The Novel Navigator

2025 has been a year filled with so many great books (and some of the worst ones yet). Not only have I had the chance to dive into beautiful worlds, I’ve also improved my own world by starting a smut club with an amazing group of lady friends that continues to grow, starting a book blog (heyyyyyy) and starting to foster puppies! While the puppies have nothing to do with reading, it’s still one of the best things of 2025 and a dream of mine. However, if we’re strictly talking books, I’ve read 82 (lower that years past but still very solid) which included some of my all time obsession level favorites – Dire Bound, Shield of Sparrows, Quicksilver and Brimstone. Speaking of favorites, I am crazy lucky to be ending the year on a high with a December filled with only 9s and 10s that happen to be of completely different sub-genres – contemporary, fantasy, sports, romantasy, monster(smut)! ALSO if we’re looking at stats, only 7 of my 82 have been not that great and that’s 8.5% which is honestly amazing if you think about it! I’m sure there will be one last book to add before the year comes to a close in a couple of days; if you’re curious, check out my Read With Me post and then pop back over here in the new year for a rating.

I hope you have had a great year filled with love and beautiful fictional worlds. If you’ve read any of the books below, I hope we shared some favorites and if you’ve yet to read them, I hope you get a chance to and enjoy them as much as I did!

I don’t have super high standards…. give me vibes, story, smut, whatever and I’m in and having a good time! If it makes me feel something, great! If its something happy, if I laugh out loud, if I’m cackling, if my heart strings are being pulled, if I CRY, if I’m on the edge of my seat… then it’s likely I’ll be rating it 9 or 10 out of 10. Here’s a list of the books I read this year from December down to January and the ratings I gave them!

Face Off, Chelsea Curto – 10/10

Morning Glory Milking Farm, C.M. Nascosta – 9/10

Obsidian, K.F. Breene – 10/10

Wild Card, Elsie Silver – 9/10

Dire Bound, Sable Sorensen – 10/10

Bloody Black, Rhiannon Hargadon – 6/10

Broken Ties, J Bree – 10/10

The Proposal Play, Lauren Blakely – 8/10

Brimstone, Callie Hart – 10/10

Trick Shot, Kayla Grosse – 10/10

The Reaper, Melissa K. Roehrich – 9/10

Unrelenting Winds, Melissa K. Roehrich – 9/10

Pretty Pink Poison, Shain Rose – 5/10

Bonds of Hercules, Jasmine Mas – 10/10

Breathe with Me, Becka Mack – 10/10

Magic Fury, Meg Xuemei X – 2/10

Magic Secret, Meg Xuemei X – 2/10

Magic Trials, Meg Xuemei X – 2/10

Secret Haven, Catherine Cowles – 10/10

The Pucking Wrong Man, C.R. Jane – 8/10

The Pucking Wrong Date, C.R. Jane – 8/10

Rising Reign, Tessa Hale – 8/10

Eclipsed Empire, Tessa Hale – 8/10

Crescent Kingdom, Tessa Hale – 8/10

Apprentice to the Villain, Hannah Nicole Maehrer – 10/10

Tourist Season, Brynne Weaver – 10/10

Magical Midlife Rescue, K.F. Breene – 10/10

The Unseen, Ali Roberts – 7/10

Lady of Starfire, Melissa K. Roehrich – 10/10

Lady of Embers, Melissa K. Roehrich – 10/10

Lady of Ashes, Melissa K. Roehrich – 10/10

Lady of Shadows, Melissa K. Roehrich – 10/10

Lady of Darkness, Melissa K. Roehrich – 10/10

Love & Other Killers, Brynne Weaver – 9/10

Gloves Off, Stephanie Archer – 10/10

Chasing Shelter, Catherine Cowles – 10/10

Knight of the Goddess, Briar Boleyn – 7/10

Empress of the Fae, Briar Boleyn – 7/10

Court of Claws, Briar Boleyn – 7/10

Queen of Roses, Briar Boleyn – 7/10

Bourbon & Proof, Victoria Wilder – 10/10

Blood Wolf, Leigh Kelsey – 5/10

Killer Crescent, Leigh Kelsey – 5/10

Caught Up, Navessa Allen – 10/10

Chasing the Wild, Elliot Rose – 4/10

Shield of Sparrows, Denver Perry – 10/10

The Romance Line, Lauren Blakely – 7/10

The Boyfriend Goal, Lauren Blakely – 7/10

Ruthless Demon King, Nikki St. Crowe – 6/10

Vengeful Demon King, Nikki St. Crowe – 6/10

Sinful Demon King, Nikki St. Crowe – 6/10

Blackmailing Belle, Holly Roberds – 8/10

Lights Out, Navessa Allen – 10/10

Assistant to the Villain, Hannah Nicole Maehrer – 10/10

Divine Fate, Morgan B Lee – 10/10

Lady of the Lake, C.N. Crawford & Alex Rivers – 10/10

Credence, Penelop Douglas – 1/10

In Good Company, Kat Singleton – 7/10

Wolf’s Pack, Auryn Hadley – 9/10

Wolf’s Call, Auryn Hadley – 9/10

Wolf’s Bane, Auryn Hadley – 9/10

The Bond that Burns, Briar Boleyn – 4/10

Beautiful Exile, Catherine Cowles – 10/10

The Charlie Method, Elle Kennedy – 10/10

On Wings of Blood, Briar Boleyn – 4/10

Wild Side, Elsie Silver – 9/10

Magic and Medicine, Olena Nikitin – 6/10

Scythe & Sparrow, Brynne Weaver – 10/10

Toxic, Nicole Blanchard – 0/10

Promised in Blood, Sadie Kincaid – 3/10

Forged in Blood, Sadie Kincaid – 3/10

A False Start, Elsie Silver – 8/10

Demon’s Bride, Leigh Miller – 4/10

The Front Runner, Elsie Silver – 8/10

Onyx Storm, Rebecca Yarros – 10/10

The Pucking Wrong Guy, C.R. Jane – 8/10

Quicksilver, Callie Hart – 10/10

A Photo Finish, Elsie Silver – 8/10

Off to the Races, Elsie Silver – 8/10

Shards of Stasis, Mel Harding-Shaw – 5/10

City of Souls, Mel Harding-Shaw – 5/10