Read with me 2025
(Goal for 2025 is 24 books!)
DM me if you wanna chat about books or have read any of these! ❤️📚
Textual Intercourse (our spicy book club) picks are marked with a 🌶.
🌶1. One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig - a fresh take on magic, I was gripped by this one immediately. I'm glad the next one is already out because the ending of this one almost made me chuck my Kindle. 😂
2. Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig - the perfect follow-up to One Dark Window. I loved it!
3. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarrows - THIS WAS SO GOOD. The next book probably won't be out until 2027 and I'm dying. The Empyrean is an amazing series and if you like books about dragons, enemies to lovers, and "I will burn the world for you" types of relationships this one is for you. Phenomenal!
4. Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo - the final book in the Shadow and Bone trilogy. Everyone knows I'm a huge Bardugo fan by now. And while I loved almost everything about this series, I will say that the main character at more chemistry with every other potential suitor then she did the ACTUAL love interest established from the get-go. 😂
5. Under the Oak Tree (Volume 1) by Suji Kim - it was a Korean light novel that got adapted to a webcomic that got adapted to an English novel. In some ways I really liked it. In other ways I didn't love it. Volume 2 isn't expected until May.
6. This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jasinska - AHHHHHH 100000/10 A COZY QUEER POLY FANTASY BOOK. ENEMIES TO LOVERS. THE GRUMPY ONE IS SOFT FOR THE SUNSHINE ONE. motherfucker it's the perfect book. I'm obsessed. Instantly one of my favorite novels of all time. I loved this SO MUCH.
7. Sundial by Catronia Ward - a horror novel that will give you chills while you piece together the mcs story.
8. Her Soul To Take by Harley Laroux - a 10/10 on the spicy scale. And pretty good to boot! A demon and his summoner get absolutely raunchy with each other while fighting a cult to an Eldritch God.
9. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder - Despite having some plot holes you could drive a semi through, I enjoyed it. It was a fun read, if not a bit predictable.
10. Cold Storage by David Koepp - Screenwriter of Jurassic Park! The front cover boasts. He should stick to screenplays. It wasn't _bad_ but it was so underwhelming reading it was a slog.
11. The Billonaires Fake Fiance by Annika Martin - Cheesey, cringey and utterly delightful. J💅 lent me this one, and I devoured it.
12. The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim - A fantasy book, a murder mystery, an enemies to lovers slow burn. ABOUT A NINETAILED FOX AND A FALLEN TRICKSTER GOD. Sign me the fuck up. 15/10 I LOVED IT. Cannot wait for the next one (The God and the Gwisin - set to release this year!)
13. The Long Walk by Stephen King - An absolutely harrowing horror/dystopian novel. I'm not usually a huge Stephen King fan, but I loved this one. Gave me chills. 5/5
14. Rage by Stephen King - While I understand why King pulled this book from print, and acknowledge that I would have done the exact same thing in his shoes. It was the right choice... it's also a shame. This short novel was a fascinating exploration of the human psyche. 5/5
🌶15. Book of Azrael by Amber Nicole - I didn't like it. This was a 500 page book that should have been a 250 page book tops *and it would have been a better book for it*. Some parts of this book were really good, but the author got so caught up in unnecessary additions/descriptions/beating the reader over the head with the plot... that reading it was a slog. 2/5
16. The Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat - It was good... But I went in wanting something a lot darker and a lot spicer and this had *so much potential*... and then I was disappointed. :< 3/5
17. The Princess Trap by Talia Hibbert - Love Love LOVED it. Recommended to me by C🎨 and it was spicy and angsty and wonderful! Finally a spicy book I could sink my teeth into because the last few have been pitifully underwhelming.
18. Most Eligible Billonaire by Annika Martin - Despite some minor grammatical errors and a character backstory that would have been well-served to be simplified, this one made me cry a fair amount and I'm a dumb bitch for books that make me cry. Do with that what you will. 4/5
19. Starling House by Alix W. Harrow - I loved this book. It was dreamy and nightmarish and devastating. 4/5
🌶 20. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik - I'm only marking this with a chili because it was a book chosen by our book club. Apparently, some of our members do not understand what "spicy romantasy" is as a genre. There was No Spice in this book. There was No Romance in this book. Had I read it as a stand alone fantasy novel on my own, I would have enjoyed it much more, because I wouldn't have had expectations it failed to meet. But as a regular fantasy novel, it was good, if a bit slow in places.
21. Whispers of the Deep by Emma Hamm - OH LOOK AN ACTUAL SPICY ROMANTASY NOVEL. Solid 4/5 stars. This will be my next pick for our club. It's an enemies to lovers, fish out of water (no pun intended), monster fucking romance. She's a human, he's a merman.
22. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell - Harry Potter if it was written by a feminist. And was also a queer romance. It was gay and it was fantasy and I was pleased. 🥰 3/5
23. The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong - there's a shortage of perfect books in the world... but if that list exists, this cozy fantasy should be on it. Someone said this book should set the benchmark for the cozy fantasy genre and they were not wrong. It was wonderful. 5/5
🌶 24. Luxuria by Colette Rhodes - Okay. Well. It was spicy romantasy which is, at least, on brand fir book club. But this book could have been half the length. The never-ending, repetitive internal monologues, the entire book was tell don't show. It was SO awkward. 2/5 stars. But least I finished it. (My goal is to read all the book club picks this year, even if I don't like them personally. Holding space for my friends' interests and all 😂) ALSO THATS IT. THATS MY BOOK GOAL FOR THE YEAR AND ITS ONLY MID-APRIL 💪
25. Where Foxes Say Goodnight by Sam Burns - Mystery/Paranormal gay romance. It was pretty shallow but it was a cute read. I liked it enough I'll probably pick up the next one in the series. 3/5
26. Let Sleeping Foxes Lie by Sam Burns - Another cozy murder mystery story featuring The Gays. The paranormal elements seemed even more pointless in this one then the previous one. But it was cute and fun so 🤷♀️ 3/5
27. The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett - a Sherlock Holmes-esque murder mystery set in a eerie but beautiful fantasy world. 5/5
28. A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett - ugh. This one just came out this year and I already cannot wait for the next one in the series. 5/5
29. Recursion by Blake Crouch - Sci-Fi. I had a lot higher hopes for this one because I've heard good things. But I was underwhelmed. 3/5
30. Nimona by ND Stevenson - The movie and the graphic novel have some big differences, but overall the themes were very much the same and I loved both versions (but I think I actually preferred the movie). 3/5
31. A Song To Drown Rivers by Ann Liang - I loved this whole book... except for the last chapter. This one was gut wrenching but good. 3.5/5
32. A Little Bit Country by Brian Kennedy - Super cute queer YA romance about two boys who meet at that which is legally distinguishable from DollyWood. 3.75/5
33. The Nightmare Before Kissmass by Sara Raasch - Love Love Love loved LOVED this one! I'm throwing this up there with This Fatal Kiss for Most Excellent LGBT Romantasy Books According To Katie which is now totally a category. Also this is right up there with the Robert Jackson Bennett books as probably one of the BEST WRITTEN BOOKS I've read this year. And you'd never know it by the goofy cover, title, or the fact that about Prince Nicholas "Cole" Claus and Prince Hex Hallow of the Holiday courts. I went in expecting a silly little popcorn book and instead got this beautifully crafted, endearing, and at times, Absolutely Gutting coming of age queer romance. 5/5. Go read this. It was incredible.
34. Go Luck Yourself by Sara Raasch - The delightful sequel to The Nightmare Before Kissmas. I cannot wait for the next book in this series! It was so good!
35. Suffer the Children by Craig DiLouie - Dystopian horror novel. All of the children on the planet die suddenly, and three days later they come back. Very intense, absolutely chilling in how realistic it felt. 4/5
36. The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden - This books has been everywhere and recommended to me by several people. It was fine. I'm not a fan of this particular type of plot twist I guess. It felt so Overdone and Dramatic in a stupid way not a fun one. 2/5
37. The Entanglement of Rival Wizards by Sara Raasch - this was easily as good as Kissmas. Wizards in a Modern setting. Trauma. Spice level off the charts. I am obsessed with Sara Raasch the next book in this series comes out 2026 and I cannot wait. 5/5
38. The Crossroads At Midnight by Abby Howard - A graphic novel horror anthology. It was delightful and eerie. Felt very Junji Ito inspired. This was great and such a fun read. 4.5/5
39. When the Tides Held The Moon by Vanessa Vida Kelley - historical fantasy queer romance featuring some absolutely stunning writing and a diverse cast of characters. I LOVED this one, it was beautiful and also heartbreaking but also so full of hope and love and found family. 5/5
40. The Forgotten Door by Alexander Key - I realized at 1am last night that I had read 39 books this year and what a terrible number to leave off on. Had to round it out to a nice round 40. So I asked for short novel recommendations and C🎨 did not disappoint with this gem! There's no way to explain it without spoiling it, but it reminded me in some ways of The Little Prince, and ultimately it was a wonderful little read and almost TOO topical for the state of things. 4.5/5