
Hi everybody, and welcome to my first wrap-up for 2025!
As every year, I am happy that the month of January is finally over, but there was a definite bright side in the form of books, music and tv, so let’s see what I read, listened to and watched in January!





The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
I wanted the vibe of my first 2025 read to sort of manifest what I wanted the vibe for my 2025 to be… so cozy cottagecore romantasy it is!
And this was exactly that: cute and cozy and whimsical and healing to read. The romance was sweet, the characters were well developed and the plot was easy and cozy but still well developed. I now want to start my own jam/spellshop with the help of a sentient plant, please and thank you.
Rating: 4 stars
Lights Out by Navessa Allen
And then there’s my second read of the year in which I went from cozy cottagecore to dark stalker romance… talk about a major genre switch 🙂
I’m not sure if I will ever be a full-on dark romance girl, but when I surprisingly loved Butcher & Blackbird last year I thought I’d need to give more dark romance a try. Enter Lights Out. I LOVED it so much! Now, to be fair, I think this (like B&B) is still pretty beginner dark romance. Which is probably why I liked it so much. Yes, it is technically a stalker romance and our main characters both have dark backgrounds and kinky preferences. But our stalker is pretty much a golden retriever cinnamon roll. And our leading lady is very much into the stalking. The romance and banter are absolutely adorable. I finished this in a matter of 2-3 days and I loved every minute of it. It was the perfect mix for me of steamy yet adorable and twisted yet funny with two characters I rooted for from beginning to end.
Rating: 4,5 stars
Truly, Madly, Deeply by Alexandria Bellefleur
This has been on my Kindle for months and I hadn’t been in the mood to pick up. But this past month, I thought I’d give it a try so I could work on my backlist… and the next day I had finished the book! So yes, I definitely liked this and wish I had started it sooner. While the main character Truly did come off a bit childish at times and I wasn’t on board with her idea to parent trap her parents, I adored the banter and the buildup of the relationship between her and Colin was amazing. Also loved the bi rep and the fact that there was no third act breakup.
Rating: 4 stars
Children of Fallen Gods (The War of Lost Hearts #2) by Carissa Broadbent
I LOVED book one in this series and so I had to dive into book two as soon as possible after finishing that one. And though I have to admit I thought the first half of this book dragged a bit, the second half was again amazing and hard to put down. I still love Tisaanah and Max with all my heart, but the new POV of Aefe is what really drew on my heartstrings this time. Can’t wait (and a bit scared) to dive into the next and final book ASAP!
Rating: 4 stars

Top Ten Tuesday
Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2025
My (Chill As Always) Bookish Goals for 2025
The Ten Most Recent Additions To My TBR
New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2024
WWW Wednesday
WWW Wednesday: 8 January 2025
WWW Wednesday: 22 January 2025
Can’t Wait Wednesday
Love At Second Sight by F.T. Lukens {Can’t Wait Wednesday}
The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith {Can’t Wait Wednesday}
Tag Thursday
The 2024 End of Year Book Survey
Musicwise, I’ve still mostly been listening to the Wicked soundtrack, except for these 2 catchy new songs:
Papa Roach – Even If It Kills Me
One OK Rock – Puppets Can’t Control You
These are the main shows I watched this month:



Skeleton Crew (Season 1)
Do I have a bit of a burnout when it comes to Star Wars shows? Yes, I do. But still, Skeleton Crew was such a fun adventure and I loved watching this group of kids get into all kinds of shenanigans and watching Jude Law be a mysterious figure. Fun!
Schitt’s Creek (Season 1)
I’ve heard so many people rave about this show and of course I’ve seen the memes based on this show. But as it wasn’t available in Belgium before, I never got the chance to watch it. Until Netflix added it to their roster this month and now I’ve binged the entire first season already. And I get the hype now! This is quirky and hilarious and I love the characters. Ready for the next few seasons.
XO Kitty (Season 2)
I love this show. While I admit the acting is not always the best and the plot can be cheesy and cliché at times, what it comes down to is the fact that I enjoy this show so much. It has me hooked and I’m already curious to see which shenanigans Kitty will get up to in season 3 (and hope we’ll maybe get a Lara Jean cameo?)
I’m not a fan of January. The darkness and the cold get to me every year and this year was no exception as I’ve been feeling the January blues pretty hard. But we are now a new short month, we’re already feeling the days become a little longer day by day, and next month we’ll already have the first day of spring, so there’s that 🙂
I also went to the ophthalmologist for my eyesight issues this month and the conclusion was that I am just suffering from dry eyes due to prolonged screen time. I now need to take eye drops three times a day and if that doesn’t help, start wearing my glasses again for screentime. I’m just glad it’s only that!
THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY THIS MONTH:
- My husband and I are continuing our archery lessons and I am LOVING it. Every lesson just feels so mindful, like for 2 hours I’m not thinking about anything except my bow and arrow and my form and that’s nice.
- I had a lunch date with my BFF and it was very nice to catch up again!
- Onyx Storm released and I’ve been enjoying being back at Basgiath.
THINGS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH:
- So many new releases to look forward to: Deep End, First-Time Caller, Scythe and Sparrow, Wooing the Witch Queen and I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Com.
How was your January? What did you read? What did you listen to and what did you watch? What are you looking forward to in February?

Archery lessons sound so cool!
And I am so glad you enjoyed The Spell shop! That book is like a warm hug and I need a Caz in my life!!
Archery is so much fun indeed! And yes to a Caz in our lives!
Love Schitt’s Creek so much! I struggled a bit with season 1, but from season 2 I was all in! Enjoy!
I did indeed also struggle a bi with the first few episodes, but now I’m looking forward to season 2!
The fact that Truly, Madly, Deeply has no third act breakup has just pushed it to the top of my TBR
I know, right? That is so rare and yet so coveted 🙂
I’ve almost finished Schitt’s Creek and I don’t want it too end! 🙁
I’m looking forward to the next few seasons!
January can be dicey – the holidays are over, the days are short, it’s so cold – so I’m glad you found some bright spots!
So true! In January it’s more important than ever to look for the bright spots 🙂
You will love Schitt’s Creek. Watching the character’s evolve is so rewarding.
I’m looking forward to watching the next few seasons!
I’m glad you liked The Spellshop! I’m waiting for my library to get a copy so I can read it.
I hope you’ll love The Spellshop too!
January is a very dreary month. I wear my glasses and still have to do eye drops several times a day. I’m glad you’re enjoying your archery lessons. That’s an interesting hobby.
It is indeed! I think glasses and eye drops may be where I’m going too – but the eye drops do already seem to help quite a bit!