It felt like I had to wait for ages for Echoes of Insurrection by TA White. It wasn’t actually that long, but it felt like it because the Firebird Chronicles is such a great science fiction series (with magic!) and one I enjoy re-reading. It was wonderful catching up with the characters and encountering new mysteries and twists to the story. When’s Book 7? 😉
I also enjoyed Squib by Helen Harper which is a spin-off from her Cat Lady urban fantasy series. Really solid world-building and engaging characters. I liked the romance plot a lot, too.
Vanessa Nelson released the fifth book in her Fractured Conclave series. This is a fascinating world. The sense of the strangeness that creeps in with isolation weaves through the series. An Uneasy Peace (great title) was an excellent read.
What amazing books kicked off your year?
Comments
7 responses to “Recent Reads – January 2026”
I got behind on the T.A. White Firebird chronicles. I need to catch up. I too enjoyed Squib. Have you read her Cat Lady series? It is a crossover with Squib.
I’m actually going to recommend books that are coming out this week. Jessie Mihalik has Blood & Silver. Grace Draven has a book coming out soon. Then of Ilona Andrews has a book coming out the 30th. They have a major book coming in March This Kingdom will not kill me.
Do catch up with Firebird! There are some fantastic twists in this latest book.
I loved how Helen Harper wove the plot of Squib around the story in the Cat Lady series. Seriously, kudos to her for getting all that sorted (plotting can be hell).
It’s Jan 29 here, so I have Jessie Mihalik’s Silver and Blood – LOL envy me! I hadn’t realised that Moon Raven was out tomorrow! Thank you 🙂
I’m not huge into pre-ordering, but I had This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews on pre-order months ago (then in an Australian publishing ugh moment, the pre-orders got cancelled, but I pre-ordered a couple of weeks ago again). Can not wait! Also keen to read Augustine’s novella
Oh gosh, we’re reading all the same stuff! I was so excited for the new Firebird, and after finishing it, I wasn’t ready to leave the world so I re-read the whole series (that happens semi-regularly with my favorites). I’m currently reading An Uneasy Peace, and I’ve been eyeing Squib as my next at-bat.
And I’m torn about reading the preview for This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me. I’ve got the book pre-ordered, like you mentioned above, but generally I try to avoid reading long segments as promos. Snippets are cool glimpses, but whole chapters are something I’d generally prefer to read with the book. The only reason I’m torn about it is because this is one of my OMG I CAN’T WAIT books coming out this year. So the question is whether I can be patient or not, haha.
We have a mind-meld happening! Resisting reading the snippets for Maggie is hard. I succumbed once, months ago, but now I’m being strong (maybe). I keep reminding myself that Augustine will be here soon.
Yeah, I read some really early snippets when IA was still kicking around the story and weren’t sure if a publisher would bite. The stuff they posted like “here is this new thing completely occupying our brain space”…but have avoided them since Maggie was officially announced. I keep telling myself “It’s just a couple more months, you can make it!” We’ll see.
I enjoyed The Wizard’s Cat (The Wizard’s Butler #2) by Nathan Lowell.
Then I started a trilogy by him that I hadn’t ever read (A Smugglers Tale).
Smugglers Tale is a great series and I love how … (nope, no spoilers!) But I really do enjoy revisiting his Solar Clippers universe.