Greetings my friends!
How are we doing? Are we surviving the holidays so far? Are we staying warm?
Today’s subzero temps have me wanting to curl up in front of the fire place with my crochet project and listen to a good audio book, but alas I have work to do…maybe I will reward myself for getting this blog post written! I got to read 8 books in the month of November, which brought my yearly count up to 67 books for the year which the kids find hilarious and keep yelling “SIX – SEVEN” around the shop. I need to finish my current read ASAP so I can update my sign!
Master of Salt and Bone by Keri Lake
I read this book for the Sugar & Spice book club and was kind of disappointed since it wasn’t really a fantasy novel. When I picked the books for that book club I tried to pick stand-alone novels which was kind of hard and Keri Lake is known for her spicy romantasy. This was spicy, but not really fantasy at all. That being said, it was a good read, and I liked it for what it was. There were some predictable plot twists, and the characters were kind of cliche. I wouldn’t read it again, but I do want to read other books Keri Lake has written that are on my TBR. My biggest complaint is that the audiobook was an audible exclusive and that sucks for indie bookstores.
That’s a Great Questions, I’d Love to Tell You by Elyse Myers
I have loved Elyse Myers for years on TikTok and I was so excited to read this book. I really love when authors narrate their own audio books, and listening to Elyse tell her story was so cool. After reading this we added it to our new Nonfiction Baddies Book Club for next year and I am looking forward to reading it again as a group and getting to talk about it. I have found Elyse to be extremely relatable over the years and she is so inspiring as a creative person, as a mom, and as a neurodivergent woman. I also love that she is from the midwest and loves cornfields as much as I do!
The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
I got to listen to this as an ALC from Libro.fm and I’m so glad that I had time to squeeze it in between my book club contractual reading! I think the way the three stories intertwined was so creative and I was invested in all three of the main characters from the get go. I wanted to read this during spooky season, and just didn’t have time, but it was still as enjoyable post Halloween. If you are in the mood for spooky historical fiction I would definitely recommend this book!
Ander and Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa
This was a Rainbow Readers Book Club book and I give it 5 stars! I loved this gay romance so much. All of the characters were so fun and lovable. I think if you are in the mood for a contemporary romance this is right up your alley. Unfortunately the current state of our nation made this story super pertinent to current events/ICE detainment centers and any representation for marginalized communities is so important right now. This not only covers the LGBTQIA + community but also the Latinx community and the difficulties they face. This story is complex and beautiful and I have recommended it to several people in the shop already!
Dark Age by Pierce Brown
Pierce Brown better watch out because I want to kick him in the shins for all the emotional damage he has caused me in this series. I don’t even want to read Light Bringer and have to wait for the next book in the series to come out next year, but I have been forced to start it and I am so terrified. My heart can’t handle much more. Pierce Brown is a savage. This is one of the best series I’ve read in a long time, and I love encouraging my friends to suffer through it with me.
City of Stardust by Georgia Summers
I finished this book and wanted to reread it right away. I think this might be one of my new favorites and I really want to reread it when I can take my time to really enjoy it. I rushed to finish this before book club (even though I messed up and read the bookclub books in the wrong order again). This reminded me of how I felt reading Night Circus for the first time. The writing was beautiful, and the story was mesmerizing. I can’t wait to have our final Sugar & Spice book club meeting of the year for this book on Dec. 12th – I think I’ve made 3 people buy this book this week!
Graveyard of Lost Children by Katrina Monroe
I read this for Salem Book Club which met for the last time this year on Dec.2nd. This story was probably the spookiest story we read for book club so far. It focuses on child loss and postpartum depression, and as someone who suffered from postpartum depression to a degree, this was hard to read at times. I remember feeling crazy like Shannon and Olivia do in the book – minus the hallucinations – and I think Katrina Monroe did a great job of personifying mental illness in a super creepy way.
Aces Wild: A Heist by Amanda DeWitt
This is the last book for Rainbow Readers for 2025 and I just finished it yesterday. I feel like this would make a really fun heist movie. I don’t think I have ever read a heist book and I’m not sure if I would do it again. It’s not my genre of choice, but overall it was a fun read with great characters. This story features a group of asexual (ace) teenagers who come together in Las Vegas to steal top secret information from one of the biggest casino hotels on the strip in order to save the main character’s mom from going to prison for ties to organized crime in Las Vegas. I have really loved getting to read so many LGBTQIA+ books this year thanks to this book club and I am STOKED about the books we chose for next year (I’ll make a whole post about that soon).
That’s it folks!
I hope you all stay safe and warm this holiday season and slow down and enjoy the simple things that make this time of year so magical. I know it is hard for many of you, and there’s a ton of pressure to have the perfect Christmas, but what really matters is listening to your body and your soul. Do what brings you joy and peace. Take time to rest and recover from the long year we have had, and be kind to yourself and each other.
Until the next chapter –
