Happy new year! I took last week off to read, go hiking, and loll around in the pleasant haze of the week between Christmas and New Year’s but now I’m back, ready for the first day of school feeling that always accompanies the new year for me. I have a lot of thoughts about what I want my reading and writing life to look like in 2024, which next week’s newsletter will be about, but first I need to wrap up my last books of 2023.
I read quite a lot in December, helped along by a few novellas and fast-paced reads, and fit in a decent amount of variety, including some buzzy 2023 releases that I wanted to fit in before the end of the year, a dollop of holiday romance, and two books about World War I. (I guess I really wanted to have my heart ripped out for the holidays?)
Let me know your favorite read of December in the comments!
Rereads
Hogfather by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #20)
In the depths of winter, the Hogfather has disappeared and there’s nothing for it but for Death—and his level-headed granddaughter Susan—to step in. Discworld is one of my all-time favorite fictional universes and I returned to this one for the holiday season with a sigh of happiness. For me, there's really no one else who blends British humor, social satire, and a keen understanding of humanity the way Pratchett does. This one includes a fascinating examination of belief and the necessary role of fantasy in human life alongside the capers and on this reread, I was surprised by how moving it was. There's well-plotted action, there's an appealingly sensible protagonist, there are laugh-out-loud lines and beautifully written ones, and of course, there's the always iconic Death.
Favorites of the month
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
A middle-aged pirate is pulled out of retirement to retrieve the missing granddaughter of a wealthy family. What an incredibly fun adventure. Told in a wonderfully distinct voice and featuring an unforgettable heroine, dazzlingly imaginative, funny, dramatic and gripping, and set in a time and place, the medieval Islamic world of the Indian Ocean, that I was immediately fascinated by. (Chakraborty includes notes on her research in the back, much to my delight.) I also really loved the secondary characters and Amina's relationship with her crew, by turns loving, bickering, and fiercely loyal. A transportive, smart, dazzling read that feels both modern and classic.
In Memoriam by Alice Winn
A wrenching, gripping book about love between two young men in the midst of the utter devastation of the Western Front during World War I. Winn makes history feel painfully vivid and real, bringing the people who might feel like faded photographs to life. While she never shies away from the horrors of the war, she provides just enough hope in Gaunt and Ellwood's love story to keep the suffering from being unbearable. This is still a rip-your-heart-out book--brace yourself before starting--but there's some beautiful moments of connection, love, and friendship. I was totally sucked in and stayed up late to finish this, completely in the book from beginning to end. Absolutely check the content warnings before picking this one up but I loved it.
Really liked
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
A tightly plotted, sharply satirical literary thriller that follows the unholy bargain made between a band of radical gardeners and an enigmatic billionaire. On a pure craft level, this is incredibly good: the writing is precise and dense and layered in a way that I really loved, the characters perfectly drawn in their everyday interactions, and the pacing flawless. (Who knew that people debating philosophy could be such a page-turner?) I would say that this is more of a head book than a heart book for me but I found it to be a deeply compelling reading experience that I sped through in a day.
The Good Part by Sophie Cousens
This British novel about a twenty-something who wishes to get to the good part of her life after a comically terrible night and finds herself thrust forward to time to her forties feels like the book version of a classic late 90's/early 2000's romcom and is a delight. It was heartwarming, funny, and just a little bit wistful in the loveliest way. I really enjoyed Lucy's relationships with her friends, her swoony second-chance love story with her husband, the realistically lovable child characters, and how deftly this captures what a leap from your twenties to your forties might feel like. I would like the movie ASAP. (Closed door)
Teach Me by Olivia Dade (There’s Something About Marysburg #1)
I talked about this one in my newsletter on icy, prickly heroines so I’ll keep it short here but if you like an ice queen/cinnamon roll pairing, mature protagonists, charming secondary characters, and a look at both the struggles and joys of teaching, I’d highly recommend it. (Open door, moderate steam.)
The Trio by Johanna Hedman
Simultaneously deeply emotional and elegantly reserved, this story about three young people in Stockholm is a character-driven portrait of the ways that people come together and fall apart and the impact that they leave on each other's lives long after they've parted. It's both fascinating and a little painful to see the way that these three vividly drawn main characters connect with and misunderstand each other and the brief, brilliant flashes of their relationship at its best. I also appreciated its sharp political commentary, including a thought-provoking examination of wealth and class, and interesting structure. I think anyone who enjoys Sally Rooney would love this.
A Lady’s Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin
After being left an unexpected inheritance by her late husband, a young widow finally seizes the chance to live life on her own terms…although her fortune comes with strings attached. There's a wittiness and sparkle to Irwin’s writing that makes it stand out and her style feels both fresh and period-appropriate. I think readers who don't usually pick up historical romance but who do love period pieces and Austen adaptations would adore this. Even though I was frustrated with Eliza at times, her character arc is so narratively satisfying as she finds her way toward choosing happiness over the dictates of society and everything she does is perfectly in character and necessary for that arc. (Closed door)
Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal
In an alternate history of WWI, mediums are a key part of the British war effort, taking reports from dead soldiers to pass on to military intelligence. I flew through this expert blend of spy adventure, fantasy, and historical fiction, with a side of a melancholy but moving love story. I especially appreciated how expertly Kowal weaves the Spirit Corps into the world of WWI, to the point where it feels perfectly plausible. She also has a talent for making hazy fantastical concepts feel incredibly tangible. I felt like I could visualize every bit of the spirit world. Ginger makes for an appealing heroine, all fierce determination and feeling, and the pacing is excellent, steadily building the tension.
A Day Until Forever and Some Winter’s Eve by Erin Langston
This pair of novellas about supporting characters from Forever Your Rogue, one a prequel about Nate’s older brother set at a Harvest Festival and the other a sequel about Cora’s dutiful barrister brother set around Christmas, only strengthened my love for Langston’s writing. She excels at building character and chemistry and writes in a way that conjures everything I love about historical romance but still feels fresh. I was particularly fond of the character dynamic in Some Winter’s Eve, which features a more reserved hero who goes completely undone for the heroine and a sunny heroine, whose optimism feels all the more precious for the fact that she’s lived such a precarious life. (Open door, moderate steam)
A Convenient Fiction by Mimi Matthews (Parish Orphans of Devon #3)
Another elegantly written and emotionally astute romance packed with historical detail from Matthews, who's rapidly become one of my favorite historical romance authors. I just loved the push and pull of Alex and Laura's dynamic, as they spar but find themselves consistently drawn back towards each other, and this book's focus on the redemptive power of love and family, which comes off as moving but never overly sentimental. I also really enjoyed the historical details of the Victorian seaside and 1860's France in this one--as always, the sense of time and place is wonderful. (Closed door)
I have really high standards for this particular series
Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date by Ashley Herring Blake (Bright Falls #3)
If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while, you probably know that I adored the first two books in the Bright Falls series. And, in this final installment centered around fake dating and a queer production of Much Ado About Nothing, I did adore Iris as our heroine. She bursts off the page in full color and feels so complicated and rich in a way that I find deeply satisfying. I feel like we don't often get heroines who are relationship-averse and loved the exploration of the way Iris sees herself and her romantic relationships throughout the book. I also quite enjoyed the theater setting, and the wonderful friend group dynamics that shone in the first two books as well. But Blake sets up some really intriguing threads, namely Iris' relationship with her family and Stevie's relationship with her ex, that don't get fully resolved or explored. I wanted to see those big conversations so badly and I know this series is capable of capturing that. (Open door, high steam.)
Liked quite a bit, with very similar strengths and quibbles
Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison (Lovelight #1)
This is an extremely cute and cozy holiday romance, complete with small town busybodies, a dreamy Christmas tree farm, and a sweet friends to lovers romance spurred on by fake dating. This is very much the kind of friends-to-lovers romance where there is literally no reason they shouldn't be together, besides the fact that they haven't yet realized they're in love, so be aware if that's not your preferred brand of romance. There were times when I was a little exasperated with Stella not realizing how incredibly obvious it was that Luka was in love with her but I mostly was in a happy, pine-scented, supremely cozy reading space throughout. (Open door, moderate steam)
Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh
Another charming friends-to-lovers romance that overflows with festive spirit as friends Molly and Andrew race to get home to Ireland for Christmas and discover that there may be something more than friendship between us. I liked the use of flashbacks to show the evolution of Molly and Andrew's friendship over the years, their relationships with each of their families, and the slightly madcap sensibility of their journey home. Again, this is one of those friends-to-lovers romances where the vibes are very "obviously you should get together, there's no reason not to" but overall, I thought this was a very fun read for this time of year. (Open door, minimal steam)
Liked, with minor quibbles
Birds of California by Katie Cotugno
Years after former child actor Fiona St. James’ very public crash and burn, her former costar Sam Fox tries to get her on board for a revival of the show that made them both famous. I don't think this pulls off everything it's trying to do--it probably needed about fifty more pages to fully develop all of its character and emotional arcs--but I really liked what it does do successfully. The sense of place is fantastic and the main characters get to be messy and snappy and selfish in ways that feel lived-in and real. Cotugno has a knack for picking the exact right details to build character and setting and this felt remarkably lived-in for a short book. (Open door, high steam.)
Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
This story of a newlywed couple grappling with the husband's fatal diagnosis of turning into a great white shark is simultaneously very moving and a little over-written. Habeck is throwing absolutely everything at the wall to see what sticks, in a mix of prose and poetry and theatrical scenes, and some of it is gorgeous. But some of it read to me like a book that wants to be very, very sure you get its themes where I wanted it to relax and trust its readers. But it's ambitious in an exciting way and I'm glad I was able to squeeze it in before the end of the year.
Amor Actually by Adriana Herrera, Sabrina Sol, Diana Muñoz Stewart, Alexis Daria, Zoey Castile, Mia Sosa, and Priscilla Oliveras
A warm, funny, sincere collection of interconnected short stories that reimagines Love, Actually with a much more diverse collection of characters and love stories. I did enjoy some of the novellas more than others--Love in Spanglish by Zoey Castile and Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Priscilla Oliveras were particular highlights--but that's par for the course with romance anthologies and I'd still recommend this. It's a perfect holiday read to dip in and out of and the stories all feel coherent but with distinctive voices. Sometimes I can just tell when authors had a lot of fun working on a project and this one exudes fun. (Steam level varies but on the whole, I would say it tends toward high or moderate steam.)
The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary
I have some minor questions about the big misunderstanding that keeps Izzy and Lucas, a pair of dueling hotel receptionists, apart but I also love O'Leary's warm, sparkly, heartfelt writing so much that I'm willing to forgive her things that I wouldn't in other books. For me, she's the perfect balance of lighthearted charm and emotional arcs that feel real and thoroughly developed. I also was drawn in by the hotel setting and slight fairy tale atmosphere of the New Forest. And silly as the misunderstanding is, it does fit with the overall rom-com tone of the book. (Closed door.)
Liked, as a holiday diversion
The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett
A fun quick read in Hallett's trademark engaging epistolary style. This is definitely a slighter offering but it also delivers exactly on what it promises: a blend of mystery and humor as it returns to the world of the Fairway Players, quirky characters and behind-the-scenes drama, and a few surprising twists.
Better at some things than others
Calamity by Constance Fay (Uncharted Hearts #1)
For me, this was much more successful as a fun, zippy sci-fi adventure than it was as a romance. There's a good setup: families battling it out for power across the galaxy, a chaotic heroine, a secret mission, a ramshackle spaceship and a found family of misfits. This was also very well paced, with extremely entertaining action sequences. The romance between Arcadio and Temper is a fast burn and leans very heavily on the physical attraction between them. I love enemies to lovers but what I love about it is the moments of unexpected connection and the slow realization that maybe they've misjudged each other. Arcadio and Temper were missing the deep emotional connection that makes me really root for a couple and that would have made me buy where they are by the end of the book. (Open door, moderate steam.)
The pleasures and perils of reading books published in the 1940’s
Cluny Brown by Margery Sharp
Although not all of the elements of this worked for me, I am pleased to find another mid-century British female writer to keep an eye out for. Sharp has a real eye for social rules and types and a way of delightfully skewering them, as well as a talent for vividly sketching characters in a few turns of phrase. Cluny is an endearingly naive heroine and I found myself exceedingly charmed by her. Where this one fell flat for me was the ending and Cluny's ultimate love interest--I don't think the book set up the endgame well enough for me to believe in their happiness, not to mention the fact that his actions made it impossible for me, as a modern reader, to accept him as the hero of the piece.
I remain confused
High Times in the Low Parliament by Kelly Robson
Human scribe Lana is sent to the Low Parliament, where the delegates’ endless series of hung votes run the risk of Parliament being flooded and the demise of everyone within it. I do not think this one was marketed correctly? I was expecting a flirty, witty historical fantasy and this is a magical stoner buddy comedy, which has never been my thing. There's some fun elements in Robson’s depiction of a human-fairy society and a very distinctive tone but the world building is muddled, as I was left with a lot of questions about how exactly this world works. The ending also comes out of nowhere and the book felt unfocused in a way I don’t usually see in Tor books.
Currently reading: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, six months after everyone else because my library hold finally came in.
What’s bringing me joy lately:
Vacation hikes among awe-inspiring big trees.
Meeting the most magnificently fluffy cat who very kindly allowed me to pet him.
I bought a pair of wide-legged, high-waisted, green corduroy pants from my favorite perfectly curated boutique in San Francisco and I am obsessed with them.
Wow, what a good month! I’m happy you also enjoyed The Trio and The Good Part. I’ve got In Memoriam on my nightstand queued up to read this month and I can’t wait ☺️
I just read In Memoriam and The Good Part in the last few weeks and agree with your assessment of both! Have you read The Second Chance Year by Melissa Wiesner? It has a similar tone to The Good Part and I loved it, too!