December 2025 Reads
December was a solid four-star reading month for me. Nothing totally blew my mind, but I wasn’t disappointed either. I was entertained. And, that’s the whole point, y’know?
Lately, my favorite reading hack has been at the gym. There’s a single elliptical where you can log into your Kindle and read on a giant screen while you work out. So yes, that’s where you’ll find me. Occasionally so engrossed in a story that I’ve completely stopped elliptical-ing altogether. But it feels like hitting two birds with one stone, and as a mom, that feels very meaningful right now.
Okay. Let’s get into it. My ratings and reviews, copied straight from Goodreads. (I am not gonna type the ratings under the book covers this time because I already told ya FOUR STARS. Okay bye).
Okay, so some people know that I do most of my reading at night. Two young kids who don’t quite sleep through the night means that this mama is up and hangin’ out at all odd hours of the night. But this wasn’t a book I could read in the middle of the night. Don’t get me wrong. I can tear through a thriller and not feel the slightest bit spooked, but this was SCARY. Ha.
That being said, an author who can make me feel goosebumps while reading a FICTIONAL book that is so obviously fiction? Sign me up.
I felt very invested in finding out who the heck this demon was and what the heck they wanted. That being said, I didn’t love how the story wrapped up. I wanted more. More storyline, more “I freaking told you so.” It didn’t quite end up with this OH-EM-GEE moment that I was craving. Maybe that’s just me.
Definitely a fun fall read ’cause of the spookiness.
If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia:
We love a cutesy romance. I also love a Gilmore Girls-esque scene and this small town in Vermont did it for me. City girl meets small town guy, her cynicism to his optimism, it was a predictable read but aren’t they all?
I enjoyed this one. Especially in the fall.
They threw in a lot of 90s references (e.g TAMAGOTCHIS, WHAT UP). But, I think the focus wasn’t so much on the 90s part of it. Though, maybe it would have been more fun for me if they upped the 90s stuff. Like, for real, when a tamagotchi was mentioned, I shrieked.
If you’re a sucker for a romance read with a nice little fall scene, pick this one up!
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans:
Made me want to pull out some stationery and send letters to people. I have a blog that keeps documentation of my life, but there’s something really wonderful about seeing your history documented in interaction with someone else. The receiving end of it.
A beautiful, very different read. Glad I picked this one up.
“…the easiest inroad is to begin with a thank you, for a gift or a kindness or a letter, you know, and then take it from there. Answer every question they’ve asked, and ask your own, and you will have created a never-ending circuit of curiosity and learning.”
“Imagine, the letters one has sent out into the world, the letters received back in turn, are like the pieces of a magnificent puzzle, or, a better metaphor, if dated, the links of a long chain, and even if those links are never put back together, which they will certainly never be, even if they remain for the rest of time dispersed across the earth like the fragile blown seeds of a dying dandelion, isn’t there something wonderful in that, to think that a story of one’s life is preserved in some way.”
I love a cozy Christmas read during the holidays and this one absolutely delivered.
I didn’t expect to fall for a ghost love story. That’s usually not my cup of tea. But this book had so many layers that completely won me over. I loved both characters deeply. Harriet especially resonated with me: never quite feeling good enough or worthy enough, always trying to people-please and putting herself last.
What I loved most was how Nolan came into her life from Christmas past as someone who was supposed to find her flaws, yet ended up seeing everything so good about her. Reminding her that she was worthy, that she was a good person, and that she deserved to follow her heart, everyone else be damned.
This book felt like a warm hug. Best enjoyed with a cup of peppermint tea, a candy cane in your pocket, snow falling outside, cocooned on the couch under a blanket. Right next to the Christmas tree, of course!
It’s Different This Time by Joss Richard:
Oh this was just lovely. Very impressed that this was the author’s debut novel!
The story follows June and Adam, former roommates and close friends whose relationship crossed a line and left them with unresolved feelings. And a friendship that ended badly. June is living in LA when she unexpectedly moves back to a New York City brownstone, bringing her back into Adam’s orbit after five years of not speaking.
The two are suddenly reunited when they inherit a multimillion-dollar property together through the former owner’s will. While waiting a month for the legal paperwork to be finalized, they’re forced to communicate, reopening old wounds and reigniting a connection neither of them fully let go of. As they spend more time talking, their bond slowly resurfaces.
Former best friends, second chance romance, slow burn. This one has it all. (The cover makes it seem like it’s a book best read in the fall, but I think this could be enjoyed any time of year!).
Everyone is Lying To You by Jo Piazza:
I’d say that if you’re an influencer, you gotta read this. But, to be honest, if you’re a human on social media today, this was a really fun read. A reminder that what you put on the GRAM is not likely reality and there’s so much hidden behind-the-scenes. This was, obviously exaggerated for entertainment. And entertaining it was!
One of the big ways I judge a book is how much I want to return to it and READ and this one had me trying to find pockets of time to get through it. Page turner, for sure.
That’s all!
I got my GoodReads stats and read something like 65 books this year. Which is plenty. It WAS less than I read in 2024 and 2023. But I’m going to attribute that to the fact that we are actually getting good, more solid sleep this year with Riyu not waking up AS frequently in the night. (Which means that I’m reading less at 2am and 3am and 4am). And that’s just FINE WITH ME. I’d rather get the sleep, thankyouverymuch.
In a few weeks, our book club is heading to Michigan for a reading retreat weekend and I CANNOT WAIT. This might mean there will be LOTS OF BOOKS READ IN JANUARY! We’ll see.
Okay, I’m off!
What was one of your favorite reads this past year?!
