She blinked and somehow January was already over. I spent the first (almost) 2 weeks of the month in Sri Lanka attending a friend’s wedding, ringing in the new year, and going on a mini-beach vacation. It was jarring to fly back to reality because my brain had basically been checked out since Christmas 2025, and I had to remind myself what days and dates were a little too quickly for my liking, lol. 😂 Coming back to work after close to 3-weeks away wasn’t fun—especially since I was thrown straight into the deep end—but we survived. Despite passing so quickly I can’t believe it’s over, January also felt like a decade long. There was so much chaos and heartbreak in the news. I’m sending so much strength and support to my friends on the other side of the world! I hope everyone is taking care and doing as okay as can be. 🫂
Here’s a small January photo dump:
I surprised myself but January was a fairly decent reading month overall! I finished 11 books in total and while the majority of them were in the 3-4 star range, I did find my first 5-star of the year (and one that got very close to it)!
My favourite book of the month was ✨The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty.✨ I’m so happy this turned out to be as amazing as everyone said it would be, especially because I gave it a go last year and was so not in the right mood for it. That clearly wasn’t the case this year and I had so much fun following Amina’s wild adventures. The banter was amazing but the world-building was immaculate! 🤩
In terms of blogging, I can’t say that I was particularly organised. I posted my End of Year Survey stuff but I didn’t wrap-up December, and neither did I recap the reading challenges I did last year. I did give a brief overview in my survey posts though, and at this point, I think that’s fine. The blogging year has gotten off to a bit of a rocky start and it has left me feeling a bit like I’m forgetting something every time I come online! But as with my reading this year: I’m just rolling with it and maybe February is when I’ll finally get myself sorted?!
It was also another fun month co-hosting the Let’s Talk Bookish weekly meme. You can learn more about it, read all the discussions, and see the upcoming month’s topics HERE.
TEXT is linked to my review (if available) and COVERS are linked to Goodreads
5 pandas
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
Book Review: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
4.75 & 4.5 pandas
In a Second by Kate Canterbary (4.5 stars), Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb (4.75 stars)
4 pandas
Traitor’s Blade by Sebastien De Castell
3.75 & 3.5 pandas
3.25 & 3 pandas
ARC Review: Better the Devil by Erik J. Brown
As I mentioned above, I’m not really sure what or how many challenges I’ll be doing this year, but the three I’ve decided on are: the Goodreads Reading Challenge, the 2026 Buzzword Reading Challenge, and Beat the Backlist! So far, I’m happy to report, that I’m on track! 🤩
✔ Goodreads Reading Challenge: 11/100
✔ Beat the Backlist 2026: 📚 7 backlist books // 📱 0 backlist ARCs ⇢ 4/25 Bingo Spaces
✔ 2026 Buzzword Reading Challenge: January (“before” & “after”) ⇢ The Nightmare Before Kissmas
And with that, we’re down one month in the year. What a January it has been, huh? How was your reading month? I hope everyone is doing as good as can be and taking good care. Hope February treats you well, friends! 🫂
dinipandareads 
So exciting to get your first five star of the year in the first month of the year! Also goes to show how important it is not to force yourself to read a book when you’re not in the mood for it!
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