My January 2026 Reading Wrap-Up: 3 Books I Loved & How I Finally Got Back Into Reading

Reading more is a goal I set for myself every single year, and this time I’m actually off to a strong start. I finished 3 books in 31 days and even started a fourth — which honestly feels unheard of in my motherhood era.

The biggest change? I started skipping TV some nights and reading instead. Not every night, because balance, but enough to make a difference. Add in my Kobo Clara eReader, and reading has felt so much easier. Being able to read in bed, in the dark, without a lamp on? Game changer.

Here’s my January reading wrap up:

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

This one is such a tender, grown love story that really stays with you. It follows Eva, a single mom and author, whose life collides again with her first love — the one who broke her heart years ago. The story explores second chances, healing, and how our younger selves shape the way we love as adults. What made it especially relatable is that so many of us know what it’s like to lose a first love suddenly, without closure, and carry that emotional fallout for years.

When You Are Mine by Kennedy Ryan

Emotional. Intense. Stressful in the best way. This book really shows how fragile relationships can be — romantic, friendship, and family — and I felt like I was holding my breath waiting for the next shoe to drop. The tension was constant, the emotions were high, and even when situations had me frustrated, I could not stop reading. I’m fully invested in this series now and need to see how everything unfolds.

What You Leave Behind by Wanda M. Morris

A fast-moving thriller with emotional depth, this one follows a lawyer drawn home by loss, only to uncover dangerous secrets tied to land, legacy, and history that refuses to stay buried. Alongside the twists, it explores grief, healing, forgiveness, and second chances, while weaving in themes of generational wealth, theft, and ancestral roots. I didn’t always love the ghost POV, but I could see how it pushed the story forward. The short, punchy chapters made it incredibly hard to put down.

This January reading wrap up honestly has me proud of myself for this start and really hoping to keep this momentum going for the rest of the year. There are a number of new releases I’m excited about, and I’ll be sharing those in another post soon — stay tuned!

If you’ve read any great books lately, send them my way. My TBR is clearly active again.