I read this book as an ARC, you can find my review here.
I thought I was getting a book about hockey, and instead I got so much more. I love Fredrik Backman, and I was not disappointed with this book. The writing was beautiful, the characters were rich, the plot heartbreaking. This is book one of a trilogy, so of course I’ll be reading the rest of the series in the new year.
I read Huckleberry Finn specifically so I could read this book. James received a lot of praise and awards this year, and it deserved every single one of them. It was so much more than just a retelling of Finn. It gave Jim so much depth and the backstory was rich. The twist Everett gave to the story was beautiful and made so much sense within the original canon. While you don’t have to read Finn before this, I recommend it, because it gives something extra to the story. If you haven’t read it yet, add it to your 2025 TBR.
I like to fill my Decembers leading up to Christmas with holiday romances. I kicked off this December on a very high note. Shades of Agatha Christie with a traditional Hallmark romance thrown in, I’m pretty sure this will be a book I’m going to want to re-read over and over again. It was fun, I actually laughed out loud several times, the characters were great, and the plot just flew by. It was great.
Another fun holiday romance where the Prince of Christmas (aka Santa’s son) and the Prince of Halloween have a forbidden romance. I love re-tellings and I especially love new twists. The time Raasch took to build the Holiday Universe was amazing. I loved the character building, I love the storyline, and I love the universe. I will definitely be continuing this series.
Another one I really enjoyed, but Emily Stone is a must read every year, so I expected nothing less. Enemies to Lovers is always a fun trope, add in forced proximity, and only one bed, and you’ve got a winner! I enjoyed the premise, and the exploration of grief.
This one? Don’t recommend. It was…okay. But, the characters never really redeemed themselves, and the MFC was very much a doormat who never really ever stood up for herself. It was enjoyable and it was very spicy, but I couldn’t really fully get behind the premise of it.
I love Jenny Bayliss, and I am one year behind on her releases, so expect another of her books to pop up in January. This one was touching. I loved that the characters were older. I loved the connection between the two love interests. I LOVED there was no third act break up. The relationship between the community and all the tertiary characters was also lovely.
These Motham City Monsters books have very little substance, but they are a lot of fun. It was short, it was cute, it did its job.
When I realized I only had one prompt left for my reading challenge and it was a book with Secret in the title, I scoured my Kindle and found this one. It was, okay. The plot seemed to drag and rush at the same time, the characters weren’t very developed, and it was really hard to become emotionally attached to a story that should have had me crying.
Rounding out the month with a cute YA Hanukkah romance. It was really cute. I loved the characters, i loved the budding romance, and I especially loved the secondary storyline of the whaling ship mystery. It was a fluffy read and it was a lot of fun.
Stephanie Caffrey, Author 