Wrap Up | December 2022

Yesterday we had our last book haul of 2022, so today it’s time to wrap up our reading! How did the last month of the year go? Did we find any new favorites? Keep on reading for our December wrap up!

Candyce

December ended up being my best reading month of the year. I know I set my Goodreads goal to 100 at the beginning of the year, but was so close to 200 that I decided to speed up this month. There were some novellas, but all reading counts. So in December I read 22 books like I said (11 ebooks, 5 audiobooks, 4 ARCs, 1 hardcover, and 1 paperback). My average rating was a 3.9, so I didn’t read my favorites, but it was still a good month!

A Kingdom of Flame and Fury – Whitney Dean

If you’re a big fan of fantasy romances I definitely recommend starting this series. Whitney Dean gives us an amazing world, characters you want to love and hate, and a magic system I’m really curious about. You’ll be lucky when finishing this one, because the second book is already out in the world!

The Becoming of Noah Shaw – Michelle Hodkin

The Becoming of Noah Shaw was my first backlist book after making my list of unread books. I loved the Mara Dyer trilogy and was curious about this spinoff. It has been a long time since I read those books, so I was confused at times. While I’m interested in seeing how things play out not much really happened in this book.

Lovelight Farms – B.K. Borison

Lovelight Farms is a book I’ve been seeing everywhere and decided to give it a try. This book had everything I wanted. Fake dating, friends to lovers, amazing side characters, it had it all. This book left a smile on my face.

The Christmas Wish – Lindsey Kelk

The Christmas Wish was a very pleasant surprise. This Groundhog Day type book is something I always enjoy. The fact that our main character relived Christmas made me happy, haha. This is a romance, but I have to say that’s more in the background. In this one Gwen actually really learns about herself and what she wants.

Icebreaker – Hannah Grace

Icebreaker is definitely a book I’ve been seeing mixed reviews about, but one I really wanted to read. A sports romance where both main characters are athletes. There were some annoying characters in this one, but I loved how Nathan really took to Anastasia and made her see things she didn’t before. I’m curious about the next book we’ll get in the series.

How the Grump Saved Christmas – Claire Kingsley

The grumpy/sunshine trope is so much fun! Add a second chance romance and saving a Christmas farm and I was sold. This was my first book my Claire Kingsley, but it definitely won’t be my last.

The Christmas Clash – Suzanne Park

The Christmas Clash was about two rival families, saving the mall, and a romance. The story was interesting and I loved seeing everyone coming together. It just didn’t really feel Christmassy to me!

Witcha Gonna Do – Avery Flynn

Witcha Gonna Do was a fast and funny read. This book made me laugh out loud frequently and it was a fun witchy read. I do wish we got more on the magic and world, but all in all I enjoyed myself. I’ll definitely read the next book in the series.

So This Is Christmas – Jenny Holiday

Last year I loved Duke, Actually so I was very excited for the next book in the series. Cara and Matteo both had walls built up and slowly let them down as they got to know each other. Also, it takes place in a country that loves Christmas. I need to move there!

Maggie Moves On – Lucy Score

Maggie Moves On was my last read of 2022 and it was a good one. I love house renovation shows, so thought it was amazing Maggie was someone who did this. As I’m normally not a fan of instalove, Silas really surprised me. He was clear of his thoughts from the start, but it just worked. I also loved the little town mystery in the mix! I need to read more from Lucy Score.

Good Girl, Dead Girl – Emily Kazmierski

Emily Kazmierski has written a few thrillers that I’ve loved and I was so honored I got to read Good Girl, Dead Girl early. This book releases in January 9th and my review will be up soon. I loved the characters, mystery, and I never expected it to end like it did!

Problem Child – Heather Long

Reverse harems are something I’ve really started to enjoy this year. While the romance didn’t really develop yet in this book, but there were some twists that make me want more. I can’t wait for the next book.

Due North – T.D. Colbert

Due North is a novella with a character we met in Marks on the Moon. Once again T.D. Colbert sucked me into this story and left me wanting more. I would’ve loved a full novel of these two.

Talk Santa to Me – Linda Urban

Our main character loves everything Christmas as does her family. I thought this was a cute story, but there was something missing for me. I just can’t put my finger on it. Talk Santa to Me was a cute and fast read.

Tangled in Tinsel – Trilina Pucci

Tangled in Tinsel was one of my favorite holiday reads this year. It was sexy, funny, romantic, and I loved the main character. I want more with these characters!

Brutal Prince – Sophie Lark

Sophie Lark is an author I’ve been meaning to read something by this whole year. Brutal Prince was a story that sucked me in. It was my first mafia romance and wow! Aida and Callum were both amazing and I read the book in just about one sitting. I’m almost done with the second book and will be reading more.

The Mistletoe Bet – Maren Moore

The Mistletoe reminded me why novellas tend to not work for me, haha. These characters were amazing and had a smile on my face while I was reading. I do wish the story was longer and we got more of Parker getting Quinn to love Christmas and just more of her family.

Melt for Us – Molly Doyle

After reading Scream for Us and Bloodshed, I had to read the novella that takes place at Christmas. Another amazing novella that was still pretty dark, haha. I still have a lot of questions. I can’t wait for the next full book!

Birthday Kisses – Monica Murphy

Crew and Wren were so much fun to read about in A Million Kisses in Your Lifetime. So I was really excited when the author gave us a little novella about them years later. I could spend a lot more time with these characters, so I was happy for what we got.

If the Fates Allow – Rainbow Rowell

As a fan of Fangirl I was excited about this novella. It actually released last year, but I never got around to reading it. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy it. There was just too much about the pandemic and not enough with the characters.

A Kingdom of Stars and Shadows – Holly Renee

A Kingdom of Stars and Shadows really surprised me. This book was so good! I love the magic, the tense scenes, the politics, and the romance. How this book ended definitely had me shocked and I’ll be reading the second book that’s already out in January!

Shipped – Meredith Tate

I started this book a few months ago, but ended up getting distracted. I love when characters share a fandom, but also meet online. Unfortunately, Stella actually annoyed me quite a bit during this book. Other than that, it was actually a pretty fun read.

Isabelle

I had hoped to read a couple more books in December but it turned out I just didn’t have the time or brain capacity to read much this month. It all fits with the rest of the year haha. I ended up reading 3 books this month. Let’s take a look.

Lost in the Moment and Found – Seanan McGuire

The eight instalment in the Wayward Children series. While I think the earlier books were the best and the latter ones miss some of that same magic, I did really enjoy this one. We got to another interesting world and the messages were once again very important.

Five Survive – Holly Jackson

I loved Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series so I was super excited to pick up her newest release. While it wasn’t as good as the aforementioned series, I did enjoy this a lot. It was a super quick read and it had some great twists.

Gallant – V.E. Schwab

I finally picked this one back up and finished it. After reading about 30% earlier this year I forgot about Gallant for a little bit. But now I flew through the other 70%. V.E. Schwab created something very unique and I enjoyed the setting and the story a lot. I can’t wait for her next book.

So that’s our December wrap up! What were your favorite reads of December? Any you think everyone needs to pick up? Let us know in the comments! We’d love to hear from you.

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