Hello Readers! Happy New Year! First a little life update… December was a whirlwind for me. We took a fast and furious last minute trip to New York City when my husband needed to go for work (I’ve included a few highlights below)—which meant I didn’t decorate or shop for Christmas until I returned. A mistake I don’t plan on making again. Ha! After we returned, my husband and children—even the one who no longer lives at home—were all sick at various times during the month, while I somehow avoided it. 🤷‍♀️ We did end up all being able to be together on Christmas, which was so nice. All the craziness meant I barely had time to read or blog, reading my least amount of books for a month in a long time. All those seasonal reads I’d hoped to get to will have to wait a little longer. 😉

If you take a look back at My December TBR, you’ll see I only managed to read 3 out of the 7 books I had planned, bringing my total number of pages read to 891. Boy, that hurts to type. 😃

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I also received a few bookish gifts I wanted to share, one that was especially meaningful and might inspire some of you, who I know are more crafty than me. 🥰 I participated in a Secret Santa exchange with some family, and the person who drew my name made me a snow globe with all the book covers of the books I’d read for my Popsugar Reading Challenge this year! So creative and personal, it’s one of my favorite bookish gifts ever. Now I want one for every year. 😍 I also received some adorable bookish socks for Christmas made by Happypop!

Now, let’s see what I read and what I added to my TBR!

Be sure to check out The Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction!

(Link to synopsis on Goodreads through the book title.)

December Wrap-Up

I started the month finishing my reading of The Key to My Heart by Lia Louis, my last ARC of the year—as well as, one of my most anticipated! Louis is a must-read author for me, and her newest romance did not disappoint. Heartfelt, tear-inducing, and swoon-y, I didn’t want to put this one down.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review
Published on December 6, 2022

I started The Mistletoe Motive by Chloe Liese while flying to New York. At only 185 pages, it’s more like a novella, but I still couldn’t finish it until I was on my return flight home. I fully intended to read more while out of town, but it just didn’t happen. I adored this sunshine/grump romance set in a bookstore. I especially appreciated the autism representation. Liese is an author I finally picked up this past year, and I’m a fan!

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I picked up both The Mistletoe Motive and this one, Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh, on sale on Kobo last month, and while I’ve had other seasonal romances on my TBR longer, it was fun to read both of my newest books, which doesn’t happen very often. I kind of wish I’d read this one while traveling; it would have made more sense, being set in the airport for a lot of the book. I did start it the last hour of my flight home… but then it took me the rest of the month to finish. 😬 And NOT because I didn’t want to pick it up, just because life was too busy. Super cute, great characters, I will definitely read more by the author.

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25

December Book Haul

I added six ebooks (including two ARCs), five physical books, and one audiobook to my shelves this month!

My eARCs

I read Montgomery’s debut novel A Summer to Remember in 2021 and I felt like it was one that deserved much more hype. Well-written with engaging characters, I was quite impressed with the dual timelines. I’m super excited for her follow-up, Our Place on the Island! And a bonus tip: I signed up for her newsletter and it’s one I always get excited to find in my inbox. She always includes yummy recipes, particularly inventive cocktails. 😉

Synopsis:

For decades, the Campbell women have reunited at the family’s rambling seaside cottage known as Beech House to celebrate life’s many occasions. But this year, they will be called back to Martha’s Vineyard for a celebration of a different sort: their beloved matriarch Cora is getting remarried. And all the town gossips are calling him the one who got away, years ago… 

For renowned chef Mickey Campbell, this wedding isn’t just a welcome excuse to return to the place she first learned to cook at her grandmother’s side. It’s also a chance to regroup while she figures out a way to tell her smoldering head chef boyfriend that she’s mismanaged their restaurant into the red. 

Mickey’s mother, Hedy, is still mourning the passing of her adored father three years earlier, and she isn’t sure she’s ready to welcome a new man into the fold—and she’s not certain her own thorny relationship with her mother will weather the storm of her upcoming marriage.

But everyone knows a woman’s heart holds more than meets the eye. For Cora, drawing her daughter and granddaughter back to Beech House isn’t just about a ceremony, but a chance to reveal a history she has kept close to her heart for decades. As the days leading up to the wedding unfold, secrets of Cora’s past come to light– a secret that will cause three generations of Campbell women to question marriage, motherhood, and ultimately learn to savor the delicious joy of following your own heart.

Told in dual timelines on the sumptuous beaches of Martha’s Vineyard, OUR PLACE ON THE ISLAND is the sparkling, romantic read of the season.

Expected June 13, 2023

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When I was invited to read the next novel by the author of The Mountains Sing—and participate in the blog tour—I couldn’t say no. I haven’t read The Mountains Sing yet, but it’s been on my TBR and I’ve heard so many amazing things. Dust Child sounds to be just as compelling!

Synopsis:

From the internationally bestselling author of The Mountains Sing, a suspenseful and moving saga about family secrets, hidden trauma, and the overriding power of forgiveness, set during the war and in present-day Việt Nam. 

In 1969, sisters Trang and Quỳnh, desperate to help their parents pay off debts, leave their rural village and become “bar girls” in Sài Gòn, drinking, flirting (and more) with American GIs in return for money. As the war moves closer to the city, the once-innocent Trang gets swept up in an irresistible romance with a young and charming American helicopter pilot, Dan. Decades later, Dan returns to Việt Nam with his wife, Linda, hoping to find a way to heal from his PTSD and, unbeknownst to her, reckon with secrets from his past. 

At the same time, Phong—the son of a Black American soldier and a Vietnamese woman—embarks on a search to find both his parents and a way out of Việt Nam. Abandoned in front of an orphanage, Phong grew up being called “the dust of life,” “Black American imperialist,” and “child of the enemy,” and he dreams of a better life for himself and his family in the U.S. 

Past and present converge as these characters come together to confront decisions made during a time of war—decisions that force them to look deep within and find common ground across race, generation, culture, and language. Suspenseful, poetic, and perfect for readers of Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko or Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, Dust Child tells an unforgettable and immersive story of how those who inherited tragedy can redefine their destinies through love, hard-earned wisdom, compassion, courage, and joy. 

Expected March 14, 2023

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Book HookUp Unboxing

My Winter Book HookUp box from The Strand Bookstore included a signed copy of The Do-Over by Lynn Painter and an ARC of The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim. Check out my unboxing for an in-depth look!

Half Price Books Purchases

While shopping for Christmas gifts, I couldn’t resist picking up a couple of books I found in the clearance section of my local Half Price Books: The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee—which I’ve had on my TBR for years—and Float Plan by Trish Doller. I read and enjoyed an ARC of Float Plan, so adding a physical copy to my shelf is fun. While photographing the books, I discovered The Gentleman’s Guide is signed! I’m always excited, but a little sad to come across signed books. Especially when the message seems extra special.

Paperbackswap Book

Last month I added Autumn by Ali Smith through paperbackswap and this month I picked up Winter. Soon I’ll have all the seasons in this quartet series!

Gifted by Publisher

For the past few years, Simon and Schuster has gifted an ebook and audiobook to their subscribers. Thank you! This year I chose People Person by Candice Carty-Williams (author of Queenie, which I enjoyed) as my audiobook choice and Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter as my ebook choice. Both are available on the Glose app. I love that I picked up two books by Painter this month!

Free eBooks

I picked up three ebooks for free this month:

• Totally Folked by Penny Reid – I’m slowly collecting some of Reid’s romances, but I’ve yet to read one. Maybe in 2023!
• The Night of Many Endings by Melissa Payne – I was super intrigued by the premise of Payne’s book: a group of people find themselves stranded at the local library during a snow storm one night.
• Mistletoe Madness (Santa’s Secret Helpers, #2) by Leeanna Morgan – Small town holiday romance between a party planner and Christmas tree farm owner. All I had to see was ‘christmas tree farm’ and I was adding it to my tbr. 😍

Amazon First Reads

In December I chose Five Winters by Kitty Johnson as my Amazon First Reads book. This romance getting great early reviews is about Beth—who’s secretly been in love with her best friend’s brother for years—finally deciding to move on with her life when her crush marries someone else.

Expected on January 1, 2023

How was your reading month? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!