Popsugar Reading Challenge 2025—December

Prompts I finished in December

A book about an overlooked woman in history

Beat the Backlist 2025—December

Prompts I finished in December

Based on or inspired by a true story

WWW Wednesday: December 24th, 2025

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme that Sam hosts at Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Here is what I am reading, recently finished, and plan to read from Thursday to Wednesday.

Let me know if you have read or are planning on reading any of these books!!

Happy Reading!

What I am currently reading:

The night we met, she was just another one-night stand.

We were never meant to see each other again, and my best friend certainly wasn’t supposed to go and fall in love with her best friend.

Collateral damage… she’s already broken my biggest rule when we hooked up for a second, third, fourth, and maybe a few more times.

She’s everywhere I turn. I can’t escape her or the things she makes me feel.

Thanks to my best friend wanting to do anything to make his girl happy, she’s the newest teacher at Knight’s Ridge College.

If I needed to stay away before, now I have no choice. Not only is she an obsession I don’t need… she’s forbidden.

But I’ve never been as good at following the rules, so much as breaking them. I need to be careful before she gets too close to break me.

The consuming darkness inside threatens to take over following my father’s death, and I find myself craving her light even more than ever.

The only problem is, I don’t want her to rescue me. I want to drag her down… corrupt her.

We’re a match made in hell that first night we met, so why stop now when playing with fire is so much fun.

What I recently finished reading:

Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
I’m horny and I need you.
I’ll be in room sixty-nine waiting on the bed.
I hope you’re in the mood for giving h…
If you’re up for a game.
I promise to scream your name.

What I plan on reading Thursday through Sunday:

I learned from a very young age that the only person I could count on was myself.

For years I’ve been content with meaningless one-night stands and zero promises for tomorrow.

I had a good thing going, until he crashed his way into my life… and heart, and wrecked them both.

Nico Cirillo.

The bad boy mafia prince and the one man who’s ever left me craving more. Not that I’ll admit that.

And now, he’s not only a mistake I’ve made time and time again, he’s everywhere I turn.

Taunting me.
Tempting me.

Doing everything in his power to screw up my life, tarnish my reputation, and corrupt the only dream I’ve ever had.

But while I’m pushing as hard as I can to keep him away, his reckless decisions and hot-headed behaviour have forced him to reconsider.

His U-turn is enough to give me whiplash, but it’s nowhere near enough for me to lower my walls and let him in.

To give him a chance he doesn’t deserve.

It’s going to take more than a bit of grovelling after all the ways he’s hurt me, even if it is on his knees.

I found everything I didn’t know I needed.
Accepted forgiveness I didn’t deserve.

She fought for us.
Killed for us.
She was one of us.
And there was no way I was letting her go… again.

But I’m not the only one with wicked intentions for my siren. With her missing, we turn our blame to an obvious enemy. But our path of destruction could be leading us right into another trap.

We’ve been so consumed trying to win this war, that we’re losing the battle. We’ve been oblivious to what’s right in front of us.

Those kind of mistakes could destroy us. If we let them.

Individually, we’re strong.
But together, we’re invincible.
And we’re about to show the world just what we’re capable of.

The last thing I wanted to do with my evening was get all dressed up just to allow old rich dudes to undress me with their leering eyes while I pretended to laugh at their crass jokes.

The only funny thing about this situation is that it shouldn’t be me. My sister is the experienced dancer. I’m the innocent one. But with her down and our desperation at an all-time high, I didn’t have much choice.

I even argued to get myself here, thanks to my guilt. How bad could it really be?

Bad… worse than I expected.

Eyes everywhere, hands itching to follow.

Angry and irritated with the men’s audacity, I escape from the action only to find myself trapped in a man’s bedroom. A very wealthy man judging by the collection of watches I find.

I know I shouldn’t be here, touching what doesn’t belong to me. But they have everything… and we have nothing.

Time freezes the moment I’m caught, and a thrill runs through me. Because it’s not one of the older men from downstairs that finds me. It’s him. The guy I thought could save me from this living hell.

Only now, his kindness has vanished, replaced with the same hunger… but something in his eyes lets me know he’s not afraid to take what he wants.

And I’m not sure I can stop him… or if I want to.

The night we met, she left behind a lot more than just her shoes on my bedroom floor.

She left an impression.
A lasting memory burned into my brain. It teases me… tortures me.

Months have passed since that night. I’ve tried a million and one ways to get her out of my head.

But she’s always there. Haunting me. Stealing my sinful thoughts. Fuelling my darkest desires.

I warned her to stay away. But I didn’t mean it— not really.

Before I can make her mine, I’ll have to find her. With nothing more than her red heels, it’s impossible.

Until I stumble across her in the exact same place I found her the first time… and the last place I expected her to be.

She didn’t heed my warning.

And she’s about to learn to take my threats more seriously.

I want to claim her, but she’s not mine to keep. So I’ll take what I can get, and be the one to walk away this time.

My mistake was thinking I would always know where to find her. I just hope this time I’m not too late.

Romanceopoly Reading Challenge 2025—December

Prompts I finished in December

Bonus—Latinx Summer Fiesta (Summer Holidate)—Read a book by a Latinx author that captures the vibrant energy of summer

Bonus—Spooky Reads {Fall Holidate}—Read a Halloween or horror romance book

It’s Monday? What Are You Reading?—December 22nd, 2025

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet and share what you have been and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.

Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It’s Monday! a kid-lit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle-grade novels, young adult novels, or anything in those genres – join them.

What I am Reading Now

My life has been full of half-truths tangled in lies—I’d been to hell and back more times than I could count.

But nothing could have prepared me for the fear in her voice, and then the sight of that building going up in flames.

After the way I treated her, the way I hurt her, I’d earned that pain back tenfold. I deserved to lose the only bit of light in my dark, twisted life.

Neither of us have survived the suffering only to have it end this way and I refuse to believe that our time is done. It can’t be. Because she was made for me—the only good thing that came out of my past.

And the first chance I get, I’m going to make sure she knows exactly what she means to me.

No more lies.
No more pretending.
Just the raw, honest truth.

I can’t live without her and I’ll spend the rest of my life proving to her that she belongs with me.
That the life we were born into might have left us damaged, but it made us stronger.

And when she claims her rightful place amongst us, I’ll be by her side and together we will rule this reckless dynasty.

But first we have to survive…

What I am reading Monday and Tuesday:

I’ve lived my entire life in the shadows…

Sheltered yet painfully aware of the haunting reality of who my family really is.

I’m tired of being the good girl— of doing everything I’m told. Halloween seems like the perfect time to explore my hidden desires.

And that’s exactly how I end up in the arms of a masked mystery guy.

He doesn’t handle me like glass. He takes exactly what he wants and gives me everything I didn’t know I needed— until he vanishes into the darkness leaving me with one burning question…

Who was my mysterious knight that introduced me to the dark side?

She’s the mafia princess he was meant to stay away from.

And he did.

Until that one night when he was able to hide his identity and his darkness under a different kind of mask.

But one taste wasn’t enough.

Only the next time their paths cross, his inner demon is truly exposed.

Can she handle it, or will his darkness send her running back to her castle and smothered life?

Goodreads Monday: The Nameless Survivor (Valkyrie: Book 1) by J.K. Hawk

This is a weekly meme in which anyone can choose and highlight a random book from their Goodreads TBR. It was formerly featured on LaurensPageTurners and was taken over by Budget Tales Book Blog.

Goodreads Synopsis:

In the aftermath of an unimaginable pandemic, a hand-written journal is discovered from within the ruins of a ravaged survivor’s colony. The faded entries depict the personal accounts of a nameless refugee as he abandons a dying society for the security of New England’s secluded mountains. After years of peaceful solitude, he unexpectedly rescues a young girl from winter’s wrath. Mia, who unlike him, has experienced firsthand the horrors that have befallen the world. As her trust in him strengthens and their friendship grows, he is driven to help her overcome the abuse she has endured and prove to her as well as himself that life, love, and God are still worth fighting for. Ultimately their loving and happy world is crushed when they are unexpectedly thrown back into the chaos to face the evil that has transformed man, as well as the evil that man has always been. Will their love survive? Will they survive?

WWW Wednesday: December 17th, 2025

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme that Sam hosts at Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Here is what I am reading, recently finished, and plan to read from Thursday to Wednesday.

Let me know if you have read or are planning on reading any of these books!!

Happy Reading!

What I am currently reading:

The moment I discovered the dark truth, it descended on my life and threatened to swallow me whole.

It tore at my soul, piece by piece. But I refused to go down alone.

My need for vengeance pours out like a gaping wound… directed at the man I thought was my father. The one who trained me to become the monster I am.

I will not rest until he’s hurt the way he’s made us hurt.

I will not stop until he’s bled like those I love.

Until he’s paid the price, I’ll never truly be free.

An eye for an eye— he once told me.

And I’ve found the perfect target.

Someone he thought he could keep safe. Tucked away from the depraved world I barely survived.

But I’ve found her.

The innocent pawn in my twisted game.

The seductive demon who’s going to help settle the score once and for all.

All’s fair in love and war… checkmate.

What I recently finished reading:

I wanted to drown. I wanted the world to swallow me up whole and take me back to a time when everything was okay. A time when I hadn’t just buried the only father I’ve ever known. One where I’m not watching as my mother loses herself to her grief. One where the pain isn’t so insufferable. Everything in my world is a dull muted grey. I crave colour. Excitement. Recklessness. And that’s when he walks into my life. Tall, dark, handsome, and able to drag me from my own head for just a few hours of wild abandon. He’s the perfect one-night stand. But is everything as simple as that?

What I plan on reading Thursday through Sunday:

The moment I discovered his lie, everything I thought I knew about him was destroyed in an instant.

I thought I knew pain.
I thought I knew grief.
I knew nothing.

And nothing could compare to the moment Toby ripped my heart right out of my chest. Confirming all my worst fears.
Shattering the very foundation my life has been built on.

It was all an act.
A sick and twisted game.
He’s nothing more than a monster.
Deception is his weapon.
And now I’m his victim.

Rock bottom is a familiar place, and once again I’m trying to drag myself out of the pits of despair.
But fate is an evil master, and before long I find myself with no other place to turn… but him.

He might be cruel.
Reckless.
Dangerous.
But I also know that he’ll do anything to right his wrongs.

Despite my tattered heart, and my better judgment, I know he’s still trying to prove to me that he’s not all bad. That the sweet guy I fell so hard for really does exists.

But will it be enough?

My life has been full of half-truths tangled in lies—I’d been to hell and back more times than I could count.

But nothing could have prepared me for the fear in her voice, and then the sight of that building going up in flames.

After the way I treated her, the way I hurt her, I’d earned that pain back tenfold. I deserved to lose the only bit of light in my dark, twisted life.

And the first chance I get, I’m going to make sure she knows exactly what she means to me.

No more lies.
No more pretending.
Just the raw, honest truth.

I can’t live without her and I’ll spend the rest of my life proving to her that she belongs with me.
That the life we were born into might have left us damaged, but it made us stronger.

And when she claims her rightful place amongst us, I’ll be by her side and together we will rule this reckless dynasty.

But first we have to survive…

I’ve lived my entire life in the shadows…

Sheltered yet painfully aware of the haunting reality of who my family really is.

I’m tired of being the good girl— of doing everything I’m told. Halloween seems like the perfect time to explore my hidden desires.

And that’s exactly how I end up in the arms of a masked mystery guy.

He doesn’t handle me like glass. He takes exactly what he wants and gives me everything I didn’t know I needed— until he vanishes into the darkness leaving me with one burning question…

Who was my mysterious knight that introduced me to the dark side?

She’s the mafia princess he was meant to stay away from.

And he did.

Until that one night when he was able to hide his identity and his darkness under a different kind of mask.

But one taste wasn’t enough.

Only the next time their paths cross, his inner demon is truly exposed.

Can she handle it, or will his darkness send her running back to her castle and smothered life?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?—December 15th, 2025

What I am Reading Now

I should have known better than to play with fire…

I’d been burned by Theo Cirillo enough to know that I should have seen this coming.

He loved to show me his merciless side, but I couldn’t stay away from the deviant even if I wanted to.

A prisoner of my own making, playing a game without knowing all the rules. Until the lies he’d been telling, the secrets he’d been keeping began to unravel around us.

He’s the only person I trusted with the truth about my past, but my confession was all for nothing.

He never cared. He already knew.

He was only manipulating me.

Using me.

I was nothing more than a job. A nut he had to crack.

And he split me right open, but he’s about to get a shock because I’m not the kind of girl to roll over and take it.

I’m Emmie Ramsey.

And I’m about to make him pay for ever trying to play me.

What I plan on reading on Monday and Tuesday

Watching her walk away for a second time… nearly destroyed me.

But it was nothing less than I deserved from the things I put her through.

I should have let her go. I’d already caused Emmie enough pain to last a lifetime. But I’m a masochist.

Her pain is my pain.
And she’s mine.

Whether she likes it or not.

She’s my wife.

And the sooner she understands that she belongs by my side, the better.

Till death do us part…
I’m not letting her go.

Nothing she can do will convince me that we’re not made for one another.

We might be toxic. Combustible. A match made in hell.

But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

And together.

Goodreads Monday: Tremble (The Enchanted Journey: Book 1) by Rosa Lee Jude

Goodreads Synopsis:

There’s magic in the air.

Tremble Dawson thinks her biggest worry is completing her college internship at a mega successful advertising agency. That is, until she discovers her seemingly normal upbringing has all been an illusion. Her life is turned upside down when a handsome stranger pays a visit and offers to be a special kind of bodyguard to protect her from an evil force bent on making her fulfill a twisted prophecy.

Perhaps, she should have paid more attention to her unusual bosses or the sparks that uncontrollably fly out of her fingertips. Despite the clues along the way, Tremble is not prepared to learn that her existence is full of secrets—secrets from another world. As she discovers her true identity and the mystery that surrounds her heritage, Tremble realizes there’s a bounty on her future and she is the one who must pay the price.

Join Tremble on a bewitching adventure as she begins her journey to another world full of enchanting surprises.

WWW Wednesday: December 9th, 2025

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme that Sam hosts at Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Here is what I am reading, recently finished, and plan to read from Thursday to Wednesday.

Let me know if you have read or are planning on reading any of these books!!

Happy Reading!

What I am currently reading:

USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Tracy Lorraine brings you the next installment of her new dark mafia, high school bully romance series.

She didn’t want to believe me.

She wanted to believe the threat wasn’t really there.

But as the sirens ring out in the distance and she stares down into my eyes, she can no longer deny what’s right in front of her.

I’m not going to go down without a fight.

And I’m sure as hell not going to lose her now.

Even as our stubbornness tries to force us apart, severing everything we’ve built thus far.

With our nerves frayed and tempers close to breaking point, our fractured family sets about discovering the truth.

But we soon uncover more corruption and betrayal that only causes more pain to those I love.

Our entire empire is at risk, and it’s time to put the past behind us and carve out the future we deserve.

Dear Readers,

Wicked Empire is the third and final in Stella and Sebastian’s trilogy and the first couples story in my Knight’s Ridge Empire series. This book is a dark bully romance that contains mature content and demanding alphaholes that some readers may find disturbing. You have been warned.

What I recently finished reading:

USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Tracy Lorraine brings you the next installment of her new dark mafia, high school bully romance series.

My entire life has been a lie.

The one person I’ve trusted despite all his secrets has shattered my faith, and the men around me have proved just how unworthy they really are.

As my reality becomes clear, I discover that I’m right in the middle of something far more dangerous than I ever could have imagined.

I’ve always been a fighter. I’ve been trained that way.

But this time, all I can do is run.

Only, it isn’t that easy. Because there’s one person I’ve left behind who won’t allow me to.

But he’s going to get a shock, because he seems to have forgotten who he’s dealing with.

I’m Stella Doukas, mafia princess, and I will not bend for any man.

Even the one who’s stolen my heart.

Dear Readers,

Wicked Princess is the second book in Stella and Sebastian’s trilogy and the first couples story in my Knight’s Ridge Empire series. This book is a dark bully romance that contains mature content and demanding alphaholes that some readers may find disturbing. You have been warned.

What I plan on reading Thursday through Sunday:

USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Tracy Lorraine brings you more in her dark mafia, high school bully romance series.

Whoever said to keep your friends close and your enemies closer… was right.

Being around her is the worst kind of torture.

Emmie is an obligation I can’t avoid… an oath I can’t break.

And having her in my life is the last thing I want or need. But thanks to my father, I have no choice.

This Family—this life, is my future, and I’m sure as hell not going to let some spitfire from the wrong side of town get under my skin and in my way.

When the time comes, I will take what I need and walk away. I’ll finally be free from her shadow and she will know the truth, even if it leaves her broken.

The only problem… she might not be the only one left in pieces.

Dear Reader

Deviant Knight is the fourth book in my angst-filled new adult mafia Knight’s Ridge Empire series. It’s the first book in Emmie and Theo’s trilogy. It’s a dark bully romance with themes that might make you squirm in all the right ways!

I should have known better than to play with fire…

I’d been burned by Theo Cirillo enough to know that I should have seen this coming.

He loved to show me his merciless side, but I couldn’t stay away from the deviant even if I wanted to.

A prisoner of my own making, playing a game without knowing all the rules. Until the lies he’d been telling, the secrets he’d been keeping began to unravel around us.

He’s the only person I trusted with the truth about my past, but my confession was all for nothing.

He never cared. He already knew.

He was only manipulating me.

Using me.

I was nothing more than a job. A nut he had to crack.

And he split me right open, but he’s about to get a shock because I’m not the kind of girl to roll over and take it.

I’m Emmie Ramsey.

And I’m about to make him pay for ever trying to play me.

Watching her walk away for a second time… nearly destroyed me.

But it was nothing less than I deserved from the things I put her through.

I should have let her go. I’d already caused Emmie enough pain to last a lifetime. But I’m a masochist.

Her pain is my pain.
And she’s mine.

Whether she likes it or not.

She’s my wife.

And the sooner she understands that she belongs by my side, the better.

Till death do us part…
I’m not letting her go.

Nothing she can do will convince me that we’re not made for one another.

We might be toxic. Combustible. A match made in hell.

But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

And together.

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