Review: The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Pages: 342

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Charles and Lily, James and Nan. They meet in Greenwich Village in 1963 when Charles and James are jointly hired to steward the historic Third Presbyterian Church through turbulent times. Their personal differences however, threaten to tear them apart.

Charles is destined to succeed his father as an esteemed professor of history at Harvard, until an unorthodox lecture about faith leads him to ministry. How then, can he fall in love with Lily—fiercely intellectual, elegantly stern—after she tells him with certainty that she will never believe in God? And yet, how can he not?

James, the youngest son in a hardscrabble Chicago family, spent much of his youth angry at his alcoholic father and avoiding his anxious mother. Nan grew up in Mississippi, the devout and beloved daughter of a minister and a debutante. James's escape from his desperate circumstances leads him to Nan and, despite his skepticism of hope in all its forms, her gentle, constant faith changes the course of his life.   

Kritters Thoughts:  Two couples who both end up serving in the same church, but they couldn't be more different.  Charles and Lily AND James and Nan are married and working at a church in Greenwich Village and Charles and James see the work of church very very differently.  They have completely different upbringings that will greatly influence them and this story tells it all.  

I really enjoyed this book.  As a person who for a moment considered a life in church ministry, I appreciated reading a book that had real humans instead of the perfect molds that can be portrayed as those who work in a church.  Both the men and women had flaws and struggles and everything was told within the pages.    

This was a book that I physically passed onto a friend and am still thinking about it even a year after reading it.  (It took me awhile to get my keys on the keyboard to write this review!). A debut novel published in 2019 and oh how I wish there was more to come from Cara Wall.  

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Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: When I Kill You by B.A. Paris

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Pages: 292

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Who is watching Nell Masters?

Nell Masters is certain someone is following her. The hairs on the back of her neck rise when she travels to and from work, there are silent calls to her office, and a huge bouquet of flowers arrives without a card. And Nell has a reason to be looking over her shoulder, because she has a secret that she’s hiding from everyone in her life, including her new partner, Alex. But Alex also has secrets of his own.

Fourteen years earlier, when Nell went by the name Elle Nugent, she witnessed a student, Bryony Sanders, getting into a stranger’s car. When Bryony was found murdered, Elle became obsessed with finding the person responsible. She was convinced she knew who it was and her fixation with Brett Parker, the man she accused, led her down a dangerous path . . .

Now, Nell tries to convince herself that this unnerving feeling of being watched is all in her mind. Has someone from her past discovered her new identity? Has the stalker become the stalked? Or is there something even more deadly at play?

Kritters Thoughts:  Two timelines, one character AND a third set of chapters that were short sweet, but gosh darn creepy.  In the present day, Nell Masters is working at a charity and trying to move past a traumatic event - while it takes a bit for the reader to find out what this event is, it is all revealed in due time.  In the past timeline, Elle Nugent watches something from her window and wants to insert herself in order to help the truth to come out.  AND the third set of chapters is a killer who is threatening Nell and Elle's life and you watch as this killer gives the reader all the reasons as to why Nell/Elle should no longer be living. 

I love a dual timeline and while the reader knows the link between the characters from the beginning, there is still enough mystery to make for a great read that kept me on the edge of my seat.  There were twists and turns and even me being an avid mystery reader, I was surprised by almost all of them and kept wanting the author to keep writing and writing.  The third set of chapters were a great extra addition and I am glad the author included them, they took the book to the next level.  

My second BA Paris read and after finishing this one, I want to make sure I go into the backlist and get caught up on her books.  I absolutely loved how the reveal happened and it may have resulted in an audible gasp and a NO WAY!  I am quite judgy when it comes to how a mystery comes together and this one totally hit the mark in my book. 

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Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister

Publisher: Atria

Pages: 368

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:   Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been academic rivals since they first crossed paths as undergraduates in the literature department thirteen years ago. Now that a highly coveted teaching opportunity has come up, their rivalry hits epic proportions. Jonah needs the job to move closer to his recently divorced sister and her children, while Sadie needs the financial security and freedom of a full-time teaching position.

When Sadie notices that the job offers partner hire, however, she hatches a plot to get them both the job. All they must do is get legally married. It’s a simple win-win solution but when sparks begin to fly, it becomes clear that despite their education, these two may not have thought this whole thing through.

Kritters Thoughts:  A little enemies to lovers with a fake relationship on the side and I am sold!  Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have quite a few reasons as to why they would not work, yet they end up having to fake a relationship for their professional careers and antics ensue.  

I love an academic setting and while not from the perspective of the student, I still appreciated a story taking place in a place of learning.  Having smart characters made for smart conversations and for me the story felt smart - maybe less eye rolls than when I read other romantic comedies.  

After finishing the book, I enjoyed reading the reviews for this one to see if my thoughts aligned with others and I agreed when a few said that the middle drug on a bit - for me there were some bits in the middle that could have been cut down a little to keep the story moving along.  BUT this wouldn't keep me from reading this author again and hoping for another great romantic comedy to accompany me on a trip.  

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Review: The Housekeeper's Secret by Iona Grey

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Pages: 368

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Duty, desire, and deception reside under one roof.

Standing in the remote windswept moors of Northern England, Coldwell Hall is the perfect place to hide. For the past five years, Kate Furniss has maintained her professional mask so carefully that she almost believes she is the character she has created: Coldwell’s respectable housekeeper.

It is the summer of 1911 that brings new faces above and below the stairs of Coldwell Hall―including the handsome and mysterious new footman, Jem Arden. Just as the house’s shuttered rooms open, so does Kate’s guarded heart to a love affair that is as intense as it is forbidden. But Kate can feel her control slipping as Jem harbors secrets of his own.

Kritters Thoughts:  Kate Furniss is the head of the household staff at Coldwell Hall and this home has become basically her entire existence.  She spends days and days making sure this home runs smoothly while there is a large changing happening in the home.  In another timeline in the book, July 1916, a solider is writing letters to a Kate in the middle of a war.  

From the beginning of this book, I was invested and wanted to know all the things about all the characters.  There is a large cast of characters and I grew to love them all, there wasn't a one where I felt as though they fell short of adding to the overall story.  For me, the cook Mrs. Gatley was a fun highlight, she was so fun and I enjoyed the levity she brought.  

If you are a fan of Downtown Abbey then this book is just the right fix to fill the whole that a complete Downtown Abbey could have left behind.  I love reading the story of the people who are serving the family of the home and hear about what goes in their lives too.  There are two more Iona Grey books in her backlist and I would love to read those soon as I really enjoyed the writing in this one.

Rating:

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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With a week in Mexico to end the month, I was able to read some in airplanes and by a pool!  I am hoping that I am back on the reading train and can find some more quiet moments this year to get lost in a book. 

1. The Housekeeper's Secret by Iona Grey

2. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

3. Happily Ever After by Elizabeth Maxwell

Total pages read, clicked and flipped:  1,008

Where Have I Been Reading?:

Northern England

Annapolis, MD

Review: Shopgirls by Jessica Anya Blau

Publisher: Mariner Books

Pages: 266

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Nineteen-year-old Zippy can hardly believe it: she's the newest and youngest salesgirl at I. Magnin, "San Francisco's Finest Department Store." Every week, she rotates her three spruced-up Salvation Army outfits and Vaseline-shined pumps; still, she's thrilled to walk those pumps through the employee entrance five days a week as she saves to buy something new. For a girl who grew up in a one-bedroom apartment above a liquor store with her mother and her mother's madcap boyfriend, Howard; a girl who wanted to go to college but had no help in figuring out how; I. Magnin represents a real chance for a better and more elegant life. Or, at the very least, a more interesting one.

Zippy may not be in school, but she's about to get an education that will stick with her for decades. Her fellow salesgirls (lifetime professionals) run the gamut from mean and indifferent to caring and helpful. The cosmetics ladies on the first floor share both samples and advice ("only date a man with a Rolex"); and her new roommate, Raquel, an ambitious lawyer, tells Zippy she can lose ten pounds easy if she joins Raquel in eating only every other day. Just when Zippy thinks she's getting a handle on how to be an adult woman in 1985, two surprises threaten both her sense of self and her coveted position at I. Magnin.

Kritters Thoughts:  What a fun book!  Zippy is a young woman in the 80s who has been working at a dress shop and is surrounded by the most fun cast of characters.  Zippy doesn't have a lot, but she does have the drive to make this job into a career.  

While Zippy was for sure the main character, the cast of characters surrounding here were so entertaining.  I loved Zippy, but I loved even more how she reacted with the ladies around her.  AND the inner workings of a dress shop were so fun.  The ladies coming and going and getting their outfits picked out - I wanted to watch a tv show based on this store and these women.    

I found this book to be the right amount of young girl big city and I loved following Zippy through the ups and downs of this book.  I would recommend this book to those who love this kind of story, who love to follow a young girl through a great story arc.  I love when I finish a story and I just wish a sequel was on its way because I could have used more of Zippy when this one was done.      

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With a newborn in the house, there was more vegging in front of the tv than curling up with a book, SO one book complete is good from my point of view!  I am hoping for more over the next few months and to end with a great 2026 of reading.  

1. When I Kill You by BA Paris

Total pages read, clicked and flipped: 304

Where Have I Been Reading?:

London

Review: You Can't Hide by Emily Shiner

Publisher: Inkubator Books

Pages: 225

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:   Beth thought she’d escaped her past. But all this time, it’s been waiting for her…

Beth and Ian are desperate to have a child. So much so that they decide to sell his family cabin in upstate New York to pay for IVF.

When they arrive at the cabin, they meet Ryan, the caretaker. But Ryan is not who he says he is… He’s here because he knows Beth has a dark secret. And now he intends to use it against her.

He threatens to tell Ian everything about Beth's past unless she does exactly what he says.

Beth finds herself caught in a nightmarish trap. If Ian discovers what she’s been hiding from him, she’s sure he’ll leave her. She’ll lose everything she cares about, including the chance to have a child of her own.

On the other hand, what Ryan wants her to do is so dark and twisted it’s beyond horrifying.

Either way, Beth is sure her life is over, she can see no way out. Unless… Unless she digs deep and finds a part of herself that is willing to do something so awful it doesn’t even bear thinking about…

Kritters Thoughts:  A dark and twisty mystery that took me on an adventure and because of that it had me flipping pages one after the other, on my kindle of course!  Told from two different perspectives and I couldn't wait to see when and where these two women would collide.  

Beth and Ian head to their family's remote cabin to get it ready to sell and from the beginning there are eery feelings.  I loved that from the very beginning I was in the book and the mood was set; especially with the book being a little on the shorter side, I was glad the author dove in and got the story going.  And then Lizzie's story is hard to read from the start, it was difficult to read but I kept going wanting to know where these two worlds would come together.  

I would suggest you hold and read this book for the spooky season as it was quite the perfect read for that season.  It was also a quick read if your spooky season is busy! 

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Review: American Mother by Gregg Olsen

Publisher: Thread

Pages: 497

Format: audiobook

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  At 5.02 pm on June 5th, 1986, a call came into the local sheriff office in the small town of Auburn, Washington State from Stella Nickell. Her husband Bruce was having a seizure. As the officers arrived on the scene, Bruce was already dead.

Forensics identified that Bruce had consumed headache pills laced with cyanide and in an attempt to cover her tracks, Stella saw to it that a stranger would also become her next victim of the cyanide-tainted painkillers.

What would drive a seemingly normal outgoing and popular mum and wife to kill?
As the investigation began to unfold, Stella’s daughter Cynthia notified federal agents of her mother’s crimes. But she didn’t reveal everything…

Kritters Thoughts:  In 1982, there were murders that were tied to Tylenol pills in Chicago, IL and just four short years later across the country in the state of Washington a copycat of sorts happened.  A woman who was very unhappily married figured that murder was easier than divorce and laced pills with cyanide, but not only did they kill her target another woman was also killed.  

While this book for sure described the events of 1986, but it also went back in time to give the reader an extensive amount of background knowledge that gave context as to why everyone ended up where they did - by no means an excuse for Stella's actions.  For me, this book moved a little slower and maybe spent a little too much time in the past and could have spent more time in the present day of 1986.    

My second Gregg Olsen book and I have read both via audiobook and I really enjoy taking in nonfiction via audiobook.  

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Review: The Bookshop by the Bay by Pamela Kelley

Publisher: Griffin

Pages: 320

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:   Two lifelong friends. One bookshop by the beach. And the summer that could change everything.

Jess loves her work as a high-profile lawyer in the respectable and austere city of Charleston. But when she finds her husband, Parker, has been cheating on her with his assistant, she retreats, with her thirty year-old daughter Caitlin for support, to her childhood home on Cape Cod, in Chatham. Caitlin has always been bright but directionless, looking for her passion but keeps coming up blank. And Jess needs to regroup with the help of good food and wine, the company of her best friend, Allison, and come up with a plan for the future.

Allison’s career has hit a low. After twenty years as an editor for the Chatham magazine, circulation is dwindling and though her boss and long-time friend, Jim, does everything to keep her, she has no choice but to take a step back. With a career on hiatus and her main relationship being with Chris, her ex-husband who is still a good friend, Allison is at a pivotal point in life. Her daughter Julia opened her own artisanal jewelry shop a year prior, and she has the kind of day-to-day fulfillment Allison yearns for.

When Allison stops into her beloved local bookstore one day and learns that the owner wants to sell, a long-held dream turns into a reality, thanks to Jess. Allison and Jess set a plan in motion and what was once a place that held warm childhood memories is now theirs to run. As the two friends, along with the help of their daughters, reopen the doors of the cherished bookstore and adjacent coffee shop to the community, they also open themselves up to the possibility of romance, the bonds of mothers and daughters, and the magic of second chances.

Kritters Thoughts:  Two sets of lifelong friends and their daughters take center stage in this book.  Jess and her daughter Caitlin and Allison and her daughter Julia all end up in Cape Cod for a summer and each have something going on that hopefully can be solved by the end of summer.  Jess has recently discovered her husband's infidelity and needs a physical break from Charleston, SC, while her daughter Caitlin recently lost her job and isn't sure what is next for herself.  Allison is also dealing with a dwindling career and may need to take a hard pivot to something new instead of the magazine that she has worked at for a long time.  And Julia has been building her own jewelry business on Cape Cod and just needs something to make a splash in order to ensure that her basic bills can get paid and her long-term boyfriend Kyle is ready for marriage and she may not be so ready.  

With all these things going on, it took a moment to make sure I had everyone and their sub characters straight.  I loved the dynamic of both personal and professional drama and while I tend to avoid books with cheating spouses, thankfully I was warned that this was a minor moment in the book and that there was way more plot to enjoy.  The one thing that kept me from making this a five star read was the pacing towards the middle of the book, it seemed to slow down for me and at that moment I kind of knew where we would end up and was ready for the author to get there.  

My first Pamela Kelley book and will for sure not be my last read.  I will share that the summer vibe of this book was perfect to throw in my beach bag on our family summer vacation.  

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What month! Every week of July had some form of travel for me, three weeks worth of work travel and then our summer family vacation, so it was full of packing and unpacking and to and fro. With this travel, reading wasn't the easiest thing to do.

1. Betting on Good by Wendy Francis

2. Shopgirls by Jessica Anya Blau

Total pages read, clicked, and flipped: 494

Where Have I Been Reading?:

Louisville, KY

San Francisco, CA 

Only three books completed, but another busy month of house projects, jobs, family time, and some great summer moments by the pool. 

1. The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall

2. You Can't Hide by Emily Shiner

3. An Academic Affair by Jodie McAlister

Total pages read, clicked, and flipped: 960

Where Have I Been Reading?:

New York 

Australia

What year 2025 has been.  From selling a house to moving to moving again just two months later, we are in our dream home and of course with any home, there are projects.  May was the month to slow down and enjoy a book in the sunshine.

1. The Seamstress of New Orleans by Diane C. McPhail

2. American Mother by Gregg Olsen (audiobook)

3. Coming Home to Seashell Harbor by Miranda Liasson

Total pages read, clicked, and flipped: 1,184

Where Have I Been Reading?:

New Orleans, LA

New Jersey

Washington 

 

Review: Emily Gone by Bette Lee Crosby

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Pages: 400

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  

1971.

When a music festival rolls through the sleepy town of Hesterville, Georgia, the Dixon family’s lives are forever changed. On the final night, a storm muffles the sound of the blaring music, and Rachel tucks her baby into bed before falling into a deep sleep. So deep, she doesn’t hear the kitchen door opening. When she and her husband wake up in the morning, the crib is empty. Emily is gone.

Vicki Robart is one of the thousands at the festival, but she’s not feeling the music. She’s feeling the emptiness over the loss of her own baby several months before. When she leaves the festival and is faced with an opportunity to fill that void, she is driven to an act of desperation that will forever bind the lives of three women.

When the truth of what actually happened that fateful night is finally exposed, shattering the lives they’ve built, will they be able to pick up the pieces to put their families back together again?

Kritters Thoughts:  A small town in Georgia is invaded when a large music festival is planned on the outskirts of town.  There is worry that this will bring the wrong sorts of people to town, but everyone is convinced that the economic boom will outweigh the annoyance for the short term.  One family is gravely impacted by this festival as they wake up one morning and their beautiful baby girl has gone missing.  

With alternating chapters from different perspectives, the reader knows early on where this child has been taken and by whom, so the story is more about the impact after such a tragedy.  It was hard not to feel for the kidnappers and see the impact of tragedy on their decisions and how easily someone can make wrong choices and convince themselves that it is all okay.    

This book was the perfect companion for a work trip with a flight and some quiet time in a hotel to curl up and read about this family in a small town as they learn to live with their new normal.    My first Bette Lee Crosby, but for sure will not be my last.  I loved how she pulled this story together and her characters were so fully formed that I could see them walking in my front door to share this story themselves.  

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Review: The Seamstress of New Orleans by Diane C. McPhail

Publisher: Kensington Publishing

Pages: 304

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads: The year 1900 ushers in a new century and the promise of social change, and women rise together toward equality. Yet rules and restrictions remain, especially for women like Alice Butterworth, whose husband has abruptly disappeared. Desperate to make a living for herself and the child she carries, Alice leaves the bitter cold of Chicago far behind, offering sewing lessons at a New Orleans orphanage.

Constance Halstead, a young widow reeling with shock under the threat of her late husband’s gambling debts, has thrown herself into charitable work. Meeting Alice at the orphanage, she offers lodging in exchange for Alice’s help creating a gown for the Leap Year ball of Les Mysterieuses, the first all female krewe of Mardi Gras. During Leap Years, women have the rare opportunity to take control in their interactions with men, and upend social convention. Piece by piece, the breathtaking gown takes shape, becoming a symbol of strength for both women, reflecting their progress toward greater independence.

But Constance carries a burden that makes it impossible to feel truly free. Her husband, Benton, whose death remains a dangerous mystery, was deep in debt to the Black Hand, the vicious gangsters who controlled New Orleans’ notorious Storyville district. Benton’s death has not satisfied them. And as the Mardi Gras festivities reach their fruition, a secret emerges that will cement the bond between Alice and Constance even as it threatens the lives they’re building . . .

Kritters Thoughts:  Two women - one from Chicago and one from New Orleans and both end up single as husbands end up dead and missing.  Constance is a woman who came from money and her husband ends up dead after an incident on a train.  Alice, a woman who grew up on a farm made it to Chicago to make her life go in a different direction ends up married and her husband goes missing.  She goes on a trip to find him and ends up in New Orleans . . . 

As a reader who has been reading fiction for many years, I knew where this one would go early on, but the journey was still enjoyable.  These two women are such a pair when they meet and try to change the ways for both each other and others!  I loved reading their banter when they created a dress for a Mardi Gras that was a ball that was flipping things on its end as women were going to be running the show.  This part of the book was my favorite to read - watching these women form a relationship and a beautiful dress to come of it.  

I was able to read this in two formats which was fun since I rarely do this! I read this via ebook and audio.  The audio version was narrated by Jessica Marchbank and while I usually listen to the books at the normal speed, I actually was able to speed this one up and still enjoy it - made me feel like a normal audiobook fan who can speed up and read away! 

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A work trip allowed for some great reading time on an airplane!

1. Emily, Gone by Bette Lee Crosby

2. Two Women Walk in the Bar by Cheryl Strayed

Total pages read, clicked, and flipped: 431

Where Have I Been Reading?:

Georgia

Portland, OR

Review: The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

Publisher: Doubleday

Pages: 317

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  West Hall, Vermont, has always been a town of strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter.

Now, in present day, nineteen-year-old Ruthie lives in Sara's farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister. Alice has always insisted that they live off the grid, a decision that has weighty consequences when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished. In her search for clues, she is startled to find a copy of Sara Harrison Shea's diary hidden beneath the floorboards of her mother's bedroom. As Ruthie gets sucked into the historical mystery, she discovers that she's not the only person looking for someone that they've lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.

Kritters Thoughts:  My first book of 2025 and the first book I finished in awhile due to a lot of personal things going on and boy it felt good to finish a book!  Two plotlines going on at once, so I got out a trusty notecard to take notes to make sure I knew who was who and what was what.  In 1908, Sara Harrison Shea is dealing with the death of her daughter and her and her husband Martin are barely surviving a cold January.  In the present day, 19 year old Ruthie's mother is missing and she and her younger sister are trying to find the missing clues to hopefully find her.  

The pacing of this book is what kept me going.  From chapter to chapter, I kept reading wanting to know where these two timelines would converge and when all my questions would be answered.  If the pacing of the book matters to you, I can say this one nailed it.  

BUT the reason that it only received three stars was the confusing plot - not the two timelines, but the stories within each.  With ghosts/sleepers as part of the plot, I was so lost and confused as to who was alive and dead and had to re read a few parts again and again to make sure I got all the pieces right.    

Set in snowy Vermont, I was so thankful that I picked this up in January and read it under a blanket - the perfect place to read this perfectly paced thriller.  So if ghosts and snowy vibes are your thing, then I can completely recommend this one.  And while that may not be my thing, I still want to head into Jennifer McMahon's backlist and read more of her.    

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A sad beginning to the year, but a busy one when it comes to both my personal and professional work.  I have hopes that 2025 will be a better year for reading with many more hours available to curl up with a book.  

1. The Winter People by Jennfer McMahon

Total pages read, clicked and flipped: 317

Where Have I Been Reading?:

Vermont

2024 wrap up!

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WELL, I thought 2022 AND 2023 were going to be my saddest reading years, but 2024 took the cake - BUT for very different reasons.  In 2024, I had someone re enter my life and they became a main character in my story.  We spent 2024 building a relationship and a life, so there was little time to read.  NOW 2025 with our life a little calmer, there should be more time to enjoy a good book and maybe a few reads together!

Let's compare 2024 to 2023.  

Total number of books I read in 2024: 38

Total number of books I read in 2023: 49

Total number of pages I flipped, clicked, and so on in 2024: 11,279
Total number of pages I flipped, clicked, and so on in 2023: 29,355

I have been keeping track of WHERE my books were taking place all year. Below is the outcome.  Although my overall numbers were done, I visited 15 states this year and that is 3 more than last year!  I always love to diversify my reading in locations both in the US and abroad.  

States that made the list:

Maine            New York             Alaska

Louisiana      California            Missouri

Iowa               Kansas                Virginia

Maryland      Tennessee          Oregon

Washington, D.C.                      South Carolina

Dakota

My country number went down again this year and I would love to travel more in 2025, so I want to try to keep an eye on this number and be intentional with my reading.  

Countries accounted for:

Germany         Poland          Australia

England