2025 Reading Challenge discussion
2025 Personal Challenge: 101+
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Inkeri counts to 125 in 2025
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MY CHALLENGES IN 2025
I will list all of the challenges I'm doing this year here. I'm also listing challenges that are not in this group and I will provide links to those challenges' official pages. All the links in these lists underneath will take you to my personal challenge post for that challenge.
I'd also like to inform that I will 100% use one book for multiple challenges, but I will never use the same book more than once in the same challenge.
Yearly Challenges:
A-Z: Women Authors - 2025
Let's Turn Pages - 2025
Magical Mystery Tour - 2025
Bookworms Take Shelfies - 2025
Popsugar Challenge - 2025
TBR Jar - 2025
Genre Bingo - 2025
The 52 Book Club Reading Challenge 2025
Quarterly Challenges:
Book Challenge by Erin 22.0
Sad Songs
Monthly Challenges:
✔️January: Cozy Escapes
Monthly review:JANUARY
Number of books read this month:
Number of pages read this month:
Challenges completed this month: 1
____________________________________________
COZY ESCAPES
Duration: January 1 - January 31, 2025
I will take part in this challenge by reading romance books. I'll go with 4 books for now.
Progress: 4/4
Challenge completed
✔️1. Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey
✔️2. One Day in December by Josie Silver
✔️3. Melt With You by Jennifer Dugan
✔️4. Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
____________________________________________
THE BOOK CHALLENGE BY ERIN - BCBE 22.0Duration: January 1 - April 30, 2025
Progress: 8/10 Books - 140/200 Points
This reading challenge is hosted by Erin Gray on Facebook. The challenge has ten categories for you to read during a four month period twice a year. You can find the BCBE on Goodreads here. The group is not exactly active on Goodreads, but you can find the link to their facebook-page from the link provided.
Gategories
✔️
Dead Ground by M.W. Craven
✔️
Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
✔️
The Ice Princess by Camilla Läckberg
✔️
Melt With You by Jennifer Dugan
✔️
One Day in December by Josie Silver
✔️
Italian Shoes by Henning Mankell
✔️
Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
30 points: read a book with a female villain
A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers
30 points: read a book written by an author whose first name is Erin or surname is Gray
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
✔️
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
THE 52 BOOK CLUB READING CHALLENGEDuration: January 1 - December 31, 2025
My progress: 12/52
This is a super fun yearly reading challenge I found on Facebook two years ago. You can find them on Goodreads here, but keep in mind they also have a very active Facebook-group.
Categories
1) A pun in the title
✔️
3) Title starts with letter “M”
4) Title starts with letter “N”
✔️
6) Genre One: Set in Spring
7) Genre Two: Set in Summer
8) Genre Three: Set in Autumn
✔️
10) Author’s last name is also a first name
11) A prequel
12) Has a moon on the cover
13) Title is ten letters or less
✔️
15) Includes Latin American history
16) Author has won an Edgar award
17) Told in verse
18) A character who can fly
✔️
20) A fairy tale retelling
21) Character’s name in the title
22) Found family trope
23) A sprayed edge
24) Title is a spoiler
✔️
26) More than a million copies sold
27) Features a magician
✔️
29) Shares universe with prompt 28
30) In the public domain
31) Audiobook has multiple narrators
32) Includes a diary entry
33) A standalone novel
34) Direction in the title
✔️
✔️
37) Genre chosen for you by someone else
38) An adventure story
39) Has an epigraph
40) Stream of consciousness narrative
✔️
42) Non-human antagonist
43) Explores social class
44) A celebrity on the cover
45) Author releases more than one book a year
46) Read in a “-ber” month
✔️
48) Related to the word “puzzle”
49) Set in a country with an active volcano
50) Set in the 1940s
✔️
52) Published in 2025
📚 Book Review 📚📖 Book: #1 📖
Book Title: Rakel
Book Author: Satu Rämö
Series: Hildur #4
Genre: Crime, Cozy Mystery
Date started: Jan. 1
Date finished: Jan 1
ISBN: 9789510507339
Publisher: WSOY
Edition published: 2024
Original published: 2024
Format: 📗 + 🎧
Pages: 352
Audio length: 10h 48min
Audio speed: x2
Audio narrator: Sanna Majuri
Original title: -
Original language: Finnish
Language read: Finnish
Translator: -
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Review: This book is about Hildur Rúnarsdóttir who is a small-town police detective in West Iceland. She likes surfing, running and visiting a family friend in a senior home. New troubles arise when a young person emerges from a cruise ship holding their face which seems to be halfway cut out. The book is also about Rakel who is Hildurs mother. Hildur has only vague memories of her mother due to losing her parents at a young age.
This book was an easy read. The premise of the book seemed far more gruesome than it actually was. I would describe the book as bleh and uneventful. The book is called ”Rakel” but the story of Rakel is extremely bleh and disappointing.
The previous books in the series are all named after the main characters. In those the characters stories gets resolved somehow but I’m still not sure what exactly happened to Rakel. The book should have been called something else or there should have been more Rakel in it.
I still liked the book and the story, it just wasn’t what was promised by the name.
📚 Book Review 📚📖 Book: #2 📖
Book Title: Jääprinsessa
Book Author: Camilla Läckberg
Series: Fjällbacka #1
Genre: Mystery, Crime, Thriller
Date started: Jan 2
Date finished: Jan 3
ISBN: 9789511392422
Publisher: Otava
Edition published: 2021
Original published: 2003
Format: 📗 + 🎧
Pages: 439
Audio length: 15h 27min
Audio speed: x2
Audio narrator: Karoliina Kudjoi
Original title: Isprinsessan
Original language: Swedish
Language read: Finnish
Translator: Outi Menna
Rating: ⭐⭐
Review: Writer Erica Falck ends up being one of the first people on a crime scene. To her surprise she recognises the victim as her childhood best friend. She ends up being heavily involved with investigation.
This book was a huge disappointment. I usually find Nordic mysteries and crime books to be generally very good, but this one wasn’t at all. The women in the book were so beauty obsessed and constantly on a diet, it made me glad it’s not the early 2000s, when this book was written, anymore. Half of the plot seemed to be redundant as well. I think the result could have been reached with far less pages.
I wish I could’ve said with far less chapters, but the book only has six chapters even though its over 400 pages long. One of the chapters is over 200 pages! I don’t understand why the book is this way. I was so close to dnf this book, but in the end I couldn’t because I have the third book in the series on my physical bookshelf and I’m determined to read all the books on my bookshelf, which means I’m eventually going to force myself to read at least two more books in this series and I really hope they get better.
📚 Book Review 📚📖 Book: #3 📖
Book Title: Apteekkari Melchior ja Piritan kuristaja
Book Author: Indrek Hargla
Series: Apteeker Melchior #4
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Date started: Jan 4
Date finished: Jan 5
ISBN: 9789523512580
Publisher: Into Kustannus
Edition published: 2020
Original published: 2013
Format: 📗 + 🎧
Pages: 366
Audio length: 14h 38min
Audio speed: x2
Audio narrator: Petri Hanttu
Original title: Apteeker Melchior ja Pirita kägistaja
Original language: Estonian
Language read: Finnish
Translator: Jouko Vanhanen
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review: Apothecary Melchior Wakenstede is the town chemist and pharmacist in the 15th century Tallinn. He is the designated detective and solver of murders because he can hear what the dead are saying by inspecting the bodies. There’s another murderer on the loose and Melchior is asked to join as guest at the newly built Bridgettine monastery on the outskirts of Tallinn to catch the culprit. It seems this time the victim has been murdered twice. But is it even possible?
I like historical fiction, and I also like mysteries, which means this series is perfect to soothe those needs. As a Finn who has visited Tallinn many times these books feel super relatable even though they’re set a few hundred years in the past. Most of the buildings and streets mentioned in the books still exist and that makes them so much fun to read.
This book was full of secrets and lies. Melchior must navigate through nuns and monks who are sworn to silence half the time as well as pilgrims who seem to be looking for asylum under false pretenses. Melchior has a lot going on in this book and the murderer was well hidden until the end.
📚 Book Review 📚📖 Book: #4 📖
Book Title: Viimeinen muuttolintu
Book Author: Charlotte McConaghy
Series: -
Genre: Climate Fiction, Dystopia, Contemporary
Date started: Jan 5
Date finished: Jan 6
ISBN: 9789510461723
Publisher: WSOY
Edition published: 2021
Original published: 2020
Format: 📗 + 🎧
Pages: 344
Audio length: 10h 27min
Audio speed: x2
Audio narrator: Sanna Majuri
Original title: Migrations
Original language: English
Language read: Finnish
Translator: Sari Karhulahti
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review: The main character of the book is Franny Stone and she wants to see the last Arctic terns in the world and follow them on what might be their last migration to Antarctica.
This book surprised me. I had a feeling I might like it before I started to read it, but I didn’t expect to love it quite as much as I did. I also didn’t expect it to be as dystopic as it was, but that was a welcome surprise, I think. I don’t usually like dystopia as a genre, but I have read more and more books in that genre lately, so maybe I’m changing as a person.
This book was vivid and beautiful, it was scary and hopeful. It was just awesome!
📚 Book Review 📚📖 Book: #5 📖
Book Title: Dead Ground
Book Author: M.W. Craven
Series: Washington Poe #4
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Mystery
Date started: Jan 7
Date finished: Jan 9
ISBN: 9781472132000
Publisher: Constable
Edition published: 2022
Original published: 2021
Format: 📗
Pages: 440
Audio length: -
Audio speed: -
Audio narrator: -
Original title: -
Original language: English
Language read: English
Translator: -
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review: Detective Sergeant Washington Poe and his partner Tilly Bradshaw are helping to solve a murder of a guy whose murder might be linked to another unsolved murder that happened three years earlier. There’s FBI and MI5 involved as well which means there must be a lot of secrets involved. Very exciting premise indeed.
Washington Poe is the kind of person who doesn’t bow down to anyone. He knows his worth and he’s not afraid to show it. Tilly Bradshaw is his work partner with the brains. She’s the computer and tech genius who studied in Oxford in her teens. They are best friends, and they take care of each other. Tilly is perhaps my favorite book character ever. Craven has done a very good job with creating her. I absolutely love the dynamic between her and Poe.
The Washington Poe -series has been an enormous joy to read and this book doesn’t disappoint either. There’s so many plot twists and turns that make guessing the murderer a difficult task, and that makes me happy. This book is so far my favorite of the series even though I’ve given all of them 4/5 stars. I like the way Craven gives hints here and there and he keeps the reader on their toes by giving Poe new glues and ideas to explore. The chapters are nice and short as well.
📚 Book Review 📚📖 Book: #6 📖
Book Title: Hook, Line, and Sinker
Book Author: Tessa Bailey
Series: Bellinger Sisters #2
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Date started: Jan 10
Date finished: Jan 10
ISBN: 9780063045699
Publisher: Avon
Edition published: 2022
Original published: 2022
Format: 📗 + 🎧
Pages: 353
Audio length: 10h 10min
Audio speed: x2
Audio narrator: Lauren Sweet
Original title: -
Original language: English
Language read: English
Translator: -
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review: This book is about Hannah and Fox who are just friends. Hannah has a crush on her boss and Fox usually just goes from one woman to another just because he can. They share the love for music and old vinyls. They are just friends.
I liked the first book in this duology as much as this one but as friends-to-lovers being my favorite romance book trope, I liked this one slightly better. I think I related to Hannah’s “supporting role” mindset and that made me like her more than her sister Piper who was the main character in the first book. Fox was slightly annoying with being so full of himself, but I think he had that boy-next-door feeling somewhere in him after all.
The book had a nice flow and I liked the story as well. It was just enough steamy for my liking too.
📚 Book Review 📚📖 Book: #7 📖
Book Title: Ajopuujalka
Book Author: Heli Laaksonen
Series: -
Genre: Finnish literature, Poetry, Humor
Date started: Jan 11
Date finished: Jan 12
ISBN: 9789526942612
Publisher: Kirjakauppaliitto
Edition published: 2020
Original published: 2020
Format: 📗
Pages: 132
Audio length: -
Audio speed: -
Audio narrator: -
Original title: -
Original language: Finnish
Language read: Finnish
Translator: -
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Review: Heli Laaksonen is a Finnish author and poet known for her writing in her local southwest Finnish accent. This book was written specifically to be given out for free on World Book Day in 2020.
The book is about these two male truck drivers who are waiting in line for the new tunnel between Finland and Estonia to open. Sidenote: The tunnel doesn’t exist in real life and most likely never will although it has been planned for years. The truck drivers happen to meet a nice female truck driver while waiting and the trio become good friends. It’s a weird funny book with a quirky dystopian feel to it.
📚 Book Review 📚📖 Book: #8 📖
Book Title: Brooklyn
Book Author: Colm Tóibín
Series: Eilis Lacey #1
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Date started: Jan 13
Date finished: Jan 13
ISBN: 9789520465858
Publisher: Tammi
Edition published: 2013
Original published: 2009
Format: 📗 + 🎧
Pages: 313
Audio length: 9h 10min
Audio speed: x2
Audio narrator: Anna Paavilainen
Original title: Brooklyn
Original language: English
Language read: Finnish
Translator: Kaijamari Sivill
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Review: This book was nice and pleasant. I liked all the characters a lot and the overall feel of the book although it was a little flat. It was a lighthearted read and I enjoyed reading it.
It was quick and easy to read but at the end the book wasn’t as deep and raw as it could have been. The characters were likeable, but they were a little flat. There could have been so much more story to tell of almost all of the characters. I for one, would really like to know why the nice Italian boyfriend didn’t look like any of his siblings. Also Eilis’s struggles as an immigrant were pretty much nonexistent.
📚 Book Review 📚📖 Book: #9 📖
Book Title: Melt With You
Book Author: Jennifer Dugan
Series: -
Genre: Young adult, Romance, Queer
Date started: Jan 14
Date finished: Jan 15
ISBN: 9780593112564
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Edition published: 2022
Original published: 2022
Format: 📗 + 🎧
Pages: 307
Audio length: 8h 46min
Audio speed: x2
Audio narrator: Jeremy Carlisle Parker
Original title: -
Original language: English
Language read: English
Translator: -
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Review: I don’t really read YA books anymore and this kind of books are the reason why. I’m not their demographic and that’s totally fine. This book wasn’t bad or horrible at all. I sort of enjoyed reading it but it felt a little like a waste of time. If it had been any longer, I probably would not have finished it.
I liked the narrator breaking the fourth wall every now and then. It made the book more interesting and worthwhile.
📚 Book Review 📚📖 Book: #10 📖
Book Title: Mrs. Dalloway
Book Author: Virginia Woolf
Series: -
Genre: Fiction, Classics
Date started: Jan 16
Date finished: Jan 16
ISBN: 9789511259381
Publisher: Otava
Edition published: 2011
Original published: 1925
Format: 📗 + 🎧
Pages: 277
Audio length: 8h 18min
Audio speed: x2
Audio narrator: Eija Ahvo
Original title: Mrs. Dalloway
Original language: English
Language read: Finnish
Translator: Kyllikki Hämäläinen
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review: Someone described reading this book so well in their own review that I now have no other choice but to quote them.
Experiencing Mrs. Dalloway is like being a piece of luggage on an airport conveyor belt, traversing lazily through a crowd of passengers, over and around and back again, but with the added bonus of being able to read people’s thoughts as they pass; this one checking his flight schedule, that one arguing with his wife, the one over there struggling with her cart, bumping into those arguing and checking. For the most part, the ride is smooth as Woolf transitions from one consciousness to another. But at times, I find myself falling off the conveyor belt. Whether this is a result of my own inabilities or whether Woolf’s dreamy style leads me naturally astray into my own wanderings, I do not know. But I do know that the effort to get back onto her belt are handsomely rewarded.
Reading Mrs. Dalloway felt a little like being on a rollercoaster; so many things were happening almost at the same time and then it was over and it left me wondering “what just happened and can I experience that again”. What an exhilarating book and an amazing experience. I wouldn’t recommend if you’re looking for something with a plot.
📚 Book Review 📚📖 Book: #11 📖
Book Title: Icebreaker
Book Author: Hannah Grace
Series: Maple Hills #1
Genre: Romance, Sports, Adult fiction
Date started: Jan 17
Date finished: Jan 18
ISBN: 9781398525689
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Edition published: 2023
Original published: 2022
Format: 📗 + 🎧
Pages: 433
Audio length: 13h 23min
Audio speed: x2
Audio narrator: Elizabeth Louise, Tim Paige
Original title: -
Original language: English
Language read: English
Translator: -
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review: I was perhaps 93% sure I wouldn’t like this book. It had been too hyped on my social media platforms which had made me put the book aside for a while. I almost didn’t read it all because of the amount of people recommending it.
You would think a recommendation is a good thing. Not in my brain. The more I see the book being hyped the less I want to read it. I’ve had the experience too may times, where I’ve read a highly recommended book and it ended up being something I absolutely didn’t like.
This book was just perfect for zoning out from the real world and I had a great time reading it.
I hope you're enjoying a lot of terrific books this year, Inkeri. Your artwork is a treat every time I open the group pages. 🤗
Hi Inkeri! Hope all is okay and you're making good progress on your goal. I hope you are enjoying your 2025 reads so far this year! Happy reading!
2025 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Apteekkari Melchior ja Piritan kuristaja (other topics)Dead Ground (other topics)
Jääprinsessa (other topics)
Viimeinen muuttolintu (other topics)
Icebreaker (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Jennifer Dugan (other topics)Josie Silver (other topics)
Hannah Grace (other topics)
Tessa Bailey (other topics)
Henning Mankell (other topics)
More...
I've also signed up for so many challenges which should be a lot of fun.