2025 Reading Challenges ~ 1st Quarter Update

Happy Saturday y’all! I cannot believe we are already here at the end of the 1st quarter of 2025 🤯 This year feels like it is flying by. So far, it has been my best reading year in over three years. I’ve read 35 books so far this year, all contributing to my challenges. I think I’ve finally found my reading groove again thanks to some of my new year’s resolutions. I’m reading more, doom scrolling less, and alternating between books so I don’t get bored. Check out my progress below.

The 2025 Audiobook Challenge is hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer & That’s What I’m Talking About. For this challenge, you simply have to listen to audiobooks. You can still join this challenge here. My original goal for this year is Marathoner (50+ audiobooks) with the goal of listening to one audiobook a week, and I am killing it 🙌 During the first quarter of 2025, I’ve listened to 18 audiobooks. Here are the books I listened to:

1. Wool by Hugh Howey
2. On the Edge by Ilona Andrews
3. Together We Burn by Isabel Ibañez
4. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
5. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
6. Shift by Hugh Howey
7. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
8. Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor
9. Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews
10. The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis
11. The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor
12. First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison
13. The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J Maas
14. Fate’s Edge by Ilona Andrews
15. Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston
16. Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray
17. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
18. Game by Barry Lyga

The 2025 Beat the Backlist Reading Challenge was started by Austine Decker in 2017 and is now hosted on its own site, Beat the Backlist. This challenge is all about reading your backlist, anything published before the current year counts. You can still sign up for the challenge here. My goal for this challenge is to read 50 books from my backlist with at least half of those meeting the challenge prompts which you can see here. So far I’ve read 18 books during the first quarter from my backlist and 9 of those meet the challenge prompts. Here are the books I read:

1. Wool by Hugh Howey
2. On the Edge by Ilona Andrews
3. Together We Burn by Isabel Ibañez
4. Beauty and the Mustache by Penny Reid
5. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
6. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
7. Shift by Hugh Howey
8. Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor
9. Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews
10. Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli
11. The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis
12. The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J Maas
13. Fate’s Edge by Ilona Andrews
14. Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston
15. Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray
16. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
17. Game by Barry Lyga
18. Defy the Worlds by Claudia Gray

The 2025 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge is hosted by Susan @ Bloggin’ Bout Books. For this challenge, you are to read books with a cover that matches one of the 50 prompts. You can still sign up here. My goal for this challenge is Level Three (21-30 books). This one isn’t as easy as I originally thought it would be. So far, I’ve read 3 books for this challenge. Here are the ones I read during the 1st quarter of 2025:

1. On the Edge by Ilona Andrews
2. Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor
3. Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston

The 2025 Library Love Challenge is hosted by Angel’s Book Nook & Books of My Heart. The point of this challenge is to read more books from the library with a minimum of 12 books for the year. You can still sign up here. I set the goal of reading at least 2 books per month from the library or 24 books for the year. So far, I’ve read 10 books this quarter. Here are the books I’ve read so far:

1. On the Edge by Ilona Andrews
2. Shift by Hugh Howey
3. Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor
4. Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews
5. The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis
6. Fate’s Edge by Ilona Andrews
7. Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray
8. Ninja at First Sight by Penny Reid
9. Game by Barry Lyga
10. Defy the Worlds by Claudia Gray

The 2025 Fantasy/Sci-Fi Reading Challenge is hosted by Rachel @ Fantasy and Sci-Fi Fanatics. For this challenge, there is a prompt for each month to read a specific trope/setting in those genres. My goal is to read at least one book that fits theme each month. Here are the books I read this quarter:

• Jan: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
• Feb: The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis
• March: Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston

Here are the books I’m planning to read during the second quarter:

• April (a Greek mythology-inspired fantasy): Lore by Alexandra Bracken
• May (a fantasy/sci-fi book with flowers on the cover): Belladonna by Adalyn Grace
• June (a book that takes place on another planet): Dark Eden by Chris Beckett

The 2025 New Release Reading Challenge has a new home this year at The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog. This challenge is all about reading those new releases, anything published during the new year counts. You can still sign up here. This year my goal is New Release Pro (31-60 books). During the 1st quarter of 2025, I’ve read 15 new releases. Here are the books I read:

1. Playing Flirty by Shameez Patel
2. Kingdom of Faewood by Krista Street
3. All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall
4. The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith
5. The Forest King’s Daughter by Elly Blake
6. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
7. The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor
8. All the Hidden Monsters by Amie Jordan
9. Veil of Shadows by Krista Street
10. First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison
11. Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven
12. Shadows of a Crown by M. Lynn, Melissa A. Craven
13. Shadow and Tide by Rachel Greenlaw
14. The Deathly Grimm by Kathryn Purdie
15. Swept Away by Beth O’Leary

The 2025 NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge is hosted by Socrates Book Reviews. This challenge is for all reviewers out there that may be behind (like me) on reading those arcs or just want to improve their NetGalley percentage. You can still sign up here. My goal is to raise my NetGalley percentage by 5 points by mid-year. To do this, I currently need to read a minimum of 27 books AND any books I receive between now and June. With that in mind, my goal for 2025 is Silver (25 books) which I will most likely raise mid-year. During this quarter, I’ve read 11 books and DNF’ed 3 for a total of 14 NetGalley books. Here are the books I’ve read:

1. Playing Flirty by Shameez Patel
2. All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall
3. Together We Burn by Isabel Ibañez
4. The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis
5. The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor
6. First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison
7. Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven
8. Shadow and Tide by Rachel Greenlaw
9. The Deathly Grimm by Kathryn Purdie
10. Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston
11. Swept Away by Beth O’Leary

DNF’ed:

1. Reflection: The Stranger in the Mirror by Rachel R. Smith
2. Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope
3. Celebrity Crush by Christy Swift

Your Turn! Are you participating in any reading challenges this year? How are you doing so far? Share below

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