January Reads

Some re-reads, new releases, bonus content, fan fiction and more ;)

Feb 21, 2025

Fun fact: I actually ended 2024 with a perfect book count and totally unintentionally! I finished my last book on Dec 31st, so I had a complete book count at the end of the year with no books carrying over into 2025. So it was a totally fresh list for kicking off my 2025 reads. I will say I got lucky with that because the only reason I was able to pull that off was because Shogun is split up into two parts, so I was able to finish part one on Dec 31st and start part two Jan 1st (and still trying to finish it…)

So kicking off January, here are my reads and reviews for the month:

Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1) by Rebecca Yarros
Method: Graphic Audio/Kindle
Rating: 4.25 ⭐️ / 3.25 🌶️

Like many other fantasy romance fans, I picked up Fourth Wing to start my re-read preparing for the release of Onyx Storm. This is my third time reading this book and it’s still a great time! I initially was going to skip a Fourth Wing re-read because I had read it twice already and remembered it more than Iron Flame, but once I started re-reading Iron Flame while my other friends were re-reading Fourth Wing, I missed how much fun Fourth Wing was. Iron Flame is okay as a second book, but it just still doesn’t compare to Fourth Wing, so I went back for a third read for the fun of it. No regrets and loved every page again. Next time I will start my re-read from the beginning just because I love this book so much.
Lesson In Honesty (Club Serenity Series #4) by Kay Elle Parker
Method: Kindle
Rating: 3 ⭐️ / 4.5🌶️
I’ll be honest, I was debating on adding this one to this list, but I promised myself I would be transparent on here, so here is my 100% smutty read for the month. I’ll admit, I’m a sucker for a good smutty read. It’s a fun guilty pleasure, quite literally, leaning more on the pleasure, less on the guilt lol. I know there is a lot of debate out there right now on how to label romances, including the nuances between open-door, closed-door, smut, etc. I plan to eventually write another post giving my opinion and thoughts on the subject but for this post, let’s just say for today, I would place this book 100% in the “smut” category. When I say smut, I mean that everything about the book revolves around sex, including both plot and character development. The plot is based around the FMC sexual exploration with her partner(s) and has several kink/BDSM themes written throughout the story and other side characters.
You might notice that while some people rate the popular romantasy books out there with 4 or 5 🌶️ on the spice scale, I tend to be more conservative on my ratings because of the smut that I read. So when I review a 4-5 🌶️ read, know that my rating will be spicer than everyone’s favorite “put your hands on the headboard” or “my throne, my chair, my woman” (as great as those scenes are).
I’ll admit that this isn’t my favorite smutty book that I’ve read from this author or in general, but I do appreciate that she has written several books with main characters with different kinds of disabilities or suffering from various health disorders. The FMC in this book has hirsutism and psoriasis. Kay Elle Parker also writes many of her books within the BDSM genre and covers various different kinks in all of her books. So while I may not love every book, I do love the author’s inclusivity in her writing into a community that is often misunderstood and shamed on its own.
Iron Flame (The Empyrean #2) by Rebecca Yarros
Method: Graphic Audio/Kindle
Rating: 3.25 ⭐️ / 3 🌶️
Again, this was part of my re-read in preparation for Onyx Storm. Iron Flame isn’t my favorite book in the series and I think will likely be my least favorite when everything is all said and done. I think there is something about second books for me, they just never hold up or are better than the first book or more memorable than the last. The ONLY exception is ACOMAF (obviously) and believe me I was SHOOK at how great that book was for a #2 in a series - even though I would argue ACOSF is my favorite book, I don’t actually consider it part of the main series and more of a full novella. Anyway, yeah Iron Flame is fine. It’s got some great moments but the miscommunication between the main characters took away too much for me and especially now that I have finished Onyx Storm, I much preferred the other two books in the series to this one. Tairn and sassy teen Andarna save this book for me.
Zodiac Academy: Foxy Tales by Caroline Peckham & Suzanne Valenti
Method: Kindle
Rating: 4 ⭐️ / 3 🌶️
I know most people would say their favorite romantasy series is ACOTAR, but I’ll put it out there that Zodiac Academy is my top tier favorite (at least for now, until the ACOTAR series completely ends, I’ll reserve full judgment). Zodiac Academy was the first series I read that scratched that ACOTAR itch and the hangover I had from this series was far worse than any of the SJM series. I’ll admit that I am more of a vibes reader than someone that cares about prose or how well a book is written (I know I’m not the best writer so I don’t judge). The only thing I judge how the book makes me feel and how much I loved it. I’ve read beautifully written books that made me want to rip my eyes out at how mad it made me at how little I enjoyed it for how hyped they were. If you enjoy books for vibes, fantastic character development/arcs, and great plot twist/cliff hangers, then pick up this series ASAP.
This book features bonus content from the series, so it helps mitigate the hangover and gives you that little bit of a fix you’ve been craving since finishing the series, similar to Live and Let Lionel. It’s always fun to revisit characters and scenes from different POVs or get new scenes that feed into the series. I know it’s not a new full book since the series ended but I’ll take anything I can get at this point!
Onyx Storm (The Empyrean #3) by Rebecca Yarros
Method: Audiobook/Kindle
Rating: 4.25 ⭐️ / 2.75 🌶️
The long awaited third book in the Empyrean series finally came out this month! I flexed my schedule to have the day off so I could spend the day reading it. I was a little nervous going into it since as I wrote above, I wasn’t this biggest fan of Iron Flame and wondered if it would continue to decline or if it would improve and pick up the series. I’m happy to say I enjoyed this book far more than Iron Flame! I loved the world expansion we got in this book along with some added inclusion of the side characters (I’m sure it goes without saying by now, everyone is now 100% team Ridoc - and to Rebecca - if anything happens to him, we ride at dawn). I didn’t think the ending of this book could be more of a cliffhanger than Iron Flame, but I was VERY wrong (IYKYK). This book was a rollercoaster and had more of the balance of fun and emotional damage that Fourth Wing gave. I’m already itching for the next in the series and looking forward to re-reading this one for the next in the series. If you want to read my full review (with spoilers) here you go: My Onyx Storm Review.
The Right Thing to Do (Rights & Wrongs #1) by LovesBitca8
Method: Kindle
Rating: 4 ⭐️ / 3.25 🌶️
I have had this fan fiction sitting on my Kindle shelf for a while. Honestly, I think I was so traumatized by Manacled the year before that I just put down all Dramione fan fics. When I saw that SenLinYu’s new book Alchemised (based off the Manacled fan fiction) got a cover/release date and became available for pre-order, it made me want to dive back into the world of Dramione. If you haven’t read my full review of this, read this - My The Right Thing to Do Review. I really loved jumping back in and enjoying this easy fluffy fan fic. I finished reading the next one in the series, All the Wrong Things in February, so you’ll see that next month!
Throne of Secrets (Prince of Sin #2) by Kerri Maniscalco
Method: Audiobook/Kindle
Rating: 3.25 ⭐️ / 3.25 🌶️
This was the last book I finished for the month (and on the last day!) So again, this wasn’t my favorite book in this seres/universe. I enjoyed the first book in this Prince of Sin side series better than this one. I just thought the theme of gluttony and its use in the story could have been better thought out. I also felt that the marriage competition was unnecessary and took too much time of the book and a better subplot could have been written or just taken out to give better development to the other parts of the book. I still enjoyed the book overall, so it earns a 3 but just wouldn’t rate it past a 3.5 and since I liked the last book better I had to bump it down to a 3.25. I still enjoy the series well enough to continue reading the next one. I think because the books in this series are now only giving one book for each prince, its just harder to develop a full story with character growth in one book, instead of a full trilogy like the did for the Kingdom of the Wicked series, which I would rate higher than this series.
(I would give an average of 4 ⭐️ for the Kingdom of the Wicked series in case you were wondering…)

So that wraps up January! If you read any of these I would love to know your thoughts! Feel free to leave a comment or send a message:)

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