I usually will write this post late in the year to try to keep track of things in the final hours, but I was thinking about a couple of series and books I really want to get to and thought I’d write an early one too. We’re just past the midway point of the year and there are quite a few books I either can’t believe I haven’t read yet OR just keep putting off and would love to check off my list in 2026.
Finish off Emma M. Lion
I keep putting these three “final” books on my TBR each month because I am definitely determined to read all of them before the end of the year. I know the author plans to continue the series and honestly I don’t know when the next ones (volume 9 and beyond?) are coming, but getting the current books done is a priority.
Finish off the Seaside Cafe Mysteries
I last read one of these cozy mysteries in the summer of 2024, which is totally crazy. CLOSELY HARBORED SECRETS involves Halloween so I wanted to read it last October and just never got to it. The final two books don’t seem to be holiday-based so hopefully I can just read them through the end of the year, with the fifth book happening sometime around Halloween.
Make Progress in The Grandest Game/etc. Series
THE INHERITANCE GAMES is one of my favorite series because of the fun world of games Barnes created. I think the concept got slightly stale for me in the spinoff series but I still want to see how everything ends. I’ve continued to preorder the books and have quite a few in my backlog. I don’t think I’ll be finishing it off this year but worth keeping track of for the fall heavier reading. I think the next book up is a short story collection, which could be part of the reason I’ve been putting it off.
Can’t Believe I Haven’t Read Yet
I did a TTT recently for the books I just had to buy or preorder and can’t believe I still haven’t read. Really you could say that I’d like to read ALL of those books, but I decided to prioritize some. I keep hearing great things about THE WEDDING PEOPLE and apparently, despite the ocean cover, it’s not a must-read in the summertime? So I definitely hope to get to it before the end of the year. I also have a ton of fantasy books I could include on here because I usually read them in the fall and winter, but I’ve fallen super behind on the genre. It’s truly insane I haven’t read THE PRISONER’S THRONE yet so hopefully once winter hits, I’ll be in the mood. Will Dean’s two books have been literally the epitome of hit or miss for me so I’ve been nervous to see how I feel about ADRIFT. I think that’s why I keep putting it off.
Non-Christmas Holiday/Seasonal Books
I think GRIM TIDINGS is more of a Halloween book, or at least begins around then, according to a Goodreads review or two. I’ll keep it in a separate section and probably read it near the release date. I really enjoyed the first book in this companion series. I’ve been really into authors writing autumn-themed books in the past few years. ENTITIES TO LOVERS is about ghosts, so great for spooky season. I’m not sure if LOVE FELT LIKE THIS is actually fall vibes but the author’s first book was soooo perfect for a November read that I’m hoping for similar in her next book. THE THOROUGHBREDS begins at the start of another school year at Tiffin Academy so you better believe this will be read in September for back-to-school month.
Christmas Books
I’ll do my usual holiday posts and TBRs when the time comes but there are a handful of Christmassy books I am absolutely going to read this year, so I thought I’d pop them here just to remind myself later. There are a ton of great releases that I didn’t even add but five seemed like plenty – these ones are truly must-reads based on the authors and/or review copies waiting on my Kindle!
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