Yet another wrap-up, guys! 

I hadn’t read so much in years and I have to thank this sub and r/romancebooks for the great recs. 

“Half a year obsessing over” aka the favorites

{Clockwork boys} and {The Wonder Engine by T. Kingfisher} - At this point I’ll read anything T. kingfisher writes. I love her sense of humor and the mature characters (please free us from the curse of 19yo MCs). Caliban has become one of my favorite characters ever and I sympathize with his struggles with faith and feeling abandoned by his god.

{Fourth Wing} and {Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros} this consumed me and I read both books in the span of 5 days. I loved these so much I'll stomach the tariffs and get myself the deluxe hardcover set. Xaden is the only Shadow Daddy I acknowledge

{Alpha and omega by Patricia Briggs} - This is an older series and it shows in its writing. Anna and Charles are great and I like how their relationship and connection progresses along the books. Not all of them became favorites because the plot is a bit formulaic and by the third I could figure out the mystery very early on, sometimes feels like a procedural tv show with a "monster of the week" plot.

Bonus point for having a Native American MMC.

{The rejected omega by Sara Sellers} - I admit that this one features so high because I was probably ovulating, what can I say the book is HOT. Great angst, great knotting, marking, heat sex and everything else a A/B/O fan may enjoy. The groveling wasn't so great, Connor had to work a lot harder for forgiviness in my opinion. Also would've liked a chapter or other with his narration exclusively to see his internal struggles, I want to see that boy suffer a bit more.

{The knight and the moth by Rachel Gillig} - Amazing plot, weird in a great way and full of potential. The book goes so fast that it felt a bit insta-love and I think Sibyl got over her entire devotion and religion a bit too quickly, but that may be my own religious trauma speaking. I'm super excited for the sequel and to see if my theories are right or not.

{Bride and Mate by Ali Hazelwood} - Bride was exactly as its tier describes: interesting enough but nothing memorable, the world building feels inconsistent but Misery and Lowe were charming. Mate on the other hand was a complete miss. The complete lack of basic communication between characters, the plot twists that felt like a mexican telenovela, some BIG revelations that are never properly adressed. Koen being in his late 30s and speaking like some high school jock. ICK.

{Loving a vampire is a total chaos by Aura Hayes} - the MMC was just too much. Too quirky, too violent, too pushy. And the FMC seemed to accept everything so quickly (she goes from detective, to knowing vampires exist, to finding out she is a fated mate, to "I love you forever" in like a week)

The drags: 

Things I know with absolute certainty that I hate: dark romance, billionaires, cruel MMCs, the use of the word "fuck hole".

\- Wild Reverence was boring. Vincent was a wet blanket of a MMC. I cared so much more about Bade and Adria and would've loved to read about them instead.

Road of bones: Just didn't click for me. Everything was too predictable, the FMC was a bit annoying. 

I still haven’t decided if I'll read the next book.

About the quasi love triangle: >!I disliked Jonas from the beginning, he was one gigantic walking red flag, I'm also not a fan of blond men lol. Rey was more interesting in every aspect.!<

2025 wrapped - 43 books