#kindle lover

[brown-eyed-hoe]

Cozy fit, Kindle aquired. I’m not leaving the couch today ☕📚

[alternativemomma]

Fresh pasta. My kindle. No kids. Relaxing night to myself. I’ll take it.

[pinterest-whore]

June 2025 reads & ratings

I started this month off with The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper. Set in Ancient Pompeii, it was an interesting story about women and their experience being slaves - specifically prostitutes. Some have accepted their fate in never becoming a freedwoman, and some will stop at nothing to escape. Here's the GoodReads blurb:

Sold by her mother. Enslaved in Pompeii's brothel. Determined to survive. Her name is Amara. Welcome to the Wolf Den... Amara was once a beloved daughter, until her father's death plunged her family into penury. Now she is a slave in Pompeii's infamous brothel, owned by a man she despises. Sharp, clever and resourceful, Amara is forced to hide her talents. For as a she-wolf, her only value lies in the desire she can stir in others. But Amara's spirit is far from broken. By day, she walks the streets with her fellow she-wolves, finding comfort in the laughter and dreams they share. For the streets of Pompeii are alive with opportunity. Out here, even the lowest slave can secure a reversal in fortune. Amara has learned that everything in this city has its price. But how much is her freedom going to cost her? Set in Pompeii's lupanar, The Wolf Den reimagines the lives of women who have long been overlooked.

I gave this book 3 stars. Here's a clip of my review:

"A great story with a satisfying, although sad, ending."

Next I finished the third installment in The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater called Blue Lily, Lily Blue. I am in love with this series and think Stiefvater is a genius. It is so easy to just love this friend group. Here's the GoodReads blurb (don't read if you haven't read the first one):

Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs. The trick with found things, though, is how easily they can be lost. Friends can betray. Mothers can disappear. Visions can mislead. Certainties can unravel.

On the left is the series in its entirety if you were curious. On the right is the third book, the one I read. I rated this 4.5 stars. Here's a piece of my own reivew:

"I LOVED this book. My fave so far out of the ones I've read. [...] And now that they've figured out a lot of the basic stuff of this magic with Glendower, I felt like stuff was really getting moving."

At this point, I decided to make A Wheel of Shame for my physical TBR. If you aren't on TikTok and haven't seen this trend, it's where you count up all the physical books you have on your shelves that you haven't read and compile them together on an online picker wheel. It's supposed to remove the burden of deciding what to read yourself while also providing a fun and engaging way to tackle the books you already have. A lot of people also add a Book Buying Ban on top of this challenge to really work on hacking away at their physical TBR. I tried doing this too, but I bought 2 books the other day 😳. Don't tell anyone.

The first book my Wheel ended up choosing was Turtles All The Way Down by John Green - a reread for me as I read it back in high school (which was over 5 years ago) but I had finally purchased my own copy and wanted to experience it again. Here's the GoodReads blurb:

Aza Holmes never intended to pursue the disappearance of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Pickett’s son Davis. Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.

An author with OCD writing a story about a girl with OCD, it's incredibly enlightening and raw. Loved it (again). Rated it 4 stars. Here's a piece of my review:

"Reading about this at my age now, knowing more about OCD and now knowing a close friend who has it (and figuring out John Green himself has it some time between when I read the book for the first time and now) even though I can never fully understand it, I empathize with that feeling of being out of control of the reigns with the self."

Next, the Wheel chose for me another John Green book! Which was a pleasant surprise. An Abundance of Katherines was actually the only John Green book I didn't read in high school because it was always checked out at my school library. A friend very recently gifted me her copy, and so I was excited to finally have an opportunity to open it up. Here's the GoodReads blurb:

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton’s type is girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy–loving best friend riding shotgun—but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.

If Maggie Stiefvater is the queen of YA, I'd say John Green is the king. After reading the previous book that came out in 2017, reading this one - which was published in 2006 - it was interesting being able to compare his writing from over 10 years ago to now. I rated this 4 stars. Here's a piece of my own blurb:

"John Green does it again. Nostalgia, cringe, and rom-com philosophy all wrapped up into a short and sweet book."

I think the Wheel got a clue of my love for Nosferatu (peep the pfp) as it chose for me the sapphic version: Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu. I think more people know this now, but for a while everyone thought that Stoker's Dracula was the start of the "vampire lit" trend (a trend that's lasted for over a century lol) but it was actually this book that started it. Of course, no one wanted to acknowledge that since it was not only gay but girl-gay - god forbid. Here's the GoodReads blurb:

In an isolated castle deep in the Austrian forest, Laura leads a solitary life with only her ailing father for company. Until one moonlit night, a horse-drawn carriage crashes into view, carrying an unexpected guest – the beautiful Carmilla. So begins a feverish friendship between Laura and her mysterious, entrancing companion. But as Carmilla becomes increasingly strange and volatile, prone to eerie nocturnal wanderings, Laura finds herself tormented by nightmares and growing weaker by the day… Pre-dating Dracula by twenty-six years, Carmilla is the original vampire story, steeped in sexual tension and gothic romance.

This is what my copy looks like. I rated this 3.5 stars. Here's a piece of my review:

"A short and sweet classic that not only had vampires but was also very much wlw is a win in my book!"

A bittersweet end we meet with the final installment of The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. Bitter, because I don't want it to end. Sweet, because I finally get to know the last bit of the story! It's called The Raven King, and this is the GoodReads blurb (don't read if you haven't read the first book):

All her life, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love's death. She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

My absolute favorite book of the series - it really just kept getting better. I rated it 5 stars. Here's a piece of my blurb:

"At this point in the books, their relationships with each other are well-established and their familiarity with the magic and dream world is also well-established, so this book basically was a perfect amalgamation of a more complex puzzle for them to solve while having the dynamic of the best found family situation I've ever read before."

The Wheel chose Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia for me to read next. Here's the GoodReads blurb:

"After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region. Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom. Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness. And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind."

I really don't like people on covers but at least some of her face is covered. Anyway, I rated this 4.5 stars - I really enjoyed this! Here's. a piece of my review:

"I loved Noemì's character and I also really liked Francis."

After that, I got told to read Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of The Dead by Olga Tokarczuk. My sister recommended it to me knowing how much I love astrology because there are a lot of astrology references in here. Which, once I started reading, I was surprised not only how accurate, but how specific the references were. Here's the GoodReads blurb:

In a remote Polish village, Janina devotes the dark winter days to studying astrology, translating the poetry of William Blake, and taking care of the summer homes of wealthy Warsaw residents. Her reputation as a crank and a recluse is amplified by her not-so-secret preference for the company of animals over humans. Then a neighbor, Big Foot, turns up dead. Soon other bodies are discovered, in increasingly strange circumstances. As suspicions mount, Janina inserts herself into the investigation, certain that she knows whodunit. If only anyone would pay her mind . . . A deeply satisfying thriller cum fairy tale, Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead is a provocative exploration of the murky borderland between sanity and madness, justice and tradition, autonomy and fate. Whom do we deem sane? it asks. Who is worthy of a voice?

I rated this 3.5 stars. Here's a clip from my own review:

"Not only is it rare for main characters to be older women, but it's even rarer for her to live in the isolated plateau of a frozen Polish town."

Please let me know if you've read any of these and what you think of them! And if you disagree with any of my ratings lol. I welcome opposition.

[pinterest-whore]

May 2025 reads & ratings

The first book I finished in May was Peel My Love Like an Onion by Ana Castillo. A great story of flamenco dancing, immigrants in the U.S., and disability studies. Here's the blurb from GoodReads:

The seductive world of flamenco forms the backdrop for a classic tale of independence found, lost, and reclaimed. Like Bizet's legendary gypsy, Carmen "La Coja" (The Cripple) Santos is hilarious, passionate, triumphant, and mesmerizing.  A renowned flamenco dancer in Chicago despite the legacy of childhood polio, Carmen has long enjoyed an affair with Agustín, the married director of her troupe--a romance that's now growing stale. When she begins a new, passionate liaison with Manolo, Agustín's grandson and a dancer of natural genius, an angry rivalry is sparked. Carmen finally makes her way back to happiness in this funny, fiery story that's equal parts soap opera, tragicomedy, and rhapsody.

I ended up rating this 3.5 stars. Here's a cut from my review if you were curious:

"I like how none of the characters in the book are necessarily good people (especially the men), but I think the drama of that is part of the culture of flamenco, as the dance itself is dramatic and sensual in many ways - so why shouldn't their lives be too?"

Into the world of gothic architecture, dark academia, and mysterious illnesses, Nocticadia by Keri Lake was my next read. As with the [only] other dark academia, "gothic" romance book I've read - Gothikana by ru Nyx - I was pretty underwhelmed. It was definitely longer than Gothikana, so the story was more flushed out, but imo, there still wasn't enough of the gothic bit of its selling point. Here's a blurb about it from GoodReads:

After watching my mother succumb to a mysterious illness, I promised myself two things. I’d find the cure for what ravaged her. And leave the godforsaken city where she abandoned me. Four years later, I receive an acceptance letter from Dracadia University, one of the oldest, most prestigious schools in the country. Nestled on a secluded island off the coast of Maine, it’s rumored to be haunted by the souls of the mental patients exiled there centuries before. Those whose bones are said to make up the island’s white sandy shores. And restless ghosts aren’t even its most daunting peculiarity. Devryck Bramwell, known on campus as Doctor Death, is a brilliant pathologist in charge of the midnight lab. He’s also my devastatingly handsome professor, who seems to loathe tenacious first-years, like me. Except, his dark and enigmatic gaze tells me all the ways he’d devour me if given the chance, and his stolen kisses burn my lips with forbidden jealousy. I crave his authority. He aches for redemption. Together, we’re toxic. Delicious fodder for the prying eyes hellbent on exhuming the rotted skeletons of our pasts. For the dead have much to teach, and it’s only a matter of time before Dracadia’s most depraved secret is resurrected.

I ended up rating this 3 stars - low key I think the end really made me not like it completely. Here's a clip of my review:

"I liked the more gory aspects to this story too and the detail that went into the parasite storyline. That was pretty cool. I think I enjoyed that because it leaned a bit more into the gothic horror aspect rather than strictly staying in the dark academia lane."

Now we're moving on to the Vietnam War! 🤪 I read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. I was really into the Cold War in high school and this was part of that era of politics, so this was like a nod to my little history nerd self. An incredibly enlightening story not necessarily about the international politics of the war, but rather what the experience was like and what it means to be a [unwillingly] drafted soldier. Here's a blurb from GoodReads:

A classic work of American literature that has not stopped changing minds and lives since it burst onto the literary scene, The Things They Carried is a ground-breaking meditation on war, memory, imagination, and the redemptive power of storytelling. The Things They Carried depicts the men of Alpha Company: Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and the character Tim O’Brien, who has survived his tour in Vietnam to become a father and writer at the age of forty-three. Taught everywhere—from high school classrooms to graduate seminars in creative writing—it has become required reading for any American and continues to challenge readers in their perceptions of fact and fiction, war and peace, courage and fear and longing.

I ended up rating this 3 stars. Here's a piece of my review:

"I really liked the way O'Brien wrote this story, I liked the whole idea of story-truths and reality-truths being different but somehow the story ones are truer. I like how he talks about death and how a coldness and darkness sits with you after you've seen so much of it and dealt with pain yourself."

My next book is a YA novel called Wilder Girls by Rory Power. It reminded me a lot of The Last of Us (which I've never seen or played so don't come for me if this is wrong) because of the disease that's infected them and has changed their bodies physically and slowly takes over them entirely. It's also gay! Haha, I knew I could get your attention with that! Here's a GoodReads blurb:

It's been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty's life out from under her. It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don't dare wander outside the school's fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything. But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there's more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true.

I ended up rating it 3 stars. Here's a bit of my review:

"I enjoyed how the virus was described as so gory and violent, I think it made it so much more tangible in my mind and also that much more a metaphor for puberty, as it starts when the girls are supposed to get their first period, and then every year (like a birthday) it mutates and becomes something more, and it's extremely painful for them."

Next I started to read a delectably trashy romance series called Madison Kate by Tate James. From first to last the books go: Hate, Liar, Fake, then Kate (there's also Vault but it's a novella). It was so so easy to just fly through the pages of the first book. It's tea as FUCK. Here's a blurb about it from GoodReads:

“Madison Kate Danvers was murdered tonight.” Those words changed my life, and not for the better. They were wrong, of course. I wasn’t dead. But I was set up. After being charged with a string of offences--and made an example of by my political minded father--I’m eventually released back into Shadow Grove with one thing on my mind. Hate. Someone is going to pay for derailing my carefully laid out future. Someone is going to catch the full force of my hate. How very convenient that someone just moved into the bedroom down the hall from me. Archer D’Ath and his boys messed with the wrong chick and they’re about to learn just how cold Madison Kate’s hate can run.

On the left is the series in its entirety if you were curious. On the right is the first book, the one I read. I ate it up so bad, I rated it 4 stars. Here's a quick bit from my review:

"She [my friend that recommended it to me] even prefaced that it was going to be a pivotal moment for me as a woman and what can I say? She was right."

On a complete 180º, I finished Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises after that. A classic in regard to his earlier works and in litfic in general. Here's a blurb from GoodReads:

The quintessential novel of the Lost Generation, The Sun Also Rises (Fiesta) is one of Ernest Hemingway's masterpieces and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style. A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the novel introduces two of Hemingway's most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates. It is an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions. First published in 1926, The Sun Also Rises helped to establish Hemingway as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.

I ended up rating this book 3 stars. Here's a piece of my own blurb:

"On the cover of the book, a review says something like 'Hemingway's writing is both fine and restrained' and I think that's a great way of putting it. He writes well - obviously - but it still somehow feels like he's leaving things out even when he spends over a paragraph describing the rolling plains where they went fishing."

Next was For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten. Originally advertised to me as a romance, I was fully expecting a monster romance type vibe but got a YA novel instead. Don't get me wrong, I love YA. I just wasn't expecting it. So I think my review ended up being heavily influenced by that disappointment even as I tried to bite it back. Because I did enjoy it! I was just trying to have a mood-read moment and was left hungry. Anyway, here's the GoodReads blurb:

The first daughter is for the Throne. The second daughter is for the Wolf. As the only Second Daughter born in centuries, Red has one purpose—to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood in the hope he'll return the world's captured gods. Red is almost relieved to go. Plagued by a dangerous power she can't control, at least she knows that in the Wilderwood, she can't hurt those she loves. Again. But the legends lie. The Wolf is a man, not a monster. Her magic is a calling, not a curse. And if she doesn't learn how to use it, the monsters the gods have become will swallow the Wilderwood—and her world—whole.

If you've read The Northwind by Alexandra Warwick or A Soul to Keep by Opal Reyne, I think you'll find this lacking in the same way I did. This was scarily similar to those two books in different ways and yet it was incredibly dissatisfying to me even though I thoroughly enjoyed those other two books. I ended up rating it 3 stars. Here's a piece of my own review:

"If you're looking for YA, this is a good book. However, if you're looking for fantasy and/or romance, there are other books with this same plot that do it way better imo. I did really like the Beauty and the BeastxLittle Red Riding Hood Thing going on though."

Back on my shit, I picked up the next book in the Madison Kate series which is Liar by Tate James. Of course, I ate it tf up. By now, I noticed a pattern in which there's a huge fucking cliffhanger at the end of every book that makes you want to immediately open the next one. Here's the GoodReads blurb: (SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE FIRST ONE)

“Liar, liar, pants on fire.” The words scrawled on the back of my newest stalker mail makes my blood run cold. I have no idea if it's the lie I know, or one that I don't. Since arriving back into Shadow Grove, I've been stalked, tormented, chased and almost killed. I've been lied to, repeatedly, by people I was growing to trust. Liar. That word haunts me. Someone knows more about my life than I do. Someone is taunting me with answers and teasing me with secrets. Am I desperate enough to fall for more deception? Archer and his boys made a huge mistake when they lied to me. They thought they could play me but they're about to learn that they've met their match. No one stabs Madison Kate and gets away with it.

I rated it 4 stars. I can't put even part of my review on here because it entirely contains spoliers lol.

Next I read, what I can confidently say, is definitely in my top 3 books of 2025. Circe by Madeline Miller was a book I didn't realize I needed to read out the womb. I loved it to DEATH. I read Song of Achilles (also by her) and I don't think Circe has nearly as much hype as that book. Here is the GoodReads blurb:

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child--neither powerful like her father nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power: the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves. Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus. But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from or with the mortals she has come to love.

I rated this 5 stars. Here's a piece of my review:

"She was not always the most likeable, but I think she was always honest with herself which is something that I found did make her all the more likeable in the end, and it was also really refreshing to read. Miller will never disappoint, it's just in her vocab."

Aaaand then I read the third book in the Madison Kate series - I'm telling you they reel you in, this shit is tea asf- called Fake by Tate James. Here's the GoodReads blurb: (SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE FIRST ONE)

“You’ll always be mine.” The latest taunt from my stalker reminded me I was nothing more than a possession to my father, to the Reapers, to Archer D’Ath. Even to Kody and Steele. Princess Danvers—the prize. His wife. Archer D’Ath’s wife. I hate them. They lied to me. Over and over again. I knew they were lying, and I hate myself for letting it happen. For believing in the fake relationships I want so desperately to be real. Fake. It’s all fucking fake. My stalker won’t let me go. None of them will. Archer and his boys think they control me. My stalker wants to possess me. I’m not an idiot, I know my newest allies are using me too. That’s fine. I’ll use all of them. I’ll use them to take back what’s mine. My life. My freedom. My name. No one owns Madison Kate Danvers.

I rated this 4 stars. Again, can't share even a little bit of my review because it's all spoilers!

My last book for the month was Praise by Sara Cate. Definitely a bit of different read for me - I don't usually read Dom/Sub but the characters were enjoyable enough that it didn't feel so intrusive to read about. Here's the GoodReads blurb:

He calls me perfect. His flawless pet. His good girl. Broken down and wounded by my emotionally neglectful ex, I wanted someone to tell me I was good enough. Then, I stumbled into a new job with a boss who brings me to my knees—literally. He has me do things a real secretary would never do. Emerson Grant tells me I’m more than just good enough. I’m worthy of his praise. There are a million reasons why I should stay away. The owner of the Salacious Players’ Club is not just my new boss, he’s twice my age. And my ex-boyfriend’s father. With him, I am treasured. I am adored. I am his. I’m a good girl, but I’m falling for the wrong man. Emerson Grant knows what he wants— And he wants me. So how far will I go to hear his approval?

Acknowledging that it's an acquired taste that I'm not sure I've achieved after reading this, I gave it 3.5 stars. Here's a piece of my review:

"At first, it reminded me too much of the crazy dom/sub dynamics of stupid old Wattpad fic, but it became more enjoyable the longer I read because they actually talked things out like real adults!! Very much unlike those cringe fics."

Please let me know if you've read any of these and what you think of them! And if you disagree with any of my ratings lol. I welcome opposition.

[pinterest-whore]

April 2025 reads & ratings

Starting off strong with a monster romance, I finished A Soul to Keep by Opal Reyne and absolutely enjoyed myself to the fullest extent possible. I rated it 5 stars! Here's a quick blurb from GoodReads about it, if you were interested!

All Reia ever wanted was freedom. Known as a harbinger of bad omens and blamed for Demons eating her family, Reia is shunned by her entire village. When the next offering is due and the monstrous Duskwalker is seen heading their way, her village offers her an impossible choice – be thrown into the prison cells or allow herself to be sacrificed to a faceless monster. However, he is not what he seems. His skull face and glow eyes are ethereal, and she finds herself unwittingly enchanted by him. All Orpheus ever wanted was a companion. Each decade, in exchange for a protection ward from the Demons that terrorize the world, Orpheus takes a human offering to the Veil – the place he lives and the home of Demons. The brief companionship does little to ease his loneliness, and their lives were always, unfortunately, cut short. He'd thought it was a hopeless endeavor, until he met her. She’s not afraid of him, and his insatiable desire deepens within every moment of her presence. But will Orpheus be able to convince Reia to stay before she’s lost to him forever?

Here's what the cover looks like! Like I've mentioned before, I hate covers with people on them - I never think it looks good - so this was definitely a Kindle book. However, that's the only bad thing I have to say about it lol. So, here's a piece of my review:

"There were a few moments where I was literally giggling and kicking my feet and I can't remember the last time I actually did that for a real book and not a ff lol. I'm only glad that I didn't see this rec until I'd already delved into the monster romance genre because if I'd started out with this I'd be forever chasing this high."

The next book I read was another monster romance: Monster's Temptation by C.R. Jane and Mila Young. Following the one from before, it would've been a hard one to compare, but I think even if I hadn't read that before this, I still would've disliked it. I ended up rating this 1.5 stars, unfortunately. Here's the GoodReads blurb:

It's been 1097 days and 14 hours since I've been locked in this place. And they've come to me every night. The monsters in my dreams worship my body. And when I wake up, I'm desperate for more… But they’re never there to finish me off. Dr. Adams says I can leave the asylum if I start to take my meds, but I've always hated how they made me feel...and I'm not sure that I agree with them that I'm actually crazy. Because dreams don’t make you crazy, right? I've got to start living someday though...so I finally take the plunge and obey so I can get out. My dreams stop, and the monsters disappear. I’m finally starting a new life. And that's when he comes...the monster king. Evidently, my little dreams, weren't just dreams. And he and his demon horde were feeding off my lust. Their glowing eyes, sharp teeth, and big… They’re all real. The Monster King wants me back. I’m their favorite plaything, after all. And I just might want to play.

Here's what it looks like! (Again with the people on covers thing!! 😅) And here's a piece of my review:

"Would've eaten it up as some fun trashy shit if it had actually gave me anything to work with, but it gave me nothing unforch."

Lights Out by Navessa Allen was the book I read next - a BookTok favorite for those into the dark romance genre. Part of a duology called Into Darkness. And I really enjoyed this! Unlike Haunting Adeline, I feel like the pairing of the FMC and MMC actually made sense and none of it felt malicious, if that makes sense - even though it wasn't vanilla by any means, of course. If you're able to get over the part where the MMC is a masked-thirst-trap TikToker (a difficult feat, trust me, I know) then I'm sure you'll enjoy it too! Unless masked TikTokers are right up your alley, then by all means, I encourage you to read this immediately! Here's the blurb from GoodReads:

Trauma nurse Aly escapes her hard-working days by thirsting after masked men online. To her, nothing could top the fantasy of her favorite tattooed and masked man hunting her down. But she never could have guessed that one drunken text would turn those dreams into reality . . . I want things most people don't, craving darkness and depravity instead of light and love. Josh has spent his life avoiding the limelight, but his online persona is another story. At night, he posts masked thirst traps for his millions of fans, until one follower catches his Aly. Together, Aly and Josh live out their darkest fantasies, unaware that Aly has captured the attention of someone with far more sinister intentions. As Josh turns from predator to protector, he must ask himself how far he'll go for the woman he can't live without.

This is what the book looks like! I rated this 4 stars. Here's a piece of my review:

"Thought the premise was super weird at first because so many masked TikTokers I'ce seen are just cringe asf but idk if it's just because I didn't actually have the visual in front of me - seeing his videos - but I just thought Aly was funny about the whole thing and that made it not nearly as cringe as I thought it was going to be. Girl, she was thirsting in those comment sections LMAO."

The last book I read for the month of April was Gothikana by Ru Nyx. It was advertised to me as a dark academia, gothic romance. But it didn't fully scratch that itch for me, personally. Here's the blurb about it from GoodReads;

An outcast her entire life, Corvina Clemm is left adrift after losing her mother. When she receives the admission letter from the mysterious University of Verenmore, she accepts it as a sign from the universe. The last thing she expects though is an old, secluded castle on top of a mountain riddled with secrets, deceit, and death. An enigma his entire life, Vad Deverell likes being a closed book but knowing exactly everything that happens in the university. A part-time professor working on his thesis, Vad has been around long enough to know the dangers the castle possesses. And he knows the moment his path crosses with Corvina, she's dangerous to everything that he is. They shouldn't have caught each other's eye. They cannot be. But a chill-inducing century-old mystery forces them to collide. People have disappeared every five years over the past century, Corvina is getting clues to unraveling it all, and Vad needs to keep an eye on her. And so begins a tale of the mysterious, the morbid, the macabre, and a deep love that blossoms in the unlikeliest of places.

This is what it looks like. I ended up rating it 2.5 stars. I think I would've rated it higher if it was longer and things felt less rushed. Anyway, here's a piece of my review:

"The whole idea of the characters, the plot, the setting, the trips, the horror-esque vibe, etc. were brilliant. However, the actual execution... it left a lot to be desired, for sure."

[pinterest-whore]

March 2025 reads & ratings

This month, I started off strong with the second book in The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater: The Dream Thieves. I absolutely love this series and I was confused at first that it seemed to focus more on Ronan but it soon became apparent that it was necessary because he's such a complex character. Here's the blurb from GoodReads:

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after…

On the left is what the whole series looks like, on the right is the second book, the one I read! I gave this book 4.5 stars! Here's a piece of my review:

"Maggie did it again!" That's it. That's all you need to know. She's a genius.

Next, I read the book of one of my favorite movies of all time - The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. I'd seen the movie so many times I figured it was time I read the book and boy, was it different. Here's the GoodReads blurb:

First published in French as a serial in 1909, The Phantom of the Opera is a riveting story that revolves around the young, Swedish Christine Daaé. Her father, a famous musician, dies, and she is raised in the Paris Opera House with his dying promise of a protective angel of music to guide her. After a time at the opera house, she begins hearing a voice, who eventually teaches her how to sing beautifully. All goes well until Christine's childhood friend Raoul comes to visit his parents, who are patrons of the opera, and he sees Christine when she begins successfully singing on the stage. The voice, who is the deformed, murderous 'ghost' of the opera house named Erik, however, grows violent in his terrible jealousy, until Christine suddenly disappears. The phantom is in love, but it can only spell disaster.

I ended up rating it 3.5 stars. Here's a piece of my review:

"This was thoroughly enjoyable, even though it was so different from the movie - which we know I love so dearly. I loved learning about the Phantom and how he did all the tricks he was able to do, and his name! His name was never mentioned in the movie."

In February, I started the Stalking Jack the Ripper series by Kerri Manascalco and this month I continued on to the second book: Hunting Prince Dracula. Here's the GoodReads blurb:

Following the grief and horror of her discovery of Jack the Ripper's true identity, Audrey Rose Wadsworth has no choice but to flee London and its memories. Together with the arrogant yet charming Thomas Cresswell, she journeys to the dark heart of Romania, home to one of Europe's best schools of forensic medicine... and to another notorious killer, Vlad the Impaler, whose thirst for blood became legend. But her life's dream is soon tainted by blood-soaked discoveries in the halls of the school's forbidding castle, and Audrey Rose is compelled to investigate the strangely familiar murders. What she finds brings all her terrifying fears to life once again.

On the left is a picture of the series in its entirety, and the right is the one I read. This one I preferred a bit more to the other one, which is obviously due to the fact that vampires were suspected of foul play. And that it was set in a haunted castle in Romania. I rated it 4 stars. Here's a piece of my review:

"It's rare for a series to get better over time but this is one of them! I loved seeing the progression of Audrey Rose and Thomas's relationship, especially with the added addition of the horror/vampire/dracula history elements."

Next was an entire series! Lol. I managed to read all four of The Horsemen of the Apocalypse by Laura Thalassa over my spring break. They are stand-alones, technically, but the order of the series goes: Pestilence, War, Famine, then Death. I definitely understand why I've heard some people say they don't like the series because it's basically the same kind of story with different characters but honestly, I really enjoyed that part about it. Obviously, there were some I liked more than others. I'm just going to combine all four books and my ratings below! Here's the GoodReads blurb:

They came to earth—Pestilence, War, Famine, Death—four horsemen riding their screaming steeds, racing to the corners of the world. Four horsemen with the power to destroy all of humanity. They came to earth, and they came to end us all.

Whatever you do, DO NOT look at the original covers!! 😩 They are terrible. If I had seen those covers in the bookstore, I wouldn't have bought them even if I knew I'd like it. Anyway, these are the updated covers and the completed series from right to left.

Starting with Pestilence, I rated it 3.5 stars. Here's a piece of my review:

"I really enjoyed the progression of their relationship, and I liked how much they cared for each other. The dialogue was great and Sara wasn't an annoying POV to read from."

My favorite of the 4, War, I rated 4.5 stars (which I actually ended up rereading the week after this, I liked it so much). Here's a piece of my review:

"OMG loved this SO MUCH more than Pestilence. I loved Miriam and I loved how long it took her to actually give in to that fucker. That was one thing I didn't like about Sara in the other book - I think she gave in too easily. Miriam didn't even say 'I love you' until the 300th page came and went LMAO. She made him work for it! As she should of course."

Next was Famine, which I rated 4 stars. Here's a piece of my review:

"It's one side of the grim purpose of these horsemen that the other FMCs don't really consider as much - that maybe we do deserve it to an extent. She was funny, he was funny - they were a great pair to read about."

Last was Death, which ended up with a rating of 4 stars. Here's a piece of my review:

"I loved Lazarus and every sort of historical/mythical acknowledgement and symbolism that was sprinkled throughout that signaled her fate to be with Death. Life and Death, Morning and Night, Light and Dark, all of those kind of pairings are gonna do it every time. I think they just balance each other so well as people and as energies."

Next I ended up reading a monster romance called Captured by the Monsters by R.L Caulder and M.J. Marstens. A purely entertaining, reality-TV show, train-wreck-because-I-can't-tear-my-eyes-away kind of book. Monster romances are definitely a guilty pleasure of mine, I think they're so fun. Here's the GoodReads blurb:

Our leaders said it’s an honor to be chosen to go to The Below. I said f*ck that. So close…I was so f*cking close to aging out of the selection process to be offered up to the monsters from The Below. We never knew when we could be taken. It wasn’t some annual date we could mark on a calendar and avoid like a plague. We were at the complete whims of the monsters and their demands—demands that have increased over the past few years. Rumors say the monsters ate all of their sacrifices, that their appetites weren’t easily appeased anymore, but I wasn’t convinced that was all. What I did know for sure was that anyone selected was never seen again. Two days before my twenty-fifth birthday, my name was drawn—only forty-eight short hours from becoming exempt. How could life be so cruel? I refused to accept this fate. I’d run. I’d fight. I’d do everything but give in. Yet, The Below is a hostile, foreign terrain hellbent on killing all humans. Our bodies aren’t designed to survive there. My only chance of living long enough to escape—give in to the monster's desires. Only they could give me what I needed. In return, they’d use me for their own needs. Needs that I shouldn’t want, but found myself craving. When they claimed I was their salvation, I started to second guess myself. They revered me like their queen with soft touches and a protectiveness that made my knees weak… I wondered if I wanted to leave anymore. Was this why no one ever returned to The Above?

Yeah, this is definitely a cover I would not want on my physical bookshelf lol. A Kindle read only! But also generally, as a rule, I hate people on covers I think it never looks good and it's always tacky. This one especially. Anyway, I ended up rating this 3 stars. Here's a piece of my review:

"I downloaded it solely for something easily digestable and entertaining that I would finish in a couple days and this fit the bill perfectly. I just wish that some of the points of conflict in the plot weren't immediately smoothed over or the solution wasn't just immediately produced with no effort."

The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson was such a good book. It's a book that qualifies as a piece of autotheory as it combines personal narrative with philosophical analysis and works of others. Here's the GoodReads blurb:

Maggie Nelson's The Argonauts is a genre-bending memoir, a work of "autotheory" offering fresh, fierce, and timely thinking about desire, identity, and the limitations and possibilities of love and language. At its center is a romance: the story of the author's relationship with the artist Harry Dodge. This story, which includes Nelson's account of falling in love with Dodge, who is fluidly gendered, as well as her journey to and through a pregnancy, offers a firsthand account of the complexities and joys of (queer) family-making. Writing in the spirit of public intellectuals such as Susan Sontag and Roland Barthes, Nelson binds her personal experience to a rigorous exploration of what iconic theorists have said about sexuality, gender, and the vexed institutions of marriage and child-rearing. Nelson's insistence on radical individual freedom and the value of caretaking becomes the rallying cry of this thoughtful, unabashed, uncompromising book.

This is what the book looks like! I rated it 4 stars. Here's a piece of my review:

"I liked reading about queerness in terms of motherhood and navigating a romantic relationship with a trans person. Nelson's discussions and experience with motherhood has altered my perspective on it. She simultaneously further cemented my determination not to have kids, and also increased my fascination with the female body as both a physical vessel for producing children and a psychological being for raising them. As much as motherhood has been normalized and generalized, the experience couldn't be further from normal or universal."

The last book I read this month was also a monster romance called Monsters Under My Bed by M.J. Marstens. Again, an easily digestible, cheesy, drama-filled, guilty pleasure kinda book. Here's the GoodReads blurb:

BEWARE THE BOGEYMEN… Monsters are real. I’ve seen them. Felt them. Fled from them. Fifteen years later and I still have nightmares of the things that used to live under my bed—the diabolical ringleader with fiery red eyes who brought his friends to torment me. Crazy and unhinged, but nothing compared to the one with blazing yellow eyes who pretended to be my friend. And the worst of them all, the one with relucent green eyes, who was silent but always watching. Waiting to strike. I traveled halfway around the world to outrun my demons. My last memory of them is their taunting laughter filling my ears. Except, they’re waiting for me. Forced to return home to help my dying father, I have nowhere to hide. My monsters won’t leave me alone unless I give them what they want. They’re hungry—starving—but now that I’m grown up, they don’t want to eat me. They want to breed me. Fifteen years ago, I wanted nothing more than to escape them. But now… A part of me wants to join them—submit to them. Will I ever vanquish my night terrors, or will I just become another notch on their bedpost?

I rated it 2.5 stars. Here's a piece of my review:

"It's so very obviously self-published - not only did the picture at the beginning solidify this - but it was also the sporadic use of big fancy words, but they were placed in sentences about taking a boogeyman up the ass. It felt like whiplash."

Please let me know if you've read any of these and what you think of them! And if you disagree with any of my ratings lol. I welcome opposition!

[pinterest-whore]

February 2025 reads & ratings

I started The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater, which, if you weren't already aware, is one of the best YA series that exists (I just finished the last book a few days ago so I would know). Here's a blurb about that I took from GoodReads if anyone was curious:

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive. Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little. For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

The pic on the left is the series as a whole, the left is the first installment, The Raven Boys, which is the one I read. I rated it 4.5 stars! Here's a piece of my own review:

"This was such a great story! The characters were so well written - I can't remember a book I've recently read where they were that well written."

The next book I read was a collection of poems by Natasha Tretheway called Bellocq's Ophelia which is in reference to a photographer named E.J. Bellocq, who, in the early 1900s, became famous for his photographs of prostitutes. Of course, during this time not only was this unprecedented, but also scandalous. And looking back on these photos now, there's very little context about whom the women were and why he was photographing them at all. So we kind of have to connect those dots ourselves. This poetry collection is an example of someone running with this idea. GoodReads blurb is as follows:

In the early 1900s, E.J. Bellocq photographed prostitutes in the red-light district of New Orleans. His remarkable, candid photos inspired Natasha Trethewey to imagine the life of Ophelia, the subject of Bellocq's Ophelia, her stunning second collection of poems. With elegant precision, Ophelia tells of her life on display: her white father whose approval she earns by standing very still; the brothel Madame who tells her to act like a statue while the gentlemen callers choose; and finally the camera, which not only captures her body, but also offers a glimpse into her soul.

These poems are written from the imagined perspective of one of these prostitutes that he captured through camera, this collection dissects gender roles and class struggle in both the world of prostitution and photography.

I'm not necessarily one for poetry, though I appreciate it as an art form. Therefore, my final rating was 2.5 stars. Here's a piece of my own review:

"These poems in particular were easy to follow and didn't require any crazy brain power to understand, which made reading enjoyable and not a chore."

Next, I started another YA series called Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Manascalco and read the first installment, which was... Stalking Jack the Ripper, naturally. On the left is the series in its entirety, on the right is the first one which I read. GoodReads blurb is as follows:

Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life. Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world. The story's shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzling debut from author Kerri Maniscalco impossible to forget.

I ended up rating this 3.5 stars. Here's a piece of my review:

"I really liked Audrey Rose and Thomas together and can't wait to see how their relationship progresses."

This one was just me trying to finish a loose thread, really. The Cat and Mouse Duet by H.D. Carlton is a series that - if you're on BookTok - I'm sure you've heard of. When starting the first book (Haunting Adeline), which was about a year before I started this second book (Hunting Adeline), I was under the impression that it was going to be the best dark romance book I've ever read and was sorely disappointed. No offense if you really enjoyed it! It just wasn't my cup of tea. And obviously, I wasn't in a hurry to get to the second book as I read it so long after the first one lol. GoodReads blurb if you're interested:

The Diamond Death walks alongside me, But the reaper is no match for me. I'm trapped in a world full of monsters dressed as men, and those who aren't as they seem. They won't keep me forever. I no longer recognize the person I've become, And I'm fighting to find my way back to the beast who hunts me in the night. They call me a diamond, But they've only created an angel of death. The Hunter I was born a predator, With ruthlessness ingrained in my bones. When what's mine is stolen from me in the night, Like a diamond hidden within a fortress, I find that I can no longer contain the beast. Blood will paint the ground as I tear apart this world to find her. And bring her back to where she belongs. No one will escape my wrath, Especially not those who have betrayed me. Warning: This is the second and final installment to the Duet. You must read Haunting Adeline first.

Here's what the duology looks like - obviously, I read the one on the right. Anyway, I literally gave this half a star I disliked it so much lmaoooo. Here's a piece of my review:

"This shit was so bad and so insane. Not only is it trauma porn but it also has the gall to be cringe?? The dialogue is so cringe that I'm reading it with my lips curled in disgust. Like somehow it's giving 'old Wattpaf mafia fic written by a 13 year old' cringe even though it's also a violent-female-trauma-porn-horror plot."

This next one was LONG overdue. For reference, I finished ACOTAR (by Sarah J. Maas) sophomore year of high school (which was back in 2018 lol). And I believe A Court of Silver Flames came out in my senior year of high school (2021). I had bought the copy pretty soon after it came out, but it sat on my bookshelf ever since because I hated Nesta so much I couldn't stand the thought of reading a book all about her. Here's the GoodReads blurb if you're interested:

Nesta Archeron has always been prickly-proud, swift to anger, and slow to forgive. And ever since being forced into the Cauldron and becoming High Fae against her will, she’s struggled to find a place for herself within the strange, deadly world she inhabits. Worse, she can’t seem to move past the horrors of the war with Hybern and all she lost in it. The one person who ignites her temper more than any other is Cassian, the battle-scarred warrior whose position in Rhysand and Feyre’s Night Court keeps him constantly in Nesta’s orbit. But her temper isn’t the only thing Cassian ignites. The fire between them is undeniable, and only burns hotter as they are forced into close quarters with each other. Meanwhile, the treacherous human queens who returned to the Continent during the last war have forged a dangerous new alliance, threatening the fragile peace that has settled over the realms. And the key to halting them might very well rely on Cassian and Nesta facing their haunting pasts. Against the sweeping backdrop of a world seared by war and plagued with uncertainty, Nesta and Cassian battle monsters from within and without as they search for acceptance—and healing—in each other’s arms.

On the left is ACOTAR in its entirety, if you were curious. On the right is the one I read. Now for starters, I still don't really like Nesta all that much, and in the beginning, she was so insufferable I almost dnf-ed, but alas, I ended up rating this book 4 stars! I really liked it. Here's a piece of my review:

"But I loved the female friendship between Nesta, Gwyn, and Emerie - I think those parts were my favorite to read as I feel like this is the first time SJM has written a main character that has those intimate friendships with women where their interactions aren't merely brief and sporadic but something of substance and consistent throughout the book."

Please let me know if you've read any of these and what you think of them! And if you disagree with any of my ratings lol. I welcome opposition!

[pinterest-whore]

January books of 2025

Frankly, the Shatter Me series had me in a chokehold last year at around the same time. I’ve been chasing the high that series gave me ever since. So naturally, I had to reread them. Here's a blurb on what it's about that I snagged from GoodReads if you were curious! -

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war—and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now. Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Here’s the series in its entirety!

My friend that had recommended them to me the first time told me that the first three are really the best ones and the most necessary for the sake of the story. She said the rest of them was bullshit. Which, based on what I’ve heard about the rest of them, she was right. (Why does she have a mermaid sister..???)

I read Shatter Me, Destroy Me, Unravel Me, and Ignite Me for the month of January.

Anyway, the only exception to me exclusively reading the first three was the Aaron novella (which was Destroy Me if you’re curious), OF COURSE. Because I had to know the tea there. All of these books were naturally rated 5 stars. No one does yearning like Aaron Warner.