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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A goodly amount of reading in November. Although some were novellas and most were reasonably fast paced. 🥁
ReplyDelete1 Black as Death by Lilja Sigurdardottir. Áróra Investigations #5. Iceland
2 Her Alien Heroes by Susan Hayes. Drift World Short Story. Space
3 Echoes Beneath by Pauline Baird Jones. Pets in Space 10 novella. Space
4 Colvin by Veronica Scott. Intergalactic Dating Agency. Soldiers of the Ardannan. #3. Space
5 When Shadows Return by Venezia Miller. The Find #7. Sweden
6 Collision! by Elsa Jade. Cosmic Connections Cruise #3. Space
7 Baby for the Alien Warrior by Honey Phillips. Treasured by the Alien #14. Space
8 The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts. Lost Bride Trilogy #3. USA, Maine
9 The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes by Chanel Cleeton. Cuba/ USA, Massachusetts, Florida/UK, London/Scotland, Edinburgh
10 Magically Generated by Jackie Lau. Canada, Toronto
11 What Happens in Tulsa by Erin McClellan. Short story. USA, Oklahoma
12 Unbroken by Jordan L Hawk. Rath and Rune #4. USA, Massachusetts
13 The Roommate Game by Lane Hayes. Smithton Bears #3. USA, New York
14 A Cowboy's Claim by Vivian Arend. The Skyes of Heart Falls #3. Canada, Alberta
15 Irresistibly Wicked by Melissa Foster. Dark Knights at Bayside:The Wickeds. USA, Massachusetts
16 Lorrd by Sue Mercury. Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides #8. USA, Virginia
17 Balarr by Sue Mercury. Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides #9. USA, Colorado, Space
18 Warrin by Sue Mercury. Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides #10. USA, Tennessee, Space
I'll post December in a couple of days. I'm hoping to read at least one more
Gill
Gill, great reading month. I started a Lynn Raye Harris book but haven't finished it yet. I haven't gotten back to it.
DeleteAnd I finished another Toni Anderson in audio last night, so that will add my count of books read by one, but I'm unlikely to do more. Today's the last day.
Did you have a good Christmas?
I'm having problems posting December. I'll try later. May have to do it in 2 parts!
ReplyDeleteGill
Every now and then the comments section glitches. I don't know why. And coincidentally, I was thinking about you and your December list today. Did you manage to read more books before the end of the year?
DeleteDecember was definitely a good ending to the year. Some very short freebies though but every little helps. A couple of rereads too with the Veronica Scott books. 🥁
ReplyDelete1 The Wake by Yrsa Sigurdardottir. Iceland, Westman Islands, Reykjavik
2 Burn the World Down by Anna Hackett. Unsanctioned #1. USA, Nevada
3 Burn the World Down Bonus
4 The Bone Thief by Vanessa Lillie. Syd Walker #2. USA, Rhode Island
5 Second Chance Romance by Olivia Dade. Harlot's Bay #2. USA, California, Maryland
6 Tamsyn by Veronica Scott. Planet of Last Resort #2. Space
7 Dead Line by Stella Rimington. Liz Carlyle #4 UK, London/Cyprus/Israel/USA, Washington/Scotland
8 Omnitronw by Pauline Baird Jones. Project Enterprise: Cyborg Chronicles #7. Space
9 Omnitronw bonus epilogue
10 Midnight Obsession by Rebecca York. Soulmated #5. USA, Maryland/Louisiana
11 After Hours at Dooryard Books by Cat Sebastian. USA, New York
12 A Cowboy Holiday by Lane Hayes. USA, California
13 Jules Cassidy PI by Suzanne Brockmann. Troubleshooters #20. USA, Massachusetts, California, Connecticut
14 Duke for Hire by Nicola Davidson. UK, Gloucestershire
15 Scars of Silence by Johana Gustawsson. Sweden, Lidingö
16 Confessions of a Trash Droid Fatal Error by Michael Cheney. Confessions of a Trash Droid #1. Dystopia
17 Tidings of Comfort and Joy by Lynn Raye Harris. Black's Bandits Epilogue. Virginia
18 Confessions of a Trash Droid Illegal Operation by Michael Cheney. Confessions of a Trash Droid #2. Dystopia
19 Star Cruise Captain's Prequel by Veronica Scott. Space
20 The Haunting of Payne's Hollow by Kelley Armstrong. USA, New York
21 Star Cruise Captain's Story by Veronica Scott. Space
22 Confessions of a Trash Droid Sector Zero by Michael Cheney. Confessions of a Trash Droid #3. Dystopia
23 Happy Anniversary by Kaylea Cross. Valkyrie free short story. UK
Oooh... fabulous December. I recognise some of the books on there too. BTW given what you read, I think you'd enjoy Emma Hartlight's books. Romantic suspense/contemporary romance with mystery. Clever, intelligent, warm, and beautiful romances. She's in KU but I'm not sure if you read with KU or not.
DeleteI read a lot less than normal in 2025, it was too busy/distracting of a year. Out of Nov/Dec, November was my busy month for reading (it helped that most of the reads were novellas)!
ReplyDeleteNOVEMBER
The big thing this month was my push to finish the Cauldron Coffee Shop series. It had started out strong, but later in the series it felt like the plot didn't move enough and the characters lost some agency. By the end, I just wanted the series to be over and didn't bother with the one post-series novella. My other reads this month were mostly by authors I regularly read.
Vanilla Frappe and Reasons to Stay (Cauldron Coffee Shop #6) by Laura Greenwood
Festive Drinks And Season's Hijinks (Cauldron Coffee Shop Book 7) by Laura Greenwood
Healed by My Hyde: A Cozy Monster Romance (Fairhaven Falls, #11) by Honey Philips
Earl Grey And New Rules In Play (Cauldron Coffee Shop Book 8) by Laura Greenwood
Berry Infusion And Lots Of Confusion (Cauldron Coffee Shop Book 9) by Laura Greenwood
Strawberry Milkshake And What's At Stake (Cauldron Coffee Shop Book 10) by Laura Greenwood
Herbal Concoctions And Out Of Options (Cauldron Coffee Shop Book 11) by Laura Greenwood
Ancient Nightcap And That's A Wrap (Cauldron Coffee Shop Book 12) by Laura Greenwood
When She's Stuffed: A Risdaverse Holiday Short by Ruby Dixon
End Game by Adriana Locke
Handle With Care Thorns Included by Emma Hartlight
DECEMBER
These were either new releases by authors I read or holiday books I've been waiting to read. The Sock Monkey book was just because I heard about it and thought it would be hilarious to look at (helps that it's a KU offering).
Burn the World Down by Anna Hackett
A Klaus Encounter by Honey Philips
Sock Monkey Kama Sutra: Tantric Sex Positions for Your Naughty Little Monkey by Vatsyayana Banana
A Very Meowy Christmas by Zoe Chant
Mistletoe Mobster by Cassie Mint
Holly Jolly Heresy by Cara Dion
Doctor Who: Ten Days of Christmas by Steve Cole
Wow, thank you for sharing your list. I love seeing what people read for the month too. Hope you keep it up.
DeleteOoh, a lot of Laura Greenwood. Do you love her books? I've tried a couple and they didn't stick for me. That was a long time ago, so maybe I'll try it again.
You've got a few authors on there I recognise too. Em (of course!), loved Burn the World Down, and I enjoy Zoe Chant and Cassie Mint too. I just wish Cassie Mint either wrote longer books or published more frequently. She used to crank out a book a month, but now she's going longer between books.