Hello Friends! Happy Fall and welcome (or welcome back) to the blog.
** Quote **
“I must be losing my mind. It’s not nearly as fun as I anticipated.” – Wednesday, Sn. 1
Friends, I hope you’re enjoying some creature comforts of the season, slowing down to embrace winter, reading a new book, and for the love of all things …“put down that phone📱!” (LOL)
Friends, I’m back with the January edition of my Bookish newsletter. I paused things in December because the holidays are a busy time, but now it’s time to get back to it with a few updates. I haven’t quite gained that 2025 momentum yet, but I’m working on it. I’ve read three titles so far for 2026, and I’m currently working my way through two others.
The Bookish* Newsletter!
—————————————————————————
VOL. 2 | Issue No. 11 | JANUARY 2026 | Blog Version | PDF
Check out my bookish updates on Goodreads, including progress, upcoming titles, lists, and reviews!
LATEST BOOK REVIEW
This is Not A Test,
Courtney Summers
[HORROR, ZOMBIES, YA, DYSTOPIA]
3.81 Good Reads Rating
THANK YOU to NetGalley and Binary Books for the advanced copy of this title.
Who doesn’t love a good YA zombie story? This one leans less into how the outbreak began and more into the emotional trauma people face during it—and I really appreciated that focus.
The story centers on a small group of teens who band together more by luck and circumstance than by any real plan. They take shelter in a school, hoping to wait out the outbreak until help arrives. Along the way, we learn how each of them ended up there—whom they lost, whom they left behind, and the heavy guilt that comes with survival. Some mourn loved ones they couldn’t save, while others were already escaping abusive situations before the world fell apart. All of them are suddenly forced into one space, trying to survive the unthinkable.
The author explains that the story explores uncertainty and how people respond to it differently. This Is Not a Test is tragic, but it also shows how these teens learn to adapt and push forward during a time with no clear ending and very little hope.
The ending completely took me by surprise—and not in an easy way. It’s bleak, emotional, and lingers long after the final page. I’m always amazed by YA novels like this, which prove they aren’t limited to a specific age group. When the storytelling is compelling, it’s for anyone willing to sit with it and take something away.
Life comes with disappointment, uncertainty, growth, and understanding, and I loved how this story moved through all of those emotions with honesty and heart.
Latest Approved ARC Titles!
I have a few requests in for this year to add to my challenge.
Great Book Sources🍁 BookTrib ִ ࣪🍁 |
Next ARC Titles➢➢➢➢➢➢➢ |
 |
 |
Upcoming Horror – Thriller |
📖 My Current Read
After his husband dies, Simeon Link finds himself overcome by grief and seeking comfort in an unusual support group called The Wretches, who offer an addictive and dangerous source of relief. They introduce Simeon to a curious figure known as Porcelain Khaw—a man with the ability to let those who are grieving have one last intimate moment with their beloved…for a price. Hallucinatory, fiendish, and destructively beautiful, Wretch transports us to a world where not everything is as it seems, and those we love may be the ones who haunt us most. hdey |
February Reading Challenge!“Read a book that’s less than 250 pages”. |
🎧 WISH LIST 📚Titles not listed on my 2026 Good Reads Challenge.
|
📖 Completed January Titles!Hell Bent, Leigh Bardugo |
Well, friends, that’s it for today. I’m still updating my Book Tracker for 2026, but it’s coming soon. Thank you so much for stopping by today. Please consider subscribing or following along. — Duces.✌🏽 —