And by “here” I mean on my comfy couch in the delightful air conditioning with a new fantasy novel. 📖🩷
I’ve heard T.S. wrote “I hate it here” about books as a form of escapism from the real world.
I’m not sure if that’s true, but it’s my favorite interpretation of this song. Thoughts?
Because nothing says party like crawling into your cozy bed with a good book at 8 pm. 🤓
I just finished my 50th book of 2025, so I thought it would be the perfect time to share this artwork and a book rec list.
Here are all the books I’ve given five stars so far this year.
Immortal Consequences by I.V. Marie (Probably my favorite book of 2025!!!)
The Compelling Fates Saga Series by Sophia St. Germain (I read books one and two. SO GOOD. Book three is out in August and I can’t wait! If you like Sarah J. Maas books, you’ll like this series.)
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
Forget Me Not by Stacey Willingham
The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith (Historical Fiction meets Fantasy. I loved every minute!)
The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North
A Terribly Nasty Business by Julie Seales (book two of the Beatrice Steele series)
The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
Far and Away by Amy Poeppel
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
That’s Not My Name by Rachel Lally
A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young
It’s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan
If you want to know more about any particular book, let me know in the comments, and I’ll share the review I left on Goodreads.
I occasionally receive ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) books via @NetGalley, so some of these titles may not be available yet, but they still deserve a spot on your TBR!
P.S. This artwork is a coloring page design from my upcoming The Bibliophile’s Coloring & Lettering Book with @better_day_books. It won’t hit shelves until October, but you can pre-order it now. 🩷📚
P.P.S. I’m always adding to my TBR, so please share your favorite reads from this year!
It’s that time of year again!
I’m one of over 50 artists teaching at this year’s FREE Summer Creative Retreat Virtual Art Event hosted by the one and only Peggy Dean of @thepigeonletters
My class is on August 1st @ 1 PM CST (Central Time Zone) and we’ll be creating this fun Stained Glass Art together, paint-by-numbers style.
The project template, color palette, and the Procreate brushes you’ll need to follow along with my class are included when you sign up.
Get full details and save your spot with the link in my stories (it’s also saved to my profile as a “Free Event” highlight). 🩷
Event Link: http://bit.ly/4ePWJOE
Seven out of twelve styles are live for my 2025 Playful Lettering Style Challenge! 🎉
Snag one or collect ‘em all! Each comes as a digital or printable workbook in my shop.
🎸 July’s style? Rockabilly is a little glam, a little rebellious, and dropping tomorrow! 🤩
💌 PS: My monthly newsletter always includes a 50% off code for the newest workbook—just for the first 24 hours! Tap that bio link to join before it lands in inboxes.
⏰ Missed a style (or a few)? My Summer Sale ends TONIGHT! Use code SUMMER to save 25% before the clock strikes midnight (CST)!
🛍️ shop.bydawnnicole.com
We adopted the sweetest St. Bernard mix puppy last weekend from @needypawsrescuestl. He’s an absolute dreamboat, and we’re obsessed with him. 💕
We named him Enzo, and at just three months old, he weighs over 35 pounds! Puppy size calculators predict he’ll be anywhere from 130 to 160 lbs when fully grown.
Side note: I created this lettering style for my year-long lettering challenge. The complete upper and lowercase alphabet in this style will be available July 1. Milk Pop is the June style!
If you’ve missed any styles so far, you can catch up on them here:
https://bydawnnicole.com/hand-lettering-styles/
Couldn’t decide on which color scheme I like best! 🤔
