I plan to do actual quarterly favourites in 2026, but let’s catch up on 2025 and finish off the second two quarters of the year.
Q3 Favourites
Wells Ranch series by Bailey Hannah. This series was on my Q2 favourites list, but after I’d read books one and two, but I finished Change of Heart on July 1st, so this series also needs to be in my Q3 favourites, plus I got to meet her at BB4E and she’s just the sweetest person.
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. THIS BOOK. I didn’t expect to love a book about astronauts, but I should have known that TJR can make me fall in love with anything. This book had me SOBBING by the end, and it was the leading contender for my favourite book of the year until the fall.
Camera Shy by Kay Cove. The body positivity in this story was unlike anything I’ve read in other books and I loved it – excited to continue on with this series and then read more of Kay’s books, especially after she was such a delight to meet at Books by the Lake.
Sparrow Falls series by Catherine Cowles. Chasing Shelter came out in Q3 and of course I loved it – stay tuned for this series to make another appearance in a minute. Meeting Catherine at Books by the Lake was the highlight of the event for me!!
The Devil’s Backbone series by Tate James. Specifically the first two books, as the third one lost some of the steam for me, but this series was SO MUCH FUN to read, especially because I read it with Tanya and Monica, and I loved our chats along the way!
You Were There Too by Colleen Oakley. None of my vacation reads made my top 26 of 2025 post because I left them all behind in the LFL at the cabin, but this is the book that stuck with me for a while – such a unique story, and I loved it.
Ember Fall series by Corinne Michaels. I didn’t love this series after book one, but the It’s (Most Likely) Spicy Book Club picked the third book, so I read the second one and the third one and loved them both so much – I’m excited to finish this series in January, especially after meeting Corinne at Books by the Lake!
Pucking Strong by Emily Rath. I was laughing out loud by the first chapter, and these two characters absolutely stole my heart. I DNFed another of Emily’s books in the fall, so I think this may be the only series of hers that I ever read, but I love this series with my whole heart, plus meeting Emily at BB4E was one of the highlights of the event.
Wild Card by Elsie Silver. The perfect ending to an incredible series!
Q4 Favourites
Sparrow Falls series by Catherine Cowles. The ending to this series absolutely altered my DNA — I love the Colson family with every fibre of my being, and I will absolutely be diving into Catherine’s backlist this year, in addition to devouring every single new release we get!
Breathe With Me by Becka Mack. This is the book that dethroned Atmosphere for my favourite book of 2025 — it took me a full week to read it, partly because I didn’t want to say goodbye to these characters and have the series be over, but mainly because I cried throughout the ENTIRE book. I knew it would be an emotional read when I went into it, but OOF, it broke my heart and put it back together 1000x before it was over.
If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia. This book was PURE JOY. The 90s vibes, the small town, grumpy/sunshine plus a cute dog and it was PERFECTION.
Releasing 10 by Chloe Walsh. I knew that Hugh and Lizzie’s story would be a hard one to read, but I loved that it filled in so many of the gaps from the earlier books – things that I knew vaguely had happened, or were happening in the background, but didn’t know the full details about. This book tore out my heart and I devoured all 730 pages in only five days – I absolutely love how Chloe writes and I can’t wait for the next book.
Wild & Free by C.N. Rudy. My final book of 2025, but what a way to end the year! I loved the first book in the Emerald Falls series, Broken & Torn, but this book just made me love the series that much more – I love how the author tackles themes of mental health in her books, and I’m so excited for the next one.
Writer Grrl Reads 