January ‘26 Reading Roundup
This year, in an effort to not overwhelm myself, I will be highlighting my top three favorite books from the month instead of sharing my reviews for every book I read. If you are interested in reading my thoughts on all the books from this month, please visit my books of 2026 page located under books by year.
As we know, I adore Emily Henry, and Funny Story is one of my favorites of hers. However, I am going to keep rereads out of the monthly highlights and focus on books I read for the first time. In January my favorite three books were The Briar Club, by Kate Quinn; The Knight and The Moth, by Rachel Gillig, and Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid. So let’s get into why!
The Briar Club by Kate Quinn
I loved this book. A glorious and emotional romp through 1950’s McCarthy era Washington, D.C. with a beautiful and flawed cast of women all living at the same boarding house. We follow along jumping from one perspective to another (one of which is the house itself!) as they each desperately try to find a community amongst themselves while struggling to stay true to their own identities in a time of suspicion and fear. You can tell how much care, effort, and research Quinn puts into each one of her books. I would emphatically recommend The Briar Club and all of Kate Quinn’s mesmerizing historical fiction novels to anyone who is a fan of the genre.
The Knight and The Moth by Rachel Gillig
After devouring her debut duology last fall (One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns), I was itching to read Gillig’s newest fantasy novel. This haunting tale introduces us to a sisterhood of diviners forced to drown for their kingdom in order to provide their people with prophecies. But when things start to go terribly wrong, one of the young women must join forces with the kingdom’s brotherhood of knights and venture beyond the protective walls of her home to discover the dark secrets of her gods and their corrupt power. I hung onto every word Gillig wrote and fell in love with her characters and the world she created. I look forward to the second book that is set to come out fall of 2026!
Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid
After watching the new hit show based on the second book in Reid’s Game Changers series, I decided I loved the characters so much I simply had to read the book. And I’m so glad I did! This for me is the pinnacle of what I want in a romance: friendship, well rounded characters, chemistry, stakes, and detailed and well researched world building. I also find queer romance stories to be much more compelling than their straight counterparts due to the natural conflicts and necessary communication that comes from being a part of the queer community, especially in a field (like hockey) that is historically straight and even homophobic at times. Reading Heated Rivalry and The Long Game (the 6th book in the series and the second part to Ilya and Shane’s story) back to back meant I got to watch their entire story come full circle and it was just beautiful.
