This is my favorite season of the year (the Christmas season, that is, NOT winter!), and as always, December was a full month of celebrating the holidays with family and friends! Even still, I managed to read 8 books (one of which was a short story), so I’m calling it a win for reading as well. For the most part I stuck with the TBR I set for myself, but one book just didn’t work for me, and I received two advance copies that just demanded to be read immediately. One of my reading goals for 2018 is to finish the series that I started this year but have yet to complete! Someone please hold me accountable.
Ready to see the list?
Books I read and reviewed:
A Murder for the Books was an entertaining and easy read of a cozy mystery.
The Couple Next Door wasn’t the best nor the worst story of domestic intrigue I’ve ever read, but it was quite engrossing.
One of Us is Lying was engaging, entertaining, and compulsively readable.
A solid tale of psychological suspense, I found The Chalk Man to be intriguing and thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
The Woman in the Window was clearly a tribute to Rear Window and read much like a classic mystery/suspense film.
Environmentally Friendly was an action packed short story that also packed some punch.
I loved the writing style of Before I Let Go, but the story itself didn’t quite work for me.
Naughty and Nice was a holiday romance collection that fizzled into disappointment.
Books I read but didn’t review:
I really wanted to like Oliver Loving; I had heard great things and saw high ratings before going in. Unfortunately this was just too wordy for my taste and I couldn’t get into it, so I put it down about 10% of the way in.
On the stack for next month:
I’m starting the new year out with a slew of authors that are new to me (except Sophie Kinsella)! January is going to be slightly heavier on advance copies and review requests than usual, but I’m looking forward to see what these reads bring! One of my goals for 2018 is to read at least 20 books that I purchased for myself but haven’t read yet (which doesn’t sound like much but also won’t make much of a dent in the nearly 200 books in that stack!), and first up is Lie to Me. And I’m super pumped to be reading The Ghostwriter along with the Suspenseful Clues and Thrilling Reviews book club – I’ve heard so many people raving about it and am excited to dig in myself!
What are you reading or planning on reading next?
The Ghostwriter is amazing, you’re going to love it! A great selection for January, enjoy 😊
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Thanks! I’m super excited to read The Ghostwriter!! 😊
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200 on your “own and tbr” stack? Whoa!!!!! best of luck shrinking that down to a manageable size!
I have one more book I’d like to finish before the end of the year [The Sea Watch by Adrian Tchaikovsky] but since I still have several hundred pages to go I don’t know that I’ll finish by Saturday night. Sunday is going to be a December Wrapup and then Monday, being New Years, will be a yearly wrapup. So much to write, it cuts into my reading time.
Eh, who I am kidding? I love the writing side of blogging almost as much as the reading 😀
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Yep, all the excitement about new releases really caught up with me!! Slowly but surely I am determined to shrink it though. 😉
Good luck with your reading (and writing)! I totally get it, I love the reading and the writing and the book stalking too! 😀
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Ditto…also really looking forward to reading The Ghostwriter! The Chalk Man is my next read and One of Us Is Lying is high on my TBR list.
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Ooh hope you enjoy them all!!
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Love the resolution of reading what you bought… I think I have just as many or maybe a tad bit more too… I’m going to have to plan this out so that I put a dent in it cause.. I’m almost 2000% sure that I’ll end up purchasing more throughout the year! Your December was filled with some great books though and I hope January will have even better books for you. 😉
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Haha thanks! I seriously considered saying I wouldn’t buy any more books until I read a certain amount of what I already own, but I did get a Barnes and Noble gift card for Christmas and knew that wouldn’t stand! 😂 I hope your January has great books as well. Happy New Year!
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