**The bells toll and announce the day. I stretch my arms high over my head and breathe in the chilly air of my room, the bundle of blankets keeping me warm. The holiday season is finally here. My tree has been decorated with glass balls and hand-crafted ornaments. I admire the tree sitting beside my shelves and glance at the neatly wrapped gifts beneath. My day’s travels are spent gifting presents to friends and neighbors, and receiving the small tokens they leave for me. I find myself with many a book, excited to add them to my collection.**

I hope you all had a great holiday. I decided to wait to make this post since it was supposed to be up right after Christmas, and I had some family visiting so I didn’t have the time to write something up and post. But I still wanted to do this one because I find it really fun and it’s the last post of 2025! Crazy to think how quickly it went. I got some very exciting books for Christmas, and I can’t wait to share them.

• The Obsession by Natasha Preston

Starting with a highly anticipated 2025 release, we have The Obsession. I love Natasha Preston’s books and have been reading them for several years now. This one is about a girl who seems to have a stalker after several girls are murdered that look like her. I honestly don’t really need to know the premise of a Natasha Preston to know that I’m going to read it. I’m really excited to see how this one is and where it ranks on my Natasha Preston thriller list.

• Maid For Each Other by Lynn Painter

Lynn Painter is another favorite author of mine, and I have been trying to work my way through all of her books, which is taking quite a while. Not that I’m complaining though since I’ll have plenty to read by her. This one is an adult romance following a woman who works as a house cleaner and starts fake dating the owner of a penthouse she is cleaning after being caught sleeping there after an apartment infestation. There is yet to be a Lynn Painter I have disliked, so I’m sure I’ll love this one just like the rest.

• Heiress Takes All by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

I have actually never heard of this book before. I have heard of the authors but never the book until I got it for Christmas. This one seems to follow a heist. I don’t want to know too much about it before going into it, so that’s all I’ve really found out so far. I love getting to try a book I didn’t pick for myself, especially when I haven’t heard of it, so I’m excited to give it a read.

• Heart Check by Emily Charlotte

This was a book I actually discovered pretty recently. This one seems to be a ya hockey romance following two characters that don’t like each other but are forced to work together. The cover caught my attention and the plot seemed really interesting, so I wanted to give it a try.

• Smoke and Scar by Gretchen Powell Fox

The past few years, I have been wanting to read more indie/self-published books, and the list of ones I want to read keeps growing. I believe this one is actually an indie/self-published book from what I could find. It follows trials and a war between humans and fae. I love the cover for this book, and it seems like it could be a great read.

• The City of Veils by S. Usher Evans

I believe this one is also indie/self-published. This one follows a princess who left the royal life to become a vigilante, but when her father and brother are murdered, she’s pulled back to her previous life, but not before finishing some business. This book sounds so good. I love the idea that this princess decided to be a vigilante instead. I feel like the story is going to be very unique.

• Drawn Together by Juliana Smith

Okay, so we have another self-published book. This one is a romance following a children’s book author and a children’s book illustrator. As soon as I saw that and some of the tropes in the book, I knew I wanted to read it. I think this one is going to be really good and I can’t wait to get to it.

• Spark by Brigid Kemmerer

Another favorite author of mine is Brigid Kemmerer, so I am so excited to read another book by her. I have read almost everything she’s written, so I’ve been working my way through the Elementals series, which is her first published work. This is book two and follows one of the Merrick brothers who all have elemental powers and their own stories. I thought book one was just okay, but I’m still finishing off the series since I love her writing.

• Fake Skating by Lynn Painter

Next we have another Lynn Painter, but this time one of her young adult books. This, I believe, is the only ya book I haven’t read by her yet. This is an ice hockey romance following teens that used to be friends before one of them moved. Now, Dani is moving back but her old friend seems different from how she remembers him so she’s determined to reconnect with him. I love Lynn Painter, especially her ya books, so I’m sure I’ll love it.

• The Rise and Ruin of Everwood by Alicia Morgan

I kind of think this is another indie book, but it’s a fantasy where Mother Nature rules the land. The two characters need to work together to protect Everwood in a post-apocalyptic setting. To be quite honest, the cover drew me in to this one and was my main motivation for wanting to read it. The story does seem good though, and it’s pretty short so it will be a great book to pick up if I want something a bit quicker.

• When in Rome by Sarah Adams

I got really into Sarah Adams this year and knew I wanted to read the Rome, Kentucky series since it’s her most popular. This one is set in a small town following a pop star who gets stranded and meets the town baker. The two of them explore the town and develop a romance. I am so excited to read this one after loving two Sarah Adams books this year.

• Revolve by Bal Khabra

Last but not least, we have Revolve. I have never heard of this one since this was another surprise book I received, but I think it follows a hockey player and I think a figure skater. I tried not to look into this one either since I wanted to go in blind. It seems like it could be pretty good though so I’m interested to see how it is.

Not part of the haul, but I did just buy myself The Same Backward As Forward by Jennifer Lynn Barnes as well. I really want to read that with Games Untold soon, so I wanted to make sure I had it for whenever I was ready.

Hope you all had a great holiday, and we’ll be back in 2026!

xoxo,

Just another reader