January and February Books We Are Excited About with Gare and Steph

This week, Gare, Steph and I share our 2026 bookish goals, and January and February releases we are excited about! Steph also shares a few backlist she will be reading in January and February.

Kate’s Books

Kin by Tayari Jones

Spies and Other Gods James Wolff

Queen of Faces by Petra Lord

On Sundays She Picked Flowers by Yah-Yah Scholfield

Unread: A Memoir of Learning (And Loving) to Read on TikTok by Oliver James

Gare’s Books

A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James

Dead in the Water by John Marrs

Here Lie All the Boys Who Broke My Heart by Emma Simmerman

The Exes by Leodora Darlington

Last Seen by Christopher Castellani

Steph’s Books

Dark Sisters by Kristi DeMeester

The Act of Disappearing by Nathan Gower

It’s Not Her by Mary Kubica

Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashimo

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

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Follow Co-hosts On Instagram:

Gare Billings @gareindeedreads

Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland

Halley Sutton @halleysutton25

Brian Watson @readingwithbrian

MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba

Erin Ashley @bellametaphor