I started the month with a truly ambitious TBR list. I carried over all of the books that I planned on reading in December and added in a lot of the new release books that I intended to buy during the month.

TLDR; Scroll to the bottom to see a list of the books I read in January with links to my reviews.

Carried Over from Last Month’s TBR

First, the books that I carried over from December, thinking that I would knock them out early in the month while we were still in the “Twelve Days of Christmas.”

I did read Holiday Ever After, but I soon realized that I’m no longer in the Christmas mood and wouldn’t be reading the rest of these. I changed them from definitely being on my January TBR to “Bonus,” just in case I had a change of heart.

(While I was making this post, I found that the Elf books have #1.5 and #2.5 novellas, which I’ll have to remember when I go back to read this series.)

New Releases

The next set of books added to my TBR are the books that will be releasing in January that I’m interested in.

Dragon Cursed by Elise Kova – In a world where dragons prey on people, what happens when you think you may be cursed to turn into a dragon?

Of Course It’s Good by Jessica Secrest – I started watching her aggressive tutorials on social media and her cookbook reads just like those reels! I had the opportunity to meet her in person, and I’ve never laughed so much at an author event! So far, we’ve only attempted one recipe – Pizza Nachos – but they were a hit, Of Course!

Catch Her If You Can by Tessa Bailey – This is the 5th book in the Big Shots series, which I have been enjoying. Madden is a MLB catcher and has been in love with Eve forever. Eve owns a burlesque club and recently took custody of her sister’s children and desperately needs to get healthcare for them. Also, she’s loved Madden since she was a kid. What starts as a marriage of convenience always turns into a happily ever after, right?

Chasing the Ring by Lauren Rowe – I’m moving this book to February, so I can read it just before the Super Bowl.

Only on Gameday by Kristen Callihan – I didn’t get a chance to buy this book yet, so I’m moving it off the TBR.

Drive Me Crazy by Lizzy Dent – After causing a horrible wreck that hurt his best friend, Matt hasn’t been the same F1 racer he used to be. Chloe was just promoted to team principle, but still has to prove herself in this male-dominated field. When her childhood friend and crush is traded down to her fledgling F1 team, can they find a way to work together?

Axe and Grind by Taylor Hutton – Just a simple story about a woman testing out the AI dating app of a tech billionaire, right? Nope! This one involves a criminal underworld and plenty of secrets held by both Josie and Axe.

Love Goes Viral by Camille Stochitch, Alexander Berman, and Estelle Laure – A pop star with an image issue. A small-town boy from her past trying to save his family diner. Will a temporary solution lead to long-term bliss? I haven’t bought this book yet either, so I will take it off the TBR for January.

Fated Skates by Victoria Schade – A figure skater and a speed skater, both looking for redemption at the Olympics. Can the win the podium and each other’s heart? I’ll be moving this book to my February TBR, so I can read it during the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

Rings of Fate by Melissa de la Cruz – A cynical barmaid and a cursed prince enter into a fake-relationship situation.

Book Club Picks

Another set of books on my TBR are book club selections.

We Are All Guilty Here is the January Thrill Seekers Book Club choice, hosted by Tyler at Love & Other Books. I actually read the book ahead of time (shocker, I know!), and attended the in-person book club at the store on Thursday, January 22nd. It was so much fun! If you haven’t met him, Tyler is extremely funny and personable and made everyone feel immediately at home. The other members of the book club were very friendly and the discussion was insightful, entertaining, and we (mostly) stayed on topic. These book clubs are generally limited to 12 attendees due to space considerations in the store and usually sell out, so if you are interested in attending one, make sure to sign up as soon as they post the event for the next month’s book clubs (they have 5 or so book clubs that they run monthly across different genres).

The Goldens – This is January’s pick for my Buddy’s Book Club, where several friends and I get together at a local restaurant once a month. I quickly became notorious in the book club for starting the book the same day as the book club meeting. I try, but I enjoy the time with my friends even more than the satisfaction of completing the book.

Six Crimson Cranes – My brother has two book clubs that he runs on Fable. This is January’s selection for the Moon Lit Bookclub. I do try to read the selections every month, but I’m not consistent. Mood reader, what can I say? Moon Lit focuses on horror, sci-fi, and fantasy genres.

Dating After the End of the World – This is the January selection for my brother’s other book club on Fable: Welcome to the Apocalypse, which titularly focuses on apocalypse-related reads.

Random Selections

I am a consummate mood reader, so even attempting to make a TBR ahead of time is a bit of a guess. I might toss some books in here that I want to try to read for the month, but in this case (since I’m writing this at the end of the month…) these are the books that I didn’t necessarily plan on reading in January, but they made it into my hands and onto my Completed bookshelves.

The Summer I Turned Pretty – I bought this book because my goddaughter and one of her sisters mentioned it to their mom, and Mom wanted to know if it was appropriate for them at ages 12 and 8. So I picked up two copies (one for me and one to give to them), but probably should have just borrowed a copy from the library first. It wasn’t a great read for me and — although the back of the book states that it is appropriate for ages 12+ — I disagree. I did, however, annotate one of the books for when the girls would be old enough to read it with some Auntie Jenn commentary.

Woman Down – I found out about this new release after I had made out my initial January TBR, but I purchased it on release day as an ebook and read it quickly. In general, I really like Colleen Hoover’s books. I’m not quite as much of a thriller fan as I am a romance fan, but this book had elements of both and I thought it was enjoyable.

Adventures in Amity: Tales from the Jaws Ride – I bought this book because it discusses Universal Orlando’s Jaws ride, and Donald used to be one of the skippers spieling for the ride. I loved the additional insight it provide to this part of his life, and think that it may be fun for him to flip through at some point and reminisce.

Love in Plane Sight – This was an impulse purchase, but it brings together my love of reading romance with my fascination with aviation, so how could I not get it?

How Did I Do?

Since I determined that the Christmas books “don’t count,” moved books that I’d prefer to read in February, and removed books that I haven’t purchased yet, that leaves me with 15 books total on my January 2026 TBR. Of those, I read 11, or 73%. For not really reading on a schedule, I am a little surprised that I was able to complete this many and didn’t wander too far from my list.

I picked up some books for the girls and read them myself before I wrapped them up, so while those count for my January reads, I’m not going to add them to my TBR. Happily, since they are gifts and not “Books Acquired,” it helps me out in my quest to read more books than I buy (for myself) this year! Before Gabby was born, I read a LOT of children’s books and reviewed them on a blog site I created for her. I wonder if I should return to doing this now that they are getting older and growing into middle-grade books?

As far as reading more than I purchase, I have read 14 books so far and acquired 20, or 70%. This isn’t meeting my goal yet, but it’s a lot more than my read percentage from the last two years.

Keep an eye out for my February TBR post, where you can see which books I plan on carrying over from January, new releases that I’m interested in, and book club selections.

I’ll make another “How Did I Do?” post at the end of each month to wrap up the month’s reading and give a few thoughts that I had about each book. I am trying to be better about doing actual book reviews either on StoryGraph or GoodReads, and I’ll try to link them in the blog posts.

Books Read

1. Holiday Ever After (⭐⭐⭐⭐1/4) by Hannah Grace – Review
2. The Summer I Turned Pretty (⭐⭐3/4) by Jenny Han – Review
3. We Are All Guilty Here (⭐⭐⭐1/2) by Karin Slaughter – Review
4. Dragon Cursed (⭐⭐⭐⭐) by Elise Kova – Review
5. Woman Down (⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2) by Colleen Hoover – Review
6. Adventures in Amity: Tales from the Jaws Ride (⭐⭐⭐) by Dustin McNeill – Review
7. Of Course It’s Good! (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) by Jessica Secrest – Review
8. Love in Plane Sight (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) by Lauren Connolly – Review
9. Drive Me Crazy (⭐⭐⭐⭐) by Lizzy Dent – Review
10. The Goldens (⭐⭐⭐⭐) by Lauren Wilson – Review
11. Willodeen (⭐⭐⭐⭐) by Katherine Applegate – Review
12. The Moon Without Stars (⭐⭐⭐⭐) by Chanel Miller – Review
13. The Swifts (⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2) by Beth Lincoln – Review
14. Dating After the End of the World (⭐⭐⭐⭐) by Jeneva Rose – Review