Yesterday was our final bookhaul of 2024 and today is our final wrap up. How did we end our reading year? Did we find any new favorites? Keep on reading for our December wrap up!
Candyce
This year I hit 350 books and I’m still so surprised! I don’t expect to do this again in 2025, but it was fun to do. In December I ended up reading 25 books (10 audiobooks, 9 ebooks, 3 paperbacks, and 3 eARCs). My average rating was a 3.7, so a little lower than normal, but there were a few good ones. Let’s talk about what I read.
Powerless – Elsie Silver
Jasper is a character I’ve been curious about since I started the Chestnut Springs series. He didn’t have a great childhood after a tragedy and it’s something he also blames himself for. His best friend made sure he was taken care of and welcomed to the family with open arms. Since then he’s had a special connection with Sloane, one of the cousins. Powerless was such a powerful and emotional friends to lovers romance. I’ll be rereading this one in the future.
Reckless – Elsie Silver
So while I was sad we didn’t get Beau’s story after Powerless, I’m so glad Elsie gave Winter and Theo a story. Accidental pregnancy isn’t normally my favorite genre, but Reckless just worked for me. Winter and Theo are both amazing characters and bring out the best in the other. Not a single Chestnut Springs book has disappointed me. I’m sad there’s only one more to go.
Make the Season Bright – Ashley Herring Blake
Ashley Herring Blake is one of my favorite authors, so of course I was picking up her holiday romance. Make the Season Bright was my least favorite book of hers, but I still enjoyed myself. The fact that so much could’ve been solved if Brighton and Charlotte sat down and actually talked was rather frustrating. The side characters stole the show and had me laughing out loud.
Merry Kissmas – Piper Rayne
In Merry Kissmas Brynn runs into Pierce, who she had a one night stand with six years ago. Besides the fact that they’re going after the same job, they’re also stuck on the same ski vacation after some twists of fate neither of them expected. Merry Kissmas had some laugh out loud moments and I enjoyed both of these characters. This was definitely a cute holiday read.
Claus and Effect – Piper Rayne
Claus and Effect was such a good time. Our two main characters are strangers and end up on a road trip together. The banter and tension are amazing! They both have pasts and are dealing with things and I ate it up.
The Fake Santa Apology Tour – Julie Olivia
I’m honestly not sure what to think of this one. It’s a novella, so it’s harder for me to connect to characters. Also, Birdie only dates/sleeps with men who play Santa? I just don’t have a lot to say about this one.
A Five-Letter Word for Love – Amy James
As someone who plays Wordle, the concept of this romance was really fun! I enjoyed myself while reading A Five-Letter Word but it was kind of underwhelming? Unfortunately, I didn’t really connect with these characters, but it was a fun ride.
My Kind of Trouble – L.A. Schwartz
The fact that one of our main characters is a nerdy librarian had me sold. I really enjoyed getting to know Preston. Harmony is trying to get justice for what happened to her father, but falls in love along the way. The way these two communicated was a breath of fresh air. That being said, the conflict at the end could’ve been solved if Harmony had been completely honest.
Every Time You Go Away – Abigail Johnson
Every Time You Go Away caught my eye when it was set to release in 2023 and I finally got to reading it. I’m so glad I did. This was such an emotional story, but so good at the same time! Ethan and Rebecca have lived next door to each other off and on for many years. Except since the last time he lived with his grandparents a lot has changed. I really think this is story you just need to go into without knowing too much. It’s emotional but worth it.
Every Other Weekend – Abigail Johnson
After loving Every Time You Go Away, I had to read Every Other Weekend. Abigail Johnson knows how to write emotional stories and that wasn’t any different with Every Other Weekend. Our main characters meet during the weekends they’re spending with one of their parents. Both families are dealing with things. One with grief and the others are dealing with a divorce and a parent who gets pretty toxic. I wanted to free Adam from his grief and Jolene from parents who were way too busy with themselves and not her. I’m always impressed when an author makes me feel things, so Abigail did a great job.
Expiration Dates – Rebecca Serle
I’ve been wanting to read a book by this author for quite some time and Expiration Dates seemed like a good place to start. Could you imagine when you start dating someone that you’ll receive a paper to let you know how long they’ll be in your lives? I don’t think I would do well with that information. It was interesting because she finally received a paper with only a name. I loved the mix of past and present and the emotional twist I wasn’t expecting.
A Festive Feud – Maren Moore
Two feuding families always host a Christmas party. That is until Jackson and Emma start arguing about an ornament and $10,000 worth of ornaments are destroyed when she falls. To avoid being charged with this crime, they must work together and throw one holiday party. Of course this doesn’t start off easy, but they slowly start to get to know each other. A Festive Feud was cute, but I wanted more of a development between the characters. This is a novella, and shows to me again why I enjoy longer books more.
Love You a Latke – Amanda Elliott
Another great holiday romance and this time it’s all about Hanukkah. Our main character Abby has some walls built up and her annoying customer Seth isn’t helping any. Things happen and they end up fake dating while she plans their town’s Hanukkah party. This leads to being frustrated because they keep trying to make it more about Christmas. When Abby starts to fake date Seth and get to know his family, she starts appreciating her holiday more and stand up for herself. This was such a heartwarming romance.
Under Loch and Key – Lana Ferguson
Under Loch and Key is Lana’s second paranormal romance and I really enjoyed it. She put a twist on the Loch Ness Monster. It was enemies to lovers, family, curses, and so much more. I wasn’t sure what to think when I went it, but it was a heartwarming and spicy read.
Merry Ever After – Tessa Bailey
Merry Ever After is the perfect example why novellas don’t work for me. A single mother and a gentle giant farmer are an unlikely match, but their connection was just heartwarming. The spicy scenes were maybe a bit much and a little cringy, but I did want more of these two.
He Sees You When You’re Sleeping – Alta Hensley
A stalker holiday romance? Yeah, it sounded a bit odd to me, but I was intrigued. Chloe and Jack are both interesting characters and seeing them get to know each other, when he wasn’t stalking her, was quite interesting. It definitely kept my attention and I was definitely hoping they’d get their happily ever after. That being said the ending was resolved a bit too easily and there were a few things you could see coming from a mile away. All in all, it was still an interesting read.
The Colour of Magic – Terry Pratchett
The Colour of Magic was my in person book club’s December read. Terry Pratchett is quite the author in the fantasy world and I was curious. I will say this book was a fun ride, but also really weird? I had a good time.
Don’t Hate the Player – Alexis Nedd
Don’t Hate the Player has been on my Kindle for a few years now and I finally got around to reading it. I don’t game myself but enjoy reading about characters who do. Emilia and Jake are both characters I enjoyed getting to know and both were dealing with their own problems. Gaming was definitely an outlet and they were both good. The fact that the gaming and competition aspect got such a big part of the book is positive and negative. It was fun reading about, but it also took away time from the characters if that makes sense.
Unsteady – Peyton Corinne
Unsteady is a sports romance I’ve been seeing around and know has a sequel releasing in February, so I needed to read it. Rhys and Sadie are both dealing with a lot but find each other on the ice. She helps him deal with his anxiety and he starts trying to help take care of her. Unsteady is heartbreaking and heartwarming with a good part of found family.
Booked for the Holidays – Chelsea Curto
A bookstore owner and a grumpy hardware store owner must work together on a Christmas competition to win $100,000! Need I say more? This book was so much fun. I loved the banter, the characters, the holiday aspects, the family, and just everything about this book. I’ll be reading more by Chelsea Curto next year.
O Goalie Night – K.M. Gillis
How could I say not to a Christmas hockey romance? Add in it being a best friend’s/teammates’ romance and I was sold. Beth and Foster’s story started out really strong for me. I loved how he treated her and showed her how capable she was when her family constantly had her second guessing herself. Unfortunately, Beth’s brother kind of ruined this one for me. He was so annoying and rude in many ways and I feel the book gave him too much time.
Dating and Dragons – Kristy Boyce
Dating and Dragons was such a cute and heartwarming book. Quinn moves to a new town and finds a new group to play Dungeons and Dragons with. She doesn’t mind the fresh start and they get to move closer to her grandmother. There’s a cute romance, family, friendship, and opening up to others. I will say Quinn’s grandmother really stole the show.
The Legacies – Jessica Goodman
A mystery/thriller with a secret society? Sign me up! Unfortunately, this one just didn’t work for me. I felt like we focused more on the characters’ drama than on the mystery. I did appreciate the multiple POVs and not knowing who was found dead until the reveal near the end. While that was a positive aspect, the multiple POVs also felt like the characters stayed on the surface.
Better Than Revenge – Kasie West
Kasie West reminded me why I love her books so much with Better Than Revenge. This book had everything I was looking for: friendship, fighting for your dreams, family, romance, messing up and learning from it, and so much more. Better Than Revenge is also the second book I read this month where the grandmother stole the show. My full review will be up on Saturday.
The Lodge – Kayla Olson
I’m trying to be good about reading my eARCs before they release, and I’m off to a good start for 2025. The Lodge takes place in a snowy Vermont resort, so December seemed like the perfect time to read this story. Alix and Tyler’s story was a lot of fun to read and this book started off as a five star read for me. The mystery aspect I guessed really early on in the book made me rate it a little lower, but all in all, I had a good time.
Isabelle
I ended up reading 7 books this month, not too bad I would say! 4 of them were rereads but also 3 new books and some pretty big ones! 6 of them were audiobooks and one I read on Kindle Unlimited.
Ruthless Fae – Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti
This is the second book in the Zodiac Academy series, I really enjoy it! No it’s not the best thing ever written and there are some elements I don’t like but overall it’s a lot of fun and I will be continuing this series for sure.
Kingdom of Ash – Sarah J. Maas
I had to squeeze in another Throne of Glass reread at the end of the year and this as of course the final book. Many tears have been shed once again haha. I just love this series so much and could reread it right away once again.
All for the Game #1-3 – Nora Sakavic
I put the first audiobook on to help me go to sleep but I got pulled in and listened to the whole series in just a couple of days haha. Like with Throne of Glass, I could start another reread right away. I know these aren’t the best written books ever either but I enjoy the story and I LOVE these characters.
When the Moon Hatched – Sarah A. Parker
I got a physical copy of this one earlier this year but wasn’t in the right head space to start it back then. In December I got the audiobook and quickly started listening to it. I shared my review last week so you might already know that I enjoyed it!
Spellslinger – Sebastien de Castell
I got this book almost 7 years ago I think haha. Last week I got an audiobook copy in the Audible sale and started listening to it right away! It was a really fun YA fantasy book and I’m excited to dive into the rest of the series.
So that’s a wrap on 2024! Have you read any of these books? Or did you find any favorites in December? Let us know in the comments. We’d love to hear from you!
