“Rules for Ruin” by Mimi Matthews

Title: Rules for Ruin
Author: Mimi Matthews
Publisher: Berkley Romance (Penguin Random House)   
Year: 2025    
Genre(s): historical romance
Part of a Series: Yes, Book 1 of The Crinoline Academy

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: Effie Flint is recalled from Paris by the headmistress of her former home and school, The Crinoline Academy. She is tasked with bringing down a powerful viscount who is poised to destroy legislation that could benefit women in the United Kingdom and beyond. Effie poses as the daughter of wealth and focuses on her task. And then she meets Gabriel Royce, a prosperous betting shop owner who needs the viscount to support legislation that will benefit the slums where Gabriel grew up. Are Effie and Gabriel destined to always be on opposite sides…or will they realize they are better as a team?

Rating: 

“The Moorwitch” by Jessica Khoury

Title: The Moorwitch
Author: Jessica Khoury
Publisher: 47North
Year: 2025    
Genre(s): romantasy
Part of a Series: No

Why I read it: Amazon First Read pick

Summary: As a child, Rose Pryor makes a deal with a fae named Lachlan to escape a terrible home situation. She grows up practicing magic in a version of Georgian England where it is prevalent. Her talent lies in Weaving – using needle and thread to craft her spells. But as she approaches her eighteenth birthday, her magic grows weaker. Lachlan returns to get Rose to uphold her end of the deal, sending her to Scotland to find a way back into the world of the fae before he and his followers die in a world that is becoming more steel than wood. Rose befriends Conrad North and his sister and realizes how dangerous Lachlan really is. Will she give him what he wants or will she sacrifice her magic to protect her new friends?

Rating: 

“The Thanksgiving Hookup” by J. Sterling

Title: The Thanksgiving Hookup
Author: J. Sterling   
Publisher: J. Sterling
Year: 2023    
Genre(s): romance
Part of a Series: Kinda.

Why I read it: Wanted a nice holiday read.

Summary: Skye’s plans for Thanksgiving are ruined when a snowstorm grounds all flights. She and the rest of her flight crew manage to get hotel rooms as accommodations start to dwindle but it means she will have to spend the holiday with the airline’s resident playboy, River. But with the close proximity make her see him in a new light or will she join his list of broken hearts?

Rating: 

“Christmas Eve Love Story” by Ginny Baird

Title: Christmas Eve Love Story
Author: Ginny Baird
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Year: 2024    
Genre(s): romance
Part of a Series: No

Why I read it: Advent Calendar read

Summary: After a terrible Christmas Eve, Annie Jones wakes up to find it’s Christmas Eve all over again. She gets twelve tries to get Christmas Eve right and in the process, finds community and the chance at love with the security guard at work, Braden.

Rating: 

“Murder at Gulls Nest” by Jess Kidd

Title: Murder at Gulls Nest
Author: Jess Kidd
Publisher: Atria Books
Year: 2025
Genre(s): mystery, historical fiction
Part of a Series: Yes, Book 1.

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: When letters from her friend Freya suddenly stop, Nora Breen leaves her convent to go search for her. She travels to the small English seaside town where Freya last was known to be and settles at Gulls Nest. When two residents of Gulls Nest die under mysterious circumstances, Nora realizes Freya’s disappearance is just the tip of iceberg.

Rating: 

“A Betting Woman: A Novel of Madame Moustache” by Jenni L. Walsh

Title: A Betting Woman: A Novel of Madame Moustache
Author: Jenni L. Walsh
Publisher: Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing
Year: 2021    
Genre(s): historical fiction
Part of a Series: No

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: After suffering an unimaginable loss, Simone Jules flees New Orleans and heads to California along with others looking for gold. She finds her fortune at gambling tables, introducing the game Vingt-et-Un to the prospectors. Over the years, Simone reinvents herself as Eleanor Dumont and follows the gold with her games and her business sense, building a life for herself that she never could’ve imagined in New Orleans.

Rating: 

“Here Comes the Drama” by Christa Innis

Title: Here Comes the Drama
Author: Christa Innis
Publisher: Eleanora Press
Year: 2025    
Genre(s): romance
Part of a Series: Possibly book 1.

Why I read it: I’ve seen Christa’s sketches and wanted to read her book.

Summary: Ferris proposes to his girlfriend Sloane but not everyone is happy for them. His mother, Kate, proves to be the biggest obstacle to them getting down the aisle. Will they find a way to get around her…or will she get her way in the end?

Rating: 

My Books of 2025

 

It’s a New Year!

 Happy New Year, everyone!

I know I pretty much disappeared toward the end of last year and I apologize for that. Real life got a little hectic just as the time seemed to speed up. My writing schedule was disrupted but I’m hoping the holidays have allowed me to get it back on track.

Maybe?

Anyway, as I usually do, it’s time to wrap up the year that was before we look forward to the year that will be.

Here we go!

“A Legend in the Baking” by Jamie Wesley

Title: A Legend in the Baking
Author: Jamie Wesley
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Year: 2024    
Genre(s): romance
Part of a Series: Yes. Read my review of Book 1 here.

Why I read it: Because I enjoyed the first book.

Summary: August Hodges never wanted the spotlight, even though he is a professional football player and co-owner of one of the hottest cupcake shops in the city. But when his rant in support of women goes viral, the spotlight finds him. He finds himself needing to navigate his newfound fame as he and his partners prepare to open a second location. Since fame doesn’t come naturally to him, he’s going to need help.

Enter Sloane Dell, the sister of his friend and business partner Donovan. Sloane is building a career as a social media manager and helping to manage her brother’s business will be a great stepping stone toward her dream job. She agrees to help August channel his fifteen minutes of fame toward helping the shop grow. However, working closely with August brings back feelings she thought were in the pass. Will she be able to help August and possibly get a happy ending she never thought possible? Or will they both just get burned?

Rating: 

“The Undoing of Violet Claybourne” by Emily Critchley

Title: The Undoing of Violet Claybourne
Author: Emily Critchley
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Year: 2025    
Genre(s): historical fiction
Part of a Series: No

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club Pick

Summary: When Gillian Larking goes to spend Christmas with Violet Claybourne, her friend and roommate at boarding school, she sees it as her chance to experience a proper family and the high society life the Claybournes enjoy. But instead of a glittery lifestyle, she finds a crumbling manor house and a darkness that soon threatens to consume her as well. What is she willing to sacrifice in order to prove herself to Violet’s sisters when tragedy strikes?

Rating: 

“Happy Place” by Emily Henry

Title: Happy Place
Author: Emily Henry
Publisher: Berkley
Year: 2023
Genre(s): romance, contemporary
Part of a Series: No

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club Pick

Summary: Six friends – Harriet, Wynn, Sabrina, Parth, Cleo and Kimmy – arrive in Maine for their annual summer vacation. It will be their last year there as Sabrina’s family is selling the house in Maine. And while they are there, she and Parth plan to get married. As everyone prepares for the wedding, Harriet and Wynn have to hide a big secret from their friends – they called off their own engagement and broke up six months earlier. Can they make it through the week? Or will they lose their Happy Place forever?

Rating: 

“The Lost Bookshop” by Evie Woods

Title: The Lost Bookshop
Author: Evie Woods
Publisher: Harper Collins
Year: 2023
Genre(s): historical fiction, contemporary 
Part of a Series: No

Why I read it: Recommendation from Storygraph

Summary: Escaping an arranged marriage and a tyrannical brother, Opaline eventually finds refuge in a store that seems to be alive. Years later, Henry goes on a quest to find the store and encounters Martha, who is reclaiming her life after leaving her abusive husband. Their stories entwine into a beautiful mosaic that hopefully leads to their happy endings.

Rating: 

“The Daughters of Foxcote Manor” by Eve Chase

Title: The Daughters of Foxcote Manor    
Author: Eve Chase 
Publisher: Penguin
Year: 2020
Genre(s): historical fiction, contemporary 
Part of a Series: No

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: Sylvie is learning that when it rains, it pours. As she navigates through several family emergencies, she realizes she needs to finally confront her past. It leads her to a property once called Foxcote Manor, where in 1971, Rita arrives with Mrs. Harrington and her children for the summer after a family tragedy. But another one may loom when a baby is found in the woods and an dangerous visitor arrives. The events of that summer reverberate and affect Sylvie’s present and future.

Rating: 

“The Family Inside” by Katie Garner

Title: The Family Inside
Author: Katie Garner
Publisher: Mira
Year: 2025
Genre(s): suspense
Part of a Series: No

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: Facing eviction, Iris accepts her boyfriend’s invitation to move in with him. He has moved back to his family’s home as he renovates it. Iris and her teenage daughter Ellory struggle to fit in with his family and Ellory ends up running away. Worried about her daughter, Iris realizes that she is not safe in the house as dark secrets start to come to light. Will she ever find out the truth…or will blood prove to be thicker? 

Rating: 

“Queen of Snow” by Laura Burton and Jessie Cal

Title: Queen of Snow
Author: Laura Burton and Jessie Cal 
Publisher: Self-published
Year: 2021
Genre(s): fantasy, romantasy
Part of a Series: Yes, Book #1.

Why I read it: Saw it recommended on Facebook and was intrigued by a Beauty and the Beast/Man in the Iron Mask combo. But realized it was part of a series so decided to start with Book #1.

Summary: After his grandfather’s death, Jack falls through a mirror in his study and ends up in the Chanted Forest. There he befriends Aria, a young woman with magical ice powers and who is running from her evil stepmother, the Queen. Jack teams up with her to try to get back home but will he realize that maybe he’s already there?

Rating: 

“The Secret Service of Tea and Treason” by India Holton

Title: The Secret Service of Tea and Treason
Author: India Holton 
Publisher: Berkley
Year: 2023
Genre(s): historical fiction, historical fantasy, action
Part of a Series: Yes, Book #3. Read my review of Book #2 here.

Why I read it: Because I enjoyed Book #2.

Summary: To uncover and stop a plot to assassinate Queen Victoria, the Agency of Undercover Note Takers (A.U.N.T.) sends their best agents undercover as a pirate and her husband. Agent B (aka Daniel Bixby) is used to the ways of pirates but Agent A (aka Alice Dearborn) struggles to understand their ways. Not helping is her growing attraction to her partner. Will they stop the plot? And what will become of the feelings growing between them?

Rating: 

“The Turn of the Key” by Ruth Ware

Title: The Turn of the Key
Author: Ruth Ware
Publisher: Scout Press
Year: 2019    
Genre(s): suspense
Part of a Series: No

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: Rowan Caine, a young woman from London, is hired as a nanny for the wealth Elinscourt family. They live in a beautiful house in the Scottish highlands that is historic but also completely modernized on the inside. Technology is watching the entire time and mysterious noises in the attic prevent Rowan from finding any peace. Left alone with four girls who aren’t happy with her presence, she worries she is losing her sanity when tragedy changes everything.

Rating: 

“Eddie Winston is Looking for Love” by Marianne Cronin

Title: Eddie Winston is Looking for Love
Author: Marianne Cronin
Publisher: Harper Perennial 
Year: 2024    
Genre(s): romance, contemporary 
Part of a Series: No

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick.

Summary: At 90 years old, Eddie Winston has never been kissed. He then meets Bella when she comes into the thrift shop where he works to donate her late boyfriend’s belongings. Together, they form and unlikely friendship as she becomes determined to help Eddie get his first kiss.

Rating: 

“The Maui Effect” by Sara Ackerman

Title: The Maui Effect
Author: Sara Ackerman
Publisher: Mira
Year: 2024    
Genre(s): romance
Part of a Series: No

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick.

Summary: ‘Iwa feels a special bond with the nature of Maui and is dedicated to protecting it, especially the beautiful rainforests that are under threat from developers trying to build more hotels. Dane has always answered the call of the ocean and is a renowned surfer. When these two meet, can someone so connected to the land and someone so connected to the sea fall in lasting love?

Rating: