Being on a vacation, and reading about a vacation place, is one of my favorite scenarios. But man does it stink when you have to go home and then there is a blizzard! The trilogy I read this month made me want to go to St. John the very second I left the Dominican - thought to be honest, during a Minnesota winter, any ocean beach will do!
Book 14 of 2026 📖 Winter in Paradise (Paradise #1) by Elin Hilderbrand (4.5/5⭐️)
Irene Steele shares her idyllic life in a beautiful Iowa City Victorian house with a husband who loves her to sky-writing, sentimental extremes. But as she rings in the new year one cold and snowy night, everything she thought she knew falls to pieces with a shocking phone call: her beloved husband, away on business, has been killed in a helicopter crash. Before Irene can even process the news, she must first confront the perplexing details of her husband's death on the distant Caribbean island of St. John.
I am only 1/3 of the way through this series and I LOVE it. Also, I’m beginning to think I need to read more Elin Hilderbrand! While I loved the story line (and mostly loved the characters), I’m not sure I liked how this ended! There was way too much left unresolved! Which story-wise was FINE I GUESS, but if you’re reading the first one, have the second one ready to go! This was the perfect mix of romance and mystery and I’m so anxious to find what happens next!
Book 15 of 2026 📖 What Happens in Paradise (Paradise #2) by Elin Hilderbrand (4.5/5⭐️)
A year ago, Irene Steele had the shock of her life: her loving husband, father to their grown sons and successful businessman, was killed in a helicopter crash. But that wasn't Irene's only shattering news: he'd also been leading a double life on the island of St. John, where another woman loved him, too.
Now Irene and her sons are back on St. John, determined to learn the truth about the mysterious life—and death—of a man they thought they knew. Along the way, they're about to learn some surprising truths about their own lives, and their futures.
After finishing the first book in the series in a day, I knew I had to go slow with this one or I would be left hanging until I could read the third one that I’ve left at home. I forced myself to read on my iPad if I was reading anywhere, but the beach or the pool, which left me finishing book 2, and our last full day. thank you.
Book 16 of 2026 📱 The Next Girl (Detective Gina Harte, #1) by Carla Kovach (3.5/5⭐️)
She thought he’d come to save her. She was wrong.
Deborah Jenkins pulls her coat around her as she sets out on her short walk home in the pouring rain. But she never makes it home that night. And she is never seen again....
Four years later, an abandoned baby girl is found wrapped in dirty rags on a doorstep. An anonymous phone call urges the police to run a DNA test on the baby. But nobody is prepared for the results.
The newborn belongs to Deborah. She’s still alive.
This book has been on my TBR for like 7 years, but I’m not sure why. It was just okay. I was clearly very into the story, as I kept yelling at the characters, but the overall plot line wasn’t super interesting. Also, I felt like all the options for the whodunnit were meh - no one you’d really suspect and no one you’d be shocked to find out you didn’t guess. This was definitely more police procedural than thriller, and there wasn’t a lot of suspense, though the story did move pretty quickly.
Book 17 of 2026 📖 Troubles in Paradise (Paradise #3) by Elin Hilderbrand (4/5⭐️)
After uprooting her life in the States, Irene Steele has just settled in at the villa on St. John where her husband Russ had been living a double life. But a visit from the FBI shakes her foundations, and Irene once again learns just how little she knew about the man she loved.
With help from their friends, Irene and her sons set up their lives while evidence mounts that the helicopter crash that killed Russ may not have been an accident. Meanwhile, the island watches this drama unfold—including the driver of a Jeep with tinted windows who seems to be shadowing the Steele family.
As a storm gathers strength in the Atlantic, surprises are in store for the Steeles: help from a mysterious source, and a new beginning in the paradise that has become their home. At last all will be revealed about the secrets and lies that brought Irene and her sons to St. John—and the truth that transformed them all.
Ah, the end to a wonderful trilogy. I found this whole trilogy at Goodwill all at once which was an absolute steal! I was so excited to get to this book to see how it ended, but also I didn’t want it to end. This was a great trilogy overall, and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in a fun contemporary romance. The characters were likable, and there was a good thrill to the storyline as well. I’m sad to leave these characters behind, but I’ve got a pile of Hilderbrand novels ready to read this summer!
Book 18 of 2026 🎧 Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister (4/5⭐️)
It is June 21st, the longest day of the year, and new mother Camilla’s life is about to change forever. After months of maternity leave, she will drop her infant daughter off at daycare for the first time and return to her job as a literary agent. Finally. But, when she wakes, her husband Luke isn’t there, and in his place is a cryptic note.
Then it starts. Breaking news: there's a hostage situation developing in London. The police arrive, and tell her Luke is involved. But he isn't a hostage. Her husband - doting father, eternal optimist - is the gunman.
What she does next is crucial. Because only she knows what clue lies in the note he left behind...
I’ve really struggled with audiobooks for the last……9 months. My interest in listening to anything fiction has just not been there. That being said, I was on the wait list for this book for quite some time, so I was eager to read it when it was my turn. This was a unique story, and I wasn’t sure if it would have a happy ending or not. The premise seemed a little crazy, but I think McAllister pulled it off!
FREE on Kindle Unlimited!
Book 19 of 2026 📱 A Touch of Regret (Nick Bracco #8) by Gary Ponzo (4/5⭐️)
With law enforcement infiltrated by an underground network of narco-terrorists, Nick goes rogue with his sharpshooting partner, Matt, to rescue a senator's son from a Mexican cartel boss. When the cartel boss discovers Nick's involvement, he sends a hitman to murder Nick's wife and child. As time runs out and no one left to trust, Nick recruits his mafia-connected cousin Tommy to help find the killer. But when Tommy is captured by the cartel, it seems Nick will lose his entire family because of his brash hunger for revenge. Is this Nick's final mission? It's a true thrill ride and the action only stops when your heart can't take any more and you put the book down.
I've been reading this series for over a decade - some have been really good, others just okay. I think it was originally only available as ebooks, and since I prefer physical books it has taken me a year and a half to get to reading this one. I did look and it turns out they have paperbacks as well. But if you're interested, THE WHOLE SERIES is free on Kindle Unlimited! Anyway, this was a interesting read because it is set in southern Arizona, and my obsession with the Nancy Guthrie case has put my brain in that setting an awful lot the last two months. I really like the main character AND his re-occuring supporting characters which is what brings me back to this series again and again.
Book 20 of 2026 🎧 I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb (3/5⭐️)
Dominick Birdsey, a forty-year-old housepainter living in Three Rivers, Connecticut, finds his subdued life greatly disturbed when his identical twin brother Thomas, a paranoid schizophrenic, commits a shocking act of self-mutilation. Dominick is forced to care for his brother as well as confront the dark family secrets and pain he has buried deep within himself—a journey of the soul that takes him beyond his blue-collar New England town to Sicily’s Mount Etna, the birthplace of his grandfather and namesake. Coming to terms with his life and the generational trauma of his lineage, Dominick struggles to find forgiveness and finally rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his troubled twin.
I'm not sure what had made me add this book to my TBR list. I suspect it came recommended, and looking at the reviews it is. Additionally, it is now a limited series on HBO. However for me, it was just fine. I wonder if maybe I had read it instead of listened to it if I would have gotten more out of his story. As it was, I just didn't get much out of it, but knowing it is a true story that covers some pretty deep topics, I feel sort of pitiful that I didn't feel more.
FREE on Kindle Unlimited!
Book 21 of 2026 🎧 A Touch of Treason (Nick Bracco #9) by Gary Ponzo (4/5⭐️)
FBI agent Nick Bracco has always walked a razor’s edge between the FBI and his Sicilian bloodline. Those limits are tested, however, when he drags his Mafia-connected cousin, Tommy, to Sicily to rescue a captured FBI agent. Caught between feuding crime families, a Russian handler, and a double agent whose allegiance shifts by the minute, Bracco learns that escaping your roots may be impossible. Throw in a Syrian terrorist who intends to plant a dirty bomb on US soil, and you have a thrilling ride with a twist ending that’ll have you staring at the ceiling at night.
The final book (so far!) in the Nick Bracco series! This one was set in Italy, a place I haven't yet been, but hopefully will change that soon! Again, the characters were wonderful, and if Ponzo keeps writing Nick Bracco novels, I will keep reading them!
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(Summaries are from Amazon, but all thoughts about them are my own!)
Reading Challenge: 11/52 physical books read in 2026
Total Books Read in 2026: 21
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