series, a series I have been devouring as each book has been released. Phyllida Bright is the fictional housekeeper for Agatha Christie and, taking inspiration from Poirot, solves mysteries as they come up. I love the characters and the mysteries themselves in these books and this one was fun as we went “home” to Mallowan Hall after being in London. I loved seeing Phyllida deal with the drama of managing a household staff again between her sleuthing and her romance.

    The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Volume 7

    So I know I’m cheating by adding in a sixth book here, but I just couldn’t quite narrow it down. I’ve loved The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion and this new volume was just as delightful. I haven’t been able to get to volume 8 because I didn’t read it before my Kindle Unlimited ended, so I’m hoping to get to it soon (and then wait impatiently with everyone else for volume 9 to come out).

    Those were my favorite books of November! What were your favorite books last month? Is there a book you recently read and just loved? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

  • My FIVE Favorite FIVE Star Reads from October 2025!

    October was a slower reading month for me as things started to get busier with the holidays approaching. I still had some great reads (and some not so great reads) and was able to enjoy a lot of atmospheric books for fall and Halloween.

    I read 15 books in October and 4,311 pages for an average of 287 pages per book. I read 10 books by female authors and 5 by male authors. I borrowed 8 of the books I read and owned 7 of them. I read 3 physical books, 4 eBooks, and 8 audiobooks. I read no new releases. 7 books were part of a series (starting no new series and finishing 1) and 7 stand alone books. I read 4 middle grade, 3 YA, and 8 adult books, sharing 4 read alouds with my kids. I reread 1 book and had 14 new reads. Of the books I read, 7 were by “new to me” authors” and 7 were by authors I’ve previously read. I read 4 books from my 2025 TBR list, bringing the total read or DNF’d to 29/33, leaving 4 to be read. I had 6 five star reads, 4 four star reads, 4 three star reads, 1 two star read, and 0 one star reads.

    Here are my five favorite five star reads from last month!

    A Murder Most French by Colleen Cambridge

    A Murder Most French is the second in a series following a friend of Julia Child, the famous chef, as she solves murder mysteries. It is a fun series and I liked this second book more than I did the first (though her Phyllida Bright books are still my favorite!). I’m excited to continue on with the series.

    Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie

    Three Act Tragedy is a Poirot book that actually follows a few other characters trying to solve the mystery before Poirot gets very involved. Despite this, I really enjoyed the mystery and did not see the solution coming. I always love Agatha Christie’s characters and this book was no exception to that.

    Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon

    Mother-Daughter Murder Night was just exactly what I wanted to read for October–it was a more serious murder mystery thriller but still a clean read. I really loved the grandmother-mother-daughter relationship and how that grew and changed throughout the story. I wish this was a series and I could read more!

    Palmyra by Susan Evans McCloud

    Palmyra is a thriftstore find that I found quite awhile ago and since I love Susan Evans McCloud, I finally got around to reading it. This story is set in Palmyra during the time that Joseph Smith was translating the Book of Mormon and setting up The Church of Jesus Christ. It takes place in Palmyra during that time, but those events are mostly background setting for the main character’s friendships and relationships. It was a little hard to really get into, but by the last quarter of the book, I had a hard time putting it down and it became one of my favorite reads of the month.

    The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Volume 6 by Beth Brower

    The Unselected Journals has become one of my favorite series–I just love Emma and the escapades she gets up to and the quandries she puts herself into and especially the friendships she forms. They are all so fun to read about. I am highly invested in her life. I had other reads I wanted to get to for October, so I only read the sixth, but I am already reading the seventh now and plan to finish the eight as well in November.

    Those were my favorite books of October! What were your favorite books last month? Is there a book you recently read and just loved? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

  • My 30 Books in 30 Days TBR!

    Each September, one of my favorite BookTube channels Luminous Libro hosts a readathon called 30 Books in 30 Days. The idea is to read 30 books (or stories or poems, etc) in 30 days, or to read for 30 minutes day. I haven’t done it every year she’s hosted it, but the years that I have, I’ve always had a lot of fun! I wanted to try it again this year–the worst that can happen is I don’t hit 30 reads but read more than I would have otherwise!

    I picked some short stories and shorter novels knowing that it will probably stretch me quite a bit to get that much reading in this month. We’ll see how it goes with 5 kids, a 4 month old, and homeschooling!

    1 The Answer is No by Fredrik Backman

    I have read one book by this author and want to read more. This short story was on sale earlier this year for Kindle, so I own the ebook. I thought this month was the perfect time to enjoy this short story.

    2 The Lamp by Agatha Christie

    I recently bought this short story for Kindle when it was on sale as well. I’ve been working my way through all of Agatha Christie’s works and am excited to read this one this month.

    3 Rebel Summer Bonus Scene: Dax’s Perspective by Cindy Steel

    Another short story! These will really help me reach 30 this month. I read the novel Rebel Summer in August and decided to save this short story for September.

    4 Spectacular by Stephanie Garber

    This is a novella in the Caraval series, which I completed a year or two ago. The audiobook is about 3 hours long, which feels like a perfect length for my reading goals in September.

    5 The Four Loves by CS Lewis

    CS Lewis is another author I’m slowly working my way through. This nonfiction book is short and I am planning on reading a little bit in it each day until I finish it (hopefully in the month of September).

    6 and 7 Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra (Space trilogy 1-2) by CS Lewis

    This space trilogy is one I’ve been wanting to read for years. I own the second and just got the first from the library. It is short enough that I feel it’s reasonable to read it this month and am excited to finally jump into it!

    9 Louisiana Longshot by Jana DeLeon

    This is a short middle grade mystery book that I recently bought the ebook for. I have heard so many good things about it and am really excited to try it!

    10 Okay for Now by Gary D Schmidt

    Gary D Schmidt is such a great author! I am planning on listening to this with my kids during the month (I just got the audiobook from the library).

    11 The Genius Files by Dan Gutman

    Dan Gutman is another author I really love. I am planning on reading this aloud to my kids at bedtime once I finish up our other current reads.

    12 Babysitter’s Club 4: Mary Anne Saves the Day Ann M. Martin

    The kids and I have been reading the Babysitters Club series together and just started book four. We’re all loving it and they are such short reads, it’s perfect for September.

    13 Babysitter’s Club 5: Dawn and the Impossible Three by Ann M. Martin

    I originally had told the kids I would read the first 4 books aloud to them. They’ve been begging for the fifth one as well and I decided to go ahead and read it with them. We own it and it is from Dawn’s perspective, I feel like it’s a good place for me to stop with them (and they can continue on their own after if they want).

    14-18 Kung Pow Chicken (books 1-5) by Cyndi Marko

    Every time I do this challenge, I love to pick a new chapter book series that my kids either love or that I think they’ll love. This year I picked Kung Pow Chicken. My kids have gotten it from the library before and Rylee especially loves it, but I’ve never read it. I am planning on reading it aloud to them during homeschool (we have a time set aside each day for me to read to them). They are such short books, I know we can get through them all during the month and I think we’ll all have fun with them.

    19 Stranded Ranch by Cindy Steel

    I’ve also been reading through all of Cindy Steel’s books. She writes clean rom coms that I just love. This is the final book by her that I haven’t read and it’s short enough I felt I could include it in my September reading. I always fly through her books.

    20 The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder

    I’ve been rereading all the Little House books this year and just loving it. They are all pretty quick reads and this one is one of the shorter ones. I don’t remember if I’ve actually read it as a child or not, but I’m really excited to read it after how much I’ve loved revisiting all the others.

    21- 27 The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower (books 2-8)

    This is a series that has gotten so much hype, I’m excited to get into it. I read the first one a few months back and decided to save the rest for September (knowing they would make great short reads for this challenge).

    28 Parker Pyne Investigates by Agatha Christie

    This is my main Agatha Christie read for the month. It’s not shorter than normal, but it’s one of the only full-length books I’m planning to read and I usually get through her books fairly quickly.

    29 I Think He Knows by Katie Bailey

    This is also not a particularly short read, but I got the audiobook from the library in August without ever actually getting to it. I want to listen to it before my hold ends, so that means it has to be in September. Katie Bailey is another of my favorite clean rom com authors, so I think it is one I will get through quickly!

    30 Behind Enemy Lines by Jennifer A. Nielsen

    Jennifer A. Nielsen is one of my favorite authors (we listened to One Wrong Step by her as a family and all loved it). This one is a little different–she normally writes realistic middle grade historical fiction (though she has some fun fantasy books) and this one is a time travel historical fiction. It’s only about 4 hours long, so it feels perfect to squeeze in this month. It’s part of a series by various authors and I haven’t read the others, but it sounds as if this can be read independently, so I guess we’ll see.

    What books are you reading in September? Are you joining this reading challenge? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

  • My 5 Favorite Reads from June 2024

    I had a pretty good reading month in June! I had a lot of reads I really enjoyed and a few that I loved!

    I read 19 books in June and 6699 pages, for an average of 353 pages per book. I read 11 books by female authors and 8 books by male authors. I borrowed 6 books and owned 13 of the books I read. I read 5 physical copies, 4 eBooks, and 10 audiobooks. Of the books I read, 5 were rereads and 14 were new reads. I read 8 middle grades, 5 YA, and 7 adult books. I started 2 series and finished 0 (and read 5 books that were part of a series). I read 11 of the 15 books on my monthly TBR and 4 books on my yearly TBR (of 33). I read 6 five star reads, 10 four star reads, 3 three star reads, and 0 two or one star reads.

    Today, I wanted to share my top 5 favorite books from the month of June!

    Juniper Bean Resorts to Murder by Gracie Ruth Mitchell

    This romcom meets cozy mystery was really fun to read! As far as the mystery it went, it was fairly predictable, but still fun to see the characters figure it out and their relationship was very engaging!

    The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow

    I’m always very wary of books that are trying to write further from other (beloved) characters. In this case, I thought she did a great job staying true to the characters and it was really fun seeing a happy ending for Mary and how she got there.

    This is Where You Belong by Melody Warnick

    This nonfiction book talked about the importance of finding belonging in a community and different ways you could do that right where you are at. While I didn’t feel like I was the target audience of the book, I found the research very interesting and came away with a greater desire to be more invested in my community and reach out to my neighbors more.

    Black Coffee by Agatha Christie

    This Agatha Christie was originally a play and was adapted to novel format by Charles Osborne. Because of that, the writing can sometimes feel a little stilted, but the characters and mystery are still on point, and I had a lot of fun reading it.

    A Game of Hearts by Joanna Barker

    This was my favorite book this month (and will probably end up being one of my favorites this year!). This regency romance had a really great hate-to-love relationship with a marriage of convenience during the second half that was really fun to read. I loved the characters and the relationships they had with each other throughout.

    These were some fun reads in June and I’d highly recommend them! What were some of your favorite reads in June? What is a book you’ve recently read that you just loved? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

  • Five Star Reads from April 2024!

    I had a busy month in April, so my reading month was a little slower, but I still enjoyed many great books!

    I read 16 books and 5,146 pages, for an average of 322 pages per book. 10 books were by female authors and 6 were by male authors. I read 6 middle grade, 3 YA, and 9 adult books. I read 1 new release and 4 read alouds with my kids. I read 4 eBooks, 9 audiobooks, and 3 physical copies. I had 4 rereads and 12 new reads. I read 5 books that are part of series and didn’t start or finish any series. I read 7 five star reads, 5 four star reads, 2 three star reads, 2 two star reads, and 0 one star reads.

    Today I am sharing my five star reads from April!

    Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie

    This is a collection of Poirot short stories from Agatha Christie. I loved all of them! I especially loved the last story, which had a treasure-hunting feel to it.

    The Hollow Boy by Jonathan Stroud

    This series–Lockwood and Co–is a really fun YA supernatural series. This is the third and with each book, I like the series more! I really love the way the characters interact together and love so many of the characters (including a talking dead skull one of the characters carries around) and the mystery of The Problem is a fun plotline! I also read The Creeping Shadows (book four in the series) and gave it five stars as well. I’m very excited to finish the series.

    Dead Voices by Katherine Arden

    This is the sequel to Small Spaces, a middle grade horror book I read a few years ago. I’ve been meaning to get back to the series and finally have–and am loving it! This book takes place at a ski lodge, where the main characters get stuck in a snowstorm without power–but with ghosts. I may have enjoyed this sequel more than I did the first.

    Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson

    This was my Cosmere reread this month and I so enjoyed reading it! My favorite will always be the original Mistborn trilogy, but the Wax and Wayne books (which take place in the same world as Mistborn) are fun in their own way. I love the characters and laugh out loud at many of their interactions. I also love the way Steris grows throughout the series (she becomes my favorite character by the end!).

    Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

    This was another reread for me. I’ve read many books by Liane Moriarty and this one remains my favorite. My husband and I did a road trip without the kids and were looking for a book to listen to. My husband had never read this and we decided to listen together. It definitely isn’t “his kind of book” but he really enjoyed it and it was fun to listen together. We found ourselves exchanging looks and laughing together at some of the characters (especially Madeline) and would pause often to have related philosophical discussions. I never would have thought to listen to it together, but it was such a great experience to do so!

    A lot of my favorite books from the month were part of a series I am in the middle of or a reread, but I very much enjoyed delving deeper into or revisiting these worlds and characters! What was one of your favorite recent reads? Let me know in the comments below!

  • Five Star Reads from September!

    I had a great reading month in September! I participated in 30 Books in 30 Days and Series September and had so much fun with both readathons.

    I also had a lot of five star reads, so I’ll jump right in!

    Sammy Keyes by Wendelin Van Draanen

    I read the last five books in the Sammy Keyes series and all five were 5 star reads for me! I love Sammy and her friends so much and was so sad to see the end of the series, though I loved the ending!

    A Ben of All Trades by Michael J Rosen

    This is a short book highlighting earlier aspects of Benjamin Franklin’s story. I loved learning a little more about Benjamin Franklin and liked the book’s focus on how Franklin’s exploration early in life helped him become the man he was. I listened to the audiobook, but I read that the illustrations are well worth reading the physical book.

    The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett

    This middle grade book about two boys who love to prank people was funny and a wild ride. I loved the themes and I can see my kids loving it when they are just a little older.

    Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie

    I read at least one Agatha Christie book a month as I’m working my way through her many novels and they are often my favorite reads of the month. This Poirot mystery was no exception and was such a fun read.

    Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke

    The kids and I read the first Mighty Jack book last month and the Zita the Space Girl books earlier this year. This month, we finished both graphic novel series (the series have the same book as the final book in their series) and absolutely loved them both! The finale was so well done and really showed the growth of the characters from both series.

    Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

    I grew up watching this movie with my friends and have always loved it, so when I found out that there was a book, I had to read. The book had its differences from the movie, of course, but I loved it. It’s great in its own way, just as the movie is.

    Murder by Invitation Only by Colleen Cambridge 

    This series follows the fictitious housekeeper of Agatha Christie as she solves mysteries that seem to occur in her presence. I loved the first two books and was happily anticipating this new release in the series. It was just as enjoyable a read as the others and I can’t wait for the next release!

    Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose by Nancy Springer

    Enola Holmes is another series I’ve loved for a long time. I didn’t realize until recently that there was a new book in the series out, but when I did, I devoured it. It is so fun to watch Enola solve mysteries and get herself out of tight predicaments. It was a highly enjoyable read.

    Zoey and Sassafras by Asla Citro

    My kids and I listened to volumes 1-6 on Audible and all loved it. It follows a little girl who loves science and can see magical creatures. It was the perfect combination for my own girls! The narration was also well done and the story cute.

    Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

    I love Liane Moriarty’s writing style, I think she is so good at giving just enough information that the reader is then dying to know more. It works particularly well with the thrillers she written, which this one is a thriller. It’s a wild ride.

    Diana: Princess of the Amazons by Shannon Hale

    This middle grade graphic novel follows Diana, the only child on the island of the Amazons, as she tries to find a friend. The illustrations are lovely, the story is fun, and the characters are all likable. I also read the sequel and rated it 5 stars, though I think I liked the first book in the series more.

    Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

    This was my only reread this month. I read it aloud with my kids and it was so fun to share a childhood favorite with them. They loved it and literally squealed at the marriage proposal at the end. It was a fun way to finish the month!

    What did you read in September? I would love to hear about the books you loved in the comments below!