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Mid-year reading check-in

@vitterbok asked me to show my 5 top-tier books so far this year 🫶
Finally a challenge I could participate in since five star books (and some 4,5 stars) are pretty much the only books I don’t sell immediately after I’ve read them…
I don’t like owning lots of things so if I don’t think I’m going to read a book again, it gets unhauled.
And, I’ve actually had five 5 ⭐️ reads so far this year!

I had a romantasy burnout this year…
One of the many things I have in common with Vitterbok.
It came out of nowhere and suddenly romantasys didn’t hit anymore and they all started to feel like the same book to me.
So this was the year I found Contemporary romance.
This fantasy slump also gave me somewhat of an identity crisis that I feel like I’m still struggling with.
I know it’s dumb but I still feel like I should only be into dragon and witches… I’m cool like that you know? 🤪
But here I am, swooning over grumpy cowboys and damn hockey players 😆
Arianas ”I hate that I made you love me” is contemporary romance apologizing to me btw. If you were wondering about the song choice…
I’ve started to pick up romantasys again but I’m more selective now and make sure they don’t all have the same tropes or plot. And I’m working on accepting that I’m a contemporary romance bitch as well and it’s fine.

So without further ado, here are my five star reads of the year:

Quicksilver by Callie Hart.
I read this in January and it blew me away.
There was no question about it, definitely a five star read.
Don’t ask me about Brimstone, I’m still mad and I don’t what to talk about it 😒

Rain of shadows and endings by Melissa Roehrich.
Well Melissa is a queen. That’s just facts.
For me, five stars is a feeling and this book just had that. So good

Caught up and Play along by Liz Tomforde.
Omg the Rhodes brothers…
These men are just perfection. Liz writes the most emotional mature men!
Liz is definitely an auto buy author for me now.

Consider me by Becka Mack
This book caught me by surprise.
It looks kind of bland (Yes I judge books by their cover) and I didn’t know a lot going in.
It turned out to be utter perfection.

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Mid-year reading check-in!

@zupbooknerd asked me to show my 5 top-tier books so far this year! (Thank you, love 🖤) I however apperently have decision making-anxiety, so 6 books it is. Where two of them get to represent the whole series, because see reason above.

Books featured:
Neurovance - Alexandra St Pierre
Chasing Riddick - Alexandra St Pierre
Hellcat - Alexandra St Pierre
Insatiable - Leigh Rivers (the whole series!)
The Arachnid - I.V. Ophelia
Deviant King - Rina Kent (the whole series!)

The Edge of Darkness trilogy by Leigh and the Royal Elite series by Rina just took up, and keep taking up, so much of my brain capacity. I had such a bloody good time (with high af anxiety, I may add) reading them, so they definitely deserve a spot for my highlight of the year.

Two books that were this 🤏 close to making the list and still deserve a mention, because I say so, are:
Tortured Souls - Melissa K Roehrich
The Ballad of Fallen Dragons - Sarah A Parker

So, so close.

I also just reached my reading goal for the year (clap, please), which is a bit insane. But going into 2026, I had just realised I’d entered my first-ever fantasy slump, and was unsure if I would even be able to read much this year. But here we are! I found my way back with some good old-fashioned contemporary dark romance, and it has worked wonders on my soul. Fantasy still has a very special place in my heart, and I still read it, but for now it gets spaced out with contemporary.

Though ngl, it did give me somewhat of an identity crisis realizing my all-time favorite genre just didn’t hit as before. But I’ve since come to terms with it, kind off. I’m sure I’ll find my way back someday.

I’ve tagged some gems, but if you’ve been a good bean and read this far, consider yourself tagged. 🖤

#bookstagram #booklover #booksbooksbooks #dᴀʀᴋrᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ #fantasyromance

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My physical summer TBR 📚

As per my tradition, this summer is going to be dark. It’s quite nice actually, and I’ve never felt comfortable in the happy vibes of summer anyway.

Summerween, anyone?

@bloodycrimsonreads tagged me in shoving my TBR for the summer, and I have some really exciting books to look forward to, so here we go, in no particular order:

Throne of Power - Rina Kent
Throne of Vengeance - Rina Kent
All Your Bloody Lies - M.L. Burns
Little Stranger - Leigh Rivers
Little Liar - Leigh Rivers
Soul Eater - Lily Mayne
Hellcat - Alexandra St Pierre

I am trying to make a dent in my physical TBR this summer, but let’s be reasonable, I will without a shadow of a doubt get feelings and end up reading random books as well. But I’ll hopefully give these a go! I’m very excited to continue both my Rina and Alexandra projects of reading all their books.

What are you all reading this summer? I’ve tagged some gems, but if you see this feel free to give it a go. I would love to see it! But no pressure, as always.

Happy Friday everyone! 🖤

#bookstagram #readersofig #darkromance #booklover #booksbooksbooks

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✨️ Book challenge - Google your booksta handle ✨️

Thank you @backcountry_booky for tagging me in this challenge 😘 I've had a good time putting it together.

I googled my booksta handle in both english and swedish; as the latter was more detailed, I included that as well.
Basically, it says that I engage a lot, read different litterature, participate in trends and challenges, spread humorous clips and that my posts are appreciated. Thank you for that assumption! 😄

My handle has been with me for quite some time and my nick has been used before in two different known settings. Does anyone on here recognize any of those personas?
With the risk of all you youthful followers now feel like I'm ageing; as long as you keep calling me "First Lady of Sweden", I won't mind. For now 😘

2001-2004; I administrated divXsweden, the largest subtitle page in Sweden. A couple of years ago my father put on a movie from Netflix and saw my handle in the sub. Obviously Netflix uses my translations to this day!

2005-2009; as a professional poker player using the same nick (Mikka). Well known at the time, though the last time I was treated as some kind of celebrity was in 2014 when I settled my daughter at pre school and got personal treatment from the headmaster 😂
I've got so many stories, might have to write a book 😏

I'll tag some of you, who might enjoy googling your handle as well. 😊
I'm curious to how google find you and your other personas!

#bookchallenge hole #celebrityskin #googleyou #divxsweden #pokerplayer bookstagram boktips bookrecs booktok

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𝔉𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔣𝔦𝔳𝔢 𝔥𝔲𝔫𝔡𝔯𝔢𝔡! 🧱

@zupbooknerd tagged me in showcasing 5 books over 500 pages from my shelves.

As it stands, my average book length over the last two years has been over 500, and I quickly realised that I would have easily managed 7 over 700, but the stack just got way too big tbh, so only five bricks it is.

Without further ado, here are some books with over 700 pages (just because I can):

Lady of Starfire - Melissa K Roehrich (703)
Dawn of Chaos and Fury - Melissa K Roehrich (712)
Blood and Betrayal - Alexis Rune & Jeanette Rose (724)
Sorrow & Starlight - C Peckham & S Valenti (761)
Heat of the Everflame - Penn Cole (761)

All of these were read before I bought my Kindle, and worked as both a weapon of choice and a daily workout. Though they should have a warning attached to them, since I at one point dropped ZA on my face while reading in bed. Let's just say I do not recommend.

Tack så mycket Emma för taggen! 🖤 Tagging some friends, but per usual, do or don't. Never any pressure!

#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booklover #5over500 #bookchallenges

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Happy international women’s day!!! Tagging some of my favorite people/small shops/artists 🖤🫶🏼

also Instagram why do you have to limit my tags 😭

@amaranthaswhor
@sammylou.reads
@tiasdarklitsociety
@duskboundnovels
@dee_reading_fiend
@darkhearts.and.ink
@lehighstainedglass
@diaryofanightlizard
@nicolethebookwyrm
@collectingbookboyfriends
@inkstainedoasis
@givemetheromance
@downthebondofficial
@onceuponfelicia
@redfishstoneware
@goska_czekolada
@sadbookgirlie
@valeriia_books
@authorljandrews
@britks_books
@melissa_k_roehrich
@ophallic
@vicis.library
@fatedloves
@daydreamingmoms
@alexismaragold
@authalexisrune
@_lindseywrites_
@kristens.creations_
@adawraeauthor
@jocelynbleu

Art by:

Aelin- @knightfallart
Oraya and esmyra @megillustrate
Diana and Summer - @romannaboch
Feyre- @renoodle_studio
Auren- @penellope.art
Elyria- @adduani
Mireille- @lil_donique

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🖤 𝖁𝖆𝖑𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖊𝖘 𝕯𝖆𝖞 𝕾𝖙𝖆𝖈𝖐 🖤

Thank you to the lovely @stars_wholisten for tagging me in this challenge! And what better day to post it than on V Day itself, with the assistance of my partner helping me choose the books, as we take a brief pause in our Heated Rivalry re-watch - hence the song choice.

I really struggled to narrow this down but needs must or this would have been an unruly stack.

My Valentine: Your ultimate book boyfriend
- Silas Forbes ofc (from The Poisoner series by @ophallic) ESPECIALLY after The Arachnid

Red Roses: A book with a gorgeous cover
- Empire of The Dawn by @misterkristoff (Tour dustjacket! This one was chosen by my partner)

Love Letter: A book that includes letters or emails
- Kiss of The Basilisk by Lindsay Straube (listen, I remember letters in this? But also, I know @oxfordlemon posted letters on Insta, so maybe that's what I'm remembering?!)

Box of Chocolates: A book as sweet as chocolate
- Just One Bite by @s.l.cokeley_writes_books (I don't have many sweet romances, but this one felt the sweetest!)

Soulmates: A couple that are truly meant to be
- Lance & Darcy - Zodiac Academy by @carolinepeckham and @susanne_valenti

Endless Love: A book you want to reread
- The Foxglove King by @hwhittenwrites (desperately want to reread this series soon!)

I've tagged a few pals to take part, but as always, no pressure 🖤✌🏻

#bookstack #bookrecs #bookchallenge #valentinesday #booklover

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❤️ Name Stack 💜

I was tagged by @laurenjadereada and couldn’t resist joining in. When I started pulling books for this, I didn’t realise how perfectly my choices would fall into the most gorgeous reds and purples… but honestly, I’m not mad about it at all.
There’s something so satisfying about seeing these spines together.

Books in my stack:
Curse of Shadows and Thorns by @authorljandrews
Artemisia by Tessia Ivers
Rain of Shadows and Endings by @melissa_k_roehrich
Iron & Embers by @helenscheuerer
Storm of Secrets and Sorrow by Melissa K Roehrich

QOTD: What are you reading this week?

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🪻 𝕻𝖚𝖗𝖕𝖑𝖊 𝕾𝖙𝖆𝖈𝖐 🪻

The sun was briefly shining and my bedroom looked stunning with the purple wall looking warm and the gold accents glinting, so I decided to do a 'Purple Stack - but make it books on my TBR'

And here it is, a handful of books I need/want to read/re-read:

☀️ Faithbreaker by Hannah Kaner
🌙 The Fox Hunt by Caitlin Breeze *
☀️ Death's Daughter by SA Barnes *
🌙 Bitten by Jordan Stephanie Gray (@lilaclibraryuk edition)
☀️ Nightshade by Autumn Woods
🌙 Of Blood and Aether by Harper Hawthorne (@thebookishbox edition) (re-read)

* These were gifted copies.

I've tagged a few pals to do a purple stack but, as always, no pressure ✌🏻

#bookchallenge #bookstack #booklover #bookworm #booksbooksbooks

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🪻 𝕹𝖆𝖒𝖊 𝕾𝖙𝖆𝖈𝖐 🪻

The lovely @littleraereads tagged me in this challenge and I figured I'd give it a go. I thought this would be a lot harder than it ended up being, to be honest, so it wasn't much of a challenge after all, even with setting myself a bit of a blue & white challenge alongside it!

Books featured:
Lady of Darkness - Melissa K Roehrich (@melissa_k_roehrich)
American Psycho - Brett Easton Ellis (I'm no better than a finance bro because I bloody love this book)
Undead Gods - Caitlyn Battelle (@caitlynbattellebooks)
RuneScape: The Fall of Hallowvale - Robbie MacNiven (my partner really wants me to read this! He's a huge OSRS nerd - I say that lovingly)
Even In Death - Randi Garner (@randimgarner)
(The) North Wind - Alexandria Warwick (@alexandriawarwick)

I've tagged a few accounts to take part but, as always, there's no pressure to. Likewise, if you're not tagged - I have the memory of a sieve and always forget to tag people - please feel free to take part!

🪻 Are there any books that you're being encouraged to read but you are refusing to? Or haven't had time to yet? 👀

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🪦 2025 IN MEMORIAM 🪦

Okay, so, I've kind of approached my 2025 summary as if it were an obituary, which is fine and not at all morbid (please don't question my mental state).

I really enjoyed looking back on last year - reading and Bookstagram brought me SO much joy.

From the, frankly unhinged, buddy reads, the endless 5 star reads, getting incredible opportunities to read ARCs of books I'm super excited about, joining street teams and beta-reading, you'd think it couldn't get better.

BUT I'm truly just thankful for everyone who follows me and especially those I get to call friends 🖤 I'm terrible at replying in a timely manner but I do, honestly, enjoy chatting with you so much.

And a special shout-out, of course, to The Coven. We trauma-bonded over Zodiac Academy and I can't believe a fantasy book series brought me 5 amazing friends who I can't imagine not talking to every day.

So, enjoy my statistics (the accountant in me loves them, but I don't know whether anyone else does) and my 2025 highlights.

✌🏻

#2025 #wrapped #reader #booklover #booksofınstagram

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𝕽𝖊𝖉 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖂𝖍𝖎𝖙𝖊 𝕾𝖙𝖆𝖈𝖐

The lovely @esmayrosalyne tagged me in this challenge a little while ago and I received a few red books at Christmas, so now is the perfect time to take part.

Books featured:
🕊️ To Cage A Wild Bird - Brooke Fast
🕊️ How The King of Elfhame Learned To Hate Stories - Holly Black
🕊️ Highblood - Elizabeth Earle
🕊️ Warrior Princess Assassin - Brigid Kemmerer
🕊️ Daughter of No Worlds - Carissa Broadbent

I've tagged a few pals to take part in this, if you fancy it, but no pressure as always 🖤

#booksofınstagram #bookstack #bookchallenge #fantasybook #fantasy

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