I finished out the year pretty strong. This month, I completed my 100 book challenge with Goodreads (and managed to read 5 additional books, just for fun!). But this month, I read 9 books, a total of 2,760 pages. Which is an average of 89 pages per day. Bringing my yearly reading total to 105 books. 37,010 pages. An average of 101 pages a day.
Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas by Stephanie Barron (327 pages). I’ve had this book for quite a while but wanted to wait until close to Christmas to read it! Jane Austen- world famous novelist. And sleuth? During the Twelve Days of Christmas, Jane and her family (mother, sister, brother, sister-in-law, nephew and niece) find themselves guests of the Chute family at their home. A snowstorm means that the guests find themselves snowbound at The Vyne for far longer than anticipated. On the third day, one of their party is found dead. While every else assumes it is a tragic accident, Jane and Mr Raphael West have other ideas- that someone at The Vyne killed him. But for what gain? And which of the other guests is a murderer? I finished in 4 days.
Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson (337 pages). Amy Whey loves everything about her life- her professor husband, her teenaged stepdaughter, her new baby boy, her best friend, her job as a dive instructor, her neighborhood. But when new neighbor Roux shows up to book club and high jacks it with a game, Amy’s world is turned upside down. Because Roux’s game is all about the worst thing you’ve ever done. And Amy has never shared that with anyone. But if the truth comes out, it could wreck Amy’s perfect world. It’s a game Roux excels at. And a game that Amy can’t let her win. I finished in 6 days.
Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan (315 pages). This was my 100th book of the year! Lucie Churchill is a 19 year old college student when she is invited to get former babysitter/adopted big sister’s wedding in Capri. From the parties to the fashion to the location, Lucie feels like she’s dropped into a fairytale. Especially when she meets 20 year old George Zao and they share one passionate, scandalous moment. Five years later, their paths intertwine again. Only this time, Lucie is newly engaged to Cecil Pike. Cecil is everything Lucie has ever wanted in a husband. But there’s something about George that makes him irresistible to Lucie. Still. Even 5 years later. I finished in 5 days.
Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce (334 pages). This was my Once Upon a Book Club book box. So again, you know the drill- pics of the gifts are on social. Margery Benson fell in love with beetles as a child. Her dream? Finding the never before found golden beetle of New Caledonia. But life took her in another direction after multiple disappointments. But in 1950, Margery has had enough- England is still reeling from WWII and she is unhappy with her job. So she makes a decision to go to New Caledonia. She advertises for an assistant and that’s when Enid Pretty enters her life. Nothing about Enid seems ready for the wilderness of a beetle-finding expedition. But the women make their way across the world and into the wilds. Along the way, they become the best of friends, each of them offering the other what they’ve always needed to become their best selves. I finished in 2 days.
Secrets of the Chocolate House by Paula Brackston (308 pages). The second book in the Found Things series. Xanthe Westlake has spent several weeks trying to get the seventeenth century and Samuel Appleby out of her mind. Until she finds a new object that sings to her, this time a chocolate pot. The pot takes her back in time. To just a few short months after she left Samuel behind. Last time, a young servant girl was in trouble. This time it’s Samuel himself. And Xanthe will stop at nothing to make sure that the man she loves is safe. But unfortunately for Xanthe, this time around she is facing a truly difficult foe- another time Spinner like her. I finished in 5 days.
In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren (304 pages). This was the Christmas special edition box from Once Upon a Book Club, so gift photos on social. Maelyn Jones is 26 years old, single, living back at home and working a job she hates. But she’s at her favorite place during her favorite time of year- a cabin in Utah with her divorced parents and younger brother, and all of her parents’ best friends and kids (including brothers Andrew and Theo- her crush and her best buddy, respectively). But after a night of too much eggnog results in a drunken misjudgment and the gut wrenching news that the cabin is being sold, Mae is distraught as they drive to the airport. The next thing she knows, she’s waking up, not from a car crash, but on an airplane that’s headed to Utah to start family Christmas. She keeps reliving the same holiday week over and over. Until she figures out what it will take to stop the time loop from restarting by figuring out what the universe wants her to learn. Literally Christmas chick lit! I loved it! I finished in 1 day.
12 Days of Book-Club-Mas by assorted authors (234 pages). This was a special edition box from Once Upon a Book Club- 12 “read one a day” short stories with accompanying gifts (see social media for those). The stories were wonderful- totally diverse. And the gifts were perfection! I finished in 7 days (because it arrived late and I ending up reading 5 stories on day one so I could end on time!)
The Garden of Promises and Lies by Paula Brackston (309 pages). The third and final book in the Found Things series. Xanthe is back in her own time, but this time Benedict Fairfax has followed her. When Xanthe realizes that this evil Spinner is truly dangerous, she follows another object, this time a wedding dress, back to the 1800’s to deal with him once and for all. But this time around, Xanthe finally shares her Spinner secret with her mother and would-be beau. Because she’s going to need all the help she can get. I finished in 6 days.
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng (292 pages). It’s May of 1977 and the body of 16 year old Lydia Lee was just found in the lake near her house. But Lydia hated the water. And her mom Marilyn is convinced this wasn’t a suicide. The novel delves into family history- how James (an American born Chinese man) and Marilyn (a blonde haired, blue eyed white woman) met and married, the three children in the family, all of their relationships to each other and, to be honest, their relationships with the world). I finished in 2 days.
This month’s favorite was..... a tie between Never Have I Ever and In a Holidaze. Totally different genres.
