Kingdom of Claw

Kingdom of ClawTitle: 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:
Sexual Content: 2.5 Flames

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)!

The Road of Bones

The Road of BonesTitle: 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:
Sexual Content: 2.5 Flames

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.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

The Storied Life of A.J. FikryTitle: 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:
Sexual Content: 1.5 Flames

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.

2026 Goals

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:

  1. Read 60 books.
  2. Read all of my book club books.
  3. Read all of my 2026 Book of the Month (BotM) picks.
  4. Read 12 books on my BotM backlist.
  5. Read at least 1 chapter each day.

I’ll keep track of my progress on my 2026 Goals & Tracking page.

Evaluating My 2025 Goals

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:

  1. Read 48 books.
  2. Read 9 of my book club books.
  3. Read 12 of my 2025 Book of the Month (BotM) picks.
  4. Read 12 books on my BotM backlist.

I’ve kept track of my reading on my 2025 Goals & Tracking page.

Yearly Goal

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

My top ten favorite books (in order of how much I loved them):

Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order by author’s last name):

  • The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
  • The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong
  • 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 was THE GRIFFIN SISTERS’ GREATEST HITS by Jennifer Weiner.

Narrators

My favorite audiobook narrators I listened to this year (in alphabetical order by first name):

  • A.J. Bridel
  • Andrew Eiden (Teddy Hamilton)
  • Brittany Pressley
  • Cary Elwes
  • Christine Lakin
  • Daisy Edgar-Jones
  • Daisy Ridley
  • Dakota Fanning
  • E.J. Bingham
  • E.J. Lavery
  • Grace Gray
  • Hathaway Lee
  • Imogen Church
  • Jason Clarke
  • Jefferson White
  • Julia Whelan
  • Karissa Vacker
  • Lucy Boynton
  • Michael Gallagher
  • Moira Quirk
  • Ray Porter
  • Zachary Webber

My least favorite audiobook narrators (in alphabetical order):

  • Deacon Lee
  • Jim Meskimen
  • Nadia May
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. I read 13 books. Woo hoo! I’m really excited as I’ll only be adding 7 books to my BotM TBR. Here are the books I read:

BotM Backlist

I made a goal to read at least 12 books on my BotM backlist. I read 13. Woo hoo! 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!