Yesterday we talked about the books we bought/received in November, so today it’s time to talk about the books we read last month. With this being the last month of 2021 it’s time to see how much we read in November and if we’re any closer to our reaching our reading goals. Keep on reading to see what we read last month!

Candyce

November ended up being a really good reading month. I managed to read 18 books (7 audiobooks, 4 ARCs, 4 e-books, 1 paperback, 1 hardcover, and 1 graphic novel). I’m only 8 books away from reaching my 2021 Goodreads challenge, so I think I should be able to reach my goal. Let’s see what books I read in November.

A Study in Charlotte – Brittany Cavallaro

A Study in Charlotte is the first book in the Charlotte Holmes series. I read this one a few years ago, but thought it was time to continue with the series. I’m glad I did a reread, because I had forgotten so much. The next book will be read soon!

The Christmas Carrolls – Mel Taylor-Bessent

The Christmas Carrolls has a family that’s all Christmas spirit and that have festive cheer all year round. This book wasn’t as holiday focused as I expected, but it was fun read with some really important lessons. Add in some really cute illustrations and it’s a great read for the festive season.

Payback’s a Witch – Lana Harper

Payback’s a Witch has two of my favorite things: romance and magic. Our main character returns to her hometown for the spellcasting tournament her family is an arbiter for. She left when love went wrong, but being back makes her wonder why she left and may even lead to a new romance. This was such a fast and fun read. The start was a bit slow, but I loved the characters and I’m excited for another book in this series.

Must Love Books – Shauna Robinson

Once I saw this title I knew I needed this book. I was lucky to get an e-arc on Edelweiss and decided to do a buddyread with a friend who had an e-arc as well. Must Love Books releases in January, so my full review will be posted closer to release date. Unfortunately, it didn’t really meet my expectations.

Passport – Sophia Glock

Passport in a graphic novel memoir. This author grew up with parents in the CIA and even had to have this looked over before it was published. The art was interesting, but the story didn’t really grab me as much as I wanted. It could be that some details were cut to make it be more, but all in all still an interesting read.

I’m Dreaming of a Wyatt Christmas – Tiffany Schmidt

Okay, this was a cute Christmas book. It has everything I love in stories like this and to be honest I want to go spend the holidays in the town where this takes place. It sounded so cozy. The characters were fun, the romance was cute, and it also dealt with grief and family. My only issue was that these characters felt a lot older than they actually were.

My Contrary Mary – Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows

After reading and loving The Lady Janies I knew I needed to read the next series by these authors. I love the way they take history and make it into their own story. There’s a lot of humor and some cameos from previous books here. My Contrary Mary was a bit more serious, but still just as good!

The Box in the Woods – Maureen Johnson

I’m officially done with the Truly Devious series! The Box in the Woods is the fourth book, but is loose from the first three books. Stevie goes to a summer camp with her friends to help solve a murder that took place in 1978. It was fun and some moments kept me on the edge of my seat. I hope the author writes more with these characters.

The Donut Trap – Julie Tieu

The Donut Trap is a book I saw everywhere online when it released at the beginning of November. It sounded like a lot of fun, so I had to give it a go. It was a fun read, but it didn’t wow me as much as I hoped. I loved seeing the main character take charge of her life, but I would’ve loved just a bit more of the romance aspect.

So, This is Christmas – Tracy Andreen

Another Christmas themed book! This was a cute story with family, friends, and discovering what one wants. Our main character could be clueless at times, but it was fun and the romance was really cute. I would love to live in this town.

The Boss Who Stole Christmas, If You Give a Jerk a Gingerbread & The One Night Stand Before Christmas – Jana Aston

If you give me romance and make it holiday themed I’m definitely a happy reader. These three novellas were a lot of fun and the audiobooks worked really well for the stories. All are under 100 pages, so perfect when you want something short. The author has released three more in this series that I’ll be listening to next month!

Conventionally Yours – Annabeth Albert

Conventionally Yours is a book I’ve been wanting to read since I heard about it. So I finally decided to give the audiobook a go. Books where people are either fans of certain books, series, or games are something I really love. Add an enemies to lovers trope and I’m a happy camper. I’m still not clear how the game they play works, but I loved the main characters bonding and how their relationship developed. I hope to read the next book in the sequel soon.

It’s Raining Men – Julie Hammerle

I love this title and the story was fun. Our main character texts all men on her phone when drunk after hearing her best friend is getting married and moving out. For me the relationship side of this book was a bit dramatic at times and the main character made some odd choices, but it was a fast and fun read.

Mistletoe & Mr. Right – Sarah Morgenthaler

Mistletoe & Mr. Right was a cute book, but I have to say the audiobook didn’t completely suck me in. I think mostly because it was hard to tell when the POV changed. It was still a fast and fun holiday read.

Ghost Girl – Ally Malineko

Ghost Girl is a book I actually wanted to read in October, but didn’t get around to. So I decided to listen to the audiobook during the commute to work. This was a creepy middle grade story that I really enjoyed. Besides the scary side of the book there were definitely some more serious subjects brought up and handled really well for this age group.

Murder Most Actual – Alexis Hall

I’m beginning to enjoy cozy mysteries and I really enjoyed Murder Most Actual. The chapters all had Clue-like titles and it had me guessing until the end. I’ll definitely be reading more by this author in the future.

 

Summary:
Favorite Book: My Contrary Mary
Least Favorite: Must Love Books
Most Surprising: Murder Most Actual

 

Isabelle

I’m definitely satisfied with this reading month. After some awful months I managed to read 6 books. Still not as many as I would like and there is no way I’m going to make my goal but I’m happy. I’ve been very busy and I’m just glad with everything I did manage to read. There were also some bigger books and overall just really enjoyable reads.

My Contrary Mary – Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows

This was Candyce’s and mine buddyread this month. We love the Lady Janies and were very excited for the first Mary. And having it set in the same world as My Lady Jane was an added bonus. I really enjoyed this one! You can expect our review this week.

Where the Drowned Girls Go – Seanan McGuire

I already shared my review for this one. After being a bit disappointed with the previous instalment, I was super happy with this one! It was like a breath of fresh air, we got some seemingly new content. And I just really enjoyed it. Can’t wait for the next books.

Six Stories – Matt Weselowski

I’ve been wanting to read this one for awhile now! So I grabbed it on Audible and I’m happy I did. It wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be but I really liked the format and think the audiobook was the way to go. As of now I’m not sure if I want to read the sequels yet, but I’m not saying no right away either.

Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir

Another Audible audiobook. I had heard great things about this one and after being recommend this one from my Audible wishlist I decided to go for it. It was great! I loved the twists, the ‘relationship’ was the highlight and the humor was great again.

The Eye of the World – Robert Jordan

This one had been on my TBR for so long! And I’m really happy I got to read (most of it) before watching the tv show. That I also love by the way haha. This story is great and I can’t wait to learn more about this world and these characters in the rest of the series.

Death Note Black Edition vol. IV – Tsugumi Ohba

This one was shocking!! But I was so happy to continue this series and I plan on reading the next one soon. And I’ll probably order the last book in the series soon after haha. I really enjoy this story and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Summary:
Favorite Book: My Contrary Mary
Least Favorite: Six Stories
Most Surprising: Hail Mary

 

So that’s what we read in November! Have you read any of the books we’ve read? If you have, let us know what you thought! Also, what was your favorite book last month? We’re always looking for new recommendations.