Books for December
The Beginner's Guide to Loneliness - Laura Brambrey, 4/5, 406 pages
Talk about finding the right book at the right time. I picked up this book yesterday (knowing nothing about it, but just liking the back blurb), started it 10 minutes after purchasing it, and had finished it 24 hours later.
It was just... sweet. Not exceptional enough for me to give it 5 stars, but just very, very sweet, and I loved every moment of it. The characters were so well written and seemed real to me. Tori, Doreen and Rowan especially. I love seeing people grow and come into their own, and that growth was handled beautifully here. It almost made me want to go visit the Farm myself ;-)
I also liked the acknowledgement that online friendships can be every bit as real as "real life" ones.
One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston, 3/5, 418 pages
This book had two things going against it from the very beginning: 1. It came very highly recommended. 2. I absolutely loved the last book I read by Casey McQuiston ("Red, White and Royal Blue"). Unfortunately, these things combined meant that it couldn't quite live up to my expectations, and thus it took me over a month to finish it. I didn't dislike it, I just found it way too easy to put it down and not pick it back up again for ages.
I think my main problem was that though I loved the concept, I never really got to care for the characters. Not quite why, because they had everything going for them that usually makes me love characters, but it did mean that I wasn't all that invested in the outcome.
The Christmas Sisters - Sarah Morgan, 3.5/5, 382 pages
Cozy story about three very different sisters coming home for Christmas. No great surprises or twists in the plot, but I didn't expect that either - it's a chick-lit Christmas story! There was perhaps a bit too much drama for me to actually call it a feel-good book, as there were plenty of times where I wanted to take one sister and use her to hit the other.
But of course it all worked out in the end - it's a Christmas story, it had to! - and for all the drama, I loved that none of it was long term, and that beneath it all, the genuine affection between the family members was clear to see. Oh, and I ADORED Melly and Ruby - as an auntie myself, I thought the description of them was spot on!
Under the Whispering Door - T.J. Klune, 3.5/5, Audiobook ~15hrs
Unfortunately this turned out to be one of those "I liked it - but..." books. It was perfectly enjoyable, but while I liked the characters well enough, I never grew to love them, the way that I usually do with anything T.J. Klune writes. And since the book is very character-driven, it meant that I didn't engage with it as much as I had hoped to.
Dangerous Prayer - Craig Groeschel, 3/5, 168 pages
My Bible-app (previously YouGov) had a reading plan based on this book. I was very taken with it, and decided to buy the book it was based on. But as so often happens, all the best things of the book were in the reading plan as well, so the book didn't really have anything new to add.
It was good, but basic. I don't mean that in a negative way, just that for somebody who's been a Christian for 40+ years it didn't offer anything new. Some good reminders, to be sure, but I didn't feel like I learned anything.
I did appreciate the suggestions of scriptures to pray though :-)
Witches on Parole - Debora Geary*, 4.5/5, 421 pages
Witches Under Way - Debora Geary*, 5/5, 419 pages
Witches In Flight - Debora Geary*, 4.5/5, 413 pages
A Celtic Witch - Debora Geary*, 4/5, 247 pages
A Different Witch - Debora Geary*, 4.5/5, 260 pages
A Lost Witch - Debora Geary*, 4.5/5, 269 pages
An Imperfect Witch - Debora Geary*, 4.5/5, 250 pages
An Unlikely Witch - Debora Geary*, 4/5, 243 pages
A Dangerous Witch - Debora Geary*, 3/5, 165 pages
And that concludes my semi-annual (not even kidding!) reread of the Modern Witch series + spin-offs.
Books read: 123
Pages read: 25,785