Favorite 25 Books of 2025! 🤩🎉📚🌈

Happy New Year, Friends!! 😍💕✨

I'm just under the wire for posting my 25 Favorite Books of 2025 before the end of January—whew! 

Before I go right into my post, I thought I'd share some of the lovely things happening in my life right now:

💙 Organizing the details of my April trip with Liz/Raspberry Tart to visit London for the first time! (Ahhh! 🤯 So excited! 🥳)
💙 Planning my trip to the BFF Sticker Club Camp in September with the BFF Sticker Group! (Yay!! 🤩🌈💫)
💙 Currently adoring White Holiday by Viola Bayley (a Children's Press edition 🥰) 
💙 Re-watching Downton Abbey with Ian
💙 Movie and knitting dates with Caro ☺️🧡 (Check out her 2025 favorite books!)
💙 Re-listening to A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie audiobook
💙 Setting up my cork B6 Traveler's Journal for 2026 with inserts for books read, my planner, to-do list and sketchbook.
💙 Trying not to collect too many Calico Critter figurines...but it's hard! 😂
💙 Reading as many winter vintage books as possible (and loving it!)  

Okay...FINALLY onto books!

This was another fantastic reading year with 240 BOOKS under my book belt. Woo-hoo! 

If you'd like to see some of more of My Favorite Books From Past Years, here are links to my Instagram posts:

24 Favs in 2024 

23 Favs in 2023 

22 Favs in 2022

21 Favs in 2021 

Here are the books that brought me the MOST HAPPINESS last year 🥰 

All were 5🌟 ratings and books that I will 100% read again! 

REPUBLISHED BOOKS:
🌟 The Man in the Dark
🌟 Under the Rainbow
🌟 At School with the Stanhopes
🌟 Mothers and Daughters
🌟 The Pink House
🌟 The Strange House

VINTAGE BOOKS:
🌟 A Flute on Mayferry Street
🌟 Pink Sugar
🌟 Taken By the Hand 
🌟 Rochester’s Wife
🌟 Silver Slippers

VINTAGE CHILDREN'S BOOKS:
🌟 Elizabeth of the Garret Theatre
🌟 Black Forest Summer
🌟 All Because of Gina
🌟 The Vine Clad Hill
🌟 It's Nice To Be Me
🌟 Guinea Pig Podge
🌟 The April Baby’s Book of Tunes
🌟 In the Closed Room

NON-FICTION BOOKS:
🌟 A Sense of Seasons
🌟 The Joy of the Snow
🌟 The Book of Stillmeadow
🌟 Audrey at Home
🌟 A Thousand Feasts
🌟 Just Being Audrey

BONUS!!! BEST CONTEMPORARY BOOKS:
🌟 The World at Home by Ginny Kubitz Moyer
🌟 Emma M. Lion Series (especially Volumes 4 & 5) by Beth Brower
🌟 The Rocking of the Ocean by Barbara Matteson 

FAVORITE VINTAGE AUTHORS OF THE YEAR:
💓 Agatha Christie
💓 Gladys Taber
💓 Jean Hersey
💓 O. Douglas
💓 Gwendoline Courtney
💓 D.E. Stevenson
💓 Susan Scarlett
💓 Elizabeth Goudge
💓 Mabel Esther Allan

Do you see any favorite books or authors in this list? 

What was YOUR favorite book of 2025? 🤩🌟 Comment your favs below...I'm dying to know! 

Much love and many warm hugs! 💕❄️🤗❄️💕 

The World at Home by Ginny Kubitz Moyer 🥰❤️🧵

Omg, I LOVE this new novel by Ginny Kubitz Moyer! 🤩 

The World at Home is a tender and touching wartime romance that must be savored like a decadent chocolate truffle. I was enchanted by the very first page! 

How can Ginny Kubitz Moyer keep writing better and better novels? It blows my mind! 😱 I would love to absorb even a tiny bit of her sparkling creativity and novel-writing talent! 

When I first heard that Ginny was working on a third book, my first thought was..."When will I be able to buy a copy? I need to read it!" The themes, locations and times that she has chosen for all three of her novels (so far) are exactly what I love to read about:

Intelligent and creative women of the past who are making a life for themselves, discovering who they really are and what their place is in the world. 

There are very few authors that give me the feeling that I should read their novels slowly and experience each chapter in small, exquisite "bites". Two of those authors are Gladys Taber and Elizabeth Goudge. The third is Ginny Moyer.   

Ready for my rating and review? Let's get started! 

RATING: 10🌟! 

WHAT I LOVED MOST:

❤️ Orphan female protagonist 
❤️ Lovely, intelligent, talented Irene
❤️ Fascinating seamstress world
❤️ Sewing/clothing descriptions
❤️ Paper dolls and childhood memories
❤️ Living above a shop 
❤️ Captivating conversations 
❤️ Lost loves and wartime friendships
❤️ Cozy descriptions of clothing, food and everyday living

Once I became immersed in this wonderful world, I didn’t want to leave. Ginny is absolutely amazing at creating complex characters and gorgeous descriptions that are impossible to forget—in the very best way! 

Here are some of my favorite sections: 

'It was the first Friday in October, one of those glorious fall days in the city that make you willing to forgive the foggy overcast of summer. Buttery evening sunlight drenched the shop, and the vase of iris glowed like something in a painting. Benny Goodman was on the radio for the five o'clock hour, and I whistled along as I swept up snippet of thread and then pulled down the shades. '

'I've dressed it up with light green paint on the walls and violet-blue curtains around a three-way mirror and the storeroom entrance. There's a big folding screen hiding a dressing area, a screen which I painted the same violet as the curtains, with a design of gold and green scrolls. There's always a vase of iris on the counter by the door, and I added a framed picture of Paris and other tasteful knickknacks for a little cosmopolitan flair.'

'The fabric was exquisite, dark rose satin, the rich kind that looks like cool water rippling in a brook. It was a long evening dress with a high scoop neck and a fitted bodice, tight through the hips then flaring out gradually from there to the ground. The sleeves were long and full, falling gracefully to a band at the wrist.' 

'I lifted one of the bolts to my nose. It was kelly green cotton printed with tiny flowers in burgandy and navy blue, and it smelled clean, dry, and intoxicating, as new fabric always does to me.'

I wish I could share ALL of the parts that made me go back and read them again. But, let's face it...then, I would be sharing the entire book! lol. You'll just have to read it yourself. 😍

Don’t forget that The World At Home is available for pre-order now and I guarantee you’ll be 𝙎𝙊 happy you did!

Both The Seeing Garden and A Golden Life are absolute favorites of mine and, if you haven’t already read them, you need to! 😍 

Please consider signing up for Ginny Moyer's free newsletter (which is charming, lovely and everything you want a newsletter to be) and follow her on Instagram (@moyerginny, if you aren't already!). 

So many heartfelt thanks to Ginny for sending me this ARC for review!! I've been dying to read her new novel for months and it was an utter joy to have a chance to experience The World At Home a little bit early. 

I can't wait for early December when The World At Home will be on bookstore shelves! Yay! 🤩🌟📚

Hope you're doing well, my sweet book friends! Let me know in the comments if you've read any of Ginny's books or plan to! (You'll be very very happy you did!) 💕🌸🤗🌸💕

Favorite 24+ Books of 2024! 🤩🌟🎉📖

Happy January, Friends!!! 

I wish I could give you all the biggest New Year's hug 🤗🤗 Grab a cup of tea (or fav beverage) and a little treat (wish I could share my homemade cranberry orange scone with you!) and let's get caught up with favorite books!

I had another awesome reading year with 241 books under my book belt - woo-hoo! 🥳 Here are the books that brought me the MOST JOY last year 🥰   

Find all of my Goodreads reviews HERE! 

REPUBLISHED BOOKS

🌟You know how much I love out-of-print books that are brought back to life by amazing new publishers. These Dean Street Press Furrowed Middlebrow, British Library Women Writers and Manderley Press books stole my heart this year! Every single Ruby Ferguson book I read was a 5 star rating and I can't wait to read the last two Molly Clavering books in my collection.

NON-FICTION BOOKS 

 🌟 I love reading memoirs, almanacs, nature journals and finding favorite quotes. These books were absolutely wonderful and lovely to read before bed. Month-by-month books are my favorites—The Shape of a Year by Jean Hersey is now a new all-time favorite! (I'm currently reading her first book, A Sense of Seasons, each month during 2025.) The Elizabeth Goudge memoir touched my heart so much and, after reading this book, my admiration for her has grown even more! (Note: The Elizabeth Goudge Book Club, hosted by Julie, will be reading The Joy of the Snow this June 💚)

🌟 Unearthing the Secret Garden by Marta McDowell was also amazing!! I had no idea that the life of Frances Hodgson Burnett was so fascinating! She is definitely a person (along with Agatha Christie, Gladys Taber and Elizabeth Goudge) that I wish I could go back in time to meet. I'd also love to add a few more Susan Branch books to my collection this year! (I think I'm only missing a few...)

VINTAGE BOOKS
🌟 I enjoyed SO many Kathleen Norris (loved buddy reading this author's books with Andrea @sorrythankyou79 😍) and Marcia Willett books (thanks to Caro @carosbookcase 😁) this year. Kathleen Norris writes vintage romances (primarily set in California) that are full of cozy and descriptive details, twists, turns and (usually) thrilling endings. Marcia Willett is a new favorite of mine with her compelling family dramas. You can really get lost in her stories! Also, it's no surprise that another Ruby Ferguson and DE Stevenson title are also featured here! (Blow the Wind Southerly is alternate title for Charlotte Fairlie.) Dear Mad'm was definitely a surprise—rustic, humorous and very charming!

VINTAGE CHILDREN’S BOOKS
🌟 More brilliant books by Ruby Ferguson and Frances Hodgson Burnett! I plan on reading at least a few more children's books by BOTH authors this year. Yay! Also, The Maida and Mary Jane series are adorable, refreshing and so fun to read. Thanks to Caro (again!) for recommending Castaway Christmas and for our lovely buddy read in December 🥰🎄

 

BONUS A: CONTEMPORARY CHILDREN’S BOOKS
📘 I loved reading the entire Willam Horwood's "Tales of the Willows" series with @carosbookscase 🥰  I'm so excited that we'll be doing a re-read this year - yes!! I was so happy to find more vintage childrens/middle grade lighthouse books that have become favorites. I'd love to read more. Do you have any suggestions for me? (I might look into getting a lighthouse shaped bookcase for my lighthouse books!)

The two Bushel & Peck books are so beautiful (both in construction and story) and they now have a permanent place on my favorites book shelf! Pansy Goes to Paris was absolutely adorable (especially after my trip to Paris this year with Beth and Liz!) I'd love to read Clarence Goes to The Chelsea Flower Show next 😄

BONUS B: CONTEMPORARY BOOKS
🌼 These six books were fabulous!!! Even though I accidentally shared a photo of the wrong Laura Wood book (I meant to share a photo of A Season for Scandal), this first book was awesome, too! I'm impatiently waiting for A Game of Scandal (due out mid Feb 2025!) Dying to read more books by Valerie Perrin (especially Forgotten on Sunday), Ginny Moyer, Barbara Matteson and Lynda Marron 🤩 If you haven't read any books by these talented authors, it's time!! You'll love them!

MY TOP FAVORITE VINTAGE AUTHORS THIS YEAR
💓 Ruby Ferguson
💓 Kathleen Norris
💓 Molly Clavering
💓 Gladys Taber
💓 Frances Hodgson Burnett
💓 Jean Hersey

Dean Street Press Furrowed Middlebrow Favorites!!! Love!

Love and thanks to all of my 2024 buddy reads with Bookstagram friends! ☺️📚💚
@carosbookcase
@sorrythankyou79
@beth.bonini
@pony.books
@marjoriepaper
@elizabethgoudgebookclub
@bagfullofbooks
@gina.stanyer.books
@sabines.literary.world

Such vibrant and brilliant books! I just love the Women Writers series!

Many thanks to The British Library for sending so many books for me to review this year!! ❤️

Love the gorgeous books published by Manderley Press!

Rebeka has been so kind to send me postcards and bookmarks for each of the Manderley Press books the past year or so! She's thoughtful, generous and so talented!! 🥰💕

Warm wintery hugs to you! 💕🌸🤗🌸💕 Let me know what you're currently reading and loving! (Stay tuned for a personal blog update in the next week or two!) Much love 😍

23 Favorite Books of 2023

I had another amazing reading year with 225 books under my book belt - woo-hoo! I can't believe I've been doing the Goodreads Challenge for 10 years 😱 

Here are the (23) 5🌟 books that brought me the most joy last year 🥰

VINTAGE CHILDREN’S BOOKS

🌟Albert’s Christmas by Alison Jezard (Absolutely LOVE this series! Albert is soo lovable!)
🌟Albert by Alison Jezard (Just as adorable as the Christmas book and I can't wait to read more!)
🌟Mrs. McFinney and Her Friends by Mary T. Schoonover (Nostalgic, heartwarming and cozy)
🌟Apple Tree Cottage by Virginia Frances Voight (So lovely with tons of cozy details—red floral book)
🌟Clematis by Bertha Browning Cobb (Vintage and sweet)
🌟Pennie by Bertha Browning Cobb (Vintage and charming)
🌟Becky’s Christmas by Tasha Tudor (Classic vintage children's Christmas story with the most beautiful illustrations)
🌟The Happiest Christmas Day by May Greenwood (Vintage and joyful)
🌟Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer (Started off slow, but ended up so interesting!)

Bonus!: A Pint of Judgement by Elizabeth Morrow (Heartwarming and delightful illustrations—not pictured) 

 

VINTAGE BOOKS

🌟All the Dogs of My Life by Elizabeth von Arnim (Might have been my #1 favorite book of the year and a fantastic buddy read with Caro @carosbookcase on IG.)
🌟Pleasures and Palaces by Juliet Wilbor Tompkins (Sparkling, amusing and a wonderful!)
🌟Mrs. Appleyard’s Year by Louise Andrews Kent (Hilarious, clever and full of lovely domestic details.)
🌟Buttered Toast by Marjorie Stewart (Epitome of cozy and firmly middlebrow in the best way—many thanks to Virigina @oldbookdreamer on IG for recommending this book to me!)

 

CONTEMPORARY/REPUBLISHED BOOKS

🌟The Nutmeg Tree by Margery Sharp (So clever, sparkling and full of interesting relationships. Loved!)
🌟The Seeing Garden by Ginny Kubitz Moyer (A gorgeously written debut novel by my friend Ginny @moyerginny on IG)
🌟A Place Like Home by Rosamunde Pilcher (One of my top favorite RP short story collections—not pictured, but I'm hoping to get a copy soon.)
🌟The Agency of Scandal by Laura Wood (A dazzling and super fun buddy read with Marjorie @marjoriepaper on IG.)
🌟Apricot Sky by Ruby Ferguson (A superb Dean Street Press Furrowed Middlebrow book set in Scotland and full of family, love and sense of place.)
🌟The Armorour’s House by Rosemary Sutcliff (A truly delightful vintage middle grade book that is exquisitely printed and produced by Manderley Press.)
🌟The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin (A stunning and touching book about books, especially if you love books set during war time—not pictured.)

 

NON-FICTION BOOKS

🌟Tasha Tudor's Heirloom Crafts by Tovah Martin (Stunning full-color photographs and so interesting to read. The more I learn about Tasha Tudor's life, the more intrigued I become!)
🌟The Stillmeadow Road by Gladys Taber (This might be my new favorite Gladys Taber book. All of the Stillmeadow books I've read have been wonderful, inspiring and hopeful so far, but this one I enjoyed more than the other so far.)
🌟Stillmeadow Album by Gladys Taber (Small, but lovely black and white photographs of Gladys Taber's Stillmeadow along with quotes and information. I loved seeing more of the inside and outside of Stillmeadow. Many thanks to Christine @felines_and_flowers on IG for this book!)
 

Please share your favorite books from 2023 in the comments!

Many January hugs to you! 💞🌸🤗🌸💞