113 ☆ January-February 2026 Reads

[tinkaton]

I wanted to stay on top of my book review roundups this year but we see how that's going lmao. Also I might start including a little log of what manga I've read too. But here's what I read in January and February so far!



FICTION

Thirsty by Lucy Lehane (★★★★☆) [goodreads]

A paranormal romcom wherein human advice columnist Charlie hooks up with vengeful vampire Lorenzo for the inside scoop on paranormal relationships--but Lorenzo doesn't know about Charlie's supernatural Dear Abby persona. Will their relationship survive?

The answer is yes, obviously. This was a fun and easy start-of-the-year read. Normally I steer clear of contemporary romances, but the 'monsters are real and everyone knows about them' angle to this one encouraged me to give it a chance. Nothing groundbreaking going on here, but it made me laugh a few times and was appropriately silly yet sweet, which was what I wanted. Lorenzo was ridiculous and of course was my favorite.

Basically if you'd like a low stakes gay vampire romance with a dash of humor, you may like this.

The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap (★★★★☆) [goodreads]

A mix of Gothic fiction, romance, and true crime set in 1828 Edinburgh as the protagonist James, studying surgery at the university there, gets tangled up with a group of body snatchers.

This was another enjoyable read! The particular setting and macabre subject matter weren't something I often read about so I thought it was interesting and added a fun backdrop to the stuff usually found in my historical fiction. The romance between James and Nye was sweet too and I was glad for the happy ending. I thought Nye especially was a lot of fun, probably my fave character of the book.

Like in Love with You by Emma R. Alban (★★★☆☆) [goodreads]

Another rivals-to-lovers book that could've gone heavier on the rivals part, especially with a blurb comparing it to Mean Girls. This is a sweet, not too serious f/f Regency romance about two young women whose mothers are more rivals than they are, ex-best friends who are set on having their daughters win over Bath's most eligible bachelor. (What is with Alban and creating more interesting plots for the MCs' parents than for the MCs?) Of course, the girls end up being more into each other than any guy in the process of their 'rivalry'.

This ended up a solid 3.5 stars that didn't quite reach 4 stars. While I don't have much to complain about, neither did anything really stand out. The characters and relationships were perfectly fine, but probably not anything I'm going to remember. Overall I'd say I liked Alban's previous series a little better, but this was a lighthearted read with a happy ending (maybe too sappy for me in parts, tbh) that anyone looking for some f/f Regency fluff would probably enjoy.

All the Painted Stars by Emma Denny (★★★☆☆) [goodreads]

When Lily finds out her best friend's hand in marriage is the prize of a tournament, she disguises herself as a knight and joins the competition to fight for Jo's freedom. Trouble ensues, and the two eventually find themselves taking refuge at a local brewery. If you're like "that's a weird turn of events" yeah pretty much.

Another 3.5 star read I think. I enjoyed this for what it was--vaguely medieval fluff--and don't have any serious complaints, but it's not something I'm going to be gushing about either. Lily and Jo are fine characters, and their relationship is sweet but lacks any major conflict. I enjoyed the tournament half of the book more than the brewery half. The ending was a little silly but it's not like the author was going for realism much. I think if you liked the first book you'll like this one too, especially if you're looking for more f/f fluff.

GRAPHIC NOVELS

The Glass Scientists: Volume Three by S.H. Cotugno (★★★★★) [goodreads]

The final volume of a gaslamp/steampunk (gaspunk? steamlamp?) comic about Dr. Jekyll and his Society for Arcane Sciences, the shenanigans of Mr. Hyde, and the conflict between them as the barrier between their personalities finally comes crashing down.

What a delightful ending! I really enjoyed this series the whole way through--the art is great and the characters are fun. I love a wacky Victorian-era fictional character mashup. While I liked the Jekyll/Lanyon storyline and the scientist society plot, the highlight of the series was obviously Jekyll and Hyde, and I'm glad they got, if not a perfectly tied up ending, a hopeful one. I would love to read more in this universe!

MANGA

A Business Proposal (Vol. 10)
Cherry Magic! (Vol. 15)
Girl Crush (Vol. 4)
Gokurakugai (Vol. 4)
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (Vol. 11)
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (Vol. 12)
Houseki no Kuni (Vol. 13)
The Last Two (One-Shot)
Marriage Toxin (Vol. 10)
Spy x Family (Vol. 15)
The Summer Hikaru Died (Vol. 6)

This wraps up A Business Proposal and Houseki no Kuni finally! ABP was fun at the beginning but once it got past the point of its gimmick it was just your standard het romance, I pretty much just kept reading it because the library had it lmao. HnK on the other hand is probably one of the best manga I've ever read, it's really weird and unique and I liked it a lot. I had a few nitpicks with the direction of some of the characters but otherwise I highly recommend the series.