#JanuaryRecap – Rosepoint Publishing

Rosepoint Reviews – January Recap – Is February a Good Month for a Romantic Getaway?

#Rosepoint Reviews - January recap

January kicked off the new year with frigid temps in NWI and appears to be continuing the trend into February. Not excited about any more snow and I might be thinking of heading south except the unusual record-breaking weather appears to be just as big a surprise there as here.

My little Frosty dog would have turned 20 on the 24^th. I still miss her so much! In the meantime, I’ve been trying to capitalize on a few of Punkin’s natural movements by training her with “down” and “gimme 5.” She performs those just fine in the office when she wants more treats. Otherwise, she acts like my words are no more than blah, blah, blah.

Unhappy surprise with Goodreads stats — ChatGPT

The first of a new year always brings the additional chores of opening new folders, adding categories, tags, checking and signing up for challenges, installing new links, and updating the menu. It’s a chore I’ve always struggled through and usually end up making irreversible mistakes: Like accidentally eliminating challenge pages.

In working on that and studying the stats, I noticed a general uptick in views the last six months of 2025 and certainly January was on a track to be my best month ever. That started a quest to figure out why—what was triggering it? I’d noticed before an email noting they had “indexed” that page. You may remember when I went on an SEO campaign last year. And no, I really didn’t understand the advantage of being indexed and didn’t subscribe to anything.

Great, but that got me started trying to figure out why or how to get indexed by Google, as I’ve labored all this time apparently without that benefit. Too late to go back to school for all this stuff and expensive to boot, it’s a big learning curve. Thought I needed a SiteMap for Google (maybe not). Now, I’m hopeful that I’ll see some real organic benefit soon, as I have little confidence in the over 23k views for the month of January and 93M views since I opened the website. While I’ll freely admit that although I started the blog in February 2012 for my grandfather’s books, it wasn’t until 2017 that I really switched into more of a read/review blog.

The CE and I reviewed a total of eleven books in January. As always, the major source of our books is the library (audiobooks as well as ebooks). We also find books in NetGalley and enjoy author and publisher requests. The links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase information.

#RosepointReviews, #JanuaryRecap,

The Bone Garden: A Novel by Tess Gerritsen (audiobook)
Worse Than a Lie by Ben Crump (CE review)
Before She Was Helen by Caroline B Cooney (audiobook)
The Widow by John Grisham (audiobook)
The Last Post by Jean Grainer
Wild by Cheryl Strayed (audiobook – bookclub)
Phoenix Rising by Michael Reit (CE review)
Heartwood by Amity Gaige
Midnight on the Potomac by Scott Ellsworth (audiobook)
The Hunted by Steven Max Russo (CE review-5 stars)
The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly (audiobook)

Favorite Book of the Month

I really enjoyed The Widow by John Grisham but the CE loved The Hunted by Steven Max Russo, so this month, I’ll bow to his five-star read.

Favorite for January – The Hunted by Steven Max Russo

My Reading Challenges page…This year I’m keeping my goal for Audiobooks at Marathoner level—50 and Goodreads at 175, but changed Historical Fiction to Ancient History at 25 (though I have a good start on that with five already and reducing NetGalley to Silver–25 .

I’ve updated my Reading Challenges page to install the new 2026 goals and pushed 2025 down one. It’s still not completely right but after awhile I get tired of the struggle. Bored with the whole format, but apparently limited to this theme now unless I upgrade. You know what they say about old dogs. Woof!

You can see the challenge widgets in my sidebar and each include the links for you to sign up as well. Now’s the time!

I’m looking for romantic book suggestions for February—yes, me. Would love to see your recommendations—drop me a quick comment, please!

To all my dear readers, I do so appreciate your visits and comments and look forward to seeing your new content each day.

Rosepoint Reviews – January Recap – Catch the winter reading bug, not the flu

#Rosepoint Reviews - January recap

January is a catch-up month around here, packing holiday decorations away, doing some cleaning, updating blog folders (and Challenge page) to 2025, and doing some general website housekeeping. I took a hard look at my challenges and signed up for the same few, but reduced goals this year. Just too much always going on to keep up and I’d dearly love to do some AI graphics.

After looking at WP templates and formats, it would appear I am pretty well stuck with the same one as I still don’t want to try the block editor again and so many of the templates only work with the block editor. As is, I’m finding problems with my widgets, the blocks interfering with spacing and I’m blocked from linking both Twitter feed and Instagram. Still, I want to update the look somewhat with whatever additional resources I have.

Decided I would continue to try for posts on Tuesday and Thursday—Sunday if the CE has a review available. Felt like our stats were dropping and I went in to get an average number of reviews per month, but last January 2024 (not counting bookish posts), we posted ten reviews. So then looking at all months and tallying the average, discovered that between the two of us, we are generally running about 11.33/books/mo. Maybe not fewer then, just a shift in where we are getting the books and an increase in audiobooks equal to the decrease in digitals.

I mentioned AI graphics before and looking at different apps and free downloads, found more than I thought available. I played around with the free version of Freepik, but the free version is very limited and doesn’t make sense to pay for the little I’d use. Between the two, the AI graphics on Canva (again my free version) offers greater diversity and is more user friendly. Still, one can always resort to Google Gemini 2.0 which creates limited graphics as well as text.

I’m using Goodreads to mine the opportunity for good audiobooks, as well as your suggestions, and books sourced at NetGalley, author and publisher requests, and my well-stocked library.

We managed thirteen reviews between us in January that included seven audiobooks. These links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase or source information.

Rosepoint Reviews - January Recap

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (audiobook)
Downstate: A Novella by Jeffery Deaver (CE review)
History’s Pages: The Knocknashee Story by Jean Grainger (5 stars)
The Burning and The Lost Coast by Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman (audiobooks)
To Catch a Thief by David Dodge (CE review)
All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee
Half Moon Bay by Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman (audiobook)
A Measure of Darkness by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman (audiobook)
The Crossing Places: The First Ruth Galloway Mystery by Elly Griffiths
A Dead Draw by Robert Dugoni (CE review)
The Investigator by John Sandford (audiobook)

Favorite Book of the Month

No question this month, All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee left me breathless and satisfied. I recommended it to the CE and he burned through it in a couple days. No doubt this would make a super selection for any book club.

Favorite for January – All We Thought We Knew

My Reading Challenges page…My Goodreads Challenge is currently at 18 of a 2025 goal of 125. No, keeping up with my Challenge page wasn’t a New Year’s resolution. I’ll get to it…
by and by.

Welcome to my new subscribers! So glad you joined our group. I hope all my readers are finding some amazing books to spend some quality hot chocolate, fireplace time with!

Rosepoint Reviews – January Recap – Frigid February – Let’s Read!

Rosepoint Reviews-January Recap

Ugh, January is downright dreary and February promises to be dreary and freezing. It’s a good time to curl up with a good book, hot chocolate or mocha, and a fire. Well, I don’t have the fire, but the CE makes a super mocha and I have a nice preliminary list of books.

Update on the little Pom we adopted (skip if your eyes glaze over at the mention of a rescue dog): No big progress. Her winter coat has apparently settled in and she approaches the CE now—even going so far as to jump against his side of the bed in the morning to get him up. Now at four months with us though, still prefers her crate to human companionship. What in the world happens to a little dog kept as a breeder?!

February is shaping up to be a good reading month with several great books I’m excited to get to—SOON—I hope! (I’ll mention those below.) For January we barely managed ten books. Links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase or source information.

January Recap

To Slip the Bonds of Earth by Amanda Flower
Bayou Beloved by Lexi Blake (audiobook)
Nothing But the Bones by Brian Panowich (CE review)
Everyone Here is Lying by Shari Lapena (audiobook)
Payback in Death by J D Robb
The Fury by Alex Michaelides (CE review)
Netflix Series All the Light We Cannot See vs eBook by Anthony Doerr
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (audiobook)
The Mongol Ascension by Andew Varga (CE review)
The Gem of Ireland’s Crown by Jean Grainger

Favorite Book of the Month

I loved both All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr as well as The Frozen River but was crushed by the climax of the former, so the nod has to go to The Frozen River.

Book of the Month for January—The Frozen River

My Reading Challenges page… I’ve discovered I’ll work on the challenge but am really terrible at reporting the results–not only with the host (and I apologize for that) but for updating the page as well. For 2024, I’ll begin by sharing the logo and the link. Unfortunately, I have not been able thus far to find the link to the 2024 Historical Fiction Challenge. If you know the link, would you share, please?

In an effort to change up the blog a bit, I’ve enlarged fonts and added a new page I call Netflix vs Book listing the posts made comparing either the movie or series with the original book. Check it out to see what you missed!

Also, just a quick Sneak Peak into what’s coming up in my February TBR:


Where Butterflies Wander by Suzanne Redfearn. I was quite taken by the story of the river witch–I’ll bet you would be too.	Being Henry by Henry Winkler. A memoir and didn’t we all love the Fonz? But this guy, as so many of the actors do, will surprise you.

Welcome to the New Year to my new subscribers! I appreciate all my followers and always appreciate your likes and comments.

Hello, Winter!

Rosepoint Reviews – January Recap—Hello February!

January fooled us with mild temps right until the last week or so when we experienced the frigid northern blast. It was to be expected, not necessarily appreciated.

I wrote last month about the storm that reached alarming -0 temps. I worried about Frosty and her little ears and feet and supplied a handkerchief for her ears and booties for her paws. Unfortunately, she contracted pneumonia and we lost her on her 17^th birthday, breaking my heart. While I know it was a virus and not the temps, it’s still very difficult to reconcile and will take a while to ease the crush on my heart.

So it was a challenge to keep to a schedule and my reading and posting took a hit. Between us, we managed a total of twelve reviews, a mix of NetGalley reads, audiobooks, award-winning authors as well as Indie authors.

Born and Bred Texan by Jinx Schwartz
The Huntress by Kate Quinn (audiobook – 5 stars)
Breakneck by Marc Cameron (CE review-5 stars)
When Irish Eyes Are Lying by Jean Grainger
Finding Me by Viola Davis
My Love Nikola Tesla by Ana Atanasković
The Devil’s Own by Maria McDonald (my 5 stars)
The Girl Across the Sea by Noëlle Harrison
Implied Consent by Keenan Powell (CE review)
Wish You Were Here by Kay Bratt
The Pact by Roberta Kagan
Sea Castle by Andrew Mayne (CE unputdownable 5 stars)

January Favorite

It can be tricky to discern which of the CEs books would make the January favorites as he continues to read without my often critical eye. Of the books read in January, two really stood out: Sea Castle and The Huntress. In his case, once he started reading the Sea Castle, he couldn’t put it down. A tie in the January slot?Yes and No. I’d have to give the coveted January slot to the one noted above. Could you guess from the graphic?

January Blogger Post

Freeing up my time a bit to do some blog hopping, I’ve been enjoying the opportunity of catching up with some of my favorite blogger buddies. I hope to list a favorite post each month and if this blogger is new to you, urge you to check out their blogs as well.

The review of The Woman in the Window at Digital Reads Media caught my eye and gave me a chuckle or two. Shalini, however, offers services to writers beyond reviews including blog tours and is social media savvy.

My Reading Challenges page…As mentioned before, I’ve overhauled the page for 2023 (managing to lose my entire 2022 Challenges page in the process) and will be posting monthly totals only this year. My 2022 challenges were achieved but I’ve adjusted 2023 challenge goals down.

I’m setting my NetGalley Challenge goal at Gold this year, 50 books. (Last year at Platinum, 75, was a struggle.) Audiobook Challenge at Marathoner – 50 – should be no problem at an average of four per week. Cutting back from 180 to 145 in the Goodreads Challenge, and lastly, the Historical Fiction Challenge will stay the same at 50 – Prehistoric, as this genre is proving to be one of our favorites. Which challenges are you trying this year? Achieve all your goals last year?

How did you do on your 2022 TBR? What titles have you already pegged for your February reads? I no longer schedule my reviews and posts in ink—everything is entered in pencil now that my calendar seems to require constant updating.

I do so appreciate my followers. A special shout-out to those who like, share, and comment! And I’m always looking for comments!

K, luv u, bye