Burn, Rewrite, Reread Tag 2025
As I’ve done for the last few years, I’m doing this tag as part of my annual wrap-up traditions. I just love doing it! It’s great to highlight some of the titles I read this year that wouldn’t necessarily make my Year’s Reads in Review list. Plus, I always find it interesting to see if my thoughts about a book have changed much since I read it when I look back.
Here’s a recap of what you are supposed to do:
The Rules:
-Randomly choose 3 books.
-For each group, decide which book to burn, which one to rewrite, and which to reread.
-Repeat until you completedthree(I do 5) rounds
To get the books for each round, I used a random number generator to pull titles from my “Books Read in YEAR” excel file. This includes any DNF’d titles for the year; and if a number repeated itself (or landed on a heading), I reran the generator until I got a fresh title.
Round 1
Burn: When I binged the American Royals Series, the only one I couldn’t read at that time was The Temptation (#4). So perhaps my delayed wait built my expectations up too much. This isn’t a bad book by any means but the vibes are so different from the other 4 books in the series that I almost wish it didn’t exist–hence the burn.
Rewrite: I will give Abbi Glines props that I have never read a series like Sweet. The twist is a good one in the first book but that momentum was lost for me in Sweet Little Lies (#2). I’m all for a woman finding her confidence in all things but the wanton Beulah we get here just felt so fractured from her innocent character in the first book. I also didn’t love the romance so I would just rework a lot of this book. Which is ironic because I think I read the updated omnibus version…
Reread: The chemistry between the two leads in The Red Kingdom (#2) was so, so good! I loved the slow burn and I easily found myself sucked into this world and story. I almost put this in the Rewrite category because I think the pacing could be forget but I would reread just for the romance.
Round 2
Burn: I love a good rivals/in love with the enemy romance so I had high hopes for Pretty Rings and Broken Things (#2). But I felt like the romance was lackluster, the rivalry was barely there and I just ended up thinking how unmemorable this book was.
Rewrite: I think The Contract (#2) might be my lowest rated Stella Gray novel. I was not a fan of the leads or their plot line in The Convenience Series as a whole: it was a lot of poor communication, petty actions and character development that happens off-screen. Which is a shame because Stella Gray has written some of my favourite darker contemporary romances in recent years.
Reread: By process of elimination, Curse of Shadow and Thorns (#1) gets the reread slot. While I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to reread it, I will think fondly back on The Broken Kingdom Series for reminding me that plotlines don’t have to be overly complex or at 110% to be enjoyable.
Round 3
Burn: It’s not that Boyfriend Material (#2) was a bad book. It had some bad pacing (too much happening at the start) that almost had me DNFing it. But I did warm up to it in the end when certain topics were the focus. It’s just with the other books in this category, I could have done without reading it and I’ve read better New Adult College romances.
Rewrite: The Iron Fey is a series I think about fondly anytime I see Julie Kagawa’s name. It means I’ll always try her series even if I’ve encountered a few duds over the years. Fateless (#1) was a solid read; it really reminded me of the O.G. Iron Fey Series in a lot of positive ways. But I would rewrite the romance and the heroine’s character to make them more memorable.
Reread: I’m a huge Dolly Parton fan. I read the audiobook version of Behind the Seams and it was wonderful to hear Dolly and some of the contributors in the book speak their parts aloud. But for a book focused on the fashion, it would have been nice to have the pictures beside the text while the described the features – so I would reread it by picking up the physical copy.
Round 4
Burn: I will admit that Dirty Exes (#1) was a fast, fun read for me. It surprised me how much I enjoyed the antics of the cast. It just had the unfortunate challenge of being placed in this round with 2 of my most memorable books from this year…
Rewrite: I really enjoyed The Legends of Thezmarr Series and I think Blood & Steel (#1) was the best of the series for sure. I loved the chemistry between our two leads and I enjoyed all the side characters. The only thing I would rewrite is the addition of some good plot twists throughout. Nothing ever surprised me with this book or the series, even if I enjoy it for what it gave overall. And maybe keep the second book set at the academy? I felt like the series lost some of the momentum once we left that setting.
Reread: The Crimson Moth Series was probably my favourite of the ones I binged this year. The plot, characters and the romance were fabulous. And I loved that Rebel Witch (#2) was a duology finale to keep the plot strong and not drawn out.
Round 5
Burn: When I first discovered the New Adult contemporary romance genre, Caisey Quinn was my go-to for solid characters and romance. But the whole Second Chance Series was a let-down. Falling for Fate (#2) was particularly disappointing. I didn’t find anything our hero said to be “sexy” (it was icky) and as a result, the romance just fell flat with one-dimensional characters. I really wish we got the male lead who worked at the ranch in the first book rather than these two who were adjacent to the first story
Rewrite: It’s so painfully obvious to me that the Lightlark Series was intended to be a trilogy after I finished Skyshade (#3). The plot was drawn out and blah – if it was book #2 I would have dropped it completely. I’d rewrite the romance, cut out a few dozen pages and wrap this series up in 3 books.
Reread: I wouldn’t actually go out of my way to reread We Fell Apart but it just happened to be the less of the 2 evils in this round.
What would you Burn, Rewrite and Reread from 2025?
