Five Star Friday is my version of the monthly wrap-up. On the first Friday of each month, I will share my five-star reads from the previous month. Fingers crossed, I have lots of books to tell you about.
This month, I was able to read 24 books, and I had 6 five-star reads. My book count may have been down, but I feel like I finished with a high number of quality reads.
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca on Feb 3, 2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Rating:
Goodreads
College rivals become workplace frenemies-turned-lovers in this warm, sexy contemporary romance from New York Times bestseller Jill Shalvis. First, they were rivals… Now they're stuck with each other…
Retired hockey player Caleb Colburn needs this construction project to prove himself in the family business, but he also needs to recover from the injury that ended his pro career. Too bad Emma Sumner, architect liaison and Caleb's college nemesis, is back in town and assigned to the project. They're going to have to see each other almost every day. Which means once again she'll make his life a living hell.
As for Emma, her job is on the line with this big project, made all the more challenging by the project manager. Caleb was the one who had snagged the scholarship she'd desperately needed to stay in college. She's been living hand to mouth ever since and has no intention of ever forgiving the man.
But the beautiful historic building they're renovating is exactly the kind of project that they both love best. Their surprising common ground and a burning mutual attraction start bringing them closer and closer to a potentially explosive mistake. And that's even before the secrets come out…
Shavis never disappoints, and this was another prime example of her winning combination of humor and warmth. I fell in love with the Colburns in He Falls First, and I fell even harder with this book. I loved the rivals-to-lovers romance, and it was a pleasure to root for both Caleb and Emma in their professional pursuits.
[review]
Published by Dell on September 30, 2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Rating:
Goodreads
In this sweeping, second-chance romance, a twist of fate forces two former roommates to move back into their beloved New York City brownstone and face the events that led to their estrangement—and confront their unresolved feelings for each other.
Subject 74 Perry Street
So begins the email that turns June Wood’s entire world on its head. Five years ago, she lived on Perry Street with her former best friend Adam Harper. But why is the management company reaching out to her about it now?
Still smarting from the news of her hit TV show being canceled, June has nothing else to lose. She boards a plane from Los Angeles to New York City to find out more about the mysterious email and the promised opportunity it alludes to. It turns out that, thanks to an unbelievable legal loophole, if she and Adam can live together in the stunning West Village brownstone for a month, it’s theirs. Any true New Yorker knows you don’t pass up prime city real estate, and that fall in the city is magical—so what’s there to think about?
And yet, though most things have changed in the time since they last spoke, one thing hasn’ June and Adam have unfinished business. They didn’t exactly end on good terms when they each went off to chase their dreams. Now, confronted with the consequences of their choices, they must navigate the minefield of their past the best way they know together.
Every day they move closer to owning Perry Street reveals misunderstandings, long-term resentments, and long-buried feelings . . . which are suddenly feeling very, very not so buried. But they’ve already lost their friendship once before, devastating them both. Can they risk losing it again for something a little different this time?
I did not expect to love this one so much, but Richard told this story in such a way that I could not help by be all in. I wanted this reunion, this second chance at love. I wanted so badly for things to be different this time for June and Adam, and I was glad to get to learn their history as I rooted for their HEA.
[review]
Published by Dell on February 10, 2026
Age/Genres: Adult, Sports, Romance
Rating:
Goodreads
When a competitive rower’s losing streak threatens her Olympic dreams, she must train for the summer with a hometown coach to win it all back in this irresistible opposites-attract romance.
Katherine Parker doesn’t just dream of rowing in the Olympics. She has a carefully crafted plan. With a strict training schedule, a meticulous diet, and no one else in her boat to slow her down, she’s as good as gold.
Then her boyfriend breaks up with her at the starting line of a big race and Kath comes in dead last. She’s swiftly kicked off the team and out of the Olympic Training Center—the only place she’s ever felt at home.
With one shot to win back her spot, Kath returns to her hometown to train with a new coach. The upside? Coach Adrian is hot. The downside? Instead of letting Kath follow her own training regimen, Adrian pushes her outside her comfort zone, urging her to try new things and let go of control.
With her Olympic dreams on the line, Kath will have to choose: stick to her perfect plan, or find out if the key to winning—and happiness—is to embrace the part of rowing that makes it fun, one sweaty, sexy training session at a time.
This is a book that had me cheering loudly. I wanted Kath to get her Olympic dream so badly, and I was even more interested in seeing her do it with Adrian by her side. Both characters won my heart, and with the story being about an elite athlete, it pumped me up quite a bit.
[review]
Published by Atria on June 10, 2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction
Rating:
Goodreads
The “absolutely hilarious” (Real Simple) Amy Poeppel delights once again with a charming new novel about a house swap gone wonderfully awry.
Perfect strangers Lucy and Greta have agreed to a house swap—and boy, are they going to regret it.
Lucy’s hometown of Dallas has gone from home sweet home to vicious snake pit in the blink of an eye after her son makes a mistake he can’t undo. And Greta’s beloved flat in Berlin is suddenly up for grabs when her husband Otto takes a dream job in Texas without even telling her. In their rush to leave town, Lucy and Greta make a deal, pack their bags, and—thanks to martinis, desperation, and some very rusty German—have absolutely no idea what they’re getting themselves into.
Trading Southern charm and barbecue for European sophistication and schnitzel, the two women get a lot more than a change of scenery as they move into each other’s houses, neighborhoods, and lives. Greta and Lucy’s husbands are no help: Otto is winning over his colleagues, swimming laps in the backyard pool, and rooting for the Rangers, while Lucy’s husband is doing a six-month stretch out west, either in a NASA biosphere or in jail, depending on who you ask. Meanwhile, Greta’s daughter Emmi and Lucy’s son Jack get tossed into each other’s orbits, where they both discover secrets they can’t ignore.
When Greta’s biggest career achievement—the buzzworthy purchase of a Vermeer at auction—is thrown into question and Lucy’s past with a hot Viking named Bjørn invades her present, the two women need each other in ways they never could have imagined. Through jet lag, culture shock, suspiciously nice neighbors, and scandals that refuse to be left behind, Lucy and Greta will have to decide if they can ever go home again.
Such a fun premise which resulted in a fun story. I loved following these two families on their house swap. It was interesting watching them adapt to their new homes, but I also adored all the ways they grew and changed. There were quite a few subplots involved, and they were all fantastic wrapping up in a final chapter that made me squeal with joy.
[review]
Published by Berkley on February 3, 2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Rating:
Goodreads
Twelve stories. Twelve months. Once chance to heal her heart...
When Tilly Nightingale receives a call telling her there’s a birthday gift from her fiancé waiting for her at her local bookshop, it couldn’t come as more of a shock. Partly because she can’t remember the last time she read a book for pleasure. Mainly because Joe died five months ago… The gift is simple – twelve carefully-chosen books from Joe, one for each month, to help her turn the page on her first year without him.
Tilly sets out on a series of reading-inspired adventures that take her around the world. But as she begins to vlog her journey, her story becomes more than her own. With help from Alfie, the bookshop owner, her budding new following and her friends and family, can Tilly’s year of books show her how to love again?
Page took a fairly sad premise and made it so beautiful. We have seen this sort of thing before with letters sent by a dearly departed loved one, but here, we had books selected to help a young widow learn to live again. Obviously, I was all about the book-love, but I also thought the author did such a wonderful job exploring Tilly's emotions. I shed some tears, but I had a lot of laughs, and I also enjoyed the save-the-bookshop story line (bookshops are forever needing saving!!!).
Published by The Dial Press on July 1, 2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Fiction
Rating:
Goodreads
Two sisters examine what they owe each other and what they are willing to sacrifice to make their family dreams come true.
What would you give up for the person you love most? What would you expect in return?
Mia and Cricket have always been close. The gifted daughters of a young single mother, the “Lowe girls” are well-known in the small Maine town they call home. Each sister has a role to fill: The responsible and academically minded Mia assumes the position of caregiver far too young, while Cricket, a bouncing ball of energy and talent, seems born for soccer stardom. But the cost of achieving athletic greatness comes at a steep price.
As Mia and Cricket grow up, they must grapple with the legacy of their mother’s secret past while navigating their own precarious future. Can Mia allow herself to fall in love at the risk of repeating a terrible history? Will Cricket’s relentless chase of a lifelong goal drive her sister away? When does loyalty become self-sabotage?
A sharply observed and tender portrait of sisters, love, and ambition, Spectacular Things is a sweeping story about the impossible choices we’re forced to make in pursuit of our dreams.
I am trash for sibling stories, but this one took it up a notch by combining that with the story of an elite athlete. It was such a captivating tale, watching these women grow and change and end in a place where they were faced with huge decisions. I was fully engrossed and invested and LOVED the way it all unfolded.
Honorable Mention
December was packed with great reading. Here are my honorable mention books. All earned 4.5 stars.
- Cocoa Kisses by Melanie Jacobson
- The Lust Crusade by Jo Segura
- Sweet Thing by Kate Meader
Let us know in the comments!
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