Hey Bookish People!
Happy Holidays! I hope everyone’s December is going well. I have been head down and shopping crazed the past 2 weeks. I am happy to report though, my Christmas shopping is Done! I’m looking forward to when it’s time to wrap everything. With a glass of wine and a “good” Hallmark Christmas movie playing, I jam out the wrapping session in my own little world. My husband knows to just stay out of the way, more because he hates wrapping gifts. But I think he gets a bit of the Christmas joy out of watching me fuss over each of the presents.
With this being the last month of 2025, I hope everyone is close to their reading goals. I am working on my final books to hit my goal of 110 read for 2025. This year has been a reading year filled with a bunch of cozy mysteries, completed series, and romance to spice up the lists. It was a fun year! Took a bit more of a leisure approach to finding my books this go around. But I’m ready to double down next year and see what the writing world brings to my cozy corner of the universe.
I’m still looking for my Christmas Eve book and one for my hubby. I know – Last minute much? Thankfully, I know which one to get for him, just have to find it. But the other gifts were taking over my view of everything. I would love a book suggestion for me – fantasy, romantasy, romance, cozy mystery – you get the picture. Looking for something that wouldn’t be found blowing up Booktok at the moment.
If anyone wants, my Fable bookclub Pages & Paces will be reading Brimstone (book 2 to Quicksilver)! We’d love to have you read along!
Merry Bookish Christmas!
Chat with you guys in the New Year!
Reading Theme: Wrapping Up The Year
Going short and sweet to help reach the goals right at the end! From a good Christmas themed story to push you into the holiday mood or something that is a good shorter story that keeps you hooked, it all counts. Let’s wrap up the year strong! Find a classic in your own reading log you re-read all the time. It is the time of year to be comfy, cozy, and enjoying everything around.
Happy Reading Everyone!
My Reading List for December 2025:
Twelve Slays of Christmas By Jacqueline Frost
When Holly White’s fiance cancels their Christmas Eve wedding with less than two weeks to go, Holly heads home with a broken heart. Lucky for her, home in historic Mistletoe, Maine is magical during Christmastime–exactly what the doctor prescribed. Except her plan to drown her troubles in peppermints and snickerdoodles is upended when local grouch and president of the Mistletoe Historical Society Margaret Fenwick is bludgeoned and left in the sleigh display at Reindeer Games, Holly’s family tree farm.
When the murder weapon is revealed as one of the wooden stakes used to identify trees on the farm, Sheriff Evan Grey turns to Holly’s father, Bud, and the Reindeer Games staff. And it doesn’t help that Bud and the reindeer keeper were each seen arguing with Margaret just before her death. But Holly knows her father, and is determined to exonerate him.The jingle bells are ringing, the clock is ticking, and if Holly doesn’t watch out, she’ll end up on Santa’s naughty list.
Apple Cider Slaying By Julie Anne Lindsey
Apples are at the core of the family business run by Winona Mae Montgomery and her Granny Smythe. But this year’s crop is unseasonably ripe with murder . . .
ONE ROTTEN APPLE
Blossom Valley, West Virginia, is home to Smythe Orchards, Winnie and her Granny’s beloved twenty-five-acre farm and family business. But any way you slice it, it’s struggling. That’s why they’re trying to drum up business with the “First Annual Christmas at the Orchard,” a good old-fashioned holiday festival with enough delicious draw to satisfy apple-picking locals and cider-loving tourists alike–until the whole endeavor takes a sour turn when the body of Nadine Cooper, Granny’s long-time, grudge-holding nemesis, is found lodged in the apple press. Now, with Granny the number one suspect, Winnie is hard-pressed to prove her innocence before the real killer delivers another murder.
The Christmas Guest By Peter Swanson
Ashley Smith, an American art student in London for her junior year, was planning on spending Christmas alone, but a last-minute invitation from fellow student Emma Chapman brings her to Starvewood Hall, country residence of the Chapman family. The Cotswold manor house, festooned in pine boughs and crammed with guests for Christmas week, is a dream come true for Ashley. She is mesmerized by the cozy, firelit house, the large family, and the charming village of Clevemoor, but also by Adam Chapman, Emma’s aloof and handsome brother.
But Adam is being investigated by the local police over the recent brutal slaying of a girl from the village, and there is a mysterious stranger who haunts the woodland path between Starvewood Hall and the local pub. Ashley begins to wonder what kind of story she is actually inhabiting. Is she in a grand romance? A gothic tale? Or has she wandered into something far more sinister and terrifying than she’d ever imagined?
Over thirty years later the events of that horrific week are revisited, along with a diary from that time. What began in a small English village in 1989 reaches its ghostly conclusion in modern-day New York, many Christmas seasons later.
The Kill Clause By Lisa Unger
A hit woman’s work doesn’t stop for the holidays. As the advent calendar winds down, Paige slips into a palatial house, ignoring a blizzard of texts from her ex-husband. No surprise—Julian always gets maudlin this time of year. The real shock comes when the target is not alone. His young daughter is there too.
Risking the wrath of her organization, Paige retreats. There are some lines that, for personal reasons, she just won’t cross. But when she returns on Christmas Eve to finish the job, the girl is still there…along with someone even more startling. As the ghosts of her past gather—to haunt or to help, it’s unclear—Paige must confront old traumas and outwit her superiors to make it to Christmas morning alive.
Sleigh Bells and Snowstorms By Claire Kingsley
Handsome, charismatic, and charming, Jensen Lakes is an enigma in a designer suit. But his playboy reputation is a persona—one of many—that he uses in his unique line of work.
A priceless heirloom goes missing right before the holidays, and Jensen is hired to find it. Tracking down the perpetrator will be simple. He’ll be in and out before Santa hits chimneys.
Natalie Thatcher needs a break. She’s a dedicated sister, aunt, and nurse, but her life is no Christmas carol. Between bills, mounting home repairs, and holiday shopping still to be done, most days she feels like a tangled strand of lights.
Jensen follows his quarry to Tilikum, and the Christmas-clad town throws him for a loop. As does Natalie. He enlists her aid—who better to help him navigate the local quirks than the captivating woman next door? Despite their chemistry and sizzling banter, love isn’t on his Christmas list. Or hers.
But as danger mounts, Jensen finds himself in an unexpected position—falling in love with his partner. And when her life is on the line, he’ll risk everything to keep her safe. And get her home for Christmas.
