What I’ve Been Reading: January 2025

Hello and happy Wednesday!

Well, as January wraps up, I’m sharing my first reading recap of 2025. I started the year off reading four books!

It was a strong start to the year reading a little bit of everything… historical fiction, memoir, fiction: romance and holiday.

{As always, book summaries are from Goodreads…}

Lilac Girls:

Summary:

Inspired by the life of a real World War II heroine, this powerful debut novel reveals an incredible story of love, redemption, and terrible secrets that were hidden for decades.

On the eve of a fateful war, New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline’s world is forever changed when Hitler’s army invades Poland in September 1939—and then sets its sights on France.

An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she sinks deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement. In a tense atmosphere of watchful eyes and suspect neighbors, one false move can have dire consequences.

For ambitious young German doctor, Herta Oberheuser, an ad for a government medical position seems her ticket out of a desolate life. But, once hired, she finds herself trapped in a male-dominated realm of Nazi secrets and power.

The lives of these three women are set on a collision course when the unthinkable happens and Kasia is sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious female-only Nazi concentration camp. The tragedy and triumph of their stories cross continents—from New York to Paris, and Germany to Poland—capturing the indomitable pull of compassion to bring justice to those whom history has forgotten.

Quick Thoughts:

This book popped up on Facebook as a book to buy, but I borrowed it from the library. This book was long with some parts that were difficult to read. There were three parts of the book, and the meaning behind the title was fitting for the girls. This is based on a true story, and I thought the author’s note was insightful and interesting.

Rating:

The Stories We Tell:

Summary:

We all have a story to tell. This happens to be mine—every chapter a window into who I am, the journey I’m on, and the season I’m in right now. But this book is an invitation to capture the full picture of your own life with renewed clarity. To see your story as greater than any past or future thing, but for all the beauty and joy it holds today. It’s an invitation to a kind of life where you know how to hold what you believe—about yourself and the quiet worlds behind the people you pass—with gracious and open hands. To slow your feet and steady your life-in-motion so you can see where you stand today from a new point of view. No longer through weary or uncertain eyes, but a lens brimming with hope.

Because this is my story, maybe you won’t always relate, or maybe it will feel like you’re looking in a mirror. Whatever we have in common and whatever differences lie between us, I only hope my story can help shine a light on the beauty of yours. That my own soul work will stir something of your own. And that by the time you get to the end of my story, you’re also holding the beautiful beginnings of your own.

A story only you can tell. And I hope that you will.

Quick Thoughts:

I still love listening to memoirs, and this one was a good one. I did feel like it was more of life lessons than stories. I just mean Joanna would share a brief story and then follow up with lots of thoughts and lessons learned or how that experience shaped her. Her life is interesting, and I just felt like I didn’t walk away from the book knowing her as much as when others write memoirs.

Rating:

The Match:

Summary:

Sometimes, love finds you when you least expect it…

Having worked for Southern Service Paws for a few years now, I like to think I’m prepared for just about any client meeting under the sun. I am dead wrong.

The day I meet with single dad, Jacob Broaden, about potentially matching his daughter with one of our service dogs, I learn a few valuable lessons.

1) Always set my alarm clock.
2) Single dads are way hotter than I previously thought.
3) It is possible to go from fantasizing about kissing someone to wishing they would be run over by a truck in a matter of two minutes.

Unfortunately, I don’t hold that opinion of him for very long. Not when he shows me a different side of himself—one that’s sweet as maple syrup and hot as apple pie fresh out of the oven. And after a few days of working closely with him and his daughter, he starts looking at me with fire in his eyes, making me dream of something I probably shouldn’t…
A family.

Quick Thoughts:

This was a nice pretty light read. The plot centering around service dogs was sweet, but obviously seizures are a more serious component to the plot. I liked that the main character met a single dad, and his daughter was a sweet part of the story.

Rating:

One Big Happy Family:

Summary:

Please don’t come home for Christmas…

Julie Parker’s kids are her greatest gift. Still, she’s not exactly heartbroken when they ask to skip a big Christmas. Her son, Nick, is taking a belated honeymoon with his bride, Blair, while her daughter, Dana, will purge every reminder of the guy who dumped her. Again. Julie feels practically giddy for one-on-one holiday time with Heath, the (much) younger man she’s secretly dating.

But her plans go from cozy to chaotic when Nick and Dana plead for Christmas at the family cabin in memory of their late father, Julie’s ex. She can’t refuse, even though she dreads their reactions to her new man when they realize she’s been hiding him for months.

As the guest list grows in surprising ways, from Blair’s estranged mom to Heath’s precocious children, Julie’s secret is one of many to be unwrapped. Over this delightfully complicated and very funny Christmas, she’ll discover that more really is merrier, and that a big, happy family can become bigger and happier, if they let go of old hurts and open their hearts to love.

Quick Thoughts:

So, I usually don’t read Christmas/holiday themed books after December, but I’d looked this one up on Goodreads, and by accident I marked it as “currently reading.” Well, I couldn’t figure out how to undo that, and I didn’t want to mess up my book count, so when the book became available, I read it. I’ve read other books by Mallery, but this one wasn’t my favorite. It was long, and I just felt like there were some details that didn’t need to be included…or repeated. For example, I don’t think I need to read about “IBS” more than once!

I did love the premise of the extended family plus friends at the family cabin for Christmas. Of course, with lots of personalities and family history, there’s bound to be lots going on!

Rating:

I’m happy to have started the year off with some solid reads.