 And, just like that, we’ve closed the chapter on the first month of 2026. Where did January go? While I expected an uptick in content, life and work kind of got the better of me, so it didn’t quite go as planned. However, that’s the beauty of TaleInferno—it’s a place for me to share my love for all things storytelling in a no-expectations, creative environment, so while there wasn’t as much content as expected, I still had a lot of fun. With that being said, let’s wrap it up!  What was published on TaleInferno I published two book reviews, which completed The Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros as it currently stands (noting I’m waiting with bated breath for the release of book 4!). You can read the full reviews by clicking on the links below: I also published the very first standalone blog/vlog—huzzah! I originally had planned to do a 101 on some basic punctuation, and then felt inspired by the topic of beginnings. Why? Well, because it’s the beginning of the year, of course! So, instead of a ‘101’, y’all got a ‘Let’s talk about it’ blog and vlog! You can view it by clicking on the link below: Due to how busy things got for me over January—both personally and work-related—I was only able to get two episodes out for the story analysis journey of Dragon Age: Origins. You can view these by clicking on the links below:
I can say that, as I type this, the next episode has been recorded and is in the process of being edited. Make sure you go subscribe to the TaleInferno YouTube channel so you don’t miss out! And, if you follow along on social media, you will have also seen a couple of clips published, including a video from Episode 10 of the Dragon Age: Origins playthrough, and some ‘impressions before reading…’ and ‘feelings after reading…’ videos. It’s been a lot of fun coming up with these shortform videos, and I look forward to capturing more things like this in future, so that when things do get busy, we’re all still connecting with our love for storytelling!  What I finished reading in January I got through three books in January, which I’m pretty happy with after being so busy with life and work. However, I’ll admit, reading helps calm me a lot, so it really shouldn’t be that surprising! The first book I finished in January was Alchemised by SenLinYu, and let’s just say… I don’t think I’ve emotionally recovered, and I don’t think I ever will. This easily got a 5/5 from me, which sets the bar really high for every other book I’m reading this year! An incredibly tragic tale, all while weaving through a story of romance in a world of awful, awful things. I think I’m going to struggle with writing the review for that book because I just don’t think I’ll find the right words to truly express all my emotions. I then moved on to Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. And, I could not help but laugh that it starts off with a guy with no memory of recent events. Like, it’s the same as the beginning of Alchemised! Anyway, a very different vibe to Alchemised, Project Hail Mary took my sad, sad emotions and gave me a good chuckle and had me so, so drawn into the sci-fi world. It’s been a long time since I read a sci-fi book, and while it took me a bit of time to get into it (about halfway, honestly), I enjoyed where I ended up. So, I gave it a 3.75/5. That then led me to Robin by Rose Harvey, which is the first book in Harvey’s The Order series. As you can tell, I’m a fantasy girly, so after finishing a sci-fi, I jumped right back into my comfort zone! Robin is a shorter fantasy book than what I would usually read, so I struggled a little bit with the quick shifts between events, emotions and reactions, particularly as it goes through quite a bit for such a short story. However, Harvey’s style suits the book, and I loved the unique premise of the Order of Song, travelling between realms via song, and how the travel works with the movement of portals. So, I gave it a solid 3.25/5. Honestly, it’s really interesting, and I’m having a really good time with the next book, Nightwalker, which is from a different character’s perspective. The changing of protagonists between books is something I love in a series—it adds a whole new layer of depth. I also love it in my videogames too (looking at you, Dragon Age). With that being said, this leads me to some of the shortform videos I’ve been publishing to the TaleInferno socials, specifically Facebook and Instagram. As mentioned in my last wrap up, I tried out something new, which was publishing a video of my ‘first impressions’ of Alchemised before I started reading it. In January, I followed this up with my ‘feelings after reading… Alchemised by SenLinYu’ video, which gave me the opportunity to provide my raw, unfiltered feelings straight after closing the book (or, I should say, after I had finished crying my eyes out). These before-and-after videos are a lot of fun, and allow me to give y’all my first impressions (so you can laugh at me if I’m totally wrong/off) as well as provide a quick, short review and rating of the books prior to getting a longer form review later down the track. So, if you don’t follow along on the TaleInferno social media, I’ve listed each video below from the TaleInferno Instagram account, so you can check these out. And, if you don’t want to miss out on these videos, make sure to follow along on either Facebook or Instagram!
 What’s coming up in February?
Now that we’ve finished reviewing the books that currently make up The Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros, we’ll be moving into reviewing the Black Death duology by Minette Walters! I wasn’t quite sure what to expect heading into the first book, The Last Hours, but ended up being pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed both books. So, I’m really looking forward to diving into those reviews. Then, I’ll follow it up with a video to wrap that series up. Following from this series will be The Tethered Citadel trilogy by David Hair. I was intrigued by this series as I loved the The Moontide Quartet, and I’m glad I went on the journey with it (although one book did take me well over a month to get through). Will I get all those books’ and series’ reviews published in February? We’ll see how we go. As per the usual, I’ll be continuing with my story analysis journey of the Dragon Age series. As mentioned earlier, I’m already editing Episode 12 of my Dragon Age: Origins playthrough, so that should come out sooner rather than later to the TaleInferno YouTube channel. I am determined to get another videogame playthrough started as well, however we’ll see how it goes. I’ve been listening to a lot of Assassin’s Creed videogame soundtracks recently, so I’m really wanting to jump into that series, but I also want to get into The Outer Worlds. Anyway, we’ll see what happens in February and, if I do get to start another playthrough, what choice I end up making. I’ve got a couple of throwback book reviews that I’m interested at looking at this month. I can’t decide if I’ll go with a book that I found was one of the hardest books I’ve ever read, or a book about bike riding. Maybe both will get their time in the sun this month? Keep an eye out on the website and social channels and see what I decide to go with! After the fun time I had with my first ‘Let’s talk about it’ video about beginnings, we’ll see what else sparks my interest and inspiration in February. Maybe it’ll be this elusive 101 video I keep mentioning, or maybe something else will get my attention? All in all, February 2026 is lining up to be a month of… decisions, which isn’t great for me because I’m incredibly indecisive. But, that might be great for you because that means I may just try and do it all! While there may not have been as much content as I anticipated this month, I still had a great time, and I hope you did too. And, while there are a few decisions I need to make in February, I’m excited nonetheless of the endless possibilities and opportunities for TaleInferno. If you want to keep up to date with what comes out in February 2026, follow on social media, subscribe to the YouTube channel, check out TaleInferno on The StoryGraph and Goodreads, and all that other cool stuff. I’ve linked it all below for your ease: Here’s to an exciting February 2026!
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AuthorCharlotte is a lover of all thing’s related to storytelling. When she’s not working, you can find her buried in a book or spending too much time completing side quests in videogames rather than focussing on the main story. Archives
February 2026
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