Book 64 of 2025 🎧 Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera (4/5⭐️)
📚GENRE: Thriller
🗓PUBLISHED: 5 March 2024
After Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy’s blood, everyone thinks she is a murderer. Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls of their small Texas town: pretty, smart, and enviable. Lucy married a dream guy with a big ring and an even bigger new home. Savvy was the social butterfly loved by all, and if you believe the rumors, especially popular with the men in town. It’s been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy can’t remember anything about, and she has since moved to LA and started a new life.
But now the phenomenally huge hit true crime podcast "Listen for the Lie," and its too-good looking host Ben Owens, have decided to investigate Savvy’s murder for the show’s second season. Lucy is forced to return to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend’s murder, even if she is the one that did it.
The truth is out there, if we just listen.
I listened to the audio version of this and it hooked me from the very beginning. I liked the structure of the writing and how it included the transcripts of the podcast episodes. The audio version made the podcast bits very obvious which I liked. I was constantly wondering whodunnit up until the reveal at the very end!
Book 65 of 2025 📖 Stay Away From Him by Andrew DeYoung (3/5⭐️)
📚GENRE: Thriller
🗓PUBLISHED: 8 July 2025
Relocating with her 5-year-old son to a new city after an ugly divorce, Melissa Burke isn't looking for a new relationship right away―only distance from her ex, and space to rest and heal from the emotional scars of a broken marriage. But an unexpected relationship is exactly what she finds at a friend's dinner party when she meets Thomas Danver, a charming widower who asks for her number at the end of the night. Intrigued, Melissa learns from her neighbors that Thomas is a dedicated father of two girls, one of the most respected pediatricians in the city―and an exonerated murderer.
I received an ARC of this book that came out this month, which is why I waited until this month to read it! I was engaged enough while reading, but not captivated. The characters were intriguing, but I can’t say I particularly liked any of them, which isn’t to say they’re unlikeable, they just didn’t capture my interest. I liked the transcripts of the (not)therapy sessions throughout. I will say, the ‘bad guy’ kind of shocked me, as they were pretty much the only person I didn’t suspect, though maybe that was reason enough to suspect them!
Book 66 of 2025 📖 Things We Left Behind (Knockemout #3) by Lucy Score (4/5⭐️)
📚GENRE: Contemporary Fiction
🗓PUBLISHED:
Lucian Rollins is a lean, mean vengeance-seeking mogul. On a quest to erase his abusive father's mark on the family name, he spends every waking minute pulling strings and building his empire. The more money and power he gains, the safer he feels.
Except when it comes to one feisty small-town librarian…
Bonded by an old, dark secret from the past and their current mutual disdain, Sloane Walton trusts Lucian about as far as she can throw his designer-suited body.
When bickering accidentally turns to foreplay, the flames are fanned, and it's impossible to put them out again. But with Sloane more than ready to start a family and Lucian refusing to even consider the idea of marriage and kids, these enemies-to-lovers are stuck at an impasse.
Until Lucian learns the hard way that leaving Sloane is impossible―the very least he can do is to keep her safe.
I am so sad to be done with these characters. It took me awhile to get through this one, but I think it was moreso because I was busy and wasn’t prioritizing time to read. I was about halfway through when I finally decided I was finishing the book and stayed up until 2:30A to do so. It was definitely long er than it needed to be, but as noted, I love these characters, so extra time with them wasn’t a problem. I cried AT LEAST 8 times in the second half of the book. Happy tears, sad tears, all the tears!!
Book 67 of 2025 📖 Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K-12: 14 Teaching Practice for Enhancing Learning by Peter Liljedahl (3.5/5⭐️)
📚GENRE: Non-Fiction/Education
🗓PUBLISHED: 30 October 2020
Teachers often find it difficult to implement lessons that help students go beyond rote memorization and repetitive calculations. In fact, institutional norms and habits that permeate all classrooms can actually be enabling "non-thinking" student behavior. Sparked by observing teachers struggle to implement rich mathematics tasks to engage students in deep thinking, Peter Liljedahl has translated his 15 years of research into this practical guide on how to move toward a thinking classroom. Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K–12 helps teachers implement 14 optimal practices for thinking that create an ideal setting for deep mathematics learning to occur. This guide
- Provides the what, why, and how of each practice and answers teachers’ most frequently asked questions
- Includes firsthand accounts of how these practices foster thinking through teacher and student interviews and student work samples
- Offers a plethora of macro moves, micro moves, and rich tasks to get started
- Organizes the 14 practices into four toolkits that can be implemented in order and built on throughout the year
When combined, these unique research-based practices create the optimal conditions for learner-centered, student-owned deep mathematical thinking and learning, and have the power to transform mathematics classrooms like never before.
This book popped up in a Middle School Math Facebook group I joined a few times so I thought I’d give it a read. I found the content to be interesting, and definitely think there are some things that could be implemented into my classroom, but I’m not sure I believe in the practice as a whole. It was pretty condensed which was nice - not too wordy. I also liked that there was a task to try at the end of each chapter.
Book 68 of 2025 📖 Ghosts of Galveston by Kathleen Shanahan Maca (3/5⭐️)
📚GENRE: Horror/History
🗓PUBLISHED: 20 October 2018
One of the oldest cities in Texas, Galveston has witnessed more than its share of tragedies. Devastating hurricanes, yellow fever epidemics, fires, a major Civil War battle and more cast a dark shroud on the city's legacy. Ghostly tales creep throughout the history of famous tourist attractions and historical homes. The altruistic spirit of a schoolteacher who heroically pulled victims from the floodwaters during the great hurricane of 1900 roams the Strand. The ghosts of Civil War soldiers march up and down the stairs at night and pace in front of the antebellum Rogers Building. The spirit of an unlucky man decapitated by an oncoming train haunts the railroad museum, moving objects and crying in the night. Kathleen Shanahan Maca explores these and other haunted tales from the Oleander City.
I bought this book when I was in Galveston last summer, but hadn’t gotten around to reading it. I figured I’d bring it along to read while I was in Galveston this summer! The stories were pretty short, and while I don’t need a big long chapter about each story, a little more detail would have been nice. Also this felt like it was a history book more than a ghost story book - but I did like all the history incorporated. The one thing that bothered me most was the author would talk about a photograph, but didn’t include the photograph in the book. It happened too many times and drove me nuts!
Book 69 of 2025 📖 Summer Sisters by Judy Blume (5/5⭐️)
📚GENRE: Contemporary Fiction
🗓PUBLISHED: 1998
In the summer of 1977, Victoria Leonard’s world changes forever when Caitlin Somers chooses her as a friend. Dazzling, reckless Caitlin welcomes Vix into the heart of her sprawling, eccentric family, opening doors to a world of unimaginable privilege, sweeping her away to vacations on Martha’s Vineyard, an enchanting place where the two friends become “summer sisters.”
Now, years later, Vix is working in New York City. Caitlin is getting married on the Vineyard. And the early magic of their long, complicated friendship has faded. But Caitlin begs Vix to come to her wedding, to be her maid of honor. And Vix knows that she will go—because she wants to understand what happened during that last shattering summer. And, after all these years, she needs to know why her best friend—her summer sister—still has the power to break her heart.
I randomly stumbled across this book - I think at Goodwill. I didn’t know there was a book by Judy Blume I hadn’t read, so of course I had to buy it!
It was one I was putting off reading, just because I didn’t know much about it. Since it was a summer themed book, I told myself I needed to read it this summer - I’m so glad I did!
The perspective switch between present and past really brought this story to life. The character relationships were unique and interesting in a way only Judy Blume writes. Highly recommend this one! Its sweet and heartbreaking and so worth the read.
Book 70 of 2025 📖 Snowblind (Dark Iceland #1) by Ragnar Jónasson (3.5/5⭐️)
Where: An isolated fishing village in the fjords of northern Iceland, where no one locks their doors.
Who: Ari Thór is a rookie policeman on his first posting, far from his girlfriend in Reykjavík.
What: A young woman is found lying half naked in the snow, bleeding and unconscious, and a highly esteemed elderly writer falls to his death. Ari is dragged straight into the heart of a community where he can trust no one, and secrets and lies are a way of life.
This book was a pretty easy ready, despite all the character perspectives it jumps into at times. I chose it because I wanted to read a book set in Iceland while I was in Iceland. It honestly didn’t really have any impact on my life experience as the town the book is set in is not a town I visited, and other than that town, there wasn’t a lot of Icelandic descriptions. I have the rest of the books in the series, and now that my Iceland trip is over, they won't be a priority to read.
Book 71 of 2025 🎧 Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman (3.5/5⭐️)
To eight-year-old Bela, her family is her world. There’s Mommy, Daddo, and Grandma Ruth. But there is also Other Mommy, a malevolent entity who asks her every day: “Can I go inside your heart?”
When horrifying incidents around the house signal that Other Mommy is growing tired of asking Bela the question over and over, Bela understands that unless she says yes, her family will soon pay.
Other Mommy is getting restless, stronger, bolder. Only the bonds of family can keep Bela safe, but other incidents show cracks in her parents’ marriage. The safety Bela relies on is about to unravel.
But Other Mommy needs an answer.
As much as I love ghost stories, creepy stories, etc., I really do not read a lot of horror - though I'm pretty sure this one would be classified as such. I listened to it on audio, and though the performer's voice for the little girl was wildly irritating at first, it became less annoying as the story went on. I managed to listen to the whole book in a couple of days, which is saying something! I'd recommend reading it rather than listening, however!
Book 72 of 2025 🎧 Scarred by Sarah Edmondson (4/5⭐️)
"'Master, would you brand me? It would be an honor.' From the second I climb onto the table, acutely aware that I am lying in the sweat of my sisters, I will have blocked that out. Lying there completely naked, I am at my most vulnerable but determined to prove my strength. I try to keep my legs closed as my body wills itself to protect my most private area. . . . I tell myself: I am a warrior. I birthed a human. I can handle pain. But nothing could have ever prepared me for the feel of this fire on my skin."
Scarred is Sarah Edmondson's compelling memoir of her recruitment into the NXIVM cult, the 12 years she spent within the organization (during which she enrolled over 2,000 members and entered DOS—NXIVM's "secret sisterhood"), her breaking point, and her harrowing fight to get out, to expose Keith Raniere and the leadership, to help others, and to heal. Complete with personal photographs, Scarred is also an eye-opening story about abuses of power, female trust and friendship, and how sometimes the search to be "better" can override everything else.
I've read quite a few cult-y books, but none have been quite like this. Its fascinating - and terrifying - that so many of these groups can exist! Reading this, the author would share what was happening on certain dates, and it would have me thinking about what I was doing on that date. I just think, "wow, this craziness is out there happening and I'm just going about my day doing 'normal' things." Its just wild and hard for me to grasp. How does this happen? How do people fall for these things? I mean I guess I know, but still. Whew.
Book 73 of 2025 - Nightblind (Dark Iceland #2) by Ragnar Jonasson (3.5/5⭐️)
Ari Thor Arason is a local policeman who has an uneasy relationship with the villagers in an idyllically quiet fishing village in Northern Iceland―where no one locks their doors.
The peace of this close-knit community is shattered by a murder. One of Ari’s colleagues is gunned down at point-blank range in the dead of night in a deserted house. With a killer on the loose and the dark Arctic waters closing in, it falls to Ari Thor to piece together a puzzle that involves a new mayor and a psychiatric ward in Reykjavik. It becomes all too clear that tragic events from the past are weaving a sinister spell that may threaten them all.
I found this book to be more suspenseful than the first! The main character Ari was more likeable in this one as well. Like the first, this story offered varied perspectives from different parts of the story's timeline. I assumed this would have a happy ending since there were more books in the story, but wasn't certain! This one felt more mystery-y (makes sense, right?) that the first book as well.
Book 74 of 2025 🎧 Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano (4/5⭐️)
Finlay Donovan is killing it . . . except, she’s really not. She’s a stressed-out single-mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay’s life is in chaos: the new book she promised her literary agent isn’t written, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her, and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors.
When Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel with her agent over lunch, she’s mistaken for a contract killer, and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband in order to make ends meet . . . Soon, Finlay discovers that crime in real life is a lot more difficult than its fictional counterpart, as she becomes tangled in a real-life murder investigation.
I ran out of audiobooks to listen to on Libby. Like I had a handful in my holds, but otherwise every other book on my TBR list is either a book I have a physical copy of that I want to read or one that is not (yet) available from the libraries I have attached in my Libby account. I tried a handful of different books that weren't on my TBR, only to DNF them not very far in. When I was in Tennessee this summer, my friend recommended this series to me. I'd heard of it before, and had thought about looking into it, but never did. I'm glad Caitlin recommended these because I enjoyed this one so much I placed a hold for the rest of the series as soon as I finished it!
This book reminded me of the Stephanie Plum series, except with a little less humor (though it is still humorous!) and a little more plot line.
FREE on Kindle Unlimited!
Book 75 of 2025 🎧 My Friends by Fredrik Backman (3.5/5⭐️)
Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.
Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.
Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art.
My favorite Backman novel will always be Bear Town, but I enjoy his other work too! I had to re-start this one twice because of the changing point of view - I just wasn't engaged enough to keep up with it. He has lovely writing, but I am learning that the audio version doesn't capture my interest like I feel it probably should. I need to remember to read physical or digital copies moving forward.
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(Summaries are from Amazon, but all thoughts about them are my own!)
Reading Challenge: 74/120 books read in 2025
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