January 3rd's Friday Post

Welcome to the first Friday of 2025.  I'm going to kick things off with a Friday Post.  I will be linking up to:

Book Beginnings
First Line Friday
Friday 56
Book Blogger Hop

My teaser for the first three will be coming from Rivers and Creaks by Marc Jedel.

This book actually came out back in late 2023, but I'm just now getting to it.  And the book begins like this:

“Here are all the keys to your new castle,” Juliet chirped, sounding ridiculously happy, like she was getting away with something.

Is she getting away with something?

Meanwhile, 56% into the book, we find this:

Before she could launch into another boring story about people I could care less about, I followed up. “I heard you and Katie got into an argument on Wednesday evening.”
Sophia came to an abrupt halt and glared at me. “You some sort of curmudgeonly busybody?”
I resented that description.

This book was a bit of a mixed bag for me.  But I'll talk more about that when I post my review next week, most likely on Thursday.  Of course, I have to actually write the review first.

Meanwhile, let's wrap things up with the Book Blogger Hop.  This week's question is:

It's 2025; are you looking forward to any highly anticipated book releases or reading events in January or the following months?

I'm not sure any of the books I'm looking forward to would be considered high profile.  But the highest profile release of 2025 I'm looking forward to is Nemesis by Gregg Hurwitz, which comes out in February.

That's it for me this week.  Hope you have a great first weekend of 2025.

Book Review: Gilt Trip by Diane Vallere (Samantha Kidd #14)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Characters we love in a great mystery

Cons: I don’t think this book is gilt-y of any

The Bottom Line:

Snowed in with killer

Banquet night does not go well

Book is fun for us

Samantha Must Find the Gilt-y Party

It’s been a few months since I last visited with Samantha Kidd since I prioritized some of author Diane Vallere’s other series at the end of 2024.  So I was glad to get a chance to revisit her again in Gilt Trip, the fourteenth in the series.  And it was great to be back in her presence.

Over the course of the series, Samantha has had quite a few jobs in the fashion industry, all in her hometown of Ribbon, Pennsylvania.  Along the way, we’ve gotten to know some of her friends as well as a couple of the detectives in town since Samantha has a habit of stumbling over murder victims and getting involved in the cases.

But this night isn’t about Samantha.  Instead, her husband, Nick Taylor, has been nominated for an award, and Samantha is determined to make the night all about him and his accomplishments.  However, her plans of buying a table so they can celebrate with their friends and family isn’t turning out well since everyone is mad at Samantha for one thing or another.

Before the night can really get started, Samantha does it again.  She finds the toastmaster dead in a closet in the hotel.  With a January blizzard raging outside, the police aren’t able to come, so it is up to Samantha to take center stage and find the killer.  Can she do it without further alienating her loved ones?

Yes, the entire book does take place in one night.  That’s a first for the series and something that rarely happens in the books I read.  And Diane does a great job of keeping the story moving forward.  I never once felt like things were dragging.  Naturally, with the locked room setting, all the suspects are right there, so Samantha has access to them all.  There are some nice twists along the way to the climax.  And yes, everything made sense when we reached the end.

Even though the book all takes place in one night, we have other series regulars on hand, so we get updates on all of them.  As always, it was great to spend time with them, and I liked how their lives were progressing.  In fact, we saw one that had been missing for several books.  I’d kind of figured we weren’t going to see her again any time soon.

With all the personal drama going on to start the book, it’s no surprise that we got some great character growth as well, especially for Samantha.  I really enjoyed those parts.

Plus, there’s the humor.  As fans of the series know, Samantha is always good for a few laughs, and this book is no exception.  And, even though the main event is a fancy banquet, we also get some of the junk food talk I always enjoy in the series.

Gilt Trip is another fantastic book from the pen of Diane Vallere.  If you are looking for a light, fun mystery series, you need to read about Samantha.  If you are already a fan who hasn’t caught up yet, you’ll enjoy this book when you get to it.

Check out the rest of the Samantha Kidd Mysteries.

Reading Challenge: Reading by The Numbers 2025

I will be back for the Reading by the Numbers challenge in 2025.  It's a fairly simple challenge - set a reading goal and then have fun reading to get there.  That's it.  No levels.  Nothing but what you think you will hit.  And you can always increase your number of books along the way.

I'm going to do like I did last year and start out with a goal of 90 books for 2025.  I'm sure I'll be along part way into the year to increase it, but I don't want to set it too high.  This is the same strategy I employ for my Goodreads challenge each year.  In fact, this is a little less than I've done recently.  But I'm feeling like I might be slowing down my reading and reviewing this year.  We'll see if that holds true or not, I guess.  If I keep reading like always, I'll up my goal along the way.

I'll list my books below as I finish them:

1. Gilt Trip by Diane Vallere

Reading Challenge: COYER 2025

 I'll be signing up for another year of the COYER Challenge.  And I do mean year.  Instead of doing the quarterly seasons, in 2025, it is going to be a year long challenge focusing on the original meaning of the challenge - Cleaning Out Your E-Reader.  

All books read for the challenge have to be ebooks or audiobooks.  Books have to be under $5, and audiobooks must be under $7.50.  Fortunately, library books and eARCs count for this challenge.

There will be quarterly check ins, but other than that, these are the rules that will be in force for the year.  It will be interesting to see where I land with this since I go through stages where I read a lot of ebooks, and then I start to read physical books again.

As always, I will list the books below as I finish them.

1. Gilt Trip by Diane Vallere

Reading Challenge: 52 Books in 52 Weeks 2025

I'll be back for another year of 52 Books in 52 Weeks.  This is another easy challenge, read at least a book a week.  In my case, it's more about which book I decide to highlight since I average more than that usually.

Yes, there are mini challenges and themes along the way, but they are optional, and since I usually have my own reading agenda, if I participate, it is by accident.

I'll list the books below as I finish them:

1. Gilt Trip by Diane Vallere

Reading Challenge: Netgalley and Edelweiss 2025

I will be back for this year's Netgalley and Edelweiss reading challenge.  The challenge is just like how it sounds, read books you got from Netgalley or Edelweiss for review.

While I made my goal last year, I think I'm going to cut back a little this year.  I feel like I won't be taking as many ARCs, and some I take aren't from Netgalley or Edelweiss, so this is probably wiser for me.  So I'm signing up for Bronze, with is 10 books.  We'll see how I do.

I'll list the books below as I complete them:

1. 

Reading Challenge: New Release 2025

I'll be back for another year of the New Release Challenge.  I read more than enough new releases to participate after all.  It's once again at its new home - The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog.

I'm going to cut back to New Release Pro this year, which is 31-60 books.  I'll probably blow past it, but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew this year.

I'll list the books below as I complete them.

1. 

Reading Challenge: Mount TBR and Virtual Mount TBR 2025

I'll be back for both the Mount TBR and the Virtual Mount TBR challenges in 2025.

The Mount TBR Challenge requires us to read books we already owned as of December 31st, 2024.  I will once again be signing up for Pike's Peak, which is 12 books.  I usually pass that, but I don't want to jinx myself.

Meanwhile, the Virtual Mount TBR Challenge is about reading books that you borrowed, either from the library or someone else.  It is a little more lax as it doesn't have to be something that was on your radar before the first of the year.  As usual, I will sign up for Mount Crumpet, which is 24 books.

I'll be listing the books below as I finish them.

Mount TBR

1. Gilt Trip by Diane Vallere

Virtual Mount TBR

1.

Reading Challenge: Audiobooks 2025

 I will be signing up for the Audiobook Challenge again in 2025.  This year, it is again hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and That's What I'm Talking About.

Again this year, I'll be signing up for the Stenographer level, which is 10-15 books.  My own sub-challenge is to listen to one a month.  In 2024, I actually got 16 listened to.  We'll see if I match that or not.

On a related not, I'm a moderator in the Audiobook Junkies group on Goodreads.  It's not a very active group, but some people do use it to track their reads for this challenge.  We'd love to have you if you want to do that.  Additionally, if you want to join, I'm looking for some fresh ideas for the coming year.

I'll post the books below as I finish them.

1. 

Reading Challenge: Foodie Reads 2025

I will be continuing on with participating in Foodie Reads in 2025.  This isn't really a challenge, just a chance to link up your culinary themed books, and a chance to win a quarterly gift card.  What's not to love about it?

I'll be listing the books below as I finish them.

1. 

Reading Challenge: Historical Fiction 2025

I will be back for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge in 2025.  There are still plenty of historical mysteries out there calling my name.  I've got some new series I'm interested in starting and several series I need to try to catch up on.

Again, this year, I'll be aiming for the Medieval level, which is 15.  My goal is two a month, which would almost take me to the next level, which is 25 books.  But I want to have a little flexibility in case I don't make my own goal.

I'll list the books below as I finish them.

1. 

Reading Challenge: Calendar of Crime 2025

I'm looking forward to another year participating in the Calendar of Crime challenge.  This is a different challenge as you only need to read 12 books, but they have to fit certain categories to represent the twelve months of the year.  Things like release month, setting month, author birthday, etc.  You can find the categories here (or if that doesn't work, there is a link at the first link I shared.

I'll be very curious to see what I wind up with as entries this year.  I'll fill them in, with the category, as I read them.  And unlike 2024, I'm only planning to fill in the calendar once.  But we'll see if that sticks or not.

January - Gilt Trip by Diane Vallere (Book set during a January snow storm)

February - 

March - 

April - 

May - 

June - 

July - 

August - 

September - 

October - 

November - 

December - 

Reading Challenge: Cloak and Dagger 2025

I'll be participating in the Cloak and Dagger Challenge again in 2025.  Since I mostly read mysteries, this is an easy one for me to join.  Naturally, I'll be signing up for Sherlock Holmes again, which is 56+ books.  I'm not too worried about meeting this goal based on my current reading levels.

I'll list the books below as I finish them.

1. Gilt Trip by Diane Vallere

Reading Challenge: Cruisin' Through the Cozies and Craving for Cozies 2025

I'll be signing up for the Cruisin' Through the Cozies and Craving for Cozies Challenges again in 2025.  No surprise since I read so many cozies each year.

For Cruisin', I'll be signing up for Level 4, which is read 40 cozies mysteries of my choice.

For Craving, I'll be signing up for the Yearning level, which is 51-75 cozies.  I'll probably wind up blowing past it, but I want to aim for a lower level this year.

I'll list the books below as I finish them.

1. Gilt Trip by Diane Vallere