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I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season and a happy beginning to 2023. I, honestly, don't know where 2022 went, but I can definitely say that I'm happy to move into the new year. Did you make any reading resolutions? If you want to go check out my YouTube channel, you can see all the things I'm hoping to accomplish (reading-wise) there. I post weekly over there and talk all about bookish things if you're interested. Despite how busy and hectic December was, I still managed to get in some excellent books. Did you read anything interesting this month? Leave me a comment and tell me all about it! OK, let's start!
"Santa's Broken Toy" by Oona Grace
Mary is done. Done with people tip-toeing around her, asking her about her feelings, and trying to not bring up her very dead husband. This year, for the holidays, Mary decides to stay in a secluded cabin away from all of that. She can't take another holiday of pity stares. But only a few hours into her idyllic vacation, a stranger knocks on her door. A very sexy stranger. And suddenly, Mary thinks she may have found a way to lift her holiday blues.
So, let's get this out of the way, this is a very smutty book. Like, this book is 150 pages and contains eleven steamy scenes. It's hottttt. But, underneath that there is this beautiful plot line of loss and grief that was done to perfection. Oona Grace is a first time author, but you absolutely cannot tell. She writes with ease and precision and there is an overwhelming and surprising amount of depth to this book (no pun intended). If you like steamy books, if you like the age-gap trope (no minors), and later in life books, read this book. It's available on Amazon and KU and I absolutely loved it.
"Winter Solstice" by Elin Hilderbrand
This is the fourth book in the Winter Street Series, you can find my review for book one, here. I was a little surprised by this book because book three felt very complete to me and it didn't feel like it needed a sequel. Well, this definitely wasn't the best of the series, it was just kind of there. And I noticed, more in this book than the others, the amount of money and privilege everyone has. This is definitely noticeable in the other books, but this one just rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe I've outgrown this series a bit, but this one didn't hit as well as the others. I noticed a few other people in the review section on Goodreads that felt the same way about it. And there was a huge influx of characters in this book that we'd never heard of before and some other readers mentioned they were cameos from some of Hilderbrand's other novels. Maybe a bit of marketing or something going on there? There were also some character story lines that never got resolved and that left me a bit disappointed. So, if I have any advice to give, read the first three books in this series and skip this last one. You're not missing much and I feel like it was a last minute decision/marketing ploy. I didn't love it.
"One By One" by Ruth Ware
Eight of a tech company's higher ups decide a ski vacation is in order. There's some animosity in the group and little getaway is just what they need to iron out all the kinks and make some major decisions. Until one of them gets lost in a snow storm and a following avalanche. The phone lines are down, they're high up in the mountains, does anyone even know they're up there? That's not the worst of the problems. The night after the storm wipes out communications another member of the group turns up dead. Now there's no question about it, this was murder. But who was it? And can the rest of the group get out alive?
This is a dual perspective book told from one of the tech company's workers and one of the people who are running the chalet the group is staying at. It's a very lively mystery/thriller that kept me guessing for quite a long time. I had an issue with the final chapters of the book. Once we discovered who the murderer was there was a lot of dead space happening and it really took the thrill out of it for me. Also, once the survivors were rescued there were another two chapters of just idle chit chat and catching up that also felt like a drag for me. Overall, this was a fun read. I really enjoy Ruth Ware's books and this was definitely well written, but the ending took a little too long.
"How Long 'Til Black Future Month" by N.K. Jemisin
This is a collection of sci-fi/fantasy short stories and I absolutely loved it. The representation in each story was magnificent, the story lines were all fresh and exciting, and I never knew what to expect. Some are exceptionally short, while others are a little more built up. This is definitely one of those books to keep on your shelf and read a story every now and then when you want something thought provoking and interesting. I'm going to have to look into Jemisin's full length books, because I love her writing style. Check this one out, for sure!
That's everything I read in December! Have you read any of these books or do you have any recommendations for me? Remember to go check out my YouTube channel if you want to listen to me chat about books every week. Otherwise, happy reading book nerds! We'll talk again soon.
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