My 2025 Reading Wrap Up + 2026 Reading Goals

HUMANS! 

2025 was a spectacular year for my bookshelf. It started with the boycott on Kindle Unlimited. As a KU author myself, I saw the damage coming from that boycott. Amazon would feel nothing, meanwhile, KU authors would take a hard kick right to the wallet. So when the boycott began, instead of joining in, I re-upped my KU membership and started prowling for new reads on my social media, focusing on authors I’d find through socials. Between KU, ebook purchases, and Audible, I read 349 books in 2025, not including books I didn’t finish or bonus content. 280 of those were contemporary romance (mostly darkity dark dark dark but there were a few light roms thrown in for good measure) and 69 were of the fantasy persuasion. 

2026 Goodreads Challenge Goal

When I set my Goodreads Challenge goals for 2025, I did 100 for the contemporary side and 50 for the fantasy. I smashed those but when I set my goals for this year, I wanted to aim for a little more balance. I won’t lie to you, gentle reader, I’m already fuckin’ it up. I set my 2026 goal on both sides of my bookshelf to 100 books. We’re not even half way through the month and I’m already at 9 dark romances, 1 fantasy romance, and 1 mystery. BUT, I am on the lookout for some good fantasy reads. I’m currently reading Den of Vipers by K.A. Knight (finally, I know) on Kindle Unlimited, Borrowing My Bestie’s Brothers by Sam Hall on Audible, and next up on my TBR pile is Nocticadia by Keri Lake (my daughter bought me a gorgeous special edition hardcover of the book for Christmas). (Side Note: Does anyone cruising my website even get a Bridgerton reference? Gods, I love that show.)

Are you participating in the Goodreads Challenge this year?

What’s your goal? 

Here is a look at some of the highlights from my 2025 reads!

NEW-to-ME ONE-CLICK AUTHORS

2025 was a good year for discovering new-to-me authors. While I found a lot of awesome reads, not all of the authors will make my one-click list. In no particular order…

Crystal Ash 
Okay, so I found Ash’s work entirely by chance. When I don’t know what to read, I tend to fall back on looking at what there is on Audible by my favorite narrators. I found Ash’s why choose dystopian fantasy romance world when surfing books narrated by Troy Duran. I burned through Steel Demons MC, the Sons of Odin MC standalone, and the Vengeful Gods MC trilogy in a week. There are snarky gods, edge-of-your-seat tension, action-packed battle scenes that never get boring, big epic-level danger at every turn, fuuuuuuuuuuuuucking insane cults, off the charts character chemistry, moments that will rip your heart to shreds, and so much more! What a gripping world! I only wish there were more of it. Crossables crossed, right?

Lucy Smoke
Lucy’s bookshelf is kind of all over the map genre-wise but for her dark romance stuff, one-click all the way. Her Sick Boys series will live rent-free in my head for many years to come. I’ve already re-read Abel’s book and Braxton’s two books several times over. Set in the same world is her Scorpion Kings series and that was one I loved as well. And you get a few Viks and Abel cameos in that series, which was so much fun. I want more. I hope with all my bookish karma points that she keeps writing in this world. 

Eva Ashwood
I found Eva in 2024 with the Dirty Broken Savages series. In 2025, I did a bookshelf binge on her and that’s how she ended up being added to the one-click list. Once I read every title she has published and realized that there isn’t anything she writes that I don’t like, how could I not? Filthy Wicked Psychos and Pretty Ruthless Monsters are both at the top of my favorites with River and the boys from DBS.

Callie Rose
So here’s the thing. Callie’s books and writing style run soooooooo closely to Eva Ashwood that I long suspected they are the same author. I’m not confirming or denying shit. Truth be told, I never did figure out myself. Even if they are the same people, I simply don’t care. Both are one-clicks for me. Callie’s Feral Shifters series is top shelf why choose dark shifter romance. The spice is spicy, don’t get me wrong, but the lore is huuuuuuge in that series. On the dark contemporary side, top honor goes to Rose’s Ruthless Hearts trilogy. I LOVED Riley and the Reapers so fucking much! Thankfully, I discovered the trilogy after it was complete because those cliffhangers would have fucking killed me. 

Lauren Biel
Oh, Lauren, you adorable little chaos butterfly. You LIE. If you’ve read any of this woman’s books, you know that while she may present you with a saccharine sweet smile on all her socials, this woman’s brain conjures the jaw-droppingly unhinged content while making you laugh most of the way through at things you will later be ashamed to admit you found funny. Hitched and Along for the Ride from the Ride or Die series and the entire Slaycation series are my favorites by her. I have you know I was traumatized by a turkey leg (not really but I certainly can’t look at Thanksgiving the same) and I will never stop talking about pineapples and Tom Jones… 

Angel Lawson
So technically, this addiction begins with a co-written series. The Royals of Forsyth University. Sweet mother of smashed coconuts, this is not a world for the faint of heart. The world is broken up into trilogies by house━the Lords, the Dukes, the Princes, and now the Barons are being released. Each trilogy is dark bully romance and the MMCs do some shit that is unforgivable on every level. And I love each and every last one of them. I can’t get enough. Aaaaaand I can’t decide which horrible trilogy of men I like more. It’s a real problem. See why I choose to stay single IRL? My choices in men cannot be trusted. Moving on. 

Leila James
DUDES! The Kingston University world is another one! I can’t get enough of these why choose dark bully trilogies but at the same time, maaaaaaan, these boys are MEAN AS FUCK to their leading ladies in book one, sometimes almost bleeding through book two! And what did I do???? I binged ‘em. All of ‘em. Because I have a type. Holy shitpops, you guys. The Brothers of Hawthorne Hall, the Bastards of Bainbridge Hall, and the Brutal Boys of SIN are all excellent trilogies. Just be sure you’re ready to be emotionally abused at the hands of a novel or nine. 

S Massery
Speaking of having a type… Massery’s work is a brand spanky new discovery for me. I only found her inky black dark hockey romance in December and I devoured all of the Hockey Gods series. These books are not for the weak. Each is a standalone but you really need to read them in order (starting with the free prequel that sets the tone of the series and queues up Jacob’s story in the fourth book, Twisted Obsession). Each of these MMCs is evil. They are obsessive, violent, have zero concept of boundaries, and some are only vaguely acquainted with the idea of consent (for example, Jacob seems to live in the death grip of a somno kink and he doesn’t make a habit of asking permission). Evil, entitled smokeshows who haven’t heard the word no a whole lot in their lifetimes. I told you, I have a type and should be thankful my favorite book boyfriends aren’t real. Ugh…. What is wrong with me? 🤣🤣🤣 Of course, I won’t be stopping there. Her whole back list is now on my TBR. 

Mila Kane
Mila Kane offers her own dark hockey romance that’s only a shade or two lighter than S Massery’s Hockey Gods series. I’m obsessed with her Hellions of Hade Harbor series (currently waiting on Vicious Obsession’s drop in May) and I loved King of the Cage (which tells the story of a character you meet briefly in one of the Hade Harbor books…spoilers…). I have added the rest of her interconnected books to my TBR pile. 

Sadie Hunt
OMFG I LOVE INTERCONNECTED WORLDS. Sadie Hunt’s is called the Blackwell Falls Saga and it’s made up of why choose dark romance trilogies━Aventine University, Blackwell Beasts, Blackwell Bastards, and Blackwell Butchers. I only realized last week that we have preorders up for the first books in two new trilogies━Blackwell Hawks and Blackwell Hollow. I would read new trilogies in this world until the end of time. Bring it on. 

Elle Thorpe
I discovered Thorpe’s Saint View world backward. I was lured in by a pretty, pretty cover and a hilarious blurb but at the time, I didn’t realize it was the first book in the seventh Saint View world trilogy. Fortunately, her trilogies truly are written in a way that you don’t have to read the others to really “get it” but it is more fun when you understand the context of who everyone is and what shenanigans they’ve already been up to. I went back to the start and binge-read the entire world, and no, I can’t pick a favorite. Saint View High, Saint View Prison, Saint View Psychos, Saint View Rebels, Saint View Slayers vs. Sinners, and Saint View Murder Squad (the trilogy I began with). The only thing I have not read yet are the standalone M/F novels in the Saint View Strip series. She’s already got the book one preorder up for the next trilogy, Saint View Blood and Ink. The wait for that is going to suck bananas. My hope is that the October 2026 release date is just a placeholder and that we get the book sooner! The thing I love most about this world is that although it’s definitely dark and super-emotional romance, the books will have you laughing most of the way through as well. Read my review of the Saint View Murder Squad trilogy. The quotes from X alone are pure comedic gold. We should all be so lucky to find ourselves an X. If I remember correctly, all of her trilogies feature at least one M/M relationship within the harem.

READING BOOKTOK RECS

Another thing I did in 2025 was read a bunch of books purely because of their internet buzz. I found some hardbound soulmates that way but some others just didn’t quite land for me, unfortunately. 

Credence by Penelope Douglas 
Credence was one of the first books that I read from a BookTok rec in 2025 and I didn’t love it. I didn’t dislike it, it just didn’t hit for me the way it does for those who rave about it. I did discover that I have no interest in being snowed in, family of hot men or not. Now, that being said, I didn’t quit her bookshelf there. I also read Five Brothers, which I liked more than Credence. The clear winner for me was the Devil’s Night series. I loved, loved, LOVED the Devil’s Night series. I still think about that series to this day. Absolute frikkin perfection. What does it say about me that my favorite book boyfriend from this series is Damon Torrence??? Nothing entirely healthy, I’m sure.

The Dance With My Demons Series by Steph Macca
Ugh, Dance With My Demons lived up to all the hype. Okay, a few things. First, book one has the best opening line ever: “Sometimes you need to cut ties with people… And sometimes those ties are arteries.” Now that’s how you set a tone. I tell everyone who will listen about that line. 🤣 Second, the audiobooks are a work of art. Third, the plot is totally unpredictable. Right up until the last minute, I wasn’t remotely correct with any of my predictions. It was so good and I will definitely be re-reading it one day.

Twisted Love by Ana Huang
Alex Volkov this. Alex Volkov that. Meh. Alex Volkov didn’t blow me away. It’s not that Twisted Love was bad but I don’t agree with the hype or why Alex Volkov ever ends up on a billion book boyfriend lists and reading rec videos. It fell flat enough for me that I won’t be continuing the series. 

The Butcher by Penelope Sky
I loved The Butcher. That book is not at all overhyped. It’s sooooo worth the read. However, the rest of the series just didn’t grab me. I felt like The Butcher sets up this incredible series premise and establishes the MMC as a scary mother fucker. And then books two and three simply don’t deliver on the promise. Now, the fun thing I got out of this series: I am working on a blog post where I stalk the cover model, Kallym Grimmond, through the stacks. Stay tuned for that soon!

Toxic by Nicole Blanchard
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. YES! I loved this book. I will be honest with you, I didn’t know what Toxic was about going in. I had been bombarded by posts and ads for the book for weeks and it had a pretty cover so I said fuck it. I did not expect that particular ride but it’s what led me to give Lauren Biel a try so…. Toxic’s twists are unexpected and the love story is twisted, to say the very least. 

MY BIKER ROMANCE BINGE

So I went on a binge-read that was more aimed at a trope (MC/Biker romance) than a specific author. I didn’t always love what I found and those series generally were abandoned after book one. However, here are the series that really grabbed me and wouldn’t let go until I devoured every story to be had: 

• Lords of Carnage MC by Daphne Loveling
• Lords of Carnage Ironwood MC by Daphne Loveling
• Stone Kings Motorcycle Club by Daphne Loveling
• The Kings of Retribution MC, Montana by Crystal Daniels and Sandy Alavarez
• The Kings of Retribution MC, Louisiana by Crystal Daniels and Sandy Alavarez
• Fallen Ravens MC by Sandy Alvarez
• Devil’s Nightmare MC by Lena Bourne
• Satan’s Fury MC by L. Wilder
• The Bear Bottom Guardians MC by Lani Lynn Vale
• Savage Falls Sinners MC by Caitlyn Dare
• Red Ridge Sinners MC by Caitlyn Dare

BIGGEST LOLs FROM 2025

There is nothing I love more than finding a book that makes me laugh and 2025 gave me a few books that had me rolling. 

The Ex Marks the Spotseries by Rebel Bloom
In the summer of 2025, I had a run of some pretty decent insomnia. I live in the middle of the woods and I would spend entire nights sitting on our farmer’s porch reading through the night. Reading and trying not to think about the many members of the local wildlife who were probably watching me from just outside the reach of the porch lights. Three of those nights were spent laughing like a lunatic while I read my way through the Ex Marks the Spot series by Rebel Bloom, a new-to-me author. Each book is a standalone why choose rom com and I can’t recommend them enough if you need a good laugh.

The Heatverse series by Alexis B. Osbourne
Three of the funniest standalone novels I’ve ever read. The Heatverse novels are omegaverse why choose rom coms. The author’s beta reader assessed them as “the literary equivalent of a bunch of fetish gear covered in glitter, tossed into a dumpster, and set on fire,” and man, that right there is truth in advertising. 🤣

The Star-Crossed Chroniclesseries by AK Nevermore
This is a brand new series written by a friend of mine and I fell head over heels for it. You can see my full spoiler-free thoughts here for Weres and Witchery (M/F), the first book in the series. Since then, AK has released a second book in the series, Wards and Warlocks (M/M) and I have the inside track that book three is well under way. The snark is flying left and right in this series. I giggled my ass off through both books. 

What were some of your favorite reads from 2025???

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