Hi everyone! Here’s a quick summary of some of the books I hope to get to in December! I’d love to hear what you’re planning to read!
Skyward (Series) by Brandon Sanderson
👽 Aliens
🤖 Artificial intelligence
💜 Romance-free (hinted at in later books)
Content Warnings: death of a loved one, mention of genocide, murder, racism, violence
So this is on my December TBR, because the third book in the series was just released! I plan to read all three – Skyward, Starsight, and Cytonic – as well as the novellas – Sunreach, ReDawn, and Evershore when it comes out on December 28th. I read Skyward and Starsight in spring/summer of 2020, so I’m really excited to jump back into the world – especially now that I know just how much I adore Brandon Sanderson’s writing!
This book is about Spensa, a young girl who dreams of being a pilot like her father, and her world which is under attack by aliens. Spensa is determined to prove herself by getting into flight school to have the chance to protect her world.
All three books + the novellas (not including Evershore) will come in right around 1850 pages, which…is a lot. But I think I believe in myself! These books were the very first ones I read by Brandon, so I’m excited to read them again!
A Court of Frost & Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
🎄 Holiday-themed
🎂 Feyre shares my birthday!
💨 Under 250 pages
It is a tradition for me to read this book every year, because Feyre and I share a birthday!
In this book, we get to see Feyre and her friends and family celebrate both the Winter Solstice and her birthday! It has the coziest wintery vibes, so it’s such a great read for this time of the year anyway! But I especially love reading it knowing Feyre and I are both celebrating our birthdays. Ideally, I’ll be able to finish all of this on December 21st to celebrate us both!
The Cat of Yule Cottage – Lili Hayward
🎄 Holiday-themed
🐈 Cats!
💨 Under 250 pages
This book and the next were both nominees for book club picks for December on the Goodreads Discord – which you should absolutely join! – and although they didn’t win, I was very excited about both and plan to read them anyway!
This is quite a short book and looks absolutely adorable and cozy and festive, and honestly, what more could I ask for?
This book is about Jess, who moves into a very old cottage in Cornwall and hopes to finish renovating it before the holidays. Apparently, it also involves magic? And cats, of course, which is what convinced me to add it to my TBR in the first place!
I’m happy this is a pretty small read, which means I can probably read it during in-between times (before bed, in the car, etc.) when I won’t be focused on Skyward!
Tell the Wolves I’m Home – Carol Rifka Brunt
🏳️🌈 LGBT representation
🎗️ HIV/AIDS
🎥 Set in the 1980s
Content warnings: death, homophobia
This isn’t terribly short but it also isn’t terribly long, so it could possibly be another in-between book!
This book is about 14-year-old June who is dealing with the loss of her beloved uncle, godfather, and best friend: Finn. However, after Finn’s funeral, June comes into contact with someone else who misses him, a man named Toby. The two form an unexpected friendship that hopefully can help them heal from the loss of Finn. It isn’t explicitly stated in the synopsis, but I know this book also deals with HIV/AIDS.
Historical fiction isn’t really something I gravitate towards, so hopefully, I enjoy this and don’t struggle with it too much!
Bonus Books:
Faking Under the Mistletoe by Ashley Shepherd
📚 Book Club Pick: A Court of Books & Readers Book Club
🎄 Holiday-themed
💞 Fake dating
Content warnings: brief mention of sexual assault, death of a parent mentioned
Okay, I’ll admit it: I am a sucker for cheesy holiday Netflix movies. Holidate is one of my favorite Christmas movies of all time, so you can imagine how much I enjoy the fake dating trope. Because of that, I was pretty excited when I saw this was a December pick for the ACOBAR book club!
All I know about this book is that it apparently involves fake dating, a lot of Christmas cheer, and possibly the grumpy/sunshine trope? I’m very, very excited and I think it’ll be a quick and cozy read!
The Bear & the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
📚 Recommended By: Words & Whimsy Reading Challenge
🇷🇺 Russian-inspired
🧚 Fairytales
Content warnings: body horror, child marriage, death in pregnancy, sexual assault
I’m going to be honest, I thought this was going to be a cozy, wholesome winter read, but evidently, I know nothing about what this book is actually about? Apparently, I am judging a book by its cover, because this book looks cozy, right?
This book is about Vasilisa, a young girl who loves listening to her nurse’s stories with her family. She particularly loves the stories about the spirits who protect their home and family. After her mother dies, Vasilisa’s father brings home a wife from Moscow, a devout woman who forbids them from honoring those spirits. Vasilisa’s uncertainty and fear about this prove to be well-founded when crops begin failing and danger draws near. Vasilisa must defy her harsh stepmother who wants to either marry her off or ship her off to a convent, determining to use her mysterious gifts to protect those she loves instead.
Regardless, this definitely sounds like a great winter read. I think I have DNFed it before, but hopefully, December will put me in the right mindset!
The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne
📚 Book Club Pick: Fantasy Buddy Reads
🐉 Dragons
🛡️ Norse-inspired
Content warnings: violence, gore, death
I have owned this book for a while, so I was excited to see that the Fantasy Buddy Reads group on Goodreads is reading it in December! I’m honestly not sure if I’ll get to it since it’s quite chonky, but…It has dragons! The more I think about it, the more I want to read it as soon as possible. It’s also inspired by Norse mythology! It sounds super cool. Even if I don’t get to it this month, I definitely need to remind myself to get to it in the near future!
Thanks for reading! Do you have any books that you love to pick up in the winter or around the holidays? I’d love to hear about them!
Nightfallen Fox 