December 2023 Wrap-Up

I ended up reading a lot of books in December. Way more than I thought I would get around to reading. Some of them were novellas but still, 17 books in one month is a lot for me. At the beginning of the year I set a goal to read 150 books, and I far surpassed that at 200. That includes novellas, short stories, cook books and DNFs, and I know there are people who read way more than that, but for me 200 was amazing! Without further ado, here is my list of books that I read in December.

  

 Minted (The Scarsdale Fosters #3) by B. E. Baker

4 of 5 stars

See my review here.

 

 

 

Moon Called (Mercy Thompson #1) by Patricia Briggs

4 of 5 stars

We read Moon Called for book club. See my book club post here.

 

 

 

 The Shattered Court (The Four Arts #1) by M. J. Scott

No rating

I've had this on my to-read list for a very long time, and decided to finally give it a try. I knew going in it was a fantasy romance, but hoped it wouldn't lean too heavily into the romance. Unfortunately, it started in the very first chapter, before I even felt like I had gotten to know the characters very well at all. Add to that the way the scene was written, boring with a couple of crude words, and I ended up abandoning this in chapter two. Sorry I need more substance.
 

 

Mrs. McGinty's Dead (Hercule Poirot #32) by Agatha Christie

4 of 5 stars

 

The Secret Sister by K. A. Clarke and A. J. Brittany

3.5 of 5 stars

Review to come.

 

The Sword's Elegy (The Sorcerer's Song #3) by Brain D. Anderson

3.5 stars

Review to come.

 

 

Storm Cursed Mercy Thompson #11) by Patricia Briggs

 4 of 5 stars

See my review here.

 

After She Wrote Him by Sulari Gentill

3.5 of 5 stars

Review to come.

 

 

 

 

Running Barefoot by Amy Harmon

4.5 of 5 stars

Review to come.

 

 

 

 A Dead Ship in the Deep Black (The Lyra Cycle #1) by Rene Astle

4 of 5 stars

Review to come.

 

Smoke Bitten (Mercy Thompson #12) by Patricia Briggs

4 of 5 stars

See my review here.

 

The Original by Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal

4 of 5 stars

Review to come.

 

 

 

 Warriorborn The Cinder Spires #1.5) by Jim Butcher 

4 of 5 stars.

This one is set between book one and book two and I wish I had read it before I read book two. It's about Benedict and it shows how he got the tribe of cats that he brings back with him at the beginning of The Olympian Affair.

 

Christmas at Falstone Castle: A Lancaster Family Romance by Sarah M. Eden

 4 of 5 stars

Set before Charlie and Artemis are married, and eleven years after the end of Seeking Persephone, this book features Adam's mother. It was nice to revisit these characters and get another peek into their lives.

 

 

 

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (Hercule Poirot #37) by Agatha Christie

4 of 5 stars

This was a fun, clever little Christmas mystery featuring Hercule Poirot.

 

 

 

Survival Tactics by Elizabeth Bonesteel

3 of 5 stars. 

I'd been wanting to get back to reading Elizabeth Bonesteel for a while and since there isn't another Central Corps book out yet, this book of short stories was perfect because it included three Central Corps stories. There were ten stories in all. With the exception of Unto Dust being 4 stars, I ended up feeling like most of the stories were 3 stars, and a couple of them were maybe 2 stars for me because I just didn't enjoy reading them.

 

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher 

3 of 5 stars

This was a retelling of Sleeping Beauty with the sleeping princess being a monstrous changeling who shouldn't be awakened. There are dark elements to the story, but also some cute elements to it. I've read four books by this author now, and while most people I know seem to love her books, I'm always a bit underwhelmed and end up feeling like they are good but not great. This one was the same.

 

My Best Reads of 2023

At the end of every year I like to go back and look over the books I read, and pick a few that stood out to me. I try to pick at least one in each genre that I read, and of course the books don't have to be published this year. They do have to be first time reads for me though. Here are the books I enjoyed the most in 2023.

Note- there is no sci-fi or space opera winner this year. I just didn't read anything in those genres that I absolutely loved and thought was amazing.  Also, there were two romances that I really loved so I have two of those.

Best Fantasy- 

The Will of the Many by James Islington

  

5 of 5 stars

I went into this book thinking it was a gamble on whether I would like it or not, and I was pleasantly surprised by it. This was by far the best fantasy book I read this year. See my review here. 

 

Best Urban Fantasy-

Super Powereds Year 4 by Drew Hayes

 

5 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this whole series, but this last book was the best. Even though the books are really long, and probably could have been edited down, I didn't mind it because it was so entertaining. I'm going to miss these characters.

 

 

Best Romance- 

The Surprise by B. E. Baker

 

5 of 5 stars. 

I've loved every book in this series, but this unexpected addition to the series felt extra special to me. The themes the books tackled and the way we got to go back and see certain events that have happened in the series through different eyes really spoke to me. See my review here. 

 

 

Running Barefoot by Amy Harmon

4.5 of 5 stars

This was a sweet, beautiful love story that had me feeling all the emotions. Review to come.

 

 

Best Mystery/Suspense- 

Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie

 

5 of 5 stars

I loved this one! It was so fun to have all the detectives together trying to solve the murder. This was brilliantly done.

 

And this year I'm added something I've never added before, a cookbook-

Meals That Heal by Carolyn Williams, PhD, RD

I had to add this cook book because it was the start of something life changing for me. I've been dealing with chronic pain for a few years now and after lots of tests nothing was found. I was put on anti-inflammatory medicine, which I stopped using after it made my blood pressure go up. I started looking for alternative methods of dealing with what was happening. I started taking turmeric first and noticed that it helped a lot. I finally decided that maybe changing my diet would help even more. I had nothing to lose, so I gave it a try. The first thing I did was buy this cookbook. After being on an anti-inflammatory diet for months, I've noticed a big change in the way I feel. Changing the way I eat hasn't been easy, and I went into it knowing I would have off days and not expecting perfection, but it was the best thing I've done for my health in a long time.

 

The Memory Watcher by Minka Kent

  

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller
Content: Strong Language including several F bombs, Moderately descriptive sex scenes, Sexual innuendo and crude language, Drug use

 

When Autumn Carpenter stumbles upon the social media account of the family who adopted her infant daughter years ago, she finds herself instantly drawn into their picture-perfect existence. 
 
From behind a computer screen, Autumn watches Grace's every memory, from birthdays to holidays to bedtime snuggles. But what starts as an innocent fascination spirals into an addictive obsession met with a screeching halt the day the McMullen family closes their Instaface account without so much as a warning. 
 
Frantic and desperate to reconnect with her daughter, Autumn applies for a nanny position with the McMullens, manipulating herself into Grace's life under false pretenses. And it's only then that Autumn discovers pictures lie, the perfect family doesn't exist, and beautiful people? They have the ugliest secrets.

 

A couple of years ago I read The Watcher Girl by Minka Kent and enjoyed it. Then I found out that it was sort of a sequel to this book, The Memory Watcher. Even though both books are standalone stories, I wished I had known that so that I could have read them in the right order. Now, two years later I've finally gotten around to reading this after it was chosen as my "pick it for me" book for November. 

This book was very engrossing and I had so much empathy for Grace as a child. I just wanted to give her a hug. I also wanted to slap some sense into the adults in her life. This book isn't really about Grace so much as the adults around her, but her character really stood out to me, partly because she's the main character in The Watcher Girl as an adult. I had forgotten a lot of what happened in The Watcher Girl so, because of that there was a twist that I wasn't expecting in this book. I was glad that I had forgotten so much because it enhanced my reading experience of this book.

I found the main character in this book very interesting, even though from the beginning we know she has an unhealthy obsession and that she's off mentally, I also felt sorry for her at times. One thing I really liked about this book were the layered characters. No one is what they seem, they have good and bad sides to them, and I found most of them both sympathetic and deplorable at the same time. I thought the author did a good job of showing how the people in the story had different perspectives on what was happening, and how that wasn't necessarily the whole story. I do want to add that this book had a lot more sex in it than the other books I've read by this author. I don't really remember any at all in her other books, but it wasn't really done in a sexy way, it was uncomfortable and at times seedy.

After I finished this book I decided to go back and read The Watcher Girl again because I had forgotten so much about it. When I read it the first time I didn't find Grace all that likable, but on my second read I felt like I understood her and liked her a lot more. 

On a side note, I really liked the author's forward that she included in this book about how she came to write this story in the first place.

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Plus a special announcement.

 

  

Merry Christmas and Happy holidays

 

 

 

 

The Headmistress of Rosemere (Whispers On The Moors Book 2) by Sarah E. Ladd

  

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Romance, Clean Romance, Historical Romance
Content: Clean

 

Patience Creighton has devoted her life to running her father’s boarding school. But when the enigmatic master of the estate appears at her door, battered and unconscious, the young headmistress suddenly finds her livelihood—and her heart—in the hands of one dangerously handsome gentleman.

This is the second book I've read in this trilogy of companion books, and I don't really remember anything about the first one The Heiress of Winterwood, except that I gave it 3 stars. It's been a few years. These are standalones with the moors being the only thing all three books have in common, so it really didn't matter. I wanted to give this author another chance after thinking the first book was just ok, but unfortunately this book was also a 3 star read. I'm probably making it sound like 3 stars is bad. It's really not, it means I liked the book, but didn't love it. I was just hoping I would find this one a bit more memorable.

The story started off interesting when William was attacked, and then was found and cared for by the stable hand and Patience at Rosemere. However, this part was unexpectedly brief. I also enjoyed the way this book ended, but there were some bumps in the road getting there that really annoyed me. One was the former love interest and how presumptuous he was. The other was Patience not speaking up more about how she was never going to take him back. Also, at times the book was rather slow and boring, but it finally picked up again at some point.

One big part of this story was that Patience thought it was her dream to teach in the girls' school at Rosemere, which her father started and was the headmaster of before his death,. Rosemere had been her home her whole life, and she hardly ever left it. It's mentioned to her later that she's possibly just been living her father's dream and not her own. She does eventually realize this is true, and that she needs to live her own dream and not her father's. I do wish that the author had delved into what Patience's dream was. She loved the girls at the school, even if she didn't want to spend the rest of her life running it, and she of course had the dream of getting married and having her own family, but I wanted more insight into what she wanted to do with her life besides that.

There were several characters in this book that had to learn to accept change in their lives. I liked the message this book gave about change and how it's important to embrace change in our lives, even when it's unexpected. Sometimes with that change comes something even better.

After the Party by Georgina Lees

   

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller
Content: Strong language

 

He should have chosen me.
I never should have chosen him.

Lizzie has been in love with her colleague Dean for three years but he’s never given her a second glance.

When a job offer in London promises to launch her art career she finally feels ready to upend her life in pursuit of her dream … until the night of the office Christmas party when Dean confesses his love for someone else – Rebecca, one of Lizzie’s closest friends.

A few days later, the police show up on her doorstep.

Rebecca is missing.

After reading The Girl Upstairs, I really wanted to try another book by this author. As I said in my review for that book, I liked the way the author was able to write characters that, in the beginning weren't very likable, but then grew into likable characters that I understood. While that book had a main character who was reclusive, this one had a main character who was obsessed with a coworker. I liked that this author writes these types of flawed characters, but in this case it didn't work for me, and the main reason it didn't work for me was because there was no growth. I just wanted Lizzie to realize some things about herself and make a change, but Lizzie was never strong enough to really be her own person, and that was sad. 

I also felt like this book was more predictable. I figured out what had happened and why well before the end, and speaking of the end, that was a terrible ending! I disliked who she ended up with in the end, and I didn't like that certain things were swept under the rug. Despite disliking this book, I'll probably still read the other book on my to-read list by this author.

The Reformer (Power of the Matchmaker #12) by Jaima Fixsen

  

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Romance, Historical romance
Content: Some sexual innuendo

 

Love at first sight...
Mary Buchanan is a quiet dreamer, fetching pills for her aunt, and soothing her father's monumental temper—which only gets worse when a radical journalist takes the house next door. Clearly, Mr. Samuel Brown will be nothing but trouble.
But when Mary meets him, locked out of her home and caught in the rain, she instantly falls for the handsome reformer. Together, they could have the happily ever after they’ve both longed for… if she can just get him to realize it.
Mary Buchanan isn’t keeping quiet anymore.

 

DNF at 44%. I've read other books by this author and liked them, but I couldn't get into this one. I didn't care for any of the characters and there was no chemistry between the possible love interests. I was expecting a more mature main character, but this one was 17 and this felt very YA in some ways, with the main character obsessing over an older man. It was also a little off-putting the way the older man first encounters her and all that happened after he rescued her from standing out in the rain. Add in his grumpy best friend, who I suspect will become another love interest later on, and her overbearing, over protective father, and I just didn't enjoy reading this very much at all. Maybe it would have improved if I had stuck with it a little longer, but from the beginning, this book just felt off to me, and I have many other books I could be spending my time on. 

 

This is part of a companion series by different authors, of standalone romance novels with a matchmaker that is the one continuous thread. I haven't read the other books in the series but I do have a couple of the others on my to-read list. I'm hoping those are better than this one.

 

December 2023 Book Club: Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Our book club pick for December was one of my all time favorites. I've been doing a reread of this whole series along with the Alpha and Omega series in chronological order with my husband and we're enjoying it so much. I've never actually written much of a review for this book, just left a few comments on Goodreads each time I've read it. I'll put those down below. 

  

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Content: Strong language

 

Mercedes Thompson, aka Mercy, is a talented Volkswagen mechanic living in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. She also happens to be a walker, a magical being with the power to shift into a coyote at will. Mercy's next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a bus for a vampire. This is the world of Mercy Thompson, one that looks a lot like ours but is populated by those things that go bump in the night. And Mercy's connection to those things is about to get her into some serious hot water...

Update December 1, 2023: Reading a third time. This time for book club.

Update September 3, 2022: I read this for a second time and it still gets 4 stars from me. It was nice to reread this and be reminded of several things I had forgotten. I listened to it this time on a road trip with my husband and he enjoyed it too.

Original comments April 8, 2011:
This was a really good read. I'm happy to now include another urban fantasy series to my must read book list. In my opinion it's right up there with the Dresden Files and The Kate Daniels series. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

We had lots of good food at our book club meeting. My daughter and I made some wolf themed sugar cookies for the occasion. My husband insisted we also make ones that looked like Scooby snacks, so we made the bone shaped ones too. If you've read the book then you'll know what the Scooby-doo reference is about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, every year for our book club we have a white elephant gift exchange. This year I had to post about the funny gift my husband got, and also give some back story on it. It started out three years ago with this one Barbie in the picture below. 😄

My friend Risa brought this one and the person that got it brought it back the next year along with this Ken doll. 😆

 

 

Then this year it was brought back again along with a third item. 😂

My husband ended up with it this year, and now we have to think of something to add to it for next year! Any ideas? Let me know!