Merry Christmas!

 

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

This week, I plan to spend time with my family, read, drink some hot chocolate, listen to music, sleep in, play in the snow, try to get caught up, and take some time to just be quiet.

So, I won't be around much, though I do have two Favorite 2024 Reads posts scheduled.

 And I'll for sure see you all in 2025.

Peace and Joy to Everyone!

My December glad thing....

I was driving to work two weeks ago when my tire pressure sensor sounded. It's never a fun sound to hear, but it's happened before in cold weather, so I was hoping that's all it was this time. Boy I was wrong! The fact that I made it to the elementary school parking lot where I work before my tire went completely flat was a true miracle. Then my sister, who has AAA, offered to call them and come meet me to help get my tire changed. That was the second blessing of the day. After work, I headed over to Discount Tires fully expecting to have to buy a new tire. But they told me my tire was covered under my road hazard warranty--something I don't even remember purchasing--and that they would replace my tire for free. If you're counting, that's blessing number three. And I struggle with anxiety on a good day, but despite all the stress of this one, my anxiety stayed very low, which I count as another small miracle. Through it all, I felt very watched over and helped, and could see the hand of the Lord in my life. And for that I am truly grateful!

Two Quick Recommendations...

 

An Instruction in Shadow by Benedict Jacka

This urban fantasy novel picks up right where An Inheritance of Magic leaves off with Stephen Oakwood meeting his mother for the first time. He's also looking for his father, trying to find wells of Essentia and master the magic of Drucraft, and survive the ambushes and attacks coming from new enemies and members of his own aristocratic family. It's fun and full of action. I really like Stephen and his friends, and can't wait to read the third book in this captivating series. I'm only sad I have to wait at least another year before it comes out. 

(I also really love Jacka's Alex Verus series!)

The Night Woods by Paula Munier

I bet you can guess one of the reasons I love this mystery series. Mercy Carr and her Belgian Malinois, Elvis, are favorites of mine, as are her game warden husband, Troy, and his Newfoundland, Susie Bear. Despite being eight months pregnant, Mercy gets drawn into a murder investigation, which doesn't make her mother very happy. Then a billionaire out hunting goes missing. And someone's threatening Mercy. Plus, there are wild boars loose in the Vermont wilderness near their home. It's another compelling and entertaining novel from Munier.

(I highly recommend checking out the first book in this series, A Borrowing of Bones.)

Happy Reading!

December's bookish art...

 

“Oh, magic hour, when a child first knows she can read printed words.”
― Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

 

“Stories you read when you're the right age never quite leave you. You may forget who wrote them or what the story was called. Sometimes you'll forget precisely what happened, but if a story touches you it will stay with you, haunting the places in your mind that you rarely ever visit.”
― Neil Gaiman, M Is for Magic

Christmas-y Haiku Reviews....

 

Snowed In by Catherine Walsh

Megan and Christian

team up to survive Christmas

with their families.

Romantic comedy .... 336 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(Fun fake dating holiday romance set in Ireland. Walsh's first book, Holiday Romance, is even cuter.)

The Christmas You Found Me by Sarah Morgenthaler

Sienna marries 

a stranger to help him and his sweet,

but very ill, daughter.

Romance .... 291 pages .... 5/5 stars.

(Have Kleenex nearby when you read this one; it totally made me cry.)

One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallery

A quiet Christmas?

Not with her kids, her boyfriend's

kids, his ex, and a dog.

Contemporary fiction .... 316 pages .... 4/5 stgars.

(Unexpected guests, humorous banter, a secret or two, confessions of love, family, friends and exes all in one cabin at Christmas made this a fun read.)

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday...

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. 

This week's theme is supposed to be BOOKS TO READ DURING A STORM. But I'm going a little bit rogue today and doing a list of 10 BOOKS I READ IN DECEMBER OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS. We'll see if they have a wintry storm theme to them, or not. 

1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

(This was the first review I ever posted.)

2. Trapped by Michael Northrop

3. Snow Hunters by Paul Yoon

4.  Feed by Mira Grant

5. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

6. The Sky So Heavy by Claire Zorn

7. The White Christmas Inn by Colleen Wright

8. Ice Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson

9. Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon

10.  The Future is Yours by Dan Frey

Bonus:  Snowed In For Christmas by Sarah Morgan

There you go--ten of my December reads from the last ten years. 

And ALL would be good books to read during a storm.  ☃

Happy Reading!

My Child Is Missing by Lisa Regan

 

The plot:  Two go into the woods, but only one comes out. That's the legend of The Woodsman. And it's spreading across Pennsylvania--scaring elementary-age children, challenging the teenagers. Detective Josie Quinn knows it's just a story, but when two sister go missing, and only the younger girl is found, she also knows something sinister is going on. The investigation into Kayleigh's disappearance is hard enough, but Josie's not sleeping because of some recent traumatic events, and then she learns about two other murders linked to the story of The Woodsman... and she starts to wonder if they have a serial killer on their hands.

My thoughts:  This is the eighteenth Josie Quinn book, and another excellent mystery in this addictive series. Josie and her partner, Noah Fraley, are so good together. I've liked seeing how their relationship has developed and grown over the course of these mysteries. And I found this particular mystery nicely twisty and unexpected. I've been reading this series in order, which I recommend, because Josie's past is fairly complicated. But all the books in this series aren't long and they read fast. 

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Other Josie Quinn mysteries I've reviewed:

Vanishing Girls (#1)

The Girl With No Name (#2)

Her Mother's Grave (#3)

Her Silent Cry (#6)

Cold Heart Creek (#7)

The Drowning Girls (#13)

Watch Her Disappear (#14)

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

A cryptic invitation.

A trip to Mistletoe Manor.

A Christmas snowstorm.

And a puzzling locked room disappearance. 

It's up to Maggie Chase and fellow author, Ethan Wyatt, to solve this mystery.

First line:  It wasn't until the elevator doors were sliding open that Maggie realized she was about to come face-to-face with her three lest favorite things in the world:  Christmas. A party. And Ethan Freaking Wyatt.  

My thoughts:  This entertaining novel is a great combination of mystery and romance. And I loved it. There's fun banter, and lots of action and humor. Maggie is a very engaging character; she's clever and funny, but also vulnerable and alone. I liked how Ethan really saw her, and how he wanted to help her, and protect her. I enjoyed their swoony kisses, too. They made a great team (even though she saw him as her nemesis at the beginning of the book). And the mystery was very Christie-esque. If you want a fun holiday mystery/romance, check this book out. 

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!

Randomness....

 My sister wrote a book!   

A Lady Most Alluring by Amy Newbold is a sweet, clean, and charming Regency romance novella inspired by Cinderella. It's available on Kindle, KU, and in paperback, so check it out! It would make my sister's Christmas if you did. :D 

Have you noticed lately how many book bloggers are either taking a hiatus, or quitting altogether? I started to count up the blogging friends I've made over the years who are no longer around, but quit when my list of names hit 20 because it was just too depressing. I miss them! But I get it. Bloggers get tired, burn out, move on, find something else they want to do with their time. But it still makes me sad. I started blogging because I wanted to find a community of people who love books and reading as much as me. And it makes me sad seeing that community shrinking away to nothing. It makes me wonder how much longer the rest of us will stick around. 

Some of the library books I'm hoping to read this month:

An Instruction In Shadow by Benedict jacka

The Night Woods by Paula Munier

The Reaping by Jess Lourey

Catch and Keep by Erin Hahn

Write For You by Megan Byrd

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

And my glad things last month?  Honestly, November was a rough month for me with a stressful trip to the hospital with my mom, my aunt's funeral, unexpected car repairs that ended up costing $460, another stupid jury duty summons, and lots of cold, gray days. Plus, I haven't been sleeping well, so I've been running tired...and anxious. Which made coming up with a list of happy things for this post challenging. But I did think of four:

• My mom ended up not having anything seriously wrong, and the unrelenting pain in her left leg that she was experiencing has gone away, something for which I am very grateful.
• My next-door neighbor, who I don't know very well, came over when she saw the ambulance to see if we needed anything, which I thought was very kind of her.
• I won two more books from Goodreads that arrived in the mail last week: Give Me Butterflies by Jillian Meadows and Summit's Edge by Sara Driscoll. I look forward to reading both of them later this month. 
• And my car's heater is working again...something much appreciated on these wintry mornings.