Free For All Friday: 2025 Reading Firsts

 

Free For All Friday: 2025 Reading Firsts

Describing the Tag

The 2025 Reading Firsts tag is all about discussing which book you read (or other milestone) first in various categories. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to look back at some of my earlier reads and reminisce. I saw A Knight's Reads do this and knew it would be perfect for me. 

If you see this and feel like you wanna give it a try, consider yourself tagged! 

The Prompts

• First book read in 2025
• First book reviewed in 2025
• First debut novel read in 2025
• First new-to-me author of 2025
• First book that slayed me in 2025
• First book of 2025 I wish I could get back the time I spent reading it

My Picks and Explanations

If any of these books fit multiple prompts, I would choose the next book to have all different reads

First book read

Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica

I had mixed feelings about this one. I had a lot of trouble keeping up with the different perspectives, which didn't help my experience. If you pick this one up, maybe try physical or digital because the audio didn't work out.

First book reviewed

Recommended Reading by Paul J. Coccia

My first review on my blog of the year! You can check it out here. Spoiler alert, I quite enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who likes LGBTQ+ YA stories.

First debut novel

Good Lookin' Cookin' by Dolly Parton and Rachel Parton George

This is a bit of a cop-out answer, as it is certainly not Dolly's first book. That said, it is Rachel's first book. Admittedly, I only listened to the audiobook, so I cannot speak to the recipes personally, but I am confident they are fantastic. 

 

First new-to-me author

When Haru Was Here by Dustin Thao

The real answer is Mark Kubica, but as discussed earlier, I'm not repeating. Well, Dustin was my second and... I wish he weren't. I did not like this book very much. I haven't heard anything better about his other stories either. The cover art is by far the best part about his books. 

First book that slayed me

Bunny Season by Bindi Kennedy

I wasn't entirely sure what this prompt meant, so I took it to mean my first 5-star read of the year. This book is incredible, and Bindi is an incredible human who deserves all of the love! If a hockey romcom is at all of interest to you, this is a must-read!

First book I regret reading

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

I normally enjoy the books by Christina Lauren, but unfortunately, this was not one of them. The miscommunication in it is so monstrously bad. The book would be significantly shorter if even a single productive conversation had happened. 

Final Thoughts

Wowie, this was quite the adventure down memory lane. We had some highs and some lows. I liked this challenge and how simple it was. Have you read any of these? I'll see all of you again next Free For All Friday, where who knows what we will end up discussing. Fridays will always be my favorite blog day because I get to show the most of my personality in my posts.