Books Read in 2025

 

I set my goal this year at 100 books and I met that goal. Here's a list of the books I read this year.

Books read in 2025

1. Alien King Crashes the Wedding by Becca Brayden

2. Alien's Captive by Tina Moss

3. Anna and the Alien by Honey Phillips

4. Awakened By The Heir by Vilyn DeVine

5. Black And Silver by Gwendolyn Harper

6. Bonded To The Stryxian by Ella Blake

7. Alien With Benefits by Cara Bristol

8. Chosen By The Alien Warrior by Skyla Stone

9. The Captive by Jenny Foster

10. Dark Hope by Christine Feehan

 11. Thunder Game by Christine Feehan

12. The Alien Christmas Rescue by Alina Riley

13. Aziel by Eve Langlais

14. Deal With A Demon by Ami Wright

15. Curvy Girl and The Monster Next Door by Jessa Joy

16. Defying My Wolf by Scarlett West 

17. Descent by Chloe Adler

18. Dragon Chosen by Mac Flynn

19. My Funny Demon Valentine by Aurora Ascher

20. Dragon Cupid's Chase by S.R. Griffith

21. Faerie Marked by Brea Viragh

22. Finding His Mate by Colleen Delaney

23. Haakon: The Drogon Prince by T.J. Quinn

24. Hearts On Fire by Sabrina Wagner

25. Angel of Darkness by Cynthia Eden 

26. Stranger by Cecilia Campos

27. Her Alien Guardian by Adele Yates

28. His Rescued Mate by Delta James

29. Her Dragon To Slay by Julia Mills

30. Arkon by Ava Benton

31. Growling For My Mate by Luna Wilder

32. His Twisted Tail by Melanie James

33. Holidays With Hades by Brenda Trim

34. Indebted To The Vampires by Erin Bedford

35. Wulf's Pack by Jackie May

36. Embers Ignite by Alana Khan and Aria Vale

37. Into The Dark by Reece Barden

38. Jacked Up by Latrexa Nova

39. JoAquin by Charmaine Ross

40. Just Another Love Spell by S.R. Griffith

41. Kai by Luna Hunter

42. Kiran by Kenzie Kelly

43. Kissed By Fire by Kimber White

44. Knight's Salvation by Sherliee Gray 

45. Kyrix by  Kate Stevens

46. Lin's Challenge by Lara Jaye

47. Lost by Ava Benton

48. Lucifer's Daughter by Kel Carpenter

49. The Lycan's Bride by Jenny D

 50. Made For Her Snow Beast by Evangeline Priest

51. Malsum Pass by Kimberly Forrest

52. Marked By The Panther by Zoey Indiana 

53. Master Descallia by Sylvia Black

54. Master Of The Hunt by Lisa Blackwood

55. Cougar Hearts Wolf by V. Vaughn

56. Savage Games by Reece Barden

 57. Hero by Elsa jade

58. Beauty and Fanged Teeth by Julie Catherine

59. Dormeo by Reece Barden

60. Hunter's Moon by J.K. Harper

61. Bear Temptation by Novalee Swan

62. Mercy by Elizabeth Knox

63. The Merman King's Bride by Mona Black

64. Must Love Christmas Cowboys by Diana Palmer and Heather Graham

65. Heartsong by S.E. Wendel 

66. Ancient Warlord by Katie Reus

67. The Minotaur's Motivation by Safia Nyx

68. Fang by Demelza Carlton

69. Alien Mercenary's Heart by Mina Carter

70. An Alien Prince for Thanksgiving By Isla Chiu

71. Demon With Benefits by Aurora Ascher

72. Flint by Eva Kent

 73. Kaden by Mel Teshco 

74. Mismatched by Ava Benton

75. Monster at the Haunt by S.R. Griffith

76. A Monster's Treasure by Lynnea Lee

77. Montana Sanctuary by Josie Jade

78. Moonlight Reborn by Mina Hunter

79. My Alien Cellmate by Anna Svoboda

80. Mated To The Mountain Bear by Reece Barden

81. The Pyres of Vengeance by N.C. Koussis

82. My Alien Protector by C.A. Varian

83. My Guardian Demon by A.D Craig

84. Alien Spare by Cara Bristol

85. The Naga Hunters Lost mate by Robin O'connor

86. The Naga Outcasts Unwanted Mate by Robin O'connor

87. The 5 Time Rejected Gamma & The Lycan King by Stina's Pen

88. Alexiares by N.J. Walters

89. Nailing The Alien by Ava Ross

90. Nosedive by Torri Heat

91. Wild Games by Reece Barden

92. Of Thorns and Ice by Kenzie Skye

93. Pretty Heart by Hope Ford

94. Psy by Cara Bristol

95. Quarantined With The Beast by C. Sunrise

96. Queen Takes Knights by Joely Sue Burkhart

97. Rage by Ava Benton

98. Raised To Kill by Evangeline Anderson

99. Ransom's Revenge by Julie K. Cohen

100. Rattled by Sakura Black

Best Moments Of 2025

 

In January I bought a new blouse, but the really exciting thing for me was the fact that instead of buying a 5X size like I had been wearing for about 20 years, I was able to buy a 3X and it fit! I have posted a couple of times this year that I've lost 80 Lbs this year. I've got more to go until I'm happy but this was a really big deal for me. 

In February we had this beautiful fiery sunset. 

In March my brother came for a visit. This is me and my brother. I'm 2 years older than him.

In April I used my new food processor and made tangerine sorbet for the first time. This came out so good and was great during the Summer months. 

In May my daughter got me these beautiful flowers as part of my Mother's Day present. 

In June My daughter's friend fly here for her birthday. While they were out celebrating my daughter and her friend brought me fancy donuts from Saint Honore. They were so good!

In June my daughter and I went out for Ice Cream. 

In July My daughter, grandson, grandson's father, my daughter's best friend and her girlfriend who both  moved into my courtyard this year set fireworks off for the 4th of July. But with my camera it just looked like an explosion of light. lol I stayed inside with Falcor so he wouldn't be scared and watched from my bedroom window. Falcor wasn't too scared he just barked every time there was a boom anywhere in the neighborhood. 

In August my daughter and I put together 3 new shelving units and painted the kitchen a dark green. And she bought me a new desk. We have so much more shelving space now. 

In September my daughter started decorating for Halloween. 

In October we did a bunch of Halloween baking. This was pudding cups with pumpkin marshmallows and crushed Oreos that my grandson is holding. 

In November we had this fiery sunset. It's one of the best photos I've ever taken. 

In December we decorated for Christmas.

Falcor Santa

Apartment Life #401

 

This is a weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that have gone on in and around my apartment complex and in my neighborhood in the past 27 years that I've lived here and people keep telling me I should write a book. But instead of a book, I've decided to share the crazy things that have happened in and around my apartment complex in the last 27 years here in a weekly blog post.

It was quiet this week. Nothing to report. 

Can you believe it? It's a Christmas miracle! lol 

The high this week was 65F/18C

The low this week was 46F/7C

So that's it for this week's Apartment Hell  Life! Be sure to come back next week for more.

Merry Christmas to all that Celebrate

 

Book Review: Rattled by Sakura Black

 

Book Description

What if you were Selected?

Personally, I’ve never had much of an issue with the fae. Sure, I was as surprised as any lass when they burst into our world over a decade ago, but every race has its pricks, us humans included.

When the fae leave their calling card in my bed, I’ve got no choice but to go on the run, fleeing into the vast Scottish Highlands. I’d been Selected, and nobody was going to bat an eyelash when the fae came for me.

Where are they taking us and for what? It’s anybody’s guess, but if I’d won a luxury cruise with topless hotties serving me aged scotch, then why would they go to such lengths to hide any information?

Hard pass on the kidnapping, thanks.

My Review

Ever since the fae came into this world over a decade ago, they pick people to go with them and they are never seen again. Kelsea gets chosen but she's not going quietly so she runs. She has no idea why the fae want her or why but she's not leaving her life up to them, no way. 

Rattle, a royal hunter is dispatched to hunt her down and bring her back. But Rattle ends up falling for her and he's not the only one. Rattle is a snake shifter and he ends up being a big softie when it comes to her. 

Kelsea has been in the Military so she's no wilting flower and can give as good as she gets, let me tell you. I love a fierce female character and she is that. 

I liked this story but it ends on a cliffhanger and didn't like that. That cover is terrible too. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

Thursday night I took pictures of the sunset as the sun went down. This was the first one. 

I moved further down my alley so the sound wall wasn't in the way and kept taking pictures as the colors changed. 

It was another fiery sunset.

Sunday morning I was up at 6am and caught this beautiful sunrise.

Book Review: Ransom's Revenge by Julie K. Cohen

 

Book Description

He can’t trust her, but he will claim her.

Elise roams free in the anti-shifter research lab.

For weeks, she walked by Ransom’s cage, ignoring him.

Then she frees him,

But she’s reluctant to escape.

Ransom won’t leave her behind,

She’s shifter, and shifters don’t abandon shifters.

There’s more to this brave female than Ransom first realized.

Ransom wants to find his pack.

Elise wants to return to the anti-shifter research lab.

Something has to give.

It won’t be Ransom...

My Review

The book starts with Ransom and Elise already kidnapped and held against their will in a lab by the World Shifter Suppressor Organization (WSSO) who don't like that shifters live among humans and want to get rid of them. So they kidnap them and do horrible experiments on them. Ransom and Elise are two shifters who are being held against their will. 

Ransom knows that Elise is a shifter but she has free reign of the facility and does nothing to rescue him when he's being tortured so he doesn't trust her at all until they do finally escape and he finds out that she wasn't there of her own free will or helping them at all. They were experimenting on her too, they just knew she couldn't escape. 

But they didn't expect another shifter to be helping her and so they get away. Now the people from the lab are after them both and they are in danger. Ransom still isn't completely sure he can trust Elise but he can't let her go because she's his fated mate. 

The people at the lab did something to Elise so that she's kinda broken and has a hard time reaching her wolf or shifting now. But with Ransom's help and the help of her new pack, she's going to figure out a way not to let the lab win and not be so broken. 

Ransom is all alpha when he meets his mate and he's not letting anyone get in his way now that he's found her. He was a great character. I really like how these two came together to help each other and be there for each other when they had problems. I can't wait to read more of this series. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

*All pictures this week are courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #400

 

This is a weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that have gone on in and around my apartment complex and in my neighborhood in the past 27 years that I've lived here and people keep telling me I should write a book. But instead of a book, I've decided to share the crazy things that have happened in and around my apartment complex in the last 27 years here in a weekly blog post.

Last year in this post on my blog I mentioned that 2 ladies had been living out of their U-Haul for a couple of months and just moving it to different areas of my neighborhood. That went on for over a year.

Sunday morning I see the same women and U-Haul down the street and the police have arrested the women and are towing away the U-Haul. If you are trying to stay away from the cops, this is the wrong neighborhood to be in!

---

On Monday December 1st, I put in a work order for my sink that was leaking. On Monday December 15th, I sent an email to the office that even though it says the work order was completed, no one ever came to look at my sink and it was still leaking. She sent a response that she would notify maintenance. On Wednesday December 17th, I saw the apartment manager in the office and asked her when maintenance might be able to come and fix the leak. Maintenance finally came out that day and fixed it. Only took almost 3 weeks. lol 

---

Monday at 4am the police were in my courtyard at the apartment 2 doors away. They were here for quite a while. I found out a couple of days later that the girlfriend got jealous of her boyfriend just talking with another woman and she came after him with a knife. His hand was cut and he had to get stitches. This same woman slashed their car tires (A car they both used) when she got jealous a couple of weeks ago as well. She got arrested and he went to the ER to get stitches.

---

Tuesday morning I saw a guy who lives across the street in the corner apartment getting into the ambulance. His face was all swollen and bloody. A bunch of the homeless people were outside as well as "Helper/Sean" (The guy who helps the elderly people across the street). I asked Sean if he knew what happened and one of the homeless guys spoke up and said his buddy had been sitting on the stairs where the beat up guy lives. Beat up guy asked his buddy to leave because he was about to feed the stray cats (He feeds the cats a couple of times a day) and he didn't want "His Buddy" to scare the cats away. Well, his buddy didn't want to leave and beat up guy tried pushing his buddy away from him. Beat up guy took a swing at his buddy and all hell broke loose. So "His Buddy" beat the hell out of beat up guy and then he left. Beat up guy called 911 and an ambulance showed up but the police never did. I don't know if he didn't press charges or what. Beat up guy went to the ER. 

---

This is also my 400th Apartment Life post. Who knew I would have so much to post about each week when I started these posts. 

The high this week was 72F/22C

The low this week was 47F/8C

So that's it for this week's Apartment Hell  Life! Be sure to come back next week for more.

Saturday Vittles- More Holiday Desserts

 

My daughter was given a large turkey from her work so we decided to make that one day and had my grandson, his father, my daughter's best friend and her girlfriend come over for dinner. I made a bunch of food and an Eclair cake. I made the Peanut Butter cookies a few days later. 

On January 1st, my daughter and I are going back on the low carb, low calories diet again so there won't be anymore dessert posts. lol I'll get back to the 'healthy' recipes. But it's still holiday time so here are my recipes for these sweet treats. 

Peanut Butter Cookies

 Recipe:

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. Vanilla

Blend all ingredients, roll into small balls and press criss cross marks into batter. Batter will not spread so press them down to the thickness you want them.

Bake for 15 minutes at 325F degrees.

You can double the recipe if you want to make a dozen cookies like I did. 

--

Eclair Cake

You will need:

2 boxes Instant vanilla pudding mix- make as directed

8 ounces cool whip

1 box of graham crackers

Make vanilla pudding, stir in cool whip. 

The pan should be big enough so that 7 whole Graham Crackers can fit flat for each layer.

Lay one layer of graham crackers down, spread a layer of pudding mixture. Another layer of graham crackers and more pudding. Keep making layers until you run out of the pudding mixture. I crumbled a bit of Graham Crackers and sprinkled it on top. 

Refrigerate 24 hours and serve. 

The Graham Crackers will soften the longer it sits in the refrigerator, but 24 hours seems to be long enough. 

Have you ever made either of these?

Freebie Friday!

 

Welcome to another weekly Freebie Friday post, where I tell you what free samples and full-sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a "Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things.  I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I received: 

5 Perfume samples from Macy's. 

They all smelled really good. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: Raised To Kill by Evangeline Anderson

 

Book Description

A Bride ordered to kill her Husband

Marries a Kindred Warrior who loves her.

Will she fulfill her mission to kill him?

Or lose her heart instead?

All her life, Allara Ke'ta'nu has been raised and trained with one purpose in mind--to kill a member of the Kindred High Council and avenge the Blood Feud which has raged between her people, the Q'ess, and the Kindred for generations. But in order to do that, she must first get close enough to kill. And what better way to get close than to marry the enemy?

Brand is a Beast Kindred who has just become a provisional member of the High Council. When the Q'ess announce they will end the Blood Feud with a marriage of one of their maidens to a Kindred warrior, he agrees to take her as a wife, since he is the only unmated member of the Council. What he doesn't expect is to fall in love...

Can Allara hold on to her sense of purpose and do her duty as mandated by her people? Or will she lose her heart to the gentle touch of her new husband?

You'll have to read Raised to Kill to find out...

My Review

Allara has known all her life that she was to marry one of the Kindred. Now the time has come and her new husband is nothing like the cruel, evil man that her aunt told her he would be. In fact, none of the people in her new life are as she thought they would be. She was supposed to avenge her ancestor who supposedly was kidnapped by the Kindred and never seen again. But things have a way of ending in a way that you didn't expect. 

Her aunt and her father raised her but it was mostly her aunt since raising kids is a woman's job in her society. Her aunt was not nice, not loving so Allara wasn't brought up knowing what a loving relationship looked like. But her new husband and his friends and family are completely different than she is used to. 

Brand is a beast Kindred and he is going into this marriage hoping that they will be happy together and will be able to meet in the middle about their differences. Brand doesn't know that Allara took an oath to kill him after they're married and have their wedding night. So when he sees how scared she is to have their wedding night, he assures her that he's not going to make her do anything for at least a month so they can do the courtship rituals and get to know each other better. This plan of his really throws a dagger in her plans to be intimate with him and kill him on their wedding night. But as they slowly get to know each other, Allara starts to feel things for him that she didn't think possible. 

In her society, women are not treated well. Daughters are sold on an auction block when they are marriage age and are taught to do as their husband's tell them to. She's not used to Brand at all and each week a new way of getting to know each other is brought about by him. The more she gets to know Brand, the less she wants to fulfill her oath to her people. She starts to think that they'll never be the wiser if she doesn't kill Brand and she's starts to be ok with that. 

Of course things get really rocky for them and I wasn't sure how they were going to work things out but they do and I loved the ending of this one. The world building was great. We really get to know both cultures while each of their stories unfold. 

The only thing that really bothered me about this story was how Brand would call Allara, "Baby, and Babe" all the time. So many times. That was a little irritating and could have been left out.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Book Review: Rage by Ava Benton

 

Book Description

What’s a mercenary dragon to do when he meets a woman who makes his body surge with an energy he’s never felt before?

Drake’s part of an elite group of dragon mercenaries. He’s a dragon for hire. Tara’s a senator’s daughter who’s been kidnapped and is being kept underground. Until a dragon shows up to rescue her.

A dragon!

Soon, one dragon turns into a baker’s dozen of dragons. And they’re living in a secret compound that’s more like a luxury hotel on the inside.

Then, one fight breaks out in the cafeteria and Tara learns she’s so much more than a kidnap victim. And it’s somehow tied into Drake, a guy that’s beyond hot.

My Review 

Tara is a senator's daughter so when she's kidnapped, she's sure it's so they can blackmail her father. The kidnappers don't talk to her, don't tell her anything but when she hears them talking amongst themselves about how they might have to hurt her, she starts to make a plan to escape.

Drake is a dragon shifter and part of a team of mercenaries that is hired to save Tara. But when Drake opens her door and she smacks him on the head with something she found in her tiny room, not knowing he's there to rescue her, things take a dramatic turn when he has to shift into his dragon form to fly her away from the scene. 

At first Tara doesn't know that Drake is part of the rescue team and she thinks what she saw wasn't real. Drake doesn't understand why he feels so protective of Tara or why he wants to be with her even knowing that dragon shifters aren't allowed to be with humans. There's a huge plot twist that made everything more fun to read about, but I won't spoil that surprise for you. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon

Happy Raturday!

 

*All pictures this week are courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Apartment Life #399

 

This is a weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell  Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that have gone on in and around my apartment complex and in my neighborhood in the past 27 years that I've lived here and people keep telling me I should write a book. But instead of a book, I've decided to share the crazy things that have happened in and around my apartment complex in the last 27 years here in a weekly blog post.

Maintenance has been fixing the pipes around here where in the past we had raw sewage leaking from them. 

They dug out the old ones and are installing the new pipes.

Maintenance was right in front of my window here replacing the pipes. At least hopefully we won't have to deal with the raw sewage problem again.

The fire department showed up at 11PM one night. Their lights were so bright all you can see is the lights from the truck. lol There was no fire and they didn't stay long so I have no idea why they were called. I do know from experience that when someone falls down in their home that you can call for an assist to get help back up from the fire department. I had to do that a couple of times when my late husband was on home hospice and he fell and I couldn't pick him up by myself. So when I see them stay for just a couple of minutes that's what I think it might be. But who knows. 

It was a very quiet week. 

The high this week was 71F/21C

The low this week was 47F/8C

So that's it for this week's Apartment Hell  Life! Be sure to come back next week for more.

Freebie Friday!

 

Welcome to another weekly Freebie Friday post, where I tell you what free samples and full-sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a "Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things.  I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

I cashed out my points on a survey site for a $10 Amazon gift card. 

I'm saving all my Amazon gift cards for Christmas next year. lol That worked out well for me this year so I'm doing it again. 

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Book Review: Queen Takes Knights by Joely Sue Burkhart

 

Book Description

A lost virgin vampire queen. Two vampire knights sworn to protect her. It’s about to get very hot… and bloody…

Ever since her mother was murdered by monsters five years ago, Shara Isador has been on the run. Alone, scared, and exhausted, she’s finally cornered in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Out of hope with nowhere else to turn, she’s ready to end it all when two men come to her rescue.

They say she’s a lost queen descended from Isis, and they’re her Blood, vampire knights sworn to protect her. It all seems like a crazy nightmare, until the alpha offers his blood. Then she realizes she’s never wanted anything more. Except maybe his body… and his friend’s, too.

But they’re not the only ones searching for a lost queen. Shara must learn how to wield her new powers quickly and conquer her fears if she intends to keep them all alive.

My Review

Shara has been on the run ever since her parents were murdered. Her mother had a secret though and she never shared it with her daughter before she died. Now Shara comes face to face with Daire and Alrik who are her vampire knights because she's their vampire queen. They save her from being killed by the monster who's been tracking her for years. The Knights want to become her "Blood", being blooded to a queen means they are loyal only to her and will protect and serve her, when they exchange blood between them they all become more powerful as time goes on. 

Shara isn't sure what to believe at first but everything Alrik and Daire are telling her, seems to make sense in some way. They are all attracted to each other right from the very first touch. She trusts them when her brain is telling her to be wary of them because she's been on her own and running for such a long time. I don't mind insta-love in vampire stories like this when the storyline calls for it and it makes sense. 

There's a lot of vampire and Queen politics going on in the background and Shara has to be brought up to speed as to why she would need to bring more Blood into her nest so she and her Blood aren't absorbed into another Queens nest and maybe killed so there's no competition. 

Now Shara and her Blood have to become more powerful as to stay alive because the other vampire Queens and the vampire council are going to be out to probably kill her because in the end, she's the daughter of Isis and because of that, very powerful. 

The three of them together are really hot, these three fall hard for each other fast. I really liked that. But there's a lot of blood talk because they're vampires. They're biting each other, drinking each other's blood, spilling blood...a lot of blood on these pages. If that bothers you, this might not be the book for you. I liked the book and am looking forward to reading more of this series. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. 

Amazon