The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

Here is the Review Raffle thread for Winter 2025.

We will draw a random name from anyone who posts a review in this thread and they will be given the opportunity to create a task in the Fall 2025 season - the more reviews that you post, the more chance of being drawn!

Reviews must be for books read within the current challenge period. You may link to your review on Goodreads, or type the review in the thread. (Please do not link to a review on a site outside of Goodreads).

Your review does not have to be positive but it should be at least a couple of sentences long - "loved it" or "not for me" is not helpful to other readers!

Please remember to include your Readerboard name when posting your review.

XBM
Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


My son's mother-in-law, who was my best friend in college, recommended this author to me many years ago. I finally got around to reading her about 7 years ago, and with this book, I have read all five that she has written.
The book came out in 2012, but the truths that held then, still hold today. Many women reach a certain age and become invisible, their families and employers know they will get the job done, whether that is raising a family or running the company, or both, and end up taking them for granted. In this book, the women actually do become invisible, and come together to show support, be seen, and change their piece of the world.
I don't often review books, but it occurred to me that this book would fit a number of different tasks, including 10.8 or 15.3 book 2 - published in January, 15.4 book 1 (cover that is 50 percent red and/or white according to Tineye), 25.6, option 4 - MPG humor, or 25.1 - along with a book by her daughter, Ann Patchett

Kelly L

**Thanks to Atria Books for providing an advanced reader copy through NetGalley! Publication date: 1/13/2026**

Is This a Cry for Help? is a deeply 2026 book - we're talking book bans, cyberstalking, grief, queer folks with severe anxiety... there's a lot going on. And, also - it's a love letter to libraries and the individuals who make them possible. I appreciated the complexities of the main characters and thought the writing was solid. (view spoiler)[There was a very late plot twist that I saw coming from a mile away and felt was over the top. I also felt confused by the friends who served as supporting characters - this friend group seemed to know nothing about each other??? (hide spoiler)]

But, ultimately, it was a solid read and reflected much of what I & my peers are feeling in the current political climate.
3.25 / 5 stars

Kelly L

**Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager for providing an advanced reader copy through NetGalley!**

Playing for Keeps, published 1/6/2026

Woof. The best thing I can say about this is that I'm glad there are SO many sapphic romances being published, that I don't feel guilty panning this one.

There were a couple of steamy scenes that were well-written but otherwise this was a big miss for me. It borrowed way too much from Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce's relationship, and the whole plot was one ridiculous twist after another. The writing was repetitive and bad. The conflict the MCs had to overcome was super contrived and (view spoiler)[Cash’s trip to Ansel’s house was completely out of character and kind of insane? (hide spoiler)]

Unfortunately I am done reading this author; each book I’ve given a chance has been subpar.

Kelly L

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book was released in the US on January 27, 2026.**

Happy pub date to debut author Liza Anderson! We Who Have No Gods follows siblings Vic and Henry as they are drawn into the community of witches their mom belonged to - and kept them from - before her death. Following in the footsteps of ACOTAR, Fourth Wing and Harry Potter, we have a hidden castle with unpredictable hallways & staircases; monsters of all shapes and sizes; and, of course - a tall, dark, handsome love interest.

I enjoyed aspects of this story, but was often distracted by holes in the plot. For example, (view spoiler)[Vic's entire mission in life is to protect her brother Henry, going so far as to move into a castle full of witches who don't want her there and maybe have it out for her... but all they ever do is shoot embarrassed glances across the room at each other? It's so odd that they seemingly stop interacting with each other as Vic gets more comfortable in the castle. (hide spoiler)]

This was a good first swing at a romantasy and I applaud the effort. I think the sequel will need to offer something more unique for me to be interested in reading it.

Kelly L

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book was released in the US on February 10, 2026.**

Allegra Goodman's last novel, Isola, was a 5-star read and one of my top favorites in 2025, so I was anxiously awaiting her follow-up, and it did not disappoint.

This Is Not About Us untangles the family ties of the Rubensteins, an East Coast-based Jewish family, led by matriarchs Helen and Sylvia. Each chapter focuses in on a single member of the family, but their lives are deeply intertwined so it's never in isolation. I found the first 1/3 of the book to be slow and the characters deeply unlikeable; but over time, they grew on me and I ended up enjoying getting to know them - certainly some more than others. I also learned a lot about modern Judaism, despite having thought I knew a fair bit!

I think fans of Alison Espach's Wedding People will enjoy this family story.

España: A Brief History of Spain, Giles Tremlett
Reviewed by trishhartuk. 4*

I'm one of those people who like to read up on places I'm planning to visit, that I don't know very well. Ahead of a trip to Spain earlier this year, when among other places, we were planning to visit Granada and Ceuta, I realised that I was pretty unfamiliar with the history of the country. I knew it was held by the Moors for a while, and I remember the death of General Franco, and had some knowledge of the 1936-39 Civil War, but beyond that, things were pretty much a blank. So I went looking for a short history, and this was the book I found.

From the myth of Hercules smashing the barrier between the Atlantic and the Med, Espana then moves into more realistic territory, starting with Carthage and working forward chapter by chapter, through the heights of the Spanish Empire, to the loss of its last colonies in the Americas, to the modern day challenges as it has transitioned from Facist dictatorship to democracy in the last fifty years.

Giles Tremlett is a British journalist who has lived in Spain for over twenty years, and has now taken Spanish citizenship, which made him the ideal author for a general primer on what is a far more complex country than I'd ever realised. His style is informative and chatty, while not glossing over the darker parts of Spanish history. This made it very readable, and a great introduction to the country.

Recommended for anyone who is interested in European history.

Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past, Giles Tremlett
Reviewed by trishhartuk. 4*

This was the second part of my pre-trip reading.

Ghosts of Spain is a much more of a travel book, although obviously the history of the country is important for context. Therefore, even though this was first published in 2006, and revised in 2012, while España was only published in 2022, I'm glad I read the history first.

In each chapter, the author takes an event, or an idea, or a region, or an element of Spanish culture, and discusses it in detail. He travels to the regions or places where he can learn more, and meets people connected with the specific subject, giving it a more personal point of view.

Among the eclectic list of subjects he covers are Flamenco, the Basque struggle, the growth of Spanish tourism, whether the people of Catalonia are really seperate to the rest of Spain, and the movement to uncover the lost dead of the Spanish Civil War.

Recommended for readers who want to know more about the people of Spain.