In 2025, specifically starting in August, I got started on a whole reading kick. From August to the end of December, I ended up reading about 75 books. Today, I will share the ones that I read during that time that were my favorites. Some of them are considerably older than being released in 2025, so they weren’t released at that time, but I read them in 2025.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
You may be tired of hearing about this book (or not), but this was the first book that started me on the reading kick and romantasy/fantasy romance genre in August 2025. I read it completely on August 16 in one sitting! The very next day, I had to get the next book in the series from my local Barnes & Noble.
Many fans of the series say that this is their least favorite of the ACOTAR series, but I enjoyed this book so much because of everything that it lays out for the subsequent books. The author writes so many little sentences that don’t seem to foreshadow anything at the time, but then it comes back later, sometimes even 2 books later!
I ended up loving all 5 books of this series that are currently out, but because the first one got me started on this whole new world of books and it was the first domino that led to 75 books being read, it has a special place in my heart.
When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker
This book destroyed me in the best way. The whole world that is presented in this story is so beautiful, and the writing is so poetic that I fell in love with this story and these characters. I am completely emotionally invested in their story.
Without spoiling anything, the story does get bittersweet towards the end, but it is such a sweeping romance as well that I read it while my heart ached alongside these lovely characters.
The next book in the series is coming out in May 2026, and I had to preorder it because of my absolute need to hear how their story progresses. As I said, I am completely emotionally invested.
Tears of the Wolf by Elisabeth Wheatley
This was my first step into proper fantasy romance genre books, as well as my first step into independently published books. I was not disappointed.
Elisabeth’s writing is slower paced than what I began to expect from more “romantasy” type books, but it was refreshing in that way. The story itself doesn’t come across as slow; it feels more cozy until the action portions begin. I fell in love with these characters because this story was more “friends-to-lovers” than any of the previous stories I read above that are more of the “enemies-to-lovers” trope, so while I do enjoy a good “enemies-to-lovers”, I found that “friends-to-lovers” is preferable to me.
I hope to continue reading and writing more reviews on the individual books that I have been reading; it’s just been difficult getting myself out of reading-mode and into writing-mode!
PaperCat 