Tag: holly jackson

Monthly Wrap Ups

February Wrap Up!

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Happy Monday Bookish People! I hope you’re all having a lovely day today. It is the end of February, for being a short month a lot has happened. I won’t share all the details but I will say that because of everything that has happened this month, my reading took a big dip around halfway through the month. Which is a shame because I am excited for a lot of books so hopefully I can get back to reading soon. In saying this, the first half of the month was great – I made progress on my goals for the year of enjoying the books I am reading and also reading down my series’.

How has your reading been in February?

Let’s get onto the books I managed to read this month!

From my TBR:

  • As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson – I did read this! Finally, after putting off this final book in the series for so long I did read it and I enjoyed it, though I was shocked by how dark it was for a YA book.
  • A Death in Diamonds by S J Bennett – I did read this which brings me up to date with the books that I own in this series, I believe there is one more after this that is out already but I don’t yet own it. This was one of my favourites from this series so far.
  • Throne of Nightmares by Kerri Maniscalco – One of my most anticipated books of 2026, I am currently reading and loving this book. Prince Sloth! I have been waiting forever for Sloth’s book. His castle is literally one massive library.
  • Murder on Platform Four by Irina Shapiro – Book five in the Tate and Bell investigation series. I did read this.
  • Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo – another series complete because I did read this. This one I was also putting off, I didn’t love the first book in the series but I did enjoy siege and storm and I liked this one overall.
  • The Midnight Carousel – Oof! I did technically read this… I read 100 pages or so before I ended up DNF’ing it. It was just boring and there were time skips that didn’t make sense, it just was not for me.

Outside of my TBR I read: Gallant by V E Schwaab, A Picture of Murder by T E Kinsey and the fourth and fifth installments in the Pages and Co series by Anna James.

This means, I read all six books on my February TBR (yay!) and I read another four books outside of it which gives me 10 books overall for the month. That is actually a lot more than I thought it would be because of how my life has been this month but I am very happy with that. Currently, my favourite read this month is Gallant by V E Schwaab but… this could change as I am not very far into Throne of Nightmares yet.

What is your favourite read of February?

Monthly TBRs

February TBR

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Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good day today. It is February and that means it is time to think about my TBR for this month.

February is only a short month so I have made my TBR a bit shorter too, if I finish it then I get the fun of choosing any books I like from my shelves.

One thing I wanted to achieve this year was to continue (and finish!) the series’ that I have already started so this month I am making some progress with this plan.

Murder on Platform Four by Irina Shapiro

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

Throne of Nightmares by Kerri Mansicalco

A Death In Diamonds by S J Bennett

The Midnight Carousel

What are you excited to read in February?

Book Tags

Five series’ to finish by the end of the year

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Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today, I thought it might be fun to share the top five series’ that I would like to finish up by the end of 2024. I have started a lot of series, I love getting to spend multiple books with characters so it is the main bulk of what I read.

Here are the five I want to prioritise:

The Hercule Poirot series by Sophie Hannah

I only have one book left, Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night, then I am up to date with this series and seeing as it has a winter/christmas theme I should get to read this in December.

The Painted Dragon by Katherine Woodfine

This is the third book in the series starting with the Clockwork Sparrow, there are actually four books out in this series but I only own the first three and I don’t plan on buying the fourth so I will be finishing the series with book three.

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

This is the third and final book in the Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series, I have been putting it off because I love the first two and I have heard mixed things about the last book but I would like to get this one finished off soon.

The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton

This series is very quirky and fun and this is the third and final book in the series. I have it on my TBR for November so hopefully that will be this series finished up.

A Death in Diamonds by S J Bennett

This is the fourth book in the Queen Elizabeth II investigates series and reading it would mean I am up to date with the series so far. I do enjoy this series although not every books has been brilliant, I’d say two out of the three I have read so far were great and one was not, so fingers crossed for this one.

Book Tags, Uncategorized

Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases of 2024

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Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all having a wonderful day today.

what 2024 book releases are you most looking forward to?

Here are my top 10 2024 releases:

The Prisoners Throne by Holly Black

Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping

The Antique Hunters Guide To Murder

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J Maas

The Disappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

Play of Shadows by Sebastian de Castell

A Fragile Enchantment by Alison Saft

The new book by Annie Garthwaite!

blog tours

Five Survive by Holly Jackson Book/Blog Tour!

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Happy Thursday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a good first day of December! I am very excited today to be taking part in the book blog tour for Holly Jackson’s new book, Five Survive. Thank you to TBR and Beyond Tours for sending me a netgalley version of this book to read and review. I love Holly Jackson’s books, her Good Girl’s Guide To Murder series are some of my favourite mystery novels. For my spot on the tour I am posting a book review and then a playlist of songs that I think would be great to match the atmosphere of the book.

As usual with my book reviews I will give star ratings to four categories and I will write a little bit about each one, I will do my best to not include spoilers.

I hope you enjoy my book review!

Five Survive Plot:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The premise of this book was very exciting for me from the start. Six people all with dark secrets trapped in an RV they can’t get out of because of a sniper. I will admit that the beginning was a little slow for my taste, while waiting for the van to breakdown – when you know it is going to happen already it felt like it took a while to get to that point but I get that Jackson was using this time to introduce the characters and the tensions between them already. Once the story really got into the action I was hooked. It was atmospheric and exciting and I could feel my heart beating right alongside the characters. It has a much darker feel in my opinion to the Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series but I quite liked that, it was different in a good way. The ending really had me surprised and I think if you read this you will be too (you’ll have to let me know if you were!)

Five Survive Characters:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This part was the most interesting for me to rate here, simply because I couldn’t say I liked any of these characters but I was so intrigued by their motivations and I can tell you I was dying to know what all their secrets were and for me that worked for this story, I didn’t need to like them or trust them that was the point – they didn’t know who they could trust and as readers neither can we.

Five Survive Writing and Dialogue:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

As I have already said I love Holly Jackson’s books and her writing and this book was no different.

Five Survive Overall:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I gave this book four stars overall because I really enjoyed the mystery and surprisingly the dark atmosphere.

Playlist!

For the playlist I would say that this book warrants some dark powerful songs to go with the tone and the plot.

This won’t be in order by the way but here are some of the songs I would put with this book:

Run Boy Run by Woodkid

I Knew You Were Trouble by Taylor Swift

I’m A Mess by Avril Lavigne and Yungblud

Darkside by Neoni

My Heart’s Grave by Faouzia

Avalanche by Avril Lavigne

Book Synopsis:

The brand new unmissable crime thriller from Holly Jackson, best-selling, award-winning author of the Good Girl’s Guide to Murder trilogy.

Eight hours.
Six friends.
One sniper . . .

Eighteen year old Red and her friends are on a road trip in an RV, heading to the beach for Spring Break. It’s a long drive but spirits are high. Until the RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere. There’s no mobile phone reception and nobody around to help. And as the wheels are shot out, one by one, the friends realise that this is no accident. There’s a sniper out there in the dark watching them and he knows exactly who they are. One of the group has a secret that the sniper is willing to kill for.

A game of cat-and-mouse plays out as the group desperately tries to get help and to work out which member of the group is the target. Buried secrets are forced to light in the cramped, claustrophobic setting of the RV, and tensions within the group will reach deadly levels. Not everyone will survive the night.

Buy From:

Whsmiths:https://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/five-survive/holly-jackson/hardback/9780755504404.html?utm_campaign=eq_whs_259955&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_source=awin&awc=3017_1669827694_7d2a2b91431cacda22304e1c9cf2b0a8

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/HJ-Book-4-Holly-Jackson/dp/0755504402/ref=asc_df_0755504402/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=606802419329&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8652349781391532879&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045311&hvtargid=pla-1671842202934&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/five-survive/holly-jackson//9780008507237?awaid=3787&utm_source=redbrain&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=css&gclid=Cj0KCQiAm5ycBhCXARIsAPldzoU6ZgQbwnQKo2JjZXBSz-YqO7rFKNwMrJUluufIxeBaa4iDuyVqUOUaArgTEALw_wcB&awc=3787_1669827693_f5ab7e88f5c6d884c7358d712f031e68

Here is a link to the tour schedule: https://tbrandbeyondtours.com/2022/10/26/tour-schedule-five-survive-by-holly-jackson/

Book Tags

Easter Time Book Tag!

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Happy Friday bookish people! Today I am bringing you an Easter themed book tag that I found on My Reading Escape.wordpress.com

I hope you will all have a wonderful Easter weekend with however you will be spending it, I will probably be spending mine eating a lot of chocolate and using my new coffee maker.

1. Easter Egg: Book that feels like a hidden gem

I have to choose The Lady in the Tower by Marie Louise Jenson for this one because it is a wonderful book that I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else talk about

2. Bloom: Debut Novel You Loved:

I chose The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant for this book because I received it in an Illumicrate box and I read it in one sitting. It is a retelling of Les Miserables set in a beautifully described France.

3. Chocolate Bunny: Book so good you didn’t want it to end

I chose Caraval because it is one of my favourite books and as the prompt says, I didn’t want it put it down! This series is so magical I wanted to keep reading it for as long as I could.

4. Cheap, Cheap, Cheap: Book you bought for super cheap:

I actually was given this book for free by a really lovely bookseller, I was given a few of the little world book day books and this was one of them, I have already read it.

5. Jelly bean: Book you thought was sweet:

This book has a lot of lovely, sweet themes so Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell was the first book I thought of for this prompt.

6. Easter Basket: Filled with many surprises:

For this one I am choosing the entire A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas because although I have only read the first book, I have heard that there are many surprises throughout this series and I am excited to read them.

7. Rabbits: Books you wish would multiply (have a sequel):

I chose House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A Craig because ever since finishing it I really wished there had been a sequel, I just felt there were questions left unanswered.

8. Hunt: Book that was hard to get hold of:

I had to look everywhere for this book, there was only one bookshop that had it and the drive was over an hour, then when we got there I forgot to look for this book (I know, I couldn’t believe I did this either) and so I had to order it.

So that’s the end of this Easter book tag! I hope you all enjoyed it!

Uncategorized

Signed Books That I Own

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Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all having a good day today. I thought it might be fun today to share what some books I have, that I have signed, are.

I would just like to say that I am not trying to brag about the books that I have I just thought it might be fun to share which books and where I may have gotten some of them.

The Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovalino

I got this book as a wonderful signed edition from my monthly Illumicrate boxes

The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis

I also got this book in a book box!

Dangerous Remedy by Kat Dunn

I also got this one in an Illumicrate box, I read it and loved it and now I own the second one in the series.

Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody

My friend ordered me this book from online because they had found a hardback copy and then when it arrived it was a great surprise to find out it was also signed

The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant

I got this amazing book in my Illumicrate box too.

Mrs England by Stacey Halls

I managed to grab a signed edition of this book from my local waterstones

Haven’t They Grown by Sophie Hannah

I found this book in a charity shop and it turned out to be a signed hardback and it was an amazing bargain

A Line To Kill by Anthony Horowitz

I got this from a company called Forbidden Planet, I was just scrolling through their website and I ended up ordering a lot of books (oops!) and I managed to get a signed copy of this book from there.

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

I got this one in my Waterstones, it didn’t say it was signed and I was very happy when I got home and saw it was signed

Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow

I got this book and Once and Future Witches by the same author in my monthly book boxes

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

I got this one in my local Waterstones

Under the Whispering Door by T J Klune

I found a signed copy of this one in my Whsmiths and I was really excited to find this one

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff

I got this book in a recent Illumicrate box

The Desolation of Devil’s Acre by Ransom Riggs

I managed to preorder a signed copy of this book from waterstones

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

I got this book in my Illumicrate box too

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

I got this beautiful book in my Illumicrate box

One Of Us Is Lying/One Of Us Is Next/Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen M McManus

I got these books signed when I met Karen M McManus at YALC in 2019 which was amazing!

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

I also got this in my Illumicrate box

The Mapmakers by Tamzin Merchant

My local waterstones luckily had a signed copy of this book

This Woven Kingdom by Taherah Mafi

I also got this one in my Illumicrate box

Terciel and Elinor by Garth Nix

I was looking everywhere for a signed copy of this book and I finally found one in Whsmiths

A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwab

I bought the special Illumicrate box for this book and along with some other items it got me a signed copy of this book

That’s it for this blog post, I hope you all enjoyed it! Do you have any signed books?

Monthly Wrap Ups

December Wrap Up!

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Happy Saturday bookish people! If I am scheduling this right this should be my first post of 2022 which is crazy because 2021 went by so fast. I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year and that you are all excited about what 2022 could bring.

So let’s talk about what I did or didn’t read in December 2021 and what I thought of the books!

  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – none of you will be surprised that again, no I haven’t read this book yet. I will but I didn’t get to it in 2021.
  • All Of Us Villains by Amanda Foody – I was so excited for this one but I wasn’t in the mood to read such a dark fantasy so I am hoping to read it soon.
  • Dance of Thieves by Mary E Pearson – I didn’t get around to this one either.
  • Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia – I did not read this book.
  • Good Girl Bad Blood by Holly Jackson – I did read this one! I liked it but not quite as much as I enjoyed the first book in the series.
  • In the Crypt with the Candlestick by Daisy Waugh – I did not read this one.
  • It Sounded Better In My Head by Nina Kenwood – I didn’t read this book.
  • Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco – I really wanted to get around to this one but in the end I didn’t.
  • Mistletoe and Murder by Robin Stevens – I read this one and I really loved it, except for the ending.
  • Murder in Midwinter – I started reading this one but I haven’t quite finished it.
  • Not Here to be Liked by Michelle Quach – I read this book but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would.
  • Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber – I also was very excited to read this but I didn’t in December.
  • Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian – I didn’t read this book.
  • The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict – I did read this one and I have posted a book review of it.
  • The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling – I didn’t read this one
  • The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood – I wanted to read this one but then I heard some reactions to it and it has put me off a little bit.
  • The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman – I read this one and I liked it but again it wasn’t as good as the first book in the series.
  • The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood – I didn’t read this one
  • Traitors Kiss by Erin Beaty – I didn’t read this one either
  • Truthwitch by Susan Dennard – I didn’t read this one
  • Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson – I did not read this
  • Well Met by Jen De Luca – I did not read this one.

So from my TBR i ended up reading five and I started reading one other. On top of my TBR I read Murder on Christmas Eve, Rivers of London, Unsolved Deaths, and six of the books in the Pony Mad Princess series. That brings my total of book read to 14 in December which is a great amount.

That’s it for my December TBR, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Bookmas 2021

Merry Bookmas Day 13 – 13th December – The Best And Worst Books 2021

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Happy Monday bookish people! Merry Bookmas day 13! I am really excited to be writing this post. I will be talking about what the best and the worst books are that I read each month. I had to think very hard about which books I wanted to feature because some months there were lots of books that I enjoyed and then I had to choose between them which one I liked most and that was hard. Then other months there were books that I really didn’t like so it was overall quite a balanced year.

January

For my favourite book I read in January I was trying to decide between two options, both were fantasy books and they were very different to each other. I ended up choosing A Court of Thorns and Roses as my favourite book of January because it’s a book I still think about and not just because I haven’t continued with the series yet.

For the worst book I read in January I chose The Sisters Grimm by Menna Van Praag, actually I didn’t even finish the book this year. I Dnf’d it at about the halfway point of the book. I don’t know if I just wasn’t in the mood for it at that point or if I just found the plot a little boring but I do plan on giving the book another chance at some point.

February

My favourite book in February was Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell which surprisingly is a contemporary romance and not at all what I was expecting but I really loved it.

My least favourite book in February was What A Way To Go by Julia Forster. There was nothing about the book that I liked, that doesn’t mean that someone else won’t love this book it just wasn’t for me.

March

My favourite book was The Strange Case of the Alchemists Daughter by Theadora Goss which I saw some of my favourite youtubers talk about and so I read it and loved the premise, I am excited to continue the series.

My least favourite book of March was Skyseed by Bill McGuire. It’s another book that just wasn’t a genre or plot that I enjoyed.

April

My favourite book for this month was Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin and I can’t believe it took me so long to read that book because it is definitely a contender for my overall favourite book of the year.

My least favourite book was Mirrorland by Carole Johnston. I couldn’t sleep after reading this book I just found it way too scary for me so I didn’t end up enjoying it.

May

My favourite book of this month was Get A Life Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert. Another romance, I am surprising myself by reading outside of my comfort zone this year.

My least favourite book this month was Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch. So, I’m not loving every book I read that is outside my comfort zone. I didn’t really like the characters in this book and that made it a struggle for me to read it.

June

My favourite book was The Hatmakers by Tamzin Merchant. It’s a fantastic middle grade book that I would highly reccomend.

My least favourite book was I Hope You’re Listening by Tom Ryan because I hit a chapter that felt too disturbing for me, there was something about it that didn’t sit well with me so I Dnf’d it for the moment.

July

My favourite book of July was A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn. It was nice to read a murder mystery that is set in Victorian times and I ended up realising I love books set in this period of time.

My least favourite book was Pumpkin by Julie Murphy. Now, I liked the book but it wasn’t a stand out book for me.

August

My favourite book was The Appeal by Janice Hallett because it was so different and engaging and one of the best mysteries I read this year.

My least favourite book this month was The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels. There was a lot about this book I liked, such as the pirate style assassin Ned who I loved but there was something missing for me but I can’t pinpoint exactly what.

September

My favourite book of this month was A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder by holly Jackson without a doubt. I loved this book and I am still thinking about this book now months later.

My least favourite book of this month was The Woman In The Woods by M K Hill. The mystery itself would have been okay but the characters were so hard to like.

October

My favourite book of this month was City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab, it was a reread but I enjoyed it just as much the second time around.

My least favourite book was Once Upon A Crime by Robin Stevens. I am not the biggest fan of short stories so I liked the writing but I needed more from the stories.

November

My favourite book of this month was Take A Hint Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert – another romance book!

My least favourite book of this month was the Howling Hag Mystery by Nicki Thornton. The plot was too predictable for my liking, even as a middle grade book.

December

Now, I’m writing this in December so I am gong to say what I predict will be my favourite and least favourite books of the month. I think my favourite book will be either Eliza and her Monsters or All of us villains. My least favourite book I predict will be In the Crypt with a Candlestick.

That’s it for the best and worst books for 2021, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Bookmas 2021, Monthly TBRs

Merry Bookmas Day 1 – 1st December – December TBR

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Happy Wednesday bookish people! And a merry bookmas! As I announced last week I am going to be posting every day in December and this is the first of these posts. Of course I had to start my blogmas/ bookmas with my TBR for December so I hope you all enjoy reading about what I plan to read in December and the thoughts I already have about the books.

My December TBR:

  • Well Met by Jen de Luca – This month I have included lots of books that are outside of my comfort zone in my TBR and this is one of them. It mentions a Renaissance fair and that sounds very unique and interesting.
  • The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman – I read his first book either this year or last year, I can’t quite remember and it was very enjoyable so hopefully the second book lives up to it.
  • Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia – I am interested in reading this book because it has been compared to Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and I loved hat book.
  • Kingdom of The Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco – I love Kerri Maniscalco’s work and Kingdom of the wicked is no different, I can’t wait to be back with Wrath and Emilia.
  • Dance of Thieves by Mary E Pearson – The description makes me think of Six of Crows a little bit so I have high hopes for this one.
  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – again this book is on my TBR, I will read it eventually!
  • Not Here to be Liked by Michelle Quach – I’m not usually drawn to this genre but the synopsis really interested me and I’m not completely sure why.
  • All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody – this is like a very dark version of the Hunger Games mixed with family gangs.
  • Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson – I love her books and a fantasy book about magic and nuns sounds amazing.
  • The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood – again, another book outside of my comfort zone but I am looking forward to giving it a chance.
  • In The Crypt With A Candlestick by Daisy Waugh – a 1920’s themed murder mystery makes me think of Agatha Christie which I love so hopefully I will enjoy it.
  • The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood – this is written by the writer of Death In Paradise which is one of my favourite TV shows so hopefully this book is good too.
  • Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber – I love the Caraval series and this book follows one of the characters from that so I’m excited to read it.
  • Truthwitch by Susan Dennard – this is a book that I have heard a lot about so I want to get around to it soon.
  • Traitors Kiss by Erin Beaty – I don’t know much about this book other than it has a lovely cover.
  • The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict – this is a festive themed book that I am excited to read
  • It sounded Better In My Head by Nina Kenwood – I don’t know much about this book either, other than it is outside my usual genre
  • Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian – it’s set in an ice cream shop, I don’t need to know anything else about it.
  • Good Girl Bad Blood by Holly Jackson – I loved A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder and I can’t wait to read the second one in the series
  • Mistletoe and Murder by Robin Stevens – another festive themed book that I am very glad I managed to get onto my TBR.
  • The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling – I have seen so many good things about this book and I know it has comedy in it so I should enjoy it.
  • Murder In Midwinter – a collection of crime short stories set in winter should be a nice change of pace.

That’s it for my December TBR, have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?