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. 

Top 5 Tuesday: LGBTQ+ Romances

Top 5 Tuesday: Books Want to Reread Someday

Welcome back to Top 5 Tuesday! I'm here and feeling queer so let's bring that beautiful energy to this week's prompt. 

This week's prompt is..... LGBTQ+ romances

All different kinds of LGBTQ+ representation are here. These are all books I have read this year. I will outline what representation each one has so if you are looking for a specific identity, you can find it. Just keep in mind while the MCs in all of these are queer, some of the listed representations are side characters.

#1 has gay, pansexual, lesbian, and drag queen

#2 has gay, trans, and pansexual

#3 has gay and lesbian

#4 has gay and bisexual

#5 has gay

1. Recommended Reading by Paul Coccia
2. Conflict Mediation by DC Emerson
3. Runnin' No More by GT Dipe
4. Cross My Heart by Shae Ruby
5. When Haru Was Here by Dustin Thao

Here it all is in a pretty lil' graphic 😁

See you all next Tuesday for another (admittedly less queer) top 5!

January 2025 Reads

 January 2025 Reads

This month I read 15 books 

These books were 80 % fiction (my lowest ever)

They were 0% physical, 33% digital, and 67% audio

The most popular genres were romance, contemporary, and LGBTQ+

My average rating was 4.1 stars

My longest reading day was January 3rd

The Books

➽ Don't You Cry by Mary Kubica

➽  The Fiancé Dilemma by Elena Armas

➽ Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

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

➽ Streams and Schemes by Rebecca Kinkade

➽ When Haru Was Here by Dustin Thao

➽ Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

➽ Recommended Reading by Paul Coccia

➽ So You Want a #BOOKBOYFRIEND? by Ariana St. Claire

➽ The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

➽ Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeny

➽ Unapologetically ADHD by Peter D. Wright & Nikki Kinzer

➽ Bunny Season by Bindi Kennedy

➽ The Manicurist's Daughter by Susan Lieu

➽ Conflict Mediation by D.C. Emerson

Recommended Reading by Paul Coccia Review

 

* This review is spoiler-free *

4.25/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ Matchmaker

➮ Friends to lovers

➮ Small town

➮ Miscommunication

➮ Grumpy x sunshine

Blurb

In this opposites-attract YA rom-com inspired by Emma, a failed romantic gesture puts a damper on a queer teen bookseller’s summer of book matching and matchmaking until a handsome lifeguard and romance skeptic waltzes into his bookstore. Sometimes you get a second chance at happily ever after when you least expect it...

Curvaceous, clever, and an avid reader, seventeen-year-old Bobby Ashton never misses a main character moment. So when it comes to asking out his crush, he plans a romantic gesture grand enough to go down in local history. Unfortunately, though, his extensive knowledge of every rom-com trope ever doesn’t prepare him for how tragically he misreads the situation. Suddenly Bobby’s very public romantic gesture turns into an ordeal so embarrassing it could be a villain origin story.

Having masterfully shattered every plan for his perfect summer before college, Bobby’s last resort is working at his uncle’s sleepy bookstore. Soon, Bobby is expertly recommending books for customers to perfectly cure what ails them. Attempting to rebound after a breakup? There’s a book for that. Trying to tame your crochety coworker? There’s a book for that too. Then a plot twist Bobby never saw coming walks through the door in the form of Luke, an unfairly attractive and staunchly anti-romantic lifeguard.

Bobby’s blossoming connection with Luke reminds him of some of his favorite tropes: grumpy sunshine, quippy banter, and even forced proximity. But after his last romantic disaster, should Bobby use all the tricks in his arsenal to turn Luke’s head? Or is he misreading all the signs again? Do grand gestures really need to be so…grand?

LGBTQ+ Representation

5/5 🌈

This one has all of the rep you could possibly ask for. It has gay, lesbian, pansexual, drag queen, and ally representation. Every queer character in this book is unapologetically queer and it is a notable part of their character. Some are much more open about their identity while others are more quiet about it which reflects real life quite well. 

My Thoughts

This story was so camp which definitely grew on me as the story went on. At first, I will admit, Bobby's blunders felt like a lot and were a bit of a cringe factor but Coccia let the rest of the story unfold in such a way that it totally made up for it and made for a surprisingly well-rounded character. 

Bobby went from a bumbling idiot to someone who sometimes actually looks before he leaps. The genuine character development is what made this story special. I was genuinely nervous at first that the only redeeming quality about him would be how purely camp he was. Luke was a true catalyst for him to grow simply by showing him another perspective. Their eventual communication was genuine and refreshing. 

Seeing an unapologetically gay and plus-sized MC was refreshing. I hope this openness and pride continue throughout more releases this year. It can make many queer people feel more seen in literature. 

My favorite character by far in this story was Gladys (the OG, read the story and you will know what I mean). Her wit and quips towards Bobby were the best. Seeing her slowly warm up was the best. Characters like her are one of my favorite microtropes. 

I received this book as an arc from Hear Our Voices. My review is honest and voluntary.