January 2026 Reads
VERY audacious of January to make it feel like it lasted 60 days AND put the midwest through three straight weeks of single-, ~feels like~, negative-digit temperatures.
To be honest, this wasn’t my favorite January: it’s been stupid cold, I had something abruptly end in my personal life, and the seasonal sads be hittin’ RULL hard lately. However, I am nothing if not a half-glass-full household of one over here, and if the year started a little low, we can only go up from here. Am I right? 😅
I also kicked off 2026 with two 2-star reads but as the month went on, the books got better which is all I can really ask for.
On a positive note, I have FINALLY entered my sourdough era. 💅 So look out world. Your girl’s starter is fed, bubbling and thriving. Before you ask, no it does not have a name yet, but we’re getting there, and I will report back once she’s been dubbed.
Now, let’s get into everything I read this month.
*All summaries are taken or paraphrased from Goodreads.
Firebird by Juliette Cross
FIREBIRD by Juliette Cross
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Summary: Julian Dakkia, Roman general and nephew to the emperor, has played his role as conqueror well. Yet, the moment he laid eyes on Malina, he was enthralled by the Dacian dancer. Years later, the fierce beauty stands before him, a captive on a scarred battlefield, her life in danger. He instinctively shifts into his fierce dragon form to save her, an action that may mean his head on the imperial gate. The rules of their world dictate that he is the conqueror and she is the captured. But he and his dragon know one thing: their bond has nothing to do with the laws of mighty Rome. She belongs to them. And they belong to her. Fierce and powerful, twenty-one-year old Malina has survived the loss of her family and she is determined to fight until her dying breath. Still, she can’t believe that the centurion who had once bestowed a secret talisman on her is the Roman general of legendary brutality…and now holds her life in his hands. Nor can she deny how her soul has always seemed to answer his. Slowly she learns that Julian is caught in his mad uncle’s machinations for domination, and helps him plot the downfall of the empire itself. As they navigate a world where flying deathriders conquer and burn, their love will ignite a firestorm that can only end in heartbreak or death. Or both.
My Thoughts: Mmm okay. The main reason I picked up this audiobook was because I won a free copy of the next book in the series through StoryGraph, and I wanted to know where it all started before diving into that. I don’t want to say I blatantly didn’t like it because I definitely would’ve DNF’ed if I loathed it, but I also can’t say I loved it. The writing itself was fine, I just didn’t really connect with the main characters: Julian, a Roman general, and Malina, a village dancer. Their relationship also felt a little over-the-top for me. Not to yuck anyone’s yum, but the whole slave/master trope dynamic after Julian saves Malina because the dragon inside him decides she “belongs” to him wasn’t really my thing. The magic system surrounding the Roman army’s ability to shift into dragons also left me a bit confused. It was described like the dragon is a completely separate entity, yet somehow still part of each man? And then it made me wonder: is it the dragon that’s obsessed with her, or does Julian genuinely have feelings too? You know? Overall, I don’t think this book was for me. Will I continue on to the free audiobook of the next book in the series? Honestly, undecided.
Hotel Magnifique by Emily J Taylor
HOTEL MAGNIFIQUE by Emily J. Taylor
Rating: 2/5 stars
Summary: All her life, Jani has dreamed of Elsewhere. Just barely scraping by with her job at a tannery, she’s resigned to a dreary life in the port town of Durc, caring for her younger sister Zosa. That is, until the Hotel Magnifique comes to town. The hotel is legendary not only for its whimsical enchantments, but also for its ability to travel—appearing in a different destination every morning. While Jani and Zosa can’t afford the exorbitant costs of a guest’s stay, they can interview to join the staff, and are soon whisked away on the greatest adventure of their lives. But once inside, Jani quickly discovers their contracts are unbreakable and that beneath the marvelous glamour, the hotel is hiding dangerous secrets. With the vexingly handsome doorman Bel as her only ally, Jani embarks on a mission to unravel the mystery of the magic at the heart of the hotel and free Zosa—and the other staff—from the cruelty of the ruthless maître d’hôtel. To succeed, she’ll have to risk everything she loves, but failure would mean a fate far worse than never returning home.
My Thoughts: When I saw this book described as being perfect for “fans of Caraval and The Night Circus,” I was immediately sold. I found it at one of the used bookstores in Ann Arbor and was so excited to dive in, especially since The Night Circus is one of my all-time favorite standalone fantasies. Y’all… I regret to report that this was such a disappointment. The plot somehow manages to have SO MUCH happening while also making it feel like absolutely nothing is moving the story forward. The characters all felt half-baked and extremely surface-level, which made it really hard to connect with any of them. The main character, Jani, is supposedly driven by her deep bond with her younger sister Zosa and her determination to save them both from this bizarre, backwards hotel. But we never actually see that bond in an impactful way that made me buy into it. The audiobook is nearly 15 hours long, and by the time I reached the end, I simply did not care lol. Even when Jani starts having epiphanies left and right, all the connections she’s making feel way too convenient - like puzzle pieces snapping together just to wrap things up. Ultimately, the juice just isn’t worth the squeeze on this one.
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
I WHO HAVE NEVER KNOWN MEN by Jacqueline Harpman
Rating: 4/5 stars
Summary: Deep underground, forty women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only a vague recollection of their lives before. As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl—the fortieth prisoner—sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others' escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground.
My Thoughts: This book has been on my radar for a while, and I’ll admit I was hesitant to pick it up because of the summary. But after seeing it pop up on a few people’s top books of 2025 wrap-ups on Bookstagram, I finally decided to take the plunge. Let me just say, I finished this at least two weeks ago and already know I’ll still be thinking about it months from now. For such a short read, it really packs a punch. This is a work of speculative science fiction that makes you ask every possible question in a post-apocalyptic setting. Told from the perspective of one young woman, you’re taken on an unpredictable journey of growing up in the only dystopian world you’ve ever known or can recall, surrounded by people who remember what the world was like before. Without giving too much away, this thought-provoking narrative has a winding plotline, strong character development, and leaves you with more questions than answers. I can’t say I felt fully satisfied by the end, but I honestly think that’s kind of the point. If you’re ready for a book to stick to your brain like windblown hair to fresh lip gloss, you must pick this one up.
Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross
WILD REVERENCE by Rebecca Ross
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Summary: Born in the firelit domain of the under realm, Matilda is the youngest goddess of her clan, blessed with humble messenger magic she uses to carry words and letters through the realms. But the gods will kill for power, and Matilda holds a secret she must hide from even her dearest allies. And there is a mortal who dreams of her, though they have never met in the waking world. Ten years ago, Vincent of Beckett wrote to Matilda on the darkest night of his life—begging the goddess he befriended in dreams to help him. His request went unanswered, and Vincent became a hardened, irreverent lord of the river who has long forgotten Matilda . . . until she comes tumbling into his bedroom window with a letter for him. Matilda and Vincent were fated to find each other beyond dreams. But to rewrite the blood-soaked ways of the gods, Matilda will have to face something she fears even more than losing her magic: finally allowing herself to be loved.
My Thoughts: Rebecca Ross has an incredible ability to transport me straight into her writing, and I was absolutely obsessed with her Letters of Enchantment duology (Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows), so unsurprisingly for me, this book ATE. Matilda is born of both the skyward gods and the underlings, and as the goddess of heralds, her ability to travel freely between all three realms is something no other god possesses. When she befriends Vincent, a boy in the mortal realm, he quickly becomes the only person she truly feels safe with – until her mother’s death forces Matilda to flee to the upper realm for her own protection. Years later, they’re thrown together again due to a tragedy woven by death, and all the feelings they’ve long buried begin to resurface as Vincent defends his castle from his disgruntled uncle’s army. U GUISE. This was so freaking good. I loved that although empathy is viewed as a weakness no god or goddess should possess—especially toward mortals—it ultimately becomes one of Matilda’s greatest strengths. As other gods attempt to take advantage of her kindness, she’s forced to grow more clever to avoid being used, manipulated, or killed by those who mistake her compassion for fragility. And do NOT get me started on the raw, heart-wrenching YEARNING radiating between Vincent and Matilda. Not just romantic longing, but that deep, aching need to be with the one person you can trust completely. Per usual, the character development was chef’s kiss, and even the side characters (obsessed with Bade) had so much depth and added incredible richness to the story. While this didn’t necessarily end the way I expected, I absolutely loved how Rebecca Ross tied it back to the Letters of Enchantment duology (even though I don’t believe this book was intended as a prequel.) Honestly, if you’re looking for a well-rounded, fae-less fantasy that’s as beautifully written as it is endearingly warm, you have to pick this one up.
The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan
THE OPPOSITE OF LONELINESS: ESSAYS AND STORIES by Marina Keegan
Rating: 4 /5 stars
Summary: Marina Keegan’s star was on the rise when she graduated magna cum laude from Yale in May 2012. She had a play that was to be produced at the New York International Fringe Festival and a job waiting for her at the New Yorker. Tragically, five days after graduation, Marina died in a car crash. As her family, friends, and classmates, deep in grief, joined to create a memorial service for Marina, her unforgettable last essay for the Yale Daily News, “The Opposite of Loneliness,” went viral, receiving more than 1.4 million hits. She had struck a chord. Even though she was just twenty-two when she died, Marina left behind a rich, expansive trove of prose that, like her title essay, captures the hope, uncertainty, and possibility of her generation. The Opposite of Loneliness is an assemblage of Marina’s essays and stories that, like The Last Lecture, articulates the universal struggle that all of us face as we figure out what we aspire to be and how we can harness our talents to make an impact on the world.
My Thoughts: The backstory of this book is heartbreaking, but the content itself is absolutely stunning. As mentioned above, Marina Keegan was a Yale graduate with big dreams of becoming a renowned writer. Just five days after graduation, she died in a fatal car crash. This book is a compilation of short stories, essays, and other pieces she wrote during her time in college. There’s no question that Marina was an incredibly talented writer who would have taken the literary world by storm. Her fictional pieces completely blew me away—they carried me through a wide range of emotions and left me wondering how she even came up with premises that clever in the first place. Honestly, this is the kind of collection I would reread because the stories are so memorable. I highly recommend picking this one up because it deserves to have more eyeballs on it.
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson
NOT QUITE DEAD YET by Holly Jackson
Rating: 4/5 stars
Summary: In seven days Jet Mason will be dead. Jet is the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Woodstock, Vermont. Twenty-seven years old, she’s still waiting for her life to begin. I’ll do it later, she always says. She has time. Until Halloween night, when Jet is violently attacked by an unseen intruder. She suffers a catastrophic head injury. The doctor is certain that within a week, the injury will trigger a deadly aneurysm. Jet has never thought of herself as having enemies. But now she looks at everyone in a new light: her family, her former best friend turned sister-in-law, her ex-boyfriend. She has at most seven days, and as her condition deteriorates she has only her childhood friend Billy for help. But nevertheless, she’s absolutely determined to finally finish something: Jet is going to solve her own murder.
My Thoughts: This book won the 2025 Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery/Thriller, and since the premise immediately intrigued me, I figured I’d grab the audiobook on Libby as soon as it became available. I’m not traditionally a mystery/thriller girly, but over the last couple of years I’ve definitely warmed up to the genre, and this book had all the elements I tend to love in a twisty murder plot. There’s plenty of dark humor to break up the serious parts of Jet’s investigation into who tried to murder her. She’s also an unreliable narrator thanks to a severe head injury, which means you’re constantly questioning what’s real and what isn’t. On top of that, she’s kind of unhinged because she’s got nothing to lose at this point, so some of her choices were absolutely BONKERS lol. Add in a limited timeline that doubles down on the urgency to solve this mystery, and by the time I was nearing the big reveal, I was suspicious of EVERRRRYBODY. Literally every new chapter, I was like, “Now wait just a minute…?” 👀🤨 Without spoiling anything, I kind of loved that the ending was nowhere near what I expected. It managed to feel both unsatisfying and completely wrapped up at the same time, but in a good way? Honestly, I totally get why this book took home the award, and I’d definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a mystery/thriller with a slightly different vibe.
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB by Richard Osman
Rating: 3/5 stars
Summary: In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders. But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing, eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it's too late?
My Thoughts: Okay, this was much more the vibe I was hoping to get from Killers of a Certain Age last month. I will say, though, this is one of the first books where I kind of wish I’d read the physical copy instead of listening to the audiobook. It felt very character-driven, with no consistent sense of where the plot was heading, largely because each chapter is told from a different character’s perspective. At times, it was hard to keep track of who we were following or which new character was being introduced. That said, the characters themselves were incredibly entertaining in that very specific way older people can be – endearing, annoying, and full of deeply ingrained personality quirks (I’m not talking about you, mom and dad, if you read this review lol). While the story felt a bit messy at first, the direction of the plot became much clearer as it went on. By the end, I felt like the mysteries introduced throughout were wrapped up in a pretty satisfying way. This didn’t completely blow me away, but I did enjoy it overall. I haven’t watched the Netflix adaptation yet, but honestly, if people are saying the movie stays close to the book, it might actually be easier to just watch that instead of committing the time to reading this one. 😬
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
MY FRIENDS by Fredrik Backman
Rating: 5/5 stars
Summary: Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures. Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love. Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art.
My Thoughts: Y’ALL. I can already tell this is going to be one of my favorite books of the year. I genuinely don’t think any review I write will do it justice, but I’ll try. Fredrik Backman has this incredible ability to gently pull you into a story and before you even realize it, you’re fully invested in the characters’ lives. This literary experience was no exception. It started with me casually following Louisa into that art show, and then suddenly I was sitting one seat over on the train with her and Ted, listening as he recounted the endless shenanigans his friend group got into one summer 25 years ago. I loved how the story shifts between multiple POVs and bounces between timelines as Louisa uncovers the origin story of her favorite artist, who also happens to be Ted’s best friend. When I say I would get genuinely excited to go on long car rides just so I could listen to this audiobook is an understatement. This book felt like wrapping yourself in a warm blanket and sitting among your favorite people. It was equal parts gut-punching and laugh-out-loud funny in the most human way possible. The banter between 18-year-old Louisa and her disgruntled travel companion, 39-year-old Ted, had me jump-scare-cackling more times than I can count. And, don’t even get me started on the dynamics between the teenagers of summer’s past. 🤭 There are themes of found family, the power of friendship, grief and loss, and so much more. I was feeling pretty depressy when I started listening, and even though the story doesn’t shy away from heavier subjects, it felt like a healing balm to my heart. I don’t know what else to say, y’all. This book has officially become my entire personality, and honestly, you’re doing yourself a disservice if you haven’t read it yet lol.
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL: ADVENTURES IN THE CULINARY UNDERBELLY by Anthony Bourdain
Rating: 4/5 stars
Summary: Over two decades ago, the New Yorker published a now infamous article, “Don’t Eat Before Reading This,” by then little-known chef Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain spared no one’s appetite as he revealed what happens behind the kitchen door. The article was a sensation, and the book it spawned, the now iconic Kitchen Confidential, became an even bigger sensation and megabestseller. Frankly confessional, addictively acerbic, and utterly unsparing, Bourdain pulls no punches in this memoir of his years in the restaurant business.
My Thoughts: Listen, this is one of those books that really solidifies my belief that everyone should work in the restaurant industry at least once in their lives - for the sheer character building alone. It also serves as a very strong reminder of why I don’t think I could ever do it again lol. For someone who went on to become such a massive name in the culinary world, I was honestly surprised by how Anthony Bourdain spent the early years of his career. Hearing his anecdotes about some of the most disgusting, depraved, absolute shithole restaurant crews he worked with was equal parts entertaining and shocking. The locker-room culture of those kitchens was genuinely appalling, but I appreciated how candid he was about it. He also dives into the ins and outs of the industry: what day-to-day restaurant operations actually look like, how to work with purveyors, the telltale signs of a failing restaurant, and so much more. Whether you’ve worked in a restaurant or not, I really think this is a memoir just about anyone could enjoy. The only trigger warning I have is that he does talk about a lot of kitchen injuries and there’s a few mentions of situations DRIPPING with misogyny. 🤢
Welp. *Slaps thighs and stands abruptly* That’s it for January.
I hope you all have a lovely start to February and I will keep you posted on the name of my sourdough starter even though you did not ask for it. 🙂
2026 Book Count: 9
And if you haven’t already… add me on Goodreads or StoryGraph.