Hey, everyone. It’s been awhile! Suffice it to say, my 2026 has not quite gone to schedule thus far, especially in the reading department, and I am (naturally) severely behind on my reading goal. By the end of this month, May, I am supposed to have read 12 books.
I have read three. 🙃
So my goal of reading 30 books this year is going great so far! In all seriousness though, I wanted to do a little check-in on what I have finished so far and what my TBR plans look like now, as they have changed kind of drastically from what I had initially envisioned.
Three Cheers For Hockey Romance & Rocky
Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid is the book I started at the start of the new year and the first one I finished, and I really enjoyed it! Very cute, very funny, and a cute love story that I really liked reading about. Same goes for the sequel, The Long Game, which continues the same adorable and funny nature of the first book but is definitely more serious. The first book is more romantic, intimate, and the initial rivals-to-lovers hype, but the sequel tackles more personal issues surrounding relationships, long-distance hidden relationships, and mental health. It’s sort of like the first book makes you go “awwww!” and “oooooh!” and the second book is those same characters figuring out more real-life, difficult situations together. Both were very good, I gave them each four stars, and I have my eye on the third installment in this story which comes out next year.
My third book I finished is Project Hail Mary by Andy Wier, at the incessant behest of my sister. She saw the film adaptation starring Ryan Gosling, loved it, and insisted that everyone else watch it; I did, and thoroughly enjoyed the film. My sister then read the book, also loved it, and insisted I read the book as well. Over the course of one weekend I started and finished the book and also saw the film again to more or less compare notes. This one is my first five-star of the year; it’s compelling, funny, witty, heartfelt, and is very reminiscent of why I loved The Martian novel. Would recommend to anyone who enjoyed the film or just likes space-centered, sci-fi, disaster-adjacent books.
My Current Reading Projects
My work book club decided to do a reread (and for me a first-time read) of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. They’re all huge ACOTAR/Fourth Wing/romantic-fantasy books and this is my first dive into anything SJM-related, so what better way to start than with a community that’s really into it? We won’t discuss it until early July, however, so I want to make sure I time it correctly and don’t read it too early.
This has led me to start mood-picking what I read next, which is Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn; it’s my first thriller of the year; I saw the film and absolutely loved it, and it’s been on my TBR forever. I wanted to start a nonfiction book, but I can’t get a translated version on audiobook (or at least I have not found one yet), so TBD on that. But I’m hoping to be more consistent with reading going into the summer and it would be very cool if I could finish Gone Girl by the end of the weekend. Playoff hockey is on through, which does take up some time. I’m hoping to save my other hockey romances for when the playoffs are done and I can use it to get me through to October.
It’s Not Over Until It’s Over
I may be behind, but like a hockey game, it’s not over until the final buzzer. This endeavor isn’t over until December 31st at 11:59 p.m. I can still catch up and really enjoy working my way through different books. So we’re not going to panic and just dedicate whatever time we can to these stories.
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