what i read in december
It’s almost 2025 and I feel like 2024 went by so fast. Even my daughter noticed it, too. It’s been a not-too-great of a year for us in my house. We had many moments this year thinking it can’t get any worse and it always felt like it did. My daughter and I have started looking for the little things to enjoy and have been spending more time together recently to do it. The week leading up to Christmas has had many moments of joy.
One of our holiday traditions is to eat garlic pork every Christmas Eve. It’s a tradition my grandpa’s second wife brought into our family when they married. Her family was from Guyana and it’s a traditional meal for the holidays. We look forward to it every year because it’s so delicious. If you get a chance to try it, do it. Even though it’s spicy, the children love it in my family.
We have no New Year’s Eve plans as of yet, but I’m picturing a nice night of laughter, dinner, and doing the countdown as a family. I hope it comes to fruition.
What is everyone’s New Year’s Eve plans?
I omitted pictures of covers this week since there were a few too many books to fit them all. I linked to the Goodreads page of each book.
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years #1) - Gregory Maguire: 4/5 stars. It took me a bit to get through this, but it was very good. Don’t go into it thinking it’s like the Broadway show.
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones - James Clear: 4/5 stars. I have a lot of bad habits, so I picked this up from my work and flew through it. James makes each chapter quick to read with many exercises you can do.
A Cross-Country Christmas (Road Trip Romance #1) - Courtney Walsh: 3/5 stars. A very meh romance for the holidays. Enemies-to-lovers, but nothing that made it unique.
Faking Under the Mistletoe - Ashley Shepherd: 5/5 stars. A slow burn romance that I absolutely loved. I couldn’t get enough of this book.
Tis the Season for Revenge (Seasons of Revenge #1) - Morgan Elizabeth: 3/5 stars. I found this book super cringey, but it was an okay read.
Booked for the Holidays - Chelsea Curto: 4/5 stars. A very cute slow burn romance that was surprisingly spicy. I really enjoyed this book and have added it to my list of Christmas reads to pick up each year.
How My Neighbor Stole Christmas - Meghan Quin: 2/5 stars. I saw this book everywhere on my social media so I picked it up on Kindle Unlimited. I quit at 15% because I couldn’t stand any of the characters.
Havoc for the Holidays - Jay Leigh: 2/5 stars. I don’t remember anything about this book so that says it all.
Naughty Elf: Sparkle - Colbie Dunbar: 2/5 stars. I stopped reading the series after this one because they were dull.
The Art of Catching Feelings - Alicia Thompson: 2/5 stars. I quit reading at page 79. The writing style wasn’t my cup of tea and I didn’t feel chemistry between the MCs.
The Snuggle is Real (Christmas Falls: Season 2 #1) - D.J. Jamison: 3/5 stars. I loved the previous season of this series and I found this one just okay.
The Boss Who Stole Christmas (Reindeer Falls #1) - Jana Aston: 3/5 stars. This was spicier than what I thought it would be for a novella. It was a quick read, but not a WOW book for me.
ILYBSM: I Love You Both So Much - J.E. Birk: 2/5 stars. I didn’t finish this book because I found myself skimming it more than reading it.
Wreck the Halls - Tessa Bailey: 3/5 stars. Another book I found myself skimming. It took me a bit to get into it, as well.
If You Give a Grump a Holiday Wishlist (Aspen Grove #0.5) - Ann Einerson: 4/5 stars. This was such a good book. I might make this one of my go-to holiday reads each year. An enemies-to-lovers romance between a boss and his assistant.
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year - Ally Carter: 4/5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It reminded me a lot of Knives Out/Glass Onion. I don’t think it needed romance in it, but the mystery aspect was really good.
Cruel Winter with You (Under the Mistletoe Collection #1) - Ali Hazelwood: 3/5 stars. A short novella to get you into the holiday spirit. I couldn’t stand the male MC, though.
Merry Ever After (Under the Mistletoe Collection #2) - Tessa Bailey: 4/5 stars. This collection are short novellas so I read them all in one day. They’re all less than 100 pages and this one was my fav of the series.
All By My Elf (Under the Mistletoe Collection #3) - Olivia Dade: 2/5 stars. This was my least favorite of the collection. It felt very rushed to me.
Merriment and Mayhem (Under the Mistletoe Collection #4) - Alexandria Bellefleur: 4/5 stars. This one made me laugh out loud while reading it. My second favorite of the series.
Only Santas in the Building (Under the Mistletoe Collection #5) - Alexis Daria: 3/5 stars. It was cute. Not much else to say about it.
If Only In Our Dreams (Christmas Daddies #3) - Fae Quin: 4/5 stars. I adored the first two books in the series and this was no exception. It was incredible sweet and cozy.
I’ll Be Boned for Christmas - Katherine McIntyre: 4/5 stars. This was incredible spicy and I was here for it. I loved this first book of the Collier’s Creek Christmas series.
Flake It Til You Make It (Christmas Falls: Season 2 #2) - Beth Bolden: 3/5 stars. An okay book. I didn’t remember much of it while writing this.
Meeting Mr. Christmas - Ali Ryecart: 3/5 stars. I didn’t like this one as much as I did the first in the series. It dragged a bit for me.
Snowed In: An MM Romance Charity Anthology - Various Authors: LOVED this collection of short stories with the only one bed trope. I love all these authors so this was a treat to read.
That’s all for this week! What books did you read in December?
Hope to see you here again,
Kirsten