Rest of the Year Reads

I don't typically get wrapped up in Instagram trends but this one I happen to like because it makes me think about the books I want to get to before the end of the year. Also, sometimes I like a list so I can cross them off.  I divided the list by physical/ebooks and audiobooks. I'm also hoping this helps me close out my 2026 Reading Challenge since I'm a bit behind. 

Do you guys think about what you want to read before the year closes out? 

 

2026 First Half Standouts

So far, 2026 has been off to a slow start for me, reading wise. So much so that I adjusted my reading goal! That being said, these are the best books of 2026 I've read so far. This is strictly based on 5 ⭐ratings. 

Happy New Year

Happy 2026! Looking forward to a great year of friends, family and of course books!

2025 Top Books

As you know from the previous posts, it was another great year of reading for me. And these top 5 should come as no surprise to anyone who comes here or follows me on Instagram. Jo Piazza dug deep into the world of tradwives/influencers to give us a great mystery/thriller and I will never look at them the same. I read Never Over in October and I still think about it at least once a week. It cemented Clare Gilmore as a must read for me. Aftertaste is a magical culinary tale that is unique in the story and I look forward to seeing what Ms. Lavelle writes next. 

Silver Elite was a book I was not expecting to devour and fall in love with at all. It had a lot of the same qualities as Hunger Games but different obviously. I can't wait for the next one that comes out this Spring. 

Of course, my top read for the year is Onyx Storm. I'm not sure I need to say much more about it other than I love reading all the theories because I do not come up with any. Like everyone else I can't wait for the next one but I'm not going to harass Ms. Yarros about it. 

I'm looking forward to 2026 and what books will rise be on the list. 

2025 Honorable Mentions

It's always so hard to pick the top books of the year, so I always like to go back through my list to see which books were 5 Stars and go from there. So these are mine from 2025. Tomorrow, you will see my top picks for the year. 

2025 Top Audiobooks

For me, it was an excellent year in a variety of genres. I really can't pick a favorite because they are all so different and the narrators all fit the stories they were telling. 

Random Musings

Update: Saw this trend in November and have been steadily making my way through my books. I subbed out In Your Dreams for The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah.  Not sure if I'll make it through all of them by 12/31 but I'll try. 

Did you guys make a list of books you wanted to get through before year end?

Random Musings

Saw this trend on Instagram and joined in. I'm hoping this keeps me on track to get through some of my TBR. I have a good variety as well. 

Do you have a list of books you want to get to before the end of the year? 

Julie's 2023 Best of the Rest

You've seen my favorite picks of 2023 and then my favorite audiobooks. Here are the best of the rest according to me! 

Historical Fiction:

The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson

Perfumist of Paris by Alka Joshi

Don't Forget to Write by Sara Confino

Contemporary Fiction:

Georgie, All the Way by  Kate Clyborn

The Audrey Hepburn Estate by Brenda Janowitz

The Second Ending by Michelle Hoffman

The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella

Women are the Fiercest Creatures by Andrea Dunlop

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson

Summer of Songbirds by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Thriller:

Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Koller Croft

I Will Find You by Harlan Coben

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen

The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner

Magical Realism:

Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone by Audrey Burges

Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young

At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities by Heather Webber

Romance:

Love Interest by Clare Gilmore

Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan

The Comeback Summer by Ali Brady

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Aramas

The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren

Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

Fantasy:

A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J Maas

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

A Court of Mist & Fury by Sarah J Maas

 

This has been a fun week of looking back on my favorites of 2023 and I certainly can't wait to see what 2024 has in store. 

Julie's Top 2023 Audiobooks

In 2023 I listened to 48 audiobooks (10 more than 2022) and enjoyed each one,  but the list below are the ones that stood out for me. With audiobooks I try to find books that have been on my shelf for a while but I also couldn't resist newer releases. 

What did you listen to in 2023? Anything I should add to my 2024 list?

Julie's 2023 Cream of the Crop

2023 was definitely a great year for books. I mean I did read/listen to 126, which is a personal record. Over the next couple days you will see my best of lists. I hope your 2023 reading year was as fantastic as mine. 

I read so many good books this year but these are the ones that rose to the top for me. What surprised me is that it is a great variety of genres and the biggest has been diving into fantasy. 

Julie's 2022 Best of the Rest

You've seen my favorite picks of 2022 and then my favorite audiobooks. Here are the best of the rest according to me! 

Historical Fiction:

The Liz Taylor Ring by Brenda Janowitz

Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor

Sisters of Night & Fog by Erika Robuck

In the Face of the Sun by Denny S. Bryce

The Ways We Hide by Kristina McMorris

The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian

Code Name Sapphire by Pam Jenoff

Contemporary Fiction:

Our Little World by Karen Winn

When We Let Go by Rochelle Weinstein

The Work Wife By Alison B. Hart

Sophie Go's Lonely Hearts Club by Roselle Lim

The Most Likely Club by Elyssa Friedland

Thriller:

Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner

The Last Affair by John Searles

The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark

The Personal Assistant by Kimberly Belle

The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Mystery/Crime:

The Botanists Guide to Parties & Poisons by Kate Khavari

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

Romance:

By the Book by Jasmine Guillory

As Seen on TV by Meredith Schorr

Mr. Perfect on Paper by Jean Meltzer

The Rewind by Allison Winn Scotch

Other:

 

Taste: My Life in Food by Stanley Tucci (Memoir)

The Lion, The Witch & the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (Fantasy)

This has been a fun week of looking back on my favorites of 2022 and I certainly can't wait to see what 2023 has in store. 

Julie's Top 2022 Audiobooks

In 2022 I listened to 38 audiobooks and enjoyed each one,  but the list below are the ones that stood out for me. With audiobooks I try to find books that have been on my shelf for a while but I also couldn't resist newer releases. I'm pretty sure that this is the first year I've listened to that many! They also helped me reach my 2022 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 112!

What did you listen to in 2022? Anything I should add to my 2023 list?

Julie's 2022 Cream of the Crop

2022 was definitely a great year for books. I mean I did read/listen to 112, which is a personal record. Over the next couple days you will see my best of lists. I hope your 2022 reading year was as fantastic as mine. 

Looking forward to what 2023 has in store for reading! 

Happy 4th of July!!

Blog-i-versary

It's truly hard to believe that we have been at this little thing called blogging for 8 years! 8 years!! We've had some changes but I like to think of them as evolution. We've added another addition this year to our contributors and we are looking at some other great things in the future!

We want to thank you for allowing us to share our passion of reading, books and authors with you and we will continue to do so in the future.


Cheers!!!




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Julie's Year in Review

In Lieu of a "Best of" post because frankly I'm sick of them; I'm just going to post here what I read in 2014, in order of completion. It was a great year for both reading and other things in life. I didn't make my initial goal of 85 books but that's ok because I had a lot going on during the last quarter of the year. It was wonderful to start off the year with such a fantastic read (Bella Cora) and to end the year with yet another gem from Sarah Addison Allen. Do you see anything here that you read as well? What are your thoughts?

Julie's 2014 Reads

Julie's favorite books »