My Month Is Booked: January 2026

Welcome to the first My Month is Booked linkup of 2026! :] I love that I said I’d start posting the last Monday of each month and then totally missed the first one of the year. (In my defense, I was in Thailand and it was a suuuuper busy two weeks leading up to my 2-week disappearance. :’)

My Month Is Booked: January 2026

I apparently read 11 books last month! (7 of these were while I was on vacation!) Some of these are Amazon First Reads books I’ve accumulated over the course of last year + others are from my TBR and my NetGalley backlog. I’m happy to have made such a big dent last month! :]

(As a bookshop.org affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases if you click the link (at no cost to you).)

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride, by Roshani Chokshi – A story about a man who marries a beautiful, mysterious woman named Indigo — in exchange for her love, he must promise he will never pry into her past. When the couple returns to her childhood home to see her dying estranged aunt + learns more about Indigo’s dearest childhood friend who mysteriously disappeared, he finds he cannot resist wanting to know more.

It’s told in two different timelines and 1st-person narratives — Azure (the childhood friend) + the bridegroom (whose story felt a little more like afterthought). Although the writing for this is beautiful, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I feel like the actual plot got lost in the writing and things happened very slowly. There’s a lot that I was left with just…wondering (“was it true or was this all imagination?”).

Half a Soul, by Olivia Atwater (Regency Faerie Tales #1) – Theodora Ettings is cursed by a faerie as a child, leaving her with only half a soul + unable to feel emotions like other people. When she accompanies her cousin to London, she meets the king’s magician, Elias Wilder (the least-liked man in all of high society).

This was a short, cute + whimsical read set in early 19th century London that still manages to touch on class disparity, poverty, and the effects of war/PTSD.

Ten Thousand Stitches, by Olivia Atwater (Regency Faerie Tales #2) – A housemaid falls in love with a high-society gentleman and stumbles upon a very well-intentioned faerie who is eager to help. Cinderella-retelling-ish!

Although this is a sequel to Half A Soul, it can be read as a standalone (and involves a side character from the first one that I did want to find out more about — he tries so hard!). Also a short, delightful read that left me smiling!

Poinsettia Girl: The Story of Agata della Pieta, by Jennifer Wizbowski – A gorgeously written book set in 18th-century Venice and inspired b y the life of Agata della Pietta, an orphan singer/composer. It was so interesting to read about what life within the walls of the Osepedale de La Pieta might have been like, and I loved following her life over the years as she grew up + found her place there.

The Distant Daughter, by Lorna Cook – A very engaging dual-timeline story set in 1940’s Singapore and present-day UK/Cornwall. I got swept up in the characters in both timelines and finished the book in a day, wanting to know wha happened and also just wanting happiness for both. Some bits didn’t feel too realistic but I’m happy to suspend some disbelief for this book! Ends on a cliffhanger because there’s a part two coming out later this year!

The Modern Hippie Table: Recipes and Menus for Eating Simply and Living Beautifully, by Lauren Thomas – Although I haven’t tried making the recipes in this book yet, I really appreciate how approachable the author makes them! They seem perfect for an elevated get-together or a way to make a weeknight more special without taking toooo much extra time. The details she goes into on simple things that can improve the experience of hosting a gathering + help guests to feel more welcome were helpful as well. I think the “hippie” part was a bit lacking (was thinking this would be more about sustainably sourced/farm to table-type recipes) and would’ve enjoyed more photos of the finished recipes rather than the ingredients. Overall though, the book has beautiful photos and is very thoughtfully curated with many different key ideas.

The Wondrous Life and Loves of Nella Carter, by Brionni Nwosu – Born enslaved in 18th-century Georgia, Nella is on the brink of death when she makes a bargain with Death himself to prove the ultimate goodness of the human race.

This was such a beautifully written book! Very thought-provoking and despite how much loss this deals with, the author navigated it well while interweaving pieces of history throughout. One of my favorite reads so far this year. (If you’ve read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, this has the same vibe but I liked this one more. <3 )

The People’s Library, by Veronica G. Henry – A sci-fi fantasy set in future Cleveland that follows Echo, a former-librarian-turned-curator of the People’s Library (a digital collection of human consciousness with the greatest minds + historical figures that lets visitors interact with the dead). When an anti-tech rebellion attack ends in tragedy, Echo starts to wonder if there is more than meets the eye.

I loved the premise of this but feel like the execution fell a little flat. The description of this dystopian world with AI was super interesting and I would’ve loved it more if it’d had…a different plot that meandered less and didn’t take me where it ended up taking me. Definitely still a thought-provoking book though!

Daughter of Fire, by Sofia Robleda – A novel set in 16th-century Guatemala about the daughter of a Maya noblewoman + a Spanish colonizer. Catalina struggles to honor the vow she made to her mother to preserve the lost sacred text of the Popol Vuh, the treasured history of the K’iche people.

This is a piece of history I’m definitely not very familiar with and I really wish I’d enjoyed the book more. Kindasorta historical fiction but also kindasorta fantasy + romance? The premise was solid but I felt it was somewhat choppy/didn’t flow very well.

The Warbler, by Sarah Beth Durst – Ten months is the longest time Elisa has ever stayed anywhere, constantly propelled by her fear that if she puts down roots and calls a place home, a family curse will turn her into a tree. When she discovers a town in Massachusetts where mysterious forces make it impossible for its residents to leave, she hopes she can break the curse in this way.

This was a really interesting premise + very different than the other books I’ve read by her (The Spellshop + The Enchanted Greenhouse, both of which I loved). An interesting read on mother-daughter relationships and what “home” really means — I felt like I was still left with questions after finishing the book though.

The Heart of Everything, by Marc Levy – Thomas is a virtuoso pianist living in France and is stunned when his late father appears in his home to request that he travel with him to San Francisco to reunite his ashes with the long-lost love of his life. I feel like the book overall felt a little rushed, but it was a quick/interesting whimsical read on a father-son relationship.

Nine Tailed, by Jayci Lee (Realm of Four Kingdoms Book #1) – Sunny Cho drifts from city to city trying to steer clear of any and all attachments so that she can’t risk losing control of her powers as a 132-year-old nine-tailed fox spirit. When Ethan Lee, a PI + friend she left behind 8 years ago, tracks her down to ask for her help in finding his brother’s murderer, Sunny knows her

…The insta-lust + technical age-gap (considering when the main character originally met the love interest) very much detract from the main story, but…I unfortunately did still enjoy the Korean mythology and want to know what happens next, so I’ll likely be reading the sequel.

• Do you have a preference on the first or last Monday of the month for this linkup”? At this point, I don’t think I really have a true preference and should probably just stick to something..
• Do you tend to read more or less when you’re on vacation? This is most definitely the most books I’ve ever gone through whilst on vacation!