January 2026 Reads...

Below are the books I read in January along with my thoughts on them. I'm not doing any formal reading challenges this year, but I am continuing to read diversely. I'm trying to get through the books I already own as well as new ones. I watched Heated Rivalry on Crave at the end of last year and had to read the books after that. I'm trying to make my way through them so that I've read them all by the time Unrivaled (already pre-ordered) releases in September. With the state of the world, I'm finding it hard to read dystopian and apocalypse stories right now, even though they're some of my favourites to read. Haven't decided what I'm reading in February yet.

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COLD ETERNITY by S.A. Barnes 

I think this might be my favourite of the three space horrors I read by S.A. Barnes. Halley is searching for a place to hide out and ends up on a space barge containing cryogenically frozen beings hoping to circumvent death. 

But there are things happening on the barge that make Halley question her own sanity, from finger bones and strange noises to glitchy AI holograms and missing bodies.

As Halley tries to solve the mysteries of the barge, she learns the truth is much more frightening than she expected. And she is highly unlikely to ever leave. If she survives another day.

This book is quite the thrill ride from beginning to end, and the truth was much more gruesome and messed up than what I expected. Halley's back story was well-developed and the other characters were creepy, even those I liked. 

I definitely look forward to more by S.A. Barnes! 

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GAME CHANGER by Rachel Reid

I grew up in a hockey town and went to school with a lot of hockey players, some of whom went further than playing for the local Jr. B team. Because of that, I was never interested in reading a hockey romance. Then the TV show, Heated Rivalry came along, and I loved it! And as an author, I wanted to read the source material, so I bought the first six books in the series.

While Scott and Kip's story isn't exactly the same in the book as it is on screen, I thoroughly enjoyed reading how their relationship developed, while witnessing the passion between them and the struggles they faced. Even though both are super sweet characters with some amazing friends and family members, the beginning of their relationship is quite a roller coaster ride. It all felt very real as though it played out in real life. I truly enjoyed Game Changer and look forward to Heated Rivalry next!

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HEATED RIVALRY by Rachel Reid

As with Game Changer, I read Heated Rivalry after watching the show on Crave. A great book! I'm so glad Rachel Reid wrote it and that Jacob Tierney enjoyed it and decided to turn it into a series that closely followed the book. It was interesting to note the slight changes in how Shane and Ilya's story started between the two, and to catch further glimpses into their relationship that we didn't see in the show. I definitely look forward to more of Shane and Ilya's story in The Long Game and Unrivaled, as well as other books in the Game Changers series.

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AURORA BLAZING by Jessie Mihalik

Aurora Blazing is a fast-paced space adventure with a slow burn romance that could almost be considered a second-chance romance. It is engaging with wonderful characters and a happily for now ending that suits both characters well.

Bianca is a one of the House von Hasenberg daughters and she is still recovering from the sudden death of her husband and the experiments he performed on her. When her brother is abducted with no hints as to who took him, she uses her connections and her other new abilities to search along with her siblings for any clues to his whereabouts. But the information she seeks requires a personal touch, which is hard to get when she's constantly under surveillance. She sneaks past the house security and flees to find her brother. But Ian, the House's director of security is after her to bring her back home. It's bad enough that Ian won't give her a chance to help, but he is also the man who broke her heart before her arranged marriage.

Aurora Blazing is Bianca's race to escape Ian, find her brother, and then ignore her increasing attraction to Ian when he does manage to catch up to her.

While a complete romance story, Aurora Blazing is part of an overall series arc that started with Polaris Rising.

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