biography

My Top 5 Reads of 2025

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Okay, it’s technically my top 8 reads of 2025, but 4 of them are in the same series, so I’m reviewing them together. 

I read 41 books this year – 2 more than my goodreads goal! 5 (8) of them I loved so much, I need to share them with you.

Remember When We by Khardine Gray. 

Khardine Gray also writes under the name Faith Summers. Whether she’s writing as Khardine or Faith, her series are all mafia romances. Remember When We is my absolute favorite of hers. It’s the third installment of her Gangster and Dolls series. It’s a second chance romance with the older brother’s best friend and secret baby tropes weaved into the plot. Lyssa and Gio haven’t seen each other in almost a decade. The death of Lyssa’s brother, Gio’s best friend tore them apart. Now they’re back in each other’s lives, and Lyssa owes money to the wrong man. Gio must not only win back her heart, but also save her from dangerous men who want to harm her.

Khardine/Faith write very spicy love scenes, and most of her MMCs are morally grey and very alpha-like. Several of her stories cross the line for me; but knowing that she has stories like Remember When We keeps me reading her stuff.

Queen Charlotte by Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes

Unlike the other Bridgerton stories, Queen Charlotte the book was released after Queen Charlotte the limited Netflix series. But like most film-book comparisons, the book is better! What I love about reading is that we get to experience the characters’ emotions in their heads. On screen, we guess what they’re feeling by their body language and tone of voice. Like the mini-series, Queen Charlotte follows Charlotte and George’s early days as newlyweds, Brimsley and Reynolds’ relationship, and Lady Danbury’s fight to keep her children’s rightful status after her husband dies. The book also gets a couple of scenes that aren’t in the show. My guess is they are scenes that either got deleted from final edits, or were never filmed due to time. And finally, Brimsley and Reynolds’ love story is so much better in the book. I didn’t like their story in the show. I thought Reynolds was toxic and verbally abusive. In the book, Brimsley calls Reynsolds out on this unequal behavior, and Reynolds changes for the better by the end of the book.

I’m all for Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes continuing to give side characters their own story. 

The Rokesby Series by Julia Quinn

  • Because of Miss Bridgerton
  • The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband
  • The Other Miss Bridgerton
  • First Comes Scandal

These four books are considered the Bridgerton Prequels. The MMCs of each book are a son in the Rokesby family – the family whose countryside property is next to the Bridgerton’s Aubrey Hall. And three of the FMCs are a Bridgerton girl; either a sister or cousin to Edmund Bridgerton (Violet’s husband and father to the eight main Bridgertons). I argue that these four books are better than the original eight Bridgerton books. But I’m sure it’s because Julia Quinn started with the Bridgerton books, and simply improved her plot creativity and writing skills as she wrote and published more. Let’s dive in to a brief summary of each:

Because of Miss Bridgerton is about the oldest Rokesby, George, and the oldest Bridgerton Billie (Sibylla). They think they hate each other, but their mothers know better and hook them up with an elaborate scheme of dinner parties and visiting London.

The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband takes us to the colonies on the North American continent during the American Revolution. Edward, the second oldest Rokesby is serving the King in his Majesty’s army. Cecilia has traveled to the colonies to find her injured brother, who happens to be Edward’s best friend. In order to get the answers she seeks, Cecilia needs the Rokesby name, and pretends to be married to Edward.

The Other Miss Bridgerton is about the third Rokesby, Andrew, and a Bridgerton cousin, Poppy. Andrew is a ship captain. His ship participates in some legit business and some pirate-level business. Poppy gets kidnapped by some of his crew, and he has to take care of her while they make an important and deadline-driven journey to Portugal. 

First Comes Scandal is about the youngest Rokesby, Nicholas, and the youngest Bridgerton Georgie (Georgiana). Georgie’s reputation has been compromised by a malicious young man who wanted to force her to marry him. Nicholas’ father asks him to marry her in order to save her from a life of spinsterhood and a soiled reputation. Their love story begins after their marriage. 

In usual Julia Quinn fashion, these four stories are full of witty women, temperamental men, and comedy. I love her writing, and this is my favorite series of hers (so far).    

Romney: A Reckoning by McKay Coppins

I didn’t know who Mitt Romney was before he became a real contender in the 2012 Republican primaries. Part of that is because I was too young to vote or care before then, and part because I took a political science class during that time, so of course my professor used class time to closely follow the campaigns. Over the years, I have grown to greatly respect Mitt Romney, especially during his time as a Senator representing Utah. Reading this biography that covers both his personal and political life was very enlightening, and I like him even more now. Mitt Romney always tries to do what he thinks is right, even when others disagree with and disparage him. I think he’s a great role model for future politicians. 

Zalis by Nancey Cummings

Nancey Cummings writes science fiction romances, and her longest running series is the Warlord Brides/Warriors of Sangrin series. Zalis is the 13th installment in that series (16th, if you count the three side stories, which I do). It popped up on my “Because you read…” recommendations on my kindle, and I bought it right away and started reading immediately. Zalis is an alien warrior, his species is called Mahdfel, and he is of the Sangrin line. He meets his human mate when he rescues her in a group of kidnapped human women to be sold on the sentient being trafficking market. Gemma does not want to go back to earth, so she accepts a match with Zalis in order to stay near her twin sister. What will start as a marriage of convenience, has the chance to bud into love. I love Nancy Cummings’ writing. She is creative in her world building. She develops humorous and witty characters. Most authors cannot continue a series for this long and keep it entertaining with readers still wanting more. But I do want more, and her acknowledgements at the end of Zalis do promise more in due time!

What were your favorite books that you read in 2025? Share them in the comments!

Meet Elizabeth Packard: Women’s Rights Activist

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Elizabeth Wells Packard is not on the list of “25 of the Most Influential Women in American History” She’s not on the list of 41 women, 50, or even 125 women. But her name needs to be known. And you need to know what she did for you, your mothers, your wives, your sisters, and your daughters.

On a recent trip to Barnes & Noble, this title caught my eye:

After reading the blurb, I didn’t hesitate to purchase this gem of a biography. Kate Moore weaves an emotional and beautiful narrative of Elizabeth Packard’s strenuous life during the 1860s. A woman whose only crime was to have a different religious and political opinion from her husband. Such absurdity at the time was medically considered insane, imprisoning Elizabeth behind the walls of the Jacksonville Asylum. Elizabeth spent several years trying to get out, and once she was out, she was not done fighting. Her next goal was to get the laws changed that put her there. Ms. Moore writes in the style of narrative nonfiction, giving us the facts in the form of a story. My blood boiled for the majority of the book, but Elizabeth’s triumph made the emotional rollercoaster worth it.

So, let’s meet Elizabeth Wells Packard. (Note: Everything written below comes from what I learned in Kate Moore’s book. All credit for deeper research goes to her.)

Elizabeth married a man fourteen years her senior – which wasn’t a cause for raised eyebrows at the time, but certainly led to her husband’s erroneous belief that he could spend his marriage days controlling her. 

Theophilus Packard was a preacher, which allowed Elizabeth a religious education. Shouldn’t the preacher’s wife know the Bible? In her studies, Elizabeth went beyond her husband’s teachings and explored other philosophies (this is at the tail end of the Second Great Awakening, afterall). Elizabeth thought it would be okay to share her new thoughts in her Bible Studies class. What Elizabeth didn’t know was Theophilus was receiving pressure from his financial backers to preach certain agendas in the wake of the looming Civil War. (Isn’t communication in marriage a beautiful thing?) Those agendas were the exact opposite of Elizabet’s new beliefs.

As tensions in their home rose, Elizabeth left her husband’s church, and began attending a church across town. This was the final straw for Theophilus. He locked Elizabeth in the nursery, and got two doctors to sign a certificate stating that Elizabeth was insane. On the day he planned to move her, he sent their 6 children on different errands and to different babysitters so they would not see their mother cartered off, and so the older ones could not come to her defense. He then brought in several trusted minions to manhandle Elizabeth out of her home, to the train station, and onto the train. Elizabeth was smart. She knew if she fought, then the unintelligent society she lived in would believe her insane. So she remained calm, stoic, and gave her kidnappers her dead weight as they carried her through the town. 

Theophilus accompanied Elizabeth to the Jacksonville Asylum in Illinois, and after dropping her off, would not see her again for quite some time. Theophilius placed her in the hands of the resident doctor, Andrew McFarland.

Dr. McFarland was smarter than Theophilus. After meeting with Elizabeth, he led her to believe that he did not think her insane, and that she would be out in a few months. During those few months, Dr. McFarland met with Elizabeth every day, letting her talk herself into a deeper hole (unbeknownst to her). 

According to Dr. McFarland, Elizabeth was not insane due to her religious beliefs. She was insane because she hated her husband. A sane woman would obey her husband. A sane woman would love her husband. A sane woman would forgive her husband for putting her in an asylum and agree to obey him in order to be released from the asylum. Elizabeth would do no such thing, so she remained there for about three years. 

During her time there, Dr. McFarland tried to break her by preventing her letters being delivered (both written to and by her), taking away her nice clothes, books, and writing supplies, and eventually moving her to the worst part of the hospital for women: 8th Ward. While in 8th Ward, Elizabeth experienced emotional abuse from the staff, and physical abuse from specific patients (these were the only patients that Elizabeth truly believed were insane). She also witnessed horrible physical abuse given to the other patients. 

Elizabeth was really good at making friends. And so, over time she was able to convince staff members to sneak her reading and writing materials into her new room. And during this time she wrote two full length books. One was all about the sins of Dr. McFarland, the other about the problems of her modern-day mental health system, religion, and women’s rights.

Elizabeth requested a meeting with the Board of Trustees, and was surprisingly granted a presentation with them. Dr. McFarland came, and so did Theophilus. But just like with the other patients and staff, Elizabeth won the Board over, and they commanded Dr. McFarland to release her within the next few months. Her release date came and went, but Elizabeth continued to write and pester Dr. McFarland. 

Eventually, Dr. McFarland admitted she was more bothersome inside the Jacksonville Asylum than he could handle, and he released her. Theophilus dropped her off with her cousin and forbade her from visiting him and their children. Elizabeth planned to do no such thing, and took out a loan from her friends to take a train to her hometown. She walked right into her old house, and it was a giant mess. Her only daughter was forced to become a homemaker at 11 years old, and is now a traumatized 14 year old. Theophilus had brainwashed their children against her, and they would only obey their father. Elizabeth became an invisible nuisance in her own home. 

Theophilus locked her in the nursery again, and she discovered he’s preparing her a place in another asylum, this time, for life. If she enters those doors, she isn’t coming out until she is dead. Her friends got the legal help that was denied her three years prior, and her sanity was officially on trial in the county court. 

This is one of the most amazing court cases I’ve ever read. And I can’t do it justice. Just read the book. In the end, Elizabeth won. She won against all those men who wanted to lock her away for life. BUT she is only free in the state of Illinois, and Theophilus still has legal control over their children. Ever the sore loser, Theophilus took off with their children and moved to Massachusetts. 

Elizabeth would then spend the next several years lobbying state government after state government to get the laws changed across the country. After another showdown with Dr. McFarland, she was successful. And because of Elizabeth Packard, women cannot be placed in asylums just because their husbands wish it. Because of Elizabeth Packard, women received a huge step in progress to their legal rights over their mental health and personal property. Because of Elizabeth Packard, the treatment of mental health patients started the process of improving. 

Elizabeth would get reunited with her children, and begrudgingly, her husband. They never divorced, but they also remained in separate dwellings for the rest of their lives. They stayed cordial in order to both have access to their children. The two books Elizabeth wrote while imprisoned got published and she lived off the sales of those popular volumes and the charity of her adult children. She is an amazing example of determination, passion, and perseverance.

Have you read about Elizabeth Packard before? What are your thoughts on her accomplishments? What other biographies would you recommend? Let me know in the comments!