January 2025 Reading List

A band of merry psychos…

Ivy is ready for some revenge. Ever since she witnessed the Neon Dogs gruesomely take out her father for crimes they claim he committed, she became determined to stalk them with the ultimate goal to take out her revenge that she felt was well deserved.

She studied them and found a way to take out their contracted hits before they could. She learned their methods to become just as psychotic and dangerous as them. And when the time was right she set the trap to put them at her mercy. A little torture and pleasure leads to a deal between her and the Neons. But the question is can they handle what they’ve gotten themselves into.

Ivy continues her search for the truth about her father and who organized the hit on him. When the truth comes out a switch is flipped and things really change. She ready to grab her mask and bat and get to work.

This diverse group of psychos are actually pretty perfect for each other. Ivy is not to be messed with and more than capable of putting the guys in their place. She’s a take charge kind of woman who means business even when she has a few screws loose. This was a great, dark new addition to The Guild world.

Ghost & Luna…

We met Ghost and Luna in book one of this series, Steel, so I was really looking forward to their story. Ghost discovered Luna when she was trying to hack into the club’s system, only she didn’t know that’s what she had been hired to do. He tracked her down to get a feel for who she was and if she was a real threat to the club. When he realized she wasn’t he went against the number one rule by keeping it a secret and lying to protect her when she later came to join them. Even though she remained in the dark about his full protection, it was still a risk all around. Now someone from her former life is making threats so the secret’s out and her loyalty is in question.

As head of club security, Ghost has eyes and ears everywhere. Just because he’s kept Luna at a distance doesn’t mean he hasn’t been paying attention, and watching through his screens. She thinks she means nothing to him when in reality she means so much. And that’s why he wants to stay away, to protect her from himself. But with the threats and danger creeping closer, he’s forced to face his feelings once and for all. He’s ready to show everyone that she’s his.

I absolutely loved these two. Even though they feel different they really have so much in common. And I love that Ghost is dark and dangerous while also being sweet and a bit nerdy. Luna is so fun with her gamer vibes and hacker smarts. I can’t wait to read more in this series.

Love & Music…

Fourteen different authors came together for this music themed romance anthology supporting MusiCares. You’ll get to read short stories from Chelle Bliss, Stacey Marie Brown, Mari Carr, Jaine Diamond, Helen Hardt, Jillian Liota, Kat Mizera, Layla Reyne, M. Robinson, Becca Steele, Rachel Van Dyken, Meredith Wild, Kaylene Winter, and Julia Wolf. These stories cover a range of plots, character types, love interests, music interest, ages, and feelings.

This collection was so fun to read. It was a combination of authors I’ve read before with some I hadn’t. This felt like a great way to sample are variety of authors. Several of these stories had me wondering if they were a part of larger worlds and had me craving more. I’ll definitely be doing some deep diving into new-to-me authors to read even more.

Even better than book one…

I really loved book one in this new series, but book two was even better. I can’t wait for book three to come out because I want, no, I need more.

In book two of this series, we get more of the story between Liv and Killian. We get to find out what happened leading up to the events in book one. All that time missing from Liv’s memories after her accident. Things that we just got teases and questions for during book one during the mystery of what was real and was was manipulation. It’s the story of how Liv and Killian found love in the midst of a rebellion.

Then their journey picks up in the current timeline after the events of book one. They are having to deal with the aftermath of Liv’s escape from her parents and Rafeal all over again. They must fight to survive and hold onto the power and status that is rightfully theirs. And the fight is not over because Rafeal is making power moves of his own.

I’m hooked on the story of Liv and Killian and need more. This series is so good. It’s such an interesting world concept and I can’t get enough. These two are true soulmates meant for each other.

And the plot thickens…

This story sort of doubles as both a prequel to Glass and Bone but it’s also the third book in The Diadem series. We get to go back in time 20 years before the events that lead to Elaenor’s imprisonment. The story follows Elaenor’s mother Sybil as she keeps everyone around her on their toes.

Her mother wants her to complete her duty of getting married. All Sybil wants to do is be free and have fun spending time with her best friend and twin brother. But Archie, Noterra’s crown prince, throws a wrench in everything. There’s much more going on behind the scenes than Sybil is aware of. Things that will drastically change the course of her life.

Be prepared for twists, turns and surprises you won’t see coming. I extremely curious now where this series is going to go.

Dark Academia Meets Modern King Arthur Retelling…

Quinn is burdened with student debt, medical bills, rent, and the general woes of a struggling college student. Signing up to compete in The Quest could mean a life changing opportunity in the form of $25,000. But she has to decide if it’s worth becoming a Maiden and left in the hands of a Knight to control everything about her for a month to get to the next level of the competition.

But all is not as it seems when it comes to the brotherhood of Knights at D’Arthur University’s Camelot Court. Dark and dangerous, secrets and betrayal, lust and passion, temptation and greed. Quinn as to figure out who and what she can trust while the whole time feeling drawn to not one guy but three – Kingston, Landon, and Max Dread (who we can’t help saying his full name). What’s real and what’s a scheme? Who’s on her side and who’s really out to get her?

This is an amazing debut novel. And that cliffhanger ending has me craving more. The passion and mystery mixed with all the dark academia vibes just pulls you in. This was a great book and I can’t wait to see where this series goes.