Romanceopoly Monthly: January 2025 Kick Off, TBR and Recs
Hidden Gems, Spicy Recs & a Little Extra Motivation for Your TBR.
Romanceopoly Monthly: Your Reading Check-In—Hidden Gems, Spicy Recs & a Little Extra Motivation for Your TBR. Find out more about the reading challenge here.
🎉 Welcome to the 2025 Romanceopoly Kickoff!
It’s officially go-time, friends! The Romanceopoly reading challenge has started, and we’re so excited to start this bookish adventure with you. January feels like the perfect time to cozy up with our own TBR piles (or, you know, tackle the books we said we’d read last year but never got around to). This month, we’re all about shopping our own shelves—because our unread books deserve their moment! And since January gets busy fast, we’ll probably be leaning heavily on audiobooks. Multitasking for the win, right?
KICKOFF VIDEO: 📺 Watch our official kickoff video on YouTube to kick things off and what’s on deck for January!
📣 Spread the word: Sharing this post helps keep our community thriving—plus, it earns you points toward free access to the paid membership to our Substack! So hit that share button and spread the book love.
Our Possible TBR
New year, new reads! Here’s a TBR hopefuls at what we’re starting with this month:
Francesca’s Book Picks
Crystal Lake: A Rival Most Vial by R.K. Ashwick
Alpine Cottage Inn: The Lodge by Kayla Olson
Mystic Pines: What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez or The Mirror by Nora Roberts
The Frosty Bistro: Dead of Winter by Rebecca Zanetti or The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
New Year, New Me: Victory for Vampires by Hazel Mack (check out my video about this book here)
Suzanne’s Book Picks
Crystal Lake: A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd (already read and recommend!)
Alpine Cottage Inn: When a Scot Loves a Lady by Katharine Ashe or Lord Dashwood Missed Out by Tessa Dare (check out a video about this book here)
Pin & Peak Lanes: When Gracie Met the Grump by Mariana Zapata
Mystic Pines: Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen
The Frosty Bistro: The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo
✨ Let’s make January epic—one chapter at a time! Share your TBRs with us in the comments or tag us on Instagram. Let’s crush this challenge together! ✨
January releases that fit the prompts
Fresh out of the oven! These hot-off-the-press titles are perfect for your prompts:
The Lodge by Kayla Olson for Alpine Cottage Inn
Dead of Winter by Rebecca Zanetti for The Frosty Bistro
The Rainfall Market by You Yeong-Gwang for Mystic Pines
My Funny Demon Valentine by Aurora Ascher for Festival Barn
Kindle Unlimited Picks for Romanceopoly
Hunting for some gems on Kindle Unlimited? We’ve got you covered:
The Wedding Menu by Letizia Lorini for Farmers’ Market
The Path to Loving Him by Meghan Quinn for Parent Trap
Dust Storm by Maggie Gates for Blooming Acres Farm
Forged by Magic by Jenna Wolfhart for Crystal Lake
Book Ideas from the Community
You’ve been busy! Check out these community picks for your TBR hopefuls this month:
An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena for Frosty Bistro
Cold Pursuit by Toni Anderson for Frosty Bistro
Chloe’s Second Chance by Willa Lyons for New Year, New Love
Down on Me by J. Kenner for Pin & Peak Lanes
Related Recommendation Lists
Looking for more inspiration? Check out our blog posts and videos related to Romanceopoly prompts:
For Alpine Cottage Inn:
And just for fun, here’s more cozy romances with a winter snow setting that you can read this time of year:
What’s Coming Next
👉 WINTER MARKET SQUARE PROMPTS DROP SOON! Get ready, because the first week of February we’ll reveal the prompts for our first seasonal event of the year! Stay tuned by subscribing here on Substack and following our YouTube Channel so you don’t miss a thing.
Join our League of Lusty Ladies book club
Want to buddy read with us? Join our League of Lusty Ladies book club! Our January pick is A Kiss of Iron by Clare Sager. Come hang out and read along with us! Find out more information below.
Did you join us in 2024? Here’s my 2024 Romanceopoly Wrap-Up
📚 Until next time, happy reading and may your TBR be ever in your favor! 📚
Sharing our love for books as Under the Covers Book Blog since 2011, running the Romanceopoly yearly reading challenge since 2019 and hosting the Reading Under the Covers podcast since 2020. Join our Substack community and have access to all paid member features.
Hi gals - I'm just wondering, is there a way to add in the book I read for the prompt when I'm doing it through your website? I can see that I can check it off, but I can't figure out how to tell you which book I read to fulfill the prompt.