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I can’t believe I’ve completed almost a full year of monthly reading posts! I’m starting to evaluate what this will look like for 2024 and if I’ll continue with these or not…I’m leaning towards not. Although I provide a little more information on my blog, I also post my reviews regularly on Instagram. And although I like the monthly posts for the sake of tracking what I read, I can easily track that info as well on my reading tracker Google sheet. But, who knows!

November was a bit of a lighter month given the holidays and all (we hosted THREE back to back events: Thanksgiving, Jonny’s 4th birthday party, and Friendsgiving – it was madness but it was also great!).

Rating reminders:

  • One mug: Did not finish or finished out of sheer determination or stubbornness
  • Two mugs: Liked but didn’t love
  • Three mugs: Loved it! Add it to your list!
  • Jalapeno: open door, spicy scenes

Snowed In, by Catherine Walsh: Three Mugs + Jalapeno

So far, this is one of my favorite holiday reads. Who doesn’t want to be snowed in at a luxury cabin?! Sign me up.

Runaway Groomsman, by Meghan Quinn: Two Mugs + Jalapeno

My favorite parts of this book were hearing about familiar places, since it’s based on a town that we’ve been to, and we’re close to the surrounding areas that were mentioned. This is another one of those “story within a story” that I’m just not a huge fan of: the story line is about the story line. Aside from that recurring theme, it was an enjoyable and easy read.

Iron Flame, by Rebecca Yarros: Three Mugs + Jalapeno

You guys. I pre-ordered this back in August and was anxiously awaiting my copy to arrive (in the midst of dealing with our youngest being in the ER), only to find out it was delayed, then freaking out, then cancelling my order and buying it on Kindle. I’m bummed to not have a hard copy, but was happy to read it when I did. I feel like a lot of it went over my head and although I’m not generally a re-reader, I might have to re-read this one before the next book comes out, just to figure out what all I missed. But all in all, another great read that left me hooked for the next book in the series!

A Short Walk through a Wide World, by Douglas Westerbeke (publication date: 04.09.23) THREE MUGS

Ahhh I LOVED this book and I want everyone to read it so we can break it down and discuss all the things. I asked Jeff to read it just so we could discuss it, and he loved it also. If you like traveling and reading, this is the book for you. Trigger warning: lots of blood…but not in a violent way.

In the Shadow of the Greenbrier, by Emily Matchar (publication date: 03.12.28) Three Mugs

I started this book then set it aside, and finally found my way back to it. It took me a while to get into it and figure out the different characters and timelines, but once I did, I was hooked. I do love me some historical fiction and the ability to learn something about history through reading. I learned some new stuff about West Virginia and WWII, and it provided some sad insight into how we treated Jewish immigrants, which feels timely with our current wave of antisemitism.

Cabin Mate, by Leah Brunner: Two Mugs

I enjoyed this closed door holiday romance once I was able to get passed all the brand-name dropping and talking about how rich the two main characters were. I liked the best-friends to lovers trope, and I do love me a good only one-bed trope as well! And if you know me, I love cabins, so there was a lot that I liked in this one.

How to Ruin the Holidays, by Becky Monson: Two Mugs

This was a sweet, closed door romance, although the storyline was fairly predicable (I know, I know). My biggest grief with this one is that it keep trying to brush over the Hallmark predictability by being very direct about it’s Hallmark predictability (“if this was a Hallmark Christmas movie, I would get snowed it…”). It felt a little lazy and took away from the story itself. We know it’s a Hallmark Christmas movie, just embrace it!!

Snowflakes and Surprises in Tuppenny Bridge, by Sharon Booth (Publication date: 12.12.23): Two Mugs

Did this book feel crazy long and repetitive? Yes, yes it did. Was I reading it at late hours and unable to put it down? Yes, yes I was. So…it was good but not great. I get really frustrated with miscommunication tropes, especially when that trope is repeated over and over again. But I loved the small town characters!

What have been your favorite reads lately?

If you’re looking for your next read, here are some of my TBR lists:

You can also follow me along on Instagram for regular posts on what I’m reading (@alexs.reading.nook)

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