I read a decent amount in December, but had plans to read even more that were derailed by Covid. I actually re-listened to the first three ACOTAR books because I just couldn’t focus on anything new! But I did manage to read new books, too, and even got to read some holiday books even though there wasn’t a whole lot of festivity for me since the whole house was sick. With that in mind, here’s everything that I read in December.

Once Smitten, Twice Shy by Chloe Liese

(I got an ARC of this through Berkley and Netgalley, but it will be published tomorrow!) Chloe’s romances never disappoint for me – they’re always sweet and tender but funny, too. This is the third and final book in her Wilmot sisters series and focuses on Juliet, and is also a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Juliet is still recovering from a heartbreak and isn’t ready to date again, but isn’t opposed to having some flirty fun with a guy she keeps running into (across countries, even!). And Will is ready for romance, but doesn’t feel like he knows how to flirt or date. So the two agree to “practice” together. I’m sure you can guess how that ends! As usual, I really enjoyed the disabled and neurodivergent representation in Chloe’s book – it’s written so thoughtfully!

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

(I got an ARC of this through William Morrow and Netgalley, but it will be published tomorrow!) I’m not usually a huge sci-fi person, but a friend recommended this book to me because it’s meta-fiction about and by a disabled author, so obviously I had to read it! This story has a book within a book, and chapters alternate between the points of view of the narrator, Zelu, and the book she’s written called Rusted Robots. Zelu was paralyzed after falling out of a tree as a child, and has always felt “othered” in her large, Nigerian family. After two professional setbacks come one after the other, she decides to devote her time to writing a different kind of book – one where robots and AI are fighting over the future. It’s an instant hit, and changes her life dramatically in every possible way – including changes that draw parallels to the characters she writes about. I did feel like there were some parts of it that dragged a bit, but I really loved how it made me think – about disability, about storytelling, and about AI and robots, plus the intersectionality of all three. And because the sci-fi aspects are mostly the story within a story, it feels approachable to people like me who are huge on sci-fi in general.

Sister Snake by Amanda Lee Koe

(Thank you to Libro.fm who gifted me this audiobook.) This was such a beautifully, slightly weird story – I loved it so much. This is a modernized retelling of the Chinese folktale “The Legend of the White Snake” – I’m not familiar with the original, but this story on it’s own is beautiful and poignant and funny! Emerald and Su are sisters who are seemingly as different as possible, except for the fact that 1,000 years ago, they were both living as snakes in China. Now, Su does her very best to pass as human – she is married to a politician in Singapore and lives in orderly, seemingly perfect life. Emerald has always kept a little bit of her wild, snake-life self near the surface, and lives day-to-day, using her charm and wit to get by. When Su comes across a news story that she thinks might mean Emerald is in trouble, she boards the first flight, finds Emerald, and brings her back to live with her in Singapore… where Emerald’s presence threatens to topple the life Su has painstakingly worked to craft. It’s so darkly funny, but also really witty, and has some really poignant themes about found family and about being truly seen. It was such a beautiful story!

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue

I read this book for a book club, and it was a struggle at times because I felt so much physical cringe and second-hand embarrassment for the main character while reading it! Jolene works in an office job where she finds her coworkers incompetent and annoying. To deal with this, when she sends them e-mails, she voices her complaints at the bottom, then changes the text to white, making the sentences invisible but making herself feel better… until one day, when she forgets to change the color. She’s caught and told to take sensitivity training with the new HR manager, and has an e-mail tracker installed on her computer. Except the software actually accidentally gives her access to every coworkers’ e-mail correspondence! Suddenly, she feels like she has the answer key for succeeding at work, and starts to use her new information to her advantage, playing a dangerous game of deception. The ending of this felt a little bit rushed and too neat, but it was an enjoyable read overall, as long as you can handle major cringe!

Most Wonderful by Georgia Clark

I wanted to read a holiday romcom at the end of December, and this new release was the one I picked. It follows three siblings – Liz, Birdie, and Rafi – who all decide to come home early because of some personal crisis to spend the holidays at their Hollywood star mother’s home. Liz is a showrunner of a popular teen drama that just got greenlit for season two, but all she can think about is her (maybe reciprocated?) crush on the show’s star. Birdie is a stand-up comic who just got dumped by her agent and is drinking a lot instead of working on new material. And Rafi just proposed to his girlfriend in front of all of their coworkers… and was turned down. All three are determined to spend the time at their mother’s estate focusing on themselves only, but sometimes life doesn’t work out quite like you expect! This was like a Hallmark movie in book form… it had maybe a few too many current pop culture references for me, but it was really sweet and perfect to read during the holiday season.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

This was just absolutely delightful – I loved it so much more than I thought I would! Maggie and Ethan are both the top authors in their genres – cozy mystery and thriller, respectively. They’re also, in Maggie’s eyes, sworn enemies… and they also both receive a mysterious invitation to spend the holidays at the house of an anonymous huge fan. When they arrive, they learn the “fan” is actually the super popular author Eleanor Ashley, who is basically Maggie’s idol. After the party the first night, Maggie and Ethan wake up to find that Eleanor has disappeared from her locked bedroom, and the whole group is snowed in at her house. Maggie begins to suspect that Eleanor has purposely escaped, and that the whole thing is a setup for her to solve. She begrudgingly agrees to work with Ethan to try to solve the case… and the two find themselves growing closer. This was a fun, cozy mystery plus romance, and the banter was so charming I didn’t want to stop reading! I kind of couldn’t believe how much I loved this.

I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones

There could not be more of a tonal shift from the last book to this one! I am not a huge horror fan, but this was more of a litfic take on horror. The book is actually told from the point-of-view of the teenage slasher himself, Tolly, who is writing his memoir telling the story of how he became what he is after growing up in small-town Texas. We learn how he went from a good kid to the teenage slasher after one night gone terribly wrong that changed the whole trajectory of his life. It’s a fascinating take on horror and every slasher trope there is (most of which I was unfamiliar with), and it’s told an extreme stream-of-consciousness style. The first half was pretty slow, and it took me a while to really get into it. I don’t think horror is my genre, but I know that this was objectively good – it made me feel empathy for a slasher, which is no small feat!

Comedic Timing by Upasna Barath

(I got an ARC of this from 831 Stories and Netgalley, it will be published on January 28.) I just really love how 831 Stories is publishing all these short, romance novellas tackling different themes and tropes. Naina has just broken up with her older, intense girlfriend Sofia, has a steady job, and feels like she’s ready to commit to hear creative passion. When she meets David, sparks fly… but she can’t tell if it’s romantically, professionally, or both. As the two start to spend a lot of time together, Naina has to figure out what she wants professionally, and if dating a man means she’s losing part of her queer identity. This is a quick read, but a fun one.

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

A friend described this as long-form poetry, and that’s exactly right, in my opinion. The writing is so absolutely beautiful and classic, which makes sense, as the story follows two agents – “Red” and “Blue” – who are on opposite sides of the time war. The two start writing to each other – across time and space – but the letters turn more and more intimate and romantic. Could two rival agents, each passionate about their cause, learn to love each other? It’s hard to explain what makes this so good, because the beauty really is in the lyrical prose. I read this via audiobook and really recommend that!

Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

This is a short but fascinating read – it’s a coming-of-age story following Catalina, an undocumented immigrant seemingly living the dream after being raised by her undocumented grandparents and being accepted to Harvard. While there, she notices the contradictions of her life, and exploits them at times – she finds her way into the secret society subculture, and after deciding she wants a relationship, she starts a romance with an anthropology student with a passion for Latin America. He teachers her about her culture, and she’s equal parts fascinated while also wanting to be seen as stereotypically American as possible. She is full of contradictions, just as anyone else trying to grow up and find their place.