Bookish & Personal Goals for 2026 Top Ten Tuesday [18]

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together!

This week's topic: Goals for 2026 (Bookish or not! Share your reading goals, personal goals, etc.)

Bookish Goals

1. My NetGalley ratio is currently at 35%, and I’m determined to significantly improve that number this year! I’ve already knocked out 27 reviews this month and plan to continue making a dent in my review pile. That’s why you’ve been seeing so many Past Due Reviews posts lately—they're the most effective way I’ve found to tackle several overdue ARCs at once.

2. One of my goals this year is to be more selective about the books I request. I need to read a book's full synopses before agreeing and stop letting pretty covers sway me into choices I regret later. I’ve also been going through my NetGalley list and physical ARCs and removing books that no longer appeal to me—or never should have been on my list to begin with. Some of them are from 2018, and my reading tastes have changed a lot since then.

3. I need to get better about reviewing books as soon as I finish reading them. I always take notes and track my thoughts while I’m reading, but my reviews are always better when the story is still fresh in my head. Even if those posts sit in my drafts for a while, it’s better to have them written than to try to remember everything weeks later.

4. I want to continue blogging consistently. Even if it’s only once or twice a week, I want to be intentional about carving out time for myself and writing throughout the week. I love interacting with everyone and sharing my thoughts on books while reading yours—it genuinely makes me happy, and I don’t want it to take a back seat to everyday life. That said, I never want this blog to feel like a chore, so I won’t force it when I’m not feeling up to it, but I’d love to remain more consistent this year.

5. Physical books and ARCs: I did a massive clean-out of my books last year and got rid of hundreds of titles, condensing everything down to two bookshelves and one cart. Even so, I still have quite a few unread books and ARCs, and I’d really love to make progress on them this year.

Personal Goals

6. I want to be more mindful about leaving work on time and not bringing it home with me. When I do, it isn’t fair to my family, and it’s not fair to me either. I was doing really well with this for a while, but I’ve noticed myself slipping back into old habits and want to get back on track. I love my students, and they receive so much of my time and attention during the day, but I want to make sure my husband and kids have my full attention when I'm at home.

7. Game nights with my family are the best! We love sitting down together to do puzzles or play games, and I want to make even more time for that this year. My kids are only going to be kids for so long, and I want to enjoy every moment we have together. Pretty soon, we might even need a whole closet—or a room—just for our board games!

8. Daily Bible readings and devotionals have become such a meaningful part of my life. I’ve been really enjoying the Hallow app and everything it has to offer. As a family, we listen to the Bible in a Year podcast, and it’s been such a joy to share that time together. We didn’t quite make it all the way through last year, and my husband and I also didn’t finish the book version (the one by the Augustine Institute), but this year I’m looking forward to approaching it with more consistency and simply enjoying the journey along the way.

9. I want to pray the rosary more, both on my own and with my family. I think the rosary is absolutely beautiful, and while it did take me a while to get into the meditative aspect of it, it's become one of my favorite things. I want to be more intentional with my time and make sure that I'm putting God first for myself and for my family. I would also like to start going to adoration more often as well. 

10. Move. After teaching all day and parenting at night, it often feels like I’m constantly on the go—but that doesn’t always mean I’m taking care of my physical health. I want to be more consistent with my walks (I’m pretty sure the dogs would appreciate it too!) and get back into some weight lifting at home. I want to stop making excuses and be intentional about caring for my body.

It seems like being intentional and consistent are going to be my two biggest focuses this year!

The Sunday Post [80]

 

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly at the Caffeinated Reviewer! It's an opportunity to share news, post a recap for the previous week, showcase books, and highlight what's planned for the week ahead.

News

I honestly forgot about writing this post until a few minutes ago (it’s 5:37 PM 😅). We went to church this morning, grabbed food from a hotdog stand we love, and then tackled grocery shopping. I spent the rest of the day finishing Graceless Heart so I can share my review this week.

Since we’re off tomorrow for the holiday, I’m on my second cup of coffee—a pistachio latte from Starbucks (thank you, teacher gift cards!)—and fully planning to enjoy a late night in bed with a book. The kids helped me get the house back in order after a busy week, and now they’re playing a game together before bed.

I saw these flowers at the store and couldn't resist bringing them home. 

Previous Posts on the Blog

• Past Due Reviews [12]
• Beach Read by Emily Henry
• When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain
• Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove by Rati Mehrotra
• Assistant to the Villain & Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
• Most Anticipated Books of 2026 - Top Ten Tuesday [17]
• The Sunday Post [79]

What I'm Currently Reading

🎧 Butcher & Blackbird (The Ruinous Love Trilogy, #1) by Brynne Weaver

Good Spirits (Ghosted, #1) by B.K. Borison

The Somewhat Wicked Witch of Brigandale by C.M. Waggoner

What I Plan on Reading Next

🎧 Heartless Hunter (The Crimson Moth, #1) by Kristen Ciccarelli

🎧 Caught Up (Into Darkness, #2) by Navessa Allen

What I'm Watching

Copy and paste from last week: We’re still working our way through My Hero Academia and Spy x Family, but we’re almost done with both! We’ll need something new to watch soon. Any recs? 

Challenge Updates

• Audiobook Challenge: 1 / 30
• Goodreads Challenge: 9 / 100
• Physical TBR: 0 / 50
• NetGalley: 27 / 50
• Discussion Post Challenge: 0 / 20

I’ve been really working on my NetGalley ratio and have made a lot of progress this month! The Past Due Reviews posts help a ton, and I finally went back and reviewed several children’s books I read ages ago just to get them cleared out. I still have books on there from 2018 😅—don’t judge me. I judge myself plenty, LOL.

I hope you have a wonderful week! Happy reading!

Past Due Reviews [12]

Past Due Reviews exists to help me make peace with my ever-growing backlog—books I received for review that I either read and never reviewed, or read well after their publication date (the struggle is very real). These posts are my way of catching up, one overdue review at a time, and finally giving those books the attention they deserve.

If you have a few reviews lingering on your backlist that you’ve been meaning to get to, I’d love for you to join me. At the end of each month I’ll host a link-up where you can share your own past-due reviews and catch up right alongside me. No stress, no deadlines, and absolutely no judgment—just a cozy little space to celebrate “better late than never” and give those books the love they’ve been waiting for.

Beach Read by Emily Henry

🎧 Julia Whelan

Synopsis (via Goodreads): A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.

Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.

They’re polar opposites.

In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they’re living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer’s block.

Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She’ll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he’ll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no-one will fall in love. Really.

I really wanted to like Beach Read, but it ended up being a three-star read for me. I keep hearing how good Emily Henry’s books are, so I was excited to try my first one—now I’m a little hesitant to pick up another. I thought the book started off strong, puttered out in the middle, and then wrapped up with an okay resolution. I wasn’t fully sold on the relationship between January and Gus, which made it hard to really feel the feels. I also didn’t love how Gus treated January in certain parts of the book.

I was much more invested in January’s relationship with her deceased father. That aspect of the story was really well done, and I appreciated seeing her come to terms with the choices of someone she could no longer speak to. She had so many unanswered questions and had to rely on others to fill in the gaps about the kind of person he truly was.

Overall, it was a somewhat enjoyable story—the banter and the race to finish a book in the other person’s preferred genre were fun—but the execution of the romance fell short for me. Honestly, I wish they’d just remained competitive friends that challenged each other to go outside of their comfort zones. (★★★☆☆)

When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain

🎧 Marin Ireland

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Anna Hart is a missing persons detective in San Francisco. When tragedy strikes her personal life, Anna, desperate and numb, flees to the Northern California village of Mendocino to grieve. She lived there as a child with her beloved foster parents, and now she believes it might be the only place left for her. Yet the day she arrives, she learns a local teenage girl has gone missing. The crime feels frighteningly reminiscent of the most crucial time in Anna's childhood, when the unsolved murder of a young girl touched Mendocino and changed the community forever.

As past and present collide, Anna realizes that she has been led to this moment. The most difficult lessons of her life have given her insight into how victims come into contact with violent predators. As Anna becomes obsessed with the missing girl, she must accept that true courage means getting out of her own way and learning to let others in.

Weaving together actual cases of missing persons, trauma theory, and a hint of the metaphysical, this propulsive and deeply affecting novel tells a story of fate, necessary redemption, and what it takes, when the worst happens, to reclaim our lives--and our faith in one another.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife comes a novel of intertwined destinies and heart-wrenching suspense: A detective hiding away from the world. A series of disappearances that reach into her past. Can solving them help her heal?

When the Stars Go Dark was a compelling story that easily held my attention from start to finish. The author has a really unique writing style, and Marin Ireland brought the characters to life with her narration. The atmosphere was especially well done—I could clearly picture the cabin, the woods, and all the small details revealed along the way.

Instead of a slow-burn romance, this was a slow-burn mystery. We unravel clues alongside the main character, Anna, and I enjoyed watching the gears click together in her mind. She’s excellent at being a missing persons detective, but she’s also careful not to step on the toes of local law enforcement in Mendocino. She didn’t go there to solve or work on a case; she went to confront her own demons and come to terms with recent events in her life.

Anna’s story is a difficult one to read about, especially as you begin to piece together what’s happening beneath the surface. My heart broke for her and everything she was going through, but I think the missing teenager kept her from fully feeling what she had gone there to escape. I thought the author did an amazing job weaving two stories together—solving a missing persons case while also uncovering what Anna was running from. (★★★★☆)

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove by Rati Mehrotra

🎧 Zehra Naqvi

Synopsis (via Goodreads): To learn what she can become, she must first discover who she is.

Katyani’s role in the kingdom of Chandela has always been clear: becoming an advisor and protector of the crown prince, Ayan, when he ascends to the throne. Bound to the Queen of Chandela through a forbidden soul bond that saved her when she was a child, Katyani has grown up in the royal family and become the best guardswoman the Garuda has ever seen. But when a series of assassination attempts threatens the royals, Katyani is shipped off to the gurukul of the famous Acharya Mahavir as an escort to Ayan and his cousin, Bhairav, to protect them as they hone the skills needed to be the next leaders of the kingdom. Nothing could annoy Katyani more than being stuck in a monastic school in the middle of a forest, except her run-ins with Daksh, the Acharya’s son, who can’t stop going on about the rules and whose gaze makes her feel like he can see into her soul.

But when Katyani and the princes are hurriedly summoned back to Chandela before their training is complete, tragedy strikes and Katyani is torn from the only life she has ever known. Alone and betrayed in a land infested by monsters, Katyani must find answers from her past to save all she loves and forge her own destiny. Bonds can be broken, but debts must be repaid.

I really enjoyed this one! Katyani was an amazing protagonist, and the world-building was breathtaking. The author clearly wanted to make sure we saw and felt everything the main character did. The Indian mythology was well done and incredibly interesting. There were several plot twists I didn’t see coming, and the secondary characters were just as compelling as the MC. I loved their relationships even when they weren't seeing eye to eye.

I do wish there had been more to the romance, but this book easily held its own as an amazing fantasy—and it’s a standalone! It had characters to love and root for, along with a plot that kept me engaged and on the edge of my seat. I thought Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove had a really unique premise that absolutely delivered. (★★★★☆)

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

Assistant to the Villain & Apprentice to the Villainby Hannah Nicole Maehrer — A Dual Review🎧 Em Eldridge

Summary for Assistant to the Villain via (Goodreads): Once Upon a Time meets The Office in Hannah Maehrer’s laugh-out-loud viral TikTok series turned novel, about the sunshine assistant to an Evil Villain…and their unexpected romance.

ASSISTANT WANTED: Notorious, high-ranking villain seeks loyal, levelheaded assistant for unspecified office duties, supporting staff for random mayhem and terror, and other Dark Things In General. Discretion a must. Excellent benefits.

With ailing family to support, Evie Sage's employment status isn't just important, it's vital. So when a mishap with Rennedawn’s most infamous Villain results in a job offer―naturally, she says yes. No job is perfect, of course, but even less so when you develop a teeny crush on your terrifying, temperamental, and undeniably hot boss. Don’t find evil so attractive, Evie.

But just when she’s getting used to severed heads suspended from the ceiling and the odd squish of an errant eyeball beneath her heel, Evie suspects this dungeon has a huge rat…and not just the literal kind. Because something rotten is growing in the kingdom of Rennedawn, and someone wants to take the Villain―and his entire nefarious empire―out.

Now Evie must not only resist drooling over her boss but also figure out exactly who is sabotaging his work…and ensure he makes them pay.

After all, a good job is hard to find.

This is a dual review of Assistant to the Villain and Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer. I kept seeing this series pop up around the blogosphere and on Instagram, so I decided to give the audiobooks a try—and I’m so glad I did. Em Eldridge, the narrator, was amazing. I loved her voices for all of the characters and thought she really brought them to life. Her delivery of Evie’s and Tristan’s sarcasm and witty banter was perfection, and I laughed out loud on several occasions.

I will say that I enjoyed the first book more than the second. I can understand—and even appreciate—a good slow-burn romance; however, about halfway through the second book, it started to feel forced and a little unnecessary. The two main characters finally share a kiss, only for one of them to immediately decide to ignore those feelings and push the other away. I hated that their sweet moment was followed by repeated denials of affection and later derailed by a prophecy or some such nonsense. I found myself losing interest in their relationship because of it.

The story also started to feel repetitive and sluggish in the second book. It didn’t progress as much as I would have liked, and I thought the author could have done more with the plot.

That being said, I did enjoy Apprentice to the Villain. The secondary character development is fantastic, and I loved that we get to jump into their POVs in addition to Evie’s and Tristan’s. It’s fun seeing how they think and feel about certain people and situations, and I think the author has truly outdone herself when it comes to creating engaging, likable characters. I definitely plan on continuing the series to see what they get up to in future installments.

Assistant to the Villain (★★★★☆)
Apprentice to the Villain (★★★☆☆)

Most Anticipated Books of 2026Top Ten Tuesday [17]

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together!

This week's topic: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2026

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me (Maggie the Undying, #1) by Ilona Andrews - Expected publication date: March 31, 2026

The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst - Expected publication date: March 31, 2026

Stay for a Spell by Amy Coombe - Expected publication date: April 14, 2026

The Verdant Cage by Jess Lourey - Expected publication date: April 7, 2026

Game On (Into Darkness, #3) by Navessa Allen - Expected publication date: March 31, 2026

The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer - Expected publication date: April 7, 2026

The Astral Library by Kate Quinn - Expected publication date: February 17, 2026

Strange Familiars (The Seamere College Duology, #1) by Keshe Chow - Expected publication date: May 19, 2026

Witch Season (Broken Coven, #1) by Julia Bianco - Expected publication date: June 30, 2026

The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan - Expected publication date: February 24, 2026

There are so many books coming out in 2026 that I’m looking forward to reading! Are any of these on your radar? Is there a book I missed that you think I should definitely include? Let me know!

The Sunday Post [79]

 

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly at the Caffeinated Reviewer! It's an opportunity to share news, post a recap for the previous week, showcase books, and highlight what's planned for the week ahead.

News:

Monday and Tuesday were PD days, Wednesday and Thursday we had students back in the building, and Friday we got a snow day! I think we got somewhere between 7-8 inches. My neighbor was kind enough to use his snow blower to clear our sidewalk and around my car. I had zero plans of leaving my house for any reason, but I really appreciated the gesture. It will help so, so much when we do need to go somewhere.

I took the kids sledding (there's a really big hill within walking distance) but we only made it about 45 minutes before heading home. It was really, really cold, and the wind was brutal. We built a fire and watched anime on the couch—goals. They were able to enjoy more time out in the snow yesterday, since it was slightly warmer and they were able to stay outside longer.

We took Kerouac and Scout with us and they had a blast hopping around in the snow. Kerouac dropped his ball at one point and it took him awhile to find it again. The snow came up to Scout's chest so she actually had to leap from place to place when we were going through undisturbed areas. It made the trek slightly easier though! I just had to follow the path these two left in their wake. It was up to my knees in a few places and my calves were burning on the walk back since it's all uphill.

We also tried something I first read about in a book! If you’ve read The Finish Line by Kate Stewart, you might remember the scene where Cecelia brings fresh snow inside for her and Tobias. She adds condensed milk to their bowls, and Tobias is skeptical—until he tries it. It’s so good he eats his entire bowl and then tries to steal hers, too. That scene stuck with me as something I wanted to try, and I finally did! The kids absolutely loved it, and I’m already craving more. Note: Best with fresh, fluffy snow.

The snowy backdrop was too good to pass up, so I snapped some photos of my current read (and even painted my nails to match!). I started Good Spirits yesterday and I’m loving it so far. My friends and I decided to do a buddy read since we all have copies. ❤️ Also, I'm obsessed with those sprayed edges!

Previous Posts on the Blog:

• Wreck Your Heart by Lori Rader-Day
• Past Due Reviews [11]
• Well Traveled by Jen DeLuca
• Built to Last by Erin Hahn
• A Language of Dragons (A Language of Dragons, #1) by S.F. Williamson
• Best Books I Read in 2025 - Top Ten Tuesday [16]
• The Sunday Post [78]

What I'm Currently Reading:

Good Spirits (Ghosted, #1) by B.K. Borison

Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibañez

🎧 When the Bones Sing by Ginny Myers Sain

What I Plan on Reading Next:

Is This a Cry for Help? by Emily R. Austin

🎧 Heartless Hunter (The Crimson Moth, #1) by Kristen Ciccarelli

What I'm Watching:

We’re still working our way through My Hero Academia and Spy x Family, but we’re almost done with both! We’ll need something new to watch soon. It takes us a bit longer to finish shows during the school year since we don’t do screens on weekdays, but we got a few extra episodes in with the snow day.

Challenge Updates:

• Audiobook Challenge: 0 / 30
• Goodreads Challenge: 3 / 100
• Physical TBR: 0 / 50
• NetGalley: 7 / 50
• Discussion Post Challenge: 0 / 20

This first week back at work was rough. It wasn’t that my students were misbehaving or anything—it’s just hard to come back after two weeks off. Everyone was out of routine, and it takes a few days to relearn expectations. I’m also doing a few things differently this time around, and hoping that those changes will be more beneficial for my students in the long run. 

Happy reading!

Wreck Your Heart by Lori Rader-Day

 Synopsis (via Goodreads): Dahlia “Doll” Devine had the kind of hardscrabble beginning that could launch a thousand broken-hearted country songs, but now she’s the star of her own stage at McPhee’s Tavern. As part of Chicago’s—yes, Chicago’s—country music scene, Dahlia is an up-and-coming singer in spangles and boots of classic country tunes. Up and coming, that is, until her boyfriend Joey up and went, taking the rent money with him.

So Dahlia is back to square one, relying on Alex McPhee—again. Alex helped her out of a bad situation when she was a kid living rough with her mother. Now he’s part landlord, part band booster, all-around rescuer. It’s just that Dahlia wishes she didn’t keep giving him reasons to have to do it.

Just as Dahlia suspects she’s scraped rock bottom, the mother she hasn’t spoken to in twenty years shows up with something to say. The next morning, a distraught young woman arrives at the bar, asking after her missing mother—Dahlia's mother, too, even if the missing suburban PTA mom the girl describes sounds pretty different from the one who let Dahlia down all those years ago.

Though no one is using the word sister any time soon, Dahlia lets herself be drawn into reuniting the family that might have been hers. But when a body is discovered outside McPhee’s Tavern, the crime threatens not just the place Dahlia has made into a home, but everything she’s believed about her past, her dreams for the future, and the people she was just, maybe, beginning to let into her heart.

I guess I understood family, though. Family made itself out of whatever materials it found. Out of scraps, if necessary. Out of strays.

I stayed up well past midnight finishing Wreck Your Heart. I hit the point of no return around 85% and absolutely had to know what happened next. The plot was plotting, the mystery was mystery-ing, and I needed to know that Dahlia—and everyone else—was going to be okay.

I thought the author did an amazing job setting up this story, and I really enjoyed Dahlia as a character. As a product of the foster care system, she carries understandably jaded feelings toward the mother who was unable to care for her. Seeing her suddenly reappear after twenty years was jarring enough, but learning she also had a sister was something Dahlia was completely unprepared for. Even so, I felt her reactions were realistic, and she handled the situation with as much bravado as she could muster given the circumstances.

Dahlia struggles to let people in, whether in friendships or relationships. She prefers to live lightly and keep things carefree, believing that’s safer than risking disappointment or abandonment. Music is her passion and the anchor that’s held her together over the years, and Alex has been a steady presence in her life—one she’s starting to feel conflicted about relying on so heavily. Their dynamic is complicated, but I thought the author handled Alex’s neurospiciness incredibly well. It came through clearly in both his limited dialogue and his actions.

While Wreck Your Heart firmly centers on Dahlia, I also really enjoyed the supporting cast—Sicily, Alex, Oona, and the Jims all stood out. Dahlia herself was deeply relatable: someone who doesn’t fully understand what it means to love or be loved, but who is genuinely trying her best in a world that keeps pushing back against her fiery spirit. Her reactions and realizations felt earned, and I appreciated that she paid attention when things felt off—even if she sometimes had to convince herself to do so.

The twist at the end caught me completely off guard, and I was pleasantly surprised by how everything played out. I did feel the ending was just a bit rushed (a very minor complaint), and I would’ve loved more time spent fleshing out the predicament and how it was resolved. The epilogue was hopeful, but I found myself wanting a little more closure for Dahlia.

Those small things are the only reasons I’m giving this 4.5 stars instead of a full five—but I’ll be rounding it up on Goodreads. Definitely keep this one on your radar this year! (★★★★⋆)

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.