Photo credits: haraldheuser (pixabay), Azim Islam (pexels), PublicDomainPictures Edited by Vaishali C O M B I N E D C O M P L E T E N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R R E A D I N G Hello lovely reader. Whether you’ve been fully indulging in this calorific time of year, looking forward to a time of relaxed (or chaotic), family-oriented festivity or hoping for a quiet final month to pass before we shift into the coming new year, I hope this has been a time spent in favour of your well-being. It might be hard, messy, uncomfortable, uncertain, upsetting, a rush to finalise projects and sort through affairs before we get some time to ourselves but I truly hope it’s been one spent with yourself in mind. I personally make it a point to include de facto fictional friends and family in my very subdued celebrations. They're my steadfast people, indivisible from my thoughts! On the bookish front, I began November with Lucy Score’s The Price of Scandal. True story: this book had been on my mental reading list for many months only for me to completely fail to remember its title. After almost giving up my search to find it, I found it through a very helpful Goodreads member which revived some of my faith in this great and grand community. From that female-empowered contemporary romance, I travelled from a Christmas themed novella to an epic fantasy on an epic scale, to a small-town second chance love story with the kind of heart that only Kandi Steiner can engender. It’s been quite the fictional ride but what surprised me more than anything was the fact that, mood reader though I am, seasonal reader I am not, I actually found myself dipping my toes in into a few Christmas novellas. Who knew I was capable of change. Who also knew I’d enjoy seasonal reading? What I appreciate most about the season is the general air and atmosphere that gives weight to something to celebrate, if not celebratory at all. Nothing particularly changes for me this time of year but I try my very best to channel the cheer. If I don’t, I make an effort to accept that I’m allowed to feel how I feel. I hope you feel that too. But to look back on my year in books, I’ve managed to read a total of 37 books. I was hoping to round out with an even 40 but, and as much as I lament not matching last year’s goal or meeting a higher total, I’m proud of myself for every book read and reviewed this year. I’m also grateful for all the authors who kindly participated in interviews and guest posts and other bookish things. It’s been truly wonderful to work with all of you, to talk to you, to hear about the stories that pour out of you not without effort. Here’s to hoping I’ll get to meet many more of you come 2022! I hope the following year is both kinder and compassionate to you reader friends. I hope you find the energy to keep reading, I hope you keep on loving stories, I hope you keep collecting books and buying books because I fully believe in having a selection to pick from for whenever you need that one in that moment. If you’ve read even one review of mine, clicked open a link to any bookish post I’ve made and have offered this hopeless heathen any level of support and encouragement, I thank you from the centre of my heart for being a part of your thoughts. I hope you find adventure upon adventure between those earthen pages. And to my chronically ill kin, who are typically lost to the narrative, I send you the strength and courage to find your way back into the story, and hope that you become that bit more visible every day. I wish you the energy of the glowing sun and I hope you keep pushing to have yourselves heard. I’m ending 2021 in some of the worst radical fatigue I’ve experienced this year. As I attempt to settle my symptoms and decide whether I can even manage one more task for the day, I surrender my perfectionist tendency to finalise how I feel. I leave It all up in the air and in the land of fantasy, where I hope to share many more sparkling stories with you. H A P P Y N E W Y E A R !! And for the final time this year, here are my November & December reads! 1) The Price of Scandal by Lucy Score - Rating ★ ★ ★ ★ 4
Score has whittled up a really well-matched love pair buzzing with chemistry and panache, with supporting cast members imbibed with style, flavour and flair. Emily’s billionaire girlfriends each have distinguishable personalities, and of course, the feminist within smiled proudly at their friendship fidelity and entrepreneurship C O N T E N T W A R N I N G: Swearing. Mentions drugs. Mentions cancer. Also mentions drink driving, alcohol consumption and theft. A few bedroom scenes. You can find my full review of 'The Price of Scandal' here! - 4 S T A R S to The Price of Scandal 2) The Office Party by Whitney G. - Rating ★ ★ ★ 3.5
Of course, the hope for more was always at the tip of my tongue but the author sharply pulls this interracial office romance together with steamy repartee and rom-com chemistry. It’s well-written, readable, fun, amusing and a perfect little confection for the shifting season. C O N T E N T W A R N I N G: Swearing, minimal bedroom scenes and also mentions compulsive drinking. You can find my full review of 'The Office Party' here! - 3.5 S T A R S to The Office Party 3) Tip the Scales by A.K. Evans - Rating ★ ★ ★ ★ 3.5/4
Tip the Scales is a fast track love story and with both Max and Ella it was a case of fast feelings in close quarters. As is expected with shorter reads, the stretch isn't vast but the story carved a warm and wonderful communal cluster. Easy to pick up, easy to read and easy to channel the far-from-chilly chemistry. I'm not a keen observer of overly saccharine novels, and while this was a sweet, softened and self-effacing romance with balmy personalities, C O N T E N T W A R N I N G: Minimal swearing, one non-explicit bedroom scene (the rest are alluded to). Mentions drugs/drug trafficking. Kidnapping of a child. You can find my full review of 'Tip the Scales' here! - 3.5/4 S T A R S to Tip the Scales 4) Until by Anna B. Doe - Rating ★ 1
When I looked through my notes, the negatives were a lead weight to any minimal good and while this seems to be something of a crowd pleaser, it more accurately painted as a 'style over substance' visage for me. Of course, I'm never one to inflame bookish mutiny. Storytelling is a hard graft and I have a healthy respect for anyone who dares to push that pen. Just because this book wasn't for me, different strokes are for different folks so feel free to take your chances with this sports romance reader friends. You can find my full Goodreads review here! - 1 S T A R to Until 5) The Iron Crown by L.L. MacRae - Rating ★ ★ ★ 3.5
I’d describe the plot as an overarching curiosity rather than a minefield of surprises. The Iron Crown doesn’t just wear a gorgeous cover, It holds within a fantasy with classic textures and original strokes. It’s a crossing of the unknown in a world believed to have safely done away with their ancient enemy. C O N T E N T W A R N I N G: Describes gory injuries. Violence. Mentions torture/sometimes describes it. A few f bombs. You can find my full review of The Iron Crown here! - 3.5 S T A R S to The Iron Crown 6) The Christmas Blanket by Kandi Steiner - Rating ★ ★ ★ ★ 4.5
There’s plenty to toast in the name of a Steiner romance, but if there's anything I can say about Kandi Steiner it's that she artfully writes more than just a romance, she writes a salt-of-the-earth love story native to the heart. A passing visit turns into an eye-opening pit stop for Eliza in this snowed in Christmas novella where home really is where the River runs. C O N T E N T W A R N I N G: Some swearing, mentions a battle with drugs/drug addiction. Detailed sex scene. You can find my full review of 'The Christmas Blanket' here! - 4.5 S T A R S to The Christmas Blanket I hope you've enjoyed my November and December reads, but more than that, I truly hope you've enjoyed your own. Stay safe and well, friends and I wish you the very best for 2022! I love interacting with fellow readers and hearing about reader opinion, so if you'd like to talk books or about your own recent reads, get in touch and comment below! H A P P Y R E A D I N G & H A P P Y N E W Y E A R !! --------------------------------------- M Y R A T I N G S Y S T E M: ★ - 1 star: I did not like the book ★★ - 2 stars: The book was okay ★★★ - 3 stars: It was a good, solid read ★★★★ - 4 stars: A great book ★★★★★ - 5: A phenomenal read --------------------------------------- _________________________________________ R E L A T E D P O S T S: ● September/October Reading Wrap Up 2021 ● July/August Reading Wrap Up 2021 ● May/June Reading Wrap Up 2021 ● March/April Reading Wrap Up 2021 ● January/February Reading Wrap Up 2021 ● November/December Reading Wrap Up 2020 ● September Reading Wrap Up 2020 __________________________________________ SHARE ON FACEBOOK Leave a comment and let's talk...
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VaishaliBorn in the UK Archives
February 2024
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2019 Reading Challenge
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