A Cuppa Cosy Reads – First Quarter 2026

We are doing book reviews a little bit differently this year! Mostly because I just haven’t had the time to sit down and write my thoughts out on all the books, but also partly because I feel like sometimes it’s good to switch things up a bit. I’ve found lately that I don’t always have a lot to say about a book- sometimes that’s because I find it’s just average and I don’t have a lot of thoughts (a lot of this was fine- which I don’t feel like I should really waste your reading time on that) OR it’s because my thoughts are conflicted (which lends itself to a whole other situation). 

So, this year we are going to look at my reading wraps up in a quarterly perspective. I’m going to rapid fire list the books that I’ve read along with my rating and then I’ll review the one’s that I have the most to say about at the end (I’m trying to do a couple I love, a couple I didn’t particularly care for…). I read a total of 19 books with an average 3.27 rating.

Alright, let’s give this a go and see what happens… 

For Whom the Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn 4 Stars

You Wanna Be on Top? A Memoir of Makeovers, Manipulation, and Not Becoming America’s Next Top Model by Sarah Hartshorne NR

Before We Came by Sloane St. James 2 Stars

Indigo Ridge by Devney Perry 3 Stars

Valentine’s Slay by Navessa Allen 2 Stars

Most Eligible by Isabelle Engel 3 Stars

Bonds of Hercules by Jasmine Mas 3 Stars

Wolf.e by Paisley Hope 3 Stars

Brutal Billionaire by Laurelin Paige 3 Stars

The Influencers by Anna-Marie McLemore 3 Stars

Fifty-Fifty by Steve Cavanaugh 4 Stars

Body Check by Elle Kennedy 3 Stars

Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman 5 Stars

Savage Hearts by J.T. Geissinger 3 Stars

A Tongue So Sweet and Deadly by Sophie St. Germain 2 Stars

Mistakes Were Made by Lucy Score 4 Stars

A Tongue So Sweet and Deadly by Sophie St. Germain 2 Stars We will start with my least favorite of the quarter. It wasn’t that this was bad, it was just that it didn’t do…anything. It wasn’t original, there wasn’t depth, and when there was the potential to do…well anything, it shirked away from the hard choice and just went easy. I wished the author had taken a chance to really do some things that were out of the ordinary options, but she stuck with a copy/paste formula that was very disappointing. 

The Heir Apparent by Rebecca Armitage 5 Stars I loved this book. We are looking at royalty and aristocracy, but from a…unique viewpoint. We are following someone forced back into the fold, trying to decide if she wants this life, this responsible, if she can handle it, OR if she wants to renounce it all and live a quieter life. I highly recommend this one, even if it’s not in your normal wheelhouse. 

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman 5 Stars If I had to pick a standout favorite of the quarter, hell probably of the year, it’s this book and series right here. This is just downright good fun. There is never a dull moment and the number of times I laughed while reading was too many to count. I highly recommend- in fact I’ve been pushing it on everyone I know, and I really hope we will one day see a TV adaptation. Read it!!!!!

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The Home Library – Alaska Edition

I think this is now the third iteration of my home library that I’ve shared on here (3rd or 4th I can’t recall) and this one is my favorite of them all. I don’t know if I’ll ever have this set up, this perfection again, so I firmly plan on being here every single day (and I have been so far). But first, let’s go back and see through the years how the home library has existed in our various houses…

The 1st edition (the one I don’t know if I shared or not) was known as the wall of books. And was simply, a wall of books. It was dreamy in its own way (I mean who wouldn’t want to just have a wall of books), but there wasn’t much seating within the books- the chair was opposite- and it was also in the office- so lots of other things happened instead of reading. 

The 2nd edition was the first corner set up. It was where I first started becoming “Belle”. It didn’t have a chair within the library itself, but it was moldable, and I would move the boy’s little nugget in, I would re arrange easily, and it became our Hogwarts library of dreams when we did the hanging candles from the ceiling. It was my first chance to start seeing what I’d like in a library and what I don’t need. 

The 3rd edition was the shortest of them all- our one year in Texas. Another corner shelf set up, though we added a lamp, had the chair in the library, and had a separate area for library books. This was a great set up- I learned that I absolutely need a lamp (multiple would be nice if possible) and I placed a speaker on one of the shelves- which was a great addition. 

Finally, here we are this 4th edition. You will be able to see why I won’t be able to top this one- it’s an absolute dream. I’ve got a cushioned window seat, the wall of books, but still two corners, the chair and lamp within the library, but also plenty of space to host/bring in more cushions for the kids to read too. It’s dreamy in all the best ways and I really truly plan on spending a little bit of time here every day.

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