I’m back with another Top 5 Tuesday – a weekly meme created by Shanah, The Bionic Book Worm, and now hosted by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads. This week’s about the books I meant ro read in 2025.
It’s been quite a while since I last participated in a Top X list meme. But I’m quite willing to go for this one.
The last time I updated my to-read-2025 list was around May, I think. However, there’re a few I plan to read and finish for this year’s goal and I got a good bunch waiting for me.
For the list, however, I’ll limit them to the most anticipated top 5 reads I originally planned to read around January 2025.
Of course, plans can change and that’s a good thing. I now have some more I still want to go with but it’s easier for me that way.
So, let’s get to it!
Top 5 Books I Meant To Read in 2025
Behooved by M. Stevenson
Fantasy, Romance, Adult
Bianca knows her duty comes before her heart. So when the threat of war looms, she agrees to marry the neighboring kingdom’s heir. But not all royal weddings are a fairytale, and Prince Aric, Bianca’s betrothed, is cold, aloof, and seems to hate her on sight.
To make matters worse, on their wedding night, an assassination attempt goes awry―leaving Aric magically transformed into a horse. Bianca does what any bride in this situation would do: she mounts her new husband and rides away to safety.
Sunset returns Aric to human form, but they soon discover the assassination attempt is part of a larger plot against the throne. Worse, Bianca has been framed for Aric’s murder, and she’s now saddled with a husband who is a horse by day and a frustratingly attractive man by night.
As an unexpected romance begins galloping away with their hearts, Bianca and Aric must rely on each other to unravel the curse and save the throne.
Starlight Heir by Amalie Howard
Fantasy, Romance, Adult
A bladesmith blessed by the stars. A prince with a dangerous secret. A god bound in shadows. From USA Today bestselling author Amalie Howard comes a scorching new romantasy that will leave you spellbound.
“His Imperial Majesty King Zarek requests your presence as his esteemed guest.”
When the gold-dusted court invitation arrives at Suraya Saab’s forge, she believes it’s a joke. Nobles might seek her skills as a bladesmith—one of few who can imbue her work with precious jadu, the last source of magic in the realm—but she has no qualifications as a potential bride for the crown prince. Still, the invitation is the chance at adventure, and the means to finally visit the capital city her late mother loved.
But what awaits her in Kaldari is nothing she could have imagined—and fraught with danger. It’s not the crown prince, but his impossibly handsome, illegitimate half-brother, Roshan, who captures her interest…and her ire. The invitation isn’t a quest to find a suitable bride, but a veiled hunt for the Starkeeper—a girl rumored to hold the magic of the stars in her blood. And across the city, unrest is brewing between the noble houses and the rebel militia.
When the rebels attack, Suraya and Roshan find themselves on the run, trying to deny their simmering attraction and the knowledge that Suraya herself might be the Starkeeper. But Roshan is guarding secrets of his own. And with no control over the power stirring within her, Suraya has drawn the attention of a dark god, an immortal whose interest might be the biggest threat of all.
Visions of Darkness (Darkness, #1) by A.L. Jackson
Fantasy, Romance, Dark Romance
Aria Rialta is a girl of two realities. One she was born to. The other she was chosen for. Both are a threat.
Every night when Aria falls asleep, she enters the nightmare world of Faydor to fight a war. It’s her calling to help destroy the Kruen, who feed sin and chaos to our everyday world of vulnerable humans. It would be a lonely realm in which to do battle if not for Pax, Aria’s dangerously irresistible soulmate whose mere touch can kill. It’s also a realm that’s getting harder to escape.
Aria’s hallucinations are seeping into her waking world. And the Kruen are coming for her. To help Aria, Pax must do what no one in Faydor has dared to do before—join his soulmate in the light of day. Giving in to their forbidden attraction could be the death of them, but they might not be able to stop themselves as they embark on a cross-country journey to fight the evils hunting them.
As their desire grows, so do Aria’s untapped powers, and a menacing new force far darker than the Kruen.
The Ever King (The Ever Seas, #1) by L.J. Andrews
Fantasy, Romance, Dark Romance
They stole his crown, so he stole their daughter…
For years Erik, the scarred king of the Ever Kingdom, has thought of nothing but vengeance against the man who killed his father and trapped him beneath the waves, making him a prisoner in his own realm.
Until his enemy’s daughter unintentionally breaks the chains on the Ever, and Erik makes her the unwitting pawn in his vicious game of revenge.She’s innocent. He’s vicious. But he will take back what he lost, no matter the price.
Unless she steals his heart first.
Chaos Beckons (The Chaos Chronicles #1) by Sophie Gabrielle
Fantasy, Romance, LGBTQ, Adult
Hidden away in an Eden-like paradise lies a village dedicated to the worship of the goddess Laastra and her husband Arthai. When villagers reach the age of eighteen, they are forced to marry and bear children – but Nadia has other ideas.
Tired of the endless worship, torture and oppression of the fanatical cult, Nadia concocts a plan to flee the walled compound before her dreaded wedding day. Despite being an outsider and a troublemaker hated by all, Nadia enlists the help of her husbands-to-be, High Elder candidate Venne and warrior guardian Emiil.
Yet along the way they discover terrifying secrets about their existence and all that has been hidden from them. After a life of being powerless and punished, Nadia and her friends begin to realise they may be something more than mere mortals. The world beyond the village walls is nothing like they had dreamed. Will the price of freedom be too much to pay?
Out of this list, I at least started with 4 out of 5, only haven’t touched 3 of them for a couple of months, so, I’m not sure if I’ll finish them at this point.
I love the Ever King series! I did read The Starlight Heir earlier this year and I think I gave it a 3.5? I did enjoy it. Hope you get to these eventually!
I read it sometime earlier this year and didn’t finish for some reason. Can’t tell if I’d rather continue or go for a re-read to give it another proper chance now, that I can’t tell what it was about without re-checking the synopsis 😂
A 3.5 sounds okay-ish to me!
Behooved is still on my TBR as well. I hope you’ll enjoy all of these when you get to them 🙂
Behooved is quite fun with all the horse-related jokes, ngl. It got me some good laughs 😂
Behooved sound like a fun one!
It truly was quite fun, ngl!