Haven't done a monthly wrap up in over 2 years but new year, new blogging motivation! After a really slumpy few months, December was a pleasant surprise and I managed to read 13 books, a mixture of novels and short stories.
Heads up, these reviews are going to be a bit all over the place cause I read most of them over a month ago and my memory is not the best when it comes to remembering plot details 😂.
STATS
This was a fairly dense Arthurian legend retelling/continuation about a young wannabe knight who travels to Camelot only to find out that King Arthur and the majority of his knights have been killed in battle. I was really excited to read this book, I love King Arthur in media (especially Merlin!) so I snapped this up from the library as soon as I could. I enjoyed the characters and following along with Collum as he integrates himself into what's left of the round table and their attempts to find a new king. It was an interesting journey and I appreciated that most of the characters were lesser know figures in the legend and getting to find out their backstories. Grossman does a great job weaving these into the main storyline.
I did feel it was very religious though, lots of references to these themes and such. The pacing also suffers at times with some chapters feeling dragged out and a slog to get through. Overall though this was a fun fantasy adventure about a cast of unlikely heroes with smart, witty prose.
The Christmas Guest by Peter Swanson
A Christmas based mystery/thriller about a young American woman invited to her friend's country estate for the holidays and discovers that her friend's brother (who she also has a crush on) is the prime suspect in a murder. I fairly enjoyed this novella, I thought the writing was good and the mystery unfolds really well being told in a flashback. The characters could have done with some more fleshing out but that's to be expected with a short story. Not particularly memorable but I had a good time.
Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak
I wanted more Christmas fiction so picked up this contemporary about a family brimming with secrets who are quarantined in their home over the holidays. This book was so frustrating! I hated pretty much all of the characters especially the younger sister, who was so unbelievably vapid and self-centred that I wanted to throttle her. I thought it started it off really well and I liked the rotating POV's but by the halfway mark, they were all doing my head in. This family was so dysfunctional and needed plenty of therapy after all of that. I also thought the ending was stupid!
My highest rated of the month was this fantasy adventure about a teenage boy who discovers a secret world called Sunderland (a world that featured in a forgotten 90s tv show) and sets out to prove he is the chosen one meant to save it. I was enjoying this so much that I devoured it in a single day. It's been a long time since I've been this invested in a YA series but the characters were hilarious, the writing felt weirdly nostalgic and the plot was so entertaining! I can't wait for the next book to arrive and if you like Stranger Things/Locke & Key, definitely pick this one up.
On the Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
I think this was definitely a case of me expecting something a little bit different from a book than what I actually got. This is a historical fiction book set in the 50's about sisters who perform as a trio and we follow them and their mother as they realise they may have different expectations for their lives then what they've always known. I enjoyed the alternating POV's between Vivian and her three daughters but I felt like Vivian got most of the focus and the story wasn't about the girls as a singing group but about them chasing their individual dreams. I enjoyed it for what it was and how each woman had a story to tell but I think I went into it wanting something else. My favourite storyline in the book (Chloe's POV) was also the most underutilised which was slightly disappointing as well.
Always in December by Emily Stone
I don't feel like I had the best of luck with romances in 2024 but I own a ton of Christmas ones on my Kindle so I wanted to get at least one read. I chose this one mostly cause of the cover! Josie lost her parents at a young age on Christmas Eve so always avoids the holidays but a chance encounter with a stranger gives her hope until he ghosts her after spending a few days together. We then follow Josie and Max over the next two years as they continue to bump into each other and figure out what happened between them.
I wanted cute, cozy romance but I was very disappointed in this one. The characters were fine but I wasn't feeling the chemistry between Josie and Max much other than their initial meeting. I feel like the story got dragged out and the writing didn't do much for me either. There's also a plot twist at the end which I absolutely hated and thought was unnecessarily cruel. It was building up to something throughout the book but the ending was just a no from me.
The Very Merry Murder Club edited by Serena Patel & Robin Stevens
Next up on the festive agenda was this anthology of middle grade mysteries set at Christmas from a bunch of UK authors. Some of these were definitely a lot stronger than others. Even for middle grade, I thought some of these stories were too juvenile and silly. Also, for an anthology entitled merry murder, there wasn't a lot of murder. Most of them were basic mysteries about stolen items or missing people. Bit of a let-down but a few stories stood out; Shoe-Dunnit, The Beast of Bedleywood, The Frostwilds and the Ticking Funhouse were all fun.
I've been promising myself I'll read this Christmas classic for the last four years and I finally got round to it. Everyone knows this classic story so I won't go in to detail but I really enjoyed it especially reading the gorgeous illustrated edition I had. I read this over Christmas Eve/Day and it was a lot of fun especially as I was semi-watching the muppets version as I read!
Operation Nativity by Jenny Pearson
Another festive middle grade, this one about a young boy who goes to his grandparents country manor for Christmas to spend time with his sick grandfather. But upon arrival he discovers the Angel Gabriel has magically transported Mary, Joseph, a wise man, a shepherd and a donkey to present day and it's up to Oscar and his sister Molly to track them all down and save Christmas. This was hilarious and such an entertaining read. I loved how even though the nativity story is very central to the plot, it's also a lot about family and creating magical memories. Going to be passing this on to my niece cause I think she'll enjoy this one too.
Ushers by Joe Hill
I then read a bunch of Amazon Original short stories cause I really wanted to complete Beat the Backlist and I only had two prompts left. This was originally for the neon cover prompt until after I finished and discovered it was published in 2024 so didn't count for the challenge...
Anyway, this was so short but super creepy about a man who keeps escaping death and has to explain what happened to two detectives. I loved this and would be more than happy if it was turned into a full novel.
Uncharted Waters by Sally Hepworth
I then read this short story for the featuring a boat prompt. A woman goes on a boat trip for a few days without her husband and forms an unexpected connection with another passenger but there's a deeper underlying secret. This was interesting but I expected it to go darker then it did. Still enjoyable but nothing to rave about.
Ark by Veronica Roth
I then read this for the neon cover prompt so managed to tick them all off! This was a slow, sci-fi short story about a scientist cataloguing plants ready for the samples to be transported as earth is being evacuated due to an incoming asteroid. This was an interesting look at loss and grief, both personal and general and about the power of human connection.
The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen
I was so excited to read a Nutcracker retelling as it's a favourite fairytale of mine ever since watching the Barbie movie from the early 2000s! This started off really strongly, we're introduced to twin sisters and how one was blessed with being the light and the other cursed to be dark. We follow Natasha, the dark twin, who resents her sister for having such an easy life and when she finds herself in the Kingdom of Sweets makes a bargain with ghastly consequences.
I enjoyed the set up for the story and being introduced to the characters but as the story went on I felt the plot wasn't really progressing much. The writing was beautiful and atmospheric, I could really picture the setting vividly but plot let this one down. I would have liked to have spent more time in the actual Kingdom of Sweets as well, rather than just Natasha obsessing over the most boring man alive.
What did you read in December? Have you read any of these? Leave a comment below. Happy Reading!
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