Quarterly Wrap Up | January - March 2026

Reading

I’ve had such a good start to the year which I’m so pleased because it feels like it gets easier and easier for me to fall into a reading slump nowadays. Getting obsessed with TV shows and binge-watching them is often the culprit for me falling behind on reading and, even though I did get sucked into a show this year, (my current rewatch count of Heated Rivalry is five times...) I also got a lot of reading done so here and some of my faves!

The Favourites - Layne Fargo

I’ve wanted to read this book for a while but, with the Wuthering Heights movie and Winter Olympics taking up so much space online, it really pushed me to finally get to this book and I’m so glad it did.

I’m obsessed with this book. The characters are so unlikeable and messy but that’s half the appeal of it. The way Fargo made me feel so much for these characters despite me not particularly relating to them or even liking them is such a testament to the writing. It was a roller coaster of emotions and I loved the documentary-style elements and sinister undertones that almost made it feel like a psychological thriller at times. Easiest 5/5 stars ever.

"His love for me hadn't been motivation enough to reach his full potential. His hatred, though? That made him capable of anything." - The Favourites, Layne Fargo

The Long Game - Rachel Reid

Did I mention I’ve become obsessed with Heated Rivalry? I obviously wanted to read the book series before watching the show and The Long Game was the standout book for me. I loved exploring the characters on a deeper level, particularly Ilya who is by far my favourite. His experience with depression and therapy and managing all the relationships in his life was heartbreaking. I’m so excited for season two of the show because, after how faithful and perfect the first season was, I have total faith that they’re going to ace this next one as well.

"Whatever happens, I am with you. Safe in your heart. I believe it." - The Long Game, Rachel Reid

The Prison Healer trilogy - Lynette Noni

This is another series that I’ve been meaning to read for a while and I think it totally deserves the hype it gets. Each book got better and better. It was one of those all-consuming stories where I didn’t want to put the book down and wanted to neglect all other responsibilities in life just so I could keep reading.

"I have a lot of dreams. A lot of nightmares, too. Only time will tell which path my life will take." - The Prison Healer, Lynette Noni

Writing

My writing update for this quarter is pretty abysmal because I haven’t really done much at all. I’ve been so busy with work and decorating my new flat that writing has been pushed to the back of my mind. But I have a couple of projects at varying stages bubbling away in the background and I’m really hoping to get to them more in the next few months.

The Storyteller’s Collection - After about six months away from the project, I have finally started to give it another read through, have been making notes, and I’ll soon be looking to recruit some beta readers for feedback which I’m so excited for!

Unnamed project - While I get to the final stages of Storyteller, I’ve also started outlining my next project which I’m really excited about. I’m pretty sure I now have the rough three act structure of events nailed down, I just need to flesh out the details. I’m hoping to start working with my book coach soon to delve deeper into the outlining phase which I’m beyond excited for, working with Andrea in any capacity has become one of my favourite parts of the writing process!

Everything else

This has been quite a hectic start to the year. I feel like it’s sped by so quickly and I don’t even know how I’m managed to keep up with how busy work has been and everything else. Plus, getting through the winter months always makes everything feel more difficult for me.

I finally managed to buy my first flat back in February which was so amazing but it feels like painting and decorating has become another full-time job and I’m already sick of it! There’s still so much to do but I’m hoping in the next couple of months it will come together and I can move in. I’m particularly excited about my office/library space which is going to be so much fun to pull together. Although, I’m frantically trying to decide how to organise my bookshelves. I’ve had haphazard bookshelves and no order for so long that suddenly the idea of having all the space I need and being able to organise however I want feels very overwhelming!

I’ve also been able to go see a few shows so far this year which I’m really grateful for. I saw the UK tour of Legally Blonde which was spectacular and I’ve also just been to see The Last Five Years which starred Rachel Zegler and Ben Platt. I have been such a huge fan of Rachel Zegler so long and it’s always been a goal of mine to see her perform live one day and it was everything I wanted and more. She was spectacular and, of course, Ben Platt is such an amazing vocalist as well.

Next quarter

There are so many books I want to get to within the next few months - I want to finish the Jade City trilogy by Fonda Lee because I loved the first books so much. I also want to read The Jasad Heir because I’ve seen so much great hype around it. I’ll most likely give The Deal by Elle Kennedy a re-read as well because the show comes out in May and I’m really holding out hope that it will live up to the book. I don’t think it’s going to be as faithful an adaptation as something like Heated Rivalry was but as long as they keep the main vibes and some of the key scenes, I’m hoping it will be fine.