Today is December 30th and I'm just sneaking in with what I've read for November. And since I'm not likely to read and finish another book till next year (which is only two days away), I thought I'd include December's reading list here as well. And the reality is, since I was trying to get through a lot of end of year work, there wasn't a lot of pleasure reading for me. Plus I struggled to find books that were engaging enough to switch off my editor brain.
Here's what I read in the last month.
 King of Desire |
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 Atonement Sky |
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 A Crime Boss Daddy Christmas |
 Haunted (full cast dramatized version) 🎧Graphic Audio 📚Kindle eBook |
 Midnight Vengeance |
 King Daddy (newsletter sign-up freebie) |
 Marquess of Fortune |
 King of Sinners |
 Handle With Care Thorns Included |
 Burn the World Down |
 Bride (book club read) |
 He Sees You |
 Maid for the Marquess |
 The Pretenders (full cast dramatized version) 🎧Graphic Audio 📚Kindle eBook |
 Inheritance (full cast dramatized version) 🎧Graphic Audio 📚Kindle eBook |
 Snoopy: Boogie Down! |
 A Very Stalker Christmas (reread) |
 A Very Killer Christmas |
 I Think Knot |
 Cold & Deadly (audiobook) 🎧Audible audiobook 📚Kindle eBook |
 The Devil |
 Tempted by Her Daddies |
 Colossal |
 Cemetery Girl Trilogy (full cast dramatized version) 🎧Graphic Audio 📚Kindle eBook |
 King of Depravity |
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Okay, you should know that this month's reading list only looks like I read a lot of books because I've combined two months and three of the audidobooks were actually a collection of all three in one box set but Goodreads didn't let me track just the one box set cos they didn't have it in there. It was also a graphic novel adaptation which was pretty dang cool.
So needless to say, stand outs this month included the Cemetery Girl Trilogy (The Pretenders, Inheritance, and Haunted) by Charlaine Harris and Christopher Christopher Golden done in Graphic Audio which at this point we all know I am obsessed with. It's the only way to listen to audiobooks as far as I'm concerned. With a few exceptions and one of them being anything narrated by Eric G Dove which this month includes Cold & Deadly by Toni Anderson. I'm grateful that every single book she writes and releases also comes out in audio because that's the only way I "read" her books. Listening to Eric G Dove's voice is a guilty pleasure.
Aside from that, every month has its fair share of duds which I will not talk about, but let's just acknowledge that not every book is for everyone. And being in the industry I'm not and feeling like I (sometimes) need to check out what all the hype is about (it's usually disappointing) I take one for the team and try out some books. I'm sorry to report that a lot of the hyped books (in my opinion) are not worth the hype. There are too many books being cranked out and going viral with little to no care given to writing craft, but that's a topic for another day.
Now that's I've got that rambling out of the day, I thoroughly enjoyed my reread of A Very Stalker Christmas by Layla Fae. And c'mon, it's Christmas, I needed to squeeze in some kind of festive book.
Nalini Singh and Anna Hackett never disappoint with Atonement Sky and Burn the World Down respectively. Burn the World Down is the start of a new series by Anna Hackett featuring retired assassins. Hoo! They were hot. I'm looking forward to more in the series. Atonement Sky was once again, magic. There's just a certain poetry in Nalini Singh's prose that I love.
One thing I learned about myself when I was done reading Atonement Sky by Nalini Singh. I'm a sucker for the tragic-almost-dying hero or heroine who miraculously (but it's still plausible) come back to life and they get their happy ever after. There's probably some kind of label or name for it, I should Google... [a few minutes later...] Right it's called The Death Fake-Out or Near Death Experience. And yeah, yours truly loves that trope and Nalini Singh does that in just about every single one of her Psy-Changeling and Psy-Changeling Trinity series books and some of her Guild Hunter books. I think it's the gut-wrenching emotional tension and the pay-off that gets me every time.
A slightly biased shout out, Handle With Care Thorns Included by Emma Hartlight was a sweet romantic suspense that's clever, heartwarming, and believable. Full disclosure, some bias here since Emma Hartlight is an author client of mine, but gosh, I've seen her improve from book to book, so if you're looking for something that's well written, intelligent, but also fun and exciting, I highly recommend.
In early December, I also discovered author Tammy Andresen. Funny story, this was recommended by Hubby because (I assume) he saw it pop up and thought it would be good research since Emma Hartlight is planning a spin-off series from the current one that's going to be a mafia romance. I have to admit that Tammy Andresen's books surprised me. They are probably on the lighter side of mafia romance, not dark, more gritty, but still spicy. My only gripe is that she uses the words "cum" and "cumming" instead of "come" and "coming" for orgasms, and y'all, those words fry my brain. I blip out and back in every time I see those words. The editor in me wants to put a red line through it. I think that the reason I've enjoyed these mafia books is because before branching out into mafia romance, Tammy Andresen has over a hundred historical romance books to her name and with that many books published, she's had time to hone her writing craft. Unlike most mafia romance on the market, the years put into writing over a hundred books shows and her mafia romances are not not worth the hype, though to be fair, I've not seen much hype about them.
Right, that's it for the rambling on what I read in the last two months. I don't know how next year is going to fare for me. I expect there will be reading, but on the work front, it's a full load, so there might be less reading for fun.
So, what did you read for the last month? Tell me below.
PS. Coming up next, a wrap-up for 2025 and plans for 2026.
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