THERE IS NEVER ENOUGH TIME TO READ. That is all I have to say this month.
Book 37 of 2026 🎧 This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum (4/5⭐️)
Best friends Benny and Joy like to say they’ve been saving each other’s lives since the moment they met. Until the day Joy disappears and Benny is suspected of murder . . .
Benny Abbott and Joy Moore host one of the most beloved podcasts in the world. Each week, they delight listeners with a different “against all odds” survival story, gleefully finding the weird, life-affirming humor in near-death experiences. Since their first episode on Joy’s experience with severe narcolepsy, they’ve been the best friends everyone wants to befriend―and thanks to the meticulous management of Joy’s husband, Xander, they’ve built a lucrative empire.
The problem is, their next survival story may be their own. When Benny arrives at Joy and Xander’s one morning to record, he finds shattered glass and an empty house. The one clue shedding light on the couple’s disappearance is the incomplete, previously unseen first draft of Joy’s memoir. Benny is desperate to find them, even when the police soon zero in on him as their prime suspect.
Millions of devoted listeners think they know the “real” Benny and Joy. But as the hours tick by, and the odds seem increasingly stacked against Joy and Xander being found alive, not even the most devoted fans could guess the terrible secrets their favorite famous BFFs have hidden from the world―and from each other.
I’m so glad I listened to this on audio - it was very well narrated! The characters perspectives were voiced by different performers. It was mixed between the present goings on, a narrative of an autobiography from the past, and clips of the podcast the characters were involved in. I felt like the podcast bits sounded VERY realistic. I’m picky about the podcasts I listen to because I struggle keeping attention, but I totally would have listened to this podcast if it were real. The story was something that would probably be considered "un-realistic" by some, but thats not something that bothers me, so I enjoyed it!
Book 38 of 2026 📖 Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez (4/5⭐️)
Dr. Briana Ortiz’s life is seriously flatlining. Her divorce is just about finalized, her brother’s running out of time to find a kidney donor, and that promotion she wants? Oh, that’s probably going to the new man-doctor who’s already registering eighty-friggin’-seven on Briana’s “pain in my ass” scale. But just when all systems are set to hate, Dr. Jacob Maddox completely flips the game ... by sending Briana a letter.
And it’s a really good letter. Like the kind that proves that Jacob isn’t actually Satan. Worse, he might be this fantastically funny and subversively likeable guy who’s terrible at first impressions. Because suddenly he and Bri are exchanging letters, sharing lunch dates in her “sob closet,” and discussing the merits of freakishly tiny horses. But when Jacob decides to give Briana the best gift imaginable—a kidney for her brother—she wonders just how she can resist this quietly sexy new doctor ... especially when he calls in a favor she can’t refuse.
Well this made me cry, so that automatically makes it a good book, I believe. Although I did sometimes want to shake the FMC and tell her to just get a therapist already!! For as well as she and the MMC were good at communicating, they also stunk at communicating! I did like both main characters though, and all the side characters too, to be honest. I’ve not read much Abby Jimenez (this may be the first?) but that is about to change! Bonus points for the book because she is a MN author and I love all the real Minnesota things in her stories.
Also apparently this is the second book in a series. I did NOT read the first, and didn’t feel like I was misunderstanding or missing context for anything because of that. That being said I would like to eventually read the first book! There is also a third book in the series, though I read the description and didn’t recognize the MC names from this story.
Also, this whole series is available on Kindle Unlimited if that is something you subscribe to!
Book 39 of 2026 📖 Northern Lights by Nora Roberts (4.5/5⭐️)
As a Baltimore cop, Nate Burke watched his partner die on the street—and the guilt still haunts him. With nowhere else to go, he accepted the job as Chief of Police in a tiny, remote Alaskan town with the hopes of starting over. Despite the name, Lunacy provides a balm for Nate's shattered soul—and an unexpected affair with pilot Meg Galloway warms his nights...
But other things in Lunacy are heating up. Nate suspects the killer in an unsolved murder still walks the snowy streets. His investigation will unearth the secrets and suspicions that lurk beneath the placid surface, as well as bring out the big-city survival instincts that made him a cop in the first place. And his discovery will threaten the new life—and the new love—that he has finally found for himself.
This story is set it Alaska, and from the very first page I wanted to be there. I’ve been a lot of places, but Alaska is up there as one of my favorites. I’ve seen so little of it, but I want to see more. Life in Alaska is so fascinating to me.
I’m sad this book is over. I really liked this characters and I would love to keep reading about them. I had to catch myself every now and then as I felt my brow furrow while wondering why the characters did things one way or another, then I remembered that despite the upgraded cover art, this book was originally written 20ish year ago, and things (specifically technology) were different then!
Book 40 of 2026 🎧 Gray After Dark by Noelle W. Ihli (4.5/5⭐️)
When a tragic accident sidelines Miley's dreams of Olympic gold, she takes a summer job at a mountain guest lodge. The Frank Church Wilderness is remote, but it’s the perfect place to train and recover. Local lore about a staffer who died years ago doesn’t scare her.
But it should.
Miley’s plans take a terrifying detour when she’s abducted during a morning run. Held captive in a desolate off-grid cabin, she’ll have to use her athletic prowess, cunning mind, and courage to survive. But as the nightmare at the cabin escalates, Miley is forced to form an unlikely alliance and attempt a risky escape.
Can she outwit her captors and survive the wilderness before it’s too late?
This book started off running and never stopped! I had to double check that Libby didn’t just drop me off in the middle of the book on accident - nope, it’s just that action packed from the get go.
I hated this story, but in a good way. It’s morbid, and if it were real life, horrifying. I wanted to get to the end so I could find out if the good guys get their happily ever after or not. (I haven’t read enough Ihli to know if that happens in her books) . But also it was a captivating story that kept my attention for every single second and for that reason I didn't want it to be over!
Though I had already listened to it, I was excited to find this book WITH SPRAYED edges for like 4 bucks when I was in Tennessee this month. #WINNING
OH AND I forgot this book mentioned it was based on a true story, though she does specify LOOSELY. Anyway I just googled the story, and though loosely is correct and the events of the story don’t match reality EXACTLY, a lot of the big things in the IRL scenario are tied into the fictional book in some way. The IRL victim was Kari Swenson if you’re curious in looking it up!
Book 41 of 2026 📖 Wicked: The Life and Times of The Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory MaGuire (3/5⭐️)
Years before Dorothy and her dog crash-land, another little girl makes her presence known in Oz. This girl, Elphaba, is born with emerald-green skin—no easy burden in a land as mean and poor as Oz, where superstition and magic are not strong enough to explain or overcome the natural disasters of flood and famine. Still, Elphaba is smart, and by the time she enters Shiz University, she becomes a member of a charmed circle of Oz’s most promising young citizens.
But Elphaba’s Oz is no utopia. The Wizard’s secret police are everywhere. Animals—those creatures with voices, souls, and minds—are threatened with exile. Young Elphaba, green and wild and misunderstood, is determined to protect the Animals—even if it means combating the mysterious Wizard, even if it means risking her single chance at romance. Ever wiser in guilt and sorrow, she can find herself grateful when the world declares her a witch. And she can even make herself glad for that young girl from Kansas.
So I knew the book was going to be different than the musical/movie, but I wasn't prepared for HOW different.
The characters are the same, if by name only, but most by at least a loose assortment of characteristics. There are a few major events that are corresponding, but honestly I have no idea how the musical writer got from the book to the musical. The book was dark, but not as dark as I'd been prepared for. I have to say I like the musical storyline better, though that just may be because I knew the musical/movies before the book and I'm more familiar with them. Also I'm not a big fantasy reader, so its possible this just isn't my vibe. I highly doubt I will ever read any of the remaining books in The Wicked Years.
Book 42 of 2026 🎧 Antihero (Orphan X #11) by Gregg Hurwitz (4/5⭐️)
Once a black ops assassin known as Orphan X, Evan Smoak broke with the program and went deep underground, using his operational rules and skills to help the truly desperate with nowhere else to turn.
A young woman is kidnapped off the New York City subway, clearly in danger and in need of aid. Evan is determined to help but with no name and few clues, his first challenge is to track her down.
Once he does, Evan offers his help―and sets out finding the young men responsible. But the woman insists that Evan abandon his usual methods―no vengeance and, in particular, no killing. Given the mounting incoming threats from all sides, this will prove to be Evan’s most dangerous mission yet, one that will test the limits of his skills and abilities.
Racing from coast to coast, from the poorest corners of society to the richest, Orphan X must figure out a way to protect the innocent, avenge the victimized, and balance justice with a measure of mercy.
I keep telling myself I'm done with this series, but here I am, back again. To be fair, I wasn't done because its a bad series, I just got kind of bored with it. But I received 3 months for 99 cents from Audible and I can't pass that up. However the credits don't roll over and when you cancel you don't get to keep the book (if I understood the terms correctly). Anyway I panicked and got this one since I had seen it had come out, and honestly, I'm glad I did. I liked the storyline of this one. I know they're always vigilante justice, but this justice was especially satisfying. Will I read book 12 when it comes out in February? *sigh* Probably.
Book 43 of 2026 📖 This is Me: A Reckoning by Hayden Panettiere (4.5/5⭐️)
Hayden Panettiere’s career in entertainment began before she was old enough to walk. From early commercials to film and television roles in hits like Remember the Titans, her career unfolded in the public eye, resulting in tremendous success by her early teens. She had become a fixture of early-2000s pop culture, earning acclaim for performances in Heroes, Nashville (which earned her two Golden Globe nominations), and beyond―while quietly carrying the weight of expectations that came with being Hollywood’s “It girl.”
Behind the image was a far more complicated reality. As Hayden entered adulthood, the industry that once felt playful grew unforgiving as she learned by experience the pressure placed on young performers, the hefty price that often comes with fame, and how quickly someone else can take control of your story. She recounts being scrutinized by tabloids, watching her body and private pain become public property, and performing storylines on-screen that echoed trauma she was living through off-camera.
I'm not picky on memoirs, but this was definitely a good one. Honestly I'll read about anyone and everyone's lives. I knew Hayden had acted as a child, but I didn't know it was something she had done since birth. (Also, it was interesting to learn about how her last name was SUPPOSED to be spelled and how it is ACTUALLY pronounced!) While normally the "how I became a star" part is the most interesting to me, I was curious about her life in adulthood stardom. I knew she had issues with alcohol and postpartum depression, but I didn't put together that the Nashville produces took advantage of that and incorporated it into her character's storyline. I filmed as an extra in her scenes a couple times, and now knowing what she was dealing with at that time is something to contemplate.
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(Summaries are from Amazon, but all thoughts about them are my own!)
Reading Challenge: 25/52 physical books read in 2026
Total Books Read in 2026: 43
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