Every book I read in 2025... reviewed in one sentence each!

I wasn't sure if I would be interested in the plot, but I fell so in love with the characters, the descriptive and immersive settings of the times in the past, the history, and the romance had my whole heart.

I know I've said the word magical like five times already, but I truly loved how atmospheric and magical it was, but there were a lot of loose ends at the end. And I know this is the first book in a series, but I think I just wanted a little more to be explained.

This book is such a great blend of cozy and high stakes because the robot's internal monologue is so freaking cute, but then we also do have a high stakes sci-fi plot.

This book gave me all the silly goofy kick your feet feelings because it's very much Princess Bride style humor, and I loved seeing the villain's heart soften over time.

Next up, I read Atomic Habits, which was, I think, my favorite book that I read in that self-help video. I love that it has so many actionable steps on things you can do to get rid of bad habits, start new good habits, and actually maintain those habits.

I love that this book really immediately hooked me and I never would have guessed the twist, but some of the middle did feel a tiny bit repetitive to me.

I think I can confidently say this is my favorite second chance romance that I've ever read.

And while Better Than the Movies is so freaking cute, this book has a little more serious tone, which kind of lost the charm of Better Than the Movies to me.

Lynn Painter books never fail to make me giggle and swoon, but also have characters with such depth, and the two characters in this book were no exception, as they're both dealing with their parents' divorce.

And then I read the last book in the Prison Healer trilogy, The Blood Trader, and I loved it. So many great swoonw worthy romance moments and so many twists throughout, which was really fun.

I thought the book was well written. I liked the author's story and I thought the self-care tips were good reminders but not really anything new.

Super cute, fun, and spooky. I think I would have just rated it higher if I read it in middle school.

I love that this book has everything I love about the Eden series, plus it has mystery. I loved the couple so much, and the mystery seriously had me on the edge of my seat.

I loved literally every single thing about Lucas and Scarlet and their chemistry in their romance and their sports. But the third act conflict did frustrate me.

I love that we have death itself as a literal physical character in this book. Get to follow a few side characters and get some more clarity and insight into an important character from the main trilogy.

I have zero notes about pay and Kai in this book because I love them so much, but I did feel very mixed on the ending, specifically about a certain character.

Then my favorite ever adult mystery is First Lie Wins by Ashley St.

The chemistry was great. The story concept was so cute, but I think it was just more classic romance, not one that is super memorable to me.

I love that we get literal baby breadcrumbs of romance in this book. Like I don't know what it is about that, but it makes me want to just read it so much more so I can see the characters finally get together. And Ivan and Jasmine literally have my whole heart.

And unfortunately, this one was a miss. I think I just really hated Nikolai if I'm being honest.

I love that this book is so unique with ghosts and magic and a little bit of mystery on why Harriet is being haunted. The only reason I didn't rate it higher is it just didn't have that obsessed feeling, but so fun and the perfect holiday read.

We go back and forth between the romance between the writers and the actual biography itself. And I loved that because it felt like we got two books in one.

This covered everything from his upbringing to meeting his wife to his movie career and it was such a great mix of life lessons and absolutely wild crazy fun stories.

I love how the characters were very flawed characters and all a suspect in my mind at one point or another, and the ending did really get me.

I think this was my least favorite book in this series, but I would still highly recommend this series, especially if you love a book that feels so cozy where you get so invested in so many characters in the town and the main family.

Honestly, my same notes for book two. Obsessed.

For book three, I was a little bummed I didn't give it five stars. And the only reason was because we get so much info and reveals that at times felt a little bit much to keep track of.

Then I read Kingdom of the Wicked, Enemies to Lovers, a witch, a book boyfriend who is the literal demon prince wrath, one of the seven deadly sins, a murder, and lots of twists and turns. No notes. Five stars.

Mariana Zapata's writing is so addicting to me and I love that we get to see such a cool arc of Colti being the most antisocial grumpy man to ever exist and how his arc and relationship with S transforms.

I'm typically more of a highstakes plot girl, and this book is very much a character-driven story, but I was surprised how much I absolutely loved it. The characters felt so real and complex and I was so invested in them.

I really enjoyed following Ruby and seeing her life grow and change, but I do wish there was more romance and that part of this book moved a little faster.

My three favorite things about this book were that the spice was spicing. Serena was so fun and brave and smart and Cohen was truly my perfect kind of book boyfriend who seems very brooding and mysterious but underneath that is so kind and protective.

Some in the beginning and middle moved a little slow, but truly so eerie and creepy and had me on the edge of my seat, especially at the end. And I love that almost this entire book takes place in one room with two characters.

I love the unique concept, the high stakes, and how this book has comedic relief mixed with heartbreaking moments, but I do think I have read twistier mystery books before.

And while Better Than the Movies is so freaking cute, this book has a little more serious tone, which kind of lost the charm of Better Than the Movies to me. I still liked it though. 3.5 stars is still good.

Charlie was truly my perfect kind of book boyfriend. You know, that charming, flirty, confident, funny type. And I really related to Alice's personality.

When I started this book, I was so incredibly confused, but once I figured out what was going on, five freaking stars. I always love the way Zayen will literally die for Violet.

I loved the concept, the Frankenstein plot. The writing is beautiful and it covers so many amazing themes, especially being a woman in the 1800s. But some big chunks of the book moved a little slow for me.

To be honest, I almost DNFed it because the beginning moves slow for me, but I'm so glad I finished it because we get cute romance and such a deeper view of the characters and the things they're going through, like their mental health, difficult relationships with family members, and how tough it can be to transition from high school to college.

And I love that Stephen King is such a detailed writer because it makes every single terrifying moment feel like you were right there with the character in it experiencing it, too.

I love the chemistry and how the age gap was handled in our two main characters. I just think it wasn't super memorable, which is the only reason I wouldn't rate it higher.

I don't know that anything could be more perfect for my taste than a witchy enemies to lovers book. And this one is so high stakes, great chemistry.

The beginning started with a bang and then the middle took me a little bit to get into just because it's such a brutal world, but by the end I was so invested in the universe and Darrow, all the side characters and trying to figure out what Daryl is going to do next.

This is one of my favorites in the series, especially because it was such a goodbye letter to the whole series and it continued the mystery plot from book five. I also just really loved Matteo.

I love that our mailman characters love language is very much acts of service and actions and that we get so much going on outside of the romance plot as well, but I think just the long-distance setup between the characters wasn't my favorite.

Our film main character, Rose, is a motorcycle performer, which was so fun. and her and Fion's romance was so sweet. The only reason I wouldn't rate it higher is I think I just liked the first two books better and this was my fourth serial killer romance.

I love that it's slowburn and meets lovers, brooding male love interest, but I think I especially love that our female main character isn't the classic warrior fighter type, but she's still so strong and brave in so many ways.

I thought the plot was really cool, but the characters didn't have a lot of internal monologue and I think that made me feel kind of disconnected from the story.

Super fun, light palette cleanser read. My only complaint was that it was a little insta lovey.

This book was so amazing and incredibly devastating and I told myself I wasn't going to get attached to any of the characters, but I still got attached to every single character and I loved it.

We get to explore a lot of the world and cool themes on being a woman and power and family and religion and more, but it is a very cozy fantasy, which just isn't super my personal taste.

I think objectively so well written. Such fantastic, heavier themes that it tackles, but most of the book moved pretty slow for me.

The fairy tale vibes in this book were immaculate. So atmospheric, great little twists. I didn't feel super emotionally invested in the characters and the plot.

Now, for my review for The Gilded Cage, I would say the ending of this book went crazy. I loved the twists. But although I like the romance, I do find Jiren just a little bit bland.

There is so much I loved about this romance. Like the tension, the banter, the fact that they're both athletes that it's so long, so you get so much time and plot with the characters, and you get so many cameos from characters from past L. Kennedy books.

This one, I think, was the most entertaining self-help book I read. It's blunt, it's self-deprecating, it's funny, but it just kind of had one key thing, and that is that by caring a lot about the right things that matter, you will in turn care less about the little things that don't matter.

This book covers such a range of topics, which I think is perfect if you don't really know where to start with the self-help genre. It's more of dipping your toe into a ton of areas.

I'd say my main complaint is it felt pretty obvious to me very quickly that the characters were into each other, but it wasn't obvious to the characters at all. However, I just love Ally Hazwood's writing style and I always have a fun time reading her books.

I went in so unsure of what I was going to think of this trope and I actually really enjoyed it. It was a lot less weird than I thought and it made for such a fun and awkward and hard to navigate conflict.

I really love the characters chemistry in this book, but it is my eighth Elsie Silver book and I think I just needed a little something new that I hadn't read before in her books.