Started: 17.2.26
DNF: 19.2.26
Kindle
Chosen by RNG
This was an Amazon First Reads that has been on my Kindle since July 2025. I read the first few chapters, and whilst I'm sure it's a perfectly lovely story of found friendships and moving onwards and upwards in life, it just wasn't holding my attention. While I'm reading this I've got FOMO about all the other books I could be reading instead! So I've decided not to finish it.
Started: 15.2.26
DNF: 18.2.26
Paperback
TBR Prompt: Pink book
I read the first two or three chapters but then ended up just flicking through the rest, trying to get the gist of what happened. Sometimes I can't read books where children are involved and in danger, and this was one of them.
Started: 6.2.26
Finished: 17.2.26
Kindle Unlimited
This was my first foray into 'grimdark fantasy' and I really enjoyed it! There was a great cast of characters, all linked to each other in some way, though it wasn't always immediately obvious how. Each chapter flitted between the storyline of one or more of these characters, and although that can sometimes be a bit confusing and disjointed, the writing was so good that it just flowed really well. The vivid descriptions of people and places made me feel really immersed in the story; everyone is a bit 'morally grey' to some degree, but even some of the really unlikeable characters are actually, kind of, likeable! (Looking at you, Glokta!) There is, of course, a plot to this book, so it's not as if nothing happens, but it does feel like it's all building up to The Plot in books 2 and 3; one of my favourite BookTubers, Paperback Journeys, describes Book 1 as being like a "book-sized prologue", and I would agree. It's an introduction to characters and their backgrounds, it sets up the 'world-building', you learn about the history and politics of the place etc, and then it draws to a close with the main group of protagonists coming together to begin the journey into... book 2!
Started: 14.2.26
Finished: 15.2.26
Paperback
TBR Prompt: Vampires
I really enjoyed this and 'devoured' it in less than 24 hours. It's a reworking of Carmilla, the book that inspired Dracula, and is drenched in themes of appetite and hunger. A story of women's repression and desire for autonomy amid the societal constraints of the time, with a hefty dose of female rage and revenge!
Started: 9.2.26
Finished: 13.2.26
Paperback
TBR Prompt: Over 400 pages
Historical fiction based on the real life doomed attempt of the Donner Party to cross the mountains into the west, heading for a new life in California. As if the very real human horrors and the harsh terrain and brutal elements weren't enough, Katsu also weaves in a supernatural twist.
Started: 6.2.26
Finished: 9.2.26
Paperback
This has been on my want to read list for a while, being described as a "gothic ghost story". It started off really well; I don't always like child characters, but I did enjoy reading about Tim and Abi, perhaps because I was also interested in ghosts and the macabre when I was young, though not to the extent that they were. I liked the concept of them faking a ghost photograph, only to be told that the ghost was real and that they'd invited it in, and I think I'd have preferred if the story had continued this angle. For me, it felt like the middle part of the book lost its way, but that might just be because I'm not really a fan of seances, and it was hard to know which of the other people in the group could be trusted. Plus the whole experiment and reason for them being there was quite ambiguous too. I did find the parts at Yarlings interesting, but only because I was waiting for something to happen, to link back to the events from a few years earlier. In the end things did kind of come full circle, just not in a way I expected. I know 'ghost' and 'ghost story' can have many different meanings; I definitely enjoyed this, but it wasn't quite what I was hoping for.
Thought I'd try my own version of letting TBR prompts choose my next few books. I've got a list of about 45 prompts on my spreadsheet, so then I used a random number generator to choose 4. I read 15 books in January, so I rounded February down to 14, and then thought I'll read 7 physical books, and seven Kindle ones. I've already read two of each so far this month, and I'm currently on the third (of each) which is why I've only chosen another 4 physical books.
For my Kindle choices, I've just used a Random Number Generator to choose the actual titles, but I may use my TBR prompts to select Kindle books in future months.
Started: 3.2.26
Finished: 6.2.26
Paperback
TBR Prompt: Black book
This is a sapphic tale of romance and obsession that takes a dark turn! 200 pages of sensuous dread!
Started: 1.2.26
Finished: 6.2.26
Kindle Unlimited
TBR Prompt: Three words in the title
Really enjoyed this, I liked the characters of Carrot and Simon, and Beau, and I loved the idea of the museum, I could really picture the clutter and mish-mash of exhibits. I didn't really understand what was happening when they went through the hole, it was all just a bit too weird for me to get my head around, but I was curious to see what it was all about and how it was going to end. This was my first T. Kingfisher book and I'm looking forward to reading some more.
Started: 31.1.26
Finished: 3.2.26
Paperback
The short review is: whatever you think this book is about, it's not.
I've been wanting to read this for a long time, the hype around it seemed very promising. It's the story of Jess, who arrives home after a distressing shift at the diner, to find a young boy hiding in her garden. It transpires that he's trying to hide from his father, and when she finally comes face to face with the dad, she can understand why! She escapes with the boy, and they find themselves on a terrifying road trip being pursued by someone or something.
Really good book, lots of twists and turns that I didn't see coming.
Started: 30.1.26
Finished: 1.2.26
Kindle
Though written by a different author, this could almost be a sequel to The Terror, which was my favourite book of 2025. This book relates the unsuccessful recovery mission by HMS Enterprise and HMS Investigator, who spent the winter of 1848-49 at Port Leopold, dispatching several sledge teams to search for Captain Sir John Franklin, Captain Crozier and the men of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. There is no supernatural element in Bitter Passage, but once again there is a mixture of fact and fiction. It focuses mainly on Lieutenant Frederick Robinson, the leader of one sledge team, and Assistant Surgeon Edward Adams, who accompanies him. Both men are driven to find Franklin, but for very different reasons, and face a struggle against the claustrophobic isolation of the Arctic, as well as their own ambition and beliefs. I really loved this book!
