Everything I Read in October 2025
This month, I read so much romantasy and I loved them all. I have seen The Kindred’s Curse Saga all over Instagram and now I totally get the hype — I only wish the fourth book was already out! Either way, I devoured the available three books in that series, along with the two books in The Wolf King Series by Lauren Palphreyman. I balanced out the romantasy with a fascinating non-fiction compilation on Mary, Queen of Scots, which I definitely recommend to anyone interested in Scottish history. Read on for my full reviews of each book and series and be sure to download my free reading journal here!
(Please note: books with an * after the title are currently available on Kindle Unlimited)
Of the 9 books I read this month, here are my top favorites:
- Play Nice by Rachel Harrison
- The Kindred’s Curse Saga by Penn Cole
- The Wolf King Series by Lauren Palphreyman
Table of Contents:
October 2025 In Books
Romance & Contemporary Fiction
Play Nice by Rachel Harrison
5/5 Stars
This technically could be a fantasy book, but it reads more like a contemporary novel so I decided to put it in this section instead. The novel follows an influencer protagonist who revisits her childhood home which is full of memories and, well, demons. It is both funny and spooky, a good thriller for those of us who aren’t actually huge thriller fans in the traditional sense. I listened to this as an audiobook and loved the narration.
Play Nice by Rachel Harrison is available from Amazon here and Bookshop.org here.
Fantasy
I, Medusa by Ayana Gray
3.5/5 Stars
I wanted to love this novel, but it just wasn’t for me. Typically, I really enjoy myth retellings — including Medusa’s story in particular — but this novel read like YA to me in a not-so-fun way. I think I might be in the minority here because it has great reviews online, but I found it repetitive and reductive. The narrators did a great job, though, I thought.
I, Medusa by Ayana Gray is available from Amazon here and Bookshop.org here.
The Kindred’s Curse Saga: Books 1 – 3 by Penn Cole*
5/5 Stars
I’m grouping books 1 through 3 of Penn Cole’s The Kindred’s Curse Saga together here. I read the three available books in short succession — each are available with Kindle Unlimited — and absolutely loved them. The Kindred’s Curse Saga is made for fantasy and romantasy lovers, especially fans of Throne of Glass, ACOTAR, The Empyrean Series, and The Crowns of Nyaxia series.
In Spark of the Everflame, we meet the protagonist, Diem, as she investigates her mother’s disappearance. This book deals with a lot of world building and establishes the setting for Glow of the Everflame and Heat of the Everflame. Glow of the Everflame was the most gripping of the three for me — though I could hardly put any of them down. In some ways, it had the most action. Heat of the Everflame meanders a bit more than the other two books, but it covers a lot of ground and kept me up late into the night more than once.
Books 1 through 3 of The Kindred’s Curse Saga are available from Amazon here and Bookshop.org here (Book 1, Book 2, Book 3)
The Wolf King Series: Books 1 & 2 by Lauren Palphreyman*
5/5 Stars
Another great series for fantasy lovers, this series also brings in Scottish lore and a highland setting — so, obviously, I loved it. The first book in the series, The Wolf King, is heavy on world building, while the second book in the series, The Night Prince, really expands the story in a gripping way. The series centers on a runaway princess who falls for a werewolf. If that wasn’t complicated enough, there are more monsters in the world than meets the eye and Aurora’s hazy family history becomes central to the story.
The Wolf King Series is available from Amazon here and Bookshop.org here (Book 1, Book 2).
The Ordeals by Rachel Greenlaw
5/5 Stars
A new fantasy book that was all over Instagram this month, The Ordeals is a wild ride from start to finish. I listened to the audiobook — loved the narration! — and am shocked that the book was only 384 pages long in print; it didn’t feel too long, but it certainly felt epic in scope. The story has it all — hidden identities, morally gray characters, magical abilities, and, of course, romance. As far as a first book in a series goes, The Ordeals manages to establish the world in which the story operates and provides a gripping story arc all at once.
The Ordeals by Rachel Greenlaw is available from Amazon here and Bookshop.org here.
Non-Fiction
The Afterlife of Mary, Queen of Scots
4/5 Stars
For anyone interested in Mary Stuart, this is a must-read compilation. With essays from various historians, this book analyzes Mary, Queen of Scots’ historical impact and the way her story evolves throughout popular culture. Some sections are more dense than others, and some were more interesting to me than others, but, overall, it was a balanced account covering the afterlife of Mary, Queen of Scots, from the time just after her death to the Jacobite rebellions to modern day. This piece from The Scottish Historical Review gives a thorough picture of what you can expect from the book.
The Afterlife of Mary, Queen of Scots is available from Amazon here and Bookshop.org here.
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*Some of the novels featured here were gifted to me as part of various book review programs in which Cats & Coffee participates.
