Note: This blog is cross-posted from Throughlines, my weekly newsletter hosted on Substack. For an optimal reading experience, please follow this link to view the full post on its original platform. Original publication date: June 17, 2025.

I am not a Goodreads girl, but I do [sort of] have a rating system for my books. It’s based on how much I enjoyed reading them, whether or not I connected with the characters, and how good the writing was. This is where I have to be super honest with you: I am a writing SNOB!!! I have tried to deny this part of my personality but unfortunately it’s something that I’ve had to accept. I realized this when I couldn’t finish Iron Flame, the second book in the chart-topping Fourth Wing series. The plot of the series was so fun and engaging, but y’all, I could not handle the writing; it was so bad that I kept getting yanked out of the narrative. My theory is that it was at least partially written by AI.

So above all, remember: I’m an insufferable Virgo with a special interest in grammar and sentence flow. But I also think I have pretty good taste in books 😌

Without further blabbing, here’s what I have for you this week:

• 🤔 Books I’ve read so far this year that I probably wouldn’t recommend
• ✨ Books I’ve read so far this year that I recommend to specific audiences
• 🤩 Books I’ve read so far this year that I think everyone should read
• 🌈 All books with queer main characters or major queer storylines get a rainbow. Happy Pride!

I probably wouldn’t recommend these books…

Ambition Monster by Jennifer Romolini

I’ll caveat this by saying that I hardly ever read nonfiction books, but when I do it’s usually a memoir. This book is a memoir by a woman who obsessively worked her way up in the magazine and editorial world until she burned out because her career was her entire identity. If you’re struggling to let go of a toxic career that has a crazy hold over you, you might find this helpful. For me, it was another version of the same girlboss-to-burnout pipeline we’ve been hearing about for the last decade.

The Perfect Divorce by Geneva Rose

I read the first book in this series, The Perfect Marriage, last year, and it was a great page-turner thriller. This book was equally a page-turner, but I found that it was a little too predictable after the big reveal of the first book. However, if you’re looking for an exciting true crime/mystery novel, check out Geneva Rose’s other books! They’re super fun.

✨Books I recommend to specific audiences (and why)

And They Were Roommates by Page Powars 🌈

For someone interested in a trans coming-of-age story or a cute YA romance

Okay, this book was sooooo cute. I originally picked it up because I saw the author post on Instagram about it (marketing win!) and because it’s written from the perspective of a trans boy trying to keep his identity secret from his friends so that he doesn’t get kicked out of his all-boys high school. Since I’m writing a trans love interest into my book that may also have a similar secret, I wanted to see that theme done well. Overall, it was a really cute and sweet young love book.

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

For someone who was obsessed with The Hunger Games and wants to dive back into that world.

I referenced what this book did to my brain in a past essay on the Hunger Games hero complex in a post-insurrection world, so you can see my in-depth thoughts there. Overall, I thought this book was INCREDIBLEEEE especially as something written almost 20 years after the original. However, if you aren’t already well-versed in the lore of the original Hunger Games universe, this might be hard to follow and it definitely won’t be as rewarding. If you’re really down for some early 2000s dystopia, start with the first book.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune 🌈

For someone in need of a cute, cozy, feel-good story

This didn’t feel like a necessary reading book to me, but I thoroughly enjoyed the adorable magical foster children and the almost equally adorable and chaste romance between their caretaker and their sheepish government chaperone. A quick read and one that will surely put you in a good mood!

Gwen & Art are Not in Love by Lex Croucher 🌈

For someone who loves King Arthur/Camelot lore and cute YA romances

This is yet another book that was soooo cute and funny and wholesome, but I understand that YA queer coming-of-age stories are simply not for everyone. It’s about love, friendship, and being brave enough to change the course of history. And being a beard for your betrothed because you are both gay. This one made me giggle and was such a fun read!

🤩 Books I’m begging all of you to read ASAP

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Listen…yes, I’m late to the party on this one, and yes, it won a Pulitzer Prize, so it’s a basic recommendation at this point. But if I may be so bold and specifically recommend you listen to this on audiobook? The best way to read. The narrator speaks with what I assume to be an accurate Appalachian accent, and he carries the interiority of the main character well. It is really long, and I may not have finished it had I been reading the text novel because it starts off really heavy. But the commentary this book makes on poverty, the death of the American Dream (did it ever really exist in the first place?) and the opioid crisis in Appalachia is truly extraordinary. This was on one of Barack Obama’s su. mer reading lists so…maybe I should have led with that? Read it!

The entire Legendborn series by Tracy Deonn

Ohhhhh my god. The things I would do to read these three books again (the series is still ongoing, but it’s not something I would wait to start). I suppose if you’re not into fantasy as a genre you might not love this, but I honestly don’t really care. It’s incredible. These books have it all: modern retelling of King Arthur/Camelot lore, a complicated and compelling female main character, Black Girl Magic woven into a narrative of overcoming slavery and generational trauma, multiple hot book boyfriends, queer representation, and an accurate view of modern Southern U.S. culture.

My good friend Alice first put me onto these books, and she deserves a forehead kiss for it. muah.

The Song of Achilles by Madison Miller 🌈

Though I did not enjoy this book quite as much as Miller’s Circe, I still view it as essential reading, especially for anyone interested in mythology. Miller’s writing is the opposite of Fourth Wing for me—it’s so lyrical and poetic that I almost don’t care what the story is about; I just want to consume more of her writing. Highly recommend both this book and Circe; I’ve heard of more people enjoying Achilles but it fell slightly behind for me. Still an incredible novel!

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 🌈

This review brought to you by my husband: “It was a page turner! And that’s how you know it’s good, because I don’t usually get into books like that.” He’s right, it was a total page turner, and a heartfelt, energetic, and creative story!

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar 🌈

This is a novel written by a poet, and is another example of a book I could not put down simply because of the pure beauty of the writing. That and it’s a compelling story about Cyrus, a young man (who is also a poet) obsessed with dying. Complicating all of that, it’s multiple POV, shifting between the perspectives of Cyrus, his father, and his mother, among others. Some chapters also include conversations between characters and historical figures that Cyrus imagines. Epic, pls read.

What I’m currently reading

Like any normal, well-adjusted person, I’m reading like three books right now. One is The Favorites by Layne Fargo, a figure skating thriller (maybe?) slash love story (definitely) that’s becoming a bit of a page turner. That one’s for a book club with some friends. I’m also reading two books as “research” for my own novel—research is in quotes because I am actually very excited to read.

One is A Language of Limbs by Dylan Hardcastle. I’ve just started it, but I was compelled to read because it’s about the AIDS crisis in Australia from the perspective of two queer women. Finally, the third book I’m reading is Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. My friend Chris gave it to me last night as recommended reading for my writing process as well.

What books have you been loving so far this year? Let me know in the comments—I’m always on the lookout for a new favorite!

xx Ashley