GenesisDiem's Book Log for 2025

Goals for 2025:

1. Read at least 52 books
2. Read more than romance (mystery and nonfic, hopefully)
3. Continue Amazon reading streak.
4. Join or start a book club.
5. Get all physical books moved, unpacked, and possibly organised. Then try to sort ebooks.

These seem like easy goals to reach, but the last one may take awhile.

Here's to happy reading, everyone!!

>1 genesisdiem: Cheers, genesisdiem; Happy Reading to you, too! ☺️

Thank you genesisdiem! Cheers 🥂 and best of luck with #5.

>2 Sergeirocks: >3 threadnsong: Thank you!

Fiction 1
Contemporary Romance
Beauty and the Brooding CEO, 2024, Juliette Hyland

Girl is an art conservator who agrees to take an inventory job for a reclusive billionaire in order to find a lost painting possibly hidden in the collection. She finds it (very anticlimactic), they both encourage each others' art, they fall in love, they realize the real world gets in the way, they work it out.

This story was just missing something. It was written ok and the plot flowed but the storyline was just meh. I will read anything Beauty and Beast themed but this one just fell flat.

Fiction 2
Romantic Intrigue
K-9 Patrol, Julie Miller, 2021

Girl is a CSI and Guy is her childhood friend who is now a K9 cop. She gets attacked at a scene and he moves in to act as her bodyguard. They fall for each other whilst trying to solve the crime. Everything is wrapped up in the end.

Well written and the plot flowed but there was a lot of filler. Either write a romance with some mystery or write a mystery with some romance. This book did neither. I will read more by this author but probably not the rest of this series.

Just a quick update on moving: there are 45 boxes of books. 🫣 And it makes up a significant amount of our allotted weight limit...

>7 genesisdiem:

>8 Carol420: no kidding! I feel like I am drowning in books and the hardest part will be figuring out where they all go in the new house.

>9 genesisdiem: If you leave out the furniture, there will be LOTS of room. Sitting, eating and sleeping is WAY over-rated anyway:)

>10 Carol420: 😆

So, how's the move going? How have your books adjusted to the new space?

>11 genesisdiem: Threadnsong is right...those books have to be happy in their new space.

>12 threadnsong:, >13 Carol420: We now have all of our things in one location, but very few boxes unpacked. I haven't even found the toaster yet much less assembled any of the bookshelves. :) The layout here is very different so we're going to have to decide where the shelves fit in. There may only be one in the living room instead of 8 now, so the quest will be to find the most interesting ones in the collection to put on display. Maybe by March everything will be set up...

Fiction 3 (gosh, moving has put me way behind. Also a whole lot of dnf)
Romantic Intrigue
Best Kept Secrets, 2001, Dani Sinclair

Girl and guy previously had a fling (and a kid) and meet back in their hometown years later by accident. Guy finds out he's a father, is raising a troubled nephew, and finds two bodies in an old root cellar of his new restaurant. Girl is being targeted by a killer while trying to figure out how she feels about guy. The whole story comes out in the end and they live HEA.

I feel like there must have been at least one, if not more, books before this one to fill in some empty pieces about this book. It was like only getting part of a story. Also, I know the history was there but the romance seemed rushed. Overall, I just felt like the good plotline could have used a reworking in how it was told. This author's kind of hit or miss but worth trying another book for.

Fiction 4
Sports Romance
Absolutely Not in Love, 2023, Jenny Proctor

Girl (celloist) and guy (hockey player) are neighbors and both have issues of not living up to their family's expectations. They also have a lot in common (books, music, hockey). They take a friendship to the next level slowly as they work things out.

This book was really slow and boring. It was cute at times but overall just meh. Probably won't read the rest of the series.

Fiction 5
general romance
A Wedding in Truhart, Cynthia Tennent, 2015

Girl is planning her little sister's high society wedding and reconnects with an old childhood friend who's the best man. Disaster happens and the wedding is moved from the country club to a small town, and then again to an outdoor barn. The big sister sorts out things with the little sister, the wedding, her mom and the inn, and her relationship with the best man.

I didn't like that the story just sort of ended and wasn't neatly wrapped up. It needed an epilogue. Also the story dragged on and on. So I probably won't be reading book 2. But it was well written and readable.

Fiction 6
historical romance
The Rose Arbor, Rhys Bowen, 2024

Girl is a newspaper reporter in the 60s and lives with a policewoman roommate. When a little girl goes missing, the Girl follows leads, meets people, solves a few old cases, finds a body, meets a young man... etc etc etc

So first, this could have been half the length and it would have been better. I didn't need to know every bus route and every meal eaten. Also, it wasn't really a romance. The vast majority of the book was the Girl doing investigative reporting. Lastly, there was so much going on that not everything was wrapped up and the flashbacks were so random that they didn't really help anything of the plot. Overall a waste of time...

Fiction 7
contemporary romance
Italian's Suitable Wife, 2004, Lucy Monroe

Guy is in an accident, girl is family friend who stays by his side as he recovers. He marries her and then has to convince her that he loves her.

This storyline might have worked in the 70s/80s, but for the time period that it was written, it fell flat. The writing was good and the plot flowed, so I would probably read something else by the author.

Fiction 8
contemporary romance
Joined by Marriage, 1998, Carole Mortimer

Adopted girl finds out that she's an heiress and falls in love with a lawyer who helps her figure out who her biological parents were.

This should have been a DNF because it was obnoxiously repetitive. I had to force myself to finish it. The plotline could have been good and the writing was good (even with the bad scan errors) but the plot should have been fleshed out more.

Fiction 9
contemporary romance
The Deserving Mistress, 2004, Carole Mortimer

Guy wants to buy girl's farm, girl refuses. They go rounds, deal with family drama, and get married in the end.

This was book three and there wasn't a lot of back story given to clue the reader in. Also, there was no mistress, so the title was misleading. The story dragged on and on with unnecessary drama and could have used another plotline. I'll probably read more by this author though because it was decently written.

Fiction 10
mystery romance
Mystery Bride, 2001, BJ Daniels

Guy sees girl at a party and decides she's the one for him. Girl is a PI on a case. He chases after her and gets caught up in her next case, They fall in love rescuing a little boy who has the missing piece to a software mogul's newest code.

I'm not a fan of instalove but the writing was ok and the plot flowed ok and it was a decent storyline. I will probably read more by the author.

Fiction 11
contemporary romance
Not Another Love Song, 2024, Julie Soto

Guy and Girl are raised in the same music circles and cross paths in their 20s. He's now a "rock star" and she's working for the symphony. They make music together and then decide to leave their careers and go out on their own. Lots of family drama and growing up before they have a HFN ending.

This book started off good but then fizzled out around the middle and almost became a DNF. It could have been half the length and would have worked. The writing and plot flow were good but it could have cut out some of the sex scene filler and 'inside your head' nonsense. Probably won't read another by this author. I just seem to be too old to relate.

Fiction 12
contemporary romance
Love, Theoretically, 2023, Ali Hazelwood

Girl and Guy are enemies in the academic world but he is infatuated with her. They each have a lot of drama to sort through but get together in the end.

This book read like a YA, with "big science words", and graphic sex. Just really not for me.

Fiction 13
contemporary romance
The Fake Wedding Project2024, Pippa Grant

Girl and Guy grew up in rival families. They fake an engagement to try and bring their families together and fall in love in the process.

This book fell a bit flat for me. It just felt like something was missing. But it was readable and had a funny dog. Not sure if I would read anything else by this author though.

Fiction 14
mystery romance
Secret Sanctuary, 2002, Amanda Stevens
Book 1/4
Girl is a criminology professor at the local college, Guy is the local detective. As kids, they had a friend go missing. Now someone is murdering more girls and Guy asks for Girl's help to catch the killer.

This book had very little romance. It also had minimal mystery because it seemed to be world building for the other 3 books in the series (but the rest of the books are written by different authors). In this book, they found the more recent murderer but never really said if he was the same one from the past. I am going to try book 2 and see if it's any better.

Fiction 15
mystery romance
Howling in the Darkness, 2002, BJ Daniels
book 2/4

Girl is a PI, Guy is undercover FBI. Her mother's killer is now after her and he is there to solve the mystery and how it's tied into a smuggling ring.

This was book two of the series and the author was just all over the place with the plot. She couldn't decide who the main character was, how to tell the story, where the story was going, whether it was supernatural or not, who the killer was and why... just a bunch of rambling nonsense, written poorly. Hopefully the third book is better.

Fiction 16
mystery romance
Scarlet Vows, 2002, Dani Sinclair
book 3/4

Girl and Guy were teen lovers but he left for college and she was secretly pregnant. He's back, they reconcile, and try to protect their daughter from the crazy mad scientist. Everything works out in the end.

This was the first one of the 4 that was an actual romance. Also, the mystery of the mad scientist who was targeting witches was mostly tied up but I assume the final key to the story will be in the last book. This book had good flow, a good plot, and was written well. Hopefully the last book ends the series well.

Fiction 17
mystery romance
Behind the Veil, 2002, Joanna Wayne
book 4/4

Guy and Girl have insta-love. he's a scientist who hides away in a mansion because he's scarred from an accident that killed his fiancé, she's a victim of being beaten and buried alive who also has amnesia... the murderer from the last 3 books is still on the loose and is now after her. Everything is worked out in the end and the series is concluded.

So, it was obvious from the beginning that the girl is his fiancé who was never found when the boat blew up, and it was obvious from the 3rd book who the murderer was. This book was soooo very tedious trying to set up how to reveal those plot points. A random murderer for this book was included at the end, all of the action was in the last few pages revealing the unrelated serial killer, it still wasn't decided if there should be supernatural elements or not, and the poor 5th girl never really got a redemption arc. It was like Beauty and the Beast, Rebecca, and a few slasher movies all in one. Not a series worth trudging through again.

Fiction 18
historical mystery romance
Haunted by the Earl's Touch, 2013, Ann Lethbridge

Guy is the bastard heir, girl is an orphan. Both inherit the estate, someone wants them dead, there's a creepy old castle, all is sort of worked out in the end.

This had the potential to be good. But the girl whined a lot, the mystery was a jumbled plot, things were added that weren't explained why they were relevant to the plot (maybe parts were edited?), things were sort of explained at the end but not really (the ending just set up for the next book which I won't be reading). Overall disappointing. Not a traditional gothic romance like it was trying to be. Just too contemporary for my tastes and poor plot flow.

Fiction 19
contemporary romance
The Impetuous Bride, 2001, Caroline Anderson

Girl and Guy are formerly engaged and brought back together to attend a wedding of friends. They fall back in love and work things out to live HEA.

This book was boring and the Girl was so whiny and wishywashy. The entire story could have been summed up in a few pages.

Mid-year Summary

2025: 19 books
2024: 32 books

Clearly it's been a busy year. Here's to a better second half!

Fiction 20
contemporary romance
Marriage Bargain with his Innocent, 2019, Cathy Williams

Girl and Guy grew up next door to each other. He took off to be a businessman in the big city and she stayed behind. His mother is sick and Girl has been taking care of her. They fake an engagement to cheer up his mother and fall in love.

This was a meh book. Nothing exciting, major plot points glossed over, Girl wasn't a complete doormat, Guy didn't do anything terrible. It was written ok so I would probably read another from the author.

(good grief. just 21 books? it's been a crazy busy year)

Nonfiction
What the Dead Know, 2023, Barbara Butcher

This is a book about her life and career working in the medical examiner's office in NY. She grew up in a large family with a cop father, struggled with alcoholism and drugs in the 80s, went to AA and started a career at OCME, moved up the ranks and worked through 9/11, then was ousted by Blasio and had to start over as a consultant. She's now semi-retired and working on a couple of True Crime documentaries.

The book gets a bit graphic at some points, so be warned if you're not used to crime scene descriptions.

Fiction 21
contemporary romance
A Girl Less Ordinary, Leah Ashton, 2012

Girl and Guy were childhood friends who grew up in poverty. Then he moved away and became a tech billionaire. So she recreated herself with a "new" identity. When they reconnect years later, he convinces her that being herself is best. HEA.

Ok read but a bit repetitive. Would read another by this author.

Year in Review:

It has been a year...

Between moving and medical, I only managed 23 books. (2024:67)

And just 1 of my 5 goals listed in January (#3 - 357 weeks of reading in a row).

I will have to think of some goals to post tomorrow to make 2026 a much better year for reading!