The first official update for the 2026 book bracket season! The ultimate goal is to find the top read of the year.  I am one of those annoyingly indecisive people who cannot commit to one favorite in any topic..ever. I cannot pinpoint my favorite food, music, musician, movie, book, etc. 

Doing a bracket competition like this is one of the hardest things I could do to my indecisive mind. Pick only one book a month? And then pick one book to reign supreme at the end of the year? I will absolutely have regrets and lots of words.

That is why I also wanted to write a blog post about each bracket. I can’t just let it sit and be okay with the decision!!

Here’s how this month went…

Round 1

Fair or not, these two got paired because they are both YA reads. Sure, one is a five star read for me and the other a three. It would have been better to pair Starcrossed with Darkness Falls, both a 3 star, relatively similar FMC, and was relatively unimpressive. That is exactly why I didn’t pair those two. No one wants to compare apples to apples. No contest. The Grace Year is the winner.

This one was a bit more difficult to judge. Virgin Flyer came with all the feels. Teo and Jack just melted your heart and had you rooting for the power of true love. Ruthless Heart was filled with dark romance, the mafia, betrayal, secrets, and a whole slew of bitter baggage being dragged around. And it will definitely float many boats, just not mine. Because it also used one of my biggest pet peeve tropes. I severely when situations and drama are a consequence of one or both characters not opening their mouths and communicating. I get it, there needs to be drama, but not at the cost of my patience and the stupidity of the characters.

Virgin Flyer wins by pulling on my heartstrings.

Okay, I’ll admit, this one was totally rigged. But if I had pitted The Damned against Brimstone, Brimstone would have won out. Then that would have meant Darkness Falls would go up against Burning Alive. Then it would have ultimately been Burning Alive against Brimstone, again, an unequal pairing, and we’re back to where we started. The outcome would not have changed.

I had never heard of the Sentinel Wars series before finding the first two books at a library book sale. I was pleasantly surprised. The Coven of Bones series has been hit or miss with me. Overall, I have like the series but can’t gush about it. I’ve even done a deep dive book review on a three in the series (just in case you’re interested.) Unfortunately, Burning Alive’s FMC was a total miss for me. As skeptical as I was going into The Damned, I ended up really liking it so… The Damned it is.

Round 2

Virgin Flyer may have been the cozy romance with plenty of steam we all need sometimes, but The Grace Year was YA’s version of The Handmaid’s Tale, and I am here for it. Personal preference (obviously), I am going to gravitate toward the one that really sucked me into their world and gave me an entire spectrum of emotions.

Initially, I thought this might be tough to pick one of these over the other. Both fantasies have great world-building, strong FMC, spice, plot-driven, and chemistry.  But Margot and Beelzebub from the Damned have nothing on Saeris and Kingfisher from Brimstone. Saeris would kick Margot’s ass. As badass as Beelzebub is, well, Kingfisher may not have a scythe, he’s definitely the more intimidating. Sexier? That’s for you to decide. Either way, Brimstone came out on top.

Final Round

Okay, this one was tough. And I thought about it for almost a week, going back and forth. They are so different.  Brimstone is on the verge of being one of my top epic fantasy series picks. The Grace Year is a standalone specializing in cult mentality and manipulation. I mean, what was I thinking, allowing these to go against each other? I wasn’t, that’s the point. It came down to one single factor, which one stayed with me the longest after finishing the book. The answer is…

And the winner is…

The Grace Year; the ending was not what I had expected. On one hand, there was a HEA. But was it really? It left just enough loose ends to keep the story alive in your mind. Imagining how their lives changed. How their entire world changed in the future. While yes, I am on pins and needles waiting for the conclusion to the Fae & Alchemy series in November 2026. But it didn’t evoke emotions and imagination as much as Grace Year did. Maybe it’s because I know there’s more coming? Whereas, The Grace Year, that’s it, there was nothing more for the author to write. She brilliantly left the rest up to the reader’s imagination to the reader, and I love that.

Let me know what you think? Do you agree?

We are one month closer to finding the ultimate read of the year!

Are you like me and can’t choose just one? I have an ongoing list of the top 26 reads of 2026. And it might not necessarily match the bracket…