January Wrap Up graphic on a snowy background

January 2026 Wrap Up

Posted on by Anna and Alexis

Alexis: 

I’m happy to say that I read 7 books in January! What a way to start off the year.

January felt like it was 10,000 years long. After being exposed to Covid, I quarantined for a week, though I’m grateful I never caught it. And then we got a bad snowstorm and I was stuck inside for another week. Needless to say, I had a lot of time on my hands.

One of my goals for this year is to actually watch more TV and read slightly less (I know, a crazy goal). On top of the books I read, I also watched Heated Rivalry (and Reheated Rivalry; if you get it, you get it) People We Meet on Vacation, and the first half of Bridgerton Season 4. It was definitely a good month for TV adaptations—I loved all of them.

I’m planning on writing longer reviews of The Everlasting and The Poet Empress, so look out for those!

  1. The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow: Time travel isn’t usually my jam, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised by this book. Harrow crafts a beautiful, moving story in a historical, WWI-esque fantasy world with a knight and a scholar who get tangled up in time—and love.
  2. Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid: I read this after watching the show, of course. My library happened to have an e-book copy available (I’m not sure how, but I grabbed it). The dialogue is almost exactly the same, so I could hear the actors’ voices in my head as I read this. 
  3. The Bodyguard by Katherine Center: This was a reread. It’s Center’s Covid project, so it felt right to read it during my quarantine. It’s a hilarious, ridiculous kind of rom-com that I really needed. It’s also being adapted into a movie!
  4. What Wakes the Bells by Elle Tesch: This is very atmospheric YA fantasy that I just wanted more from, but I enjoyed the vibes.
  5. The Poet Empress by Shen Tao: What a debut! This is a dark, brutal historical fantasy with poetry magic and plenty of political/court intrigue. 
  6. The Nightshade God by Hannah Whitten: I finished a trilogy! This is the final book in The Nightshade Crown series. 
  7. The Long Game by Rachel Reid: This is the sequel to Heated Rivalry. It’s definitely deeper than the first book, and I enjoyed learning what happens to Shane and Ilya (though I’m banking on the show improving the wedding scene in Season 2).

I hope you all had a good reading start to the year and have some great reads planned!

Unknown's avatar

Published by Anna and Alexis

Hello! We're Anna and Alexis, twins from the Richmond, Virginia area. We both studied English and creative writing in college. Anna spent a year after college working in book publishing in New York City. After living outside of D.C., she moved back to the Richmond area. She works in marketing. Her favorite genre to read is literary fiction, especially by female authors, and she also enjoys dystopian novels. Alexis works in marketing and writes novels on the side. She recently finished grad school, where she received her MFA in creative writing. She loves reading fantasy, especially YA, magical realism, and the occasional lyrical fiction and romance. We’ve been reading and writing together as long as we can remember, and we’re excited to share our bookish thoughts with you! Check us out on Instagram @takestwotobookreview.

Leave a comment