January was a great start to the reading year. I finished ten books, began two others, and reached ten percent of my reading goal of 100 books for 2026! I read some fantastic books, too, and rated five of them five stars! Can I keep this momentum going all year? I guess we shall see. For now, here's how I got on in January:
January Reading Stats:
📖 10 books completed, 2 started.
📖 2 hardbacks.
📖 3 paperbacks.
🎧 5 audiobooks
📖 2036 pages (3253 pages including audiobooks).
🎧 41.33 hours listened at 1.1x or 1.2x speed.
📖 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reads!
📖 2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reads!
📖 Average rating: 4.28 stars.
📖 Average book length: 406 pages.
📖 Average time to finish: 6 days.
I Read:
📖A Court of Sugar and Spice by Rebecca F. Kenney. 3⭐
📖A War of Wyverns by S. F. Williamson. 3.75⭐
📖The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher. 5⭐
📖Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig. 5
📖The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher. 4⭐
🎧Holly by Adalyn Grace. 5⭐ (Reread).
🎧A Soul of Ash and Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Graphic Audio Part One). 5⭐ (Reread).
🎧A Dawn with the Wolf Knight by Elise Kova. 4⭐ (Reread).
🎧The Long Walk by Stephen King. 3⭐
🎧Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. 5⭐ (Reread).
And I Started:
🎧A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. (Reread).
📖Brimstone by Callie Hart.
Favourite Reads: There were two books I particularly lost myself in in January- The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher, and Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig.
The Hollow Places was a creepy little horror about two adult friends who discover an alternate world through the wall in a curiosity museum. An eerie archipelago full of abandoned bunkers and monsters that can hear their thoughts, who they have to avoid thinking about if they want to make it back home alive. It was disturbing as hell at times, but balanced with the author's signature brand of humour, it was also hilarious, so it had me on edge one minute, and laughing out loud the next. A combination I never knew I needed, but would highly recommend.
My other favourite, Two Twisted Crowns, was the delightfully dark gothic romantasy conclusion to The Shepherd King duet, telling a tale of power-hungry men, the abuse and neglect they inflict on others, and their victims fighting their way back to the light with some enemies-to-lovers romance, and forced proximity. I enjoyed it so much more than the first book, One Dark Window- probably because it gave us Elm's POV for the first time, who I found such an interesting character to unravel as he'd appeared so closed off and moody in book one. And now I know why. I loved his romance with a side-character from the first book, and how their part of the storyline focused on the physical abuse they both endured from one of the villains in the story, and how they began to help each other heal. Learning more of The Nightmare's backstory was also really interesting, and it was fun to see him take control of Elspeth's body, and try to right some of his wrongs with plenty of melodrama and sarcasm. If you enjoy gothic fantasy with humour, romance, a little spice, and beautiful, poetic writing, I'd recommend you give this duology a try.
Favourite Listens: My favourite listens of the month were all rereads of five-star favourites I'd previously loved in different formats- Holly by Adalyn Grace, A Soul of Ash and Blood (Part One) by Jennifer L. Armentrout, and Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.
I read the hardback of Holly over Christmas, and loved it so much, I just had to try the audiobook. It's such a fun, cosy, and emotional story, and I really enjoyed hearing it brought to life, but I preferred it in print because I felt that the illustrations made the reading experience extra special. I wrote a full review of it here, if you'd like to know more.
A Soul of Ash and Blood is From Blood and Ash from Casteel's point of view, where he tells his side of things while Poppy sleeps in stasis. I've read it a couple of times before, but this was my first time listening to the Graphic Audio version, which are audiobooks performed by a full cast with theme music and sound effects- the best audiobooks, in my opinion. The book was brilliant in this format, and parts of it made me an emotional wreck. I can't wait for part two to drop in April.
I also reread Project Hail Mary because I didn't have the pennies for something new, and I fancied a refresher before the movie comes out in March. It's one of my all time favourite books, and it was just as good as I remembered. If you haven't read it yet, but love sci-fi, and the book/ film The Martian, get on it immediately. You won't regret it! It's amazing, it's hilarious, and has the best alien side-kick ever.
Least Favourites: The Long Walk by Stephen King was my least favourite last month, but only because I found the narration irritating at times.- especially how he whisper-shouted instead of raising his voice when a character yelled. I wish I'd read it in print, because the story otherwise kept my attention throughout, with its shocking, raw, and original storyline. It felt relevant, too, as it seems like something that could happen in America any day now, with the way things are going. And isn't that terrifying?
And that's what I read in January.
I'll be back to talk about which books I enjoyed in February really soon.
Have you read any good books lately?
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