Heh…I can’t choose just one! Some of my favorite reads of the year so far include The Secrets of Ormdale series by Christina Baehr, The Swans Are Not Silent series by John Piper, as well as Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Heavenly Man by Brother Yen, Tramp for the Lord by Corrie ten Boom…among many other 5 star reads I can’t include all of here because of space!
2. Best sequel you've read so far in 2025
A really incredible sequel that I read this year was Daring to Hope by Katie Davis Majors. The first book is Kisses from Katie which I loved as well and need to reread. I also really enjoyed The Hidden Smile of God by John Piper (book #2 of The Swans Are Not Silent), and Drake Hall by Christina Baehr (book #2 of the Secrets of Ormdale) was good as well, although it wasn’t my favorite of the series.
3. New release you haven't read yet, but want to.
A Lesson in Propriety by Jen Turano was released in May and I still need to read that!
4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year.
I don’t believe I’m really anticipating any book releases coming out later this year…unless Christina Baehr’s spin off series is releasing that soon, but I’m not certain of that.
5. Biggest disappointment.
I was hoping The Atlas of Untold Stories by Sara Brunsvold would be a big hit for me because of the premise and the fact that I enjoyed her debut book, but unfortunately, it fell flat for me personally and I ended up not really caring for it for several different reasons.
6. Biggest surprise.
I was surprised at the depth, insight, and hard hitting truth of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, his famous satirical epistolary novel that has entertained and enlightened so many. *nervous laughter* It really made me think, that’s for sure.
7. Favorite new author. (Debut or new to you)
That would probably be Christina Baehr. I love her writing style so much and have enjoyed her historical fantasy series quite a bit!
8. Newest fictional crush.
Exactly none 😘
9. Newest favorite character.
That’s a hard one, but some characters who have stuck with me include Edith and Simon from The Secrets of Ormdale, Burndee from The Reluctant Godfather (whom I relate to way too much) and of course, Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice 🥹
10. Book that made you cry.
If rereads count, I reread Little Women earlier in the year and that made me sob into my pillow as usual, but if we’re talking new reads, I would say Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose as well as Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson…although I can’t even remember why the latter made me cry 🤔
11. Book that made you happy.
Well, I would venture to say that most 5 star reads made me happy, but one that sticks out to me (that I actually gave 4.25 stars) is “The Story People” by Heather Kaufman, which was very sweet, fun, whimsical, and humorous, as well as “Wormwood Abbey” by Christina Baehr (I bet you didn’t see that coming), which was also a delightful, fun book and a great start for series that did make me happy, along with basically every other emotion there is ;)
12. Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year (or received)
The *gorgeous* edition of The Complete Novels of Jane Austen that I bought earlier this year, or the copy of War and Peace that I bought that has a lovely cover.
13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
A lot 😑 I don’t have space here to list off every book I want to read by the end of f the year, but here are 15 noteworthy priority books/series that I really hope to get to, among MANY others:
~To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
~Animal Farm by George Orwell
~Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
~Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
~War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy
~The remaining 4 books in The Swans Are Not Silent series by John Piper
~Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret by Dr. & Mrs. Howard Taylor
~God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew
~Foxe’s Book of Martyrs by John Foxe
~The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
~A Lady’s Guide to Marvels & Misadventure by Angela Bell
~Once I Knew by Victoria Lynn
~The Legendary Inge by Kate Stradling
~The Lady of Lanaria by Michaela Bush
~The Accidental Cases of Emily Abbot series by Perry Elizabeth Kirkpatrick
🌹 I hope you enjoyed reading through this little tag! I won’t officially tag anyone, but if you’re reading this and want to do this tag yourself, you’re more than welcome to. Please also consider following The Boundless Bookshelf if you want to see more in depth book reviews, fun tags, book recommendations, writing updates, and more!
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