2025 Goodreads Challenge and Book Reviews

It's the end of December, and I have accomplished my 2025 Goodreads Reading Challenge, reading 29 books out of my goal of 24. I've been able to read more books by adding audio-books and I am motivated to read by joining a book club. For my book reviews and to share your book recommendations with me, follow me on Goodreads!

I really enjoy historical fiction with strong female characters, female retelling of classic historical stories, feminist fiction, and multi-cultural land LGBTQ+ characters.

In non-fiction, I have focused on historical women who have broken patriarchal barriers, as well as studies about women in the Bible and church history, egalitarian and affirming biblical interpretations, and themes of freedom, empowerment, and equality for all.

Additionally, I listen to various podcasts and YouTube interviews featuring egalitarian Christians, academics, theologians, or exangelicals.

Historical Fiction with a female main character is my favourite category, and I enjoyed all of these novels.

The Frozen River is about a female midwife in the 1800s, testifying in court about secrets in her town.

The Pearl that Broke its Shell is a dual timeline novel where Afghan women follow the bacha posh custom of dressing as a boy so that they can enjoy the rights of education and employment.

The Sun Sets in Smyrna: 1922, by Bess Georgakakos, bases this historical fiction on her grandmother's experiences when the Turks forced Greeks and Christians to leave Smyrna.🍁Canadian author.

The Lawyer and the Laundress, by Christine Hill Suntz, sets this story in 1837, when Canada is on the brink of rebellion. A characters navigate romance and a marriage of convenience while choosing to side with the British loyalists or the rebels. 🍁Canadian author.

Queen of the Mist by Caroline Cauchi tells the story of Mrs Annie Edson Taylor as she prepares to go over Niagara Falls in a Barrel in 1901. No person, man or woman, has ever done this stunt and survived. I've seen a replica of her barrel at Niagara Falls. What kind of woman was she?

Mrs Van Gogh, by Caroline Cauchi, tells about Johanna Van Gogh-Bonger. The artist, Vincent Vangogh, died unknown and penniless in 1890. A decade later, his work is exhibited in Paris, and a century later, he is one of the most famous and influential figures in art. I have enjoyed seeing his Sunflowers and other original paintings in art galleries. What turned his work from unknown to famous? His sister-in-law. She is the hero of this novel.

Circe is a sprawling, epic tale of a goddess whose actions cause her father to expel her to an island, where she finds freedom and power: she finds herself and discovers what is really important in life.

The Yellow Wallpaper is a landmark short story illustrating the dangers of patriarchy and the need for feminism.

Every Summer After is a light romance and coming-of-age story set in Ontario's cottage country. 🍁Canadian author.

The Lost Bookshop is a dual timeline in 1920 and 2020, with fantasy elements connecting the generations of strong women.

Death in the Dark is a murder-mystery featuring a bad-ass female sleuth.

The Ballad of Midnight and McRae is a story of two men on opposite sides of the law in America's wild west in the early 1900s. Both fight for justice. Can McRae hold onto both his love for God and his love for the outlaw at the same time?

The Sleeping Car Porter, set in 1929, is about a Black man who can keep his job on the train if he lets others objectify him and if he hides his homosexual orientation. 🍁Canadian author.

The Storied Life of A.J. Filkry is about a man overcoming grief and getting a fresh outlook on life.

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store is a cozy mystery with multiculturalism and racism in 1972 in Pennsylvania.

The Cellist of Sarajevo positions the reader as an innocent victim in the middle of the 1992 battles between Bosnians and Serbians, dramatizing the universal truth that violence brings the loss of personhood, and art can restore our humanity.🍁Canadian author.

The Laundryman's Boy is set in Ontario, Canada, in 1913, when a 13-year old Chinese boy comes to Canada to earn money for his family, while Canada charged a head tax on all Chinese immigrants and denied entry to a Chinese immigrant's family.🍁Canadian author.

Fifteen Dogs is an award-winning philosophical novel where the gods bet on whether dogs would be happier if they had human consciousness. The dogs focus on being the head of the pack and humping the females to show their power. 🍁Canadian author.

More than the Ear can Hear; More than the Eye Can See: Historical fiction based on a murder that took place in the beautiful lakeside retreat known as Grimsby Park, Ontario, on August 3rd, 1914.🍁Canadian author.

Non-Fiction

Inspired was published in 2018 by Rachel Held Evans, one of the first people to publicly deconstruct evangelicalism. It provides a variety of ways to see the biblical terror stories and still love the Bible. We are fortunate that this book was published a year before the author's untimely death. Here is my review of it.

The Real Conversation Jesus Wants Us to Have is a 2025 release that calls us to action today. Regina Cates gives personal stories and quotes various perspectives to help readers see that pleasing Jesus is not about judging and excluding; it's all about showing love and kindness. Here is my review of it.

Untwisting Scripture to find Freedom and Joy in Jesus Christ helps us understand the Bible in a new way. Rebecca Davis takes restrictive or patriarchal teachings and untwists them to align with the God of the Bible. Here is my review of it.

The Dance of the Dissident Daughter resonated with me. It helped me identify the feminine wound which causes many women to be overly concerned with being perfect and pleasing others. Sue Monk Kidd tells her personal journey from faith in a patriarchal, evangelical God to a faith in the Christian feminine divine. Here is my review of it.

With Love, Lydia, is a story of Lydia Gruchy, who in 1936 became Canada's first ordained woman minister. The biography tells the story of Lydia Gruchy as well as the story of Canada's history in the 1920-40 era.🍁Canadian author. Here is my review of it.

Highway to the Sky is a personal memoir set in the late 1970s-early 1980s about a woman facing discrimination and insults in a male-dominated field. 🍁Canadian author.

Juliet's Answer is a personal memoir about a man's journey to Italy in search of the cure for heartbreak - a well-crafted and heartwarming story.🍁Canadian author.

By Bicycle and Bus is a lovely children's picture book about a family travelling in Tanzania.

What Did I Discover?

My 2025 reading allowed me to see how women of the past have faced and overcome discrimination. The novels allowed me to walk in the shoes of LGBTQ+ people, people of colour, and other marginalized people. The books made me consider themes of racism and gender equality in society and the Christian church's role in sidelining the weak.

Elaine Ricker Kelly Author is empowering women with historical fiction about women in the Bible and early church and Christian blogs about women in leadership, church history and doctrine. Her books include:

• Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold, Book 1, A Novel (2022)

• The Sword: A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible Says About a Woman's Role (2023)

• Because She Was Called from Broken to Bold, Book 2, A Novel of the Early Church (2024)

• Walk with Mara on Her Healing Journey: 21 Steps to Emotional Resilience (2024)

• Finding Her Voice from Broken to Bold, Book 3, Acts of Early Female Apostles: A Novel (2025)