The Books That Held Me in 2025

From My Reading Pile - A new Reader Series

This is the beginning of a new bi-monthly reader series here on Substack.

I’m an author, yes. But before that — and always alongside it — I’m a reader.

I don’t read in just one place. I read in print, on KU, or digitally — even on book apps. Stories meet me where I am — and I let them.

That’s why I keep a Book Log.

Not to track numbers.
Not to chase goals.

But to remember what stayed.

This log helps me look back at the books that rooted deeply, the ones that shaped me, and the stories I know I’ll return to. It also doubles as my personal book-shopping list — because if a book makes it onto my shelf, it means I want to live with it again.

My shelves aren’t décor.
They’re book trophies.

Books that make it there hold little pieces of my soul. They healed parts of me. And one day, when the time is right, they may become part of my daughter’s story too.

This series is simply me sharing that space with you.

A Lifelong Reader — With a Long Pause

I’ve been a reader for as long as I can remember.

Elementary school book fairs.
Library summer reading challenges.
Stacks of paperbacks were carried home like treasure.

Somewhere after high school, I lost that part of myself.

Life got louder.
Survival took over.
Reading for pleasure quietly slipped away.

In 2014, I rediscovered my love for books through personal development.
Those weren’t stories yet — but they gave me language, structure, and something to hold onto while I rebuilt my life.

Fiction didn’t return until 2023.
That return began with And Then There Were Four on Kindle Vella.

I didn’t pick it up with intention.
I wasn’t trying to “become a reader again.”

I just needed a story that fit where I was.

That book reminded me of what it felt like to be absorbed. To care about characters. Looking forward to the next part.

It wasn’t about format or genre.
It was about permission.

Permission to return to stories without pressure.

Everything that followed, the rhythm I’ve found, the shelves I’ve built, the 105+ books I read in 2025, started there.

How I Read Now

I’ve learned that I read by:

• mood

• mental capacity

• emotional bandwidth

Some days I can sit with heavier stories. Other days, I need comfort.

I will always return to wolves.
Pack dynamics.
Protective instincts.

(My first real book love was Julie’s Wolf Pack, and apparently that imprint never left.)

If you’ve read something like Belladonna versus The Ravenhood, you know the difference in weight. I read based on what I can hold — and I trust that instinct now.

Books That Stayed With Me (2025)

Out of 105+ books read across formats in 2025, these are five that stayed with me.

These are the stories that rooted deeply — the ones I’m not ready to let go of yet.

• On Wings of Blood & The Bond That Burns — Briar Boleyn
  Permanent shelf space. Immersive and consuming.

• Shallow River — H.D. Carlton
  Also, a shelf book. This one lingered long after I finished it.

• Secrets of the Catalogue — Amelia Spencer
  Not on my shelf yet — but impossible to put down.

• Shield of Sparrows — Devney Perry
  Quietly powerful. Immediately a must-have.

What to Expect From This Series

This is not a review column.
There’s no pressure to keep up.

This space is:

• reflection, not performance

• connection, not consumption

• human, not curated

If people enjoy it, I’ll keep sharing.
If not, I’ll still be reading.

Because stories saved me long before I ever wrote one — and I don’t forget that.

✍🏻 AM — Grounded in raw. Real. Grit. Healing.