I had high hopes for 2026 reads and watches. Those haven’t gone very well, still here’s a little bit on stuff that stood out.
Maggie the Undying #1: This Kingdom will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews
Ilona Andrews never disappoints. This book was so amazing and so much fun! Definitely one of my top 10 reads for 2026. The audiobook narrated by Kristen Sieh probably made the book stand out even more, so special shout-out to her.
This book plays on the “Isekai” trope, where a real world character falls into a fictional world and now must play by the rules of the fictional world while also managing to survive there. I really like this trope and have seen it in Asian TV dramas, but never before in books.
Earth-born Maggie finds herself transported to Rellas, a war-torn fictional world from her favorite SFF books. If she is not careful, she might just get killed. Except… she cannot die permanently… AND she knows what’s going to happen next, so that’s pretty great, right?
Nope. Just when you think that Maggie’s victory if guaranteed, plot twists arrive! Because not dying and knowing a book’s contents come with their own sets of problems.
I have not seen a single reader who did not like this book. Do yourself a favor and read it NOW. Yes, it ends on a cliffhanger, but the found family trope, the ensemble cast is so damn good… Absolutely amazing!