Here it is already the end of another month. Where does the time go? I have been busy as usual reading some wonderful books for the month of January of 2025. Here are the 7 books I read and reviewed for January. I might have read even more if I didn’t have a few WIP. But I always seemed to have a WIP! That fact never stops me! I hope you enjoy reading these reviews.

I love sharing my eclectic reads in this Jemsbooks Segment, Books Read in the Month. I hope you will get a chance to look over these books soon. Thank you for your kind support of my work and that of my fellow authors.

If you are an avid reader, as I am, please review the books you love on Amazon or wherever you purchased them for others to enjoy your reviews. Reviews are one way for readers to know about an exceptional book. We indie authors love to receive reviews and appreciate the efforts of readers to do them. Once again, I thank you for your kind support of me and my books and for supporting my fellow authors too.

When I wrote these reviews I rated them on Amazon, Goodreads and sometimes Barnes & Noble. I did not include the ratings here though. It is best to share my thoughts with you about how I felt about the book without the rating. Ratings can be deceiving at times.

We all feel differently about books. Sometimes we love them, sometimes we like them and still other times we may dislike a book. Some other books are so memorable they take our breaths away! While still others are sweet, sensitive, and enjoyable reads that we soon will forget. But all these books I have reviewed were lovely reads as you can see from my reviews. I hope you enjoy my reviews and that they will help you to decide what will be your next read.

Searching for Summer is an emotional read that tugs at one’s heart when a young teen leaves home and breaks her mother’s heart. The main protagonist, Mirabelle, can’t understand why her daughter left home without a word. She is tormented daily and spends all the time searching for any sign of her daughter, Summer. She forfeits her job and her love to try and find her.

During this time Summer is doing whatever she wants unaware of how hard her mother is searching for her and how much she is suffering. Will Mirabelle ever find her daughter and get on with her own life? Will Summer come back on her own terms?

This story takes the reader through all of Mirabelle’s daily searches and details her emotions so deeply that the reader can feel her pain. It is heartbreaking to see her as she sacrifices everything for the love of her daughter.

An emotional read that is hard to put down.

A Calamity of Souls is a moving story of the life and times of racial bias in Freeman County, Virginia. There were still areas that did not offer equal rights to the blacks and this place was as unforgiving as they come.

Two lawyers take on a case involving a black couple who are wrongfully-accused of the murder of a white couple the man worked for. There are many things that come forward that would cause the jury to think that the couple were guilty. With a scrupulous prosecutor and a biased judge it looks like the black couple do not stand a chance.

The author, incomparable David Baldacci, creates this outstanding story about racial inequality that tears at the heartstrings of the reader as the injustices keep mounting along with the unfair practices of the justice system that keeps throwing another wrench into the works for the lawyers.

An enjoyable and deeply moving shocking story about racial inequality.

Night Road is an unforgettable tale of emotions, heart wrenching loss, incomprehensible sacrifice and the unfortunate breakdown of a family in turmoil who cannot feel love after a horrific accident takes the life of a young woman.

The loss of this one woman brought about heartache to all who were in the accident leaving them bereft and guilty for being unable to undue what was done. The three teens, twins Mia and Zach, and their friend Lexie, who was driving home from a party after drinking too much, crashed into a tree only a mile from the twins’ home. The twins made a crucial mistake by not calling their mother to pick them up. This mistake would change their lives forever and keep them from being a family as they once were.

This was an emotional read that left me in tears as I felt the heartache the characters were feeling. The author created an emotional story that captured the heart of this reader and kept me captivated until the satisfying ending. It was difficult to put down and I read into the night.

I absolutely love this story and highly recommend it to all! Kristin Hannah created another wonderful story rich with highly defined characters and an engrossing and emotional story line.

1. The Innocent Angels is a DI Lexie Bennett crime fiction where Lexie is working on a new case of the murders of two women. With her trusty fellow officers they are using all their skills to find this killer before there is another body.

A gripping, engrossing mystery with surprises and many suspects as the tension builds and so does the danger toward Lexie who is exhausted and at her wits end to solve this mystery. A story that I couldn’t put down.

I love this character and how dedicated she is at doing her job and never giving up even when her life is in danger.

An enjoyable series that I will continue to follow.

Amanda in Arabia is a creative story based in UAE with the main protagonist, Amanda, on a visit with her aunt and uncle. Amanda is adventuresome, curious and resilient. She meets another teen her age, Leah, and they become BFFs.

Amanda and Leah ride on some camels and end up in a whorlwhind of an adventure involving a princess and those who want to kidnap her and return her to her father to marry a much older man and then collect a reward for doing this.

A quick story and a mystery adventure that is an enjoyable read. I look forward to more adventures with Amanda.

Deeper Than the Dead is book one of the Vera Boyett crime series. This story was gripping and surprising in all its details with intriguing twists and turns. Nothing is as it seems when more and more problems come to light for Vera in this captivating start to this series.

Vera Boyett, a crime analyst, who is a disgraced deputy police chief, returns home and finds life is not the same for her two sisters with their father now in an Alzheimer’s facility. Vera soon learns of a body being found in a cave that is on their land. When other bodies are found there, the local police chief gets involved and turns out to be her former boyfriend. Too many suspects, secrets and lies leads to an intriguing story line.

With a captivating story, well defined characters, and unexpected happenings, this was an enjoyable read. I look forward to the next book in this crime series.

Bad Moon was a shocking and horrifying tale of a family Involving murder, incest, and torture. It was a difficult story to read and I almost stopped several times as I read the terrifying details of each scene. The author describes things that become immediately visible to the reader in a horrific way.

It shook me up in many ways as the horror continued throughout the book. I was relieved to finish it. I was given a copy of this book by the author and did an honest review.

Thank you so much for stopping by to read this post and for your continued support. I review books so that other readers will be able to pick and choose what their next read will be. I don’t recommend every book I read however. I hope you will find something of interest in this month’s collection of books. Please don’t forget JemsBooks in your reading choices. Haha!

We all have different tastes in reading material. If someone gifts me a book I do my best to read and review even if I find that book difficult to read. I will always support fellow authors in any way I can but there are some genres I choose not to read such as zombies, horror, extreme violence and suggestive material.

Blessings & Hugs! Stay Safe, Stay Well and God Bless!

READING GIVES YOU WINGS TO FLY! SOAR WITH JEMSBOOKS ALL YEAR THROUGH! HAPPY READING!

Janice Spina aka J.E. Spina

Award-Winning Author

Jemsbooks for All Ages!

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