Hello Readers! I had big reading plans for the month of December. Unfortunately, life became too busy and my reading got pushed to the back-burner. If only I could have a few more weeks to enjoy my seasonal reads before I have to return to the 2022 ARCs demanding my attention. 😉
I ended up reading three holiday romances, one anthology, and one short story, for a total of 1,333 pages. When I looked back at My December TBR, I was disappointed to see I’d only read 2 of the 8 books I had planned, DNFing one, as well.
Let’s see what I managed to read in December!
Be sure to check out The Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction!
December Wrap-Up
(Link to synopsis on Goodreads through the book title.)
As soon as I finished Camilla Isley’s Fool Me Twice at Christmas—which I loved—I purchased a copy of A Christmas Caroline, a retelling of A Christmas Carol. This swoon-y and bookish romance was the perfect way to start the month!
My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
My Review
I’ve been waiting to reread In a Holidaze all year, and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time, reading it in Colorado while we were on a quick vacation with my husband’s family. The snow only enhanced my reading experience!
My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review
Somewhere I came across this short story set in the world of Morgan Matson’s novel, Save the Date, which I enjoyed reading in 2019. The Grant family is an unforgettable one, and I had a blast revisiting them in We Grant You a Merry Christmas!
My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
If you’re a follower you know I love road-trip books, so when I discovered A Cross-Country Christmas, I couldn’t resist picking it up! A story about forgiveness, I enjoyed this sweet and uplifting romance!
My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review
When I was invited to read a Latin version of Love Actually, I couldn’t say no! This anthology of stories inspired by the film has something for everyone, and if you like your romances steamy, look no further than Amor Actually.
My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review
I did DNF one book, The Christmas Cabin, a novella by Susan Hatler. It’s the first book I’ve not finished all year. The writing was not great, and I knew I had better books waiting.
In case you missed it…
- Blog Tour & Giveaway | With Excerpts from Rainbow Rowell, Suzanne Redfearn, J. Courtney Sullivan, & Chandler Baker
- Top Ten Tuesday: Christmas Songs Book Tag Mashup 2021!
- Book Review | Meet Me on Love Lane (Hopeless Romantics, #2) by Nina Bocci
- Top Ten Tuesday: My Winter 2021-2022 TBR
- Book Review | A Christmas Caroline by Camilla Isely
- Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Hope Santa Brings {My Bookish Wishes}
- Book Review | A Cross-Country Christmas by Courtney Walsh
- Top Ten Tuesday: My Favorite Books of 2021
- ARC Book Review | Amor Actually: A Holiday Romance Anthology by Adriana Herrera
Highlights from elsewhere…
- 15 BOOK CHARITIES TO INSPIRE HOPE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
- 52 WEEKLY CHALLENGES TO UP YOUR READING LIFE IN 2022
- Hasini shared 16 Adult Romance Books Coming in January!
- Carla shared The Holiday Drinks Book Tag with some great holiday-reading recommendations!
- Sumedha shared 10 Interesting Reading Challenge Ideas for 2022, which I loved!
- Dini and Deanna both shared reviews of Homecoming King, the first book in a new romance series by Penny Reid. I feel like I’ve been seeing this one everywhere!
What I’ve been watching…
- We spent most of December watching our favorite holiday films: Home Alone, Elf, Christmas Vacation, and A Christmas Story, but I did manage to watch one new one: Love Hard, a holiday romance on Netflix. I thought it was pretty cute!
- We did watch the entire limited series of Maid, based on the memoir by Stephanie Land. I haven’t read the book, but I thought the adaptation was phenomenal!
- My husband decided to give the Outlander adaptation a try, so we’ve been watching it the past few days. It’s a rewatch for me, but I’ll be super surprised if he sticks with it. He’s not typically a big romance fan. 😉
How was your reading month? Have you read any of these books? Did you add any of them to your TBR? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
I liked Fool Me Twice at Christmas and need to read the second book in that series because I loved it so much! I read more holiday stories this year than in the past. I read In a Holidaze last year, in fact it was the only book I’ve purchased through the Book of the Month club in over two years that I’ve actually read, lol. Hope you have a good January!
Lisa Loves Literature
Oh, if you enjoyed Fool Me Twice, you’ll enjoy this one, too! I’ve been bummed to see some mixed reviews for Fool Me Twice. I loved it so much! I think In a Holidaze may become an annual Christmas read for me. 😉
It sounds like you had a pretty good month, even if you didn’t get as much read as you wanted, Dedra. I really want to read The Maid before I watch the adaptation, so I need to get cracking. Happy New Year!
I didn’t even realize Maid was a book until we were about halfway through the series. And then I didn’t realize it was a memoir until the end. Ha! Happy New Year, to you, too, Carla! <3
Funny that the series came out before the book was published.
Oh, I think you’re confusing it with The Maid by Nita Prose, which is a fiction book that just published. I did that too, at first! This one is a memoir called Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive by Stephanie Land that was published in 2019. Unfortunate timing for both of those similar titles! 🙂
You are right I am definitely doing that. I will have to check out this nonfiction title though, thanks Dedra.
In a Holidaze was so good, wasn’t it? I really enjoyed it when I read it. I did most of my holiday-themed reading in November this year. I finished the first season of the Outlander TV adaptation recently and enjoyed it for the most part. I’ve never read the books, so this is my first experience with the characters and storylines. I hope you have a Happy New Year!
Yes! It was my second year to read In a Holidaze and I think it will probably become an annual tradition. I love it so much. It’s just the right amount of romance and Christmas for me. 😉 I know Outlander is challenging for those who haven’t read it. I keep having to fill in things for my husband since he’s never read them. We also turn on the subtitles, which helps with things lost in translation. Especially names and places! Happy New Year to you!
In a Holidaze was a favorite of mine. I wanted to be invited to that family Christmas. Seemed like so much fun. I have not read anything by Halter, but I know she writes all those millionaire books. Not my thing.
I love In a Holidaze so much! Pretty sure it will become an annual read for me. 😉 Oh ok. I’d never heard of Halter before. I just thought it sounded cute. And it was free. Ha!
Love how you read all holiday-themed books! I don’t celebrate Christmas and it’s not that much of a thing here, so I went for normal books and they were mostly okay. Some were great like Malibu Rising.
Happy new year, Dedra!
P. S. thank you for linking to my post 😊
Oooh, I enjoyed Malibu Rising! TJR can be a hit or miss for me, but I did like that one. Happy New Year!
I read some middle grade christmas books with my kids last month and had a good time. i usually don’t read holiday books.
I love that! I used to do that with my kiddos too. Now they’re all too old. Ha! We always enjoyed reading A Christmas Carol together, too.
Christina Lauren can be hit or miss for me but I really enjoyed In a Holidaze. I just loved the characters and all their holiday traditions. Made me want to spend Christmas with them. 🙂
Yes! I love the cozy cabin and all the Christmas activities. So far, I’ve enjoyed every Christina Lauren book I’ve read, but I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface. Ha! I feel that way about Taylor Jenkins Reid, though. Her books can be hit or miss for me.
I love all the Christmas books on this wrap up! I really enjoyed In A Holidaze in 2020 when I read it 🙂
The Bookish Life of Tiffany
Love that one so much! I’m sure it will become an annual read for me. 😉
That a lot of holiday books. I been thinking about getting a few myself to sit aside for next year. Have a happy new year.
I wish I could have found time to read more. It’s a nice way to immerse myself in the holidays. 😉
I love that you read so many holiday books!
It didn’t feel like many to me, but I guess I should be glad I was able to read the ones I did. Life got busy! 😉
I have every one of your December reads on my TBR and they sound so much fun to read. We watched sappy Christmas movies and enjoyed some of them. I hope your 2022 is going well.
Oh yay!! I hope you get to pick them up soon and enjoy them, as well. I do love me some sappy Christmas movies. 😉