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My Least Favourite Books of 2025

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. I have been doing something a bit different this year. In my reading journal there is a space to put your favourite and least favourite read of each month and I thought today I would share my least favourite reads this year.

January – An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

This book had a stronger romantic element rather than plot element, compared to margaret rogerson’s other books – both Vespertine and Sorcery of Thorns are some of my favourite books. I enjoyed Isobel, the main character and I liked how the story and the romance progressed but as I say, compared to the author’s other books I went into it with higher expectations.

February – This Is Not A Game by Kelly Mullen

I used this book for a chapter in my PhD, however I did not enjoy it. I felt it was trying to take elements of the cosy and the traditional mysteries but did not mesh them well.

March – The Village Library Demon Hunting Society

This book has to be one of my least favoruite of the year, even now in November of the same year I read it I can’t remember much of it, all I remember is how much I disliked reading it, I remember being both frustrated and confused and thinking there was no plot.

April – The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

Having seen the TV show for this book and loving it, I had high expectations for this book and this author who I have read and enjoyed previously. However, I did not love it, I thought it was okay but a little but clumpy and dragged put in places.

May – The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

This is probably my least favourite Agatha Christie book, there’s not much I can say other than I found it a little bit boring.

June – How to Sway A Bard

This book was too short. The premise was excellent, but it wasn’t given enough time and attention to make it amazing.

July – The Mystery of the Painted Dragon

This is a young, middle grade mystery series and it is the third book in that series. I enjoyed the series but I decided to not continue with the fourth book after this one.

August – A Novel Murder

Honestly, I didn’t even reach 100 pages into this book, I did not like the self-pitying main character and I couldn’t imagine growing to like them so this was easily one of my least favourite books of the year.

September – I Hope You’re Listening by Tom Ryan

I finished more than half of this book but I struggled with getting into the story, it just didn’t hold my interest.

October – The Coven by Harper L Woods

This book had a very intriguing premise, it lacked substance for me and felt very rushed but it was still quite enjoyable.

November – The Ripper of Whitechapel by Yvette Fielding

This was a short, engaging, middle grade book which I found good but maybe only a three star read while everything else I read in November was a four or above.

I do not have an answer for December yet as I am still reading for this month, but this is the least favourite books for each month so far this year.

Monthly Wrap Ups

June Wrap Up!

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all doing well today. How was your June? Mine was so full I barely had time to myself. Some good things happened though, I saw Iron Maiden and Halestorm play live, I saw a couple of theatre shows and I read some good books.

Did you read any good books this month, what were they?

Today I am bringing you my wrap up for the month of June!

From my TBR I read:

  • Murder At The Beauty pageant by Helena Dixon – I did read this. It’s number 11 or maybe number 12 in the Miss Underhay cosy mystery series. Each installment is a brilliant short mystery with characters you love no matter what. It’s always a delight to delve into another book in the series.
  • Murder At Traitors Gate by Irina Shapiro – I did read this. This book is the second in the Bell and Tate series, a historical mystery series set around Victorian time in London I believe. I like that this series can balance the lightness of the character’s relationships with the darkness of the crime. It has a gothic feel to the series which I love.
  • To Sway A Bard – I did read this. I thought I was going to enjoy this a lot more than I did. It had all the great parts it needed: a thief character, a sheriff who is hunting the thief, enemies to lovers, a high stakes adventure, royalty, banter. But for me it was not taken as far as it could have been, it felt a little underdeveloped. I still enjoyed it but not as much as I hoped I would.
  • A Witch’s Guide To Love And Poison – I did read this.
  • A Rivalry Of Hearts by Tessonja Odette – I read half of this book before deciding to DNF it. Not because there was anything wrong with it because there wasn’t. It was well written and well plotted, the romance was good, I liked both the main characters but I got bored and having to read another half that would have been much more of the same wasn’t appealing so for now I have DNF’d it. I might come back to it later.
  • Fall Of The Argosi by Sebastien de Castell – as I am writing this I have not started this yet, however there are twelve more days left in June so I am pretty sure I will be able to have read it by the end of the month.
  • Vera Wong’s Guide To Snooping On A Dead an by Jesse Sutanto – I did read this. I enjoyed it. The second in the vera wong mystery series following a chinese mother who owns a tea shop and keeps getting herself involved in murder investigations.

So, by the end of the month I should have managed to read all seven of the books that were on my TBR for the month AND outside of it I have also read the new Rob Rinder book, The Protest which was one of my most anticipated reads for this year.

Monthly TBRs

June TBR!

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. As I’m writing this I have to say I’m feeling the stress right now but at least picking what books I am going to read next is a fun thing to be doing. Gets me excited about my books, anybody else?

What do you guys plan on reading this month?

MY JUNE TBR:

Murder At The Beauty Pageant by Helena Dixon

Murder At Traitors Gate by Irina Shapiro

To Sway A Bard

A Witch’s Guide To Love and Poison

A Rivalry of Hearts by Tessonja Odette

Fall of the Argosi by Sebastien De Castell

Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping On A Dead Man by Jessie Q Sutanto