Best Books of December
As I say every month, I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessica Lahey. She has a recurring monthly date where she reviews all the books she reads that month. Book reviews are important for authors, and I want to get better at doing this.
So. I’m going to review them here and also online, but I’m going to do it a little differently. I’m only going to review the stuff I really liked. I don’t see a reason to spend my time writing about something I didn’t love; it’s just using up more of my energy. So only positive reviews.
These are the books I liked (or mostly liked) from December.
The Rose Field (Philip Pullman): What a long strange trip with Lyra and Pan. I started in August rereading the series so I would be ready for this book when it came out. It was wonderful to cross the world with some of my favourite characters and know how the story ends. Or how the story begins, as I think Lyra would probably say when she gets to the end of a good, long tale.
The Shakespeare Requirement (Julie Schumacher): I skimmed the first book in the trilogy, and while it was nice to have a general sense of what happened in the first book before coming into this one, it isn’t necessary. I laughed and cringed through this book. I missed and did not miss academia in equal measure. I liked every character. It was just a great story. Go Payne! Especially Pup-Dog.
The Heir Apparent (Rebecca Armitage): Like The Royal We but maybe a little more think-y. I really loved this book and thought about it when I wasn’t reading it. I’ve read many thinly disguised royal family books, and this one had something new to say and said it well. I can’t wait to see what this writer does next.
That’s Not How It Happened (Craig Thomas): I loved this book. Clearly – I devoured it in three days. I didn’t know what to expect because I didn’t know the author’s show, but this made me want to see it because this story had big squishy heart. I laughed. My heart hurt for the valleys and cheered for the high points. Such a great story.
The Christmas Appeal (Janice Hallett): I didn’t review this book on Goodreads because it was a re-read, but the first time I read it, I wrote: “Janice Hallett is a gift to the world. I am not a fan of Christmas, but if she is writing the story, I am reading it. And this was so well done – funny and clever. Loved being back with the Players.” Still true.
Best Offer Wins (Marisa Kashino): I had a very hard time with this book. I liked the pacing and the plot. I disliked all of the characters. In fact, I considered stopping because the characters were all so unpleasant that I didn’t enjoy spending time with them. But it moved quickly and wrapped up neatly. I guess I was happy that I finished it. So 1 for characters and 4 for plot, for a 2.5 average. With an extra point for DC references.
The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer (Ragnar Jónasson): It was my first Ragnar Jonasson, but I was deep in before I realized I should have read the first book in the series. No worries — it was easy to keep up with the characters. A great, fast-paced winter read. I’ll double back and read the first book, and then I have the third book on my TBR for next fall.
The Correspondent (Virginia Evans): I’m still thinking about this book, weeks later. I read this in two days. I didn’t think I wanted to read it, and then it became the only book I wanted to read. Heartbreaking, beautiful, frustrating, relatable, this story will stick with me for a long time. The only thing that bothered me were letters back from actual people. For some reason, that crossed the line for me, maybe because those exchanges were tied to loss. But that was a tiny thing for me. On the whole, this was incredible and a good way to end the year.
What did you read last month?
