Best Books of 2026 So Far (My Q1 Reading Wrap-Up)
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I read 82 books in the first three months of this year. Some books of course stayed with me and of some well not so much.
What I can tell you about them all is how they made me feel.
I can tell you the ones that sat heavy in my chest long after I closed to book and reshelved it. The ones that made me pause mid-sentence just to breathe or reread a sentence. Even the ones that made me question what I even want from a story anymore.
Because here’s the truth no one really says in a neat little “reading wrap up” post:
not all of them will hit the mark
But the few that will?
They take something with them when they leave.
And those are the only ones worth talking about.
This isn’t a list of all 82 books I’ve read so far in 2026. You don’t need that. Hell, I don’t even need that.
This is about the ones that stayed.
The ones that almost worked.
The ones that disappointed me in ways I’m still turning over.
And the ones I’m already pressing into your hands like, you need to read this…and I need you to tell me how it made you feel.
If you’re looking for books worth reading in 2026, the kind that linger a little too long and feel a little too close to your real life…you’re in the right place.
Some of these are going to hit exactly the way you want.
Some of them won’t.
But every singe one of them gave me something to react to. And honestly? That matters more to me than a perfect five star, New York Times bestseller ever could.
So if you’ve been trying to figure out what’s actually worth reading, what’s going to stick instead of just fill time…
Let me show you the ones that didn’t let me go.
Stats by the numbers (If You Care ABout that sort of thing)
- 82 books read 📚
- 14,044 pages 📖
- 6 DNF’s ❌
- dark romance > fantasy
- Fewer long series, more standalones
- Rereads: more than I expected (which says everything)
- Most books landed around 3-3.5 ⭐
- I gave out more 5 stars⭐ than I expected this quarter
- Longest book: Neurovance (592 pages)
- Shortest book: A Ryan Recon and a Ryan Reckoning (23 pages)
And apparently, I don’t just want to read books this year. I want to obsess over them. Although I gave out more 5 stars so far this year, very few of them were true 5 star reads. A lot of those ratings came from series I was already invested in or rereads I knew would hit.
The ones that actually surprised me? The ones that earned it? Those were rate.
*Side Note* Join My Newsletter
If you want to actually track your reaading this year (not just guess what stuck), I made a simple Google Sheets reading tracker I use myself.
→ Get it free when you join my newsletter
✦ The Ones that Consumed Me
These are the books that defined my Q1 reading wrap up.
Not because they were perfect.
But because they wouldn’t leave me alone.
The kind of books worth reading in 2026 that don’t just sit on your shelf, they settle into your life. I know these books definitely did.
Neurovance-The One that Rewired Me
I need you to understand something…
I did not expect this novel to hit me the way it did.
Not even a little.
This was supposed to be a cool, slightly unsettling piece of fiction. A “that was interesting” kind of read. The kind you close and move on from.
Except I didn’t move on. I finished it, and then spent an entire week replaying it. Scences. Lines. Choices. Like my brain refused to let go.
And then I did something I don’t do lightly. I reread it.
Slowly.
With intention.
Annotating like I was trying to understand what it had just done to me.
And somehow it hit even harder the second time. This is the kind of book worth reading if you want something that makes you question your own memory. Your own grief. The version of the life you live.
It’s sharp. Controlled. It knows exactly what it’s doing.
And if you’re someone who reads for emotional impact, for that quiet unraveling that lingers long after the last page.
→ this is one I would press into your hands first. And there’s no question that you will want to read my full review.
Devour the Snake- The One I COuldn’t Let Go Of
If the synopsis of Devour the Snake alone doesn’t make you want to dive in let me be clear:
This is chaos.
This is devotion.
It is a dark, obsessive, I will burn the world for you energy wrapped in a fairytale that absolutely refuses to behave.
And I was not prepared.
This wasn;t even on my radar in a serious way. It was a surprise release. A “let me just drop this one you real quick” moment.
And suddenly…my entire weekend disappeared. I reread the whole series just to prepare for it.
Then I read this.
Then I reread it a week later.
And again two weeks after that. Even now? I still catch myself reciting lines out loud like it’s muscle memory.
It released January 10th. And I’m already considering a fourth reread. That should tell you everything.
If you’re looking for books worth reading in 2026 that lean into dark romance, obsession, tangled love, and characters who feel like they might ruin you in the best way.
→this one doesn’t just stay with you. It sinks in.
*side note, because I love you:
There are two reads that would have lived in this section without question—The Sleepover by Sierra Simone and The Perfect Christmas by Sadie Kincaid—but they were exclusive releases. And I’m not about to tell you to crave something you can’t easily get your hands on. That feels unfair in a post about books worth reading.
✦ The Ones That Let Me Down
This part of any reading wrap up matters just as much as the highs.
Because if I only told you what I loved, you wouldn’t trust me. And honestly? These hurt a little.
Kiss of the Basilisk– This Should Have Worked For Me
From internet sensation and Amazon bestseller Lindsay Straube…
A seductive competition.
A basilisk bond.
A love triangle that could destroy kingdoms.
On paper? This is exactly my kind of book. And that’s what makes this so frustrating. Because I wanted to love this. I really did. But somewhere between the setup and the execution, it lost me.
The tension didn’t hold.
The emotional pull never fully landed.
And I kept waiting for that moment where I’d feel locked in. It just never came. This wasn’t necessarily a bad novel. That’s the thing. It just wasn’t enough.
Not for me. Not for what I needed from this kind of smutty story. If you’re curious, you can absolutely decide for yourself.
→ read my full review and see if it might work for you anyway.
(And yes…there’s a giveaway for this one 👀)
The Auction– I wanted more from this
By Sadie Kincaid, who I know can deliver.
Beauty and the Beast meets organized crime.
A girl raised to be sold.
A masked billionaire with secrets.
Everything about this says it should consume me. But it didn’t.
Not in the way her other books have. It wasn’t bad. It just never pulled me close.
Never tightened its grip. Never made me feel like I needed to keep turning the page. And when you’ve read enough books that hold the title of books worth reading, you know the difference.
This one stayed at a distance.
And I don’t read for distance.
→ if you’re a fan of her work, it might still hit for you. You must read my review, you’re not going to want to miss it. I go deeper into why this didn’t work for me (and where it lost me).
✦ The DNF That Irritated Me
I don’t DNF lightly. So when I do? There’s usually a reason I’m still thinking about.
Crawlspace– Where was the horror?
Crawlspace comes from New York Times bestselling author Adam Christopher…
A faster than light mission.
A crew trapped between dimentions.
Strange voices. Ancient forces.
This should have been everything. Especially as someone who loves horror books and sci-fi that leans unsettling. And it started strong.
I was in it. Fully.
But the deeper I got, the more I realized something wasn’t happening. There was no real horror.
No tension stayed. No atmosphere that made me uneasy in the way this genre should. I was almost finished. And then I stopped. Because at some point, a book has to give something back.
And this wasn’t.
Nowhere Burning– I wanted to love this so bad
Catriona Ward is already an author I already trust.
A hidden refuge for lost children.
A house with a violent past.
Something dark waiting inside.
This is my kind of fiction.
But the pacing? The chapters? Why are they so long 😩 I even tried to adjust how I was reading it. Slower. More immersive. And somehow it felt like the book was reading me instead of the other way around.
The story DRAGGED. The tension slipped. And eventually I had to let it go.
✦ Reading Mood Check (Q1)
If I’m being honest about my 2026 reading experience. I wasn’t here for slow burns that never ignite. I was chasing intensity.
Dark romance.
Masked men.
Dangerous situations.
Stories that feel a little taboo, a little unhinged, a little too close to the edge.
Fantasy was there, but only if it moved.
And the biggest shift? I didn’t have patience for long, sprawling series. Not right now.
Life is fuller. Busier.
Between the blog, Instagram, and everything else, I needed books worth reading that hit without asking for months of commitment.
Shorter. Standalones. Immediate impact.
That’s what worked. That’s what stayed.
If this reading wrap up tells you anything, it’s this:
I don’t want safe books this year. I want stories that risk something. That leave a mark. That make me feel like I didn’t just read them…I loved inside them for a while.
✦ If You Just Want the Highlights
- Best Book of the Year So Far: Neurovance
- Most Addictive Read: Devour the Snake
- Biggest Disappointment: Kiss of the Basilisk
- Didn’t Finish (and Why): Crawlspace, because there was no horror!
- Most Reread-Worthy: Devour the Snake
✦ Shop Indie and Read This
If you’re considering if any of these books are worth reading don’t default to convenience. It know it’s easy. I know it’s fast. But these stories deserve to be helped in places that actually care about book, about authors, and about the kind of reading life we’re all trying to build.
So if you can:
→check your local bookstore first
→ order through Bookshop.org (it supports indie stores without costing you anything extra)
→ or ask your local library to bring it in
And if you do end up on Amazon, just make it your last stop, not your first. Because where you buy your books shapes the kind of book world we get to keep.
✦If You Start Anywhere, Start Here
If you’ve been scrolling this entire reading wrap up trying to figure out what’s actually worth reading in 2026, let me make it simple:
→Start with Neuovance if you want something that lingers in your mind and quietly rearranges how you think about memory, pain, and what we choose to hold onto.
→ Start with Devour the Snake if you want obsession, intensity, and a story that feels like it might consume you right back.
Everything else?
That depends on your mood.
These two? They don’t ask. They take.
Join My Newsletter
If you made it this far, you already know I don’t just read books, I feel them. If you want more books worth reading, early thought before reviews go live, and the ones I’m quietly obsessed with…
Plus my Google Sheets reading tracker so you can see what actually sticks for you
→come join my newsletter
✦Before You Go…
I read 82 books this quarter. Most of them passed through me. A few stayed. And I think that’s the shift I didn’t see coming when this yeart started.
I don’t want to just read more books>
I want to feel them.
I want stories that risk soemthing.
That don’t hold back.
That leave me sitting there after the alst page like…now what?
Because once you’ve had that kind of reading experience, it’s hard to settle for anything less. So if you’re here looking for books worth reading, not just books to fill time, start with the ones that stay.
And then come back and tell me: what was the last book that didn’t just entertain you, but actually left a mark?
✦ If You’re Not Ready to Leave Yet
Books Worth Rereading When One Read Wasn’t Enough
What Extremity by Nicholas Binge Gets Right About Madness
