Booked & Colin-ed - July 2025
Whether you're devouring fantasy smut under a weighted blanket or crying in public over a poetic paragraph, we've got you. Welcome to Booked & Colin-ed, the official Colin Magazine Book Club, where we scream about stories that have us hooked, haunted, and wholly obsessed.
🐉 Fourth Wing & the Empyrean Series
by Rebecca Yarros
Let’s get one thing straight: this book grabbed us by the throat and didn’t let go. Welcome to Basgiath War College, where dragons bond with badass riders and students are not guaranteed to survive orientation. Our lead girl Violet is thrown into the chaos with brittle bones, a sharp mind, and zero intention of going down quietly.
But it’s not just the brutal training, the simmering political tension, or the jaw-dropping magic systems that kept us glued to the page, it's Xaden. Tall, dangerous, shadow-wielding Xaden. We are simply not okay.
🔥 Spicy Scene Alert:
Intensity level: slow burn that explodes. Knife-to-throat romance, forced proximity, “I hate you (but not really)” trope. You will need a fan.
⭐ Colin Star Rating: 4.9/5
We deducted 0.1 for emotional damage. (We are not recovering.)
🌹 A Court of Thorns and Roses
by Sarah J. Maas
We may have shown up fashionably late to the ACOTAR party, but we’re making noise now. Starting out as a Beauty and the Beast retelling, it quickly spins into something dark, spicy, and downright feral. Feyre goes from starving mortal girl to fae warrior goddess real quick, and the only thing more dramatic than the plot is the fandom discourse.
Let’s just say: book two changes everything. And yes, we now refer to a certain Spring Court High Lord as a mouldy potato. It’s personal.
🔥 Spicy Scene Alert:
Intensity level: Chapter 55. That’s it. That’s the note.
⭐ Colin Star Rating: 4.5/5
It’s messy, it’s magical, and it gave us emotional whiplash in the best way.
🌀 Circe
by Madeline Miller
This one had us divided. Half of Team Colin was swooning over the prose and feminist themes, the other half felt like they were being lovingly suffocated by metaphors. But no one can deny this book has vibes, lonely island goddess energy, ancient magic, and brutal heartbreak.
Circe is the original "do not disturb" girlie, turning gods, monsters, and lovers into footnotes in her story. A slow burn in every sense, it’s perfect for readers who want to feel everything… very poetically.
🔥 Spicy Scene Alert:
Low heat, high longing. Sex is more metaphorical than mechanical, but it still hits.
⭐ Colin Star Rating: 3.8/5
Subtracting a few points for pacing but awarding bonus points for vibes.
Got a hot take or a book rec that emotionally destroyed you in the best way? Slide into our DMs, tag @colinmagazine, or join the chaos with #BookedAndColined. Whether you're here for the spice, the sobs, or the shadow daddies, we’re right there with you. 💋