Beat the Dog Days of Summer with These 9 Festive Holiday Reads

by Donna Huber

We are officially heading into the Dog Days of Summer, when the heat is relentless and staying inside with the AC blasting is an absolute must. What better time to catch up on the holiday TBR pile that got lost in last year’s end-of-the-year chaos? Celebrate Christmas in July by clearing out these 2025 festive reads—just in time for the brand-new wave of 2026 holiday titles landing on shelves this September! Not sure where to start? Don't worry, I've rounded up 9 of my favorite holiday books from last year to get you started.

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Spindlewood by Freddie Kölsch ~ a Review

by MK French

Lilac Black pretended to talk to a ghost at a séance to help her uncle, and is now involved in the world of seers and spirits at Spindlewood School of Seeing. She's the only Unseeing student at the school, and must bluff her way through classes and make friends. But something is very wrong at the school, and all of the ghosts are sending messages warning students of danger. Something that adults won't talk about is in the library basement, so it's up to Lilac and her friend to save the school.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

The Skylark Series by Michelle Major ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

A group of friends in Skylark are devastated to find out that one of their book club members has cancer.  She has asked each of her friends to try to do something on their bucket list - something that they want to accomplish but are afraid to try.  Each of the books in this series follows one of the book club members as she tries to meet their bucket list goal.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for honest reviews,

12 Books for a Post-Apocalyptic Book Club

by Donna Huber

My post-apocalyptic book club recently chose its new year of reading. Since we are in a university town, we run on an academic calendar, so our new year starts in August. Have you read any of these books? Which one would you be most excited to read?

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Friday Free Read: The Unbound Bookshop by Rachael Bloome

A bookshop in a sailboat? That sounds so fun. This 4.7 star rated book is only 288 pages, making it a  perfect summer weekend read. Bonus: It's FREE!

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. The ebook was free at the time of posting. Please check the price before purchasing.

Is The Imitation of Christ Audiobook Better on Paper? A Review of Kempis’s Classic

by Donna Huber

Thomas à Kempis's The Imitation of Christ is a timeless devotional guide calling readers to a Christlike life.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free audiobook was provided for an honest review.