Archive for January 2026

[ad/gifted - I received a copy of this book in order to take part in a readalong. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.]

Title & Author: So, I Met This Guy... by Alexandra Potter

My rating: 5/5

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Publication date: 29th January 2026

Blurb:

So, I Met This Guy...

Well, isn’t that how every love story starts? But how does it end – a happily ever after? Or with the discovery that the supposed love-of-your-life has stolen your life savings and your home, trashed your heart and demolished your self-esteem?

Maggie is barely fifty years-old, and she's not one to give up on herself. So when she meets Flick, a young reporter who realizes this story could be the big break she’s been looking for, they set off to catch him as he goes on the run across Europe. After all, she’s got nothing left to lose, right?

But as the pair embark on the road trip of their lives, unexpected twists, hidden secrets and hard truths are revealed. And as an unlikely friendship begins to blossom, they realize it’s not just about finding the guy, it’s about finding themselves...

Review:

I can't give this book any less than five stars. I absolutely love Alexandra Potter's books and this one is no different.

Maggie Fletcher is approaching fifty and is living in a mouldy old caravan after being absolutely fleeced of everything by a romance fraudster. Her art gallery, her home, her savings, the lot.

Twenty-six year old Flick, a journalist at the local paper who is usually just given fluff pieces, catches wind of Maggie's situation and visits her claiming she wants to expose con-man Theo.

Flick discovers that Theo is on a Mediterranean cruise and invites Maggie along to follow it at the ships stops in order to confront him. But is a story the only reason Flick is so invested in this?

I loved this so much. The setting made me feel like I was on a beautiful sunny holiday and it is one of those books where you feel like you just have to keep reading on. There is nothing better than having great supporting characters which is exactly what we get with American heiress Birdy and Maggie's best friend George.

A lovely story not just entertaining by way of catching the fraudster but the growth, bonding and friendship that Flick and Maggie develop.

[This post contains affiliate links.]

Title & Author: Galentine's Day by Rebecca Anderson

My rating: 4/5

Publisher: Avon Books

Publication date: 15th January 2026

Blurb:

Thirteen years. Three women. One annual sleepover.

13 February 2013. Alicia, Marnie and Hannah have their first Galentine’s Day sleepover. They’re eighteen, single, and the world is at their feet. Soon they’ll go their separate ways after college, but they promise that every year, they’ll have their sleepover.

13 February 2026. There are only two friends at the annual sleepover. Their friendships have been tested by life, by partying, breakdowns, and even by pregnancies. Are their best Galentine’s Days now behind them?

Galentine’s Day is a love letter to female friendship, that celebrates messiness, real relationships, and growing up together.

Review:

As teenagers, Marnie, Hannah and Alicia started the tradition of having a sleepover on February 13th, Galentine's Day, and this book follows these girl's nights over the course of thirteen years.

It takes them from teens, through university, into adulthood and navigating jobs, relationships, babies, marriages and everything in between. They all lead such busy separate lives but always make time for Galentine's.

This friendship group felt so real. All three of their journeys through life were different and I do think that anyone reading it will definitely resonate with one of the characters or aspects of a few.

I enjoyed the text exchanges between the girls, the cultural references and humour but it is definitely a story tinged with sadness too.

This is an accurate portrayal of female friendships across the years.