Posted on by hrchow12

Top Ten Books of 2025

So this year, I DNF’d early and often, and I don’t know if I’ve ever had a better reading year. If a book wasn’t absolutely HOOKING me by the 20%, I left it behind. I’m sure I probably missed some 4-stars books, but my percentage of 5-star reads was so much higher. There were some books I stayed up late reading, and this was the first year in many I’ve done that. It was so hard to come up with a Top Ten, but I tried my best. Ordering them 1-10 is a step too far, but the first five went onto my “all-time favs” Goodreads shelf, which has a grand total of 29 books, so yeah, like I said… it was a good reading year. Without further ado:

1. Best Fiction that resonated in my bones

Fredrik Backman officially takes a place as one of my favorite authors, handling heavy topics with humor and packed with so much truth, you can feel the words vibrate through you. Literally recommend this one to everyone.

2. Favorite Cozy Mystery

Cozy, heartfelt, and unique. A book that melts you and puts you back together again, bringing a hint of mystery and all the warm fuzzies. Also recommended to everyone, and I will absolutely be on the lookout for Shelby Van Pelt’s next book.

3. Most Addictive Thriller Series

Possibly the best surprise of 2025 for me. I picked them up because it was available on Libby when I needed an audiobook in the middle of a roadtrip, and then I could NOT put it back down. Dexter + Count of Monte Cristo + A splash of spicy romance. If that sounds like your thing, this cathartic breakneck series is for you.

4. Most Addictive Paranormal Series

Ilona Andrews’ The Innkeeper Chronicles is one of my favorite series of all time, so I’m so glad I checked into her other paranormal series, The Hidden Legacy. This one had me staying up late to read, and I absolutely adored it. If you’re looking for fast-paced action, fun banter, loveable characters, an X-men vibe, and a little spicy romance, this one’s for you.

5. Best Cozy Paranormal

The found family in this one, soft magic, emotional growth, and slowburn romance was absolutely pitch perfect. It felt like a nice hot bath of a novel with a few fun twists, and I’d recommend this one to anyone looking for a cozy read they can sink into.

6. Best Nonfiction

So John Green was one of my favorite authors as a teenager, so I guess it should surprise me not at all that I love his nonfiction as an adult. I’m extremely picky about nonfiction, but I first read Everything is Tuberculosis which I enjoyed, and then was doubly surprised to enjoy this one even more. The voice, honesty, emotion, and humor just hit on every poignant level, and even my 9-year-old enjoyed listening in on our way to basketball practice. At one point, my eyes got all glassy and let me tell you, that is *not* an easy thing to do. I literally cannot remember the last time I actually spilled a tear for a book, and this one brought me close. So yeah, this is another one I would recommend to everyone.

7. Best Middle Grade

Excellent middle-grade is criminally underrated, I read some quite a few incredible ones this year, and discovered that Gary D. Schmidt is friggin’ brilliant. The subtlety he brings to the hardest subjects to both destroy and put you back together is just incredible. I would *love* to talk about this one with my middle-grade book-dragon club, and I definitely recommend it to everyone.

8. Best YA Fantasy

This genre is near and dear to my heart, and I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve gotten my hands on one I could really sink my teeth into, but this was such a fabulous surprise. The world building was absolutely on point, I was intrigued throughout, and I’m very much looking forward to diving into the sequel. Recommended for anyone looking for a YA Fantasy with complex characters and a unique world.

9. Best holiday romance

Holiday romances usually aren’t my thing, so this was a great surprise (courtesy of book club.) The premise was fantastic and executed brilliantly, with lovable characters, and great banter. Like honestly, bring me the movie already. (And the sequel!)

10. Best Fantasy Romance

This was another book-club-responsible find, though not the pick of the month, which was a crying shame because this was a delightfully strange reimagination of You’ve Got Mail. Unique magical world, quirky characters, excellent banter, and simmering romance – I’d definitely recommend this to people looking for something a little off the beaten path with equal parts quirky fantasy and romance.

And that’s a wrap on 2025!

And that’s a wrap on my reading year! I’ve got 13 reviews from 2025 reads that’ll be posting in January to catch up, but if you ever have any specific reader-y, or writer-y topics you’d like me to jump into, just let me know!

Wishing you guys so many good reads in 2026!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Dungeon Crawler Carl Books 1-6

Well, since this series has pretty much been the highlight of my year, I’ve gathered all the reviews of books so far. Please know, I almost never get into series, especially one this long, AND I bought an audible subscription literally just for these audiobooks. So this is a pretty big deal for me. I’ve also gotten my dad, husband, and BFF into this series, and now my husband and I are (im)patiently waiting for book 7 to come out. (Ebook in November and Audiobook in January.) Seriously, it speaks volumes that I even know that. However, let’s just state up front that if you have pearls to clutch, this series isn’t for you. But enough chitty chatty. Without further ado, the actual reviews:

Dungeon Crawler Carl (#1): 5⭐

Okay Carl & Donut. You got me. This was incredibly entertaining.

What did I like:
Everything.

Recommended for anyone looking for a hilarious, action-packed time. This was my first LitRPG, and though I’m not a huge gamer anymore, I did play a few MMOs in my time, and I do have a general knowledge of dungeons, stats, buffs, etc. If you don’t I’m not exactly sure what your experience will be, but I didn’t think it was critical to appreciating the plot, characters, and banter.

And the fact that the audiobook is narrated by Jeff Hays (a Patrick-Warburton-sound-alike, read: Krunk) – perfection. I mean I basically feel like this is Krunk went on the Hunger Games with his diva pet cat. I got this audiobook from the library, but they didn’t have the sequels, so I literally got an audible subscription for the rest of the series.

This was an instant cure for my reading slump this year, and I already recommended to my Dad, my husband, and my coworker. So yeah. Definitely give this one a look and you can thank me later.

(Note: *Not* recommended if you have sensitivities to swearing, gore, or dark humor.)

Carl’s Doomsday Scenario (#2): 5⭐

Fantastic sequel that lives up to the first book in every way. I could not buy book 3 fast enough.

The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook (#3): 4.5⭐

This one felt just a little on the long side, with one too many technical battles. But I still really enjoyed the character growth, and some plot developments that really surprised me. Totally enjoyed and absolutely in for book 4! 

The Gate of the Feral Gods (#4): 4.5⭐

Another fantastic entry in the Dungeon Crawler series. I did feel like this one (similar to book 3) was a little longer than necessary with lots of intricate detail on smaller skirmishes and quests. But as always, I really enjoyed the plot and character development in this book, and I’m excited to read book 5. I honestly can’t remember the last time a series held my attention through book 5, and I’m super impressed with all the threads of this plot line. I’ve recommended this series to like 4 of my friends, and I’m super curious to see if the momentum can hold through 3+ more books!

The Butcher’s Masquerade (#5): 3.5⭐

This one dragged a bit for me. While it still employed a lot of the shenanigans that made the first four books great, here they started to feel repetitive, and I felt like this one lacked the twists and the character growth that really kept me turning pages earlier in the series. And, at 726 pages… it feels incredibly long. There was a lot of “this is the plan” and “but this is how the plan went,” and I didn’t feel as invested in the sideplots.

Which is all to say, I think I’ll be taking a break from Dungeon Crawler for a little while. Maybe I’ll pick up book 6 down the line, but for now, I think I need something different.

(note: the break only turned out to be about 3 audiobooks long before I couldn’t resist diving back in)

The Eye of the Bedlam Bride (#6): 5⭐

Dayuummm. Not going to lie, in book 6, I was worried I was getting tired of this series, but this one totally amped up the stakes. The new battle play was interesting, and the tension and pacing were tight through the end. My husband and I are both counting down the days until book 7!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Oh my. Are those… 5 glowing stars?!!? Why yes they are. Seriously cannot say enough good things.

Also, Google search, if this picture shows up as my author photo, we’re going to have words.

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

How to get started with Audiobooks

So, I’ve been hooked on audiobooks for years now, and I recently got a question from reader trying to get into them, so I figured I’d drop some tips.

I was first inspired to read audiobooks by Stephen King’s book, On Writing. With two elementary-school kids, a full-time job, and trying to write my own books, finding time to sit down and read was challenging.

But audiobooks opened up a whole new world of multitasking. Not to mention I was completely blown away by how much a narrator could bring the story to life, adding a completely new dimension. (And, as a bonus, I know how to pronounce all of the characters’ names right. 😂) Now, years later, I read 50-70 books a year, and about 95% of them are audiobooks.

So here’s a little guide to getting started in this format!

Where to find audiobooks (for free)

When most people think of audiobooks, they go straight to Audible. But… at $8 or $15 per month (as of this writing), Audible’s kind of expensive. While I recently got a subscription for a specific book series, I don’t have any intention of maintaining it. But, if you don’t have an Audible subscription, individual audiobooks can run you $20 a pop (eek!) Thankfully, there’s a better way!

Most local library’s now allow you access their audiobook collections with your library card number & the free app, Libby. This is where nearly all of my audiobooks come from.

If you’re a NetGalley reviewer (or would like to sign up to be one), you can also grab free audiobooks from their site in exchange for an honest review. Their audiobook selection pales in comparison to their ebook listings, but I’ve snagged a few listens.

Also, there are a few sites where you can grab free audible promo codes posts by narrators and authors. I have used a few of these as an author, but not really as a reader. Some of them also require that you leave a review in exchange for the code.
AudioFreebies.com
FreeAudiobookCodes.com
AudiobooksUnleashed.com

The last reliable audiobook source I can think of is Spotify. A Spotify Premium subscription gets you access to their library of audiobooks, but as Spotify is also expensive ($11.99 a month) and I can’t speak to the size of their collection, I’d only recommend this if you already have a subscription.

Bottom Line: Your best bet is to get a library card from your local library, download Libby on your phone, and BOOM. So many free audiobooks at your fingertips.

A note on the listening skills & listening Speed

When I first started listening to audiobooks, it was legit hard for me. I consider myself a visual learner and honestly I would rather read a transcript than watch a video. But, as someone who was looking down the barrel of a 24-hour out-and-back roadtrip, I was desperate.

So I persisted, and lo and behold, my listening skills improved. And when I got better at absorbing information through listening, it actually helped my professional life too. (Think meetings and telecons.)

But, if you’re a podcast listener, good news, you’re already there, and it’s only a small jump to the world of audiobooks!

One thing that did *DRASTICALLY* improve my audiobook listening experience was figuring out I could adjust the narration speed. I quickly learned that one of the reasons I was having trouble concentrating was the narration speed was just too slow for me. When I upped it up to 1.5x, it felt much more natural and kept my attention. And, after many years of my listening skills improving, I now comfortably read audibooks at 2.5-3x (depending on the narrator.)

Basically what I’m saying is, be sure to adjust the listening speed until it’s comfortable for you! (You can even make it slower – everyone is different!)

Bottom Line: Be sure to adjust the narration to a comfortable speed, and give your listening skills 1 or 2 books to get warmed up before you give up on the audio format.

When do I listen to audiobooks?

Basically anytime I can pop my earbuds in or when I don’t have anyone else competing for my listening-attention. In order of time spent listening:

  • Driving to & from work
  • Traveling (roadtrips or flying)
  • Watching my kids’ sports practices (they love when I watch them, but don’t mind if my earbuds are in.)
  • Chores! Mowing the lawn, doing the laundry, cleaning/tidying the house, doing the dishes… etc.
  • Exercising (especially running & lifting weights)
  • Walking the dog (Tula loves when I’m listening to a good book, because then we go on lots of walks 😂)
  • Waiting in line anywhere (seriously, as long as I have my earbuds, I’m happy)
  • Grocery shopping (or really any kind of shopping.)

Bottom Line: I’m so hooked on listening to audiobooks during my commute I actually start to get antsy when I don’t have one downloaded.

But what audiobook do i start with?!

Okay, well now that’s a seriously hard question. My advice is start with your favorite genre, and pick one you’ve been dying to read or that sounds absolutely amazing. If you’re still fresh out of ideas, here’s a few recommendations to get you started. And if I missed your favorite genre, let me know in the comments, and I’ll see if I have a recommendation to add in. Or you can check out my book reviews links here (which I try to update annually) to peruse one that sounds good. Good luck with you audiobook journey, and I sincerely hope you love them as much as I do!

Middle-Grade Fantasy: A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking

YA Fantasy: Where the Dark Stands Still
YA Sci-fi: Illuminae
YA Romance: Today, Tonight, Tomorrow

Fantasy: Swordheart
Sci-fi: Dark Matter or Recursion
LitRPG: Dungeon Crawler Carl

Contemporary Fiction: Anxious People
Romance: Book Lovers
Romcom: The Soulmate Equation or Life’s Too Short
Mystery/Romance: A Bad Day for Sunshine

Historical Fiction: Small Mercies
Nonfiction: Outliers: The Story of Success or The Devil in the White City

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Mr. Rook

So, this was an interesting book. I was totally intrigued by the premise. MC goes to secret fantasy island to search for her missing sister and is drawn in by the handsome and off-limits owner of the island. Throw in a little paranormal mystery, and get me some popcorn, because I was Ready for this one.

While I thought the audiobook narration was very good, and the plot definitely kept me guessing right up the end, I have to say, I was a little thrown off by the main characters. Overall, even though I got that they are super lusty and attracted to one another, I didn’t really feel a connection between them otherwise. The MC oscillates between “I must find my sister but Rook is so hot but he’s such an asshole” pretty repetitively, and I feel like I didn’t really see a whole lot of growth in their relationship throughout. I was totally ready for an enemies to lovers plot, or even just enemies with a connection and benefits kind of thing… but really they just seemed kind of angry with each other most of the time, and I found myself not really enjoying their interactions. Maybe there’s more character growth in the sequels, or it could just be a personal preference, but I didn’t particularly like either of the MCs.

However, the plot still definitely kept my attention and the writing was smooth. There were a lot of questions being raised and answered that I did not see coming, and I thought the paranormal tension was a refreshing addition that I wasn’t really expecting. This is a short snappy book, and I would recommend this to readers looking for a “enemies with sexual tension with a side of paranormal. Also, just a head’s up, there’s a lot of language, so if angry F-bombs make you cringe, this one’s not for you. (3.5/5 stars)

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ½

Thumb’s side for this one.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this free ARC in exchange for an honest review! And thanks so much for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Out, Mouse!

Out, Mouse! by Valerie L. Edgar is a super cute story of a man writing letters to the mice in his cottage with suggestions of other places they might live. I listened to this audiobook with my five-year-old and really enjoyed this light, humorous story. I really liked the narrator’s dialogue delivery, although the prose seemed a touch choppy. At 32 minutes long, it was about the right length for my five-year-old’s attention span and he seemed to easily follow the plot, laughing as the mice kept rejecting Finn’s suggestions. It definitely made me smile as well!

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

My five-year-old’s review is as follows: I enjoyed it some (as averse to: I didn’t like it or I enjoyed it a whole lot), it was funny, almost like a movie. I asked him if there was anything he didn’t like, and he said no. I would totally recommend this to any kids from the ages of 4-7. Thanks so much to IBPA and NetGalley for for the free ARC listen!

Slightly smiling face
Five-year-old rating

Thanks for reading!