December - Wrap Up '25

 December was a great month, reading-wise for me. I was able to get through 16 books! I mean compared to some of the last few months this was insane! I was am proud of myself! I am hoping that this trend will continue! Although this month has definitely shown me that I really like PNR and fantasy unless it's mafia/crime/dark contemporary romance. The need for escapism is apparently real with me lol. I have started to pull back some on the ARCs. I am very big on going with the flow and sometimes, the window that authors give can be too short for me. However, if you have an ARC in need of reading and will have it available more than 2 weeks before release, I'm your girl! These books this month have almost felt cathartic. From crying over a great love lost (TWICE) to the excitement of one of my favorite series getting closer to the end. This month was one of the books...literally. Let's see what I was able to read this month!

   

     

   

   

Favorite Character - Calista (The Death King) : I really enjoyed this character. She was someone who was not dealt the best hand yet she was still able to overcome her fear to fight for herself no matter what. Even though she was in circumstances that most people would stop fighting back, she didn't. She allowed herself to stay strong and then kinda heal from the situation. Even though things aren't perfect for her right now, she still stood strong and let people know that no matter what, she's a fighter.

Best Voice Actors - Court of Ravens: We were able to get different voice actors for all three characters and I loved it. While it wasn't a dual narration it was still pretty amazing to listen to them when their chapters came. It made part two hit that much harder when I listened to it. I would definitely love to hear these three again!

Spiciest Book - Ruined Secrets: Neva Altaj definitely knows how to write her spice and these two we H O T. I enjoyed reading about these two together. They had really great chemistry together and it definitely showed in the spice of this one. It took them some time to get there but once they did whew. 

Best Cover - A Hunger Like No Other/Ruined Secrets: Now I had to choose two of these because there is a major caveat here. So the image that I selected for A Hunger Like No Other is the original cover for the book that is now out of print. However, that's the cover that made me originally buy this book when I saw it in Walmart back in 2006. So that's the one that is near and dear to me. It hooks you and just immediately makes you want to read it. However, there is a different redesigned cover now. So the other is Ruined Secrets, I really like how you see Isa leading Luc around in this one. Since she ended up having to do exactly that in the book. 

Top Baddie - Mother (Exile): This character is diabolical! I love that we are getting to see more of what made her this way. How the events from the cataclysm and even before shaped who she was. We get more details on her relationship to some of the other characters that we know and love. I can't wait for them to actually have the confrontation with her and for us to get the conclusion to everything. I am on edge! I know anything can happen but the fact that they have been going at this for centuries and these things are finally coming to a head....I just know that it is going to epic!

Best Storyline - A Hunger Like No Other: I really loved this story. I liked that she thought that she was weak and a no one until she was able to come into herself and she realized she was stronger than she thought. Not only that but she was able to meet the man of her dreams. The storyline of vampires vs Lykae and how it influenced their relationship was amazing. Overcoming all of that just to be together is probably one of the best stories that I've read in awhile. I can't wait to re-read this story and continue where I left off with this series.

Author of the Month - Liv Zander: If you haven't had a chance to read a book from this author then you definitely need to remedy that very quickly. I mean both of the duets that I've read from her were amazing. This one piled on the heartbreak and had me crying for sure. This is definitely one that you want to check your triggers before you jump into. This author is definitely a dark romance author and I love it!!

Book of the Month - Quicksilver: This was a hard choice. I tried a lot of the big romance hits this month and most of them actually lived up to the hype for me! Whether it was the Lady of Darkness series, Court of Ravens or the Fae and Alchemy series they were all great reads. I gave this one to Quicksilver because I fell for Kingfisher immediately as well as Saeris. I feel like they complimented each other in such a beautiful way. The story was amazing and I can't wait to continue this series! I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who was thinking about starting this series and haven't done so yet! Though I definitely agree that this cover is kinda bad lol.