Game Changer by Rachel Reid is the first book in the series that contains Heated Rivalry, the hit show about two hockey players and their secret romance. Like many romance series, each book is about a different couple, so Game Changer is not about the couple in the show. However, I picked it up because of the show's popularity and I needed an easy escape from the news cycle. 

Game Changer is about smoothie store employee Kip who meets hockey hot shot Scott when the later buys a smoothie from him. Though they hit it off, Scott is closeted and they keep their romance private. However, Kip doesn't enjoy being hidden and feels like their income gap is uncomfortably large. When it comes down to choosing his public persona or choosing love, Scott must make a choice that could change hockey forever.

I liked that this story was easy to follow. I was reading it while sleep deprived, often in 30 minute chunks, and usually between 12am and 6am so I really needed cotton candy from a book, and this one delivered. I was able to follow the events on very little sleep.

Now, keep in mind my reading schedule mentioned earlier. I struggled with the POV because it felt like it waffled easily when it was the other's chapter. I will admit maybe that's the sleep deprivation talking. However, something that was not due to my sleep schedule was a lack of setting, description, and internalization that led to large sections feeling like script being delivered to a white room. The opposite problem occurred during the sex scenes, which felt like pages of only description, which my exhausted brain could not focus on.

This book is for you if you binged Heated Rivalry, are seeking gay hockey romance, or like the millionaire boyfriend trope. It's not for you if you want closed door romance, a balance of dialog/description, or if you aren't in the headspace to read about a closeted person struggling with how to come out.


Have you read any books in the Game Changers (aka Heated Rivalry) series? Which one is the one you recommend to others? Let's discuss in the comments!

This Will Be Fun by E.B. Asher (a pen name for two authors who write together) was on sale at a local indie book store, so I decided to grab it. I'd read the premise before and liked several aspects and who can say no to a book sale?

This Will Be Fun follows three former heroes ten years after they saved the kingdom from an evil army. Now in their thirties and all struggling to cope with the sacrifices they made ten years ago, they haven't spoken since their fateful victory. However, with the princess they saved now being queen and about to marry, all three are expected at the wedding. Think high school reunion with higher stakes. However, each of the three has reasons not to go, and reasons they must. If only they could get to the wedding without unexpected adventure.

I liked the premise of the book. Dealing with the aftermath of victory in a fantasy war has been a concept I've liked for a while. As a person in my thirties, I appreciated the characters' ages, and I liked the character growth and internal vs external pressures each character felt.

On the downside, this book wasn't very fun. I know the title was being sarcastic, but I was expecting a few more antics, a little more kicking my feet with glee over the romance. It was actually a bit painful, but perhaps that's because I get really bad second hand embarrassment from books and TV shows.


This book is for you if you like character-forward (vs plot forward) fantasies, if you want older-than-20-something protagonists, and if you're seeking a second chance sapphic romance subplot. It's not for you if you're looking for more satirical or epic style fantasy, if you're prone to second hand embarrassment, or if you are not in the headspace to read about healing after a friend or brother's death.

Have you read This Will Be Fun? What did you think of THAT ending? Let's discuss in the comments!

Gifted and Talented by Olivie Blake caught my eye because I was one of those gifted kids, so when they were gifted with magic and gifted as in expected to succeed but burned out as adults, I had to read it. 

Gifted and Talented follows three siblings in the immediate aftermath of their billionaire father's death. Each is waiting to see who inherited what, particularly their father's magical/technology company. Eldest Meredith followed in her father's footsteps, inventing tech to make people happy, if only her father had invested in it, and if only it worked. Arthur is a young congressman in an open/poly marriage situation that he keeps secret, but not as secret as his unpredictable magic problem. Last is Eilidh, who spent her recent years working directly for her father and pining after her father's administrative assistant. She's a burned out ballerina with a plagues-of-Egypt problem. So, who will inherit their father's company and fortune?

This book was a deep study of these characters, which was an interesting style. I liked the concept of magic and technology melding together as well. I appreciated this book included multi-racial main characters and several different LGBTQ characters.

This book suffered from a pacing problem. I knew the set up was who inherits, but turns out that's the entire premise. Usually a question like that gets you to the second act, then you see what happens from whatever choice was made. This book spent the entire time asking the inheritance question. It didn't delve into the magic system enough for me to enjoy it as a fantasy either. I also was not a huge fan of the semi-omniscient POV chapters sprinkled throughout.

This book is for you if you prefer to have more literary flavor in your speculative novels, if you want a family drama, or if you identify with the burned out gifted kids. It's not for you if you prefer a more fantasy flavored speculative novel, if you want a more epic scope, or if you can't muster the will to care about billionaire inheritance drama in this economy. 


Have you read Gifted and Talented? What about Blake's other books? Let's discuss in the comments!

City of Echoes by Judy I. Lin is a book set in the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe. Unlike other novels in this world, which focused on past avatars Kyoshi, Roku, and Yangchen, this book focuses on a regular person during the time of Aang. Remember Jin from The Tales of Ba Sing Se episode in Season 2? She went on a date with Zuko. Now she has her own book! My husband spotted this book at the store and I bought it instantly. Whoever's marketing these Avatar books needs to step up their game, they're always a surprise for me!

Jin, a refugee in Ba Sing Se, aspires to be a calligrapher, like her grandfather. Her best friend Susu helps run a family bakery and helps keep Jin fed. However, when Susu's family experiences money trouble, she's sold to the government to work as a cultural ambassador. Jin is determined to help pay off Susu's debt to get her back, especially when Susu appears but doesn't recognize her closest friend. However, Jin realizes the best paying jobs have some high risks involved.

Obviously I loved this book because of the universe. Jin's story helped deepen and explain some events from the end of Season 2. It was a fun read and I'm hoping there's more in the Avatar universe from this author soon!

Downside? What downside?


This book is for you if you love Avatar: The Last Airbender, especially Season 2 or Ba Sing Se. This book is not for you if you have no idea what Avatar: The Last Airbender is, I just don't think this book explains the universe enough for this to be an entry point. But if you're unfamiliar with the world, dive in with the show, it's a GEM!

Have you read City of Echoes? Which other side characters deserve a novel? Let's discuss in the comments!

It's the end of the year! Which means it's time to check in on my 2025 goals. How'd I do? 
READING GOALS

1) Read my physical TBR
Achieved! I read my TBR and added to it!

2) Find comparison titles for my next book
I'm still on the hunt for the perfect comps, and maybe they're my new TBR additions. 

3) Beat Last Year's Pages Read
In 2024 I read 24,133 pages, but this year I only hit 12,905. I know what happened, and I don't regret how I needed to re-prioritize. But I still enjoyed so many books this year!

4) Keep up with podcast reading
Achieved!

WRITING GOALS

1) Keep sending queries until my list runs out or I get an agent
Still sending queries for my current project.

2)  Finish the secret collaboration project
We have a draft!

3) Finish the draft of my next novel
This draft isn't quite done yet, but I did manage to get into Act 3.


So overall, a mixed bag. And that's okay! Writing is a marathon and reading is for fun -- neither is a contest!

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett is the first of the Shadow of Leviathan series which so far also includes A Drop of Corruption, and will continue. It was pitched to me by a friend who loved the Holmes and Watson vibes of the mystery in a secondary fantasy setting. 

This book follows Din, a magically enhanced assistant to a famed detective, Ana Dolabra. Din can engrave memories into himself perfectly, ideal to walk through a murder scene such as the one at the opening, where a tree has sprouted out of a very important official, killing him. Ana is as eccentric as the Holmes she's compared to, often wearing a blindfold and staying home as often as she can, though when the mystery widens, she consents to travel. Of course, this world is dealing with monsters who appear from the sea (Godzilla meets Eldritch) and that gets in the way of the murder investigation.

This book has a fascinating fantasy world, and you really need to be a fantasy reader to enjoy that element. I see how this series is going to expand easily to more stories in this world. The characters of Din and Ana were both complex and interesting, and people you could root for. I'll probably read book two.

On the downside, the struggle with a murder via magic is that every element of the magic system has to get explained, otherwise the reader who wants to solve the mystery can't do so, or is only fed enough information to solve the mystery, so it becomes too obvious. I think this book erred on the side of the first issue, with a lot more information than we might have needed. As a fantasy lover, I didn't mind so much, but I know a mystery reader who was overwhelmed.


This book is for you if you love understanding magic systems, love a mystery but don't need to solve it before the characters in order to enjoy it, and are looking for a Holmes-Watson type dynamic. It's not for you if you prefer traditional mysteries where you expect to solve it before the characters, if you don't get into fantasy world building or magic systems, or if you prefer a cozier/more relatable detective instead of a genius. 

Have you read The Tainted Cup? How did you feel about the balance of magic and mystery? What did you think of the title by the end? Let's discuss in the comments!

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs was on all sorts of best fantasy lists for 2023. I picked it up in the hopes it might be a good comp for my book, although it ended up not being what I expected at all. 

As the title suggests, the book is about two sisters, Esther and Joanna. They were raised among a collection of magical books, which can enact spells if read by Joanna, but not Esther. Joanna inherited the job of protecting the books, while Esther became a nomad and starts the book in working in Antarctica. However, Esther begins to notice strange events around the research site, which she suspects is magic. Someone else must have magical books, and it seems they want the sisters' collection as well. And will do anything to get it.

This book had interesting settings, such as Antarctica, and even the more mundane locales had a clear sense of place and atmosphere. I liked the tension in the sisters' relationship, which felt organic.

Unfortunately, this book really struggled to keep my attention. I suspect it was a pacing issue; it felt like everything too far too long to get going.


Overall, this book is for you if you want a sister-focused fantasy, a sapphic subplot, or a book-based magic system. It may not be for you if you prefer faster paced stories, more epic-scale fantasy, or if you're not in the headspace to read a book where the characters' father recently died.

Have you read Ink Blood Sister Scribe? What did you think? Let's discuss in the comments!

The Kiss Countdown by Etta Easton is a romcom arguably in the STEM romance subgenre. I picked it up as a palate cleanser after some fantasies I read felt like they were all hitting the same note. Since its main trope is fake dating, a trope I'm trying to use, it doubled as research. 

Amerie is a struggling event planner, recently single and about to be homeless. When she runs into her ex with his impressive new girlfriend, she basically grabs the nearest stranger and pretends he'd her new beaux. Somehow that worked out to be Vincent, an astronaut. He's open to the rouse if its a two way street, his overbearing family wants him to be in a relationship before he leaves on a mission to orbit. In exchange, Amerie can live in his house rent-free, even while he's in space, and put that money toward her business instead. But like any good fake dating scenario, the lines begin to blur.

This book was exactly as advertised, a romcom, a character who worked in STEM, The romance was fairly sweet, not too chaste and not too erotic. It was the palate cleanser I was looking for. 

On the downside, there was a touch of the miscommunication trope, after all there was no reason the characters couldn't actually date. I had also hoped for both characters to work in STEM, but that's not really a strike against the book, that's more of me not paying attention as I shopped.


This book is for you if you're looking for a nice popcorn romcom, if you want a love interest in science, or if you're a lover of the fake dating trope. This book is not for you if you're looking for high spice romance, a firmly STEM romance, or if the miscommunication trope is a no-go for you. 

Have you read The Kiss Countdown? What about Easton's other book, The Love Simulation? Let's discuss in the comments!

I read a lot less in 2025 than I wanted. However, I still managed to read 30 books, over half of which were fantasy. Despite not making my page count goal (to beat least year), I'm happy that I enjoyed so many books.

Have you read any of the same books that I read this year? Which was your favorite? Let's discuss in the comments!

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen was recommended to me by a writing friend. It's a little known romantasy with companion books set in the same world: The Undermining of Twyla and Frank and The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam. While there aren't awards pouring in (a crime!) the book is utterly charming. 

Hart works as pretty much a zombie hunter/guard of the zombie zone, whose job is to prevent the zombies from getting to the general public. Mercy runs her father's mortuary, although isn't given the credit and a competitor is trying to shut them out of the market. Hart often brings zombie bodies to Mercy, but the two had a miscommunication early and haven't gotten along since. When Hart writes and anonymous letter to a friend, the magic post brings it to Mercy, and they begin an anonymous pen pal exchange. But when Hart's new apprentice gets involved and more zombies than ever are running amok, Hart and Mercy can't help but put aside their issues and admit there might be more going on than they thought. 

I liked Hart and Mercy as stand alone characters, each going through more than just falling in love. The world was interesting but not so intricate or busy that the romantic vibe was lost. It was cozy as in not world-ending in scope but had meat to the bones of the plot. The romance felt earned and deep.

On the downside, the bad blood between then began as a misunderstanding, which is one of my least favorite tropes to set up dislike or tension. But maybe I'm just a talker.


This book is for you if you enjoyed the secret-identity pen pal romance of Divine Rivals, the cozier world building of The Phoenix Keeper, and if you enjoy zombies minus the gore. This book is not for you if you're looking for a horror-genre zombie book, if you're looking for epic fantasy, or if you want a hard magic system.

I'm probably going to read the other two books in this world. Have you read them all? Who's your favorite couple of the three? Let's discuss in the comments.