Here is what I read for my challenges in February:
For the challenge in the Avid Readers of Christian Fiction group I needed to read a book that featured a fireplace, bonfire, or wood stove in the story or on the cover. I chose to read Heart of the Glen by Jennifer Deibel and The Sweet Life by Suzanne Woods Fisher.
For the Tackle the TBR Pile is from
Crystal Caudill's blog I used
Kiera by Kate Willis. I'm sure more of the books I read were written by authors of a different generation, but I wasn't sure how to figure out who.
For the challenge in the Eating Our Words FB group I was also able to use The Sweet Life by Suzanne Woods Fisher for my February book. With this challenge, we can choose to read the book IN the month, or any time of the year, OR we can do both. So, like last year, I am choosing to try both.
Heart of the Glen by Jennifer Deibel works for March and Short-Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer works for August.
For the challenge in the Posse FB group I read Short-Straw Bride by Karen Witmeyer.
For the Read Your Bookshelf Challenge from Chantel Reads All Day I used Short-Straw Bride by Karen Witmeyer
I really enjoyed Secondary Target by Angela Carlisle; however, I didn't read it this month. I was on the launch team for it last year.
I finished Kiera by Kate Willis at the beginning of this month for last month's challenge. And I read Storm Warning by Elizabeth Goddard for February.
A few of the books I read in February work for the Coffee House Specials challenge in the Faith Filled Fiction FB group I read Short-Straw Bride by Karen Witemember, Heart of the Glen by Jennifer Deibel, and Forgiving the Cowboy by Tabitha Bouldin. Even Storm Warning by Elizabeth Goddard had romance, though it is romantic suspense.
In January I read books set in the following states:
Colorado: Cross Check Crush by Dulcie Dameron
Minnesota: Across the Ages by Gabrielle Meyer
Tenesee: Grannies' Matches for Jake by A.M. Heath and Appalachian Song by Michelle Shocklee
Texas: Cloaked in Beauty by Karen Witemeyer
And I traveled to England with A Defense of Honor by Kristi Ann Hunter
In February I read books set in the following states (though I did also return to Texas):
Massachusetts: The Sweet Life by Suzanne Woods Fisher
North Carolina: Forgiving the Cowboy by Tabitha Bouldin
Washington: Storm Warning by Elizabeth Goddard
And I traveled to Ireland with Heart of the Glen by Jennifer Deibel
and Israel with Dawn of Grace by Jill Eileen Smith
January:
A: Appalachian Song by Michelle Shocklee and Across the Ages by Gabrielle Meyer
C: Cross Check Crush by Dulcie Dameron and Cloaked in Beauty by Karen Witemeyer (mini challenge)
D: A Defense of Honor by Kristi Ann Hunter
F: Forgotten Identity by Penny Zeller
G: Grannies' Matches for Jake by A.M. Heath
February:
F: Forgiving the Cowboy by Tabitha Bouldin (for mini challenge)
H: Heart of the Glen by Jennifer Deibel
K: Kiera by Kate Willis
S: Short-Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer, Storm Warning by Elizabeth Goddard, and The Sweet Life by Suzanne Woods Fisher
January:
D: Dulcie Dameron's Cross Check Crush
H: A.M. Heath's Grannies' Matches for Jake
K: Kristi Ann Hunter's A Defense of Honor
M: Gabrielle Meyer's Across the Ages
S: Michelle Shocklee's Appalachian Song
W: Karen Witemeyer's Cloaked in Beauty
Z: Penny Zeller's Forgotten Identity
February:
B: Tabitha Bouldin's Forgiving the Cowboy
E: Elizabeth Goddard's Storm Warning
F: Suzanne Woods Fisher's The Sweet Life
J: Jennifer Deibel's Heart of the Glen and Jill Eileen Smith's Dawn of Grace
In January I read a book set in the following European country:
England: In Defense of Honor by Kristi Ann Hunter
In February I read a book set in the following European country:
Ireland: Heart of the Glen by Jennifer Deibel
Here's what I read from my TBR pile for the TBR 25 in '25 challenge also over on the Rose City Reader blog. These books have to have been in my physical TBR pile at home or on my Kindle app prior to the start of 2025.
1- Across the Ages by Gabrielle Meyer
Also, someone in my Avid Readers of Christian Fiction group again came up with a yearly book challenge. This year we again have 50 prompts:
In January, 7 of the books I read fit this challenge
In February, 7 of the books I read fit this challenge
Read
a book…
-
With
a title that starts with L
-
Featuring
a woman in STEM
-
With
an unreliable narrator
-
Featuring
a stepparent: Kiera by Kate Willis (Feb)
-
With
a red cover
-
By
a new to you author: A Defense of Honor by Kristi Ann Hunter (Jan)
-
That
is a 2025 debut novel
-
Featuring
an unsolved mystery: Storm Warning by Elizabeth Goddard (Feb)
-
By
an author who has the same first and last initial: Cross Check Crush by Dulcie Dameron (Jan)
-
That
is a fairytale spin off or retelling: Cloaked in Beauty by Karen Witemeyer (Jan)
-
That
is considered a classic
-
With
a character you find relatable
-
From
a genre you don’t read often
-
With
an insect on the cover
-
That
is over 500 pages long
-
Set
in the mountains
-
Published
in 2025: Forgotten Identity by Penny Zeller (Jan)
-
Written
more than 20 years ago
-
That
includes a holiday you don’t celebrate
-
Published
by an Indie author
-
That
contains illustrations
-
Featuring
a firefighter or other emergency responder
-
That
has a second chance romance
-
Recommend
by a librarian
-
With
a green spine
-
Set
in a bakery or restaurant: The Sweet Life by Suzanne Woods Fisher (Feb)
-
With
four or more people on the cover
-
That
has won an award
-
Written
by a BIPOC author
-
Set
in a different country from you: Heart of the Glen by Jennifer Deibel (Feb)
-
With
a one word title
-
That
includes more than 2 POV: Grannies' Matches for Jake by A.M. Heath (Jan)
-
That
is a dual or triple timeline: Across the Ages by Gabrielle Meyer (Jan)
-
Set
before the 1800s
-
With
a bird on the cover
-
That
takes place on or around a train
-
With
a blue dress on the cover: Appalachian Song by Michelle Shocklee (Jan)
-
A
book with the word at, in, or is in the title
-
Set
in Eastern Europe
-
Set
during WWII
-
That
makes you laugh
-
That
features a historical event you remember
-
With
an illustrated or typography cover
-
Set
in a cold climate
-
With
a hat on the cover: Forgiving the Cowboy by Tabitha Bouldin (Feb)
-
Written
by a male author
-
Written
in first person pov
-
With
little to no romance: Dawn of Grace by Jill Eileen Smith (Feb)
-
By
an author with multiple award winning books: Short-Straw Bride by Karen Witmeyer (Feb)
-
That
features a pet other than a dog
Finally, I am joining in again with a second yearly challenge from the Scripture Literature-You Are What You Read FB group.
In January, 7 of the books I read fit this challenge
In February, 7 of the books I read fit this challenge
1- You Can't Wait: Cloaked in Beauty by Karen Witemeyer (Jan)
2- Whodunit
3- Spin on a Classic
4- A Cardinal Sin: Short-Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer (Feb)
5- Bibliophile
6- Succumb to Peer Pressure
7- Rom Com
8- Considered Controversial
9- Written by an Apologist
10- Return to a Favorite
11- Think Piece
12- Passage of Time
13- Good vs Evil
14- Fruit of the Spirit
15- A Book that Mentions a Book
16- Multi-Generational POV: The Sweet Life by Suzanne Woods Smith (Feb)
17- Labor of Love: Appalachian Song by Michelle Shocklee (Jan)
18- Far From Home
19- Child Narrator
20. Debut Novel
21. Small Town
22. Lighthouse
23. Animal on the Cover
24. Book you got for Free
25. An Epic Love Story
26. Amish
27. Features a Character from the Bible: Dawn of Grace by Jill Eileen Smith (Feb)
28. Location Starts with "I": Heart of the Glen by Jennifer Deibel (Feb)
29. A Spooky Read
30. Natural Disaster
31. Overcoming a Tragic Event
32. A Quest: Across the Ages by Gabrielle Meyer (Jan)
33. Harmful Secrets: Forgiving the Cowboy by Tabitha Bouldin (Feb)
34. One Word Title: Kiera by Kate Willis (Feb)
35. Feud
36. A Sea Voyage
37. A Wedding or a Funeral
38. Significant Historical Event: Grannies' Matches for Jake by A.M. Heath (Jan)
39. Female Antagonist: Forgotten Identity by Penny Zeller (Jan)
40. Thriller
41. With a Yellow Cover
42. Missionaries
43. Indie Author
44. Daddy Issues: Cross Check Crush by Dulcie Dameron (Jan)
45. On the Run: Storm Warning by Elizabeth Goddard (Feb)
46. New Release
47. For a Good Cause: A Defense of Honor by Kristi Ann Hunter (Jan)
48. Showbiz
49. Favorite Time Period
50. Fictional Land
51. Married Couple
52. Orphan
53. Choose your own
Adventure
My Goodreads goal is to read 110 books this year. Last year I had set it at 110 and I ended up reading 122. So far this year I have read 14 books.