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 this one 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 goes.
https://jennielyse.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/blog_finallogo_white-1030x284.png00Jenni Elysehttps://jennielyse.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/blog_finallogo_white-1030x284.pngJenni Elyse2026-01-16 00:00:002026-01-15 21:45:31The Road of Bones
Title: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry Author(s): Gabrielle Zevin Genre(s): Contemporary Format(s): Audio Pages: 260 Length: 7h 3m Narrator(s): Scott Brick Source: Library Reason(s): None Rating: Spice:
My Thoughts
What a beautifully written bittersweet story about love, loss, grief, healing, and second chances. At first, I didn’t really like A.J. Fikry. 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 hoity-toity. I loved reading his character growth.
https://jennielyse.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/blog_finallogo_white-1030x284.png00Jenni Elysehttps://jennielyse.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/blog_finallogo_white-1030x284.pngJenni Elyse2026-01-04 00:00:002026-01-02 14:12:01The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
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 all of my book club books.
Read all of my 2026 Book of the Month (BotM) picks.
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!
I also DNFd 6 books due to boredom, not being able to get into the story, or losing interest part way through. The only books I’ll trying to read again when I’m in the mood are BLACK WOODS, BLUE SKY and THE STRANGER UPSTAIRS.
Reading Stats
General Stats
Books Read: 57
Rereads: 2
Pages Read: 20,976
Hours Listened: 640h 20m
Average Rating: 4.1
Average Pages Read Per Day: 57
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
Daily Reading Tracker
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 Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong
P.S. I Hate You by Lauren Connolly
As You Wish by Cary Elwes
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
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 SIRENS OF TITAN by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
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!
https://jennielyse.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/blog_finallogo_white-1030x284.png00Jenni Elysehttps://jennielyse.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/blog_finallogo_white-1030x284.pngJenni Elyse2026-01-02 00:00:002025-12-31 14:06:04Evaluating My 2025 Goals
Title: The Road of Bones
Title: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
