It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?—February 23rd, 2026

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet and share what you have been and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.

Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It’s Monday! a kid-lit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle-grade novels, young adult novels, or anything in those genres – join them.


What I am Reading Now

As the winter season draws to a close, the royal jester hastens to refine his strategies and prepare the royal city for the fight ahead. Now teeming with both allies and enemies, Aralexia itself sits posed to become a battleground as a truth buried more than twenty-five years is at last ready to be revealed.
To the north, Callan and Tishan return from Veron and find their loyalties tested as the situation between Jennen and Dhanen’Mar takes a menacing turn. Determined to prevent the two realms from seeing open confrontation, the assassin undertakes a dark mission in order to head off a war.


What I am reading Monday and Tuesday:

Before the events of Auguries of Dawn, diviner Sweyn Savannon refines her strategies for the upcoming tumult. Granted foresight of the legendary Catalyst Stones, she awaits their reappearance in the world while gathering a host of powerful allies.

At last given sight of the location of the Sapphire Stone, Sweyn now knows that the time to put all her plots and schemes into motion has finally come. Determined to see all of Dhanen’Mar become a sanctuary for Destiny, she stands ready to unleash whatever destruction is necessary to see out her dark objectives.

*Author’s Note. This is a prequel to the main series and not a standalone story, and is best read after the 4th volume, Path of Stars.

When her granddaughter Serena is abducted by a crew of foreign pirates, Lady Danetria appeals to the warlords for aid. Desired for her diviner skills, all fear that if Serena isn’t rescued before arriving at the distant shores of Swythe Island, she will be lost to them forever.

Deployed on his first official assignment, Kain Rojek isn’t anticipating much trouble—or excitement—to arise from the task of recovering the stolen diviner. But once separated from his fellow warlords, he soon finds himself mired in a web of conspiracy none had foreseen. Forced to navigate his way through fatal enchantments, a rebel uprising, and the darkest corner of Swythe Island politics, Kain will finally come to discover that the only end to his quest may cost him everything.

* Author’s Note
This is a prequel to the main series. While designed to be read between volumes 4 and 5, it can be enjoyed at any point in the series.

Book Haul 2026—January

Books I acquired in January. Unless stated, all books were free when I downloaded them


BookBub

Heart of a Runaway Girl by Trevor Wiltzen

The Amazon Code by Nick Thacker

Deep Cover by Jeffrey Jay Levin

The Seal by Juliette N. Banks

Hero by Jolie Vines

Misleading a Duke by A.S. Fenichel

Her Dark Prince by Sass Green

Orion Ruined by Alexandra Iff

Warrior’s Wrath by Cassie Cole

Grumpy Pucking Orc by Debra Dunbar

You, Always by Lauryn Jay

No, You Didn’t by Travis Mohrman

Genesis by Nicolette Fuller

A Shift in Ashes by Maddox Grey

A Shift in Darkness by Maddox Grey

Children of the Knight by Michael J. Bowler

Three Women in Paradise by Victoria Avilan

The Baker and the Body by Jesse Leigh Murray

The Lady and the Footballer by Ellie St. Clair

The Caveman Conspiracy by Bret Hurst

Cowboy Wild by Michelle Beattie

Ruthless Saints by Ella Jade

Wolf Kissed by Heather Renee

Found by the Barbarian by Iona Storm

The Madness of Grief by Panayotis Cacoyannis

Scribes’ Descent by Dylan West

Divine Arrows by Elaia Crowe

From Frost to Flame by Viola Vines

A Fairytale for Snow White by Aisha Urooj

The Spiritual Warriors by Orlando A. Sanchez

Truly Medley Deeply by Kate Watson

Trust the Terrier by D.L. Mitchell

Twelve Mile Bank by Nicholas Harvey

Taming Zane by Lisa Lanay

My Grape Crush by Rowan Rossler

Rule of Three by Misti Wilds

Crown of Blood and Glass by Lucinda Dark

Stars Descend by Kara Jaynes

A Trip to the Myakka Cutoff by David Earth

The City Below by Kevin George

Shadowcast by Crystal D. Grant

The Pucker-Up Pact by J.P. Sterling

Milestones, Magic, and Murder by Bella Colby

Falling for You by Juliet Keane

Bloody Wedding by Carin Hart

Taken by Lies by Ella Miles

Forged of Fire by Stacy Von Haegert

Two Wolves for Soren by R.K. Munin

Swords in the Desert by Doug Peterson

Forsaken Commander by G.J. Ogden

The Woeling Lass by Dave Dobson

Consort of Secrets by Eva Chase

Mistletoe Latte by Ellen Mint

Best Laid Plans by Tom Abrahams

Facade by Lexy Timms

Wedlocked by Mel Teshco

Sins of the Heart by Eve Silver

New Haven by Adam Kirstein

World Whisperer by Rachel Devenish Ford

Inside the Hollow Tree by Laurel Veil

The HighFire Crown by J.T. Lawrence

The Brethren of Greybrook by April Patterson Clemens

Bundle of Trouble by Diana Orgain

Loving Lauren by Jill Sanders

Lethal Blues by R. Weir

Watchtower of Turtle Island by David S. Brody

Bailey and the CEO by Amy Q. Barker

Turning Back Time by Elsie Davis

Head in the Game by Lily Cahil

Her Romeo by Quinn Marlowe

The Prince of Power by Skyler Mason

Secrets & Seduction by S.K. Reign

Dead Run by Camille Picott

Thief in the Castle by Beatrice B. Morgan

Catch You if You Fall by Henrik Wilenius

Huntress Born by Aimee Easterling

Looking for a Cowboy by Tamie Dearen

Bogs, Brews, and Banshees by Rowan Dillon

Best of Intentions by L.K. Farlow

Mr. Big Shot by S.E. Lund

Play You by Tracy Lorraine

Locke by Tracy Lorraine

Faze by Tracy Lorraine

A House of Fangs and Deceit by Alex Frost

I Envy the Walls by Mary Beth Dearmon

The Samurai’s Heart by Walt Mussell

The Woodhaerst Triangle by Patricia M. Osborne

Hunt by L.C. Mawson

Dead Wrong by A.C. Arquin

Hearts to Mend by Christina Berry

Crochet and Corpses by Ramey James

The Fabrication of Eden Pruitt by K.E. Ganshert

Privately Cherished by Lily Cahil

The Binding by Gianaclis Caldwell

Cartel Hunter by Robert Goluba

Almost Him by S.M. Shade

Dragon’s Secret by Isla Elrick

Shadows of the Crown by Dakota Monroe

The Bow of Destiny by P.H. Solomon

Triangle Black by Joseph Miguel

Wild Rose by Vanessa Garden

First Time’s a Charm by Laura Greenwood

The Ex Effect by Jo Watson

A Murder in Longhand by Lisa Pevey

A Proper Scandal by Esther Hatch

A Victim, A Viscount, and Miss Mifford by Claudia Stone

A Death, A Duke, and Miss Mifford by Claudia Stone

Mayan Thunder by Craig A. Hart

Sweet Paradise by Gene Desrochers

A High Price to Pay by Cynthia Hamilton

Compulsion by Julia Sykes

Controlling Stakes by Julia Fisher

Found in Embers by A.J. Blanch

Hungry Like a Wolf by Jessica Lynch

Mates: Maddox and Evangeline by Jessica Lynch

Season of the Witch by Jessica Lynch

The Smiling Dog Cafe by Neil S. Plakcy

The End of Everything by Nate Johnson

The Botanist and the Beast by Viola Vines

Ravenwood Academy: Year One by Lena Mae Hill

The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts by K.C. Tansley

The Elf Captive by P.A. Mason

Love, Lacey Donovan by Jill Brashear

Mystery at Monrovia Castle by Valerie Brandy

The Accident Report by Ralph Ellis

Undertaking Irene by Pamela Buford

Cold Case No 99-5219 by Betta Ferrendelli

The Side Hustle by Colin Conway

The Long Cold Winter by Colin Conway

The Blind Trust by Colin Conway

Silent Witnesses by Annelie Wendeberg

The Cursed Thief by Matthew James

Tarnished Crown by Caitlyn Dare

Reignited by Tess Summers

Stolen by Darkness by Samantha Britt

Earl Grey and Shallow Graves by Victoria Tait

New Ausburg by Christa Petzold

The Coordinate by Marc Jacobs

Cinders Burn at Midnight by Kara M. Zone

Surprised by a Supernatural Start by Brenda Trim

Accidental Mobster by Daisy Emory

Small Island by Toby Neal


From My TBR

Save Me by Margaret Watson

Chandelier Enthralled by Vanessa Fewings

Mind Machines by Dima Zales

The Billionaire’s Game by Ryan Moore

Know Me Well by Kait Nolan

Loving Jake by Lisa Lanay

Shadows Grow by Kara Jaynes

The Dome of Life by Kevin George

Hex and the City by Nazri Noor

She’s Got Soul by Aja

Enemy Within by G.J. Ogden

Planet Killer by G.J. Ogden

Traitors Unseen by Dave Dobson

Legacy of the Fallen by Jane Shand

Wild About Denali by Sara Blackard

The Social Affair by Britney King

The Alpha’s Warlock by Eliot Grayson

Wet by Cambria Hebert

Never Came Home by Hazel Holmes

The Cabin by Robert J. Walker

Trapped by L.C. Mawson

Ruby by Kayla Curry

Secret Memories by J.S. Donovan

Unpredictable by Jenna Hartley

The Advocate’s Nightmare by Teresa Burrell

The Body in the Bookstore by Ellie Alexander

The Vampire Protector by Juliette N. Banks

The Meaning of You by Jay Hogan

A Killable Feast by Susan Kiernan-Lewis


Found on other blogs

Unforgettable Encounter by Ryan Moore (from Misty’s Book Space)

The Quest for Freedom by Matthew D. Devitt (from Boys’ Mom Reads!)


Book Mail