What I read in December 2023

Hey guys, and welcome back to another book post. Today I'm going to share with you all the books I read in December. Honestly, I'm always shocked by how much reading I get done some months. I had two main goals this month, get as far into the Throne of Glass series as I can and catch up on the backlog of E-ARCs I have. I think I did pretty well overall. I finished two of the ToG books, got through 4 E-ARCs, and finished my book club book. I also, got through a few Christmas books! Overall I read 10 books and 1 novella. We have a lot to get through, so let's hop right into it!

Hunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton - ★★★½

I finished the Cat and Mouse duology. The first book ended on a huge cliffhanger, so I was eager to finish it. This book was much darker than the first one. Not just in a spicy sexual way, but just plain dark. I would read all the trigger warnings before reading this one. It was dark, heavy, and stressful. In the same breath, I would say that this book was much better than the first one. The plot flowed a lot better, there were no unnecessary plot points. The writing was better. Nonetheless, I still found this book to be way longer than it needed to be.

This book is interesting, because I've never read a book like it, but was it worth the hype? Uh...not really. If you're like me, and want to know what all the fuss is about, then maybe check it out. But it wasn't something that I kept thinking about once I finished it. So for sure, read at your own discretion.

The Christmas Wager by Holly Cassidy -★★★*

This was the usual fluffy Christmas read. It read like a Hallmark movie, in a good way. When it comes to Christmas books, I want something light, fluffy, not too long, and easy to get through. This book is all of those things. A career driven woman goes to a small town to buy a family business from a guy Jesse. They were both arguing about what price to sell the business for, so they make a deal.

The town has a yearly winter games competition, so they're both split off into different teams. Throughout the games, the MFC, Bella falls in love with the town and starts to care about everyone, including Jesse....you know how the rest goes. I recommend it for a fun winter read!

In the Weeds by B.K. Borrison - ★★★¾

After reading so many books on my Kindle, I decided to grab a book from my physical TBR. I thought the first book, Lovelight Farms, was a cute winter read. I was excited to hop back into the world, and follow around Beckett. I think I actually liked this book better. The story follows Beckett, who works as the head farmer at Lovelight Farms, and Evie, a travel influencer. The first story felt a lot cheesier than this one. This one talked about topics that resonated more with me. About trying to be happy as an adult, and allowing what brings you happiness to change as you get older.

This was another quick, short read, and I recommend it!

One Day in December by Josie Silver - ★★★¾

After In the Weeds, I was in the mood to read another Christmas book. This surprisingly had a lot of depth. It follows Laurie, who does not believe in love at first sight, until one day, she's on a bus and sees this guy out the window. Their eyes catch, and just as he was going to get on the bus, the bus takes off.

For a whole year, she searches for him, to no avail. When she finally gives up, her roommate brings the new guy she's dating, and it's him, Jack! What follows for Laurie, Sarah and Jack is ten years of friendship, heartbreak, missed opportunities, roads not taken, and destinies reconsidered. The story was beautifully told, even though it felt a bit slow at times. I always felt on edge, because I wasn't sure how it was going to end. Nonetheless, it's rare to find a Christmas book that covers so many different topics and makes me feel so many emotions.

The Faking Game by Portia MacIntosh - ★★★*

Now this was another book that took place during Christmas. I received this book as an E-ARC, and the summary never stated that this was a sequel. It follows the same couple from another book, and in this book they're broken up. I kind of wish I had the background relationship stuff. I feel like I jumped into a story mid-way, and even though I understood everything over time, I feel like I would have liked the story more if I read the first book.

I will say this book was complete miscommunication trope, which is my least favorite trope. If the main characters had a single honest conversation with one another, this whole book could have been avoided. As a couple that had been dating for years, I found it odd, that they made so many assumptions, instead of just having a conversation. Overall, it was entertaining, but nothing special.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas - ★★★★

Now, I finished A Court of Silver Flames in November, after reading a whole bunch of books in between, I decided to start the Throne of Glass series. I wasn't really expecting much from the first book, mainly because this series is older than ACOTAR. Honestly, I was wrong. While this book read a bit like a YA novel, in terms of descriptors and style of writing, I feel like this story was a lot more well though out, plot wise? The story flowed really well, and you were easily immersed into the world.

The main character was super likable, as were all of the side characters. Of course, in normal SJM style, the last 20% of the book was crazy. It ramped up significantly, and beautifully set up the second book in the series. 100% recommend.

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas - ★★★★★

The was the second book in the ToG series, and wow. The writing was significantly better, you already know the characters, so you're just falling in love with them more. From start to finish, this book had zero flaws. I loved it so much, and it constantly had me at the edge of my seat. After finishing this one, I immediately started Heir of Fire (which I actually put down to finish my Book Club book, and some other ARCs). I don't know how the book could be leaps and bounds better from the first one, when the first one was already really good, but it was.

Love Interest by Claire Gilmore - ★★★★*

This was a work rivals to lovers romance. The story follows Casey who works in the finance department, and after working at her company for a while, she thought she would apply for a project manager position that has just opened up. She feels really confident about getting the job, until the job is offered to the board chairman's son, Alex.

Everyone loves him, except for her. She hates that he got the job, because of his father. But things aren't always what they seem. And when they are forced to work on a project together, it all because clearer to her. There is more to Alex than being the boss' son.

While this story follows a very cliche plot, it also somehow talks about really important topics. It had a good amount of depth to it, and it really made you feel like you knew these characters well.

Everyone Here is Lying by Shari Lapena - ★★★★¼

This was my book club book, and it was for sure my favorite one. This was a thriller, and I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen. It was well written, the pacing was good, and it kept you on the edge of your seat. What more could you ask for in a thriller? Of course you're not going to get intense dept within characters, but that's not what makes a good thriller for me. Highly recommend this one!

Never Ever Getting Back Together by Phoebe MacLead - ★★★*

This was a childhood classmates to lovers to enemies to friends to lovers story. The story follows Jess. When she was in high school she was obsessed with a popular boy named Jamie. One day she went to a high school party, and after Jamie miraculously broke up with his girlfriend, they flirt a little and sleep with one another. He said he would text to plan a date for them to go one, only for her to receive a text from him stating he got back together with his ex.

From that moment on Jess hated Jamie. She planned to never see him again, but unfortunately the career path she chose thought differently. 10 years later, Jess runs a successful bakery and catering business with her business partner. After signing on for a wedding, she runs into no one other than Jamie. And she lets him have it. She tells him exactly what he did to her, and he feels awful. So he does everything in his power to make her think differently of him. Thus begins their love story.

It was pretty cheesy and cliche. There were a lot of moments I was kinda over the story, and ready to start reading something else. Overall, it wasn't anything too special, but it wasn't terrible.

Happy Again by Jennifer E. Smith - ★★★★

This was a Novella sequel to This is What Happy Looks Like. I genuinely really enjoy Jennifer E. Smith's books. And I was cleaning out my Kindle, and saw that I had this on there. I was really excited when I found what this was about. It continues off about a year after the initial book, and it gave me everything I wanted. You ever read a book, and you wonder what's going to happen to the characters after you finish the last page? Well this is what that novella is. While it was only about 20-30 pages long, I was so happy it existed. I was so happy to be back in that world with those characters.

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There we are! Wrapping up 2023 books. I know I only did these wrap ups for the final 3 months, but I am planning on continuing these in 2024. What did you read in December? What book do you think I should prioritize in January?