This is a quick, fun tag created by girlxoxo (although I don’t think their website is currently active), and March is the perfect time to look back at the first few months of the year and see what your reading “firsts” are. I hope you’ll join in too!
First book read in 2026:
According to Goodreads, I finished How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days by Jessie Sylva on January 4th. This was pretty good, although I had a few issues with it.
First review of 2026:
The Storm by Rachel Hawkins did not disappoint! This was such a great, twisty mystery with a fantastic setting.
First debut read in 2026:
Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson was unusual and yes, strange. And what a fantastic debut!
First “new to me” author of 2026:
I have been meaning to read Johnny Compton for quite a while, and I’m glad I started with Dead First. This is a well written horror/thriller and I could not put it down.
First book of 2026 that slayed me:
I was blown away by On Sundays She Picked Flowers by Yah Yah Scholfield, it was so emotional and hard hitting but also beautifully written.
First book of 2026 that I wish I could get back the time I spent reading it:
The Body by Bethany C. Morrow was unfortunately a DNF for me (I have yet to do a write up about it, but probably will at some point). Basically, nothing happened in the first 75 pages I read, and the main character was so manic and all over the place that I couldn’t make heads or tails of what the author was trying to do.
First 5 star book of 2026:
A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James is exactly my perfect book. I gave this five stars, and it has a good chance of making my Top Five Books of 2026!
Okay, I couldn’t resist! Here’s mine.
I’m still really curious about Strange Animals between the reviews I’ve seen; I really should add it to my wishlist.
You might enjoy it!
Fun! Sorry about the DNF… but other than that, looks like you’re on quite a roll with books you’ve enjoyed!
It’s been a very good year so far!
OMG I totally feel you on The Body – but I actually spent more time finishing it. AND it was the book selection for my quarterly horror subscription, so I have a special edition to boot. So disappointing!
Oh wow, I have had that happen, where I have a special edition but didn’t like the book.
Great! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Anne:-)
Lovely!
Too bad I don’t like ghost stories, so I don’t think I’ll try your last book
It’s much more than just a ghost story!
I really liked A Box Full of Darkness, too! And I won a copy of Strange Animals from Goodreads, so I have that in my To Read pile. 😀
Oh cool, I hope you enjoy it!
This is a fun prompt and way to look back on the reading year so far. Too bad about The Body.
I guess we all have those disappointing books…
Fun tag! (I just scheduled mine, too.) I haven’t read any of these, but it sounds like you found some great picks (mostly) so far this year!
Thanks! I will be visiting yours soon!
Ooh I’ll have to try and do this sometime this month, although I had a slower start to my reading than I hoped for in January I feel like I’ve read enough since to fill in this tag. Reading this reminded me that I need to make sure On Sundays She Picked Flowers is on my horror TBR for the summer. A couple of reviews, yours included, have also made me determined to pick up something by Simone St James this year. It looks like you’ve had some wonderful firsts this year.
I highly recommend Simone St. James, really anything she’s written is worth checking out:-)
Agree that Dead First was awesome! I NEED to get to On Sundays ASAP, because I really want to read it- even more after reading how much you enjoyed it! The Body was ehhh for me too- and I hated the ending, so you made the right choice heh.
I can’t wait to see what you think of On Sundays. And yeah, The Body…
I think I did this tag last year? Not sure! I might wait to do it until the halfway point. I like a quick, easy tag, though! Your review and Chris’s really have me curious about Strange Animals.
I’m glad I read Strange Animals, it was pretty unique!
That’s a nice tag and I might try it this week if I haven’t finished my current read otherwise I won’t have anything to post!
I would love to see your answers:-)
I love this tag and your answers. Lovely to see Box Full of Darkness.
Lynn 😀
It’s crazy that we’re in the second half of March already and the year is going by so quickly. Yikes, I am glad even though you haven’t written your dnf report for The Body yet, I saw your comments here. The mixed reviews on goodreads already had me rethinking it but nope, not about to pick up a book where nothing happens!