Unlike last month, I’m actually getting to this fairly late – other stuff has taken over recently, so I haven’t been able to work on the blog as much as I would like. I have been consistently reading, but slower with the audiobook. And it’s getting to the point where I’m starting to worry about these challenges and whether or not I’ll actually finish them…so, yeah, I think I took on too many this year! Will need to cut it down for 2026, but right now I’m enjoying all of these so much, I don’t know which ones I’d cut out! But I am ahead in my overall reading goal by 6 books, so that’s something at least.
2025 Reading Challenges
Update #1 / #2 / #3 / #4 / #5 / #6 / #7
Goal: 52/70 (+9)
Musicals Reading Challenge 2025
9/24 (+1) Prompts Completed
Read
Evita – Buenos Aires – Set in OR about a place you’ve never been but want to visit
For this one, I read a book set in New Orleans – This Cursed House, by Del Sandeen. It was okay, and the ideas behind it were really interesting. though I think would have been much stronger with better editing.
Books to Read: Tell Me I’m Worthless, Black Victorians: Hidden in History, Love at First Psych
2025 TV Shows Reading Challenge
9/12 (+2) Prompts Completed
Read
Stranger Things – A ‘coming of age’ book
Blob was a fun book – it was different to what I usually read, and quite interesting. I don’t think it’s for everyone, but it’s one of those books that feels like it deserves to find its audience.
This Is Us – A book with different timelines
Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy Kiss Across Time as much as I thought it would. It overall felt rushed and messy.
Books to Read: A Hunger Like No Other, The Wedding Witch, Medusa’s Sister
Be Curious – Non-Fiction Challenge 2025
9/12 (+1) Prompts Completed
Read
Biology – Ah, life
ADHD was a really interesting, fascinating look at ADHD, one which explains ADHD and the impact it has on people’s lives. Definitely recommend this, especially if you or someone you love has ADHD.
Books to Read: Invisible Women, Alien Earths, Bookish
Romance Readers Diversity Challenge 2025
8/12, +1 Bonus (+2) Prompts Completed
Currently Reading
A historical queer romance – A book set in the past featuring a same-sex relationship, or a character who is non-gender conforming (trans, non-binary, etc).
For this one, I’m reading The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Benet, and absolutely loving it! McLeod has done a really good job with the setting and the characters, and every time I pick it up, it leaves me smiling.
Read
A romance set on a different continent to you – A book set in a continent you don’t live in. Extra points if it’s not Europe or North America
I was really excited for Match Me If You Can, but unfortunately it didn’t quite live up to expectations! One of those instances where the book just wasn’t for me.
A sapphic romance – A romance between two women
This book prompted a discussion between myself and another friend about the state of sapphic contemporary romance, but I think I’m just generally struggling with contemporary romance at the moment. I wasn’t a huge fan of Written in the Stars, unfortunately.
Books to Read: The Mercury In Me, Wish You Were Her, Lap Dance! for Dystopia
2025 SFF Title Challenge
9/16 (+3) Prompts Completed
Currently Reading
black
The Black Hunger is my current audiobook. It’s quite a lengthy one, but I’m really enjoying it! It’s a blend of historical, gothic horror and fantasy, and I’m on the second half of the book, where things are really starting to connect together.
Read
forest
The Forest of Stars was a lovely Middle Grade fantasy, centring around a young girl searching for her father after her mother’s death, and finding herself at a magical carnival.
space
And on a completely different spectrum, I really enjoyed kinky queer erotica Space Army Recruits: Day 1, which is about, well, space army recruits. They discover that on Day 30, there will be a specific challenge, and they decide to get some ‘training’ in ahead of time.
hunting/hunters
And the last book I finished for this challenge this month was the Star Wars Darth Maul novel, Shadow Hunter. It was okay, if a little frustrating at times.
Books to Read: Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, Sorcery and Small Magics, Down in the Sea of Angels
Netflix Movies & TV Shows
16/24 (+1) Prompts Completed
Read
The Crown – Multiple Time Periods – book with multiple time periods
This was a duplicate, as I had Kiss Across Time on this prompt for a long, long time. Very glad to have marked it off and completed another prompt on this seemingly never ending challenge!
Books to Read: So You Want to Talk About Race, All That Remains, A Discovery of Witches
So, there we have it – more prompts completed this month, and hopefully I can keep this momentum up, otherwise I think I really do risk not completing any challenges this year! That said, I have some time off from work coming up through September, so hopefully I can get through a few more before October.
Unwrapping Words 