What I Read in Q1 of 2025

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Hello everyone! Happy new year! I decided this year I wanted to do something a little different with my blog posts, because I knew I wouldn't be reading nearly as much this year. Instead of doing monthly posts, I'm gonna do quarterly posts at the end of every third month. Quarter one will be January-March, quarter two is April-June, quarter three is July-September, and quarter four is October-December. I read 9 books in January, 6 in February, and 5 in March for a total of 20 books for quarter one. Without further ado, let's get started!

Hooked by Emily McIntire: I rated this ebook 4.5/5 stars and finished it on January 1st. This is the first book in the Never After series and is meant to be a Peter Pan fractured retelling. I read this on my Kindle on the way to New York on my way to our cruise and honestly, I loved it. I read Twisted back in August and I wanted to read the rest of the series before I read Hexed (which you'll see, I did end up reading). I loved the story, I loved the characters, and it ended up being one of the standouts from this series for me.

"James has always had one agenda: destroy his enemy, Peter Michaels. When Peter’s twenty-year-old daughter Wendy shows up in James’s bar, he sees his way in. Seduce the girl and use her for his revenge. It’s the perfect plan, until things in James’s organization begin to crumble. Suddenly, he has to find the traitor in his midst, and his plan for revenge gets murkier as James starts to see Wendy as more than just a pawn in his game. Wendy has been cloistered away most of her life by her wealthy cold father, but a spontaneous night out with friends turns into an intense and addictive love affair with the dark and brooding James. As much as she knows James is dangerous, Wendy can’t seem to shake her desire for him. But as their relationship grows more heated and she learns more about the world he moves in, she finds herself unsure if she’s falling for the man known as James or the monster known as Hook."

My Present This Year by Sierra Simone: I rated this ebook 3.5/5 stars and finished it on January 1st. I read this on my Kindle on our way up to New York for our cruise and this was definitely...something. It's meant to be a fanfic edition of the Folgers "coming home" commercial, and I think she did a great job in that sense, but it definitely wasn't for me.

"Nick is coming home for Christmas, and he only wants two things: 1) a cup of coffee, hot enough to reglaze the inside of his cermaic mug. 2) not to see his far-too-gorgeous, far-too-forbidden stepsister. But it's none other than his stepsister opening the door to welcome him home, and there's not enough hot coffee in the world to distract Nick from how much he's tempted to make Nora his own..."

The Perfect Son by Freida McFadden: I rated this book 5/5 stars and finished it on January 7th. The past few Freida books I've been reading haven't been hitting as hard for me as they usually would, but I had heard so many good things about this one, so I decided to buy it. I ended up reading it in one sitting on my cruise because that's how good it was. The twist was absolutely fantastic, and kinda reminded me of Saving Noah by Lucinda Berry in the subject matter kinda. Definitely a new favorite of hers for me.

"Erika Cass has a perfect family and a perfect life. Until the evening when two detectives show up at her front door. A high school girl has vanished from Erika's quiet suburban neighborhood. The police suspect the worst--murder. And Erika's teenage son, Liam, was the last person to see the girl alive. Erika has always sensed something dark and disturbed in her seemingly perfect older child. She wants to believe he's innocent, but as the evidence mounts, she can't deny the truth--Liam may have done the unthinkable. Now she must ask herself: How far will she go to protect her son?"

Scarred by Emily McIntire: I rated this ebook 5/5 stars and finished it on January 12th. This is the second book in the Never After series and is a Lion King fractured retelling. I loved this one. I loved the plot a lot, and I loved both of the main characters. I had a fantastic time reading this, and it's probably my favorite from the entire series.

"Prince Tristan Faasa was never destined for the throne. That was always his brother, Michael. The same brother responsible for both Tristan's tormented childhood and the scar that mars his face. When their father dies, Michael is set to assume the throne, and Tristan is set to steal it. The leader of a secret rebellion, Tristan will stop at nothing to end his brother's reign. But when Michael's new betrothed, Lady Sara Beatreaux arrives, Tristan finds himself in the middle of a new kind of war. The kind that begs the question of what's more important, the crown or the woman about to wear it. Sara has one plan. Marry the King and eradicate the Faasa line, even at the risk of her own peril. But she never expects the Scarred Prince. He's dangerous. Forbidden. And one of the men she's been sent to kill. But the line between hatred and passion has never seemed so thin, and as secrets come to light, Sara grows unsure of whom she can trust—torn between vengeance and the villain she was never supposed to love."

Wretched by Emily McIntire: I rated this ebook 4/5 stars and finished it on January 13th. This is the third book in the Never After series and is a Wizard of Oz fractured retelling. I thought it was interesting for sure, especially how the plot ended up playing out. I thought it was great, it's just not my favorite. I've never seen Wizard of Oz so I didn't feel super connected to the characters like I did in the second one.

"Evelina Westerly has always been the bad guy. As the brains, brawn, and botanist behind her family's drug empire, she's her father's ruthless secret weapon. With her days divided between perfecting her greenhouse, seeking revenge for her sister's murder, and putting a gun to the head of anyone in her way, Evelina doesn't have time for anything else. Especially not for love. After a one-night stand with a gorgeous man at a nightclub, she's sated her urges and is back to her criminal ways. That is, until that same man shows up as the new Westerly lackey...under a totally different name. But Nicholas Woodsworth's real secret is much more dangerous than an alias. He's an undercover DEA agent, and he's hell-bent on destroying the drug trade that devastated his family. When he realizes the youngest daughter of the Westerly empire is the same woman he's been fantasizing about since that night at the club, attraction wars violently with disgust. Evelina embodies everything he's against, and he's been sent here to be her downfall. Yet the more they learn about the darkness in each other's hearts, the more alike they seem, and when hatred turns to something more, Nicholas will have to decide whether he can love a wretched woman, even if it means bringing both of their lives to ruin."

Crossed by Emily McIntire: I rated this ebook 3.75/5 stars and finished it on January 15th. This is the fifth book in the Never After series and is a Hunchback of Notre Dame fractured retelling.

"He is righteousness. She is sin. Father Cade Frédéric is a holy man. Brought up in the streets of Paris, he has dedicated his life to the church. But there’s a monster that lingers just beneath the surface. A sickness. One that bleeds darkness and feeds on the damned. When he’s tasked to become the priest in Festivalé, Vermont, a town both beautiful in architecture and riddled with despair, his sickness sings, demanding he rid the place of evil. Amaya Paquette is Festivalé’s beautiful mystery. She spends her days caring for her younger brother and her nights transforming into Esmeralda, dancing for greedy eyes and shameless lips. Although she longs for love, she shies away from companionship, afraid of being abandoned again. When Father Cade lays eyes on Amaya, he finds himself ensnared, convinced she’s using witchcraft to lure him to her. He can’t eat. Can’t breathe. Can’t think unless it’s of her. And temptation is a devastating mistress. She’s his weakness, so he decides he’ll be her demise…even if it means killing the only woman he might ever love."

Hexed by Emily McIntire: I rated this book 5/5 stars and finished it on January 21st. This is the sixth and final book in the Never After series and is a Little Mermaid fractured retelling.

"Venesa Andersen has never been good. She wasn’t good enough for her parents, and she isn’t good enough for the gangster uncle who took her in after they died. But she’s cunning. Beautiful. Dutiful to her uncle’s demands. And she doesn’t have time for a moral compass, anyway. When her runaway cousin returns to their coastal southern town, she brings a man with her…and Venesa soon realizes he’s the only one who’s ever seen her for her. There’s just one problem: she can never have him. Enzo “Loverboy” Marino is a wealthy businessman by day and prince of the underworld by night. Underboss to a notorious mafia syndicate, he answers to no one except his father, the strongest don in the Northeast. When he’s tasked with marriage, Enzo doesn’t think twice. Until he meets his fiancée’s cousin. Venesa is everything he never knew he wanted, bewitching him with her sultry voice and supple curves. But Enzo learned long ago that for a man like him, life is better without the things you want. When plans unravel and temptation sings its siren song, they’ll both have to choose what’s more important: duty to their families, or a forbidden love that was never supposed to be."

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney: I rated this book 3/5 stars and finished it on January 24th. This ended up being my Book of the Month pick for December as an early release in January, but I couldn't get to it until after I got back from my cruise. After the high of The Perfect Son, I was excited to get into another thriller. I've liked a couple of her books in the past, but the last one I read was pretty mid so I wasn't sure where it was gonna go. Let me tell you though, the way it went wasn't how I thought it was gonna go...in the worst way. I thought the twist could've been one of two things, and somehow it was both and neither at the same time! Anyway, won't be reading anything else by her anytime soon.

"Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life. Grady calls his wife to share some exciting news as she is driving home. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by the cliff edge the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there. . . but his wife has disappeared. A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible — a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife."

The Crash by Freida McFadden: I rated this ebook 3/5 stars and finished it on January 29th. After how mid Beautiful Ugly was, I was hesitant to pick this up; however, people online seemed to be liking it, so I put that aside and gave it a shot. I can say this isn't the worst Freida book I've read, but definitely wasn't my favorite. I'd put it up there with Ward D and The Boyfriend for me. Wouldn't recommend this one though.

"Tegan is eight months pregnant, alone, and desperately wants to put her crumbling life in the rearview mirror. So she hits the road, planning to stay with her brother until she can figure out her next move. But she doesn’t realize she’s heading straight into a blizzard. She never arrives at her destination. Stranded in rural Maine with a dead car and broken ankle, Tegan worries she’s made a terrible mistake. Then a miracle she is rescued by a couple who offers her a room in their warm cabin until the snow clears. But something isn’t right. Tegan believed she was waiting out the storm, but as time ticks by, she comes to realize she is in grave danger. This safe haven isn’t what she thought it was, and staying here may have been her most deadly mistake yet. And now she must do whatever it takes to save herself—and her unborn child."

Worst Case Scenario by T.J. Newman: I rated this book 5/5 stars and finished it on February 8th. I got an early ARC copy for this book sometime last year before it came out in August, but I never got around to finishing it. I was glad to find the audio of it, and then eventually

"When a pilot suffers a heart attack at 35,000 feet, a commercial airliner filled with passengers crashes into a nuclear power plant in the small town of Waketa, Minnesota, which becomes ground zero for a catastrophic national crisis with global implications. The International Nuclear Event Scale tracks nuclear disasters. It has seven levels. Level 7 is a Major Accident, with only two on record: Fukushima and Chernobyl. There has never been a Level 8. Until now. In this heart-stopping thriller, ordinary people—power plant employees, firefighters, teachers, families, neighbors, and friends— are thrust into an extraordinary situation as they face the ultimate test of their lives. It will take the combined courage, ingenuity, and determination of a brave few to save not only their community and loved ones, but the fate of humanity at large."

Deep End by Ali Hazelwood: I rated this book 5/5 stars and finished it on February 11th.

"Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A Junior at Stanford and a student-athlete who specializes in platform diving, Scarlett prefers to keep her head down, concentrating on getting into med school and on recovering from the injury that almost ended her career. She has no time for relationships—at least, that’s what she tells herself. Swim captain, world champion, all-around aquatics golden boy, Lukas Blomqvist thrives on discipline. It’s how he wins gold medals and breaks records: complete focus, with every stroke. On the surface, Lukas and Scarlett have nothing in common. Until a well-guarded secret slips out, and everything changes. So they start an arrangement. And as the pressure leading to the Olympics heats up, so does their relationship. It was supposed to be just a temporary, mutually satisfying fling. But when staying away from Lukas becomes impossible, Scarlett realizes that her heart might be treading into dangerous water..."

There Are No Saints by Sophie Lark: I rated this book 4/5 stars and finished it on February 19th. This is the first book in the Sinners duet.

"I loathe Alastor Shaw. The city of San Francisco thinks we’re rival artists. In truth, we’re predators battling for hunting ground. We never chased the same prey. Until the night we both laid eyes on Mara Eldritch. Shaw wants to use her as a pawn in his twisted game. I’m fixated on her for a different reason… She makes me feel things I never thought I could feel. Want things I never wanted. Only she can make me lose control. I don’t know if I should protect her at all costs… or destroy her before she ruins me. Mara knows I’m no saint. But she has no idea she’s dancing with the devil…"

A Thousand Broken Pieces by Tillie Cole: I rated this book 5/5 stars and finished it on February 25th. This is the sequel to A Thousand Boy Kisses and follows Savannah and Cael.

"After losing her beloved sister three years ago, Savanna Litchfield has been living half a life. When Savannah's therapist suggests joining a trip around the world for grieving teens she agrees to go clutching tightly to the unread journal her sister left behind. Seventeen-year-old Cael Woods is angry. One year after losing his older brother his life has spiraled. Once the most promising hockey player in the junior league, Cael can no longer step onto the ice. When his parents sign him up for a trip abroad no part of him wants to go. As Cael and Savannah embark on a journey they begin to find solace in each other. As they start to heal piece by broken piece, could this be the start of a love they never thought they'd feel again?"

Sinner by Sierra Simone: I rated this book 4/5 stars and finished it on February 27th. This is the second book in the Priest series and follows Sean and Zenny.

"I'm not a good man, and I've never pretended to be. I don't believe in goodness or God or any happy ending that isn't paid for in advance. In fact, I've got my own personal holy trinity: in the name of money, sex, and Macallan 18, amen. So when the gorgeous, brilliant Zenny Iverson asks me to teach her about sex, I want to say yes, I really do. Unfortunately, there are several reasons to say no—reasons that even a very bad man like myself can't ignore. 1. She's my best friend's little sister. 2. She's too young for me. Like way too young. 3. She's a nun. Or about to be anyway. But I want her. I want her even with my best friend and God in the way, I want to teach her and touch her and love her, and I know that makes me something much worse than a very bad man. It makes me a sinner."

Keep Me by Sara Cate: I rated this book 4.5/5 stars and finished it on February 27th. This is the first book in the Sinful Manor series and follows Killian and Sylvie.

"All Killian Barclay wants is to be left the hell alone. He's had enough heartache to last a lifetime, and he has no more need for love—earning him the reputation of a broody Scot and eventually turning his famous ancestral home into a den of iniquity. It doesn't take long for tales of his raunchy house parties to reach the rest of his family, though, inspiring them to hatch a plan to shake Killian out of his routine. New Yorker Sylvie Devereaux is tough as nails—as the daughter of famous yet neglectful parents, she's grown a hard shell and keeps everyone at arm's length. So when she sneaks into Barclay Manor during a trip to Scotland to get a glimpse of a famous heirloom, she doesn't anticipate facing off against the brutish, maddening Highlander who lives there. And she certainly didn't expect to ever see the bastard again. Yet just weeks later, she's approached by Killian's family with a proposal—move to Scotland and marry Killian to improve his playboy reputation, and after one year, she'll walk away with ten million dollars. Sylvie agrees, even knowing that their plan is more deceptive than he realizes. But as she grows closer to Killian and the end of their year together, she has to Is the love of a good man with a dark soul worth keeping, or is she willing to break Killian's heart now that it's well and truly hers?"

Wild Love by Elsie Silver: I rated this book 4.5/5 stars and finished it on March 6th. This is the first book in the Rose Hill series and follows Ford and Rosie.

"She's been driving him wild for years . . . the good kind of wild. The kind of wild that comes with wanting your best friend's little sister and knowing you can't have her. Forbes may have labeled Ford Grant the World's Hottest Billionaire, but all he cares about is escaping the press and opening a recording studio in gorgeous small town Rose Hill. Something that comes to a screeching halt when he ends up face-to-face with a young girl who claims he's her biological father. Now, he spends his days balancing business with parenting a sullen twelve-year-old, all while trying desperately to keep his hands the hell off his best friend's sister, Rosie Belmont. After living in the city, Rosie came blasting back into town like a storm. Beautiful, messy, and chaotic. And one wide-eyed, desperate plea for a job is all it takes for Ford to hire her. He vows to keep her at arm's length. Tries to stick to scowls and grumpy one-liners. But with her, verbal sparring is a type of foreplay―friction that soon turns to blistering heat. Ford knows damn well he shouldn't cross this line. But shouldn't and can't are two very different things. And the only thing he truly can't do is resist her."

A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena: I rated this book 5/5 stars and finished it on March 9th.

"Karen and Tom Krupp are happy—they’ve got a lovely home in upstate New York, they’re practically newlyweds, and they have no kids to interrupt their comfortable life together. But one day, Tom returns home to find Karen has vanished—her car’s gone and it seems she left in a rush. She even left her purse—complete with phone and ID—behind. There's a knock on the door—the police are there to take Tom to the hospital where his wife has been admitted. She had a car accident, and lost control as she sped through the worst part of town. The accident has left Karen with a concussion and a few scrapes. Still, she’s mostly okay—except that she can’t remember what she was doing or where she was when she crashed. The cops think her memory loss is highly convenient, and they suspect she was up to no good. Karen returns home with Tom, determined to heal and move on with her life. Then she realizes something’s been moved. Something’s not quite right. Someone’s been in her house. And the police won't stop asking questions. Because in this house, everyone’s a stranger. Everyone has something they’d rather keep hidden. Something they might even kill to keep quiet."

Wild Eyes by Elsie Silver: I rated this book 5/5 stars and finished it on March 13th. This is the second book in the Rose Hill series and follows West and Skylar. This is my favorite book in the series so far. I loved West and Skylar so much, I thought they had such great chemistry together and I loved seeing Skylar's relationship with his kids grow over the course of the book too. I think the reason why I liked this book so much was because I resonated with Skylar a little bit and her being a singer and then stepping out of the spotlight and just being a normal person. I think that really hit hard for me and I just loved it. I wish their book had been 500 pages longer honestly.

"A rugged mountain town seemed like the perfect escape from a life in shambles. But on day one I ran full tilt into the world’s hottest single dad and now all my plans are ruined. As a chart-topping country singer with a recent streak of bad press it’s hard to find any peace. But I find it in Rose Hill. With a little boy and a little girl who steal my heart just as thoroughly as their dad. Weston Belmont. The man is a shameless flirt. He oozes confidence and masculinity in a way that’s downright distracting. And in bed? He’s addictive. Everything with him is wild and impulsive and I’m desperate to regain some control. But no one has supported me like West does. And no one has ever made me feel as loved as he does either. So, while my brain says settling down with a small-town horse trainer is impossible… my heart says I’m right where I belong. Still, my life as a celebrity haunts me. It has the power to pull us apart. I can see in his eyes that wants me to stay. And I want that too. But I know better than anyone that we don’t always get what we want."

Wild Side by Elsie Silver: I rated this book 4.75/5 stars and finished it on March 20th. This is the third book in the Rose Hill series and follows Rhys and Tabby. I loved this! I thought it was great, and I had been looking forward to it since reading Wild Love earlier this year. I thought it was really well-written, and I loved Rhys and Tabby both together and separately. The only reason why I didn't give it 5 stars is simply because I didn't get five-star feelings from it. I'm excited about Wild Card in September though; I know it's gonna be fantastic.

"I’d always dreamed of my wedding day. But not like this. Not looking into the eyes of the man who betrayed me. But when my nephew’s guardianship is contested, I decide I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him in Rose Hill. Even if it means marrying the enemy. Rhys Dupris. A man who is secretive, broody, and completely infuriating. A man whose work takes him away for weeks on end and brings him back covered in mysterious bruises—ones he won’t talk about. In fact, we barely talk at all. Which would be fine, except when he’s not talking, he’s staring. And the way he looks at me is borderline indecent. The tension between us has always been palpable. But living under the same roof is a dangerous temptation. I swore I would never forgive him. But that was before I knew the man behind the mask. The one who’s fierce and protective. The one who’s gentle and patient. The one who shows up for us when we need him most. He’s not at all who I thought he was. And that makes hating my husband so much harder… and loving him just a little too easy."

Scythe and Sparrow by Brynne Weaver: I rated this book 3.5/5 stars and finished it on March 29th. This is the third and final book in the Ruinous Love trilogy and follows Fionn and Rose. I was expecting a lot from this because I loved Butcher and Blackbird, but I didn't like Leather and Lark as much as I thought I would. I think this disappointed me a little bit, but it was still a great time. The only thing I didn't like were the epilogues at the end; I feel like that just completely ruined the story for me, so I just skipped them. Other than that, I think it was good. I think the second epilogue could potentially set up for a spinoff, but we'll see what the author does. If you're thinking about reading this trilogy, I'd definitely say to just read the first one.

"Murder. Mayhem. And spice. Doctor Fionn Kane is running from a broken heart, one he hopes to mend in small-town Nebraska, far away from his almost-fiance and his derailed surgical career. It's a simpler head down, hard work, and absolutely no romantic relationships. He wants none of the circus he left behind in Boston. But then the real circus finds him. Motorcycle performer Rose Evans has spent a decade on the road with the Silveria Circus, and it suits her just fine, especially when she has the urge to indulge in a little murder when she's not in the spotlight. But when a kill goes awry and she ends up with an injured leg, Rose finds herself stuck in Nebraska, at the home of the adorably nerdy town doctor. The problem is, not every broken heart can be sewn back together. . . And the longer you stay in one place, the more likely your ghosts are to catch up."

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So, that's it! I read a whopping 20 books in the first three months of 2025! I feel like that's not a lot for me, so hopefully, it picks up as the year goes on, but we'll see. That's all I have for now. Until next time, I'll see you at the end of June!