Bookish Goblin Wrapped: May Reading Recap and June TBR

May 2025 reading wrap up and June 2025 TBR
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Bookish Goblin Team

Staff Writer

Published

June 1, 2025

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After having a very subpar start to 2025 as far as a reading year goes, May has FINALLY turned things around.

This month was all about catching up on the Ali Hazelwood universe before Not in Love Book #2 comes out, and devouring a couple of long-awaited thrillers like The Perfect Divorce and The Tenant. However, it wasn’t all fun and games, we definitely read some aggressively mid thrillers that sent us running back to our comfort rereads to recover.

But! We’ve got some super exciting reads in progress that started in May and are bleeding into June, plus a few bonus TBR picks we’re really hyped about. Everything we read in May, what we’re currently reading, and what’s next for June, it’s all in the post below.

Books We Finished in May: From Bangers to Duds

It was suuuch a good month, with a couple of great romcoms, comfort rereads that hit just right, and the perfect ending to our new favorite gothic duology. However, we also read some pretty average thrillers and are definitely on the hunt for better ones—so if you’ve got any recs, please send them our way!

Not in Love

Ali Hazelwood
Rating 4/5
Spice Level 4/5
Series: Not in Love #1
Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Audiobook, Fiction, Adult, Enemies To Lovers
Published: June 11, 2024
Pages: 384
Description

A forbidden, secret affair proves that all’s fair in love and science.

Rue Siebert might not have it all, but she has enough: a few friends she can always count on, the financial stability she yearned for as a kid, and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising start-ups in the field of food science. Her world is stable, pleasant, and hard-fought. Until a hostile takeover and its offensively attractive front man threatens to bring it all crumbling down.

Eli Killgore and his business partners want Kline, period. Eli has his own reasons for pushing this deal through – and he’s a man who gets what he wants. With one burning exception: Rue. The woman he can’t stop thinking about. The woman who’s off-limits to him.

Torn between loyalty and an undeniable attraction, Rue and Eli throw caution out the lab and the boardroom windows. Their affair is secret, no-strings-attached, and has a built-in deadline: the day one of their companies will prevail. But the heart is risky business – one that plays for keeps.

In my never ending attempt to finish off the rest of Ali Hazelwood’s catalogue, I finally read Not in Love. In case you don’t know, Not in Love follows Rue Siebert, a socially awkward food scientist, and Eli Killgore, a PhD dropout turned science startup investor. The two of them are brought together with Eli taking over Rue’s firm, and their paths crossing after matching on a dating app the night before Rue finds out about the takeover.

Eli is down bad from the get go (as these books are always—he falls first and harder, which is one of my favorite tropes), and Rue is trying to figure out her feelings and resist their chemistry. The yearning and pining is so, so good in this one. I’m not sure why it has so much negative reception because I ate this up.

You can read my full Not in Love Summary and Review in this post!

Problematic Summer Romance

Ali Hazelwood
Rating 4/5
Spice Level 3/5
Series: Not in Love #2
Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Summer, Adult, Summer Reads, Fiction
Published: Expected publication May 27, 2025
Pages: 416
Description

What is wrong meets what feels right in this romance set in Italy by the New York Times bestselling author of Deep End.

Maya Killgore is twenty-three and still in the process of figuring out her life.

Conor Harkness is thirty-eight, and Maya cannot stop thinking about him.

It’s such a cliché, it almost makes her heart implode: older man and younger woman; successful biotech guy and struggling grad student; brother’s best friend and the girl he never even knew existed. As Conor loves to remind her, the power dynamic is too imbalanced. Any relationship between them would be problematic in too many ways to count, and Maya should just get over him. After all, he has made it clear that he wants her gone from his life.

But not everything is as it seems—and clichés sometimes become plot twists.

When Maya’s brother decides to get married in Taormina, she and Conor end up stuck together in a romantic Sicilian villa for over a week. There, on the beautiful Ionian coast, between ancient ruins, delicious foods, and natural caves, Maya realizes that Conor might be hiding something from her. And as the destination wedding begins to erupt out of control, she decides that a summer fling might be just what she needs—even if it’s a problematic one.

Thank you, Ali Hazelwood, for helping me discover my new favorite trope: ✨ age-gap ✨. Problematic Summer Romance has everything you want from a good romcom. Age gap (duh, I mentioned it—but it’s worth saying again). Friends to lovers. Great banter. Very self aware crypto jokes. A cursed destination wedding. Solid side characters, old friends popping back in, and some fun connections to the rest of the Aliverse.

I cannot recommend this enough.

Actually, I can. If you want to read me fully raving about Problematic Summer Romance, you can read my full review and recap here.

Until I Get You

Claire Contreras
Rating 5/5
Spice Level 4/5
Series: Fairview Hockey #1
Genres: Dark Romance, Sports Romance, Romance, Sports, Hockey, Dark, Second Chance
Published: January 14, 2018
Pages: 600
Description

My reputation at Fairview University preceded me. I was the projected number-one pick in the NHL draft and the fan favorite at the rink. People wanted to be me or be with me.

Except for Lyla James Marichal.

She didn’t look at me like I was her next meal. She eyed me with disdain.
Instead of vying for my attention, she ignored me and pushed me away.

She was completely unattainable, and I became obsessed with her.

When I finally got her, it felt like I was on top of the world. I was going to help the team win another championship, going into the draft, and had Lyla by my side.

And then, without warning, she left me.

Vanished.

It took me three bitter, angry, long years to find her, but I did, and now she owes me a lot more than just an explanation.

Three years ago, she ruined my life.
Now, I was going to become her worst nightmare.

I was having a bit of a “moment” mid-month and needed a comfort read. I went with Until I Get You, a dark hockey romance I read in one sitting last year. Surprise, surprise—I read it in one sitting again.

This one is peak possessive MMC for me, and it will always be the first recommendation I give when someone asks. Lachlan and Lyla meet in college, but Lyla has a stalker. After a tragedy makes her run, Lachlan literally scours the earth to find her, and when he does… dare I say, sparks fly.

I know I have a certain taste in books, but the YEARNING in this one is unmatched. You should definitely check trigger warnings before diving in, but if possessive MMCs and hockey romances are your thing, this is probably going to be your cup of tea.

Two Twisted Crowns

Rating 4/5
Spice Level 3/5
Series: The Shepherd King #2
Books 2 books
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Gothic, Fiction, Young Adult
Published: October 17, 2023
Pages: 437
Description

In the luscious, dark sequel to One Dark Window, Elspeth must face the consequences of what she’s wrought – perfect for readers of Hannah Whitten’s For the Wolf and Alexis Henderson’s The Year of the Witching.

Elspeth and Ravyn have gathered most of the twelve Providence Cards, but the last, and most important one remains to be found: The Twin Alders.

If they are going to find it before the Solstice and cure the kingdom of the dark magic infecting it, they will need to journey beyond the dangerous mist-cloaked forest that surrounds their kingdom.

And the only one who can lead them there is the monster that shares Elspeth’s head. The Nightmare. And he’s not eager to share any longer.

I couldn’t wait any longer and carved out some time to read Two Twisted Crowns to finally finish the Shepherd King duology. While I liked One Dark Window, I had wished it was a bit longer so I could get more invested. Two Twisted Crowns has the same problem, but it makes up for it by introducing multiple POVs—aka one of my favorite literary devices.

We get to follow Ione, Elm, Ravyn, and the Shepherd King himself. It’s a charming, gothic adventure with the beloved quest trope, as the crew sets out to solve the conundrum they landed in at the end of book one. Dare I say the romance in this one is just as good, if not better than the first.

You can find my One Dark Window Review and Recap to catch up or dive straight into Two Twisted Crowns Review and Summary for more.

The Perfect Divorce

Rating 3.5/5
Spice Level 3/5
Series: Perfect, #2
Genres: Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Romance, Suspense
Published: April 15, 2025
Description
From the author of the multimillion-copy bestselling thriller The Perfect Marriage

Till death do us part. Yours. Not Mine.


It’s been eleven years since high-powered attorney Sarah Morgan defended her husband, Adam, against the charge of murdering his mistress. Sarah has long since moved on, starting a family with her new husband, Bob Miller, and changing careers. Her life is back to being exactly how she always wanted … or is it?

After discovering Bob engaged in a one-night stand, Sarah wastes no time filing for divorce. However, amid their ugly separation, new DNA evidence is uncovered in the case against Adam, forcing the police to reopen the investigation and putting Sarah right back in the spotlight. Everyone wants to know what really happened, most of all former deputy Marcus Hudson, who is hell-bent on finding the truth.

But when the woman Bob slept with is reported missing, he and Sarah start to fight dirty, and a high-stakes game of cat and mouse ensues. Filled with page-turning suspense and Jeneva Rose’s signature twists and turns, this book will have readers wondering: Can Bob and Sarah achieve the perfect divorce? Or will it be “’til death do us part”?

In my ongoing mission to see if Jeneva Rose could redeem that ending that had me side-eying The Perfect Marriage, I grabbed The Perfect Divorce the second the hype hit. We meet up with razor-sharp lawyer Sarah Morgan, now remarried to small-town charmer Bob Miller, and it takes maybe five pages for him to blow it. Sarah catches him cheating (oh no, not again) and slaps divorce papers on the table.

Chaos snowballs from there: fresh DNA in her ex-husband’s murder case, the woman Bob hooked up with goes missing, and Deputy Hudson circles like a shark. The sequel spices things up with multi-POV chapters (Sarah, Bob, and Hudson) which fixes the tunnel-vision problem I had with book one and keeps the tension humming as perspectives ping-pong.

The pace is FAST, chapters are snack-size, and the petty, cat-and-mouse divorce tactics gave me reality-TV joy. The twists are fun if not mind-melting, and the finale lands better than last time, though it still leans more “ah, so that’s how it comes together” than “I need to text everyone right now.”

The Tenant

Freida McFadden
Rating 3.5/5
Genres: Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Horror, Suspense, Adult
Published: May 06, 2025
Description

There’s no place like home…

Blake Porter is riding high, until he’s not. Fired abruptly from his job as a VP of marketing and unable to make the mortgage payments on the new brownstone that he shares with his fiancee, he’s desperate to make ends meet.

Enter Whitney. Beautiful, charming, down-to-earth, and looking for a room to rent. She’s exactly what Blake’s looking for. Or is she?

Because something isn’t quite right. The neighbors start treating Blake differently. The smell of decay permeates his home, no matter how hard he scrubs. Strange noises jar him awake in the middle of the night. And soon Blake fears someone knows his darkest secrets…

Danger lives right at home, and by the time Blake realizes it, it’ll be far too late. The trap is already set.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden knocks at your door with a gripping story of revenge, privilege, and secrets turned sour…

I hit that mid-week itch for something quick and creepy, so I queued up The Tenant to see if Freida’s newest could give me my fix. Blake Porter thinks renting out a spare room will save his brownstone (and his engagement), so in walks Whitney: sunshine smile, bargain rent, definite too-good-to-be-true energy. Almost overnight things aren’t quite right with the new neighbor, a sweet rot sneaks through the walls, and noises are waking them up at night. Cue the classic roommate-gone-wrong spiral, complete with a goldfish cameo and more mentions of LIMONENE than I’ll ever need again.

What worked for me: the pace absolutely zooms. Bite-size chapters mean you’re always one “okay, just ONE more” from the finish line, and the house itself tilts from cozy to sinister in record time. The Blake-Whitney back-and-forth had me side-eying every motive, and even when the big reveal leans familiar, it still hits that dramatic-soap moment I signed up for. Plus, I cackled at a few absurd beats (the goldfish saga is oddly endearing).

Count My Lies

Rating 2/5
Spice Level 1/5
Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Adult, Suspense, Adult Fiction
Published: March 04, 2025
Description
A read-in-one-night suspense thriller narrated by a compulsive liar whose little white lies allow her to enter into the life and comfort of a wealthy married couple who are harboring much darker secrets themselves. For the millions of us still chasing those gone girls, this is perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Lucy Foley, and Laura Dave.

Sloane Caraway is a liar.

Harmless lies, mostly, to make her self-proclaimed sad, little life a bit more interesting.

So when Sloane sees a young girl in tears at a park one afternoon, she can’t help herself—she tells the girl’s (very attractive) dad she’s a nurse and helps him pull a bee stinger from the girl’s foot.

With this lie, and chance encounter, Sloane becomes the nanny for the wealthy, and privileged Jay and Violet Lockhart. The perfect New York couple, with a brownstone, a daughter in private school, and summers on Block Island.

But maybe Sloane isn’t the only one lying, and all that’s picture-perfect harbors a much more dangerous truth. To say anything more is to spoil the most exciting, twisty, and bitingly smart suspense novel to come out in years.

The thing about lies is that they add up, form their own truth and a twisted prison of a world. And in Count My Lies, Sophie Stava spins a breakneck, unputdownable thriller about the secrets we keep, and the terrifying dangers that lurk just under the images we spend so much time trying to maintain.

Careful what you lie for.

Finally, we made it to the end of our list. You might have realized that we order these posts from most favorite to least, and unfortunately the last spot this month belongs to Count My Lies by Sophie Stava. There was a lot of buzz around this one, with it being picked up by a major book club and a TV adaptation already in the works.

Count My Lies follows Sloane, a compulsive liar who keeps finding herself in a bind because she can’t stop embellishing her existence. She becomes a nanny to Violet and Andrew Lockhart. However, the Lockharts have their own secrets.

I wanted to love this thriller so much, but it read more like a slice-of-life drama than a psychological thriller. Not to mention, the actual plan makes no sense, and the twist has no legs to stand on. It also feels very The Housemaid-inspired, and I won’t say more to avoid spoilers. This had a good premise, but it wasn’t executed well and didn’t stick the landing.

You can read our full Count My Lies Summary and Review here.

 

Our Current Reads: The Ones Keeping Us Up at Night (Literally)

Now moving on to our current reads. After spending so much time in romcom and thriller land last month, we’re making the shift back to fantasy and romantasy for the upcoming month. We’re also tragically behind on ARCs, so expect lots of updates on some of the Advanced Review Copies we’ll be working through in the next couple of months as we chip away at our backlog.

Dungeon Crawler Carl

Matt Dinniman
Rating 5/5
Series: Dungeon Crawler Carl #1
Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Science Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Adventure, Comedy
Published: September 21, 2020
Pages: 450
Description

The apocalypse will be televised! Welcome to the first book in the wildly popular and addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman—now with bonus material exclusive to this print edition.

You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what’s worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction of all man-made structures on Earth, and the systematic exploitation of all the survivors for a sadistic intergalactic game show. That’s what.

Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive the end of the world—or just get to the next level—in a video game–like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon. A dungeon that’s actually the set of a reality television show with countless viewers across the galaxy. Exploding goblins. Magical potions. Deadly, drug-dealing llamas. This ain’t your ordinary game show.

Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the Dungeon. Survival is optional. Keeping the viewers entertained is not.

Includes part one of the exclusive bonus story “Backstage at the Pineapple Cabaret.”

You might have seen Dungeon Crawler Carl on BookTok or spotted its bright, chaotic covers in your local bookstore. If you’re looking for a sign to pick these books up, THIS IS IT.

We picked this up to listen to on our walks, and it was the best decision we’ve made all year.

Dungeon Crawler Carl follows Carl (duh) and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as the world is invaded by aliens and they find themselves stuck in a deadly dungeon-crawling TV show where they have to fight to survive.

Chapter 1 might be the best first chapter I’ve ever read. It’s funny. It’s irreverent. You can tell someone put real thought into “what would the actual logistics be if a human ended up in a literal RPG dungeon?” We’re only about 20% of the way through, and I can already tell this is going to be a five-star read. And not to mention, there are eight (?!?) books already out that will keep us busy for months.

So yeah. Read Dungeon Crawler Carl. But if you do, I strongly recommend going with the audiobook version, because it’s hilarious and has us hysterically laughing on a regular basis.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil

V.E. Schwab
Rating 4/5
Spice Level 2/5
Genres: Fantasy, Vampires, Horror, Fiction, LGBT, Adult, Queer
Published: Expected publication June 10, 2025
Pages: 560
Description

From V. E. Schwab, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue: a new genre-defying novel about immortality and hunger.

This is a story about hunger.
1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.

This is a story about love.
1827. London.
A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.

This is a story about rage.
2019. Boston.
College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.

This is a story about life—
how it ends, and how it starts.

Disclaimer: I received a free advance reader copy of Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab from Tor Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I got my first intro to V. E. Schwab (author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue) with Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil. This wonderfully gothic fantasy follows three separate timelines involving vampires.

I’m not fully ready to review this one yet—as I’m writing this, I’m about 65% in—but it’s been the perfect intro to a story that blends fantasy, historical fiction, and a bit of thriller energy. And I adore Schwab’s writing style. It’s ethereal and immersive in the best way.

Stay tuned for my full review when I finish!

The Serpent & The Wings of the Night

Rating 3/5
Spice Level 3/5
Series: Crowns of Nyaxia #1
Status: Unfinished
Books 4 books
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Vampires, Enemies to Lovers, New Adult
Published: August 30, 2022
Pages: 504
Description

An Instant New York Times and USA Today Bestseller

This new hardcover edition of the bestselling The Serpent & the Wings of Night features new case art, and a detailed map!

The Hunger Games meets vampires in this heart-wrenching, epic fantasy romance of dark magic, and bloodthirsty intrigue from bestselling author Carissa Broadbent.

For humans and vampires, the rules of survival are the same: never trust, never yield, and always – always – guard your heart.

The adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king, Oraya carved her place in a world designed to kill her. Her only chance to become something more than prey is entering the Kejari: a legendary tournament held by the goddess of death herself.

But winning won’t be easy amongst the most vicious warriors from all three vampire houses. To survive, Oraya is forced to make an alliance with a mysterious rival.

Everything about Raihn is dangerous. He is a ruthless vampire, an efficient killer, an enemy to her father’s crown… and her greatest competition. Yet, what terrifies Oraya most of all is that she finds herself oddly drawn to him.

But there’s no room for compassion in the Kejari. War brews, shattering everything that Oraya thought she knew about her home. And Raihn may understand her more than anyone – but their blossoming attraction could be her downfall, in a kingdom where nothing is more deadly than love.

The Serpent & the Wings of Night is the first book in the Crowns of Nyaxia series.

I finally picked up my first Carissa Broadbent novel, The Serpent and the Wings of Night. I am saddened to inform you that things are not going well. I’m about 50% in, and I’m stubbornly hate-reading this as we speak.

In case you don’t know, Oraya is the adoptive human daughter of the Vampire King, and she joins a deadly tournament to win the favor of Nyaxia, the vampire goddess. To survive, she must complete trials and fight against other vampires. There, she forms an alliance with Raihn, a winged vampire who has secrets of his own, and the two start falling for each other while still competing.

The stakes aren’t making much sense to me, and maybe it’s the dozens of romantasy books I’ve read, but I’m having a really hard time with the angry 19-year-old mortal girl and the glorified elf she’s mated to with shadow powers and/or wings. I think I’m in more of a “plot over romance” phase of my reading journey, and this one just isn’t for me.

My friends keep telling me I’m going to love the second duology, so I’m hanging in there. But man, this is a struggle. I cannot handle another chosen one mortal girl with zero redeeming qualities. Also… it gives such Underworld fan fiction? I don’t know.

Stay tuned. I’m sure I’ll either go on a rant or fully retract everything as soon as I finish it.

Demon Copperhead

Barbara Kingsolver
Genres: Fiction, Book Club, Historical Fiction, Audiobook, Literary Fiction, Contemporary, Coming Of Age
Published: October 18, 2022
Pages: 560
Description

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780063251922.

“Anyone will tell you the born of this world are marked from the get-out, win or lose.”

Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, this is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. In a plot that never pauses for breath, relayed in his own unsparing voice, he braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.

Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens’ anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can’t imagine leaving behind.

In complete contrast to literally everything else I’m reading, my library roulette has granted me Demon Copperhead. I went in blind. Boy, was I surprised.

I’m not super far into it yet, but I’m already very invested and intrigued by where it’s going. The story takes place in Tennessee-ish and is an autobiographical-style retelling of Damon (aka Demon) Copperhead’s life from his point of view.

It’s raw and compelling, and I can absolutely see why it won a Pulitzer. I can’t wait to dive in more.

June TBR: Romance, Revenge & Regret (Probably)

And since we never seem to be able to stick to our TBR plans, here’s what else we’re planning to pick up this month anyway.

An Ancient Witch’s Guide to Modern Dating

Cecilia Edward
Rating 3.5/5
Spice Level 1/5
Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Cozy, Witches, Cozy Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal Romance
Published: Expected publication August 5, 2025
Pages: 320
Description

An ancient witch explores the thrills—and perils—of online dating with hilarity and heart in a charming rom-com perfect for fans of cozy fantasy and witchy romance.

Meet Thorn Scarhart, a thirty-nine-year-old witch who’s having trouble finding love in the 17th century. Despite the local matchmaker’s efforts and Thorn’s arsenal of powerful love potions, she has yet to fall in love. After the disappearance of her sister and the loss of her mother, Thorn was too caught up in…well, life, to focus on dating. Now, she fears she may have missed her chance.

But, when one of her potion brews backfires spectacularly, Thorn is hurled 350 years into the future, landing in a bustling city where her once-isolated cottage is now a historical museum. While this unexpected leap through time may seem daunting, modern life does have its indoor plumbing, electric kettles, and the world of online dating. At thirty-nine, the odds may not be perfect, but at least they’re not impossible.

With the help of the museum’s new curator—and her charming veterinarian brother—Thorn dives headfirst into the 21st-century dating scene. And as she searches for romance, she might also find herself along the way.

An Ancient Witch’s Guide to Modern Dating is a delightful mix of humor, heart, and a sprinkle of magic. Cozy fantasy lovers will adore this enchanting rom-com, which is a must-read for fans of Sangu Mandanna’s The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and Erin Sterling’s The Ex Hex.

Disclaimer: I received a free advance reader copy of An Ancient Witch’s Guide to Modern Dating by Cecilia Edward from Saga Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Well, as I said, I received an ARC of this one from NetGalley. This month’s theme for me is officially “clawing my way out of the ARC pit I dug for myself.” I absolutely adored the cover of this book, which is why I signed up for it. It’s giving big-time Disney Dreamlight Valley energy.

Not to mention the banger of a plot blurb it has (you can find the full description in the blurb above). I am so, so excited to dive into this one over the next few weeks!

Only Between Us

Ellie K. Wilde
Rating 5/5
Spice Level 4/5
Series: Oakwood Bay #2
Genres: Sports Romance, Romance, Fake Dating, Sports, He Falls First, Football, Contemporary
Published: Expected publication July 8, 2025
Pages: 416
Description

The highly anticipated sequel to the “achingly tender and deliciously sexy” (Jillian Meadows, author of Give Me Butterflies) Only in Your Dreams is a steamy, whip-smart sports romance about a former pro football star who agrees to fake date the fan-favorite ex of another high-profile NFL player so they can both save what’s most dear to them while fighting their growing feelings for each other.

After a death-defying injury sidelined him for two seasons, Brooks Attwood’s pro football comeback has hit a major snag. Naughty photos from a post-break-up bender have leaked, and they’re killing his chances with the Rebels—his old team, and the only one he wants to play on.

As he trains with the hope of being signed before the first kickoff of the season, Brooks’s plans to keep a low profile are suddenly upended when his selfie with a fiery fan goes viral, and tabloids mistake them as the football world’s newest It couple.

Turns out, Siena Pippen is the ex-girlfriend of the “face” of the League. And she wants nothing more to do with that world after being with her nightmare ex. While she and Brooks are busy blaming each other for the media circus surrounding them, NFL teams are suddenly scrambling to sign a housebroken Brooks. Meanwhile, Siena realizes that all this buzz could be the Hail Mary her family’s struggling business needs.

Together, Brooks and Siena hatch a ignore the will to kill each other and pretend to be madly in love—at least, until Brooks signs with a team. But the longer they pretend, the less fake their fauxmance begins to feel…and Brooks becomes as determined to convince Siena they’re truly meant to be as he is to land a spot on the Rebels’ roster.

Disclaimer: I received a free advance reader copy of Only Between Us by Ellie K Wilde from Atria Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Next up, I have Only Between Us by Ellie K. Wilde, another ARC on my plate this month. You can take the girl out of the romcom section at Barnes & Noble, but you can’t take the romcom out of her, apparently.

I’m so excited to read this. It looks adorable and should be a great genre palette cleanser once I finish all my current reads. This is also going to be my first football romance, so I’m looking forward to diving into this subgenre!

Carl’s Doomsday Scenario

Matt Dinniman
Series: Dungeon Crawler Carl #2
Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Science Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Adventure, Comedy
Published: January 6, 2021
Pages: 364
Description

“The training levels have concluded. Now the games may truly begin.”

The ratings and views are off the chart. The fans just can’t get enough. The dungeon gets more dangerous each day. But in a grinder designed to chew up and spit out crawlers by the millions, Carl and Princess Donut need to work harder than ever just to survive.

They call it the Over City. A sprawling, once-thriving metropolis devastated by a mysterious calamity. But these streets are far from abandoned. An undead circus trawls the ruins. Murdered prostitutes rain from the sky. An ancient spell is finally ready to reveal its dark purpose.

Carl still has no pants.

They call it Dungeon Crawler World. For Carl and Donut, it’s anything but a game.

This one is entirely dependent on how many walks we can manage in the scorched hotness we’re experiencing here in California. But as soon as we finish the first book, we’re diving straight into The Stairs to follow Carl and Princess Donut on their next round of dungeon chaos.


That about does it! Now it’s your turn. What did you read in May? And what are you looking to read in the month of June? Let us know in the comments!

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