January 2026 Book Reviews!
- Christine
- 2 minutes ago
- 20 min read
Happy 2026 book lovers! We're smack in the middle of the winter doldrums, which is a perfect time to pick up a good book. In fact, as I'm publishing this, I'm looking out at snow on the ground where I live - just outside Hilton Head, South Carolina. Crazy! I find January and February to both be months where I can slow down a little and enjoy the long evening with a book and a glass of wine. I hope you are able to do the same!
I'm sure many of you have set reading goals for 2026 by now. I always set one as well, but I don't really measure myself against it much. To me, the main goal is just to read every day. Sometimes I'll have time to read for a couple of hours. Sometimes I can only get 15 minutes in. The key is to be consistent.
I hope you make 2026 a year that you dedicate to reading more! And I hope you let me help you find some great books to read. As always, if you don't want to wait for these monthly posts to see my book reviews, you can follow me "real time" on Goodreads or The Story Graph.
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Saint Richard Parker by Merlin Franco
Richard Parker is a successful businessman and journalist who lives in a small village in southern India. When he is unexpectedly fired from his job by the corrupt owner of the newspaper that he writes for, who then also smears Parker's name which leads to him losing his business as well, Parker decides to go on a quest of enlightenment. His journey takes him to various countries including several in southeast Asia, as he continues to search for enlightenment.
I honestly struggled quite a bit with this book. It was just very, very long - much longer than I think it needed to be. It was a slow read for me, so I found it challenging to get it finished. It's a satirical novel as well, and sometimes the sarcasm and comedy just didn't hit right for me.
Having said that, the book is very well written and the author does a good job of being quite witty throughout. It will be a book that many people will enjoy and is well done, it just wasn't for me personally.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Three out of five stars.
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America by Barbara Ehrenreich
In this book, author Barbara Ehrenreich undertakes an "experiment" to learn what it's really like to live as a low-wage worker. The idea is that she will actually live on the wages that she earns in one of the low-wage jobs she takes on - paying for her rent, food, gas, etc. on that money. The book covers, in detail, her experiences in three of those jobs. First, she works as a server in a diner in Key West. Second, she works for a cleaning service in Portland, Maine. Third, she works on the floor at a Walmart in Minneapolis.
It's no surprise that Ehrenreich finds it almost impossible to support herself in all three situations. And that's even taking into account - as she openly admits - that she gave herself the luxury of having her own (reliable) car and starting out with a small pot of money she could use to make deposits on apartments/motel rooms/etc.
Some of the criticism I've seen of this book is that Ehrenreich comes across at time as being pretentious, and I can agree with that. For example, when she's describing some of her fellow workers, she'll describe them in almost a demeaning way - they had yellow, crooked teeth or they always wore their hair in a ponytail. I understand that she was trying in her way to get the point across that her fellow workers couldn't afford things that most of us consider basic - dental care, getting a decent haircut, buying decent clothes, etc. But, the tone sometimes came across poorly.
The other criticism that I've seen is that she had sort of a righteous attitude, and I can see that as well. When she reached the end of the jobs, she would tell some of her fellow workers what she was actually doing. And instead of them praising her, as she seemed to expect, she was surprised they seemed underwhelmed. It was like the author didn't understand the fact that to these fellow workers, they were more worried about who was going to cover her shift they next day so they didn't have even more work to do, rather than feel like what she was doing was going to somehow "save them".
But if you put that all aside, this book is extremely eye opening and one everyone should read. Taking into account that the author conducted her experiment in the late 1990s and written in 2000, I can only imagine how much worse things are today. It's no secret that housing costs have gotten even more out of control and wages have not kept up.
If you've never had to live paycheck to paycheck (or worse). If you think welfare and food stamps are "hand outs" and people should just "work harder". If you think the people working low wage jobs - cooks, dishwashers, housekeepers, servers, etc. - are unskilled and uneducated. You should read this book and be thankful that you are not in that situation.
This book is #57 on the New York Times list of "The Best 100 Books of the 21st Century". Four out of five stars!
Messenger For The Dead (A Mathieu James Thriller, Book 2) by Matthew Fults
Mathieu James is an investigative journalist who also works with intelligence agencies to assist with finding certain criminals. In this specific book, James is involved in finding the Somalian terrorist who has made several attacks of innocent citizens over the years, including the one that took the lives of James' parents many years ago. After almost killing the man in an attempted capture just a few weeks ago, James is back at it in Norway where it's believed the man has escaped to.
This is part 2 of this series and while there are clearly things about the backstory that it would have been good to know a bit better if I had read part 1, this book does stand on its own as well. It's very fast paced and lots of action. I believe I saw that the author is also a screenwriter, which explains why the book was heavy on dialogue. While some of the dialogue seemed a little bit too much detail for the book, I do think it kept the story moving well. I enjoyed this one.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Four out of five stars!
Live, Ranch, Love (Willow Ridge, Book 1) by Emma Lucy
Aurora Jones is a wellness and positivity influencer in London. When she walks in on her boyfriend cheating on her, she decides to fly to Colorado and get the ranch her aunt recently left to her in order so she can sell it. The first person she encounters is head rancher Wyatt, who clearly is moody and not happy that Aurora is there to sell the ranch that he considers home. But as Aurora stays longer at the ranch and gets closer to Wyatt, she realizes that there might be something more for her in Colorado after all.
While this is clearly supposed to be a typical enemies to lovers romance novel, the "enemies" piece of this is not nearly as intense as it normally is. You very quickly learn that the two main characters are more interested in the "lovers" piece of the formula. Definitely a sweet and spicy book, but it kind of dragged on too long and became repetitive. It was pretty clear from the beginning how the book was going to end. And what little drama and tension there was at the end - it's always part of the formula that one or more of the "exes" shows back up - seemed a bit contrived and never really caused the level of conflict it could have.
If you are looking for a sweet and spicy romance novel, this one will do the trick, but nothing overly exciting about it.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Three out of five stars.
A Revolution Of The Mind by M.V. Perry
Trigger warning. This book's main topic is clinical depression and also talks about suicide ideation.
Ellen "Boo" Harvey was born into a well off, conservative family in the suburbs of Chicago. When she goes off to college in California, she finds herself falling further and further into depression. As her grades go from straight A's, to B's, to C's to failing by the time her four years are up, the few attempts she makes to get help both from the school and her parents result in her being brushed off and told she just is having a hard time adjusting to college.
The book is all told from Boo's perspective. Chapters alternate between her sharing what she's going through in college, to her telling about her life after college when she returns home to Chicago and starts working to get her degree in psychology and working to help advocate for mental health.
From one perspective this book does a great job of bringing awareness to what it means to have clinical depression. It also does a good job of bringing to light the struggles that people with a mental health condition face in society. The main character speaks very clearly about how the fact that she comes from a wealthy family and has access to all the care money can buy is likely why she is still alive today. She acknowledges that others that don't have the same resources are often lost in the system, which is why she is working in the mental health advocacy arena.
On the other hand, this book is extremely hard to get through. It's basically a long monologue with very little dialogue and a story that really doesn't go anywhere. With some editing, the book could likely have been cut in half and would have been easier to get through. I think unless you are really into the topic, you'd struggle to get through this one.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Three out of four stars.
The People Can Fly: American Promise, Black Prodigies, And The Greatest Miracle Of All Time by Joshua Bennett
This book is described as combining the author's personal narrative and history with the history of other Black people that were considered "gifted" in some way. Covering everyone from Stevie Wonder to Malcolm X to Nikki Giovanni, as well as lesser known gifted individuals, the book gives a glimpse into their life and how their talents and gifts were viewed. It also speaks to the hurdles they faced when being gifted and Black
I think this book is better termed as a collection of essays. The author is clearly a gifted writer and the writing overall is good. However, the book felt very disjointed to me. There wasn't a clear flow between, or even within, chapters. It seemed that the author jumped from person to person in some cases. Maybe it was just me, but I found it hard to figure out exactly where the author was going at times. I think the concept is great and the stories very interesting and inspiring, but the book needed more cohesion.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Three out of five stars.
This book will be published on February 3, 2026. To pre-order your copy on Amazon, click here: Kindle, audiobook or hardcover.
Hi Pretty Girl, Bye Pretty Girl by Daniel Amory
Jake and Catherine have been best friends since they were 2 years old. The book starts off with them taking a trip together to Morocco during spring break of their final year of law school. We soon discover that Jake has secretly been in love with Catherine forever, but he's afraid to tell her because if she doesn't feel the same way, it will ruin their friendship. The story continues on with them traveling to Spain together for a month after taking the bar exam and before starting their jobs. When Jake is still unable to tell Catherine how he feels, he fears he's lost his chance after they return home to Chicago and Catherine reconnects with an old boyfriend.
Let me first say that the plot of this story is really cute and has a ton of potential. Outside of that, I'm not sure I was reading the same book that others rated so highly. I found the writing to be very mechanical. I think the author was trying to be funny, but in doing so, they focused in on some very strange details that didn't really have anything to do with the story. Additionally, the book was told in the third person and it felt awkward for this kind of story. I never got any connection to either Jake or Catherine.
To me, for a romance story to be good it needs to either be steamy (which this isn't at all) or you have to really feel for the characters and want to cheer for them to get together. This book didn't do either of those things for me. I know others have given it good reviews and seemed to love it, so maybe it just didn't hit me right for some reason.
It's short. It's a sweet story. But I didn't feel invested at all and the writing seemed awkward to me.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Two out of five stars.
The Flame Throwers by Rachel Kushner
Reno - which is what the main character is referred to because it's where she was born (we never know her actual name) - has come to New York to become an artist in the 1970s. She quickly discovers, however, that even though New York is full of people, it can be a very lonely place and difficult to meet anyone. While she comes across a few different characters, it isn't until she meets Sandro that she feels like she has found someone to fill up her world.
Sandro is part of the Valera family, who own - amongst other businesses - an Italian motorcycle company. Sandro, however, is an artist who prefers to live in New York and not be in Italy and be part of the family business. After Reno races her Valera motorcycle at the Salt Flats and ultimately sets a record for racing one of the Valera's team racers, they invite her to go to Italy and do marketing promotions for the team. While Sandro initially resists going, he eventually gives in and the two of them head to Italy to stay with his family.
I know this book was highly acclaimed, but for me, it was just ok. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't compelling in any way and was a bit tough to get through. It's hard to follow the story and figure out where it's ultimately going. Things jump around a lot. Although the book is long, it doesn't seem to have a lot of character development. It was fine, but nothing I would recommend to others as it was a big of a slog to get through.
This book is #56 on the New York Times list of "The Best 100 Books of the 21st Century". Three out of five stars.
Another Invisible Ghetto by Rasmenia Massoud
This book is about a group of people that live in a rundown apartment building in a small town in Colorado. Throughout the course of the book, you learn a little bit about each character and their past, what their life is like currently, and how their lives intersect with each other. Each character has faced hard times - whether due to abuse, addiction, mental health issues, etc. - and finds themselves in this rundown place feeling stuck.
I thought this was a well thought out book that really sheds light on people who are struggling to get by. The whole message, as implied by the title of the book, is that people that live in situations like this often feel invisible. They are the people that those with means don't want to see. They want to just drive past the rundown apartment building and pretend like it's not there.
The only criticism I have is that there were so many characters, that it was difficult at times to keep track of them. Otherwise, this was a very good book with a strong message.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Four out of five stars!
The Parisian Chapter by Janet Skeslien Charles
This book is connected to "The Paris Library" by the same author. Lily has been living in Paris for a number of years trying to make her dream of becoming an author come true. But when her best friend and roommate informs her that it's time for her to move out of their tiny studio apartment and pursue her own goals, Lily finds herself needing to find a job to pay the rent. As she's reading the help wanted ads, she sees the perfect job - program manager at the American Library in Paris. It's the same library that her friend from Montana - Odile - worked at as a young woman living in Paris before WWII came to France. Odile had ultimately become a "war bride" and moved to Montana (and is the main character of "The Paris Library"). Odile had inspired Lily's love of Paris and her desire to move there and become an author.
I was a bit disappointed in this book. When I read about it and knew it was tied to "The Paris Library", I figured it would be exactly the kind of book I would love. And it's not that I didn't like it, but I just didn't love it like I thought I would. It just felt to me that the story itself lacked any drama and just didn't leave me wanting to turn each page to find out what happened next. Additionally, there were a lot of characters, most of whom just weren't developed enough.
I often feel that books are too long and could benefit from editing. In this case, I think the book was too short and could have benefited from some more development of the story and the characters.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Three out of five stars.
This book will be published on May 5, 2026. To pre-order your copy on Amazon, click here: Kindle, audiobook, paperback or hardcover.
Midnight At Eberly Manor by K.P. Gillespie
Cassie Thompson is a young and successful lawyer in Philadelphia. As she is working on her current case, she gets an e-mail from a stranger telling her that he has crucial information on her case and needs to meet with her. When Cassie travels to the Philadelphia suburbs to go to Eberly Manor to meet the person, she discovers that it was all a ruse to trap her in a real life game of life and death with several other people. And when some missteps in her own past begin to catch up with her, Cassie fights for her life to get a chance to survive and admit to her mistakes.
This one is definitely a thriller that will keep you turning the pages until the very end. Throughout the book that are twists that appear, with a pretty big twist towards the end. And as someone who lived in the Philadelphia area for a long time, I appreciate the setting and the fact that the author inserted so many Philly references into the book.
Was the writing a little shaky at times? Yes. And was the plot a little unbelievable at times? Yes. But I have to say I was pretty impressed for the author's first novel and definitely enjoyed this one.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Four out of five stars!
Divine Ruin (Sister Holiday Mysteries, Book 3) by Margot Douaihy
Sister Holiday is about to take her permanent vows to officially become a nun at Saint Sebastian in New Orleans where she teaches music. She also happens to be a lesbian, ex-punk rocker who got clean from doing drugs and drinking, and now moonlights with her friend who is a PI. When one of Sister Holiday's students OD at school, she's determined to find out who is behind the drugs that are invading her school and bring them to justice.
This is book 3 in the Sister Holiday series, and while there are references to the stories in the past books, this book does stand on its own. It's definitely quirky and a little unnerving at first to read the narrative of a nun who curses, smokes, has tattoos and fantasizes about her fellow teacher. But the character really does work and the story does too.
Very entertaining. It's a quick and easy read. Definitely recommend it as a unique and fun mystery.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Four out of five stars!
Slim And The Beast by Samuel Lopez-Barrantes
Slim is a veteran who was injured while serving and is now attending the University of North Carolina to get a degree. "The Beast" is a star basketball player at UNC who isn't really sure that he wants basketball to be his life - especially after his parents die in a fire. The two become friends and ultimately set off on a road trip to travel to where The Beast is going to sign an NBA contract. However, when they stop to get a burger at a bar and a hurricane prevents them from traveling any further, Slim's past catches up with them.
I just really didn't connect with this book or the characters. The book was very short, but I still found it difficult to read. Outside of some philosophizing, I didn't really see the point of the book or feel like there was any direction. Just not for me.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Two out of five stars.
Of Dubious Origin by David Santiago
Israel Cruz has always been confused about his heritage and has never gotten a straight answer from his parents. He's lost in life, spending his time in his parent's basement playing video games and following the Instagram page of the Portuguese fashion model he's in love with. When he decides to "declare" that he's Portuguese American, he also decides that he is going to move to Portugal and create a new life there, including tracking down the model he's convinced he's in love with. That leads to Israel and his brother taking passage on a container ship to travel to Lisbon. But, what seems like too good of a deal to get to Portugal to be true, probably is.
I love the idea of the book and there is plenty of humor in it. I do think that the author went just a bit too far with Israel's character. The intent is that Israel is too naive and in his own world to realize when he's being taken advantage of, but at times it becomes so unrealistic that it just makes it a little cringey.
Fun story and definitely will make you laugh, but a little challenging on the characters.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Three out of five stars.
Above Your Raisin by Mac Griffith
When Supreme Court Justice Nico Grasso visits his rich friend outside of Denver and decides to go out fly fishing, janitor Vernon "Tree" Purcell accompanies him with one of the other workers. After Grasso slips and falls into the river and he catches Tree laughing at him, Grasso decides to get revenge and later shoves Tree into the river. At that moment, Tree decides to quit his job and just walk away - leaving Grasso in the river. Tree later realizes that during the incident he ended up with a letter that the Pope wrote to Grasso. When Grasso tells Tree he needs the letter returned, Tree decides to give Grasso back a little bit of his own medicine. He decides to tell Grasso he won't return the letter and proceeds to make up some things that are in letter - making it seem like it details Grasso taking bribes and other unlawful things.
This book moves very, very slowly. It's told from Tree's point of view and he alternates between present day happenings and things that have happened in his life in the past. Towards the end of the book, Grasso and Tree get into a very long, philosophical discussion. While the underlying theme is good - just because Tree is a janitor doesn't mean he isn't smart and just because Grasso is a Supreme Court Justice doesn't mean he is smart - it just seems to drag and just isn't very interesting.
This was pretty hard to get through and just didn't seem to go much of anywhere. Good writing, but not a very interesting story.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Three out of five stars.
The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda And The Road To 9/11 by Lawrence Wright
This is a very tough book to read for several reasons. First and most obviously, the subject matter is difficult for anyone to read and especially those of us who remember 9/11 so vividly. Second, I think the Middle East is one of the most complicated regions in the world, and it's very difficult to understand how all the countries, leaders, groups, etc. fit together. Third, it's a very dense book that lays out a lot of very complex information. Finally, it's very difficult to keep all of the different people straight - the names are difficult and there are a lot of people to keep track of.
Having said all of that, if you can get past those challenges, this is definitely a book worth reading. It covers the history from the very start of the people who led to the eventual start of Al-Qaeda all the way through 9/11. While it's definitely frustrating (and frightening to be honest) to read about all the missteps and dysfunction in our own government during that time period, it helps you understand what led up to everything and hopefully lays out important lessons that we learned.
This is an undertaking to read - both emotionally and in the time to read it - but well worth it. This book is #55 on the New York Times list of "The Best 100 Books of the 21st Century".
Second Dance (The Parent App, Book 1) by Tess Thompson
Gillian and Alex met when they were young one summer in NYC and fell in love. But at the end of the summer, Gillian finds out that her sister and brother-in-law have died in an accident, leaving her infant niece, Grace, an orphan. Gillian decides she has to move to California, give up her dreams of a career in dancing, and raise Grace. That also means giving up her relationship with Alex, who has to return to MIT to finish his degree.
Flash forward about 15 years, and Grace and her friends have decided to sign their single mom's up for a dating app without their knowledge. When the mom's find out, they are upset with their kids and tell them they don't want to be on the app. However, before Gillian can take down her account, she receives a message from Alex - her love from years ago. Alex was widowed a few years ago and, ironically, now lives in the same beach town that she does in California. He's also a billionaire, after selling the technology company he started after college.
Will Alex and Gillian find the same spark they did that summer in NYC? Will their kids accept them dating someone?
This is a super sweet romance that I found was a nice break from the heavier stuff I've been reading lately. Not much in the way of spice or steam, but just a lot of sweetness and romance. This is the first book of a series called "The Parent App", so I'm guessing the author plans to write more books about each of the "mom's" that they kids set up on the dating app.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Four out of five stars!
Winner Takes All by Emily Martin
Eleanor has traveled to Las Vegas to try and sign one of her favorite bands - Dempsey - to the indie record label she works for. But when she takes the band out for dinner, she notices that her main rival - Adam - who works for the record label she used to work for, happens to be sitting at the bar of the restaurant. When it becomes clear that Adam is also there to try and sign Dempsey, Eleanor is determined to stick with the band for the night and not let Adam get the upper hand.
When Adam and Eleanor wake up the next morning in Eleanor's hotel room, they quickly realize by the size of their hangovers, that neither or them can remember most of the night and how they ended up there. And when they realize they have matching wedding rings on their fingers too, they fear that the night before was worse than they even imagined.
This is a super cute romance that involves one of my favorite things - the music industry - on top of the romance. It's an easy and short read, that is at just the right pace. Definitely recommend!
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Four out of five stars!
This book will be published on June 23, 2026. To pre-order your copy, click here: Kindle, audiobook or paperback.
I hope everyone stays warm in February. If you're stuck inside, curl up with a good book! Spring will be here soon!
What books do you recommend I read next? Let me know! Did you check out any of these books? I'd love to hear what you think! Comment below or e-mail me at tips2livebywriter@gmail.com.
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