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Christmas 2024

Michelle

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone! I’m just popping on to say hello and to post some photos of my bookish Christmas gifts! I got so many this year, some which were on my wish list, and some which were surprises. I got some shirts, books, bookish totes, and a new Kindle, among other bookish things! Here are the photos:

I’ll admit, I’ve had this Kindle since the summer when my Kindle Fire died, but my parents and I agreed it would be a Christmas gift, so my mom wrapped the box, and I opened it as a reminder on Christmas morning. I honestly had forgotten! How else would I have kept up with my Netgalley reviews all these months?

My aunt met the author Mary Belle and got the book signed, personalized and inscribed for me. So cool! And I received The Uncommon Reader from one of my new coworkers at the staff holiday party.

This cute bookish item was on my wishlist, and Santa brought it! It has a photo of a book with flowers coming out of it, and it says “One More Chapter.” The round spot is for my coffee mug, and the rectangle is for my phone. I love this thing!

These t-shirts are awesome and I intend to add them to my weekly rotation. The one on the left is from my sister, brother-in-law and two-month-old niece, and the one on the right is from my parents. I love them both!

These three book totes are perfect for lugging all my books back and forth to the library for my weekly trips! The “All We Read Is Love” is from my aunt, uncle and cousins, the one that says “There Is No Such Thing As Too Many Books” is from another coworker, and “When In Doubt Go to the Library” matches the shirt I got from my parents, and it’s also from them.

So, as my grandfather used to like to say, I “made out like a bandit!” I can’t believe how my family and friends spoiled me this Christmas with all these bookish gifts! I owe them a huge thank you!!! Happy Holidays, everyone!

Adult Fiction, Netgalley Reviews

What the Wife Knew by Darby Kane

Michelle

Ages 18+

Dr. Richmond Dougherty is a pediatric surgeon who has recently fallen down the stairs to his death…or was he pushed? His neighbors are accusing his second wife, Mrs. Addison Daugherty. She is young and a suddenly very widow, as their marriage only lasted a little over 3 months.

Wife number one is Kathryn, Richmond’s high school sweetheart, with whom he had two children. So, the question is: who done it’?

Giving off The Last Mrs. Parrish vibes, this novel was easy to go down and one I won’t soon forget!

Thanks to Netgalley for a review copy of this book.

Adult Fiction, Netgalley Reviews

The Dark Maestro by Brendan Slocumb

Michelle

Ages 18+

Classical music prodigy Curtis Wilson has it all figured out after making it out of inner city DC. He’s worked his way through Juilliard and is now performing a solo with the New York Philharmonic on his beloved cello.

However, his father, Zippy, and Zippy’s long time girlfriend Larissa, who has been a mother figure to Curtis since he was small, have other ideas. Zippy is a midlevel drug dealer and gets into it with the drug kingpin, leaving the whole family no choice but to enter witness protection and to upend their entire lives. Curtis is determined to get them out of this mess, but can he do it before it’s too late? I finished Slocumb’s 600 page novel in 3 days because it was so propulsive and I couldn’t put it down. I’ll read anything he writes!

Thanks to Netgalley for a review copy of this book.

Adult Fiction, Netgalley Reviews, Romance

Christmas In Bethel by Richard Paul Evans

Michelle

Ages 18+

Evans’ latest Christmas romance follows Leigh Beth Stilton, a woman who is single by choice, and who has never liked the holidays. She grew up in an unstable home, and escaped an abusive marriage, and has had enough.

She doesn’t care about Christmas, but she does care about her favorite author, J.D. Harper, a man whose books spoke to her long ago when she happened upon one of them in a bookstore years ago. Now she finally has a chance to attend one of his signings and meet him in person.

Richard Paul Evans’ books tug at your heartstrings, and this one is no different. I absolutely adored this book!

Thanks to Netgalley for a review copy of this book.

Adult Fiction, Mystery, Netgalley Reviews

The House of Cross by James Patterson

Michelle

Ages 18+

The most recent book in the Alex Cross series, The House of Cross follows Alex as he hunts down a serial killer after America’s best attorneys. During his investigation, however, Alex’s wife Bree and his best friend Sampson go missing, and up the anti significantly. Will he solve his case and be able to save his wife and friend?

Thanks to Netgalley for a review copy of this book.

LGBTQ+, Netgalley Reviews, Romance, YA Fiction

Make My Wish Come True by Rachael Lippincott & Alyson Derrick

Michelle

Grades 9-12

This sapphic holiday romance follows teen actor Arden James and her former best friend Caroline Beckett as they find their way back to each other for a purely business relationship.

Arden is up for a huge role with a picky director who wants to prove that she’s a small-town girl, and Caroline will do anything to beef up her would-be journalist portfolio to get into Columbia. So, the two agree to a fake-dating scenario, where Caroline gets to write the article about Arden for Cosmo Magazine. Win-win, right?

Thanks to Netgalley for a review copy of this book.

Adult Fiction, Netgalley Reviews, Romance

Counting Miracles by Nicholas Sparks

Michelle

Ages 18+

Tanner Hughes is about to embark on his next tour as an army ranger, but stops in Asheboro, North Carolina first, where he meets Kaitlyn Cooper. Kaitlyn is a doctor and a single mom to a teen girl and a young boy.

Meanwhile, Kaitlyn’s 83-year-old neighbor Jasper lives alone with only his dog for company.

Sparks takes readers on a journey that intertwines these character’s lives in a way that we won’t soon forget.

Thanks to Netgalley for a review copy of this book.

Adult Fiction, Netgalley Reviews, Romance

After the Red Carpet by Patricia Leavy

Michelle

Ages 18+

In this sequel to The Location Shoot, famous actor Finn Forrester and his love interest Ella Sinclair are madly in love and recently engaged. Ella moves into Finn’s Beverly Hills mansion, and she must adjust to Finn’s lavish lifestyle.

By 40% into the book, there was no conflict to speak of, and the book was too overly saccharine for me. If you love celebrity romance and feel-good vibes, you will love this book, but unfortunately, I found myself skimming the book after a while, and it just didn’t work for me.

Thanks to Netgalley for a review copy of this book.

Children, Middle Grade Fiction, Netgalley Reviews

Not Nothing by Gayle Forman

Michelle

Grades 4-7

Alex is almost sent to juvie when he isn’t, and ends up assigned to spend his summer as a volunteer in a senior living facility. There, he meets Josey, a 107-year-old Holocaust survivor who hasn’t spoken in years, and Maya-Jade, a girl about Alex’s age whose sense of self-importance is entirely blown out of proportion. Alex gets Josey to open up to him, however, and he begins to tell the young boy his story. It is then that Alex realizes he can make a good difference in the world.

Thanks to Netgalley for a review copy of this book.

Adult Fiction, Netgalley Reviews, Thriller

Someone in the Attic by Andrea Mara

Michelle

Ages 18+

Anya and Julia have been friends since their school days, and they plan to meet up soon after a long while apart, along with their mutual friend Eleanor. When Anya doesn’t show, the other ladies grow worried, and quickly find out that their friend has drowned in her bath at the hands of a stranger who’s been in Anya’s attic.

Soon Julia and Eleanor are entangled in a web of neighbors, a mystery person who has been taking videos from inside Julia’s house, and the family members of their late best friend Donna who lost her life back in high school.

This fast-paced mysterious thriller is not to be missed!

Thanks to Netgalley for a review copy of this book.