January 2026 list by Bonnie Bradford |
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This list has been renamed Clean & Gentle. It will continue to be updated the first of every month. Please enjoy these clean reads! |
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Dinner at the Night Library
by Hika Harada
The Night Library is no ordinary library.
Within it are found the rarest and most unusual collections – the books of deceased famous writers:
the books they wrote;
the books that inspired them;
the books they loved.
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Echoes of the Sea
by Sarah M. Eden
When actor Kipling Summerfield is swept two hundred years back in time, he meets Miss Amelia Archibald, bound by her grandfather's will. As Kip and Amelia work to secure her future, Kip realizes the truth of his situation and their growing love destined to endure through time. Storm Tide series.
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Everything is Probably Fine
by Julia London
After forty-two years, Lorna Lott is ready to learn where she's going with her life--even if it means revisiting all the places she wishes she hadn't been. It'll be fine.
Probably.
Maybe.
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The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park
by Michiko Aoyama
Nestled at the bottom of an apartment block Advance Hill is the children's playground in Hinode Park. If you look to the side, standing on stubby legs, is a hippo. Its upturned eyes give it a teary look, yet for decades, its quiet power has sustained the hearts of one community.
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In the Time of Five Pumpkins
by Alexander McCall Smith
The rains are coming, but not just yet. When they do, there will be green shoots of growth throughout Botswana. Pumpkins will flourish. But there is a surprise in store. This is obviously a case that will require tact--which of course is a quality Mma Ramotswe has in abundance. No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.
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A Matter of Pedigree
by Leslie Meier
In an upscale Rhode Island enclave newly wealthy empty-nester-turned-sleuth Carole Capobianco and her nosy dog, Poopsie, solve a baffling murder.
Carole and Poopsie Mystery series.
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Murder in an Italian Piazza
by Michael Falco
The sea, sunshine, and sleuthing have given Bria Bartolucci a new lease on life since her husband’s passing, and her southern Italian B&B is running as smoothly as her love life. But, just like the Amalfi Coast, some relationships can be rocky—and some can be downright deadly. Bria Bartolucci Mystery series.
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A Perilous Plot
by Lorna Barrett
Everything was going great for sisters Tricia and Angelica, right up until their estranged mother, Sheila, arrives with an urn she says contains the remains of their father. Now they can't help but wonder how many more secrets their mother was keeping--and whether that includes murder. Booktown Mystery series.
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The Red Cottage
by Hannah Linder
She forgot she loved him.
He would die to make her remember.
Relish another Gothic Style Regency from Hannah Linder in this tale of a maiden whose memories and dreams are brutally stolen.
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Rescued Heart: The Story of Sarah
by Angela Hunt
In Ur of the Chaldees, Ishcah faces the daunting prospect of marrying Abram, a man she has never met. Their union tests her as she grapples with uncertainty and Abram's devotion to an unseen God--entirely unlike the idols she has worshipped all her life.
Matriarchs series.
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The Rules of Falling for You
by Mollie Rushmeyer
Podcaster Zoe Dufour dreams of finding love--why not at a Regency-themed singles retreat? With her best friend's brother, Harrison, in tow, Zoe realizes her checklist for the perfect match is leading her astray. Will she be willing to rewrite the rules and take a chance on the person who has been there all along?
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Someone Is After Lulu Dupree
by Josi S. Kilpack
For LuLu Dupree, what she doesn’t remember might just be the death of her.
After a traumatic brain injury, LuLu's peaceful new life in Sedona shatters as deadly threats force her to confront her buried past and unravel a dangerous mystery. Lulu Dupree series.
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Whispers of Shadowbrook House
by Rebecca Anderson
London, 1880. In the crumbling Shadowbrook House, governess Pearl Ellicott and heir Oliver Waverly unravel a haunting mystery while confronting their growing forbidden love.
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The Women of Oak Ridge
by Michelle Shocklee
In the hills of Tennessee, two women work at a Manhattan Project site during World War II, uncovering truths that irrevocably change their lives.
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