December Reading Wrap-Up

This month, I knocked out 9 books – the most of any month this year! I’ve read some new favorites, my first Jane Austen, and finished my 52 book reading challenge! All in all, it was a great way to finish my 2023 reading year!

When your uncle dies, you inherit your uncle’s super villain business – and o, by the way, the cat you’ve had for ages has been keeping an eye on your for him. Talk about a solid premise! And not only was it a solid premise, it was a solid read. John Scalzi manages to weave an incredible, fun narrative with many layers and multiple surprises. I cried, I laughed, and I was relieved that no cats died. It was perfection. If the premise sounds at all interesting to you, I highly encourage you to pick up this read!

This book came on my radar on Instagram. Described as The Great British Bake-Off meets The Hobbit, I knew I had to pick it up. Sure enough, we’re treated to following Arleta Starstone, a magicless human who gets entered into a magical baking competition, meets loveable companions, and ends up better than she started. The entire time I had a smile on my face while listening to it; I really think the author summed it up best with this quote: “like a warm, cozy blanket on a wintry day”. And while I do have some critiques, the overall love I had for this story and the characters overrides every one of them, hence the rating of 5 stars. I do think this will become my first “comfort” read: a book that I return to when I’m having a rough time in life because it just sparks so much joy.

For those curious, here are a summary of my critiques. The biggest one is the easiest to avoid, in my opinion: that the author reveals in the synopsis one of the major plot points that doesn’t happen until over half way through the book. Additionally, this book reads as Young Adult, even though I believe it is supposed to be marketed as Adult. Arleta can come off as whiny, repetitive, and young to some readers, since her story arc is a lot about finding her place in the world. Therefore if you (1) go into it thinking it’s YA and (2) do not read the synopsis, I’d venture most people will have a good, if not great, time reading this book. The stakes are low, the baking is lovely, and the romance is swoon-worthy.

When I said I wanted to read a Jane Austen book at the beginning of the year, I thought I would pick up Pride and Prejudice. Instead, I picked up Northanger Abbey to help fulfill a reading prompt to read a posthumously published novel. This book was Jane Austen’s first novel, although it was not published until after her death; additionally, it’s different from all of her other books in that it’s meant to be a satire on the Gothic novels at the time. I did find it best to read the kindle book while listening to the audiobook, since when I was just reading it I was essentially reading it out loud in a British accent anyway. I ended up writing down so many quotes that are still relevant *200 years* later; there was such a strong narrator voice that leant to a sassy nature of the story. If you go in expecting a satire, I would be shocked if you don’t enjoy this read, and I highly recommend.

I picked up The Bluest Eye for a reading challenge to read a Banned Book. This was my first Toni Morrison, and I’m eager to pick up more of her later work. I do think I would have enjoyed this book more had I read it with my eyes, as opposed to the audiobook version. It was written very literary, and it covered a ton of different characters. It was heartbreaking and eye opening at the same time. There were so many layers, and if I go back and read it I’m sure I’ll pick up things I missed the first time around. I’m not giving a rating to this book, because it’s almost like rating a memoir – it’s hard to rate someone’s real life experiences told in such a literary way.

Earlier this year, I picked up the first book in Josiah Bancroft’s other series, Senlin Ascends. I found it whimsical and unexpectedly layered; that being said, I went into The Hexologists with pretty high expectations. While I did enjoy it, it wasn’t the knock-my-socks off experience I was hoping for. Part of the reason I believe is because I didn’t super gel with the audiobook, but I also didn’t want to quit and wait for the e-book to become available from Libby. However, I did enjoy some aspects of the story. The two main characters, Iz and Warren, have become one of my favorite relationships I’ve read. Their interactions were hands down the best part of the book, in my opinion. As far as the mystery goes, there was twists and turns, and I can see where the author could expand on it in the future. I’ll be picking up any further installments – just maybe with reading with my eyes instead of listening on audio.

For my last reading challenge prompt of the year, I had to read the last book in a series. In order for me to do that, however, I had to read the second book in a series. Because the length is shorter than most novels (coming in at 136 pages) I decided to finish reading The Lynch Brothers series. This second installment was good and fun, however, it was nothing overly remarkable. As someone who has read other books by the author, this series is the least impressive from them – but it did make for a nice quick enjoyable read.

Dead Like Romi, the last book in the Lynch Brothers series, was the best out of all three books, in my opinion. It was the nice end to a quick, easy read, romance series. I still maintain this series pales in comparison to the author’s other work – but it did help me finish my reading challenge!

I read this for a reading challenge, and it was the first poetry I’ve read outside of primary school. Clarity and Connection falls firmly in the realm of “Instagram poetry” which was both good and bad. While there were a few entries that I really connected to, most of them were just okay. It has encouraged me to read more poetry in the future, as I really liked the nature of reading poetry: being able to read a few pages at a time without having to remember what came before is really useful for those times that I want to read a bit without starting a whole new novel. Unfortunately, I don’t think this kind of poetry is for me, and might try a different style in the future.

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In addition to all these, I also read another book from the library. However, this book is published by St. Martin’s Press, and I’m participating in the review boycott of SMP to show solidarity with Palestine and BIPOC reviewers. See this post from Courtney Reads Romance which explains it in more in detail. When (if?) the boycott ends, I’ll post my review then.