Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: April 2025

May 1, 2025April 29, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

New look who this?

I feel like this month got wildly out of hand. I even had MULTIPLE two star books sooooo that was fun. Anywho, here’s the list!

Debt of My Soul by K.P. Haven
The Ragpicker King (The Chronicles of Castellane #2) by Cassandra Clare
[ALC] Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
[ALC/ARC] The Wind Weaver (Reign of Remnants #1) by Julie Johnson
Clean Out of Luck (Only Magic in the Building) by Carina Taylor
Out with the Tide (Never Harbor #2) by Julie Olivia
[ALC] The Love Haters by Katherine Center
Direbound (The Wolves of Ruin #1) by Sable Sorensen
[ARC] The Haven, the Hallow, & the Highborn (Roots of Magic Novella) by Jessa Grey
Daisy Haites (Magnolia Parks Universe #2) by Jessa Hastings
Fearless (The Powerless Trilogy #3) by Lauren Roberts
[ARC] Saving the Mountain Man’s Legacy (Brothers of Sapphire Ranch #8) by Misty M. Beller
[ALC] Enigma by RuNyx
Just Our Luck by Denise Williams
Off the Wall (Only Magic in the Building) by Julie Christianson
[ARC] The Ashfire King (The Sandsea Trilogy #2) by Chelsea Abdullah
The Shadow Bride (The Scarlet Veil #2) by Shelby Mahurin
I Knew He Was Trouble (Sweeter Than Fiction #1) by Amanda Schimmoeller
Swept Away by Beth O’Leary
The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor
A Proper Governess (Hearts of Harewood #2) by Kasey Stockton
The Book That Held Her Heart (The Library Trilogy #3) by Mark Lawrence
Signed, Sealed, and Smitten (Only Magic in the Building) by Melanie Jacobson
The Notorious Virtues (The Notorious Virtues #1) by Alwyn Hamilton
[ARC] Shield of Sparrows (Shield of Sparrows #1) by Devney Perry
Wild and Wrangled (Rebel Blue Ranch #4) by Lyla Sage
Voice of the Ocean by Kelsey Impicciche
[ARC] Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt
The Splendor of Fire (The Hebridean Shield #2) by Ashley Worrell
The Wolf King (Wolf King #1) by Lauren Palphreyman
The Escape Plan (Only Magic in the Building) by Katie Bailey
His Mortal Demise (The Last Bloodcarver #2) by Vanessa Le
Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine
Nightshade (Sorrowsong Duology #1) by Autumn Woods
Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green
[ALC] Jilted by Vi Keeland
[ARC] Every Hour Until Then (Timeless #5) by Gabrielle Meyer
[ALC] The Thrashers by Julie Soto

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Direbound (The Wolves of Ruin #1) by Sable Sorensen

April 29, 2025April 7, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Dark Fantasy Romance
Length: 650 pages
Author: Sable Sorensen
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: February 26th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Only the worthy survive the Bonding Trials. She’ll risk her life—and her heart—to be one of them…

Meryn Cooper has never dreamed of being one of the Bonded, the King’s elite warriors who form mental links with massive, vicious direwolves. She’s made peace with her life scraping by in poverty in the shadows of the castle. But then her younger sister Saela is kidnapped, stolen across the border by the immortal monsters her country has spent centuries fighting.

And Meryn’s world falls apart.

Desperate to cross the front and save her sister, Meryn enlists in the army—only to discover that there are Bonding Trials this year, where all soldiers are forced to risk their lives in an attempt to connect with a direwolf. It’s too late to turn back; Meryn is thrown into the deadly competition against her will.

Now, she’ll need to survive the next four months of training at the castle if she wants a chance of finding Saela. Everything here is a test, from the brutal classes where one mistake means death, to the glittering court parties where every smile hides a knife.

To make things worse, Meryn is bound to a feral direwolf who refuses to communicate. The other trainees would love to spill her common blood. And her gorgeous instructor, Stark Therion, is as malicious as the wolves himself.

Everyone is out to get her—everyone but the dangerously handsome crown prince, Killian Valtiere. But if she loses her heart to him, she may also lose her life.

And the castle is hiding dark secrets…

Fourth Wing meets The Hunger Games in dark action-packed fantasy series, perfect for romantasy fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses , The Serpent & the Wings of Night , When the Moon Hatched and Quicksilver!

GIMME BOOK TWO.

A friend asked me to buddy read this one with her and we both devoured it over the course of a weekend. It was pitched as a fourth wing but with wolves and I gotta say, that actually tracks (but it is not a copycat, do not fear). I loved that this wasn’t a shifter book, the humans bond with wolves in this military-esque fantasy romance that had me locked in.

I love a complicated romantic plot line. I love enjoying the journey of tiny moments and quiet moments, the angry proclamations and the jaw dropping reveals. I got it all here. If you’re reading this without reading the summary, skip it and just go read it!! Trust me!!

Even more surprising was the fact that I was blindsided by a few of the reveals (a few I could see coming, but wasn’t mad about). ANYWAYS, I loved all the twists and turns. There’s a good level of politicking mixed in with action and there’s a ball??? I mean come on, I had to read this book.

The ending left me without breath and begging for the next book. AHHHHHH.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy Romance
Language: strong
Romance: 4-5 open door
Violence: very high
Content warnings: high levels of blood/gore/violence, kidnapped children, loss of loved ones, murder

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Clean Out of Luck (Only Magic in the Building) by Carina Taylor

April 24, 2025April 4, 2025 GoodeyReads3 Comments

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance + Magical Realism
Length: 264 pages
Author: Carina Taylor
Publisher: Lit and Write LLC
Release Date: April 2nd, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Six months to find love. One overprotective menace (who’s way too handsome for his own good). And a building that might have the final say.

Scarlett Fernsby holds the world record for shortest relationships. Mostly thanks to overprotective parents and an interfering brother, every attempt at dating has been a disaster.

When her whole family is out of town for six glorious months, she knows it’s time to find love.

What she didn’t count on was Wade Hendrix. Her older brother’s best friend.

He’s even worse than her brother. He’s soon crashing every date of hers, and Scarlett’s beginning to wonder if he’s made it his life’s mission to annoy her.

Wade is a firefighter with a hero complex; she doesn’t want to be his pity problem. Especially when she’s starting to misinterpret those fiery looks of his.

Scarlett doesn’t know what to do with this newfound attraction to him, and though she’d like to scrub him out of her life, the building she lives in has a very different plan.

Wade Hendrix has a problem. His best friend asked him to keep an eye on his little sister. But Wade has trouble keeping his eyes off of her.

What starts out as a favor for his best friend soon turns into pure torture: watching Scarlett date other men right in front of him.

Wade would love to tell her how he feels—but he knows she doesn’t feel the same.

Or does she?

After an especially disastrous date that Wade ruins—and with the help of a very special mop that likes to grant wishes—Scarlett tells Wade that he owes her a goodnight kiss.

But one kiss isn’t enough. Wade wants forever. Now he just has to convince Scarlett that just maybe, love has been right in front of her all along.

SO FLIPPIN’ CUTE.

This book just made me happy. I had a giddy little smile on my face because I was smitten with Wade (who’s a firefighter, you can’t resist) and Scarlett. They had insane chemistry and the banter was incredible. It’s cheeky and humorous while also being laced with attraction and heat.

My one small thing is the plot lacked something more. It was basically Scarlett going on a bunch of dates…that’s it. Minus that, I was charmed. There’s many swoony moments and the kissing scenes will light your kindle on fire.

I also loved all of the friendship moments too. I loved the sense of kindness and helpfulness that was woven throughout. It’s a short read and will absolutely brighten your day!!

(And if you’re not a big magical realism fan this book of the series had the least amount so far, the *mop* in question was barely mentioned/used).

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary romance + magical realism
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Content warnings; mentions of a past car accident

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Of Song and Darkness by Jessica Spruill

April 17, 2025March 5, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance Retelling
Length: 297 pages
Author: Jessica Spruill
Publisher: Night Pirate Publishing
Release Date: June 3rd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Poseidon has fallen. The world won’t be far behind. Unless she can stop the rising darkness.

The world beneath the waves is in chaos.

Without Poseidon to hold it at bay, Dark Water is slowly spreading, devouring anything it touches. Even the mighty King Manta has given up hope.

But his daughter hasn’t. Rhea, the siren princess of Aquarius, will do anything to save her world. Even if it means hunting down the mythical Medusa—and partnering with a notorious pirate captain.

Blackheart Kai has more dangerous secrets than Rhea can fathom. He’d rather kill her than help her save her people. She knows he can’t be trusted. But knowing that doesn’t stop her from needing him…or wanting him.

With the survival of the seven seas hanging in the balance, can Rhea and Kai overcome their hatred and work together when it matters most? Or are they destined to share Poseidon’s dark fate?

ENDED AS A MISS.

Alright, I had some high hopes for this one based off of friends reviews and the fact that it’s a closed door adult fantasy (I’m always on the search for good books in this category!). And this book was not BAD, but it missed the mark and took me out of the story enough that I was a bit disappointed by the end.

I thought I was reading a full fantasy book and in my mind that means the world building is completely made up. This book referenced real world continents and locations that took me out of the story when everything else was fantasy. I also thought the romance was too fast for me (as is my struggle with standalone romantasy).

The little mermaid retelling + a handsome pirate idea was great though. I did like that idea and most of the execution worked well. There were some good banter moments and a few tropes I enjoyed seeing. I thought the writing style worked well enough for me, I’m just undecided if I will pick up another book from this author.

Overall audience notes: