Top Ten Most Anticipated Book Releases Q1/Q2 2025

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. This week's topic is Top Ten Most Anticipated Book Releases Q1/Q2 2025

1. After Life by Gayle Forman
2. The Perfect Rom-Com by Melissa Ferguson
3. The Folklore of Forever (Moonville, # 2) by Sarah Hogle
4. Everything I Promised You by Katy Upperman
5. Rules for Ruin (The Crinoline Academy, # 1) by Mimi Matthews
6. Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, # 3) by Rebecca Yarros
7. Iron & Embers (The Ashes of Thezmarr, # 1) by Helen Scheuerer

And 3 I've already read:

8. Let's Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan
9. The Rules of Matrimony (Matchmaking Mamas, # 4) by Anneka R Walker
10. Beyond the Crescent Sky (The Balkan Legends, # 2) by AL Sowards (releases today)

Which books are you anticipating from the first half of 2025? Let me know!

Just One Day - Review

Just One Day (Just One Day, # 1)

By: Gayle Forman

Published: January 8th 2013 by Dutton Juvenile

369 pages

Genre: Young Adult/New Adult, Contemporary

Source: Personal Kindle Library

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--From the New York Times bestselling author of If I Stay

Allyson Healey's life is exactly like her suitcase—packed, planned, ordered. Then on the last day of her three-week post-graduation European tour, she meets Willem. A free-spirited, roving actor, Willem is everything she’s not, and when he invites her to abandon her plans and come to Paris with him, Allyson says yes. This uncharacteristic decision leads to a day of risk and romance, liberation and intimacy: 24 hours that will transform Allyson’s life.

A book about love, heartbreak, travel, identity, and the “accidents” of fate, Just One Day shows us how sometimes in order to get found, you first have to get lost. . . and how often the people we are seeking are much closer than we know.

The first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!

You guys, I crack myself up. No matter how hard I try to avoid finding out too much information out about a book before reading it in order to avoid expectations and therefore being disappointed by those expectations, I still find myself frequently saying in various reviews that whatever book wasn’t what I expected. It’s really quite humorous when I think about it. But that’s kind of where I am with Just One Day. I’ve read and loved If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman. Reading those was enough to tell me that I wanted to read more of her books. And then the reception that Just One Day received when it first released had me saying “yep, that’s one I’ll have to check out.” Well of course when it went on sale, I had to scoop it up for my kindle. And I’m glad I did, but somehow along the way I developed those pesky expectations that I was trying to avoid. Or maybe I didn’t. It’s weird. It’s not like I had some elaborate story already built up in my head that I expected Just One Day to be—as a matter of fact, I honestly don’t remember reading the description for this book at all—but at the same time after reading Just One Day I can completely say that it was nothing like I was expecting. How does that even happen?

I can really relate to Allyson in a lot of ways. She’s pretty predictable and “safe.” She doesn’t do spontaneous. She doesn’t do wild. She doesn’t go out drinking with the other kids on the tour she’s on—not even with her best friend Melanie. She doesn’t understand why this guy she’s just met—Willem—could possibly be interested in her. But she doesn’t want to be that way anymore. She wants to live life to the fullest and experience new things. She just doesn’t really know that yet.

Willem…well…I’m a little torn on him. I love the idea of him being a leaf in the wind—going wherever the wind takes him. But yet, I find myself being just as guarded and assuming the same things that Allyson does. There are red flags with him. Yes, it’s possible that they could be explained away, but they’re not comforting at the same time. I didn’t know this before reading Just One Day, but apparently Just One Year is not specifically a retelling, but backtracks a bit. It tells a period of events when Allyson and Willem aren’t together from his POV. I’m not exactly clear on where Just One Year ends in their story, but I’m afraid I’m not going to be excited about that. Anyway, I said all of that to say that I think what the reader is supposed to get from Just One Day about Willem’s character will probably be quite different from what Willem’s story actually is in Just One Year.

As for the story itself, there were lots of moments that I felt were unrealistic (I mean I don’t care how sappy your story, but *highlight for spoiler* a hospital is NOT going to give you information about another patient, especially not their address). Yet, Just One Day had a fun and exciting feel to it (for the first 45%). The next 45% was what I wasn’t expecting, and I don’t want to go into too much detail about that part. And then we’ve got the last 10% which felt a bit unsatisfactory to me. I will say that the ending made me want to pick up Just One Year immediately, but not knowing the exact timeframe that Just One Year covers has me putting on the brakes and not rushing out to purchase it immediately.

I will say that I really enjoyed the highs and lows that Allyson’s relationship went with Melanie. Everything surrounding those two felt very realistic.

Favorite quotes:

-…being with Melanie makes me feel like I’m losing a race I didn’t even know I’d entered.

-“There’s a world of difference, Lulu, between falling in love and being in love.”…”You have to fall in love to be in love, but falling in love isn’t the same as being in love.”

-“I think the double happiness is the two halves finding each other.”

-We are born in one day. We die in one day. We can change in one day. And we can fall in love in one day.

-Stains are even worse when you’re the only one who can see them.

-“No one is who they pretend to be.”

-There is no opposite of stain

-Once accidents happen, there’s no backtracking.

This is probably going to seem really random to mention in this review, but for all the talk of duplicity, of people pretending to be someone else (or something else), etc, Just One Day had me thinking about Catfish. It’s not like this was a story about a catfish or someone being catfished, but it definitely made me think about it a little deeper. Just something funny I noted while reading.

Just One Day was extremely well-written. Gayle Forman had me devouring this book once I got started. The story wasn’t what I was expecting which was both a good thing and a bad thing. The characters we likeable, and I was rooting for a win the whole time. Parts of Just One Day felt spot on and realistic while others had me saying “that would never happen.” I couldn’t stop thinking about Just One Day for a couple of days after finishing it, but at the same time, I don’t feel the intense desire to rush out and get my hands on the sequel, Just One Year, even though I do hope to read it eventually. Just One Day gets 4 Stars from me. Have you read Just One Day? What did you think? Let me know!

If I Stay - Movie Review

If I Stay

Director: R.J. Cutler

Written By: Shauna Cross (screenplay), Gayle Forman (based off the novel by)

Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Mireille Enos, Jamie Blackley

Released: August 22, 2014

106 minutes

Produced By: DiNovi Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), New Line Cinema

Here's my book review of If I Stay.

Ok so it's been a year since I've read If I Stay. And I've probably read 150ish other books since. I say that not because If I Stay wasn't memorable--it definitely was--but because I'm definitely missing some of the finer details of the book. I can usually only remember all the little details when I've read a book multiple times, and even though I can see myself reading If I Stay multiple times, I just haven't had the opportunity to do that yet. So...how that relates into the movie review is that I can't accurately tell you how much was different from book to movie. I can tell you that there were some differences--there always are--but I feel like I probably missed most of them. That being said, I don't think anything too major was different.

I teared up while reading the book, but really the only tears I shed was during the scene with Mia's grandfather. You guys know the one. But while watching the movie, I was not quite a wreck...but tears were shed at mutliple scenes. Shoot, pretty much from right before the scene with Mia's grandfather (*sniff* Teddy) until the end I was misty eyed and sniffling. Yet, even though I found myself more emotional while watching the movie, I still think If I Stay was better as a book than a movie. But isn't that the way it usually happens?

The actors you guys...those guys made this movie. Seriously. Mia's parents, played by Mireille Enos and Joshua Leonard, were so spot on. They're quirky. They are NOT what you picture parents to be. They push Mia out of her comfort zone. They curse. They encourage Mia to go out and party and stay out all night. While I won't be adopting my own parenting techniques after them, you could see the love they have for their family and friends. It just fit. And the "we made that scene" gave me chills. Jakob Davies plays Teddy, and he did a cute job. I wanted to pinch his cheeks.

But I know you guys really want to know about Chloë Grace Moretz (Mia) and Jamie Blackley (Adam). *sigh* You guys, they did so good. Their chemistry was pretty spot-on. Mia being all shy and a bit awkward, but totally in love with playing music. Chloë Grace Moretz did such a great job! I bought her as this character. There was never a time when I was pulled out of what was happening on the screen. And I never had a moment that I didn't believe her conviction in playing Mia. Even the cello scenes were pretty awesome. And Adam...Jamie Blackley...wow. He put that character on and I don't know if he'll ever be able to take Adam off again. I just don't even have words. The fight scenes were intense and emotion-filled. Even when you wanted to smack one or both of them. The romance scenes were pretty great too.

And I really felt like the creators were doing everything they could to set up If I Stay for the sequel, Where She Went. I felt like this might be the biggest area where the creators made changes. I thought they pulled in too much conflict between Mia and Adam from Where She Went, but I could just be mis-remembering If I Stay. Either way, I definitely think they have plans to make the second book into a movie as well. And I'm jumping up and down for that.

If I Stay (the movie), gets 4 Stars from me. The actors totally embraced these characters and brought them to life. I didn't see too many changes that put me off. And I found seeing If I Stay (the book) turned into a visual format brought out even more emotion from me. Have you seen If I Stay? What did you think? Let me know!

Where She Went - Review

Where She Went (If I Stay, # 2)

By: Gayle Forman

Published: April 5th 2011 by Dutton Juvenile

264 pages

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Source: Borrowed from my local library

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.

Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future-and each other.

Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.

Unlike If I Stay, Where She Went is told from Adam's point of view only. Where She Went takes place three years from the accident that changed both Mia and Adam's lives. Without going into too much detail, we find ourselves in Adam's head after his and Mia's relationship has fallen apart and Adam really has no idea why.

Where She Went was an emotion packed read just like If I Stay, but filled with very different emotions from the ones we witnessed in If I Stay. Where She Went deals with the aftermath of putting one's life back together after such a tragic loss.

I thoroughly enjoyed being in Adam's head throughout this process. He's found himself lost in a life that's just sort of happened around him but isn't what he wants for himself at all. He's filled with anxiety, regret, confusion, and so much more.

When we finally get to hear the whole of Mia's story, you can't help but feel sorry for Mia, yet completely understand her reasoning at the same time. Gayle Forman did an excellent job tackling the feelings that Mia has had as a result of being the sole survivor in the car accident that claimed the lives of her entire family. Each emotion is raw, real, and on display.

I've heard several say that they enjoyed Where She Went more than If I Stay, and while I did enjoy Where She Went immensely, the emotion wasn't quite on the same level for me as If I Stay. I choked up at one part in Where She Went, but I wasn't bordering on tears the whole time as I was when reading If I Stay.

Either way, Where She Went is an fast paced, emotional read. Where She Went has every good thing contained within it's pages. I highly recommend both If I Stay and this worthy sequel. Where She Went gets 4 stars. Have you read Where She Went? What did you think? Let me know!

Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read in 2013

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read in 2013.

You guys, I read SO MANY good books this year. And many of those books were by authors I haven't read before. It's no secret that I have a hard time keeping to ten choices on these posts, but this one might have been excessive. I just couldn't stop! I wanted to give credit to all of the new (to me) authors that have blown me away this year!

1) Rainbow Rowell (Eleanor & Park)

2) RL LaFevers (Grave Mercy)

3) Anne Eliot (Almost)

4) Jay Crownover (Rule, Jet, & Rome)

5) Brent Crawford (Carter Finally Gets It)

6) JA Redmerski (The Edge of Never, The Edge of Always)

7) KA Tucker (Ten Tiny Breaths, One Tiny Lie)

8) John & Stasi Eldredge (Captivating)

9) Kasie West (The Distance Between Us)

10) Gayle Forman (If I Stay, Where She Went)

11) Lauren Oliver (Delirium, Pandemonium)

12) Michelle Hodkin (The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer)

13) Courtney Summers (This is Not a Test)

14) Leigh Bardugo (Shadow & Bone, Siege & Storm)

15) Rick Yancey (The 5th Wave)

16) Veronica Rossi (Under the Never Sky, Through the Ever Night, & Into the Still Blue)

17) Marissa Meyer (Cinder, Scarlet)

18) John Green (The Fault in Our Stars)

What authors have blown you away this year? Let me know!

If I Stay - Review

If I Stay (If I Stay, # 1)

By: Gayle Forman

Published: January 1st 2009 by Dutton Juvenile

201 pages

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Source: Borrowed from my local library

( Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

A sophisticated, layered, and heart-achingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make, and the ultimate choice Mia commands.

I've seen If I Stay on many people's top lists for various Top 10 Tuesday topics so I knew that I wanted to read it. However, I was browsing my local library's ebook catalog and came across book 2, Where She Went and decided to search to see if they had book 1. Well they did. But in audiobook version. I like audiobooks because I can listen when doing other things. Specifically while I work. However, I find that the story doesn't sink in as much as if I had read it myself. I also find that the narrator doesn't always add emphasis where I would read it--or sarcasm or any other emotion. But I didn't find the narrator of this book, Kirsten Potter, lacking at all. She does a great job infusing emotion into this narration. I almost felt like she might have enhanced the story for me.

I knew that this book was about a girl whose life changes due to a car accident from reading the description above, but I didn't realize what all that would involve. If I Stay is a story about a girl who's having an out of body experience trying to decide if she should stay and live or let go. She watches the events after the accident from the outside of her body. These events mixed with flashbacks from her past help her to make this ultimate of all decisions.

If I Stay is a different kind of book that brought out some deep emotions from within me. I didn't cry throughout the whole thing, but I definitely teared up, and I got chills a couple of times. If I Stay will make you stop to think about what's important in your own life and what you can no longer afford to take for granted. And I love books like that...books that make an impact on how I live my life. I don't want to go into more detail because this book needs to be experienced.

If I Stay lived up to the hype it's received. I highly recommend this book and I can't wait to start Where She Went--will be borrowing that from the library ASAP. If I Stay gets 4.5 Stars. Have you read If I Stay? What did you think? Let me know!

Sunday Post - 44 & Stacking the Shelves - 17

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

This has been a busy week. Wednesday was our 4th anniversary (wedding not blog). It's been a great four years, and my husband is still my best friend. Back in February he gifted me with an early anniversary present--a dishwasher! WHOOOHOOO!!! And so we really took things easy--big financial goals to accomplish and all of that jazz. Oh and can't forget that today is Mother's Day. We're taking my mother-in-law out to dinner tonight and then taking my mother Tuesday night. Busy busy.

THIS PAST WEEK:

Monday: Review of The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen (4.5 Stars)

Tuesday: Top 10 Books When I Need Light & Fun

Wednesday: Waiting on While You Were Here

Thursday: Review of Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs (4 Stars)

UPCOMING THIS WEEK:

Monday: Review of Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham (yes that Lauren Graham...Gilmore Girls and Parenthood Lauren Graham. Now author Lauren Graham.)

Tuesday: Top 10 Tuesday: Dealing with Tough Subjects

Wednesday: Waiting on Wednesday

Thursday: Review of The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden, # 2) by Julie Kagawa

Friday: May or may not do a High Five for Friday post.

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

If I Stay (If I Stay, # 1)

By: Gayle Forman

Published: April 2nd 2009 by Dutton Juvenile

201 pages

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Source: Borrowed from my local library

( Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

Goodreads description--In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

A sophisticated, layered, and heart-achingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make, and the ultimate choice Mia commands.

That's it for my shelves and recaps of my past and upcoming week. What did you add to your shelves this week? Any bookish news you want to talk about? Let me know!