I've been trying to do a reading challenge/journal for years and always end up dropping halfway through because I either forget to continue or forget I'm meant to not count fanfictions, so here is my... fourth attempt? This time the rule is simply to pick up a new book as soon as I finish one. If I end up turning to reading challenge lists that I dropped in the past then so be it. IDK, it's the end of february (by the time I'm writing this) and I have a good rhythm and backlog going, let's see how long it lasts. I'll reblog each month with added commentary where I see fit.
Saturn's 2026 READING LIST
January + February
March
Oh hey! Another month went by. I intentionally pushed all my other hobbies away to make space for reading reading reading every free minute I have. I even mastered reading while I'm walking to and from the subway station, which was something that used to make me dizzy in the past but somehow isn't an issue anymore. I dug up old playlists and sometimes the music and the lyrics match what I'm reading down to the single word and turn of page and I swear I can feel myself ascending through the atmosphere. 3 months in, it's fun stuff.
Insatiable - Leigh Rivers
Voracious
Restitution
3.5 Psychotic Obsession
Chokehold - Leigh Rivers
Just as planned, I spent the start of March going through everything else Leigh has made public, and I feel like I need to comment these books all in one go, even though Chokehold is a standalone and narratively it has more in common with Little Stranger/Liar than the Insatiable series. How can I sum it up? Leigh must really like cluster B personalities lmao. I can't properly explain the joy I felt reading and then suddenly having to do a double take because the main character decided to go completely off the rails and then narrate it like it's nothing. I can't count how many times I had to force myself not to react with my face at what I was reading while in public. It was so fun that when I reached the end I had a moment of panic because how do I keep on eating at this buffet? Where's the rest? What do I do with myself now? Credit where credit is due, I haven't read oral sex on f written that well all that often, and it deserves praise.
P.S. Little Liars ends with a bunch of characters that come from the Insatiable series. The plot in LS/LL happens literally a decade or so after the Insatiable series, so if you want to go in order, pick the trilogy before the duology. I still liked accidentally messing up the timeline and learning about these characters after I had already officially met them. I had to reread the end of LL after finishing the trilogy and there were so many little tidbits of how their life is now that I obviously missed the first time, and it was like getting another epilogue <3
Satanic Shadows - Leigh Rivers (series not complete- next expected this year)
NGL, this is possibly the weakest entry by Leigh but I still had fun because it's Leigh. I'm a loyal customer now. This reads like a Dramione Fourth Wing AU without the dragons and the trials are just straight up spin the bottle dares. I won't spoil the plot twist, but it's Sailor Moon (no, not the sailor transformation lol).
The Serpent and the Wings of Night - Carissa Broadbent
1.5 Six Scorched Roses
The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King
2.5 Slaying the Vampire Conqueror
The Songbird & The Heart of Stone
The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk (series not complete - next expected this year)
Do you ever start a book and you're so sure it's going to be light and easy but then you realize you need to fix your posture and lock in, like oh okay we're serious serious? That was my experience with this series. Look at me, crying at 35 at a vampiric rendition of the Hades and Persephone myth. All I can say is: choose your most depressing and angsty playlist and start reading, the angst-with-happy-ending that it delivers with every book/new couple (the plot is linear but you will follow it through 2 main couples + 2 NPC couples with the 1.5 and 2.5 books) is absolutely delicious.
A Court of Thorn and Roses
A Court of Mist and Fury
A Court of Wings and Ruin
A Court of Frost and Starlight
A Court of Silver Flames (series not complete - next expected this year)
Yes, believe it or not, I had never read this series. Knew of it, like with Fourth Wing, but never actually picked it up. The first book was funny in hindsight because I spent 2/3 of it not clicking with it in any way, couldn't even pretend to be interested in the ship as I thought the couple pretty bland, wondering why the protagonist had more chemistry with literally everyone else. And then the last third of the book came and I went "OH that's why." It was fine from that point on lmao I'm not entirely a fan of the trope where a random nobody suddenly becomes the most powerful being in the universe or learns in weeks skills that seasoned warriors cultivated for their entire life just because they're the protagonist, but there's enough shit going on all around for it not to be obnoxious.
If I had a nickle for every time I met a male lead who wielded darkness and shadows and he could talk telepathically with the female lead I'd have...way too many nickles lol what is this trend.
The Tyrant Alpha's Rejected Mate - Cate C. Wells (1 of 6 books)
Traitor - Himera Ink
Frivolous - Veronica Lancet
The Rejected Omega - Sara Sellers
What is this? I can't remember exactly how or when (apparently once you start reading a book every 1-2 days time gets blurry), it might have happened while I was reading A Court of Silver Flames, but I got it into my head that I needed to make a whole reading list for groveling romances. Specifically romances where the male lead does the groveling. So I gathered titles from reddit and goodreads and booksites, and this was my attempt at finding something that clicked. Huh... I found the rejected omega cute? Possibly the only one I read without rolling my eyes. I had issues with the others matching the damage done to the protagonist with the punishment/grovel that followed, and sometimes I even felt we were losing plot and characterization while doing it. 1 out of 4 is a failed experiment, but I'm nothing if not stubborn, so expect more of this in April.
If I had a nickle for every time the male lead believed the female lead had cheated on him because of a deliberately edited video, I'd have two nickles. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.
Cold Hearted - Heather Guerre
Hot Blooded
Once Bitten (series not complete)
N.3 was actually part of the grovel list above, but I decided to read the entire series instead of jumping ahead, even though these titles can be read as standalones. I think the author hit a very sweet spot with these. Their short-ish compared to other fantasy titles (we usually go from 160 to 200 pages more or less), but it makes them very easily digestible, with the plot never getting the chance of dragging too much because there's literally no time for that. Thumbs up for relatable female protagonists with relatable problems. The only "downside" I can think of is that consistently the big battle/obstacle at the end ends up being solved way too easily, making the high stakes feel cheap. This is more a comment I give to myself for future writing projects, because these books still told me I can be happy with this kind of pace/length.
Demon Lover - Heather Guerre
I decided to continue with this author since the books are so easy (compliment) to read, and for this one I confirm the same commentary I did on the trilogy above.
Star Crossed - Heather Guerre
Moon Struck
Heart Song
The third book had me giggling from start to finish. This is really the sweet spot for romance stories for me, I need to take notes. I've been thinking about it for the entire length of these last three books, and I think it comes down to the fact that reading them feels like reading guilty pleasure fanfiction. And I'm giving a compliment both to these books and fanfictions when I say that. The female protagonists are always written with very down-on-earth conflicts and problems, their inner world never extreme and dramatic just for the sake of the plot, the male protagonists are always loverboys to the extreme, worshiping the ground their mates walk on, the plot and worldbuilding points at and sometimes even steps into a wider depth and complexity without feeling the needless necessity to explore it further if it means taking the focus away from the growing bond between the protagonists. Just like with a lot of fanfictions, the narration feels charmingly earnest. These books want to make the reader happy, and they're so honest about it that I can't help but feel endeared.
Considering the books I've read during these three months, Heather's are the ones that hit "the least" emotionally (I'm not counting the handful of books that missed the mark entirely) compared to the epic fantasy or taboo filth featured in the other stories, yet these understated titles are the ones I'll come back to reread the most, I'm sure. Kudos, really.
April
Spring! Sun! Breeze! Flowers! Pollen! Allergy! This month passed just like that. Something beautiful is happening with my perception of time since I've started this reading challenge: time has expanded. Which is odd, because between work, personal life, and then reading every chance I get, the days fly by. But then I look back at the start of the month when I was still reading X or Y, and it seems so long ago! It's like I'm opening little time dimensions where I'm also counting how much time passes in the stories I read, and that's weeks, months, years even. The interesting thing is that I've never really felt this way when I prioritized reading fanfictions. I'm not entirely sure why, but I can guess it has something to do with 1. how fics often can do without classic three-arc structures, and that's amazing but it can also make you feel like you haven't really moved in time and space; 2. if you read fics featuring always the same characters as I love doing, you can go for as many AUs as you want, that's still not going to feel very different after a while. With this challenge I'm meeting different characters every 2 days on average, and that's helping with making me feel like I'm constantly somewhere new.
Note to self: write your comments on a series right after you finish it! You won't remember anything beyond "good vibes/bad vibes" otherwise!
My Alpha's Betrayal - Moonlight Muse
My Alpha's Retribution
As previously announced, April was going to be my grovel month. My Grovepril, if you will. Huh...I wasn't always successful. This series was a bit of a mess in a "what in the CW tv show am I witnessing" kind of way. I won't go into details because I don't think I have anything constructive to say, it just wasn't it for me.
His Bittersweet Regret - Christine Michelle
OK a good grovel book needs to have a few vital checkpoints, like Character A needing to mess up big time and Character B needing to see that Character A has really changed for the better. Getting both in a way that makes sense for the plot and characterization isn't that easy. For example, this book absolutely nails the "character A fucks up" Boi if he fucks up. I was genuinely feeling pissed off at the ML and that's amazing, it meant the fuck-up was working for me! Problem is: he kept on fucking up, and fucking up, and fucking up. He's a man child. I was begging for a time-skip because the only way I was going to accept him again was if we completely detached from the present version of him I was reading. Nope. Ended up feeling like FL's circumstances forced his hand into realizing he needed to change course of action without actually growing up. I headcanon them divorced in a few years.
The Forgotten Wife - Christine Michelle, Christine M. Butler (1 of 3 stand-alones)
Oh dear this was a lot. I can easily see people either hating the drama in this story or loving it. I enjoyed it. Since we were starting from 2 people who weren't together before chapter 1, I could properly enjoy the push&pull and numerous fuck ups of the ML. I don't like cheating in stories because it can very easily come off as a cheap plot point, but the situations the protagonists found themselves in were coherent with their setup, and the subsequent angst was appropriate. There's even a later reveal that makes what the FL was going through even worse in hindsight, and it was very nice to see how everyone else went "Oh fuck oh shit oh no I fucked up you fucked up we all fucked up" I know that making the ML go through something traumatic and extreme was going to help cement his position in FL's mind, but it could have been done without the sudden action movie drama, IMO. Still, nice ride.
The Unrequited - Saffron A. Kent
Oh yeah, give me a FL who's more unhinged than the ML. The protagonists are both stuck in a moment of their life where they're toxic to themselves and to others, but somehow if they're toxic together they at least get something nice out of it. Until it all goes to shit at the end of ACT II and then they're forced to confront where and who they are and who they want to be. I've always loved pairs where they're second-choices to others so they cope by prioritizing each other. This story was Angst and Vibes, and a month later I still remember the setting of many of the scenes so vividly. Dark Academia meets the Romance genre. Oh, teenage me, you would have loved reading this.
Going Nowhere Fast - Kati Wilde
Fun. Fun fun fun. Perfect fanfiction trope. Good characters, good characterizations, good angsty banter. Got so confused at the end of the book because I live in the old continent and houses here have walls that break your bones if you try to punch a hole through them and I keep forgetting that's not universal.
Kaleidoscope Hearts - Claire Contreras
1.5 Torn Hearts
Paper Hearts
Elastic Hearts
Another solid choice, good job me. Each book covers a grovel moment for different pairs, and while I preferred book 2-3, they were all enjoyable and did exactly what they had set out to do. Special mention to book 4 where the FL also had to do a little grovel of her own, we love gender equality.
Her Ruthless Warrior (1 of ?) - R.G. Angel
I...no. But I will forever keep this quote in my heart:
"Are you in the mafia?" "I'm not in the mafia. I am the mafia."
His Favorite Mistake - Aydra Richards (1 of 4)
I love clutching my pearls. OK, I needed to ignore how the ML started on an already shaky ground in terms of motivations for his actions, and then as the plot went on those motivations got even more sketchy because he was literally getting new info that made his whole plan a little useless, but the setting was too juicy and I grabbed my popcorn. I have to say, this was some A+ grovel. I genuinely got to the end where I felt the ML had punished himself enough and I wanted to forgive him in FL's stead. Good job, writer!
A Kiss of Iron - Clare Sager
Shadows of the Tenebris
A promise of Lies
Another ML who controls shadows! They're everywhere! Is there a club where they all meet weekly and drink and play darts together? This was cute. Not the worst fae series I've read, not the best. It sits in the middle with dignity. It was dragging a bit in certain parts, and in the last book I wanted to shake some sense into the ML, but overall nice.
Silent Vow - Maya Alden
Veiled Silence - Eve Black
Silent Promises - Christine Michelle
Silent Flames - Cate C. Wells
The second half was sensibly better than the first, and then I reached the last book. Forgive the comparison, but this is like writing ghost stories at Villa Diodati in 1816 because you're bored out of your mind, and here comes freaking "Frankenstein" I'd be so mad, we were just supposed to be chilling while it rained, why the fuck was Cate going so hard in this. I also did a double take because this is the same author of a book I read last month that I didn't like and so I chose not to continue the series, but at this point I'm second-guessing myself???
2. The Heir Apparent's Rejected Mate - Cate C. Wells (sequel to His Rejected Mate from March's list) (series not complete)
2.5 Derwin's Rejected Mate
3. The Lone Wolf's Rejected Mate
4. His Curvy's Rejected Mate
4.5 The Stone Wolf's Rejected Mate
5. The Wild Wolf's Rejected Mate
6. Ravaged Wolf
So I backtracked. I had to make sure I wasn't missing something great because I didn't like book 1 of this series. Sometimes it happens, you read it when you're not in the mood, or maybe your perception is influenced by the other stories you're reading around it, or maybe you just don't vibe with it. I'm glad I went back to this and finished the series because I actually liked it! Very traditional omegaverse vibes, but each pair gives you a different flavor of rejection+grovel and it all happens around five packs that interact with each other as the overarching plot progresses, all linked together by a single woman that at some point I hope will get her turn as the protagonist. Turns out I just didn't match well with the first ML in book1.
Now I'm worried I'm missing out on other titles as well after I didn't like the start of the series, so I'll use the beginning of May to catch up on a few sequels while I figure out what to read next. I'm also kinda flirting with the idea of reaching June and then switching to f/f and m/m pairs for the rest of the year. We'll see.
May
My time perception is really all kinds of fucked up and I'm loving it. THE WORLD has happened this month, and I 80% believe it's thanks to how many books I'm cramming in everywhere and everywhen I can. Back when I was reading that angsty vampire series? A lifetime ago. My first fae-smut while taking the subway? I don't even do that anymore, I have to use the car every day now, it might as well be a whole new year we're talking about. With how I'm also micro-managing my daily calendar so I can still do the dailies for the two videogames I currently play (love and deepspace, where winds meet) + basic entertainment through youtube/tiktok/x-formerly-known-as-twitter + a movie most nights of the week when I'm not going out + social and work life, each day ends so fast but it's also so full and condensed that it feels like it's 3 shoved in 1. And I'm not mad about it. I used to feel a little anxious about time slipping through my fingers, waking up and realizing that half of the year had gone by and I didn't even feel it, wondering where I was while the world moved on. I know where I was these past 5 months. I was everywhere all at once, and I'm very content with that.
Trade - Cate C. Wells
I'm going to be so honest with you. I thought it was a m/m book because of the cover, and only realized my mistake once I started reading. Fallout-esque setting, age gap romance with the FL doubling the ML's lifespan, a failed marriage, a virgin ML meets the rare other half of his species. I liked it. I was left with many questions about the worldbuilding but I know it's not the kind of book focused on giving those answers, so I'll settle for the cute romance in a dystopian setting.
After the Shut Up Ring - Cate C. Wells
You learn a lot by reading the kind of stories you also like to write, and this taught me that yes, you can love a good angsty start with the Heroine thrown in the dirt by the asshole she's with before the ML swoops in and saves the day, but you need some kind of solid setup to justify said love story with said asshole before the Big Bad Thing happens. The story starts with the FL finally marrying the asshole she's with and surprise surprise, he humiliates her in front of everyone and the only thing I could think in that moment was that the FL had some serious issues. This isn't the first time, you know this asshole does things like that, said asshole decides to do something outrageous and public fully believing no one would question him (?) and the FL has the audacity to even be surprised it got to this point. But most of all: who even does that at a wedding? Okay that he needs to be a villain, but the whole starting scene seriously tested my suspension of disbelief and it's hard to recover from that when the premise is already wobbly.
2 When The Last Petal Falls - Christine Michelle (sequel to The Forgotten Wife from April's list)
3 A Different Husband
We see the same plot structure from the first book of the series repeated here, especially in the drama department. Just like in the first book, I thought we could have survived with less soap opera, but then I read a comment saying that without the external drama the main characters would have no conflict post-confession and I have to agree. Still, there has to be a better way? If you like attempted murder because then you can get all the angst and comfort that comes with it, set it up properly so that it makes sense with the characters and world building. Let's not even mention the premise of the third book. Everyone gets a crazy life, but it's also not because the characters don't properly react like it's crazy, but at the same time it is but it's also not? The situations in which the FLs find themselves should be shocking and absurd because they are unusual and rare. If you start throwing in absurd situations one after another, then they're not absurd anymore and you start questioning everyone's intelligence.
Bad At Love - Christine Michelle
OK this was a bit hated by several readers on goodreads and I've come to expect it for this author's stories. I personally enjoyed it. Because the drama was coherent with the world the characters lived in from the start, so I never got the feeling that we were being hit by Plot Device #38 just to keep the story going. The ML is kind of an asshole who literally puts the FL on stand by until he thinks it's time to settle down, and that's it actually! He literally does come back only when he finds it convenient, all the while the FL desperately pined after him and failed at the couple of other attempts at moving on. And I respect it. I respect characters who change because their journey makes them grow, and I respect characters who stay the same because nothing manages to shake their core values, even if it means ending up with an asshole and a doormat. I have way more problems with characters who fuck up and then you get a pseudo-redemption where you know it's just the author's wishful thinking because the characters clearly learned nothing. So this story checked out and stayed on track from start to finish, whether you like where the train was always headed or not.
2 His Reluctant Lady - Aydra Richards (sequel to His Favorite Mistake from April's list)
3 His Forgotten Bride
4 His Improper Proposal
Absolutely delightful. Perfect fanfiction tropes. The first book (read the other month) is about the ML planning to use the FL for his revenge plot, up until he actually falls in love and regrets his life decisions. In the second we follow a smut writer spying on a known player for inspiration, but then he finds out and you know what, he might as well give her hands-on experiences. The third is about a ML with amnesia trying to live his life after losing years of his past after an accident, only it turns out he also forgot about a whole wife and why is he reacting so oddly to the new addition to his staff? And lastly in the fourth we get a Cinderella story with the noble ML rescuing an abused servant and getting his life priorities rearranged thanks to her. I could read other 287293 books just like these. I might just do that.
Mercy Fletcher Meets Her Match - Aydra Richards
Charity Nightingale Heals Her Husband
Felicity Cabot Sells Her Soul
(FOURTH BOOK CAME OUT IN MARCH AND I HAVEN'T READ IT??? TO BE FIXED ASAP)
The Scandal Of The Season - Aydra Richards
My Darling Mr. Darling
A Duke In Disguise
The Lady Unmasked - Aydra Richards
My Deceitful Duchess
The Marquess Wins A Wife
Exit, Pursued by a Baron - Aydra Richards
Lady Diana's Lost Lord
The Spy Who Loved Her
A Deal With A Notorious Devil
So I did, indeed, did that lmao. I'm going to review them all together because these books occupied the biggest part of the month and they made me so happy. I could keep going indefinitely. Each one was a perfect setup, tropes and characters were always chef's kiss, I LOVE reading protagonists becoming side characters as you progress through the series and you get side characters becoming protagonists. I somehow very masterfully started with the "sequels" of the last 4 books (each series can be read on its own), so I ended up reaching the end of this whole journey screaming "OH SO IT WAS YOU FROM A MONTH AGO????" Perfect circle, I love my life.
Now I'm in shambles because my never ending series of steamy historical romances had the audacity to end. I hate mourning books, but I also know it's a sign of a healthy book diet. It means I'm eating good.
Can't recommend these little gems enough. They're sweet and the right amount of angsty and easy and fresh and go down your throat like lemonade in this oven that we call the Italian summer. Bridgerton who? (Actually I might pick up that whole 15-something book series too at some point, but not now because June is Pride Month and I'm about to become very rainbow-y baby)
