The quarterly challenge check-in worked quite well for me in 2024, so I decided to stick with it. In these posts, I do a quick recap of the reading I did, pick 5 of my favorite reads, and also report on how I progressed with my different reading challenges. All of these are based on my reading goals for 2025 post, which you are welcome to check out! That said, it’s time for the fourth and last challenge check-in for 2025 Q4 – even though it’s already 2026.
2025 Q4 once again proved to be more productive than I expected, given that I usually have a slump at this time of the year. And I did, but once again, audiobooks (quite a few of them rereads) once again saved the day. And I was worried about not having enough time for audiobooks now that I don’t have commuting time… (okay, I do, but 10 minutes isn’t enough for anything).
Until December 31st, I opened 19 books (1 more than in Q3). I DNFd 1, and I’m also currently reading 1 of them. Out of the 18 books (minus my current read), 5 were rereads. As for format, 11 were audiobooks, 5 were ebooks, and 2 were physical copies (1 paperback and 1 hardcover).
As predicted in my Q2 round-up, I already went beyond my GR goal of 40. As of December 31, I finished 63 books (not including my alpha read, and the DNFs, of course during the year).
Out of the 19 books, only 1 was on the list I set up as my shortened TBR in my Reading Goals for 2025 post. Ouch. That was a super disappointing end of the year.
The books I loved the most in 2025 Q4
Out of the 12 books (I did not include my current read, the rereads, and the DNF), I gave 5* to 2. But I also had 1 4.5* reads as well. I’m keeping myself to my promise at the start of the year, and this year I’m stricter with my ratings. And that shows. But also in hindsight, in some cases, I should have gone with lower ratings. Oh well, I’m still a nice evil Queen.
Often I find that not necessarily the books I 5* that stay with me until the end of the year, but those I might have rated lower for some reason. So, in these mini-lists, I’ll focus on highlighting those that I think have the potential to end up on my top 10 reads of 2025 list. I will not pick rereads, because I obviously loved them previously, so I’d like to give the spotlight to newcomers. The books are listed in the order I’ve read them.
Broken Angels by Gwyn Bennett is the first book in the Dr. Harrison Lane thriller series I picked up on audiobook. I gotta say I quite enjoyed it. Dr. Harrison Lane works on police investigation cases with ritualistic and religious elements. He is called when they find a dead child surrounded by what seems to be Satanic symbols. Which eventually leads to a chase of a psychopath. I liked the book, so I’m definitely not against picking it up again.
Jack of Thorns by A.K. Faulkner is one I’ve been sitting on for over a year, and now I’m hitting my head on the wall for waiting so long. Argh. I loved this book with its flaws and all. It has M/M romance, mythology, and humor. I definitely will make it my mission in 2026 to catch up with the Inheritance series.
The Faerie Hounds of York by Arden Powell had been on my radar for a good while now, and Spooktastic Reads finally gave me the push I needed to bump it up on my TBR. It certainly was the right choice for the spooky season with its creepy atmosphere, the monstrous fae, and the grey moors. I kind of wished it were a full-length novel with more time to build up the relationship between Loxley and Thorncress, and with a different ending than the one we’ve got. It wasn’t bad, mind you, just not what I expected.
The Undermining of Twyla and Frank by Megan Bannen is the second book in the Hart and Mercy series (I really wish Orbit and/or the author gave it a different series title), that focuses on Twyla and Frank – but rest assured, Hart and Mercy do have an appearance. They are long-time friends, working together as Tenrian marshals. When they rescue a baby dragon, things get interesting. Emotions fly high, their life gets threatened, and everything gets covered in glittery goo. What I like about these books is that they find a great balance between the humorous and the serious, characters are well developed, and the worldbuilding is fun as hell.
Arctic Panda’s Secret Mate by Elva Birch is the book I never saw coming. Shifter romances are NOT my thing, and this book also didn’t convince me that I should be reading more, but it gets its mention here because… PANDA. Like, how could I *not* include it?! And also because this one surprised me – I didn’t love it as I had a few too many issues with it, but also I didn’t hate it, which kind of surprised me, if I’m being honest.
Look, I’d love to say I’m smashing Womble’s reading challenge this year, but…well, this didn’t go all according to plan. But that said, I still managed to finish 2 out of the 3 prompts, so I’m taking that as a win.
October – Trick and Treat: The Faerie Hounds of York by Arden Powell. We had to read something spooky, which also coincided with the Spooky Readathon, so I had a few options. And since Arden Powell‘s novella was the spookiest of my reads, it was the logical choice to pick for this prompt.
November – Let’s Go Indie!: I should have read 4 indie novellas, but I think I only managed one – the aforementioned The Faerie Hounds of York, so I can’t in clear conscience announce this prompt fulfilled. Even if I had the stretch goal, which is to read an indie novel.
December – Say Thank You: The Venetian Heretic by Christian Cameron. Okay, so this one is a tiny bit of a stretch, but all things said, I was gifted a copy by the publisher thanks to Christian’s request. I almost had the stretch goal, but since I didn’t finish the book in time, I also can’t make it count. Boo.
I still love this board game look. Especially as I was getting into board games in 2025. After making the initial choices at the start of the year, 2025 Q4 was pretty straightforward, but it still had a choice for me. Here is the board:
October – 10C – Dye Hair Purple (read a book with a cover in your favorite colour): The Undermining of Twyla and Frank by Megan Bannen. I mean, come on, everyone knows purple is my favorite color. Put your hands up if you were surprised by my choice. I was also smart, and listened to book one in September, in anticipation of this particular prompt, ha! Work smarter, not harder and all that.
November – 11C – Visit the Mage Tower (read a fantasy book): Reign & Ruin by J. D. Evans. I mean, since I read quite a lot of fantasy, this was no hardship at all. Plus, this was also the month for which I “accidentally” scheduled our review post of Reign & Ruin.
December – 12C – Steal Transmitter and Stream Band Song (read a book you’ve heard is humorous): Arctic Panda’s Secret Mate by Elva Birch. I really hoped I wouldn’t have to cheat more than once for this challenge, and yet here we are again. I struggled with this one because I mostly did rereads in December and mood reads mostly. And humorous is not something I have a lot of on my TBR. I eventually settled on one book, but I didn’t finish it yet, so once again I invoked my right to switch prompts if needed, so I’m stealing 12A, which says a book with a tree on the cover. But I mean, this was kind of humorous anyway, so…
In 2025 Q4, I finished off The Sound of Madness Reading Challenge card with the last 8 additions. Here they are:
- Jack of Thorns by A.K. Faulkner for SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER
- The Faerie Hounds of York by Arden Powell for OWN MY MIND
- We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian for BLUE SIDE OF THE SKY
- The Gentleman and His Vowsmith by Rebecca Ide for FREED FROM DESIRE
- A Christmas Celebration by Heidi Swain for I THINK I KILLED RUDOLPH
- Arctic Panda’s Secret Mate by Elva Birch for MILES APART
- The Bones at Point No Point by D.D. Black for SICK CYCLE CAROUSEL
- The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce for OUR SONG
Here is what my card looks like right now:
And that concludes my Challenge Check-In for 2025 Q4. And the whole year, really. If you’d like to see a complete overlook, please feel free to check out my updated reading goals for 2025 post as well as the updated The Sound of Madness Reading Challenge post. I will also have my top 10 reads of 2025 posted sometime in January. On the whole, I’m happy with my results, and I definitely will be back again in 2026!
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