Monthly Bookish Wrap Up – January 2026

One month down already…..I hope the year has been kind to you so far, and continues to be so.

For me 2026 has been a kind of slow busy…if that can be a thing. I’ve had long lists of ‘stuff’ that I wanted to get done to set myself up for the new year, which I have mostly been able to check off, even as I’ve plodded along. I’ve spent more time with family over this month than I normally would do, and even after the social hangover I had to endure, I would definitely like to do more of that this year. I already have plans for my first trip this year and I’m three days (and one reflective essay) away from finishing my first uni trimester.

Reading wise, I have made some great book choices to start off the year. Mostly romance…because I am who I am. I also read my first non-fiction book of the year and, unfortunately, I had my first DNF – an ARC that I just could not get into no matter how hard I tried.

Books read (January):

• Seven Brides for Beau McBride by Amy Barry – ★★★
• She’s on the Money by Victoria Devine – ★★★★
• Talk Dirty Cowboy by Elle Thorpe – ★★★★
• Ready or Not by Cara Bastone – ★★★★★
• Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez – ★★★★
• Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone – ★★★★
• Ride Dirty Cowboy by Elle Thorpe – ★★★★

Pages read: 2660 pages

Most read genre: Romance (no surprises there)

Most read format: Audiobook

Favourite read: Ready or Not by Cara Bastone – I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! And found a new auto-buy author.

Eve Hatch lives for surprises! Just kidding. She expects every tomorrow to be pretty much the same as today. She loves her cozy apartment in Brooklyn that’s close to her childhood best friend Willa, and far from her midwestern, traditional family who has never really understood her. While her job is only dream-adjacent, it’s comfortable and steady. She always knows what to expect from her life . . . until she finds herself expecting after an uncharacteristic one-night stand.

The unplanned pregnancy cracks open all the relationships in her life. Eve’s loyal friendship with Willa is feeling tense, right when she needs her the most. And it’s actually Willa’s steadfast older brother, Shep, who steps up to help Eve. He has always been friendly, but now he’s checking in, ordering her surprise lunches, listening to all her complaints, and is . . . suddenly kinda hot? Then, as if she needs one more complication, there’s the baby’s father, who is (technically) supportive but (majorly) conflicted.

Up until this point, Eve’s been content to coast through life. Now, though—maybe it’s the hormones, maybe it’s the way Shep’s shoulders look in a T-shirt—Eve starts to wonder if she has been secretly desiring more from every aspect of her life.

Over the course of nine months, as Eve struggles to figure out the next right step in her expanding reality, she begins to realize that family and love, in all forms, can sneak up on you when you least expect it.

Least favourite 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.

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 7/100 books

What was your favourite read this month?

#2026reads #books #bookblog #bookblogger #bookish #bookishposts #bookishme #reader #reading #monthlywrapup #wrapup #GoodreadsReadingChallenge