Reading has fallen to the back burner for the past year, and it’s time to change that. I have always loved reading, so it is important to me to make it a priority again. I have decided to challenge myself to try and read these 10 books before the year ends. Typically, I am a mood reader, but I’m hoping that in giving myself 2 and a half months to read ten books will allow me to follow my mood. So in no particular order, here are the 10 books I want to read before 2025 ends.
1. Sidelined Love by Emery Paige
This book has been on my tbr for over a year, so I think it’s due time for me to read it. Hockey romance has been a favourite sub-genre of mine since I really started reading romance. This book follows Hailey and Levi as they navigate college as two people from very different lives. Hailey is doing her best to stay focused on her goals, so getting caught up with Levi and Crestwood University’s hockey team is not on her to-do list. Levi is struggling to keep it together and maintain the image of the perfect life. Overall, this sounds like a cute hockey romance and everything I look for in a college romance book.
2. Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare
This is the second book in The Last Hours series, and something you don’t know about me is that I was obsessed with the Shadowhunters chronicles in middle school. These books were my lifeline, and I am so grateful to them. I can’t lie, I do not remember the first book at all, but I’m hoping someone out there has a really detailed review and/or reading vlog. Since this is the second book of a series I’ll give the briefest overview so as not to spoil it—even though I’m probably the last person to get to it. This trilogy follows Cordelia Carstairs, James, and Lucie Herondale in 1903. I honestly cannot wait to jump back into the shadow world and fantasy in general.
3. If it Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia
I saw this book on Instagram the other day, and it sounded like the perfect fall read. Michelle is recently divorced and has moved back to her hometown to take over her mom’s bed and breakfast. Enter her neighbour Cliff, baker, single-dad, and town golden boy. Truly there is nothing better to read in the fall than a small-town romance, so I feel like I need to get to this one soon.
4. Wild Love by Elsie Silver
As a Canadian girl who loves small-town romance, I am a huge Elsie Silver fan. I have read both her Chestnut Springs and Gold Rush Ranch series’ and loved them. Wild Love follows Ford and Rosie who are navigating working together at his record label. Rosie is Ford’s best friend’s sister, yet Ford can’t keep his eyes off her. While this seems to be a little less yee-haw than Silver’s other books (at least based off the synopsis) I will read anything she writes so I am looking forward to diving into this new world.
5. Middlemarch by George Eliot
Now, I’m sure you’re thinking, “Hailey, this sounds nothing like your favourite books” and to that I say you are correct. Next semester I am taking a course dedicated to Middlemarch and I figured it would be good to read it ahead of time. This novel follows the lives of many characters living in a small English town in the 19th century. Honestly, I have no idea what to expect, but I am hoping in reading this book on my own time it will feel more like fun than school work.
6. Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships by Sarah Grunder Ruiz
This book has been on my tbr for literal years, so I really want to finally read it. As a lover of Below Deck I feel like this book has a lot of potential. We follow stewardess Jo as she attempts to complete her bucket list of 30 things before she turns 30. A wrench is thrown in her plans when her two nieces show up for the summer. Add in her growing feelings for Alex, who was supposed to stay a stranger, Jo gets more than she bargained for this summer.
7. Blue Willow by Ki Stephens
Ki Stephens just announces this book and it sounds like the perfect book to read right before Christmas. Elsie returns home for the first time in years to settle her grandmother’s estate. She plans to be in and out, but the universe has other plans for her. Wells loves this inn, and wants to keep it alive for Elspeth, Elsie’s grandmother. As the pair struggles to come to an agreement romance blossoms making everything a bit more complicated.
8. The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore
I have seen this book everywhere on TikTok, so I’m not sure what to expect from it. This book appears to be very hit or miss, so I am interested in seeing how I like it. All I’m really looking for is a cute small-town romance, and this seems perfect. Jeanie has just been gifted a cafe by her aunt and she jumps at the opportunity to to try something new. Logan is a local farmer looking to avoid all town gossip and drama, but he can’t help but feeling drawn to Jeanie.
9. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
When I was younger I loved fantasy, but I haven’t read very much of it at all in the past few years. I’m hoping by reading Chain of Iron and A Discovery of Witches I can fall back in love with fantasy. This novel follows Diana bishop, a young scholar who accidentally stirs the underworld through her research. Matthew is a vampire geneticist who begins forming an alliance with Diana that challenges the status quo.
10. Fall With Me by Becka Mack
I devoured the first three books in this series, so I am very excited to dive back into this world. This book follows Jaxon who is known for starting fights on the ice, picking up women, and being the best cat dad there is. Lennon is the new photographer for the Vancouver Vipers, but things get messy when she sees Jaxon, aka her one-night-stand, across the room. Writing this has made me so excited to get back to the Vancouver Vipers.
Going through my Goodreads and seeing what is on my tbr has reminded me of my love for reading. After writing this I am so excited to get back into reading consistently. Let me know if there are any books you are looking forward to reading before this year ends! And if you have read any of these books I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments or through my dm’s on Instagram!
Hailey