A reading review of Q2 2026

The second quarter of 2026 is complete, so here is my reading review of Q2, which saw me read 24 books.

I'm back with another reading review for 2026, this time all about the books I read during the second quarter of the year.

Q2 was a busy quarter of the year for me with a summer holiday, a university research project to complete, and general life stuff going on. However, during Q2, I managed to read enough books that have left me with only 16 books to read until I reach my goal of 65.

I do still have quite a few books on specific TBR lists to get through, but I have made some progress. So, let's get into my reading review of Q2 2026.

WriteWatchWork's Reading Review

Total Number of Books Per Month

As mentioned above, I now only have 16 books left to read until I reach my Goodreads goal for the year. I made some good progress, reading 24 in total across Q2.

In April, I read 8 books; in May, I also read 8 books; and in June, I read 8 books.

Most-Read Genre

I read quite a few different genres throughout Q2. Some of these were dark academia, young adult books, and fantasy novels.

However, my most-read genre, with nine books, is romance.

Most-Read Author

Whilst I have my favourite authors, I always enjoy discovering new writers and their work. So, much like Q1, I read a mix of authors I'm familiar with and authors whom I had yet to discover.

The different authors I read in Q2 of 2026 were:

• Alex Michaelides

• Allie Oleander

• Ana Huang

• Anna B. Doe

• Autumn Woods

• Caitlin Breeze

• Carley Fortune

• Catherine Cowles

• Dolly Alderton

• Donna Tartt

• Emily Henry

• Faridah Abíké-Íyímídé

• Gabriel García Márquez

• Holly Jackson

• Imani Erriu

• Lauryn Hamilton Murray

• J.K. Rowling

• Kristin Hannah

• Liz Tomforde

• R.F. Kuang

• Tahereh Mafi

Faridah Abíké-Íyímídé and Liz Tomforde were my most-read authors as I read two of their books. From the above list, the authors that were new to me were Alex Michaelides, Caitlin Breeze, Dolly Alderton, Donna Tartt, Gabriel García Márquez, Imani Erriu, and Lauryn Hamilton Murray.

Favourite Books

I read a lot of good books during Q2 of this year. In total, I rated seven books five stars because I loved them so much.

For that reason, it was challenging to pick my top three books of the quarter. However, I have made my decision, so here are my top three books of Q2.

The first book I'm choosing has to be Release Me by Tahereh Mafi. If you've read previous blog posts or follow me on social media, you'll know that I absolutely love the Shatter Me series. It's my favourite series, and Release Me is book two in the spin-off. I pre-ordered the hardback and read it as soon as it arrived and it exceeded all my expectations.

Up next, we have Into the Fading Twilight by Catherine Cowles. This is book two in the Starlight Grove series, and is, perhaps, my favourite Catherine Cowles book. It is a romantic suspense novel that will get you feeling all the emotions – I almost cried after chapter one – and will leave you shocked after the final twists.

My third favourite book of Q2 2026 has to be This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune. This novel is one of Carley's earlier books; I've had it on my Kindle ever since I read Every Summer After and One Golden Summer by Carley last year, and knew I wanted to read it this summer. I'm so glad I did because I read this book in two sittings and flew through it. It is such a fun summer read that is feel-good and made me want to travel to Prince Edward Island.

Credit: WriteWatchWork

Credit: WriteWatchWork

Credit: WriteWatchWork

Those are my top three, but because I loved so many of the books I read in Q2, I'm going to list some honourable mentions, including: Daybreak by Autumn Woods, Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry, Heir of Storms by Lauryn Hamilton Murray, Good Girl Bad Blood by Holly Jackson and Heavenly Bodies by Imani Erriu.

Favourite Authors

I always struggle picking a favourite author because there are just so many that I love. Last month, I picked M.L. Rio, Catherine Cowles, and Kandi Steiner. With that in mind, I'm going to pick a top three for Q2 of 2026, not including Catherine Cowles (even though I rated her book five stars!).

My first favourite author of Q2 2026 has to be Emily Henry. I read her latest novel, Great Big Beautiful Life, whilst on holiday in Spain, and I loved it. It was a five-star read for me, and I just fell in love with EmHen's writing all over again.

The next author I'm choosing is Liz Tomforde. I actually went to an event where Liz Tomforde was one of three authors talking about their books, so I made sure to finish the Windy City series and read the spin-off before attending. I loved both books, and they reminded me how fun it is to read a Liz Tomforde novel.

My third and final choice is Imani Erriu. I haven't read much fantasy, but once I'd read Heavenly Bodies, I knew I was hooked on the genre. Imani's writing was effortless, and I loved the world and characters she created. I can't wait to read book two.

Best Book Surprise

The best book surprise of Q2 is a novel I knew I would enjoy because I love the author, but one I didn't anticipate enjoying that much. The book I'm talking about is Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah.

Having read The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, I knew I loved her writing style and the way she crafts a story. So, going into Winter Garden, I had high hopes. But I did not expect to become so engrossed in the story that I cried multiple times.

Credit: WriteWatchWork

It's not necessarily an easy read, but it is one that will grab you from the start and make you feel a whole tornado of emotions.

Least Favourite Book

Out of all the books I read in Q2, there were two I rated below four stars. These two books are therefore my least favourite books of the quarter, and they are:

• Until August by Gabriel García Márquez

• The Fox Hunt by Caitlin Breeze

The reason I've chosen Until August is that whilst I enjoyed reading the English translation, it took me a while to get into the short story and find myself enjoying it. I wasn't a huge fan of the protagonist, and to be honest, it wasn't until about 20 pages in that I realised what the story was about.

With The Fox Hunt, I chose this because, again, whilst I enjoyed reading it and thought the dark academia atmosphere of the novel was very strong, there were times when I did get a little confused. But that being said, I am glad that I read it.

26 Books for 2026

For this year, I've made a list of 26 books that I would like to read during 2026. In Q1 of this year, I read six books from this list.

And in Q2, I managed to read five. The five books off the list below that I read in the past three months are: Babel, The Secret History, Heavenly Bodies, Everything I Know About Love and Rewind It Back.

12 Recs from 12 Friends

I've also set myself a challenge of reading 12 books that have been recommended to me by 12 friends. In Q1, I read three of the books recommended to me, but in Q2, I've only read two of them.

The first one is Heavenly Bodies; I read it in April and was hooked from the start. It got me back into reading fantasy, and I'm excited to get book two in paperback to carry on the series.

The second book from these recommendations that I've read is another fantasy, and that is Heir of Storms. I wasn't sure about this book going into it, because I didn't really know much about it; however, once I was a couple of chapters in, I didn't want to put it down.

I've still got seven books to read from my 12 recommendations before the end of the year, and I'm hoping to get a fair few read in Q3.

I hope you enjoyed my reading review of Q2 2026, and that the books mentioned above inspire you to pick them up and give them a go.

I'll be back at the end of Q3 with another reading review, and plenty more blog posts before then, so don't forget to subscribe to keep up to date with WriteWatchWork.

Until next time...