Reads By Jess, 415 Leavenworth Street (2026)

05/03/2026

Joey by Sadie Kincaid, New Deluxe Paperback 📚✨

✨ℚ — Have you read the Chicago Ruthless series? 👀

💝 Thank you so much to for sending me this beautiful gifted copy.

Chicago Ruthless by has been on my TBR for a hot minute and I’m sooo excited to finally jump in. Gorgeous new editions are always a siren song for me with long overdue series reads. Look how pretty they are?! 💃🏻🖤

And now also a USA Today Bestseller! Congrats Sadie!

I’m such a sloot for black, gold, AND dark florals. Match made in heaven. I want the whole set! Jumping on them now, because the editions are limited, and apparently come with bonus scenes. 👀

Having just finished The Edge of Darkness series, I think I’m very much in the mood for this, and it will be my first mafia dark romance!

🖤 Dark Mafia Romance
🖤 Brother’s Best Friend
🖤 Touch Her and Die
🖤 Secrets and Dark Past
🖤 Spice
🖤 Jealous/Possessive Male Lead
🖤 Age gap

BLURB —

Joey, the Mafia princess, has always craved Maximo DiMarco—notorious Mafia enforcer and right hand of her older brother Dante. When forbidden sparks ignite, his dark past and deadly secrets threaten everything. Will she risk it all for the man who truly sees her?
. .

🏷️ dark romance book recs, mafia book recs, 2026 book releases, dark romance books, new book release, book series recommendation, age gap romance, storygram tours

02/03/2026

March 2026 Book Releases 📚☘️

✨ℚ — What March book release are you pumped for? OR, do you celebrate St. Patty’s Day?

I swear every month in 2026 is massive for book releases; either that, or I’ve just become psychotic with my releases schedule. But… how can I help it?!

For March 2026 book releases we have all of the following sub-genres, across 48 books that nabbed my personal interest:

☘️ Dark Romance
☘️ Epic Romantasy (one has Vikings!)
☘️ Paranormal Romantasy
☘️ Mythological Retellings
☘️ Dystopian Romance
☘️ Contemporary Romance
☘️ Sports Romance
☘️ Dark Fantasy Romance
☘️ Dark Academia
☘️ Gothic Romance
☘️ Horror Thriller

A few of these are trad, paperback, or deluxe special edition releases, notated with a little ☘️ — I’m particularly excited to nab Dire Bound, and three of my all-time favs are getting paperback releases: Enigma, The Wind Weaver, and House of Blight!

As always, this isn’t a full list of alllll the book releases; it’s just the ones that I’m into and intrigued by (and know about), because these lists are a labor of love!

What did I miss? 🏷️ing some friends to throw in!

*Dates are subject to change by authors and publishers at any time! Apologies for any I may have gotten wrong, but do let me know!

🏷️ march books 2026, march book club picks, march 2026 book releases, book recs, romance books, romance book recommendations, upcoming books, March book recs, St. Patrick's Day

26/02/2026

Ache of Chaos by Randi Garner, Six-Star Dark Fantasy Romance 💃🏻📚

✨ℚ — If you could be the god or goddess of something, what would you choose? Why?

HAPPY RELEASE DAY TO 🥂🖤
Isn’t the cover of this book absolutely stunning??!

Cover Designs: .book.design
Artwork by:

The paperback has gorgeous interior detail and artwork from both of the above artists 😍🖤 can't wait to get!

Ache of Chaos by Randi Garner, the third interconnected standalone of The Fragile Divine series, is another beautiful book-shaped manifestation of the author’s endless empathy; no one writes the emotions that linger in our darkest places like Randi does.

All of us familiar to The Fragile Divine series were curious about the same thing, I think—can Marina, a formidable and brutal villain thus far, be redeemed? For me, the answer is a resounding YES, and by the end of the prologue... a prologue that gave me goosebumps, by the way.

This allowed me to jump into the volatility of Marina and Acacius with both feet, and boy do they put on a show. Some of my favorite scenes from this story are these two throwing everything they have at one another, that brutal and insane violence that Gods are feared for, and then laughing.

Kindred spirits, but totally and completely unhinged.

Underneath all of that, though, is the heart of the story... which revolves around heavy themes of loneliness, grief, betrayal, deeply engrained trauma and PTSD, and despair. Living with these characters as they navigate their darkness, and find connective tissue within, is hopeful, beautiful, and empowering.

I would recommend this book (this whole series, really) to anyone looking for a lighthouse in the dark, without hesitation. Randi takes such care with these themes and the result is heart-healing.

💝 Thank you so much to Randi Garner for having me as a Beta reader for this beauty.
. .

🏷️ dark fantasy romance book recs, romantasy book recs, 2026 book releases, romance books, gods and goddesses, most anticipated book releases, book series recommendation, mental health rep, the fragile divine series

22/02/2026

Saturday Stack, February Birthstone: Alluring Amethyst 💜📚

✨ℚ — What colors of books (special edition or otherwise) do you tend to gravitate towards?

Happy Stack Saturday, darlings!

February’s birthstone is the ever alluring Amethyst and you babes have been putting up some stunning book stacks. Here is my humble entry, with thanks to for the tag, as well as , , and , who all tagged me in purple and black stacks (and I think this also qualifies, maybe?).

🏷️ some friends to do a birthstone stack!

I LOVE PURPLE EVERYTHING.
Especially books!

Spending this weekend getting organized around the house and with a few of my tracking systems. Kind of an admin weekend, and I honestly love those.

Recently finished Eldrith Manor by Leigh Rivers and Vanguard by Karina Halle, and just posted my Vanguard thoughts. Eldrith Manor was just a wild (and hilarious) ride. Will definitely be on my spooky reads rec list this fall.

Currently reading Insatiable by Leigh Rivers and I AM IN LOVE WITH IT. And then I’m arc reading This Wretched Alchemy by Tina Mars, which I’m VERY excited for.

Have a great weekend, babes!

🏷️ book recs, book photography, bookish community, book challenges, photography challenges, special edition books, romantasy books, dark fantasy books, moody books, moody book stacks

21/02/2026

CAPTION

Vanguard by Karina Halle, The Winter Soldier Meets Dark Stalker Romance 🖤

✨ℚ — Are you a nerd about that superhero life, like me?

Vanguard by Karina Halle totally grabbed me, and I was NOT expecting it to, despite being a massive fan of Halle's near-cinematic style and approach to storytelling.

Like many, I absolutely love superheroes and Marvel (long live Loki). Total nerd for it. I do a full rewatch of all the Marvel films every year at Christmas. But—I've been very fatigued by the whole superhero scene for a while. So, I went into this book with a bit of hesitation, because I didn't want to project that fatigue onto it and wasn't sure I could be fair, in that respect.

Well, the hesitation was completely unneeded, because this book is FRESH.

It's fun.
It's dark.
It's emotional.
It's politically urgent.

The Winter Soldier meets Dark Romance.

Vanguard, himself, is basically Captain America mixed with Dexter Morgan (inner darkness included).

It's very much the dark side of superheroes.

But... it's not dark just because of the thick thread of dark, emotional damage, romance beautifully weaved into the narrative.

It's dark because of what the story itself has to say about our current political climate, about how "good" is marionetted from the shadows for malicious intent, and about how unlikely it is that things would change, even after coming to a tragic head.

"The infrastructure of control never really goes away. It just gets better PR."

All-in-all, I was really impressed with this story's ability to balance heavy-themed politics and quick-paced action espionage, with a very emotional, spicy, and dark, romance. And it was even funny, too, in that very classic Karina Halle way, that many of us love.

Vanguard isn't something that we get often in romance and I absolutely loved it. And for those who loved Grave Matter... Vanguard is connected. 👀

💝 Thank you for for gifting me a digital arc 💃🏻

🏷️ dystopian dark romance book recs, 2026 book releases, romance books, sci-fi romance, stalker romance, assassin fmc, obsessive mmc, spicy book recs

18/02/2026

6 Romantasy Books to Read Now Before the Next Book Releases ❤️‍🔥📚

✨ℚ — Are you able to read back-to-back romantasy books, or do you need a genre swap between?

Whether it’s romantasy, dark romance, or contemporary romance, I am a massive advocate for the genre swap between reads. I feel like I dodge reading slumps like bullets in the Matrix by just switching to another genre that I adore.

Luckily, I am madly in love with every genre of romantic fiction, so… that helps.

Does it help more than it 🪦 my TBR? 👀
Jury is still out.
I think books have barricaded the jury room door, so… 💃🏻📚

That being said, there is always something special about coming home to romantic fantasy, no matter where my reader travels take me.

Romantasy is why I’m here. It started both my reading journey and my healing journey, and without it, I wouldn’t have made the personal breakthroughs that I’ve made over the past year and a half.

🖤 Fourth Wing
🖤 The Serpent and the Wings of Night
🖤 When the Moon Hatched

These were my first steps on the reading journey that both changed and empowered me. And I will DISMANTLE any argument or criticism of romantasy books, romance books, or readers of either. Just try me. Let me at em. 🥊

So let’s celebrate the genre with a couple of recs!

In the carousel you’ll find (6) romantasy series that have an upcoming release before June, giving you just enough time to catch-up beforehand. I also included some bits of info I have regarding arc applications and publishers, so you can try to read early if you love the current release.

I know readers love finished series, but there’s something very special about being part of this community during releases, experiencing them together.

Plus, it supports the authors! Which is huge!

Cheers and enjoy, babes!

🏷️ some friends to throw in some romantasy book recs, with bonus points for any with an upcoming release within the next three months!

🏷️ book recs, bookstagram, arc reader, top reads, best romance books, book recs, romance books, romance book recommendations, upcoming books

17/02/2026

Bookmail Monday, Freaked Right the Hell Out Edition

✨ℚ — If you could get a PR box from one dream author, who would it be?

💝 pr gifted to me by

So, babes... I'm really bad at requesting pr and/or arcs from publishers via email. I don't ever feel worthy. I battle imposter syndrome daily. Most of what I have received, I was lucky enough to be on a list for.

But I saw this box making the rounds and... I had to shove the anxiety away to go after it. I LOVE this series.

I had to talk myself up for three days.

I painstakingly composed my email. Put allllll of my links where I've mentioned and/or raved about this series.

Deleted half of it.
Rewrote it to make it shorter.
Ended up making it long.

It was a whole thing.
Pressed send.

Three days later I received an email that just basically said, "hey, thanks for your email and support, we'll put you on a list should there be more opportunities".

And I was like... COOL. RESPONSE. I'll take it. I didn't expect to even get that much, so I was stoked about that!

And then this box showed up. And I truly frightened an elderly woman in my building's package room when I saw the box on the shelf... and she definitely caught and side-eyed THE POISONER written on the outside of the box.

I think I literally skipped back to my apartment to immediately message my gals and freak the hell out.

No matter what else I request/receive for the rest of 2026, this one box made my whole year.

Thank you so much to and for this beautiful gift.

P.S.
I've taken a million photos and hated them all. None of them will ever be good enough. 😭

🏷️ gothic romance book recs, 2026 book releases, romance books, vampire books, Simon Maverick Books, I.V. Ophelia, dark romance books, The Arachnid

14/02/2026

Saturday Stack, Anti-Valentine's Day Edition 🖤🤘🏻

✨ℚ — Are you one to embrace Valentine's Day, or stubbornly rebel against it?

Happy Stack Saturday and Valentine's Day! ❤️‍🔥

When it comes to V-Day, I'm a stubborn rebel. 🤘🏻

Pretty much always have been, because the grand marketing scheme lens of it is just too rose-tinted for my taste. And my experiences with love and relationships have not made me any less jaded about it.

Which is why I love romance books, honestly. Particularly darker stories, with no insta-love or starry-eyed naivete, but deep connection, trauma bonding, curiosity, and the psychological exploration of all three between two hearts (or more).

I love that romance books are a safe space to explore these things and connect with yourself in the process; to figure out what kind of romantic you are, without the societal lens.

And one lovely, unexpected and delightful, thing that I've also found are all of my Galentines in this Bookstagram community.

You are my loves! Tagging a bunch, but there are more.

Peace, love, and pages, babes. 🖤🤘🏻

13/02/2026

The Arachnid by I.V. Ophelia, My Favorite STEM FMC of ALL TIME 💃🏻

✨ℚ — Do you bow at the feet of STEM FMCs like I do? What’s your best book rec?

💝 arc gifted to me by

The Arachnid by is everything I wanted, and none of what I expected, after falling madly in love with The Poisoner last year; which is perfect. I love, with my whole heart, the way I.V. Ophelia writes gothic romance.

There’s a lot that I can’t get into here, for the sake of those who have not yet read The Poisoner. You know, all of you INSANE people. Because WHAT DO YOU MEAN you haven’t read it, yet? Slaying me.

For those of you who have, however, just know that you are in for a treat and my GR review goes deeper with explaining why (which I just updated, 🔗 in the usual spot), without spoilers.

What I will say to all for now is that this book does a really beautiful job of exploring its FMC in a very meaningful way. The Poisoner also did this, but The Arachnid is a really fascinating evolution for Alina—who basically becomes a very unhinged Madame in this book.

So fun. So murderous. SO OPHELIA.

I think that's what I loved most about this book; it's a true bend to Alina's character arc. She's evolving. And she's not done yet by the end. Which gets me really excited about the series as a whole, because what this book made clear is that her evolution is the core focus of it.

And Silas is… of course… obsessed. As he should be.

Which brings me to my second favorite part of this book—the evolution of their relationship. It's just as unhinged as ever, but in a different way. A deeper way that carves into the why of their connection, instead of it just existing effortlessly. They both have to do work here and it creates a very meaningful evolution, while still being fun, and playful, and spicy as all hell.

Aside from those favorites of mine, the overarching story is gripping, emotional, and twisty, and left me on a breathless note. I'm already emailing for The Cannibal, because I just can't wait.

🏷️ gothic romance book recs, 2026 book releases, most anticipated books

10/02/2026

Wicked Onyx, by Debbie Cassidy | Dark Academia Romance 📚

✨ℚ — What was the last book that genuinely surprised you in some way?

Happy Release Day to ! Wicked Onyx is a dark academia GEM.

**gifted pr from the lovelies over at

Anamaya Onyx has lived a cursed, ostracized life. Her entire bloodline, comprised of once-powerful sorcerers, was cast out and cut-off from power; punishment for a long-dead ancestor's crimes.

But what if history was rewritten for some other agenda?

Angry and determined to enact vengeance for a lifetime's worth of unearned sorrow, Anamaya sets out to uncover the truth... buried somewhere within the considerably dangerous depths of Nightbridge Academy.

In brief, Wicked Onyx is everything I love about mature and intelligent dark academia that is also fun, funny, fast-paced, and still gorgeously detail-oriented.

If you loved Zodiac Academy and The Witcher, Wicked Onyx is a fun amalgamation of both vibes.

✅ Terrifying & Formidable Monsters

✅ Clever, Witty, Stem FMC

✅ Secret-Riddled Academy

✅ A Wealth of Well-Drawn Characters

✅ Endearing Found Family Vibe

✅ Fascinating Well-Imagined Magic System

And my FAVORITE PART?

The writing is flavored by rich British-style irreverence. It’s dark, funny, adult, and deeply dry-humored, with pitch-perfect tonal consistency. Being in Anamaya’s head is an absolute delight, and the dynamics between her and others, in various relationship dynamics, engage you on every level.

I'm all in to continue this series and really look forward to seeing how the MANY mysteries, twists, and slow burn romance(s?) unravel, and how these incredibly fun characters evolve.

Full review l!/nked in the usual spot.

04/02/2026

January Reading Wrap Up, 2026 Edition 📚

✨ℚ — What was your top read from the year that was January? OR, What show are you watching?

So… January was the longest month of all time, yes?
We can all agree there were 12 months in that one month, right?

In times that suck, books are extra comforting and, for me, sanity-securing. In general, when the world is too much (usually just due to anxiety), books are my safe space, my reset, and often what gives words to everything that I’m feeling. I love understanding this world, myself, and everyone else, from every walk of life, through reading. And I love having my empathy deepened with every page.

Books are powerful. I hope you found some comfort in them this month, as well.

In the slides are all of my top reads from January, which include:

🖤 Urban Romantasy
🖤 Dark Romantasy
🖤 Gothic Romance
🖤 Contemporary Romance
🖤 Dark Romance
🖤 Horror Er/ot!ca

Additionally, I’ve been watching the second season of The Night Manager and it was OUTSTANDING.

🏷️ing some friends to throw in their best read from January 🖤

🏷️ best reads from january 2026, feburary book releases, book recs, romance books, fantasy books, upcoming books, favorite books, must read book

Reads By Jess

05/03/2026

02/03/2026

26/02/2026

22/02/2026

21/02/2026

18/02/2026

17/02/2026

14/02/2026

13/02/2026

10/02/2026

04/02/2026

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