January Reads Recap 2026

Welcome back and welcome to a new year. Slightly late on this but hope everyone is doing well. Hope everyone's holidays went well.

Today I'll be recapping everything I read or listened to in the month of January 2026. Last year I barely made my good reads goal of 90 books, but I did it. This year my goal is set to at least 100 books , so without further ado let's get into it.

1. Leave Me Behind By K.M Moronova (physical book)

First up is Leave Me Behind by K. M Moronova. This dark military romance meets call of duty with enemies to lovers was on my tbr ( to be read) list forever. The main protagonist Nell after being the sole survivor from her squad -Riot, must join up with the other squad- Malum. However one problem Malum has always blamed Riot for a mission gone wrong. Can they put the past behind or will it be the very thing that destroys them?

Originally I was keeping an eye on the special edition hard cover but unfortunately wasn't able to acquire it. Luckily though a friend was able to get me the deluxe special edition. Overall I give this 5/5 , absolutely loved it and was worth the months of waiting.

2. Verity by Colleen Hoover. (eBook)

Next up Verity by Colleen hoover. Verity is definitely a plot twist. A struggling writer Lowen accepts a job completing a series for another author - Verity Crawford, after verity suffers from an injury. While researching for direction on the remaining novels Lowen beings unfolding bone chilling admissions. Throughout the novel your led to believe how cruel Verity is , but is she really? It's definitly a plot twist I didnt see coming and i'm not entirely sure what to think now. After learnig all the horrific things she had done through her manuscript a letter is shown reaving it all to be made up. However by the time the letter is found the irriversable damage is already done . I just keep wondering if it would have made a difference if the letter was found first. Overall I give it a 4/5.

3. The River has Roots By: Amal El - Mohar (audiobook)

Lastly is The River has Roots by Amal El-Mohar. In the town of Thistleford we meet two inseparable sisters - Esther and Ysabel. This four hour audiobook is a dream-like fairy tale with magic and mystical rivers. When Esther rejects the wrong suitor the sisters fate hangs in the balance. I feel like four hours was not enough for this particular story and would have love to see it expanded into a full audiobook. More could have definitly been done with it instead of rushing. While I did enjoy listening to it I must only give it a 3.5/5 rating.

In total for the month of January I read one physical novel , one ebook and listened to one audio book. It was a slow reading month and hope to read more in February. My favorite of the Three would have to be Leave Me Behind by K.M Moronova with my least favorite being The River has Roots by Amal El - Mohar. Ending with a overall ending of 4.2 / 5.

Once again thank you for tuning in for another article. It has been a while since I posted which I would like to work on in the new year. Kind of lost the writing mojo for a while.

Leave a like and comment below what your favorite read was in the month of January and if you have a reading goal this year.