Happy Sunday bookish peeps!
My Weekly Bookish Wrap Up is linked with the Sunday Salon and the Sunday Post.
The Sunday Salon is a meme hosted by Readerbuzz and is a place to link up and share what you have been doing during the week. It’s also a great opportunity to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. While the Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer and is a chance to share news. It’s a post to recap the past week on your blog and share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead.
Non-bookish things:
Here we are – the first full week of a new year. Hopefully it’s been a wonderfully bookish week for everyone and you’ve had a chance to rest, relax and be with the ones you love. My week has been surprisingly more bookish than I expected, given that this is normally a busy time of year for me – setting up new planners, journals, budgets…all the lists and things; cleaning my studio at work and getting ready for a new year of lovely little bubbies.
This week, I’ve made a head start on my health and wellbeing goals – moving more, eating more mindfully, joining an online community for women going through menopause. I created a sleep routine to help with my interrupted nights and kicked the Ginger Ninja off the bed. As much as I love her, she is quite aggressive when it comes to seeking snuggles – smacking me in the face and pulling at my hair. Being a rescue cat (one of 50 found on a property) she doesn’t understand that she has to retract her claws when she wants to touch someone to get their attention – so for now she has to sleep in the laundry while I try and work out how to teach her not to claw my face when I’m asleep.
Bookish things:
The beginning of the new year brought with it the need to start a new reading tracker. Last year I made my own which was time consuming and a bit more detailed than I really want this year. Instead, this year I’ve purchased a gorgeous one from Garden Party Digital on Etsy that had everything I was looking for and could be customised just enough to make it perfect. I’m loving spending time setting it up and particularly like that it has a calendar for future book releases so hopefully, I won’t miss grabbing a book I want to read when it comes out.
My reading has kicked off nicely with 3 books already read towards my 100 book Goodreads Reading Challenge goal. I started my year with a couple of cowboy romances and my first non-fiction book of 2026.
Here’s what I read:
Seven Brides for Beau McBride by Amy Barry – ★★★
Beau McBride reckons he’s ready for marriage. But his ego is bigger than his brain, and his little sister Junebug can’t trust him to find the right woman. So they make a bet, both placing ads in the Matrimonial News for mail-order brides. But when she discovers that Beau has already made his pick, Junebug decides to even the odds … by inviting six more brides to meet her brother.
Ellie Neale doesn’t expect much from life – and life hasn’t given her much, except a head full of daydreams and her beautiful best friend Diana. And now Diana has answered an ad to be a mail-order bride – with some letter-writing help from Ellie – and she’s leaving for Montana. Unwilling to lose her only friend, Ellie answers an ad of her own, which will take her to the same town Diana is headed for. But there’s a when they arrive, Ellie and Diana realise they’re here for the same husband. Along with five other women!
With seven brides vying for Beau’s attention, he needs to make a decision – fast. The only problem is, his heart longs for the one woman who wants nothing to do with him.
My thoughts: This book was slow going for me. I started it last year but didn’t really start reading it with any regularity until last week. I liked the concept well enough and the characters were well written but it still took me a little bit to get into it. It wasn’t until closer to the end, when the romance amped up, that I found I didn’t want to put it down. This could also have been because I was about to finish my first book of the year and I wanted to tick that off my list.
The third book in The McBrides of Montana series, I’m not sure that I need to read books one and two, having gleaned what happens from this one. I do love the cover of this book though and could be persuaded to buy them on the off chance I want something ‘easy’ to read.
Talk Dirty Cowboy by Elle Thorpe -★★★★
Eight seconds to glory. One second to lose it all.
Bowen Barclay lived to ride bulls – until his single-minded focus cost his wife her life. Four years on, raising his son alone is the only thing he’s getting right. His rodeo career is going down in flames and instead of dating, he’s playing his kid’s video games.
Paisley Ackerly loves to sing. Loudly and offkey, but in the privacy of her rundown home, it’s only her children she’s torturing. Until her ten-year-old leaves his gaming console on, with a handsome cowboy still on the webcam, listening to every word.
Being accused of internet creepery isn’t the best way to meet a woman, but when an instant spark ignites between the two, it isn’t long before online chat spills over into real life dirty talk.
But while Paisley might love Bowen’s filthy mouth, when the pressures of his public career and her secret past explode, words won’t be enough to save them.
This single-parent romance brings the steam against a backdrop of professional bull riding, rodeo, and small-town cowboys.
My thoughts: Now this is a series I am reading all the way through. Yes I love the covers but what I love more is what’s inside. I loved the instant connection between Bowen and Paisley, two single parents from different worlds. I loved how they came together, working through past traumas and blending their lives together. There is a little bit of a ‘damsel in distress’ vibe to Paisley which in real life I wouldn’t be able to stand, but in this book is perfect. And there’s a fair amount of spice, something I don’t always love but fit well within the story. I mean, it is called Talk Dirty Cowboy…..so you get what you get.
She’s On The Money by Victoria Devine -★★★★
The ultimate millennial money guide, from the creator of Australia’s #1 finance podcast.
Through her phenomenally popular and award-winning podcast, She’s on the Money, Victoria Devine has built an empowered and supportive community of women finding their way to financial freedom.
Honest, relatable, non-judgemental and motivating, Victoria is a financial adviser who knows what millennial life is really like and where we can get stuck with money stuff. (Did someone say ‘Afterpay’…?) So, to help you hit your money goals without skimping on brunch, she’s put all her expert advice into this accessible guide that will set you up for a healthy and happy future.
Learn how to be more secure, independent and informed with your money – with clear steps on how to budget, clear debts, build savings, start investing, buy property and much more. And along with all the practical information, Victoria will guide you through the sometimes-tricky psychology surrounding money so you can establish the values, habits and confidence that will help you build your wealth long-term.
Just like the podcast, the book is full of real-life money stories from members of the She’s on the Money community who candidly share their experiences, wins and lessons learned to inspire others to turn their stories around, too. And with templates and activities throughout, plus a twelve-month plan to get you started, you can immediately put Victoria’s recommendations into action in your own life.
You are not alone on your financial journey, and with the money principles in this book you’ll go further than you ever thought possible.
My thoughts: Honestly, I have never considered reading a book about finance before but I have been eyeing this cover for a while. Then with the new year and all the resolutions people make about life, love, money, I thought I’d give it a listen and I got so much more out of it than I expected. It’s filled with tips and straightforward advice and includes ‘real women’s’ financial stories to give added meaning. There’s a monthly step by step plan to follow and a PDF to help you every step of the way. It’s aimed towards younger women (and I have recommended it to my daughter) but even someone my age will find motivation and helpful advice for making the most of your finances and building a better financial future.
Bookish Challenges:
I’m not really sure what bookish challenges I plan on doing this year yet, other than the Goodreads Reading Challenge which I’ve been doing for the last seven years. I was really pleased with how much reading happened last year(115 books) so I’m going to challenge myself to read at least 100 books again.
2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge: 3/100 books
And that’s my bookish week. How was yours?
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