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Fantasy & Romance Book Recommendations #BookTokGirlie
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items Your one-stop shop for fantasy and romance reads that actually live up to the hype. From epic fantasy series that will ruin your sleep schedule to spicy romantasy that makes you want to throw your book across the room (lovingly), this is everything I...
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2025 Books I Read
2026 Books I Read
2025 Books I Read
Every fantasy book I finished in 2025 — epic fantasy, romantasy, dark fantasy, cozy fantasy, and everything in between. If you're looking for your next great read, this is my honest, no-fluff roundup of the books that actually made it off my TBR pile...
One of the best fantasy books I've ever read, full stop. Kell is one of the last Antari, a rare magician who can travel between four parallel Londons: Red, Grey, White, and the long-lost Black. The world-building is incredible, the characters are unf...
A Darker Shade of Magic — V.E. Schwab
This viral romantasy had me at the edge of my seat, especially toward the end. It follows Brynn, a girl raised among a seafaring community who accidentally breaks a century-long peace treaty and gets tangled up with an enemy soldier who knows more ab...
Metal Slinger: Fire & Metal: Book One
A cursed palace in Italy, seven immortal siblings trapped in a deadly game of hide-and-seek, and one mortal woman who stumbles in and changes all the rules. Dark, spicy, and completely addictive. The enemies-to-lovers tension is electric and the goth...
Enchantra (Wicked Games, 2)
A full five stars and one of the most emotionally rich books I read all year. Set 2,000 years before the Bewitched series, this is the origin story of Roxilana and Memnon: a Roman girl who discovers her magic and the sorcerer king who arrives claimin...
The Curse That Binds: A Bewitched Novel
A strong start to a romantasy series I ended up binging all the way through. Great world-building, a compelling lead, and the kind of slow-burn tension that makes you reach for the next book immediately. A great pick if you're looking for a new serie...
The Flame and The Blade (Flame and Blade)
The series deepens here in the best way. More lore, more tension, and a romance that really picks up. Book one is the warm-up; book two is where things get good.
In The Shadows of The Citadel (Flame and Blade)
By book three I was fully invested in everyone and everything. The action escalates and the emotional stakes hit harder when you've been with these characters from the start. A great mid-series read that keeps delivering.
Wind and Warrior (Flame and Blade)
The tension and payoff in this one made the whole series worth binging. If you've made it this far, you already know you're not stopping.
Demons and Darkness (Flame and Blade)
A vampire girl on a mission, a murdered brother, four dangerous Fae kings at a dark magic academy, and a murder mystery that keeps you guessing. Set in the same world as Zodiac Academy, this reverse harem series is darker, grittier, and impossible to...
Dark Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac)
The series gets darker and more intense. The mystery deepens, the relationships get complicated, and the pacing picks up in a way that had me immediately reaching for the next book. Peckham and Valenti do not do boring sequels.
Savage Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac)
A solid continuation even if it's not the strongest entry. The story keeps building and the character dynamics evolve in interesting ways. Worth reading if you're committed to the series.
Vicious Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac)
Things start coming together here and if you've been waiting for the mystery to progress, it does. A steady 3-star read that kept me engaged enough to finish.
Broken Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac)
The final book in the series wraps up Elise's journey with all the drama, dark romance, and emotional chaos you'd expect from Peckham and Valenti. A good binge series overall if you love dark fae romance and reverse harems.
Warrior Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac)
A fun entry point into the Phoenix Prophecy world. Phoenix shifters, romance, and a story that sets up a long series binge. It's not groundbreaking but it's entertaining, and if you're in the mood for paranormal shifter romance with a fantasy twist, ...
The Phoenix Prophecy: Nova
More world-building and more heat. A solid second book that fans of the first will enjoy. Best read back-to-back with the rest of the series.
Blaze: The Phoenix Prophecy, Book 2
The emotional stakes rise and the romance deepens. Consistent, entertaining paranormal fantasy romance for readers who want a full series to sink into.
Ashes: The Phoenix Prophecy, Book 3
A midpoint entry that keeps the series moving with escalating tension and romance. If you've made it to book four, you're already in it for the long haul.
The Phoenix Prophecy: Embers
Picks up the pace and sets up what promises to be a satisfying conclusion. A solid penultimate entry for fans of the series.
The Phoenix Prophecy: Flames
A conclusion that fans of the Phoenix Prophecy will appreciate. Not every book blew me away personally, but as a full binge series it's worth the journey for paranormal romance lovers.
The Phoenix Prophecy: Fire Bird
Giving you the real review so you can decide for yourself. The premise is genuinely wild: a matchmaking ritual where contestants train with magical basilisks and compete for a prince. It's all over BookTok for a reason. But the writing felt underdeve...
Kiss of the Basilisk (Deluxe Edition)
One of the most hyped enemies-to-lovers romance novels out there and I totally get the appeal even if it didn't fully land for me. Office romance, slow burn tension, and sharp banter. Worth trying if you love the trope; just know the pacing is slower...
The Hating Game: A Spicy Enemies-to-Lovers Romance
This one made me laugh out loud more times than I can count. It's not trying to be a literary masterpiece and it fully knows it. A quick, feel-good rom-com that's perfect as a palate cleanser between heavier reads. Highly recommend when you need some...
Hate Mail: Enemies to Lovers Romcom
A fun, easy sports romance with a familiar setup. Brother's ex-teammate, slow burn, will-they-won't-they energy. Nothing revolutionary but it hits the right notes for the genre. A solid 3-star read.
Mr. Heartbreaker (The Nest)
The strongest of the Queen's Cove books for me. Genuinely charming small-town romance with great chemistry and a cast of characters I grew to love. Start here if you're new to Stephanie Archer.
That Kind of Guy
A fun continuation of the Queen's Cove world. Sweet romance and good banter, even if it didn't hit quite as hard as the first. Still a solid pick for fans of the series.
The Wrong Mr. Right
Holden is projecting middle-child energy so hard in this one and honestly, I loved him for it. A fun, quick read with entertaining chaos energy.
In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes (Queen's Cove, #3) by Stephanie Archer
A warm, satisfying wrap-up to the Queen's Cove series. If you've been reading along, Finn's book feels earned and is a cozy way to close out the series.
Finn Rhodes Forever (The Queen's Cove Series)
Book two of the Bewitched series and it absolutely delivers. Selene is still navigating life at Henbane Coven, still losing memories every time she uses magic, and still tangled up with the ancient sorcerer Memnon who is convinced she is his long-los...
Bespelled (The Bewitched Series, 2)
The book that started the Wicked Games world and the one you need to read before Enchantra. Ophelia Grimm enters a haunted mansion called Phantasma to save her missing sister, only to find herself in a deadly supernatural competition with seven immor...
Phantasma: Wicked Games by Kaylie Smith
Five stars and I will stand by that forever. Rune is a witch hiding in plain sight in a post-revolution republic where witches are hunted. By day she plays vapid socialite. By night she is the Crimson Moth, smuggling witches to safety. When a rescue ...
Heartless Hunter: The Crimson Moth: Book 1
The finale to the Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy and it brings everything together. Emilia is no longer a girl looking for answers; she is a force. The romance with Wrath finally fully delivers, the mystery gets its resolution, and the gothic demon-fi...
Kingdom of the Feared (Kingdom of the Wicked)
The bully romance that launched a BookTok obsession. Twin sisters Tory and Darcy Vega are forced to attend Zodiac Academy, a brutal magic school where powerful Fae heirs will do everything in their power to make their lives hell. Dark, chaotic, and d...
Zodiac Academy: The Awakening
The series gets darker, the relationships get more complicated, and the world of Solaria expands in ways that made me desperate for the next book. The Heirs are as ruthless as ever and the twins are pushing back harder. Stick with this series; it onl...
Zodiac Academy 2: Ruthless Fae
Where things start to get really good. The plot thickens, loyalties are tested, and the larger threat to Solaria becomes impossible to ignore. A strong mid-series entry that had me completely hooked and reading the next one immediately.
Zodiac Academy: The Awakening As Told By The Boys
A big step up for the series. The story gets darker and more intense, the world-building deepens, and some of the most emotionally charged moments in the whole series happen here. Four stars and fully earned.
Zodiac Academy 3: The Reckoning
The series hits its stride here. High stakes, heart-wrenching moments, and a story that refuses to let you breathe for more than a chapter at a time. If you were on the fence about continuing after the first few books, this is where it all clicks int...
Zodiac Academy 4: Shadow Princess
Devastating, brilliant, and completely addictive. The battle for Solaria is in full swing and nothing and no one is safe. A four-star read that made me immediately pick up the next book.
Zodiac Academy 6: Fated Throne
One of the longer entries in the series and personally I felt the pacing drag in places. Still compelling if you are invested in the characters and the world of Solaria, but it was my weakest read in the series so far. Worth pushing through for fans ...
Zodiac Academy 7: Heartless Sky
2026 Books I Read
My ever-growing reading list for 2026 — updated all year long as I work through my TBR. From sweeping epic fantasy to cozy reads and dark, twisty worlds, I'm sharing every book I pick up with real ratings and honest takes. Follow along with @evankris...
Laura Thalassa does it again with a premise that should not work but absolutely does. When the first of the Four Horsemen arrives to wipe out humanity, Sara decides to shoot him off his horse. The catch? He cannot be killed. Now she is his prisoner, ...
Pestilence (The Four Horsemen, 1)
The second horseman comes for Jerusalem and meets his match in Miriam, a woman who refuses to be broken even as her world falls apart. Darker and more intense than Pestilence with a compelling new setting and a love story that earns its emotional wei...
War: Enemies-to-Lovers Romance (Four Horsemen 2)
Continuing the Zodiac Academy binge into 2026! Check my 2025 list for the full description on this one.
Zodiac Academy 6: Fated Throne
Still carrying my Zodiac Academy binge into 2026 and honestly I have zero regrets. Book six keeps the chaos alive with the battle for Solaria heating up and the emotional stakes climbing higher than ever. If you are this deep in the series you alread...
Zodiac Academy 6: Fated Throne
Still fully consumed by the world of Solaria and not even a little sorry about it. Book five is where the series really finds its footing and the emotional punches start landing harder. If you are on the fence about continuing, this is the one that w...
Zodiac Academy 4: Shadow Princess