I spent a lot of time in January reading audio novellas through Kindle Unlimited. My plan was to get a lot of the shorter reads out of the way earlier this year so I’d have more time for longer books. Once I’ve sat down to write reviews for my most recent books, I’ll have reviews ready up until May – the furthest ahead I have ever been. I also have a bunch of reviews from years ago that never got posted. I wondered if I should just bin them, but I spent time writing them, so why shouldn’t I post them? These will likely pop up throughout the year when I inevitably fall behind on writing posts.
I finished 13 books, including audio novellas, in January and most of them are not included in this post as I don’t have photos for them yet. But also because I don’t want to spend hours writing this post.
The Roommate Arrangement by Samantha Markum
Read: 30/12/25 – 2/1/26
*I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*
This book was a lovely way to start the year. It gave me high hopes of great January reads and made me excited to pick up some of my other ARCs. It also feels like I read this book months ago.
Fans of the ‘brother’s best friend’ trope will love this book. The romance is subtle but these subtleties are what make it such a lovely story.
ARC Review: The Roommate Arrangement by Samantha Markum
Synopsis: Blair might be a little type-A, but she never thought of herself as completely overbearing…that is, until her two best friends drop her from their housing arrangement a week before her pre-college summer coding program is about to start.
Blair knows if she switches to an on-campus dorm, her parents will make her give up her expensive sculpture class with her dream mentor in order to pay for it. Desperate, she agrees to be the fifth roommate to four off-campus sophomores who are also in a last-minute bind. But things get complicated when one of her new roommates turns out to be her brother’s best friend, Jamie Atwater.
Blair begs Jamie not to tell her brother about the new living arrangement. Her brother would go straight to their parents, who would definitely not approve, and all her plans would fall apart. So they strike a deal: she’ll help him finish coding the app he’s building if he promises to keep her secret.
Spending more time together shouldn’t be a problem. Sure, Jamie has a new haircut, a mysterious tattoo, and a year’s worth of earned muscle, but it’s not like Blair is noticing. After all, they’re only roommates, right?
Dear Mya by Danielle Keil
Read: 2/1/26
Who doesn’t love starting and finishing an entire book in one day? This one isn’t too impressive as it’s less than 200 pages, but if you’re looking for a super light-hearted read, this is the series for you.
I’ve finally finished season one of this series, it only took two years from start to finish. Which sounds ridiculous but there are 11 books and I also rarely have a Kindle Unlimited subscription.
This instalment was probably my least favourite, purely because of a revelation in the epilogue book. The double admirers was such a fun twist, but I don’t think it was done as well as it could have been.
Synopsis: Everyone at Ryder High knows what it means to have a teal envelope taped to their locker on the first day of the month.
Mya Burton received not only one envelope, but two.
The second envelope held a change to the Secret Admirer program— if she agreed, Mya would be the first girl to have two Secret Admirers.
It had never been done before. In each clue, the boys would both answer the same basic questions, followed by writing a short, non-identifying letter to Mya.
At the end of the month, she would have to choose just one without knowing who he really is.
But before she can, a shakeup hits the school. A hater slanders the game, leaving Mya feeling defeated and the other chosen girls needing to stick together.
Will Mya be able to finish her month on a happy note?
And will her blind decision be the best one for her?
Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn
Read: 2/1/26 – 14/1/26
Picking up this book was four years in the making and it also felt like it took four years to finish. The shining light of this book was Selwyn Kane, I am quite literally obsessed with him. Even five years after talking about how interesting I find him in my review of the first book.
I love the lore of this world and the characters are great. I don’t know if I’m too excited to continue the series just yet. A couple of super long reads last month have dulled my excitement for reading a little.
Synopsis: The shadows have risen, and the line is law.
All Bree wanted was to uncover the truth behind her mother’s death. So she infiltrated the Legendborn Order , a secret society descended from King Arthur’s knights – only to discover her own ancestral power. Now, Bree has become someone.
A Medium. A Bloodcrafter. A Scion.
But the ancient war between demons and the Order is rising to a deadly peak. And Nick , the Legendborn boy Bree fell in love with, has been kidnapped.
When the Regents reveal they will do whatever it takes to hide the war, Bree and her friends must go on the run to rescue Nick themselves. But enemies are everywhere, Bree’s own powers are unpredictable and dangerous, and she can’t escape her growing attraction to Selwyn, the mage sworn to protect Nick until death.
If Bree has any hope of saving herself and the people she loves, she must learn to control her powers from the ancestors who wielded them first – without losing herself in the process.
Spellbound by Murder by Stacie Ramey
DNF
*I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*
This book won’t be published until March, so I probably shouldn’t be talking about it just yet, but it was so bad I feel like I need to. My full review of this is pretty savage (and funny if I do say so myself) so keep your eyes peeled for that in a few weeks time.
If you’re not a fan of very on the nose references, you will hate this book. I only got through six chapters before I decided the blatant Gilmore Girls rip offs were too much. Apparently the Charmed references are ridiculous as well (I didn’t make it far enough to see these but just know it’s bad). There’s being inspired by something and then there’s this book.
Synopsis: When her grandmother suffers a nasty fall and asks for help managing the family business, coffee-addicted single mother Veronica Blackthorne moves her sixteen-year-old romcom-obsessed daughter to Mystic Hollow, Connecticut. Veronica is ecstatic to return to New England but when she arrives, she quickly finds out that Mystic Hollow Books, her grandmother’s pride and joy, needs more than a little TLC.
Hoping to save the bookstore from a big box rival, Veronica enlists her sometimes-mentor and sometimes-crush Adam Whitford, a controversial but popular author, as the keynote speaker to kick off a literary festival that will hopefully bring in a new wave of customers. But when Adam turns up dead, all that romantic potential turns into a nightmare as Veronica becomes the prime suspect in his murder.
As the local sheriff investigates his murder, Veronica decides to take matters into her own hands to solve the case and clear her name. With the bookstore’s future on the line, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Until her gran reveals the biggest secret of all–the bookstore is magical and it was a botched love spell that led to this entire mess.
A Queen of Ice by Elise Kova
Read: 17/1/26 – 27/1/26
I was about to start this section by saying I haven’t written my review yet but when looking at my notes, I felt a sudden urge to get my frustrations out. Most of you will be shocked to see me rate an Elise Kova book so low, but I genuinely didn’t enjoy A Queen of Ice very much.
The choice to make Eira a ruthless pirate felt so out of place and her attitudes towards the people around her just got too much. I think if this wasn’t an Elise Kova book, I would have DNF’d it. I needed to know how the series ended, and who Eira would pick. Part of me wishes I didn’t bother.
Synopsis: A pirate doesn’t ask…they take.
Ravaged by grief and driven to the brink, Eira and her crew are caught at the heart of a … Five kingdoms on the verge of war… An empire poised to crush them all… A pirate queen terrorizing the seas… And a madman, the architect of every shattered dream, broken heart, and spilled blood. He is on the verge of achieving is dream of ushering in a new era—one ruled by his iron fist and fueled by blind, unwavering loyalty. His only mistake? He made it personal for the one woman powerful enough to stop him.
Eira is done playing by the rules. Done holding back her magic, her heart, and her fury. She’s ready to crush her enemies, their vision, and anyone who dares to stand in her way.
With everything on the line, Eira will show the world they were right when they called her “dangerous” all those years ago. She’s going to claim victory for herself, or die trying.
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Like this post? Why not read this one too: Book Review: The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber