A reading review of Q1 2025

I read 26 books in the first quarter of 2025, so I thought I'd do a reading review of those books as I love recommending books to fellow bookworms.

For 2025, I set myself a Goodreads reading goal of 60 books. In previous years, I have set myself a goal of over 100; however, last year, I didn't read enough books to achieve my goal.

Therefore, I lowered my target to 60 books. We're in the middle of April and I've already read 31 books in total, but in the first quarter of the year, I read 26.

As a book blogger and bookish content creator, I wanted to do a reading review of Q1 2025. I've read quite a variety of books so far this year and thought I'd go through them to hopefully give you readers some inspiration if you're looking for some more books to add to your TBR.

So, let's get into my reading review of Q1 2025.

WriteWatchWork's Reading Review

Total Number of Books Per Month

As mentioned above, I read 26 books in the first three months of the year. A lot of these were Kindle books as I received a Kindle for Christmas, but I have read quite a few paperbacks too.

In January, I read six books. February saw me read 10 books, and in March, I completed nine books and started one, which I just finished.

February and March were both strong months, but I know I read quite a few novellas.

Most-Read Genre

The main genres I've read so far in 2025 are romance and young adult dystopias. I have read a thriller by Harlan Coben, and I recently read a Freida McFadden book. However, Freida McFadden's book fits into Q2 of 2025.

Also, I've read a couple of historical fiction novels, too.

Most-Read Author

In Q1 of 2025, I read 14 different authors. Six of them were new authors to me, but I can safely say, I'm glad I read their books.

The different authors I read in the first three months of the year are:

• Abby Jimenez

• Bailey Thomas

• Eliah Greenwood

• Elsie Silver

• Evie Woods

• Harlan Coben

• Josh Silver

• Kandi Steiner

• Liz Tomforde

• Sara Cate

• Sarah A. Bailey

• Tahereh Mafi

• Taylor Jenkins Reid

• Victoria Hislop

The six new authors to me were Abby Jimenez, Bailey Thomas, Evie Woods, Harlan Coben, Sarah A. Bailey, and Victoria Hislop. I did really enjoy all of their books, so I would definitely revisit their work.

Favourite Books

If you're a book lover, you'll know how hard it can be to pick just one favourite book and one favourite author. That's why, for this part of my reading review, I'm going to pick a top three and maybe note some honourable mentions.

With the release of Watch Me by Tahereh Mafi coming out this week, I re-read the Shatter Me series. I managed to read nine out of the eleven books in Q1 of 2025, and I can safely say they are some of my favourites.

But, if I had to pick, I would say Restore Me. It is the fourth full-length novel in the Shatter Me series, and the development of the series really picks up in this book. The plot twists, the new characters, the relationships — I loved it so much.

My other two favourite books of Q1 are Play Along by Liz Tomforde, which is a sports romance with a fake marriage — you can view my full review here — and Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez. This is book one in the Part of Your World series and follows two people from completely different walks of life who fall in love.

Some other honourable mentions have to be the rest of the Shatter Me series, as well as Wild Eyes by Elsie Silver, Dead Happy by Josh Silver, and The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods.

Favourite Authors

For this reading review tag, I could easily list several of the authors I've read. But I'll refrain from that and stick to three.

First up, is Tahereh Mafi. I feel like that was a given, especially if you've seen some of my BookTok videos, you'll know how much I have obsessed over the Shatter Me series and her work.

My second favourite author of Q1 has to be Josh Silver. I devoured Dead Happy, which is book two in the HappyHead series, and have found myself loving Silver's writing style.

The third author I'm going to pick is Taylor Jenkins Reid. I first read TJR's books last year when I read Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and with each book of hers I read, I fall in love with her writing even more. In Q1, I read After I Do and Evidence of the Affair by TJR.

Best Book Surprise

I generally tend to read romance, dystopian or thriller novels, so this year, I'm trying to broaden my scope of genres. And whilst Q1 consisted mainly of romance novels, there is one book that is a little bit different that I really enjoyed.

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods.

I read this novel for my book club and I'm so glad I did. I think it's classed as historical fiction, which I haven't read much of, unless you count Bridgerton, so when I found myself thoroughly enjoying it, I was pleasantly surprised.

Least Favourite Book

Out of the 26 books I read in Q1 of 2025, I only rated one of them 3 stars; the others received a rating of 4 stars or higher.

This book was Keep Me by Sara Cate. It is a spicy romance, however, I didn't really feel that this book had a strong plot or interesting characters to keep me engaged.

I did finish the book because I don't necessarily like DNFing books, but I wouldn't read it again. Although I have previously enjoyed some of Cate's other books.

25 Books for 2025

This year, I came up with 25 books that I want to read. These vary in genre and author, and in Q1 of the year, I ticked off two of these books.

The two books that are on my 25-book list are Part of Your World and Wild Eyes. I really enjoyed these two books, and can't wait to tick off some more from this list in Q2 of 2025.

I hope you enjoyed this reading review of the first quarter of the year. Hopefully, some of the books and authors mentioned inspire you to give them a go, if you're in need of some recommendations.

Feel free to let me know some of the books you've read so far this year and whether or not you enjoyed them in the comments below.

Until next time...