December is rarely a productive reading month for me because of how busy Christmas is, so I'm genuinely shocked by how many books I got through last month. Somehow, I finished thirteen, and was deep into two others come midnight on New Year's Eve!
Sure, some of them were novellas, and I listened to a lot of audiobooks while working through my Christmas to-do-list, but I'm still amazed, considering I dozed off reading so many times from being so damn tired. It was a great end to my reading year, and bumped up my reading goal nicely.
Here's how I faired in December:
December Reading Stats:
📖 13 books completed, 2 started.
📖 2 hardbacks.
📖 2 paperbacks.
📱 2 ebooks.
🎧 7 audiobooks
📖 1823 pages (3518 pages including audiobooks).
🎧 49.95 hours listened at 1.1x or 1.2x speed.
📖 2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reads!
📖 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reads!
📖 Average rating: 3.54 stars.
📖 Average book length: 293 pages.
📖 Average time to finish: 7 days.
I read in a variety of formats, and even discovered a couple of new five star reads!
I Read:
📖Holly by Adalyn Grace. 5⭐
📖A Heart for Christmas by Sophie Jomain. 2⭐
📖Good Spirits by B. K. Borison. 4⭐
📖The Gingerbread Bakery by Laurie Gilmore. 4⭐
📱I Found Christmas Lights Slithering Up My Street by Ben Farthing. 2⭐
📱A Crown of Ruin by Jennifer L. Armentrout. 5⭐
🎧 Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline. 3.5 ⭐
🎧A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas. (10th Anniversary Edition). 4⭐
🎧Spectacular by Stephanie Garber. 3⭐ (Reread).
🎧Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. 4⭐ (Reread).
🎧A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas. (Graphic Audio). 4⭐ (Reread).
🎧Let it Snow by John Green. 2.5 ⭐
🎧Midnight in Everwood by M. A. Kuzniar. 3⭐ (Reread).
And I Started:
🎧Holly by Adalyn Grace.
📖A Court of Sugar and Spice by Rebecca F. Kenney.
I went seasonal for December, and read mostly cosy Christmas-themed books to fully immerse myself in the festive spirit, and stay on-theme for my reading challenge. There was a lot less fantasy than I'd usually choose, and more contemporary romance than I ever go for, as well as a little bit of sci-fi, and horror, but it was good to get out of my fantasy rabbit hole and mix things up a little.
Favourite Reads: My favourite book of the month was definitely Holly- the new festive novella from the Belladonna series. I loved it so much that I dare say it's one of my all-time favourite Christmas stories- and I knew that just from one read! I loved finding out what happened years on from the end of Wisteria, and seeing all the main characters all together again. The story was really fun, festive and cosy, but it didn't lack substance, and was well balanced with the kind of gothic fantasy plot that did the series justice. I wrote a full review of it here, if you want to hear about it in more detail.
My most surprising favourite of December- and probably of the last decade- was Good Spirits. I wasn't expecting to like it because I'm not the biggest fan of contemporary romance- in fact, I usually hate it- but I ended up loving it. It's a grumpy x sunshine, enemies-to-lovers Christmas Carol retelling that sees a cheerful, twenty-something antiques dealer visited by a grumpy but hot Irish ghost one December eve, who has to help her save her soul by showing her the error of her ways. The problem is, they keep getting under each others' skin, and they can't quite figure out what she's done wrong. In fact, Harriet's only guilty of being a people-pleaser, loving sweets and pyjamas a little too much, and believing she deserves the emotional abuse from her family. Then she and Nolan, Mr. Hot Irish Ghost, start getting sent to visions of his past as well as hers, and it becomes clear that his mission isn't as straight-forward as they thought. And as he and Harriet work together to find the answers, of course, they realise that perhaps they don't hate each other that much, after all. If only Nolan didn't have to wrap things up, and leave by Christmas Eve...
I was surprised to discover that the book was more than just festive fluff. The abuse Harriet had endured from her emotionally manipulative mother was devastating, and really well executed- especially in the way that Harriet believed it was her fault, and continued to make herself small and obedient in her family's company to try to earn their approval. My heart broke for her when she never got it, and there were small aspects of her story that I found myself relating to. I loved the relationship which developed between her and Nolan, and how he helped raise her up by showing her how terribly they'd treated her, and how she was lovely just the way she was. His story as a ghost and a human also tugged at my heart strings, and I may have cried just a little bit over the twist at the end. My only main irritation with the book was that Nolan sounded more like a modern American than an Irish fisherman from 100+ years ago. I suspect the author and her editor haven't spent much, if any, time around the Irish in their lives. Other than that, it was a solid four-star read.
I also loved the new novella from the Blood and Ash series, A Crown of Ruin, which the author surprised us with by dropping as an ebook for free over Christmas! (I believe it's still free from all the usual ebook places, so grab it while you can). It bridges the gap between the latest book, The Primal of Blood and Bone, and the upcoming finale, which is to be released this summer. It was really fun to experience more of Casteel in his 'chaos era', and after the messy ending of Primal, it also made me feel better about certain character dynamics, which would've otherwise left me fretting until I got the final book in my hands. (Whatever. I'm heavily invested in these characters after six books)! It gives me hope that perhaps rifts can be mended, and all is not lost after all. Although, I think things are going to get much more devastating before they get better...
Favourite Listens: Most of my audio reads ended up being rereads because I didn't have the budget for many new books last month. (I really must sign up to my library this year so I can use Libby). Some were a little mediocre, and some, like A Court of Frost and Starlight, were a good time- even if it was mostly just fluff, was the worst book in its series, and had the most questionable s3x scene ever... (If you know, you know). The Graphic Audio version was my favourite- it has a full cast of narrators, music, and sound effects, but I also tried the new 10th anniversary edition, which was narrated by Elizabeth Evans who voiced the original unabridged audiobooks, and loved that version, too. I've become so familiar with her voice from working my way through the Sarah J. Maas audiobooks that listening to her talk has become kinda comforting.
Least Favourites: My least favourite was probably A Heart for Christmas. I think I'm just a little too old to find most contemporary teen romances enjoyable these days. Plus the writing and plot were both terrible, and it annoyed me how everyone thought they had a right to tell the chronically ill FMC- who was recovering from a heart transplant- how she should be living her life. Just... no! Why do so many people like to offer their unsolicited advice to chronically ill people when they've never gone through it themselves?! Two years is not a long time after major surgery, and if someone wants to be cautious and follow medical advice so they don't die, they have every right to! I sure wouldn't feel reassured to have a teenage ski-instructor without any medical training monitor my tachycardic heart rate on his phone and let him decide if I was well, while he guilted me into going skiing, even if he was my crush. Her family and friends were the worst. The only reason I tried it in the first place was because I loved the Advent concept of tearing open a chapter a day. And it was such an enjoyable way to count down to Christmas... I just wish the story had been better.
I also found the narration to Let it Snow irritating, and while the first and third stories weren't bad, I just couldn't bring myself to care about the characters or their angst. And I Found Christmas Lights Slithering Up My Street was just plain weird- and not in a good way! But you win some, you lose some, I guess. I didn't expect all thirteen to be winners, and at least other books I read last month were better.
But here's hoping my choices are stronger this month.
Did you read anything good over Christmas?
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