LIFE'S A PEARL

My December reading started off slow but has surely gained. I read 7 books so far this month and have 5 reviews to share.

I read both of my fable book club picks for the month. A Dose of Romance Book Club finished off the year strong with another 5-star read! My mind was blown by the Pearls of Wisdom pick.

I’ll post an in-depth review of my December nonfiction book club pick, Mindset by Carol S. Dweck, in January. Last week I shared all my thoughts and takeaways on November’s selection Life in Five Senses by Gretchen Rubin in case you missed it.

I made progress on my holiday TBR and wrapped up some loose ends from other reading challenges this year.

Here’s what I’ve read so far in December.

Mid December Reading Recap:

Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh

Rating: 5 stars

Steam Level: 1.5

This book was a triple whammy! It’s from my holiday TBR, it’s available on Kindle Unlimited, and I chose it as the December pick for A Dose of Romance Book Club over on Fable.

Book Blurb:

“Molly and Andrew are just trying to get home to Ireland for the holidays, when a freak snowstorm grounds their flight.

Nothing romantic has ever happened between them: they’re friends and that’s all. But once a year, for the last ten years, Molly has spent seven hours and fifteen minutes sitting next to Andrew on the last flight before Christmas from Chicago to Dublin, drinking terrible airplane wine and catching up on each other’s lives. In spite of all the ways the two friends are different, it’s the holiday tradition neither of them has ever wanted to give up.

Molly isn’t that bothered by Christmas, but—in yet another way they’re total opposites—Andrew is a full-on fanatic for the festive season and she knows how much getting back to Ireland means to him. So, instead of doing the sane thing and just celebrating the holidays together in America, she does the stupid thing. The irrational thing. She vows to get him home. And in time for his mam’s famous Christmas dinner.

The clock is ticking. But Molly always has a plan. And—as long as the highly-specific combination of taxis, planes, boats, and trains all run on time—it can’t possibly go wrong.

What she doesn’t know is that, as the snow falls over the city and over the heads of two friends who are sure they’re not meant to be together, the universe might just have a plan of its own…”

My Thoughts

I loved this one!

It had all the holiday cheer I wanted with travel mishaps, two fun families, lots of laughs, magical Christmas settings, and a believable and swoon worthy friends to lovers story.

Molly and Andrew’s relationship was such a fun mix of humor, sparks of attraction, and unconditional love and support. They had great banter!

It felt a bit slow burn but their caution made the relationship development feel all the more real.

I loved the way the story unfolds with the present timeline and flashbacks to their past flights.

It would have been fun to get Andrew’s POV too.

I’m looking forward to checking out Walsh’s other holiday romance – Snowed In – as it features a character we met in this one. 

Reading Life Insight

I shared a lot about my original beloved Kindle Touch when I was on bookstagram.

I got her the summer of 2012 and she’s still going strong. However my highlights and notes stopped transferring over at some point in this last year. I’ve been reading for my fable book clubs and buddy reads through the kindle app on my phone which is not ideal as I’m easily distracted by texts or google rabbit holes.

So I finally got a new kindle on Black Friday!!!

This was the first book I fully digitally annotated on my new kindle! It was an amazing experience!

I can’t write notes quite as quickly as I can on my phone but to have it all on one device with no distractions is worth a little patience. It’s certainly much faster than trying to type out notes on my old kindle – there was just no way.

For those of you who may not be aware of the annotating features on kindle, here’s more information about it. At the bottom of that article is a link to access your own notebook if you use a kindle or the kindle app.

Questions to Consider for Your Own Reading Life: Are you an annotator? Have you tried doing this digitally with your ebooks? Which format do you enjoy annotating the most?

The Starfish Sisters by Barbara O’Neal

Rating: 3.5 stars

Barbara O’Neal was one of the 12 authors I wanted to read again this year on my 2023 reading life bucket list. I previously read and really enjoyed her book When We Believed in Mermaids. I wasn’t giving star ratings to books at the time I read that one but it would probably have been between a 4 and 4.5-star read.

Both the ebook and audio of this one are currently available on Kindle Unlimited.

Book Blurb:

“Phoebe and Suze used to be closer than sisters. Growing up in a quiet and wildly beautiful coastal town in Oregon, they shared everything. Until the secrets they couldn’t share threatened their bond and complicated their lives.

Now, decades later, Suze, a famous actress desperate for safe haven following a brutal attack, is back in town. Phoebe, a successful illustrator and fabric designer, has discovered keeping a secret means she can’t let anyone get close, aside from her beloved granddaughter, Jasmine. As Jasmine’s move to London looms, Phoebe doesn’t know how to face the return of her old friend and all the drama she brings.

But Phoebe let Suze down once before and she’s not sure she can do it again. Can the two women who’ve never confronted their past do it now when the choice is between healing and survival?”

My Thoughts

I didn’t love this book as much as When We Believed in Mermaids but I still mostly enjoyed my reading experience.

I didn’t love the inclusion of the pandemic in this story. I’m not sure I’m ready for that content yet. At least the level of impact and reflection seen here. Though I did enjoy some of Jasmine’s thoughts on it. Like how she missed the way it “forced” time together with her closest loved ones. In her case she spent quarantine with her grandma.

The book was also very heavy on religious fundamentalism and abuse. I had just finished a heavy hitting book with that same type of content – Midnight is the Darkest Hour (4.5 stars) and didn’t really mean to get into another one when I picked this up.

There were some really great life insights and wisdom at the end of the book but it was a heart wrenching and sometimes slow journey to get there. This book had me hugging my son extra tight!

While this wasn’t a romance it does contain two love stories and I’m all for reading about older heroines finding love and enjoying the best sex ever later in life (even if it’s not on page)! I wish we had more romances featuring older heroines or just older couples.

Overall I was happy with the ending, the possibility of new beginnings, and the message that it’s never too late.

Questions to Consider for Your Own Reading Life: Who is an author that you read for a second time this year? How was your reading experience? Did it exceed your expectations, disappoint, or stay on par with your first experience? Do you keep a list of authors you’d like to read again?

Christmas in Quincy by Devney Perry

Rating: 3 stars

Steam Level: 2

This is another Christmas romance from my holiday TBR that is currently available on KU.

I heard great things about this novella on romance booktube. I was excited that it featured a bodyguard romance and couldn’t wait to get back into the town of Quincy, Montana.

Perry’s Eden series takes place in this town and I enjoyed two of those books earlier this year – Indigo Ridge (4 stars) and Juniper Hill (4.5 stars).

Book Blurb:

“Cleo Hillcrest would rather cancel Christmas than endure another one of her father’s pretentious holiday parties, making small talk with his rich colleagues and her stepmother’s shallow friends. She’s leaving home to spend three peaceful and quiet days in Quincy, Montana, trading gifts and grandeur for room service and slippers.

But she should have expected her family to thwart her plans. The minute she finishes unpacking her suitcase at the quaint Eloise Inn, Austin Myles knocks on her room door.

As the head of her father’s security team, Austin’s been ordered to drag Cleo back to California. Only when she refuses to leave, he has no choice but to stay. After a Christmas in Quincy, everything between them is about to change.”

My Thoughts

First off I’m in love with the covers of this entire series! They are gorgeous!

That said this was pretty disappointing. Maybe it was my off mood the week I read this one. It’s a short book but it took me several days to read.

I just wanted more. More angst and emotion from their supposedly forbidden love. Or more development in their connection in the present situation.

The way they both handled their attraction to one another (for the 4 years prior to this story!) was dumb and immature. Austin was basically really mean to Cleo for years to keep her at a distance.

But then we’re supposed to believe from a single day in these circumstances in Montana that all is forgiven and they’re completely in love. There weren’t even flashbacks to support this. It felt very instalove.

The best parts of this story were seeing the hotel, The Eloise, at Christmas and glimpses of other Eden siblings, mainly Knox and Mateo. I remember Cleo being referenced in Knox’s story, Juniper Hill, so it was fun to see him in this one!

Reading Life Insight

Another part that annoyed me in this book was how Perry skipped over their first kiss with a cut to the next morning rather than show it on page, where we can see their thoughts, feelings, and reactions.

It reminded me that she did this a lot in Indigo Ridge too and it bothered me with that one.

I want to love her books but I don’t know that her writing style is for me.

Still I will probably keep going with the Eden series because I’m curious about the rest of the siblings and I do really enjoy this setting. Obviously those books have still been in the 4 star range for me.

But this book was a reminder of why the series hasn’t been at the top of my priorities.

Questions to Consider for Your Own Reading Life: When do you decide an author isn’t for you? If your feelings on an author are borderline, how many opportunities do you give them of trying their books? 

Shadow’s Claim by Kresley Cole

Rating: 4.5 stars

Steam Level: 4

A couple of months ago I picked up the audiobooks for the two Immortals After Dark novels I skipped over when I binged the series in April. I guess the Dacian novels are now considered part of the regular series but originally they were going to be a spin off series. It’s a little confusing.

Anyway when I struggled to pick a new audiobook earlier this month, I remembered these and December seemed like a great month to tie up that series.

Book Blurb:

“HE WON’T BE DENIED…

Trehan Daciano, known as the Prince of Shadows, has spent his life serving his people—striking in the night, quietly executing any threat to their realm. The coldly disciplined swordsman has never desired anything for himself – until he beholds Bettina, the sheltered ward of two of the Lore’s most fearsome villains.

SHE’S BOUND TO ANOTHER…

Desperate to earn her guardians’ approval after a life-shattering mistake, young Bettina has no choice but to marry whichever suitor prevails—even though she’s lost her heart to another. Yet one lethal competitor, a mysterious cloaked swordsman, invades her dreams, tempting her with forbidden pleasure.

A BATTLE FOR HER BODY AND SOUL

Even if Trehan can survive the punishing contests to claim her as his wife, the true battle for Bettina’s heart is yet to come. And unleashing a millennium’s worth of savage need will either frighten his Bride away – or stoke Bettina’s own desires to a fever pitch….“

My Thoughts

I’ll never know how I would have felt about this book if I’d read it in series order but my reading experience at this time was amazing!

I forgot how much I love this world. It felt like such a gift to immerse myself in the Lore and Cole’s writing again. It didn’t help with my cravings to reread the whole series again already though.

This was another tandem read for me where I listened to the audiobook – I love Robert Petkoff’s narration so much! – as I read along in the ebook. This is how I read most of the Immortals After Dark series back in April.

Trehan was a swoon worthy hero. I adored how devoted he was to winning Bettina over and his complete focus on her safety, recovery, comfort, and pleasure. Though I can see why some readers aren’t fans of Bettina, most of the time I liked her even if she lacked the badass qualities of many of Cole’s heroines.

I loved all the cameos of some of our beloved Loreans. We get to see Sabine, Lothaire, Ellie, and even a glimpse of Nix guiding fate in the background. Lothaire and Ellie’s story is taking place concurrently with this one.

This story also impacts how readers will view certain characters in Dark Skye and Wicked Abyss. For instance I like Morgana a lot more after reading this. Originally during my read of Dark Skye I was like who is this crazy woman?

This book definitely psyched me up for learning more about Cas’s story in Shadow’s Seduction, our first MM romance of the series.

Other Books in the Series that I Read this Month:

• Shadow’s Seduction (4 stars)

Questions to Consider for Your Own Reading Life: Who are your favorite authors where reading one of their new books or an undiscovered backlist title feels like a gift? Do you purposely hold onto some of these to savor them?  

The Christmas Guest by Peter Swanson

Rating: 4.5 stars

I almost added this one to my holiday TBR but thought my library hold wouldn’t come through in time. Happily it did!

I previously really enjoyed Swanson’s duet, The Kind Worth Killing (4.5 stars) and The Kind Worth Saving (4 stars).

Book Blurb:

“Ashley Smith, an American art student in London for her junior year, was planning on spending Christmas alone, but a last-minute invitation from fellow student Emma Chapman brings her to Starvewood Hall, country residence of the Chapman family. The Cotswold manor house, festooned in pine boughs and crammed with guests for Christmas week, is a dream come true for Ashley. She is mesmerized by the cozy, firelit house, the large family, and the charming village of Clevemoor, but also by Adam Chapman, Emma’s aloof and handsome brother.

But Adam is being investigated by the local police over the recent brutal slaying of a girl from the village, and there is a mysterious stranger who haunts the woodland path between Starvewood Hall and the local pub. Ashley begins to wonder what kind of story she is actually inhabiting. Is she in a grand romance? A gothic tale? Or has she wandered into something far more sinister and terrifying than she’d ever imagined?

Over thirty years later the events of that horrific week are revisited, along with a diary from that time. What began in a small English village in 1989 reaches its ghostly conclusion in modern-day New York, many Christmas seasons later.”

My Thoughts

I can’t say too much about this one without giving things away, but this was a very satisfying read!

Novellas can be hit or miss for me but this was a great experience. It felt like a full and complete story in terms of character and plot development.

In typical Swanson style, the characters were mostly terrible though still interesting and compelling.

It had fun twists and a great setting – both creepy and festive.

I did find the time period it was set in interesting. That it was before the development of DNA testing was brought up multiple times.

I still have a question about the ending but I think that was the author’s point so well done!

Reading Life Insight

It was fun to switch up my festive reading from my usual holiday romances to something darker and murdery!

I really enjoyed taking in a story set during the winter holidays with opposite vibes to my go-to tastes. This was a situation where pushing outside my comfort zone really worked. That’s easier to try with a known author and a shorter story.

I want to look for more holiday reads similar to this next year.

I also loved that this novella length book still delivered a story that felt full and complete. That’s something I struggle to find with novellas.

Questions to Consider for Your Own Reading Life: Do you like to read out of your comfort zone for your holiday picks? What are your go-to genres and how do you mix them up? 

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What’s on your mid December reading recap?