26 books on my 2026 TBR

Let me tell you, my TBR is extensive. There are way more than 26 books on there, but I decided to pull out the 26 books I'm most excited to read in 2026 and share them with you for inspiration. Let's go!

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

I picked this up at a library book sale having heard so many good things about it, so it's definitely on my winter TBR for 2026. We'll actually be reading this for our February pick at my local book club, so it's a definite tick.

Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage

I'm nothing if not predictable so of course there had to be a cowboy romance on this list; I grabbed this in a charity shop a while back and I've not read it yet, so it's definitely on my 2026 TBR.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

We read The Kite Runner for one of our book club picks this year and I was just blown away by it, so when I saw A Thousand Splendid Suns in the charity shop I *had* to pick it up.

Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood

My friend picked up a signed copy of this for me from The Works, which is really special because Lucy is actually the Wirral just like me - I've just not got round to reading it yet, so it's definitely on my 2026 TBR!

The Weekend by T M Logan

T M Logan is one of my favourite thriller authors, and I have an arc of his upcoming release The Weekend from netgalley. I am of course aiming to read this before release day!

The Opposite of Murder by Sophie Hannah

Sophie Hannah is, always has been and always will be an auto-buy author for me; she's my favourite thriller author, and I've reviewed plenty of her books on my blog. I wasn't lucky enough to get an arc for this one but I'll be grabbing a copy as soon as it's released.

The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez

I actually read my first Abby Jimenez book in 2025, and this is an upcoming release which I'll definitely be trying to get my hands on and read in 2026.

Picture Imperfect by Jacqueline Wilson

I loved Jacqueline Wilson growing up, and I think it's fantastic that she's come back with a few adult novels. I actually went to the tour she did for this one so I have a copy, and I can't wait to read it this year.

Adversary to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

Another 2026 release, and one I'm so excited for - I've loved this series and I'm really hoping this wraps it all up nicely.

Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkein (x3)

I've read The Hobbit, but I'm yet to actually read LOTR; I'm planning a big audiobook read of the whole series and I'm really looking forward to it. Dropping in with an update as I'm so late posting this blog post but I've listened to books one and two already. Stunning.

Drive Me Crazy by Lizzy Dent

I have loved Lizzy Dent since her debut and now she's got an F1 romance coming out?! Couldn't be more excited for this and I'm pretty sure it'll be a five star...

The Girls Trip by Ally Condie

Yet another new release coming out in April, this is a thriller which I'm really intrigued about as it follows some online besties who meet IRL for the first time and well, we've all been there!

Honey by Imani Thompson

I have a big old list of arcs on Netgalley to get through and this is one of them, set to be a comedic masterpiece apparently! It's a feminist thriller and I'm very eager to see what it's all about.

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

I love Em Hen, and I've read quite a few of hers now - but not this one, which I believe is her most recent romance. Very excited to hopefully pick it up in 2026!

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

This wasn't on my radar, but it has been chosen for one of our book club picks so it's now made it's way onto my TBR and I'm so intrigued. Very much not my genre of choice but I love branching out.

One of us is Next by Karen M McManus

I am really trying to get through some of the book series I've started and abandoned, so picking up book two in this series is very much on my radar as I really enjoyed the first!

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

I've heard such great things about this book and it's been on my shelf for ages, so I hope 2026 is the year I get round to reading it.

Game, Set, Match by Jennifer Iacopelli

Sports romances are some of my favourite books and this is a steamy tennis romance so it's right up my street! (Another NetGalley ARC)

The Do-Over by Lynn Painter

I really enjoy a YA read, and Lynn Painter's have always been ones I've found worth reading. I picked this up in the charity shop just before Christmas, so it's definitely on my TBR for the year.

Some Like it Scot by Pepper Basham

A new-to-me author, I actually got this book in my Wordy & Wild subscription box last year; I seem to really favour romance books set in Scotland, so of course I've got high hopes for this one!

Fall into Temptation by Lucy Score

I really enjoyed the Knockemout series by Lucy Score, but I've not read anything else from her so when I saw this one in the charity shop I had to pick it up; I'll be saving it for autumn...

Cape Fever by Nadia Davids

This is out of my comfort zone for sure, but I got a proof from Scribner and I'm really looking forward to reading it - it's a historical thriller!

The Pledge by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett

This is another NetGalley ARC I need to get to, and one I'm really looking forward to - it's a thriller set on a remote island full of billionaires. Sign me up...

Champagne Problems by Hannah Grace

I've enjoyed Hannah Grace's previous romance reads, and this is another F1 romance - so I'm sure I'll love this one just as much. It's set to come out this autumn!

So those are 26 books on my 2026 TBR; of course, there will end up being a LOT more books I want to read throughout the course of this year, but these are top of my list at the moment. Let me know if you've read any of the other that are already out, or have your eye on any of the newer releases.

Everything on my pre-cruise shopping list

In case you didn't know, I'm going on a cruise in 2026! I absolutely love cruising, and this will be my fifth; it's for our honeymoon, and it's actually my wife's first ever cruise. I'm SO excited to introduce her to my favourite type of holiday, and I'm hoping she falls in love with it so we can book more...

Regardless, there's a few things on my to-buy list before we get going so I thought I'd share! 

New suitcases - we usually travel hand luggage only, so with this being a bigger and more special holiday with more weight allowance, new (large) suitcases are a must. I'll be ordering mine from Tripp as I know the quality is great.

Magnetic hooks - as cruise cabins are made of metal, the walls are magnetic. I want to take some hooks with us so we've got some extra storage should we need it!

Multi plug/adapter - cabins aren't known for having all too many plug sockets, so I want to make sure we've got the ability to charge our phones, Kindle, portable charger and anything else we might need as well as to plug in my hair curlers and so on. The one I've linked here has a built-in night light too, which I love.

Evening dress - my wife is wearing her wedding suit for the one formal night on board, but I can't exactly rock up in my wedding dress... so I'm on the hunt for a nice dress to complement her suit! I've not linked one here because I've not even started looking yet but it's next on my to do list for sure...

Wireless portable charger - as we've got some excursions booked, I know I'll need to charge my phone during the day but I don't want to have to take wires out and about with me so I'll definitely be getting one of these!

Sandals - I'm on the hunt for some comfortable and supportive sandals, as I know we're going to be doing a lot of walking during this trip. I love my Birkenstocks but I definitely need something with an ankle strap.

Selfie stick - I would really like a compact selfie stick/tripod sort of thing to make it easier to take photos of the two of us together on the balcony/in ports without having to ask anyone to help!

I would love to know, if you've recently been on a cruise, if you think there's anything missing from my list! Alternatively, if you have any specific recommendations for these products please do let me know; I have included links to the ones I think I'll be buying, but if they're terrible please warn me...

My 2026 travel plans

2026 is already shaping up to be another good year of travel in the Gilroy-Simmons household. I love sharing these posts in case they can offer any sort of inspiration if you're planning your own travels, and I also love looking back at the end of the year to see how our plans changed...

Our honeymoon

The big trip of 2026 is our honeymoon; we're doing an Adriatic cruise with Marella, the only company I have ever cruised with. I've been on four so far, but it will be wife's first ever cruise so I'm super excited to share that with her and make some more amazing memories together. We go in May and I literally can't wait. There will be a lot of content from this trip, I'm sure!

Guildford

We're heading to Guildford for a long weekend with my wife's family, for my brother-in-law's 40th birthday. This will mostly just be family time, with a meal and party already planned, but we've got a nice (and relatively fancy) hotel booked in the city centre so I'm excited to explore a bit too.

North Wales

Would it be a year of travel for me if I didn't visit somewhere in Wales at least once? My mum turns 60 in 2026 which I'm sure she won't thank me for sharing, but she's got so many exciting plans for the year - one of which being a family cottage holiday. There's myself and my wife going along with my parents, my brother and sister-in-law, and their two children. And the dog, of course. We're thinking picnics, nice walks, films and plenty of chilling out.

Luke Combs in London

Does this count as "travel"? I'm not sure, but 2026 will be the year I FINALLY see Luke Combs live! I'm taking my mum for her aforementioned 60th birthday and no doubt we will be staying in a Travelodge because London hotels are spennnnyyyyy. But she's worth it.

Dalyan, Turkey

Our other abroad holiday is to Turkey - myself and my wife, and my parents. We're going to a hotel they stayed in in 2025, and as I've already been to Dalyan I absolutely *know* we are going to have the most amazing time in this lovely location. It will definitely be a more relaxing trip!

Early Christmas in Grantham

As my wife's family live quite a few hours away from us, we do struggle to all get together for Christmas. So this year we've booked a lovely cottage just outside of Grantham in Lincolnshire, 2 weeks before Christmas so we can all celebrate together and get in the festive spirit. We're really excited for this one.

So that's everything we've currently got booked in 2026, but we do actually have some easyJet credit due to a slight booking mix up when we booked our Dalyan trip - which means we'll more than likely end up shoehorning in a little city break! Most of my annual leave is accounted for but we do love a day trip and weekend breaks, so watch this space I guess...

Simple Skincare for eczema and fragrance allergies

I talk a lot about my skin on this little blog of mine and on my social media; in case you didn't know, I have suffered from eczema for my entire life and last year I was diagnosed with allergies to MI/MCI and Balsam of Peru. The latter is a bit of a tricky one, as it doesn't need to be explicitly labelled in ingredient lists - it is hidden under the labels 'fragrance' or 'parfum'. 

Typically, this means I don't use fragranced products. I'll caveat that by saying I do use perfume (sprayed on my clothes, not my skin) and I will use fragranced hair products like serums after washing my hair, so it's not running down onto my skin.

All of that being said, one brand you will *always* find in my bathroom is Simple. I love that their products are fragrance free, and they're really affordable - a lot of fragrance free skincare and haircare is expensive or hard to get hold of. I thought I would do a rundown of all the Simple Skincare products I've tried, what I think of them and so on. Without further ado...

Simple Shampoo and Conditioner

I pick these up in Home Bargains and they're less than £2 each, officially making them the cheapest fragrance free shampoo and conditioner I've ever been able to find. Let's face it, they are basic. They really don't do much for my hair beyond keeping it clean; I do find my hair is quite dry and dull, though I recently got it all chopped off so it's a lot healthier now! But this doesn't irritate my scalp and I don't need to worry about it running off onto my skin and causing a reaction, which is great.

Simple Refreshing Facial Wash

Again this is a very basic product, but it cleans my skin without irritating it or leaving it feeling dry/tight. You can get a 50ml version of this which is perfect for hand luggage-only travel, and it's great if you're looking for something that just gets the job done.

Simple Vital Vitamin Cream

I bought this on a whim when I unexpectedly had to stay away from home one night, and I actually quite liked it; it's very thick, bordering on greasy but not actually greasy. It sinks in quickly and feels really nourishing - it also doesn't irritate my skin which is always a winner! The SPF factor isn't really doing much with this one, but it's a good moisturiser nevertheless.

Simple Smoothing Gel Cleanser

This is my FAVOURITE Simple Skincare product of all time. I actually picked this up in Home Bargains for super cheap and I wish I'd stocked up but I didn't know if I'd like it or not. As it is, I love it; it doesn't irritate my skin or leaving it feeling dry and tight. Instead, it feels clean and refreshed as well as soft and smooth. It's completely fragrance free, of course, but does contain lactic and hyaluronic acids which are packed with benefits.

Simple Refreshing Shower Gel

As shower gels go, this is fine! Of course it's unscented which is fairly boring, but it lathers well with a loofah and cleanses as it should. You can get this in huge bottles which last for ages, too.

Simple Sensitive Bath Soak

This was the first bubble bath I used after getting my diagnosis and chucking away all my Lush bubble bars - and honestly I nearly cried with joy, as it felt so much more luxurious than bathing in plain water. That aside, it really is just a fragrance free bubble bath

Simple Refreshing Bath Soak

This isn't much different to the Sensitive Bath Soak - it bubbles up loads, and a little goes a long way with both. However I do prefer the look of this one on the side of the bath... it's the little things!

Simple Invisible UV Fluid with SPF 50

This goes on beautifully; it's thin and lightweight, sinking in quickly. It also has high SPF protection which is brilliant. My skin, however, doesn't love it. I found myself quite sore and dry after using this which is a real shame but I definitely plan to give it another go in a couple of months time, as I never like to disregard a product after one use in case it was a coincidence.

Simple Pure Soap Bar

I'm really not a bar soap girly, but these are really cheap, cheerful and easy to get hold of - plus they're better for the environment and last for absolutely ages, so it's swings and roundabouts really. They're good to have on hand and great for travel, too. Again, Simple bar soap doesn't irritate or dry out my skin, it's just a bit boring...

So that's all of the Simple products I've tried over the past two years since my fragrance allergy diagnosis. I'm always keen to try more products from this budget-friendly fragrance free skincare brand, so keep your eyes peeled and let me know in the comments if you've tried anything from Simple!

December 2025 reading round up

12 months of books, and my grand total was (drum roll please) 107! I'm pretty proud of that, my aim was 100 so to surpass that is really nice. I read such a wide range of genres, and my ratings were all over the place, but overall I feel it was a good reading year for me! Without further ado, here's everything I read in December to round out the year...

Good Spirits by B K Borrison

My second A Christmas Carol retelling of the year! A very cute and fun rom-com - dual POV following a young woman who is visited by the hot ghost of a sailor meant to show her the error of her ways. But all is not as it seems and also he's hot, so you can imagine what happens there. I really enjoyed this!! 4 stars.

Hot to Go by Kristen Bailey

This was just SO much fun! Another dual POV romance, this time following two people who meet on holiday and form an instant connection but things go south and they lose touch ...until now. It's not particularly spicy, but it's really funny and the characters were well developed. Just an all round good time and 4 stars from me.

The Yacht Party by Benedict Brown

This was an ARC from netgalley; I loved the premise (any thriller which is set during a reunion of some kind is right up my street) but this fell kind of flat. It's told from three different POVs, one after the other, which meant the pacing felt a bit all over the place - the characters were all quite unlikeable, and the plot was vastly unbelievable. An easy read nevertheless but 3 stars from me.

Love in the Fast Lane by Tyra Prince

This year I officially became an F1 girlyyy and I am truly obsessed; however, this was my first motorsports romance - another netgalley ARC, and this time a YA. Is it the most realistic depiction of motorsports? Probably not, but it was really sweet and follows a girl who is headhunted to be an engineer for a team, only to have their two superstar drivers fighting over her. I flew through it and really enjoyed it. 4 stars!

Do You Remember? by Freida McFadden

I'm not a Freida lover, but I do find her popcorn thrillers are good to stick on as an audiobook while I'm working or doing bits around the house - which was exactly what I did with this one, which follows a woman who has complete amnesia, waking up every morning believing it's 7 years ago, not recognising her husband and so on. By it's very nature, it's repetitive; I feel like some authors would be able to write this without it being boring, but alas. The twist was pretty good, though. Overall it's 4 stars from me.

Skate It Till You Make It by Rufaro Faith Mazarura

A good old ice hockey romance but this time set at the Olympics?! Sensational, I absolutely adored this (another netgalley ARC) - it teeters on the edge of YA and adult, and only has the most teeeeeny bit of spice which is rare for a hockey romance so if that's something you're looking for, this is a winner. It follows an ice hockey star at her first games, who is fake dating a photographer who just so happens to be her biggest rival's brother... yikes! Actually 5 stars from me for the final read of 2025, how exciting.

So there's my final reading round up of 2025 - I read 107 books and of course, had the best time. I'm aiming for 100 books again in 2026, so we'll see if I hit that... Follow me on Goodreads if you're on there, I'd love to connect!