❄️ Sunday Sharies: January 2025

Required reading, the absolute best pens, and some comfort watches

The first month of 2025 is nearly over. And it’s been a doozy. Here’s to you all for making it to February! There’s a lot of stuff we’d like to share that won’t fit in our usual Thursday TV newsletter. Some of that stuff is here. Read on for a special monthly peek into what your trusty Double Take duo has been watching, reading, listening to, and more.

—Jenni Cullen and Jess Spoll

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Jenni: I’m in the middle of what feels like 40 books/articles/essays as I scramble to decide whether I need escapist fluffy romcoms or more politically educational fare right now. I guess I’ve landed on a little bit of both.

In the “distraction” category I swept through the feel-good cozy romance Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez (3.5/5 stars), the “rivals” to lovers holiday rom-com mystery The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter (3/5 stars), and the romantasy followup to Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross: Ruthless Vows (2/5 stars).

I also started Intermezzo by Sally Rooney and One Day in December by Josie Silver, but only got about halfway through each as I moved in and out of my state-of-panic-type reads. So far those include, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein and a reread of Rebecca Solnit’s 2016 essay, ‘Hope is an embrace of the unknown’: Rebecca Solnit on living in dark times.” Special shout out to

Rich Text

for bringing this back to my radar while I was mid-spiral.

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Jess: I started the year off with an ARC of The Favorites by Layne Fargo (available now!), an epic romance inspired by Wuthering Heights about two ice skaters with dreams of going to the Olympics who face adversity, foes, and their own tumultuous relationship on the way to the top. There were moments where the pacing dragged, but I still tore through it and will likely read it again. If you liked Daisy Jones and the Six, I recommend giving it a try. (4.5/5 stars)

I also got an early copy of Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch (out 3/18), a thriller about two young women who go on the run after being accused of murdering a wealthy LA couple. It was hard to suspend disbelief at times, especially when the tone veers away from camp and becomes more self-serious, but it’s an unpredictable, fast-paced read. (3/5 stars)

The Lost Story by Meg Schaffer reminded me of The House in the Cerulean Sea for its magical realism, queer romance, and sweet sentimentality. It’s the kind of book where everything works out a little too easily, but that feels like the point; in a world full of heartbreak and horror, it’s nice to believe in a fantasy land of magic and wonderment. (4/5 stars)

It took over a month, but I finally finished my first read of Fourth Wing, and I have to join Jenni in the small camp of detractors. With how much excitement there’s been over the third book in the series, it’s bumming me out that I didn’t like it, but the romance felt awkward and the fantasy elements were underbaked. (2/5 stars)

My book club read The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes this month after we all enjoyed her other YA “thriller” series, The Inheritance Games. The Naturals follows a group of preternaturally talented high school students who are recruited by the FBI to solve cold cases. It’s preposterous and very fun. (3.5/5 stars)

We Used to Live Here is a horror novel billed as a cross between Get Out and Parasite. While it’s actually nothing like either of those films, I liked it for its eerie, unsettling, atmospheric vibes. It left me with a ton of unanswered questions, though, and not in a purposely ambiguous way, but in a way that feels like the author wasn’t quite sure how to wrap things up. (3.5/5 stars)

Jess: I’m months late, but I finally watched the second season of Netflix’s political drama, The Diplomat. The first season ends on a cliffhanger, and I was glad to jump back into the action, but I was a little bummed to find that the second season feels more like a second part to the first rather than its own (and it’s only 6 episodes!). This season ends on another wild cliffhanger, so now I have to tuck in for another year of waiting.