Farewell, 2025!

▬▬ APRIL ▬▬▬ (3)
1. Fourth Wing (Empyrean #1) by Rebecca Yarros (04/03)
2. Iron Flame (Empyrean #2) by Rebecca Yarros (04/23)
3. Lights Out by Navessa Allen (04/30)
▬▬ MAY ▬▬▬ (3)
4. Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry (05/27)
5. Onyx Storm (Empyrean #3) by Rebecca Yarros (05/30)
6. The Emperor's Wolves by Michelle Sagara (05/31)
▬▬ JUNE ▬▬▬ (9)
7. Dire Bound (Wolves of Ruin #1) by Sable Sorensen (06/04)
8. A Court of Thorns & Roses (ACoTaR #1) by Sarah J. Maas (06/08)
9. Eidolon (Wraith Kings #2) by Grace Draven (06/10)
10. Shadow Wars by Sherrilyn Kenyon (06/12)
11. A Court of Mist & Fury (ACoTaR #2) by Sarah J. Maas (06/17)
12. The Ippos King (Wraith Kings #3) by Grace Draven (06/19)
13. Metal Slinger (Fire & Metal #1) by Rachel Schneider (06/21)
14. The Devil You Know (Mercenary Librarians #2) by Kit Rocha (06/25)
15. To Kill A Fae (Dragon Portal #1) by Jamie A. Waters (06/30)
▬▬ JULY ▬▬▬ (14)
16. Eve of Destruction (Eve of Destruction #1) by Sherrilyn Kenyon (07/03)
17. Born of Blood (League #14 / Eve of Destruction #3) by Sherrilyn Kenyon (07/06)
18. Avidian (Demon & the Savior #1) by Ashley R. Odonovan (07/06)
19. Betrayer (Cursed Bloodstone #1) by LiAnne Kay (07/08)
20. Dance with the Devil (Mercenary Librarians #3) by Kit Rocha (07/11)
21. Assassin's Blade (TOG #0.5) by Sarah J Maas (07/12)
22. Throne of Glass (TOG #1) by Sarah J Maas (07/14)
23. Gild (Plated Prisoner #1) by Raven Kennedy (07/16)
24. Heir of Fire (TOG #2) by Sarah J Maas (07/19)
25. Aurora's End (Aurora's Cycle #3) by Amie Kaufman (07/21)
26. The Silversmith (Selvaren #1) by LJ Claren (07/23)
27. The Moon and Its Eyes (Cain's Song #1) by Mehrin U (07/25)
28. Glint (Plated Prisoner #2) by Raven Kennedy (07/26)
29. Captive (Cursed Bloodstone #2) by Lianne Kay (07/28)
▬▬ AUGUST ▬▬▬ (10)
30. Gleam (Plated Prisoner #3) by Raven Kennedy (08/01)
31. A Star of Darkness (Scented Court standalone) by A.L. Knorr (08/03)
32. Come For Me (The Hunt #1) by CJ Sweet (08/05)
33. Daughter of No Worlds (War of Lost Hearts #1) by Carissa Broadbent (08/11)
34. By Blood and Magic (Dragon Portal #2) by Jamie A. Waters (08/21)
35. Glow (Plated Prisoner #4) by Raven Kennedy (08/26)
36. Bound by Dragons (Bound by Dragons #1) by Alisha Klapheke (08/27)
37. Kingdom of Spirits (Bound by Dragons #2) by Alisha Klapheke (08/28)
38. Crown & Dragon (Bound by Dragons #3) by Alisha Klapheke (08/30)
39. Storm of Flames (Bound by Dragons #4) by Alisha Klapheke (08/31)
▬▬ SEPTEMBER ▬▬▬ (7)
40. The Cruel Prince (Folk of the Air #1) by Holly Black (09/03)
41. Keys to the Crown (Rellmira Duology #1) by Leah Mara (09/08)
42. Powerless (Powerless Trilogy #1) by Lauren Roberts (09/15)
43. The Wicked King (Folk of the Air #2) by Holly Black (09/17)
44. The Queen of Nothing (Folk of the Air #3) by Holly Black (9/19)
45. Gold (Plated Prisoner #5) by Raven Kennedy (9/23)
46. Kissed by the Gods (Eternal Wars #1) by Caty Rogan (9/27)
▬▬ OCTOBER ▬▬▬ (8)
47. The Keeper's Codex: World Guide and Dark Fae Novella by Celeanne Dorrington (10/01) ARC
48. Lightlark (Lightlark #1) by Alex Aster (10/02)
49. The Serpent and the Wolf (Dark Inheritance Trilogy #1) by Rebecca Robinson (10/04)
50. Goldfinch (Plated Prisoner #6) by Raven Kennedy (10/07)
51. How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories (Folk of the Air #3.5) by Holly Black (10/08)
52. Siege to the Throne (Rellmira Duology #2) by Leah Mara (10/12) ARC
53. The Stolen Heir (Stolen Heir duology #1) by Holly Black (10/23)
54. The Prisoner's Throne (Stolen Heir duology #2) by Holly Black (10/28)
▬▬ NOVEMBER ▬▬▬ (2)
55. The Death-Made Prince by Lisette Marshall (11/21)
56. Carved in Crimson (Heirs of Lirien #1) by Annabelle McCormack (11/26)
▬▬ DECEMBER ▬▬▬ (4)
57. Your Knife, My Heart (Dark Forces #1) by K.M. Moronova (12/02)
58. Queen of Shadows (TOG #4) by Sarah J. Maas (12/09)
59. My Blade, Your Back (Dark Forces #2) by K.M. Moronova (12/17)
60. Children of Fallen Gods (War of Lost Hearts #2) by Carissa Broadbent (12/30)



53 Fantasy | 04 Paranormal | 02 SciFi | 01 Contemporary


ARCs: 3

Hardcopies Acquired: 30 (20 Hardcover | 10 Paperback)

DNF

In the Veins of the Drowning (Siren Mage #1) by Kalie Cassidy (08/14)

When Vengeance Bleeds Royal (Blood Descent #1) by LZ Cathcart (10/16) ARC 11/12 release

Best Reads of 2025

Children of Fallen Gods (War of Lost Hearts #2)

I have been looking for you.

Available at Amazon.com

Children of Fallen Gods
Carissa Broadbent
War of Lost Hearts, book two
Hardcover, 624 pages
Reprinted December 9, 2025 by Bramble
ISBN 9781250405388


No war can be fought with clean hands. Not even the ones waged for the right reasons. Not even the ones you win.

Tisaanah bargained away her own freedom to save those she left behind in slavery. Now, bound by her blood pact, she must fight the Orders’ war -- and Max is determined to protect her at all costs.

But when a betrayal tears apart Ara, Max and Tisaanah are pushed into an even bloodier conflict. Tisaanah must gamble with Reshaye’s power to claim an impossible victory. And Max, forced into leadership, must confront everything he hoped to forget: his past, and his own mysterious magic.

All the while, darker forces loom -- far darker, even, than the Orders’ secrets.

As Tisaanah and Max are ensnared in a web of ancient magic and twisted secrets, one question remains: what are they willing to sacrifice for victory? For power? For love?

It began with a whisper and it will end with a scream.

There is no predicting this story. I don’t know where I’m going. I’m not even sure I know where I’ve been. Time is forward and backward and up and down.

This sequel carries on the story of Max and Tisaanah as they serve as pawns in a war torn game of power. Zeryth has tied his life to Tisaanah. Tisaanah has entered into a blood pact to be his weapon against his enemies. Max is forced to take up his military service as general on a path of destruction wherever Zeryth opts to point.

And through it all, Max and Tisaanah bend and wield their powers to fulfill their contracts with as few casualties as possible.

And, alongside it all, begins a new storyline. New characters. New wars. In a place where humans wage horrific attacks upon the Fey.

Where Aefe, stripped of her birthright as heir of the House of Obsidian and very much ever seeking the pride of her father, discovers the bloody remnants of a devastating genocide.

Where Caduan, once the thirteenth in line to the Stone throne, becomes one of a mere nineteen survivors of his people after the humans, in their desperate madness to save their own kind have hunted the Fey with wild motivations to steal their magic.

He was cut from the same cloth as Max. So very similar. Educated. Well read. Merciful. A dreamer, hopeful for a better world.

Until they took her.

Until betrayal claimed one too many lives.

Until Aefe was gone.

Until Reshaye was ripped into the world.

So much loss. So many sacrifices. So much more than anything I could have anticipated. The horror most of all.

4 out of 5 stars. The repetition of shattered glass, falling, and seeing white was overwhelming at times.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Previously in the series:

2025/60

My Blade, Your Back (Dark Forces #2)

There could be endless versions of you,
and I’d love each one as fervently and entirely.

Available at Amazon.com

My Blade, Your Back
K.M. Moronova
Dark Forces, book two
ebook, 368 pages
audiobook, ~12 hours
Published December 9, 2025
ASIN B0F7GWK547
ISBN 9781464260162


Broken. Lost. Unforgiven.

One month after surviving the Under Trials, Emery Maves finds herself in a world she doesn't recognize―with a man whose cold eyes are haunted by secrets she can't remember. Stripped of her memories, Emery is tormented by dreams of danger, death, and deceit. The only constant is the lure of the experimental drug that shatters her mind but leaves her almost invincible―and the dangerous pull of the man called Mori.

Cameron Mortem is fighting a battle he thought he'd already lost. He knows letting Emery in could destroy them both, but her amnesia is a curse neither of them can outrun. Forced together on a high-stakes level black mission that goes disastrously wrong, they find themselves thrust deeply into the underworld of the black market with an unexpected foe.

But as old scars are torn open and hidden plots unravel, Emery discovers she's more tangled in this world than she ever imagined. And Cameron will have to face the one person he fears most: himself.

Loyalties will be tested. Secrets will be weaponized. Their bond―once forged in blood―may be the only thing that can save them. If they don't lose themselves first.

So... the author has gone far beyond her quota for using the adjective "veigny" and there's a hell of a lot of talk of cervixes and wombs for two people not trying to conceive offspring.

3 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | paperback | audiobook

Previously in the series:

2025/59