by Crystal Caudill | Feb 10, 2026 | Book Lists, Sung in the Shadows
Mental Health has become a common topic of conversation in society, while mental illness still lives in the shadows of the taboo. However, Christian Fiction has long been wrestling with how faith, mental health/illness, and the Christian community should interact. Sung in the Shadows is my wrestle with the topic, but it’s not the only book out there you can read. Below are twelve titles that I have personally read or plan to read with story threads that deal with mental illness and mental health in general. I can guarantee that these stories interweave faith and mental illness into their stories in such a way as to give readers hope and to God all glory.
There are SOOOO many more books out there you can choose. The Inspirational Historical Fiction Index will allow you to choose by topic. If you’re looking for more reader recommendations, including contemporary stories, check out this post I made in Avid Readers to help find titles.
My Top Personal Reads
(In No Particular Order)
Sung in the Shadows by Crystal Caudill
In nineteenth-century Cincinnati, fear keeps Nora Davis caged with secrets and lies. Her true identity as the daughter of a famous opera singer is too dangerous to reveal with her former captors still on the loose. But weekly singing lessons at Longview Asylum—her paranoid mother’s permanent residence—light a flame in Nora, and it’s one she can avoid fanning for only so long.
With his suicidal ma in the asylum, Ezekiel Beaumont’s soul is weary, but Nora’s presence at the asylum intrigues him. As a Pike’s Opera House employee, Ezekiel thinks Nora might be cut out for the stage. He also begins to wonder if Nora’s ma is really the famed Constanza Brisbane, who went missing mid-performance. He’s determined to find out.
Though Ezekiel brings the performance world a little too close for comfort, Nora is drawn to his warm personality all the same. The two of them steadily grow closer, but then Nora begins to fear she’s being watched, and her own paranoia blooms.
Amazon | Baker Book House | Barnes and Noble | Books-A-Million | Bookshop.org | Christianbook.com | Kregel Parable Christian Bookstore
Shadows in the Mind’s Eye by Janyre Tromp
Charlotte Anne Mattas longs to turn back the clock. Before her husband, Sam, went to serve his country in the war, he was the man everyone could rely on—responsible, intelligent, and loving. But the person who’s come back to their family farm is very different from the protector Annie remembers. Sam’s experience in the Pacific theater has left him broken in ways no one can understand—but that everyone is learning to fear.
Tongues start wagging after Sam nearly kills his own brother. Now when he claims to have seen men on the mountain when no one else has seen them, Annie isn’t the only one questioning his sanity and her safety. If there were criminals haunting the hills, there should be evidence beyond his claims. Is he really seeing what he says, or is his war-tortured mind conjuring ghosts?
Annie desperately wants to believe her husband. But between his irrational choices and his nightmares leaking into the daytime, she’s terrified he’s going mad. Can she trust God to heal Sam’s mental wounds—or will sticking by him mean keeping her marriage at the cost of her own life?
Amazon
The Lost Melody by Joanna Davidson Politano
When concert pianist Vivienne Mourdant’s father dies, he leaves to her the care of a patient at Hurstwell Asylum. Vivienne had no idea the woman existed, and yet her portrait is shockingly familiar. When the asylum claims she was never a patient there, Vivienne is compelled to discover what happened to the figure she remembers from childhood dreams.
The longer she lingers in the deep shadows and forgotten towers at Hurstwell, the fuzzier the line between sanity and madness becomes. She hears music no one else does, receives strange missives with rose petals between the pages, and untangles far more than is safe for her to know.
But can she uncover the truth about the mysterious woman she seeks? And is there anyone at Hurstwell she can trust with her suspicions?
Amazon
Washington, D.C., 1921. As America prepares to honor the first Unknown Soldier, Elsie St. Clair longs for freedom from her father’s cruel control and the chance to build a life of her own. Instead, she is forced into the spotlight of the upcoming ceremonies when she’s chosen to serve as companion to Gunnery Sergeant Phillip Pierce—a decorated Marine tasked with bearing the Unknown Soldier to his final rest.
Phillip is a war hero, but the medals pinned to his chest weigh heavy with loss and unspoken pain. To Elsie, his quiet strength and battle-hardened scars stir a hope she thought long dead: the hope of being truly seen and loved. Yet danger shadows their every step—from subtle whispers in the capital to the schemes of a jealous rival determined to come between them.
When Phillip offers Elsie a marriage of convenience, it seems a practical way to shield her from harm and keep his own heart untouched. But as they raise her orphaned nephew together, friendship blossoms into a tender bond neither can deny. Still, secrets from the past threaten to shatter the fragile peace they’ve found, forcing them to decide if they will cling to silence—or risk everything for the kind of love that bears all things.
Amazon
Midnight’s Budding Morrow by Carolyn Miller
Sarah Drayton is eager to spend a holiday at her best friend’s crumbling Northumberland castle estate. Alas, rather than easy companionship with her dear friend, she finds herself being inveigled into a marriage of convenience with her friend’s rakish brother.
When James Langley returns to his family’s estate, war is raging and he wants only distraction, not serious tethers. But his roguish ways have backed him into a corner, and he has little choice but to obey his father’s shocking decree: marry before returning to war…or else. Suddenly he finds himself wedded to a clever and capable woman he barely knows.
Sarah craves love and a place to belong, neither of which James offered before returning to the battlefront. Now everyone around her thinks she married above her station, and they have no intention of rewarding her for such impertinence. Only when her husband returns from war does she begins to hope they may find real happiness.
When tragedy strikes, this pair must learn to trust God and cling to the belief that even in the darkest depths of night, the morning still holds hope.
Amazon
Lost in Darkness by Michelle Griep
Travel writer Amelia Balfour’s dream of touring Egypt is halted when she receives news of a revolutionary new surgery for her grotesquely disfigured brother. This could change everything, and it does. . .in the worst possible way.
Surgeon Graham Lambert has suspicions about the doctor he’s gone into practice with, but he can’t stop him from operating on Amelia’s brother. Will he be too late to prevent the man’s death? Or to reveal his true feelings for Amelia before she sails to Cairo?
Amazon
Veiled in Smoke by Jocelyn Green
Meg and Sylvie Townsend manage the family bookshop and care for their father, Stephen, a veteran still suffering in mind and spirit from his time as a POW during the Civil War. But when the Great Fire sweeps through Chicago’s business district, they lose much more than just their store.
The sisters become separated from their father and make a harrowing escape from the flames with the help of Chicago Tribune reporter Nate Pierce. Once the smoke clears away, they reunite with Stephen, only to learn soon after that their family friend was murdered on the night of the fire. Even more shocking, Stephen is charged with the crime and committed to the Cook County Insane Asylum.
Though homeless and suddenly unemployed, Meg must not only gather the pieces of her shattered life, but prove her father’s innocence before the asylum truly drives him mad.
Amazon
Recommended Reads on the Top of My TBR Pile
(In No Particular Order)
A Heart Deceived by Michelle Griep
Miri Brayden teeters on a razor’s edge between placating and enraging her brother, whom she depends upon for support. Yet if his anger is unleashed, so is his madness. Miri must keep his descent into lunacy a secret, or he’ll be committed to an asylum—and she’ll be sent to the poorhouse.
Ethan Goodwin has been on the run all of his life—from family, from the law … from God. After a heart-changing encounter with the gritty Reverend John Newton, Ethan would like nothing more than to become a man of integrity—an impossible feat for an opium addict charged with murder.
When Ethan shows up on Miri’s doorstep, her balancing act falls to pieces. Both Ethan and Miri are caught in a web of lies and deceit—fallacies that land Ethan in prison and Miri in the asylum with her brother. Only the truth will set them free.
Amazon
Specters in the Glass House by Jaime Jo Wright
In 1921, Marian Arnold, the heiress to a brewing baron’s empire, seeks solace in the glass butterfly house on her family’s Wisconsin estate as Prohibition and the deaths of her parents cast a long shadow over her shrinking world. When Marian’s sanctuary is invaded by nightmarish visions, she grapples with the line between hallucinations of things to come and malevolent forces at play in the present. With dead butterflies as the killer’s ominous signature, murders unfold at a steady pace. Marian, fearful she might be next, enlists the help of her childhood friend Felix, a war veteran with his own haunted past.
In the present day, researcher Remy Shaw becomes entangled in an elderly biographer’s quest to uncover the truth behind Marian Arnold’s mysterious life and the unsolved murders linked to an infamous serial killer. Joined by Marian’s great-great-grandson, can Remy expose the evil that lurks beneath broken wings? Or will the dark legacy surrounding the manor and its glass house destroy yet another generation?
Amazon
Miss Blaire in Blackwell’s Island (The Gray Chamber) by Grace Hitchcock
Will Edyth prove her sanity before it is too late?
On Blackwell’s Island, New York, a hospital was built to keep its patients from ever leaving.
With her late parents’ fortune under her uncle’s care until her twenty-fifth birthday in the year 1887, Edyth Blaire does not feel pressured to marry or to bow to society’s demands. She freely indulges in eccentric hobbies like fencing and riding her velocipede in her cycling costume about the city for all to see. Finding a loophole in the will, though, her uncle whisks Edyth off to the women’s lunatic asylum just weeks before her birthday. And Edyth fears she will never be found.
At the asylum she meets another inmate, who upon discovering Edyth’s plight, confesses that she is Nellie Bly, an undercover journalist for The World. Will either woman find a way to leave the terrifying island and reclaim her true self?
Amazon
Until the Dawn by Elizabeth Camden
A volunteer for the newly established Weather Bureau, Sophie van Riijn needs access to the highest spot in her village to report the most accurate readings. Fascinated by Dierenpark, an abandoned mansion high atop a windswept cliff in the Hudson River Valley, Sophie knows no better option despite a lack of permission from the absent owners.
The first Vandermark to return to the area in sixty years, Quentin intends to put an end to the shadowy rumors about the property that has brought nothing but trouble upon his family. Ready to tear down the mansion, he is furious to discover a local woman has been trespassing on his land.
Instantly at odds, Quentin and Sophie find common ground when she is the only one who can reach his troubled son. There’s a light within Sophie that Quentin has never known, and a small spark of the hope that left him years ago begins to grow. But when the secrets of Dierenpark and the Vandermark family history are no longer content to stay in the past, will tragedy triumph or can their tenuous hope prevail?
Amazon
The Curse of Misty Wayfair by Jaime Jo Wright
Left at an orphanage as a child, Thea Reed vowed to find her mother someday. Now grown, her search takes her to Pleasant Valley, Wisconsin, in 1908. When clues lead her to a mental asylum, Thea uses her experience as a post-mortem photographer to gain access and assist groundskeeper Simeon Coyle in photographing the patients and uncovering the secrets within. However, she never expected her personal quest would reawaken the legend of Misty Wayfair, a murdered woman who allegedly haunts the area and whose appearance portends death.
A century later, Heidi Lane receives a troubling letter from her mother–who is battling dementia–compelling her to travel to Pleasant Valley for answers to her own questions of identity. When she catches sight of a ghostly woman who haunts the asylum ruins in the woods, the long-standing story of Misty Wayfair returns–and with it, Heidi’s fear for her own life.
As two women across time seek answers about their identities and heritage, can they overcome the threat of the mysterious curse that has them inextricably intertwined?
Amazon
My question for YOU:
What books would YOU recommend that deal with mental illness?
ABOUT CRYSTAL CAUDILL
Crystal Caudill is the author of “dangerously good historical romance.” Her debut novel, Counterfeit Love, was a 2023 Carol Award finalist, and her novella, “Star of Wonder,” won the 2024 Christy Award for short form. She loves history, hot tea, all things bookish, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. She is a stay-at-home mom, caregiver, and chaos organizer. When she isn’t writing, Crystal can be found hanging with her family and playing board games at her home outside Cincinnati, Ohio. Find out more at crystalcaudill.com.
Connect with the author:
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by Crystal Caudill | Jan 31, 2026 | Reading Challenge
It’s another month of our Tackle Your TBR Pile reading challenge. So dig through that stack of books you’ve been meaning to read that’s taller than you and start reading!
Don’t forget to comment at the bottom of the post for your chance to win a book off my prize shelf. *The list of prizes from my shelf can be found here.*
Reading Challenge 2026: Tackle the TBR Pile
This Month: January – Genre Don’t Usually Read
Next Month: February – Title/Cover with Heart, Love, or a Couple
I had the privilege of meeting Lisa at the last Rendezvous, and this was the series she recommended I start with. I have since bought the rest of the series to binge sometime over the next month and a half. YA Time Travel definitely isn’t my norm, but I did enjoy reading it. The knight hit every stereotype you can think of, and it amused me even as I rolled my eyes. The concept of how time travel occurred was fascinating. Unsusprisingly, my favorite parts were the battles. They were exactly what you would expect of medieval times, and the time-travel heroines were spunky and generally smart. I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite thing I’ve ever read, but I was intrigued enough to want to finish out the whole series.
It also helps that the series is my son’s girlfriend’s favorite series. What better way to connect with her than over books?
Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren
Genre: YA Time Travel
What do you do when your knight in shining armor lives, literally, 700 years away?
Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Betarrini sisters spent every summer of their lives with their mother, a famed Etruscan scholar, exploring the romantic hills. Stuck among the archeological site, Gabi and Lia are bored out of their minds…until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces. Suddenly Gabi’s life has become much, much more interesting…
Purchase Links:
Amazon
Giveaway Details – Winner: Sabrina
Here’s your chance to win a book off my prize shelf. Comment with what YOU read for your chance to win! Entries close on 7th of each month. Open to legal U.S. residents and international residents. *International winners will receive a $10 Amazon gift card in lieu of a book from the prize shelf due to shipping costs.* See Giveaway Policies for more details.
by Crystal Caudill | Jan 20, 2026 | Sung in the Shadows, Writer's Life
Have you ever had a book just absolutely wreck you? Me too . . . only it was the book I was writing. However, it didn’t just wreck me. It broke me–and God used the writing of it to restore me.
The theme of Sung in Shadows, the book that broke me, is mental illness and the struggle of those who support others with mental illness. Why that topic? It’s actually a topic near and dear to my heart. While mental health has become less of a taboo topic, there is still a huge gap in support and understanding of those who struggle with mental illness and the people who support them. I’ve been on both sides of the aisle now, and my wrestle with mental illness actually came to a head during the writing of Sung in the Shadows.
Don’t Be Like Jonah . . . or Me
You see, even though I knew God wanted me to write a book with a mental health thread, I wanted to make it as small as I possibly could. But God wasn’t satisfied with a “side-note” of what He called me to write. With only three months before my book was due, God orchestrated events so that my editor read the first chapter of my draft-in-progress. With firm, but loving kindness, she told me what I turned in was not the story that needed to be told. That mental health thread I was trying to hide under many other layers of plot? That was were the real story was. That was the one that needed to be told.
I should have known that fighting God wasn’t going to end with me winning.
So everything got tossed out and rewritten in 1/3 of the time that I usually write a book–and it wasn’t because it came easy. Every word was a fight, every page a wrestle with the struggles I’d endured as a supporter of those with mental illnesses and the realization that I myself had reached a mental breakdown. I needed help, but those I supported still needed me. I should have gotten professional help, and I regret that I didn’t. However, God was good enough to minister to me through the writing of the story, those who ended up being my support, and the soundtrack to Sung in the Shadows below.
A release is coming, but it’s so much more . . .
Between now and release, I plan to create several blog posts, not just about the history like I usually do, but also about mental health, my journey to write this story, and some things God taught me about Christians and mental health. Unfortunately, the Church has, by-and-large (but not everyone), ignored mental illness, shamed those who struggled, and/or failed to support those with mental illness and the loved ones who support them.
Sung in the Shadows is specifically written for anyone who has ever struggled to support someone with mental illness or has ever struggled themselves. As hard as this book was for me, it’s become as much a book of my heart as Counterfeit Hope is. It’s so important to me that both groups feel seen, understood, supported, and loved by God despite the struggles.
Today, I’m sharing with you what I’m calling the “Sung in the Shadows Soundtrack.” These are the songs I listened to over and over and over and over (and still listen to on hard days) as I wrote Sung in the Shadows. May it encourage you and help you as you walk through your own struggles.
READER QUESTION: What songs would you add to a list for encouragement and hard days?
When past darkness prowls, will stepping into the light lead to a brighter future?
In nineteenth-century Cincinnati, fear keeps Nora Davis caged with secrets and lies. Her true identity as the daughter of a famous opera singer is too dangerous to reveal with her former captors still on the loose. But weekly singing lessons at Longview Asylum—her paranoid mother’s permanent residence—light a flame in Nora, and it’s one she can avoid fanning for only so long.
With his suicidal ma in the asylum, Ezekiel Beaumont’s soul is weary, but Nora’s presence at the asylum intrigues him. As a Pike’s Opera House employee, Ezekiel thinks Nora might be cut out for the stage. He also begins to wonder if Nora’s ma is really the famed Constanza Brisbane, who went missing mid-performance. He’s determined to find out.
Though Ezekiel brings the performance world a little too close for comfort, Nora is drawn to his warm personality all the same. The two of them steadily grow closer, but then Nora begins to fear she’s being watched, and her own paranoia blooms.
As the line between what’s real and false grows fainter, will Ezekiel’s and Nora’s faith and love overcome?
“From the haunting halls of Longview Asylum to the dangerous secrets of Nora’s past, Sung in the Shadows delivers a riveting blend of romance, mystery, and redemption.”
—Misty M. Beller, USA TODAY best-selling author of the Sisters of the Rockies series
Learn More Here
by Crystal Caudill | Jan 13, 2026 | Character Interview
*One thing you’re going to notice this year is fewer posts. I’ve decided to only do one interview and the reading challenge post per month. I might have some months where more pop up, but in order to provide myself more time for writing and other pursuits, I’m reducing the amount that goes up. Thanks for understanding, and I hope you still enjoy the interviews and reading challenge!*
Now onto THIS month’s character interview.
I had the privilege of being introduced to Heather Taber’s writing through her debut novel, Their Burden to Bear. It was such a wonderful read that I am eagerly looking forward to getting my hands on her newest book, In Books & Battlefields. Today, I am blessed to interview the heroine, Isabella Ruth Pearson. In addition to that treat, Heather is graciously giving away one e-book copy of In Books & Battlefields. Regardless of if you win a copy, Heather has a free short story for anyone who signs up for her newsletter. You can find all the details for that and the giveaway at the end of the post. Before then, we have an interview!
Before we dive into our interview, let me introduce you to the story that Isabella takes part in.
In Books & Battlefields by Heather Tabers
Genre: Historical Romance
In 1917, spirited librarian Isabella Pearson leaves her comfortable life in Denver to serve at Camp Sheridan, Alabama, determined to bring hope to weary soldiers—not fall in love. But her plans for independence are tested when she finds herself pursued by Major Byron McDaniel, a brooding Army surgeon haunted by loss, and Nathaniel Steele, her brother’s loyal best friend who followed her across the country with hopes of winning her heart. As mysterious accidents and whispers of sabotage plague the camp, Isabella must decide who to trust—with her heart and with her life.
Purchase Links:
Amazon
Now it’s time to jump into our interview with Isabella!
CC: CHARACTER, would you please introduce yourself to my readers? How would you describe yourself?
Isabella: Thank you so much for taking a break from your busy day to read this. My name is Isabella Pearson. I’m a volunteer librarian serving the brave men at Camp Sheridan who will soon be sent overseas. Originally from Philadelphia, Denver has been my home for the past few years, and I miss my family there terribly. But, I love when I can put my love of literature to good use. As the main female character in this story, I’ve had to navigate a new way of life in a new part of the country, surrounded by a sea of men (which is, ironically, the last thing I’d ever want.) My personality is a bit paradoxical–I’m equal parts outgoing and reserved, brave and scared, headstrong and… okay, well, I’m always headstrong.
CC: LOL. I’m beginning to wonder if all we women are headstrong. LOL So tell us a little more. If you don’t want to be around a sea of men,
What DO you want? What’s standing in your way?
Isabella: What I want is to avoid marriage and to use my love of books and my skills as a librarian to serve our nation. Unfortunately, all these lovesick men keep getting in my way.
CC: I imagine you are quite the attention getter for these men who have left every female they know behind and are facing a deadly war overseas. I bet it is impossible NOT to be flirted with.
If you had time to read a book, what would you pick up and why?
Isabella: I love Anne of Green Gables, but Anne of the Island is my favorite in the series. I’m a romantic at heart, even if I don’t want a marriage of my own. Hmm.. that’s not entirely accurate. I should say I’m a romantic at heart, even if marriage is off the table for me. I’ve also recently read a manuscript by a young soldier who writes under the name F. Scott Fitzgerald. His work is fascinating!
CC: Oh, I’ve not read that series, but I can vaguely remember sitting in my grandma’s living room and watching all the Anne of Green Gables movies with her. And to read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s work must have been amazing. I would love to see how his stories started versus how they ended.
What was your childhood like?
Isabella: I have been blessed more than I deserve with loving parents and an adoring big brother who is also my best friend in the world. I’ve been afforded every luxury, from a carefully cultivated education to the finest dresses in Philadelphia, but my mother’s humility and compassion have taught me that these things do not matter nearly as much as a winsome personality, the ability to be a blessing to others, hard work, and making others feel valued. I aspire to be more like her every day.
CC: She sounds like an amazing woman.
Who or what scares you the most?
Isabella: Men scare me, which makes it ironic that I fought so hard to work among them at Camp Sheridan. God certainly has a sense of humor! I had a…difficult…encounter with a man in my past that has taught me that other than my father and brother, men cannot be trusted, no matter their upbringing.
CC: It sounds as if you have good cause to be wary of men. It’s always wise to evaluate a person and their character before giving them your trust, but at some point you do have to take that leap of faith that they are worth trusting.
How do you feel about this journey you are on?
Isabella: Some days, I still cannot believe I was brave enough to get on that train and devote myself to working here at Camp Sheridan, Alabama. I’m worried that I will hurt one of the men who have made their intentions toward me known. I cannot be who they want me to be. I cannot give them what they want most of all, and I worry that I will hurt them in the process of being their friend. But I do enjoy my work here. I especially love teaching the soldiers to read and helping many of them send letters home.
CC: It’s hard to be that balance of friend with guys without indicating you want more or encouraging them. I’m glad you love your job and what you’re doing to support the war effort.
If you had to choose a difference career path, what would you choose?
Isabella: I’d love to be an author. It sounds silly, but I’ve read so many books, I think it would be fun to try my hand at writing a love story of my own. Maybe then I could live out the life I dream of but will never have.
CC: Should I warn you to not do it? LOL Writing is so much fun, it’s just all the other parts of being an author that maybe aren’t AS fun. Of course, in your day, authors weren’t expected to market, so that was definitely the golden era to write, at least in that respect.
Unfortunately, it’s time to wrap up, so here’s our last question, and it’s always a fun one. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Isabella: I’ve done a great deal of international travel, and I have to say that, given the opportunity, I’d return to Paris in a heartbeat. In fact, I wanted to serve at the American Library in Paris, but Mother nearly fainted at the thought. I speak French fluently and feel like Paris is my home away from home. I would love to return there someday soon.
CC: Knowing what I do of history, maybe not TOO soon . . .
That’s it for now. If you liked getting to know Isabella, I highly recommend you go check out Heather Taber’s In Books & Battlefields.
Heather Tabers writes Historical Romance, Children’s Fiction, and encouragement for weary souls. Although she can’t always recall the dates of famous battles or list the world’s great leaders, Heather treasures history for something far more meaningful—the way stories from the past stir our hearts today. She’s a hope-filled romantic who believes in second chances and redemptive love. Her own love story proves that life can be messy and beautiful at the same time, which is why she enjoys writing stories that show the goodness of God’s grace.
Heather resides in sunny Central Florida with her husband and hero, Robert, whom many of her MMCs are inspired by. She’s also a veteran homeschooling mama of five (mostly) grown kiddos whom she loves with her whole heart, a dog mom, clay jewelry designer, virtual author assistant, digital product designer, and a pursuer of whatever new idea strikes her fancy.
You can connect with her at: Website | Newsletter | Instagram
In the Shadow of Sacrifice
With World War II brimming in the background, Louise leaves everything she’s ever known in Colorado to support her family by working in her brother’s diner in St. Louis. Harboring secret pain from her past, Louise meets Dude and her “I don’t need a man” mentality begins to shift. Together they uncover danger, heartbreak, and sacrificial love.
Get your free copy of In the Shadows from Heather here.
Giveaway Details
Here’s your chance to win an e-book of In Books & Battlefields. Comment on the blog and enter use the Google form below for your chance to win! Entries close at 11:59 p.m. EST on 1/20. Open to legal U.S. residents. See Giveaway Policies for more details.
by Crystal Caudill | Dec 31, 2025 | Book Reviews, Reading Challenge
It’s the LAST month of our challenge: Tackle Your TBR Pile. (HAPPY NEW YEAR, by the way!!!! So go dig through that stack taller than you of books you’ve been meaning to read and start reading away.
Reading Challenge 2025: Tackle the TBR Pile
If you’re anything like me, you have a TBR pile that is bigger than you can hope to read in a lifetime. This is the year we’re going to try an tackle at least twelve of those books. Head to your shelves and find books that fit each month’s challenge.
This Month: December – Oldest book on your TBR pile
January – Genre you don’t usually read
The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today
by Mark Twain and Charles Warner
I’ve been wanting to read this one for research purposes for a long time, but the audiobook was dauntingly long when I didn’t have much time. I’m honestly still not finished, but I’m getting close. The Gilded Age definitely has all the Mark Twain I’ve come to expect, and the intro by Mark Twain makes it clear this is a satirical piece about the times, written with a co-author. It had lots of “main” characters and storylines that all converged. It was an intriguing listen, with much of the story focusing on the con of speculation, the poverty of the time, and the pursuit of the American dream of getting rich quickly. It was a clear view of the haves and have-nots. It was a good read for one time, but it’s definitely not one of my favorite Mark Twain books. I doubt I’ll revisit it, but I’m glad I read it at least once.
Genre: Satire (Contemporary at the time, historical now)
Plot Overview:
A satirical masterpiece that named an era—and still defines our own.
First published in 1873, The Gilded Age is a bold and biting political satire co-authored by legendary American writer Mark Twain and journalist Charles Dudley Warner. Set in post–Civil War America, the novel follows the Hawkins family and a parade of lobbyists, land speculators, and corrupt politicians chasing wealth and influence in Washington, D.C. and the frontier.
More than just a historical novel, The Gilded Age offers a scathing critique of greed, government corruption, and the illusion of progress—issues that remain deeply relevant in today’s political and economic landscape. Its themes of speculative capitalism, moral compromise, and institutional decay echo powerfully in the 21st century.
Giveaway – Marti was December’s Winner!
For your chance to win a print copy, comment with what book YOU read for this month. Use the Rafflecopter below for extra entries and to mark that you left a comment. Entries end on the 7th of each month at midnight EST, and the winner will be drawn sometime that week and notified by email. The winner will be announced on the Rafflecopter widget. *Giveaway Policies can be found here.
What did you read for the challenge? What were your thoughts on it? Would you recommend it?
