January 2026 Reading Wrap-up

This January reading wrap-up includes thriller crime fiction and fantasy romance reads that made for a strong start to the year.

January is officially wrapped, and I am starting the year strong with a small but very satisfying reading month. I finished three books in January across crime fiction and fantasy romance, with an average rating of 4.6 deer-stars. Reading three books in a month is perfectly fine by me, especially when the lowest-rated read was still four deer-stars.

January Reading Wrap-Up Stats

Books read: 3
Reading formats: 2 physical and 1 audio.
Pages read: 877
Hours listened to: 11 hrs and 7 mins
Average rating: 4.6 deer-stars

January Book Rankings

3. Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby 

S.A. Cosby continues to deliver outstanding thriller and crime fiction, and Blacktop Wasteland is no exception. His vivid imagery and sharp descriptions make the story feel cinematic, like watching a movie play out in your head. This was my first S.A. Cosby audiobook, and the narration quality was still top-notch.

This novel explores cars, racing, generational trauma, family, violence, crime, drugs, debt, and more. Told through multiple POVs, Cosby delivers a well-rounded and gripping crime novel. Even though this book ranked third for the month, it was still a strong four deer-star read.

2. King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby

King of Ashes was my first read of the month and earned a full five deer-stars. This crime thriller follows three siblings navigating grief, loyalty, and survival after their father is hospitalized in a hit-and-run. Each sibling copes differently, especially with the disappearance of their mother still looming over their heads, creating tension that drives the story forward.

With themes of gangs, violence, family loyalty, love, hate, and moral compromise, this novel showcases why S.A. Cosby is one of my favorite thriller crime fiction authors. Roman will cross any line necessary to protect his family, and watching how far he is willing to go is unforgettable.

1. Eternal Ruin by Tigest Girma

Wowowowowowowowowowowowowowow. What a sequel. TALK ABOUT FEMALE RAGE. Talk about VENGEANCE. Talk about grief, talk about love, talk about it all! The pacing in this book didn’t stop from the first page to the very last. The phrase “the plot thickens” couldn’t be even more true for this book.

Susenyos and Kidan have the ultimate love-hate relationship, the additional world-building and lore, dark books (I was kind of getting Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince vibes, ifykyk), turning off your humanity (think The Vampire Diaries), romance, BETRAYL, brothers fighting, sisters fighting, friends fighting, errrybody fighting! I’m a fantasy romance / romantasy girly at heart and this was just perfection.

Have you read any of these? Let me know in the comments!

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