Title: Kingdom of Claw Author: Demi Winters Series: The Ashen #2 Genre: Romantasy Format: Audio Pages: 548 Length: 24h 47m Narrator: Islay Jacobs Source: Owned Reason: Just Because Rating:
My Thoughts
KINGDOM OF CLAW was just as good as THE ROAD OF BONES, if not a little better. I loved learning more about the Galdra and how their galdr works. I loved seeing so many different types of galdr and watching Silla come into her own. I really loved seeing more of Ìseldur, its politics, and people. I enjoyed meeting all the new characters and I’m excited to see where the next book takes us, especially with that ending (again)!
https://jennielyse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/new_logo_main_small.png00Jenni Elysehttps://jennielyse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/new_logo_main_small.pngJenni Elyse2026-01-20 00:00:002026-04-10 14:57:50Kingdom of Claw
Title: The Road of Bones Author: Demi Winters Series: The Ashen #1 Genre: Romantasy Format: Audio Pages: 500 Length: 21h 15m Narrator: Islay Jacobs Source: Owned Reason: BotM Backlist Rating:
My Thoughts
This book! That ending! So many secrets, so many twists. I loved it! Even though I loved the audiobook, I kinda wish I had read-read THE ROAD OF BONES so I could see all the Nordic/Icelandic spellings. I loved the whole Vikingness of the story and I loved the subtle nod to Little Red Riding Hood. The characters, the world, and the magic system were amazing. The slow-burn romance was so much fun. I didn’t even mind the subtle love triangle. I’m really excited to read KINGDOM OF CLAW and see where this story goes.
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Title: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry Author: Gabrielle Zevin Genre: Contemporary Format: Audio Pages: 260 Length: 7h 3m Narrator: Scott Brick Source: Library Reason: Just Because Rating:
My Thoughts
THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY is a beautifully written bittersweet story about love, loss, grief, healing, and second chances. At first, I didn’t really like A.J. He was too curmudgeonly for my taste, but he grew on me. I loved his relationship with Maya and Amy, his friends, and his patrons. I loved his enthusiasm for books and reading, even if his tastes were a little too hoity-toity for me. I loved reading his character growth.
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I’m really happy with my reading last year. I crushed my goals and I read more in 2025 than I’ve ever read in a year before. I’d love to try to surpass that goal this year.
My goals for 2026 are to:
Read 60 books.
Read 6 of my book club books.
Read 12 of my 2026 Book of the Month (BotM) picks.
Read 15 books on my BotM backlist.
Read every single day by reading at least 1 chapter per day.
Can you believe 2025 is over? I feel like this year flew by once we got through January. I thought I’d evaluate my 2025 reading goals. My reading goals were:
Read 48 books.
Read 9 of my book club books.
Read 12 of my 2025 Book of the Month (BotM) picks.
My goal for the year was to read at least 48 books. I ended up reading 57 books, which is the most I’ve ever read in one year. Woot woot!
Reading Stats
General Stats
Books Read: 57
Rereads: 2
DNFs: 6
Pages Read: 21,269
Hours Listened: 650h 33m
Average Rating: 4.1
Authors
New Authors: 32
Repeat Authors: 25
Source
Own: 38
Library: 19
Borrowed: 0
Format
Hard Cover: 1
Paperback: 0
Kindle: 0
Audio: 54
Mixture: 2
Audience
General Audience: 2
Adult: 50
Young Adult: 5
Middle Grade: 0
Length (in Pages)
0 – 99: 0
100 – 249: 5
250 – 499: 49
500 – 999: 3
1000+: 0
Primary Reason Read
Book Club: 9
Book of the Month: 24
Personal Interest: 22
Recommended: 2
Primary Genre
Classic: 1
Contemporary: 5
Dystopian: 2
Fantasy: 3
Historical Fiction: 4
Holiday Romance: 1
Horror: 3
Non-Fiction: 1
Retelling: 1
Romance: 20
Romantasy: 7
Science Fiction: 3
Thriller: 6
Yearly Favorites
Books
Here’s a list of my top 10 favorite books (in order of how much I loved them):
Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order by author’s last name):
The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
P.S. I Hate You by Lauren Connolly
As You Wish by Cary Elwes
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez
The Heartbreak Hotel by Ellen O’Clover
The Circus Train by Amita Parikh
Phantasma by Kaylie Smith
Husbands & Lovers by Beatriz Williams
P.S. My least favorite book of the year was THE GRIFFIN SISTERS’ GREATEST HITS by Jennifer Weiner.
Book Club
I made a goal to read 9 of my book club books and I did. Woot woot! Here are the books I read:
Book of the Month
I made a goal to read at least 12 of my 2025 BotM picks and I read 13. Woo hoo! I’m really excited about this goal as I’ll only be adding 7 books to my BotM TBR for 2026. Here are the books I read:
BotM Backlist
I made a goal to read at least 12 books on my BotM backlist and I read 13. Woo! Another goal met and exceeded! Here are the books I read:
Conclusion
I had a damn good reading year! In fact, it’s my best yet! I met all of my goals and, more importantly, I enjoyed most of the books I read. Only a few were duds. Let’s hope 2026 is just as awesome!
https://jennielyse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/new_logo_main_small.png00Jenni Elysehttps://jennielyse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/new_logo_main_small.pngJenni Elyse2026-01-02 00:00:002026-07-13 01:05:41Evaluating My 2025 Goals
Title: Kingdom of Claw 
Title: The Road of Bones 
Title: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry 
