Read on to see everything we finished in January and take a peek at our exciting February TBR.
Books We Finished in January📚
Kingdom of Claw
Description
👏👏👏 Talk about a second book done right 👏👏👏
The lore is so deep, characters are to die for, there are hot Viking mercenaries everywhere, there are also unhinged, flirty men who will do anything for their woman… What more can I ask for?
OH I KNOW — GOOD PLOT. Don’t worry Demi’s got you covered there too.
Kingdom of Claw has Throne of Glass level worldbuilding, enriched story and careful planning, SUCH GOOD SLOW BURN that makes you squeal, scream, cry and throw up (yes, those are emotions I want to be feeling when I read a romantasy).
Anyways, go read The Road of Bones, you’re missing out. This series I fear, can fix all of my jaded opinions about romantasy.
Roots of Darkness
Description
I love novellas that fill in plot gaps that didn’t fit into the main novel. Roots of Darkness does exactly that and some more.
Hekla is such a queen amongst men and a beyond relatable black cat. I love her sassy, snappy and vulnerable internal voice.
And if you know me by now, I’m a sucker for a Golden Retriever boyfriends, so naturally Eyvind is an A+ MMC.
Maybe something is wrong with me, but I love me a murderous mist and loved the way this ties back to Dawn of the North.
This is not an optional novella, you’ll need to read this before Dawn of the North!!
Zodiac Academy: The Awakening As Told By The Boys
Description
The Vega twins are alive.
Those five words circle in my mind like an oncoming storm. They change everything about the future we thought had been set in stone. They challenge everything we were raised to be and the stability of the entire kingdom.
They’re coming to our academy looking for the life that was stolen from them, but we can’t let them take it back.
So much hangs in the balance and we can’t risk the arrival of two naïve princesses destroying everything we worked so hard for.
I have trained in dark magic, overcome all challenges and stood in the shadow of Lionel Acrux for far too long already. I won’t let them come between me and his downfall.
Which means they have to go before they discover how powerful they truly are.
This is a retelling of the first book in the Zodiac Academy series from the point of view of Orion and the Heirs and should be read after you have finished the original story. It includes scenes from alternative points of view as well over 50k words of additional content and scenes which have never before been revealed. So prepare to step into the dark minds of the Zodiac boys and watch out for the heartbreak and carnage that will ensue.
OMG what a great way to start 2026!! I’m normally hesitant about retelling books, especially if it’s all from men’s POV. They usually let me down, try to excuse their bad behavior, and feel like a cash grab, or worse, it’s a bunch of events in the men’s lives nobody cares about. I want every author who ever writes men’s retelling books earlier on in the series to take note, because this is the golden standard.
I want two things from a boys retelling book, excessive, disgustingly sappy pining while still being enemies, and a clearer perspective on why they were so mean in the first book, and this delivers an A+ on both.
I was pretty much a hater at the end of The Awakening, with what the boys did to Tory and Darcy being inexcusable, and it still is, but I understand why a group of eighteen year olds and a professor who had his life stolen felt like they had no choice. You do not leave this book feeling like their actions were justified, but they are humanized and explained enough that you can see room for them to grow and become better versions of themselves thanks to the Vegas. I loved all of this, especially the way it made me hurt in different ways all over again.
People We Meet on Vacation
Description
As a longtime Emily Henry fan, this book delivers on everything I love about her writing, great banter and fun moments between characters. Alex and Poppy’s chemistry carries the book, and I love watching them fall in love over the years through their summer trips. There are a bit too many travel activities, but there are so many great moments in that special Emily Henry way that makes it worth it.
Although I love slow burns, friends to lovers, and “it’s always been you”, there is a miscommunication trope, which is super ick for me, especially when it involves characters who love each other so well. The big Croatia reveal did not make a lot of sense to me, and the characters are bad humans occasionally, but it was still a fantastic time, and I am sure the main characters will stay together for the next sixty years.
Atmosphere
Description
Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s Space Shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.
Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easy-going even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warm-hearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.
As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.
Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant.
Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, with complex protagonists, telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love, this time among the stars.
What a great way to start my Taylor Jenkins Reid experience! I’ve been on a historical fiction kick and Atmosphere did what I love so much, a dual timeline where we figure out how we got there! While I wasn’t as consumed by it as I thought I would be, I loved Joan Goodwin so much. We don’t get to see a lot of soft FMCs using their kindness as strength, and I admired her so much. Loved the found family and Joan’s relationship with her peers and Frances (I WOULD DIE FOR FRANCES).
BARBARA CAN ROT FOR ALL I CARE.
That being said, the ending is big time Hallmark movie and I wish it was more grounded like the rest of the book, but everything else was fantastic.
PS: Julia Whelan is such a fantastic audiobook narrator. I would listen to her read a dictionary.
Graceless Heart
Description
In 15th-century Volterra, sculptress Ravenna Maffei enters a competition hosted by a secretive, immortal family who offer an invaluable boon to the victor. Desperate to win so she can save her brother, Ravenna reveals a rare magical talent–a dangerous act in a city where magic is forbidden. Her revelation makes her a target, and she is kidnapped by the Luni family and taken to Florence, a city of breathtaking beauty and cutthroat ambition.
There, Ravenna is forced into an impossible task where failure means certain death at the hands of Saturnino dei Luni, the family’s enigmatic and merciless heir. But under his cold reserve hides a vulnerability that draws her closer than she ever intended.
Meanwhile, Ravenna’s forbidden magic does not go unnoticed. The Pope, waging war against Florence, the Medici, and magic itself, has his own interest in her abilities, seeing her as a potential weapon in his ruthless campaign.
As alliances shift and war brews on the horizon, Ravenna must navigate the treacherous line between survival and betrayal, between love and duty. With time running out and her every move watched, the choices she makes will determine the fate of not just her own life, but the fragile balance of magic and power that could unravel Florence itself.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Graceless Heart is a good standalone fantasy with a gorgeous Italian Renaissance backdrop and some really compelling ideas. I loved the lyrical and atmospheric prose, and the Florence setting felt especially immersive. Ravenna is a breath of fresh air in a sea of angsty, sassy FMCs. She’s clever, grounded, emotionally aware, and refreshingly free of the usual FMC tropes that have been driving me nuts lately.
This one does enemies to reluctant allies to lovers, and while I loved the premise and the destination of the romance, the pacing felt off. Still, I do enjoy a “touch her and die” MMC, and this book delivered on that. I reread the yearniest scenes more than once, so I really can’t complain.
I did have issues with the magic and worldbuilding, which, despite being explained quite a bit early on, don’t really impact the novel’s ending. Overall, this has fantastic bones and a satisfying conclusion, but I couldn’t help wishing it had been tighter. It was still a good time, and I’d definitely be interested in reading more from this author.
We Who Have No Gods
Description
Vic Wood knows her priorities: scrape by on her restaurant wages, take care of her younger brother Henry, and forget their mother ever existed. But Vic’s careful life crumbles when Henry reveals that their long-missing mother belonged to the Acheron Order—a secret society of witches tasked with keeping the dead at bay. What’s worse, Henry inherited their mother’s magical abilities while Vic did not, and Henry has been chosen as the Order’s newest recruit.
Determined to keep him safe, Vic accompanies Henry to the isolated woods in upstate New York that play host to the sprawling and eerie Avalon Castle. When she joins the academy despite lacking powers of her own, she risks not only the Order’s wrath, but also her brother’s. And then there is Xan, the head Sentinel—imposing, ruthless, and frustrating—in charge of protecting Avalon. He makes no secret that he wants Vic to leave.
As she makes both enemies and allies in this mysterious realm, Vic becomes caught between the dark forces at play, with her mother at the heart of it all. What’s stranger is that Vic begins to be affected by the academy—and Xan—in ways she can’t quite understand. But with war between witches threatening the fabric of reality, Vic must decide whether to risk her heart and life for a world where power is everything.
Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
This was dark academia with witches and monsters, with a strong premise but weak execution. I liked the setting, a mortal woman finding herself in the middle of a supernatural world. The supernatural elements are clearly well researched, and the world works conceptually.
However, the story feels underdeveloped and the characters have issues. Vic’s motivations feel unconvincing, Xan feels flat, and their romance feels unearned and gave me whiplash. The banter didn’t work for me either.
The plot also feels brushed over, with heavy exposition that left me feeling underwhelmed. While this was an okay dark academia read, there is a lot of dark academia on the market right now, which makes the competition especially tough.
Books on our February TBR
Below are our February hopefuls!
My advice is always ruin the friendship 🌊💘
Get swept up in the storm ❄️☕
Order The Everlasting and clear your weekend, you’re not doing anything else. 🐉⚔️
The Vegas are still standing and the heirs are still feral, as they should be 👑🔱
Fated Thrones said here is your heart and also here is the floor 👑💀
Caught between a wolf king and a night prince and I am not okay 🐺🌑
That’s all we read in January and what we’d like to cover in February! What did you read last month? What are you looking forward to this month? Let us know in the comments!
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