Reading Updates - 12/09/2025

 Hello there and Welcome!!

I caught up on some ARCs and their reviews - here are my favorite for the week.

Well, needless to say I am ABSOLUTELY in my cowboy era, they're my favorite books to read between my romantasy series that I somehow get dragged into. Duke is the first book I ARC read in this series, but I had read the three previous books in this spicy interconnected series. The Rivers brothers are quite swoon-worthy, and honestly - if I didn't know better I would be moving across the country and find myself a rancher. Unfortunately, these cowboys only exist in fiction, but that's perfectly okay. You can't get disappointed by a fictional character. Well, technically you can but I digress.

Duke by Jessica Peterson is the fourth installment of her Lucky River Ranch series, which starts with the brother Cash. Duke is Rivers brother, and one of the twins. He meets Wheeler in the first book, and there are some hints throughout the other books about something going on between the two of them, but it's the end of the third book "Sawyer" we get the HUGE plot twist that confirmed their story was next. I'm not one for spoilers, but I absolutely had to put my kindle down when I got to that twist. 

So, of course - I read this in almost a day because I am compulsive and when I am into a story, there is no getting me away. Duke starts from that very first moment they met in the kitchen at the end of "Cash" (Book 1). He meets Wheeler, who is friends and co-owner of a boot company with his future sister-in-law. He realizes they have a lot in common and crushes HARD, but is turned down because Wheeler isn't interested in commitment. I won't go into more detail because SPOILERS, but I have to say that this was well done. The author skips here and there to the parts we only got hints of between Duke and Wheeler in the previous books until we get to the good parts. 

This book is full of tension until finally we get the spice we crave when we read these books, only to be followed by chaos. It's dual POV and you get an even amount of both - it's honestly enough to make you feral while reading it. I feel like there are a lot of other dual POV romance books that do NOT give you enough of the MMC's POV. These books, you get plenty of that and I. AM. HERE. FOR .IT!!!

 I absolutely loved this book and rated is 5 stars. I am very much looking forward to Ryder, which is the fifth and final brother. I applied for the ARC, but if that gets shot down, you better believe that I will be reading it on release day - April 7, 2026.

Piper Rayne...let me tell you - I am obsessed with EVERYTHING they write. This is the sixth book in the Plain Daisy Ranch series, and it was beautifully done. I started being lucky and getting ARCs of this series for the past three (this one included). I recently redid a binge read of the whole series while at the beach, and it was worth it. This series follows members of a HUGE ranching family - and each of the cousins has their own books. This book in particular is Romy's story, and how her having fun with a particularly popular Country singer, Zander Shaw, turns into an accidental pregnancy (oh yes, that trope). 

The one thing about this series is makes me wish I had family like this, where they have each other's backs and help with any problems one is having. So of course, they're there when Romy needs them and I love it. I don't want to go too much into this because there's so many things I could spoil by saying too much, but just know this is one of my favorite series that I will continue to read over and over. I also need Scarlett Ellis's story ASAP (though she is last in the line of cousins at the front of the book which means I will be waiting a while). 

Now - the one book I read recently that didn't have cowboys but still left me OBSESSED. I started reading this on KU, but by the second chapter I rush ordered every edition of this book I could get my hands on AND pre-ordered the next book as soon as I found it. This book - it's hard to describe. It starts off giving some serious Hunger Game vibes and it hit that little nostalgia part that makes me insta love a book. 

Ferris is fantastic. Despite everything that happens to her, she remains strong and faces things head on. She uses her brain to solve any issues, including attempting to collect spirts (until a particularly annoying broody Fae male steals them from her). She does end up victories by being chosen by the dragon, and what a snarky dragon the spirit turns out to be. 

Hendrix - as stated above - broody, asshole, annoying. Also obsessed and very possessive over his human, Ferris. He tries to keep his secrets from her because he doesn't want her to hate him and leave, but as is predictable (not in a bad way) - she finds out slowly that he is more of a monster than she had first thought all Fae were. NOT TO MENTION THE PLOT TWIST WE FIND OUT ABOUT!! I'm still screaming about it (end of chapter 34 if you wanna know).

It is a romantasy, but it is definitely a fantasy first - with a curse, a forest that's alive, a necromancer villain creating what is best described as a zombie (called hollows), and everything in between. To break the curse, the champions need to collect all the spirits of the forest and unite them at a particular tree - and the task hasn't been accomplished in 250 years, this is the last chance because the forest has taken over the land. In return for breaking the curse, a boon is given to the person to do so. Enter Ferris, who despite her lack of physical training - had been training in secret to enter the forest and break the curse so that she could get her sister back. 

I absolutely LOVED this book, if that wasn't obvious and can't recommend it enough! I really can't wait for the next book, Lightwing, to come out, which isn't until June 2, 2026. 

That's it for now, thanks for hopping on here and read my reviews, I'll hopefully write some more this weekend. I have a couple ARCs, one for a favorite series - one of the series that hooked me on the Romantasy genre and started my obsession over two years ago.