Month: January 2026

Top Ten Books I Read in 2025

BonnieReadsAndWrites31 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday graphic

Below are the Top Ten Books I read in 2025, with some links to my reviews either here or on The Historical Novel Society website. This is all fiction. I read some wonderful poetry and nonfiction books as well, so I’ll do a Top Ten for those later. This time I couldn’t keep it to ten, so there are actually twelve of my favorite 2025 books below. The majority of them are Indie books that were either published by the author or small presses, and I love that. My wish for 2026 is that readers will seek out Indie books, not just for the lower prices, but for quality writing. I can go on Kindle Unlimited and find so many great books to read that don’t cost me anything above my monthly subscription fee. It is worth the price.

I am not numbering these, as I don’t have a distinct number one. I loved them all, so they aren’t in any order.

Cover of Horse Show by Jess Bowers.
Cover of Julia by Heather B. Moore. Top Ten Books I Read in 2025
Version 1.0.0
Cover of The Ballad of Mary Kearney by Katherine Mezzacappa. Top Ten Books I Read in 2025
Cover of Out of Time by Jodi Taylor.
Cover of Wild as the Stars by Kerry Chaput.
Cover of When Secrets Bloom by Patricia Furstenberg. Top Ten Books I Read in 2025
Cover of The Weight of Snow and Regret by Elizabeth Gauffreau. Top Ten Books I Read in 2025
Cover of The Maestro and Her Protegee by Kate Whouley.
Cover of A Fashionable French Murder by Colleen Cambridge. Top Ten Books I Read in 2025
Cover of Finding Naomi by Diane Hawley Nagatomo. Top Ten Books I Read in 2025
Cover of A Bloody Banquet by Gail Meath. Top Ten Books I Read in 2025
Cover of Those We Carry by Scott Saxberg.
Version 1.0.0

My Top Ten

Horse Show by Jess Bowers: A riveting collection of short stories, all featuring horses in some way: See my review on this blog and on The Historical Novel Society Website.

The Ballad of Mary Kearney: See my Review on this blog and on The Historical Novel Society Website.

Finding Naomi: My Review on Amazon. Apparently I haven’t put it on this blog yet so I will do that.

The Weight of Snow and Regret: A story of the last Poor Farm in Vermont. My review on this blog and The Historical Novel Society website.

Wild As The Stars: A Historical Fantasy that combines dance with magic and the 1920s. My Review on The Historical Novel Society website. Another one I didn’t post here so I will do that.

Julia: The exciting life of Julia Child. My review on this blog and The Historical Novel Society website.

Those We Carry: WWII from the perspective of a Dutch resistance fighter and a Canadian soldier: My review on The Historical Novel Society website.

Out of Time: The latest book in Jodi Taylor’s Time Police Series. My review on this blog

When Secrets Bloom: Beautifully written story of a gifted Saxon healer in 15th Century Transylvania. Here is my review on this blog.

The Maestro and Her Protege: Here is the Amazon description. I can’t post the review until it’s published on The Historical Novel Society website in February.

A Bloody Banquet: Book 2 of Stone and Steele Mysteries set in 1930s Hollywood. Here is my review on this blog.

A Fashionably French Murder: This is book three in the An American in Paris mystery series, which features Julia Child as a supporting character. See my review on this blog.

Thank You to That Artsy Reader Girl for hosting Top Ten Tuesday.

Happy New Year!

BonnieReadsAndWrites20 Comments
Happy New Year in Italics set amongst a picture of stars

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and a peaceful, happy, and healthy 2026. Here are some snapshots of each month of 2025 on the blog. For the “books I highlighted” section, I highlighted a lot more books during some months than others, so I just picked three or less from each month. There is a link at the end of each month to all of my posts.

January

Happy New Year image of Mountains in Snow.

Apparently a year ago we had some snow, at least at higher elevations. Not so in 2026 yet.

Books I highlighted on this blog:

I will be reviewing Gail Olmsted’s latest book, Class Action, soon. Here is the Amazon link

A link to my Jan 25 posts

February

In Feb 2025, we had some much needed tree removal done on the property.

Books I Highlighted On This Blog

A link to my Feb 25 posts

March

March appears to have been a quiet month.

Books I Highlighted In March

A link to my March 25 posts

April

A Happy Easter photo with three white lilies. Part of a Happy New Year post and a New Year roundup

We celebrated Easter with a lovely poem from Louise Belanger. You can find it here.

Books I highlighted in April

A link to my April 25 posts

May

In May we had an earthquake in Bryson City. The folks in California will not even blink, but for us, in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it was very unusual. It was 4.1 on the Richter Scale, so mild in comparison, but if you don’t usually get one in your area, it’s eyebrow-raising. It shook the whole house, but there was no damage.

Books I Highlighted In May

A link to my May 25 posts

June

I went to the Historical Novel Society conference in June. I learned a lot, but Vegas has changed since my visit in the 1990s and not for the better. It’s just too expensive now and I won’t go back.

Books I Highlighted In June

I just reviewed one book in June. Wildcard by Gail Meath. I spent a lot of time on Historical Novel Society Reviews, Editing, and the Conference. in June.

A link to my June 25 posts

July

July was all about the grandkids, and they spent a whole month with us. We made treasured memories, and I was absolutely exhausted!

Books I highlighted in July

A link to my July 25 posts

August

It was the end of July when a tiny ball of fluff ran out of an old barn, crying and abandoned by his Mom. We named him Oliver PeeWee (Opie for short). But August was when he became ours for sure. This is a picture of him weighing in at 9 ounces at the vet. He’s almost 8 pounds now. #Happy New Year

August was also when we added Doug’s garage to our property. It has been great for him to have a garage, and he’s gotten a lot done in there, including fixing two of our cars. #Happy New Year

Books I Highlighted in August

A Lethal Engagement Cover. Outline of woman with umbrella on a dark red cover. Happy New Year.
Version 1.0.0

A link to my Aug 25 posts

September

I posted about the horrific death of Charlie Kirk. I didn’t know what I was going to see when I clicked on a video that day, but that is first time I ever watched someone bleed out, and I never want that to happen again. The man who killed him is in the justice system, and I hope Charlie’s family does indeed receive justice. Charlie never apologized for being a Christian, and neither will I.

Books I highlighted in September

Version 1.0.0
An Autumn Kiss novel cover with a partial photo of a vintage dress in mustard color. Happy New Year.

A link to my Sep 25 posts

October

Stormy red and gray sky in the Smoky Mountains. Happy New Year.

A Stormy Sky in Bryson City. The turning of the leaves was quite late this year so I didn’t get a lot of leaf-changing pictures in October.

Books I Highlighted in October.

The Weight of Snow and Regret by Elizabeth Gauffreau. Happy New Year.
A Bloody Banquet by Gail Meath. Happy New Year.
Out of Time by Jodi Taylor. Happy New Year.

What a great reading month October was! I read The Weight of Snow and Regret by Liz Gauffreau for The Historical Novel Society. I actually posted the review in November. Gail Meath’s A Bloody Banquet came out, and my favorite author Jodi Taylor released another Time Police book! A link to my Oct 25 posts. Happy New Year

November

A picture of a Smoky Moutain Fall evening with a pale moon. Happy New Year

A November evening moon in Bryson City. You can see the colors are finally coming out.

A picture of a train from The Smoky Mountain Railroad. Happy New Year

I also rode The Smoky Mountain Railroad in November with my friend Lyric and her Mom. The photo is not from November, sadly.

Books I Highlighted in November

When Secrets Bloom by Patricia Furstenberg. Happy New Year.
Amanda in Ireland by Darlene Foster. Happy New Year.

I actually reviewed two books by Beth Kanell in one post, but The Bitter and the Sweet is her most recent. A link to my November 2025 Posts.

December

/

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Opie, a tuxedo kitten in the picture. He is playing with Christmas wrapping paper.

Here is Opie five months later! I also did an article about Scams Against Indie Authors.

Books I Highlighted in December

The Kansal Clunker The Car That Rebuilt Us Happy New Year.
Version 1.0.0
Your Words Collection cover with Beautiful White Flowers. Happy New Year

I’ll actually be reviewing In The Spirit of French Murder this month, but I picked it up in December.

There is a bit of my 2025 on the blog! Like any year, it had its ups and downs, but I’m thankful for everything God has given me, and there have been many blessings. Hoping for all of us to have a Happy New Year! Link to my December 2025 posts.

As an additional Happy New Year, here is the Acapella Group Home Free singing Auld Lang Syne

Book Review: A Ferry Merry Christmas by Debbie Macomber

BonnieReadsAndWrites4 Comments

This is a short review of a Christmas book that I read last week.

Book Description (A Ferry Merry Christmas)


Avery and Reed Bond grew up sharing a close-knit relationship, weathering life’s storms side by side. Even so, Avery often finds herself exasperated by her brother’s relentless matchmaking, while Reed can’t resist teasing his sister—after all, isn’t that what siblings do?

Facing their first Christmas without their beloved Grams, the woman who lovingly raised them, Reed and Avery decide to spend the holiday together at Reed’s home. However, their plans take an unexpected turn when the ferry Avery’s traveling on stalls in the middle of Puget Sound, stranding its passengers and leaving Reed waiting a now undetermined length of time for her arrival. What is at first an inconvenience threatens to ruin the plans of a number of commuters, but Avery and Reed soon discover that this unforeseen delay might end up being be a perfectly timed blessing in disguise.

While stuck on the ferry, Avery meets a handsome sailor and witnesses a Christmas miracle that reignites her belief in the holiday spirit. Meanwhile, Reed runs into a coworker who’s also waiting for a family member to arrive, and sparks a surprising and delightful connection.

In this tale of holiday magic, the Bond siblings find themselves taking a chance on love, proving that sometimes the best moments in life come when we least expect them.

Book Review

Cover of A Ferry Merry Christmas by Debbie Macomber. Image consists of book cover of girl in Red on a Ferry in Puget Sound. The book cover is placed in a red background.

This holiday novel by Debbie Macomber is a sweet and happy read. A ferry on the way to Seattle breaks down in the Puget Sound. As the hours stretch on, the personal stories of some of the people on the ferry, and some of the people waiting for them, are shown to us. There are estrangements–a husband and wife who are separated, and sisters who haven’t spoken for years.. There are also some sweet, clean romances, both on and off the ferry..

I did not feel transported to the Christmas season, however, Besides the occasional talk about Santa and holiday plans, this novel could have been set anytime. That being said, it’s a lovely, uncomplicated comfort story, perfect for the holiday season or anytime. If you’re looking for a challenging read, this is not it, but if you’re looking for comfort and uncomplicated romance, it’s right here.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books