What I've Been Reading
A quick list of what I've enjoyed in the first two weeks of 2025
My reading goal for this year is a bit different than previous years. I’m actually trying to read less books this year and trying to focus on other “more productive” things.
I read around 300 books per year and as someone who has big goals but rarely makes progress on them (thank you ADHD for all the barely-started projects around the house that mock me each day), I have to free up some more time for other interests. To that, I’ve been trying to be more intentional; in all things really, but mostly with choosing books that allow a quick escape without taking a ton of emotional space.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still here for all the fiction and spice, but maybe reading 1,000+ pages per day is a bit much? Idk, I’m just trying to find balance, ya know? I’ve also not found my stride with audiobooks and I would really like to. If you have recommendations on narrarators or platforms or any tips I should try for falling in love with audiobooks, I’m all ears!
Anyway, all that to say, here are the 15 quick reads I’ve enjoyed in the first 15 days of 2025:
1. Bones (The Four Book 4) by Layla Frost
Medium Spice
This series was incredible! The Four Horsemen were created to establish balance between good and evil on Earth. They have been under a curse for the last three hundred years, and as evil forces rise, they are drawn to their soulmates to break their curses and reach the full potential of their powers.
Each book is about a different sibling and their soulmate. There’s yearning and passion, beige Archangels and a Disney-obsessed Devil, and some seriously dickish religious zealots. It’s a solid 5 stars for me. Great plot, great spice, great pace. Just an overall must-read!
2. Leather and Lark by Brynne Weaver
Medium-low Spice
This one sat on the TBR for a really long while, but I love this series. My husband gifted me a physical copy for Christmas and I was finally ready to take the plunge after staring at it for weeks on end. I’d like to state one more time that I love this series! That said, I feel like this one might have middle child syndrome (no offence to y’all middle children out there. I see you. You’re loved <3). I laughed so hard through Butcher and Blackbird. And while I loved the push and pull between Lachlan and Lark, I kept getting distracted by Fionn and Rose. I know they’re getting their story next, but I’m sooooo curious to dive into them. I WANNA KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON! Anywho, one more time, I love this series and I can’t wait to see what happens next in Scythe and Sparrow.
3. Bound to the Orc Warrior (Brides of the Moonblade Clan Book 5) by Krista Luna
Medium Spice + knotting ;)
If you read my very first blog post, My Most Anticipated Reads Coming In 2025, first of all- THANK YOU. You’re so sweet! Secondly, you’ll know I was licking my lips over this one. 2024 was the year of swoony Orcs for me and I’m trying to keep those good vibes rolling through 2025. I find the FMCs in this series to be really relatable and while I have very fine/straight hair, Krista Luna takes the time to address the issue a lot of women would face if they suddenly woke up on an alien planet-‘what am I going to do about my hair?’ This was such an emotional and heart-warming read. I just keep falling in love with the characters in this series and Naomi and Wranth were no different. I have to say though, I have been looking forward to King Aldronn’s story so I am absolutely ecstatic for book 6, Bound to the Orc King!
4. Heartless (Pleasure and Prey) by A.J. Merlin
Medium Spice
Give me any series where serial killers fall deep in twisted/rapacious love! Typically, I prefer a dual-POV romance especially when dealing with stalkers (possessive thoughts about their obsession? YES, PLEASE). And while I would’ve loved to know what was going on in Cassian’s freaky little head, I feel like only seeing things from the FMC’s POV in this series adds to the suspense and unpredictiblity of the MMC. I’ll be doing my best to stay patient the rest of the year until the next installment, Corrupt, which is currently set to release 12/31/2025. It will be the first MM romance in the series-eeeek!! :D
5. Mated to the King (Current releases) by Lola Glass
Medium Spice
I LOVE LOLA GLASS. Any time I find a new series from her, I immediately add it to the Library-no questions asked. She does no wrong by me. She’s all about the fated mate trope and writes the yummiest lead males. This series features four supernatural kings and their Siren mates. She wrote that the heroines in this series were orignially supposed to be human, but for me, them being Sirens might be my favorite part. They are just seriously cool and I don’t think we get enough Siren content these days!
6. Brides of the Xuldrux Warriors (Books 1 and 2) by Ava Ross
Lowish Spice
This series was fast-paced and hard to put down. Something about the beginning of the year puts me in an Alien Barbarian mood. Last year, I devoured all 21 Ice Planet Barbarians books before February was over. This series is reminiscent of that one and was exactly what I was hoping for. The Xuldrux clans are connected to different types of elemental magic and are watched over by gods that remind the human brides of Alexa back on Earth (they act kind of like Pat in Smart House). The stories follow the warriors and their reluctant human brides as they navigate the will of the gods.
7. A Very Stalker Christmas by Layla Fae
Medium-High Spice
Yeah, I was still in the Christmas mood well into the New Year. If I’m being so honest, my tree is still up and probably will be for another week at least. This book was delicious! This was a super quick read at just over 100 pages, but it was still incredibly well done. The length didn’t take away from the story being well-rounded. I felt like there was no compromise in plot or spice in keeping it short.
I also really respected the author for her blurb in the beginning. The MMC lives with traumatic mutism and when she originally published the book, she “misdiagnosed” her character with ‘selective mutism’ which is much different. She made the appropriate corrections and issued an apology for the oversight and I think that’s really admirable. In my opinion, the scariest part of trying to write a book is the fear you may accidentally offend someone. When this happens, it’s incredibly important how you respond. Not only did she correct her mistake, but she apologized for not doing enough research when writing about a disability and made a commitment to do better in future. Seeing how this author dealt with that was inspiring for me. It made me realize that if a mistake like this happens, I can’t make it go away but I can do my best to make it right.
8. Happily Ever After Mountain (Books 1-3) by Cassi Hart
Medium-High Spice
Cassi Hart writes short steamy stories about OTT insta-love. These clock in under 100 pages, so if you’re looking for something quick and easy that’s still able to pull you in, definitely check her out! These modern takes on familiar stories were exactly the palette cleanser I was looking for while still being a meaty/spicy treat (maybe I need to take a quick snack break LOL).
9. Merciless Heir (Kozlov Empire) by Monika Kayne
Medium High Spice
Holy hotness, Batman! This is an inter-connected standalone about a morally gray family of mafia antiheroes. Georgia was taken by a ruthless boss to repay a debt for her father when she’s taken into the custody of another pakhan who may be even more dangerous especially with the chemistry neither one can deny. The burning desire was lighting up my Kindle and I polished this book off in one sitting!
10. Such a Good Girl (Hot Creeps book 1) by Effie Campbell
High Spice
Yo, check the triggers on this one before you dive in! When I say this book was dirty, I mean it was filthy! Highly kinky. Lots of degradation play, but good golly Miss Molly, if you’re into it-you won’t regret this one. Bobby is the perfect master who knows just what his pet needs!
So there’s my month so far! The TBR is still bursting at the seams and I’m ahead of my reading goal by 6 books (so technically not meeting my goal since I’m supposed to be reading less? oops!). I’ll letcha know what I get into next ;)