Hey there, everyone! I hope everyone had a bountiful December! You know what, I may not have read all the titles I wanted to but damn, if I didn’t read a lot to end the year! Thirteen books was such a great way to end the year!

Anyway, how did everyone else do this past month? Meet any personal goals?

The Cresent Moon Tearoom

This was such a wholesome read on sisterhood and motherly love. Anne, Beatrice, and Violet are three sisters who are also witches. They own this cute little tearoom where they offer tea reading and tarot readings. And they live in a magical house! A house that cares about them. I loved the dynamic; I loved switching between the three perspectives and seeing their love and devotion for one another. They grapple with pursuing their dreams and passions without leaving others behind. But their love for one another is fantastic. It was a quick read, and I adored it.

Lore Olympus: Volume Seven

Do you guys get tired of me talking about how much I love Lore Olympus? Well, too bad! I love the way Smythe and the publisher have decided to layer the panels of the WEBtoon. It has such a wonderful and emotional feel to it, to see the story come to life in such a different way makes the story feel amazing. Persephone has to contend with so much, and her support system, her found family, makes it so much easier to address and heal from her trauma and find herself.

The Shifting Sands & Dread Mountain

Once again, what can I say? I loved this series as a kid, and I love it even more now. I love the storytelling; Jasmine, Lief, and Barda are a fantastic team. And I love that my kid loves this series as much as I do. The pacing is excellent, the cliffhangers hooked me, and I’ve already read this series! I love the way the plot develops and how the story takes charge. It evolves so effortlessly.

Legend of the White Snake

I really enjoyed this novel. But I wanted a little more. I can’t explain it. I loved how the story evolved, but I wanted more from the character dynamics and the romance between the characters. I also wanted to see more from the side characters because they were so lovable. It was a fun, quick read, and I’m again thankful to the publisher for this ARC. I liked it a lot and have already recommended it to many people looking for LGBTQ+ reads.

Ruthless Vows

Wow, just wow. I really liked that we got to see Kit and Iris fall in love again through their letters. But damn, this novel had so many gut punches. I do not cry when she reads. But a scene near the end had me almost in tears. It is an emotional novel because it is about war, and it has a very historical, almost WWII feel that pulls you in, and for me, that’s saying a lot because I don’t always like reading about WWII historical-based fiction; it’s not my genre. So, for me to say that that aspect of the novel pulled me in and stuck with me says a lot.

Bookshops & Bonedust

I loved this book so much! It is a prequel to Legends and Latte’s, and we see Viv’s origin story. The seaside town is quaint and wholesome, but I also love how Baldree explores the love of reading through Fern. Once again, we have brought the #FoundFamily trope to life. It was such a fantastic read—wholesome and cozy but also action-packed. I absolutely loved this book.

The Mirror of Beasts

I’m so glad I could get this book off my TBR. I really enjoyed Silver in the Bone, and it was amazing to see The Wild Hunt brought into the story of King Arthur. We’re no longer in Avalon but back in England and the States. We’re following Tamsin and her friends as they race against Lord Death to stop his evil from spreading. I have to say, Bracken kept me on my toes here! I was thinking one thing, and then bam! I was wrong or only half right. I love it when a novel keeps me on my toes and guessing. And that ending! It was bittersweet, but it worked out so well and fit perfectly.

Namesake

I enjoyed Namesake. I loved the pacing, and the plot continued taking me to places I never thought. It kept me guessing, and it kept me on my toes. There were times when I felt some of the other characters were being unfair to Fable, but I got it. West put her in a difficult position, and he kept choosing her over her crew. So I understand it, but it still made me eye-roll. However, it didn’t bother me because it felt realistic; it made the bond between the characters feel realistic and added some more depth to it.

Saint

I’m so glad I read this novel right after Namesake because I was able to pick up on a lot of those Easter eggs that Young threw in there to connect the story here to the story of Fable and West. I like that we get to know Saint and Isolde as more than just these larger-than-life images that Fable has presented to the readers in the previous novels. Saint’s past is complex, and Isolde’s relationship with her mother, who is a gem sage, is also complex. The short and sweet story told the story it needed to tell.

The Witch of Wol Sin Lake

Before I begin, once again, thank the publisher for sending me a copy of this book. Now, with that said, I was hoping that I would love this book more than the previous novel.

I did not.

The story feels disjointed, and it’s not even the traversing through time that’s not the part that bothers me. It was hard to follow, and many of the scenes foreshadowed in the previous novel didn’t appear here, which was disappointing.

The characters have many nicknames for the characters. Still, again, if you’re unfamiliar with the language, that will be hard to follow, and there aren’t always enough context clues to give the reader what they need to follow the story.

Four Dead Queens

Wow, just wow. First, thank everyone who selected this book as the December Read with Cyn’s Workshop book club picks! It was so good, and I loved it.

This is yet another novel that kept me on my toes.

First of all, none of my theories were current for the novel’s mystery aspect, and I loved that. I love it when my expectations are subverted. We’re going back and forth between Keraline and the four queens. I also love learning about the four queens. There were so many plot twists, and it kept me on my toes, and I loved it more than I expected.

The world-building was fantastic and unique. The kingdom is divided into four quadrants, each very different. Some seem more medieval and futuristic, but it worked and balanced out so well.

The Secret Year

Thank you again, the publisher, for this ARC. The Secret Year is a contemporary YA romance that I rarely read. But that’s why I read it. It was something different for me and was reminiscent of Harlow and Nowlin. It was thoughtful in its storytelling and worked to build up those character dynamics. Colt is part of the lower class and has a secret relationship with Julia, who is part of the upper class. And she’s dead when the story begins.

But then he gets to know more about her, what she thinks of him, and their relationship when her bother gives him her diary, filled with letters.

Colt has many unanswered questions, and the novel focuses on how he learns to navigate through this grief without anyone to talk to. I enjoyed it and am glad I stepped out of my comfort zone.

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