Elizabeth Eulberg knocks another one out of the park with Cruel Summer: The Taylors Version #2. Just like in Love Stories: The Taylors Version #1, this book has excellent character development. It’s fast-paced and filled with Swift Easter eggs. A must for fans of the first volume in this series.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This past year was rough for me. For the first time in my life, I had Reader’s Block. I won’t name names (or titles!), but two books in a row rubbed me the wrong way. They were just not good. Or maybe all the other books I read were just that much better? However you look at it, I just had a really hard time getting back into reading after those two no-good books. And ages ago, I adopted the practice of not finishing books that I didn’t like because life’s too short! But sometimes, one has to read a bad book (or two!) because of … obligations.
Anyhow! The good news is I’m outta that funk! The book that saved me was The Taylors by Jen Calonita. A middle grade book about a group of girls named after Taylor Swift broke the curse! It even gave me goosebumps.
Right after The Taylors, I found myself reading my book of the year, Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Who would’ve thought that this graduate of Space Camp would fall hard for a sapphic, historical fiction novel about the first female astronauts at NASA?
Rounding out my favorite reads of the year:
This past year, I wrote book reviews on NetGalley, Goodreads, Amazon, StoryGraph, and this blog. I logged my book reading on both Goodreads and StoryGraph. I think it’s important to continue to write reviews on Amazon and Goodreads because those are still so vital for authors.
Without further ado, here’s what I read in 2025!
This book is a must for Taylor Swift fans. I compulsively read Love Stories (The Taylors Version #1) because I was so consumed with the characters, the drama, and the Taylor Swift Easter eggs. There’s even a nod to one of my favorite (non-Taylor) singers! Elizabeth Eulberg does an excellent job with the characters’ individual voices. I’ve been using Love Stories as a benchmark for other young adult novels with multiple narrators. The recommended age for ‘Love Stories’ is 12-18, and the content does skew young (they’re high school freshmen), so one should feel comfortable sharing with mature middle grade readers who have read Jen Calonita’s companion book The Taylors.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sadly, I didn’t get out to movie theaters as much as I used to. When you’re dynamically disabled, you have to conserve your energy. Going to the movies might not seem like it takes that much effort, but when the disabled toilet is broken and the only functioning one is on the other side of the theater and you’re using a wheelchair … you can guess why I haven’t seen Killers of the Flower Moon yet. I did manage to see Barbenheimer on different weekends though!
Here’s the list of my favorite films of 2023. This list is dynamic (like me!) so follow me on Letterboxd for updates. Parentheses show how I watched the film.
15. Talk to Me Creepy Australian horror flick with a diverse young cast. (Borrowed from library)
14. Red, White & Royal Blue This was fun. Of course the book is better, but I love seeing queer lit being adapted. (Prime)
13. Nimona A sweet adaptation of N.D. Stevenson’s graphic novel. (Netflix)
12. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour I missed out on tickets for the real thing, so seeing Eras in the theater was second best. Being in a theater filled with women and girls was refreshing. There was dancing, clapping, and of course, singing. (In theater)
11. Renfield Nic Cage as Dracula. Nicholas Hoult as Renfield. Plus Awkwafina! Need I say more? (Borrowed from library)
10. The Killer Michael Fassbender stars as a serial killer who constantly listens to The Smiths. My social media handle is an ode to The Smiths, soooo yes, this movie was made for me. (Netflix)
9. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse A great sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Stunning animation. (In theater)
8. The Marvels More of a sequel to the excellent Ms. Marvel TV series than Captain Marvel, I found this movie to be a delight. Who doesn’t love a superhero who has a flerken as a sidekick? (In theater)
7. Infinity Pool Doppelgängers and Alexander Skarsgård. Yes, please. (Borrowed from library)
6. Saltburn Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi smolder in the sophomore film from director Emerald Fennel (Promising Young Woman). (Prime)
5. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar This short film clocks in at 39 minutes and is everything you’d want from Wes Anderson and Benedict Cumberbatch. Henry Sugar was my favorite of Anderson’s Roald Dahl adaptations. (Netflix)
4. Oppenheimer Am I the only one who gets “Oppenheimer,” by the Old 97’s stuck in their head at the mere mention of Christopher Nolan’s epic opus? (In theater)
3. Beau Is Afraid I’m probably an outlier, but I adored this bizarre film. (Borrowed from library)
2. Asteroid City I even like The Darjeeling Limited. That’s how much I like Wes Anderson, so of course I loved his latest outing. Blink and you’ll miss Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker as a cowboy singer. (Borrowed from library)
1. Barbie Much like seeing Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour in theaters, it was a joy to be in a theater filled with women (though I attended with two men). Yes, I cried. (In theater/MAX)
Chrystabell – Midnight Star The chanteuse has taken her trademark ethereal sound and mixed it with sci-fi disco. Includes a spacey interpretation of The Psychedelic Furs’ “Love My Way.”
Taylor Swift – Midnights (3am Edition) I was obsessed with Swift’s Folklore and Evermore, which makes sense because it was co-produced by Aaron Dessner of The National and I loooooove The National. Now I guess I’m a Swifty because Midnights is one of my favorites of 2022 although I think I’d be way more into it if she had employed Dessner again.
First Aid Kit – Palomino The best Americana folk album of 2022 comes from the Swedish sister duo First Aid Kit.
Mitski – Laurel Hell This album is a downer and I adore it. It is perfect alongside any Lisa Germano album or Elena Tonra of Daughter’s Ex:Re solo project.
Curve – Astoria London 1991 – Bootleg Series Vol 16 This live recording of Curve, released on Bandcamp, is a must for diehard fans of the electronic rock band.
Cannons – Fever Dream Recommended for fans of Canadian duo Electric Youth. Upbeat synthwave to brighten your day.
Jack White – Fear of the Dawn The first of two albums that White released this year is a rocking good time.
Panda Riot – Extra Cosmic Shimmery shoegaze and my new crush.
Wet Leg – Wet Leg Everyone loves Wet Leg and with good reason. The English duo have put out a dazzling indie rock debut.
††† – PERMANENT.RADIANT Chino Moreno of Deftones’ goth side project with Far’s Shaun Lopez hums with a dark delirium on this EP.
Conan Gray – Superache This is my guilty pleasure pick. It’s full-on pop for teenagers and I love it. Now I just wish he’d come back to Boston so I can take my nephew to see him.
Chorusgirl – Colapso Calypso Lo-fi meets Kraut pop.
Butch Walker – Butch Walker as… Glenn With Glenn, Butch Walker visits AM ‘70s soft rock with aplomb.
Suede – Autofiction
Placebo – Never Let Me Go
Metric – Formentera
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis – Blonde (film score) Another gorgeous and haunting score from the legendary Bad Seeds duo.
Blood Red Shoes – Ghosts On Tape It’s like Nine Inch Nails and Metric had a baby and named it Blood Red Shoes. The English duo have made a brilliant album of brooding, synth-laden, alt-rock.
Dubstar – Two On their fifth album, Dubstar delivers a solid synth-dream-pop confection.
White Lies – As I Try Not to Fall Apart The first time I saw White Lies was at the Lansdowne Pub in Boston. They were touring in support of their first album, To Lose My Life… circa 2009 and their tour manager, Gigs, was a friend who asked me to check them out. I’m so glad he did. They’re like Interpol, if Interpol were British. On this, their sixth album, they’ve created more moody yet soaring sonic tunes.
Pop Culture Omnivore 