Top Ten Tuesday – Reading/Blogging Goals I Still Want to Accomplish Before the End of the Year

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is Reading Goals I Still Want to Accomplish Before the End of the Year.  I’m adding in blogging goals since I focused on both in my initial post about goals for 2023.  I have to admit that most of my goals have been a huge fail this year.  When Jetpack started trying to charge money to be able to auto-share across platforms – something that had been a free feature ever since I started my blog, I got discouraged. Then I got even more discouraged when good old Elon made it so you can’t use Jetpack to share to twitter, X, or whatever he’s calling it these days.  On top of that, I’ve been having so many database corruption issues. I’m hoping those are resolved now that I stopped trying to fix it myself and paid my ISP to figure it out.  In the meantime, I’ve been focusing more and more on my Bookstagram account.  I still love my blog and the blogging community though so here’s where I stand on my 2023 goals and which ones I think are still doable.

 

via GIPHY

Revisiting My Reading and Blogging Goals for 2023

 

1)  My number one goal this year is a repeat goal from the past three years and that is to read more of the books I own.  My goal for this was 70 and I’ve read 52 so not too bad.

2)  This is also a repeat goal from 2022 and 2021.  I really want to continue to only participate in blog tours where I have already requested a review book.  I’ve only done a handful of blog tours this year and those were almost all for Berkley Romance, specifically some of my most anticipated reads of the year so I’m happy with my progress here.

3)  This is also an ongoing goal since my struggle to finish series continues.  I’ve not done very well on this one at all.

Series I Want to Finish or Get Caught Up On: 

  • Lifelike by Jay Kristoff (2 books left) – I did finish this series.
  • The Aurora Cycle (2 books left) – Still have 1 book left as of this post.
  • The Inheritance Games (2 books left) – I did finish this series.
  • City of Brass (2 books left) – Haven’t touched this one.
  • Crescent City (Re-read book 1, then read book 2) – I’m all caught up on this one.
  • Bridgerton (5 books left) – I’ve only read one Bridgerton book this year but do hope to read more before the end of the year.

Series I Want to Start:

  • The Consortium Rebellion – Fail
  • Six Crimson Cranes – Read both books.
  • The Celestial Kingdom – Fail
  • The Great Library – Fail – I’m no longer interested in reading this one.
  • The Invisible Library – Fail – I’m no longer interested in reading this one.
  • The Bloodsworn Saga – Fail

4)  This is also a repeat goal from the past two years.  I really want to continue to grow my Bookstagram account.  This is probably the goal I’ve done the best with all year, having reached 10K followers last week.  If you have a bookstagram account and are not already following me, you can give me a follow at https://instagram.com/thebookishlibra

5)  Re-reading more.  This is also a repeat goal and one I failed at in 2022. And I’m failing again in 2023, lol.  I re-read the first three on this list and haven’t touched the others.

  • House of Earth and Blood
  • Aurora Rising
  • Ninth House
  • The Handmaid’s Tale
  • The Invisible Life of Addie Larue
  • The Chronicles of Narnia (5 books) – I did manage to re-read the second book in the series in 2022.
  • Pride and Prejudice
  • Jane Eyre

6) I am aiming to keep my Netgalley percentage at 85% or above in 2023.  I’m doing well with this goal too and am actually at 93%, although with 53 arcs waiting to be read and reviewed, I’m clearly failing the whole requesting less ARCs goal. I obviously just love new releases too much to ever succeed at that one, haha.

 

7)  I say this every year, but in 2023, I want to read more Nonfiction.  Another huge fail for me. I’ve not read any of these, although I do hope to at least read Michelle Obama’s new one before the end of the year.

  • What Unites Us by Dan Rather
  • The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama
  • We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  • Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win WWII by Liza Mundy
  • D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped Win WWII by Sarah Rose
  • Spare by Prince Harry
  • Untamed by Glennon Doyle
  • Where the Light Enters, Building a Family, Discovering Myself by Jill Biden

8)  This is a forever goal, haha.  In 2023, I really want to work on being better organized, particularly when it comes to blogging ahead.  Nope, still a fail.

9)  Revisit Shakespeare.  Fail unless revisiting him through retellings counts, lol.

10) I am doing the Goodreads Challenge and have set my goal at 175 books.  I’ve read 156 so far so I think I’ll exceed this goal pretty easily considering I still have 3 months to go.

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How are you doing with your reading/blogging goals this year?

Can’t Wait Wednesday – THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE AUNTIES by Jesse Q. Sutanto

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about.  It is a meme that I have  loved participating in since I first started blogging, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.

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My selection for this week is THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE AUNTIES by Jesse Q. Sutanto.  This is the third installment in the hilarious Aunties series and I’m excited for it because I just know it’s going to be another wild ride!

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE AUNTIES by Jesse Q. Sutanto

by Berkley

Publication Date:  March 26, 2024

 

Goodreads:

What should have been a family celebration of Chinese New Year descends into chaos when longtime foes crash the party in this hilariously entertaining novel by Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties.

After an ultra-romantic honeymoon across Europe, Meddy Chan and her husband Nathan have landed in Jakarta to spend Chinese New Year with her entire extended family. Chinese New Year, already the biggest celebration of the Lunar calendar, gets even more festive when a former beau of Second Aunt’s shows up at the Chan residence bearing extravagant gifts—he’s determined to rekindle his romance with Second Aunt and the gifts are his way of announcing his courtship.

His grand gesture goes awry however, when it’s discovered that not all the gifts were meant for Second Aunt and the Chans—one particular gift was intended for a business rival to cement their alliance and included by accident. Of course the Aunties agree that it’s only right to return the gift—after all, anyone would forgive an honest mistake, right? But what should have been a simple retrieval turns disastrous and suddenly Meddy and the Aunties are helpless pawns in a decades-long war between Jakarta’s most powerful business factions. The fighting turns personal, however, when Nathan and the Aunties are endangered and it’s up to Meddy to come up with a plan to save them all.  Determined to rescue her loved ones, Meddy embarks on an impossible mission—but with the Aunties by her side, nothing is truly impossible…

 

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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂

Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Own That are on My Fall 2023 TBR

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is actually supposed to be about secondary characters who deserve their own book, but I completely blanked out on that and decided to go rogue.  Instead, I’m continuing last week’s topic and sharing more of the books I’m hoping to read this fall.   Last week I shared all new and upcoming releases so this week I’m going to share ten of the books I’ve owned for a while and need to read.

Books I Own That are on My Fall 2023 TBR

 

 

1. YOU SHOULD SMILE MORE by Anastasia Ryan  –  “When Vanessa Blair is fired because of her “resting bitch face,” her friends help her launch a revenge plan that’ll bring down the whole company.”

2. BLOODMARKED by Tracy Deonn  – I had DNF’ed Legendborn, the first book in this King Arthur retelling, during the pandemic but recently revisited it and loved it, so I’m looking forward to reading the next book as soon as possible.

3. HIS & HERS by Alice Feeney – “There are two sides to every story: yours and mine, ours and theirs, His & Hers. Which means someone is always lying.”

4. DIVINE RIVALS by Rebecca Ross  – “When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever.

5. BY A THREAD by Lucy Score – “A steamy, swoony workplace romantic comedy with a grumpy boss hero determined to save the day and a plucky heroine who is starting to wonder if there might actually be a beating heart just beneath her boss’s sexy vests.”

6. POWERLESS by Elsie Silver – “Two childhood friends. Two broken hearts. One impromptu road trip to get away from everything. That’s all this was supposed to be. Afterall, I’ve been living in the friend zone for years now.  But hockey heartthrob Jasper Gervais isn’t looking at me like a friend anymore. And he isn’t touching me like one either.”

7. THE HOUSEMAID’S SECRET by Freida McFadden  –  I recently read and loved The Housemaid so I can’t wait to read more from this author.

8. GREENWICH PARK by Katherine Faulkner – “When Rachel threatens to expose a past crime that could destroy all of their lives, it becomes clear that there are more than a few secrets laying beneath the broad-leaved trees and warm lamplight of Greenwich Park.”

9. SOMEONE ELSE’S SHOES by Jojo Moyes  –  “A story of mix-ups, mess-ups and making the most of second chances, this is the new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jojo Moyes, author of Me Before You and The Giver of Stars.”

10. THE LIGHT WE CARRY by Michelle Obama  –  “In an inspiring follow-up to her critically acclaimed, #1 bestselling memoir Becoming, former First Lady Michelle Obama shares practical wisdom and powerful strategies for staying hopeful and balanced in today’s highly uncertain world.”  My goal to read one nonfiction book a month has been an absolute fail in 2023, but this is one I definitely want to read before the end of the year.

 

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Question:  Have you read any of these or are you planning to read any of them?

Can’t Wait Wednesday – MURDER ROAD by Simone St. James

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about.  It is a meme that I have  loved participating in since I first started blogging, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.

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My selection for this week is MURDER ROAD by Simone St. James.  I’ve loved everything I’ve read from this author and I honestly wish I had this one to read right now because it sounds like the perfect read for spooky season. If you have read anything from St. James yet, I highly recommend The Sun Down Motel and The Book of Cold Cases.

MURDER ROAD by Simone St. James

by Berkley

Publication Date:  March 5, 2024

 

Goodreads:

A young couple find themselves haunted by a string of gruesome murders committed along an old deserted road in this terrifying new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Cold Cases.

July 1995. April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn. They’re looking for the small resort town where they plan to spend their honeymoon. When they spot what appears to a lone hitchhiker along the deserted road, they stop to help. But not long after the hitchiker gets into their car, they see the blood seeping from her jacket and a truck barreling down Atticus Line after them.

When the hitchhiker dies at the local hospital, April and Eddie find themselves in the crosshairs of the Coldlake Falls police. Unexplained murders have been happening along Atticus Line for years and the cops finally have two witnesses who easily become their only suspects. As April and Eddie start to dig into the history of the town and that horrible stretch of road to clear their names, they soon learn that there is something supernatural at work, something that could not only tear the town and its dark secrets apart, but take April and Eddie down with it all.

 

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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂

Top Ten Tuesday – Books on my Fall 2023 TBR

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is Books on My Fall 2023 TBR.  I always enjoy this topic because I’m curious to see what my fellow book bloggers are planning to read next.  I have a lot of ARCs to read this fall so my focus will primarily be on those, although I do hope to squeeze in a few of the books from my shelves as well.

Books on My Fall 2023 TBR

   

   

 

1. BETTER HATE THAN NEVER by Chloe Liese  –  “Childhood enemies discover the fine line between love and loathing in this heartfelt reimagining of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.”

2. A DEMON’S GUIDE TO WOOING A WITCH by Sarah Hawley  – “Calladia Cunnington curses the day she met Astaroth the demon, but when he shows up memoryless, why does she find him so helpless . . . and sort of hot?”

3. THE FRAGILE THREADS OF POWER by V.E. Schwab – “From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and set in the world of A Darker Shade of Magic, V. E. Schwab opens a new door into perilous adventure and tangled schemes with The Fragile Threads of Power.”

4. THE FAKE MATE by Lana Ferguson  – “Two wolf shifters agree to be fake mates but unexpectedly find something real in this steamy paranormal romantic comedy by Lana Ferguson.

5. STARLING HOUSE by Alix E. Harrow – “A grim and gothic new tale from author Alix E. Harrow about a small town haunted by secrets that can’t stay buried and the sinister house that sits at the crossroads of it all.”

6. IRIS KELLY DOESN’T DATE by Ashley Herring Blake – “To get her mind off everything and overcome her writer’s block, Iris tries out for a local play, but comes face-to-face with Stefania—or, Stevie, her real name. When Stevie desperately asks Iris to play along as her girlfriend, Iris is shocked, but goes along with it because maybe this fake relationship will actually get her creative juices flowing and she can get her book written. As the two women play the part of a couple, they turn into a constant state of hot-and-bothered and soon it just comes down to who will make the real first move…”

7. MIDNIGHT IS THE DARKEST HOUR by Ashley Winstead  –  “From the critically acclaimed author of In My Dreams I Hold A Knife and The Last Housewife comes a gothic Southern thriller about a killer haunting a small Louisiana town, where two outcasts—the preacher’s daughter and the boy from the wrong side of the tracks—hold the key to uncovering the truth.

8. WRECK THE HALLS by Tessa Bailey – “A sexy, hilarious standalone holiday rom-com about the adult children of two former rock stars who team up to convince their estranged mothers to play a Christmas Eve concert.”

9. THE UNMAKING OF JUNE FARROW by Adrienne Young  –  “A woman risks everything to end her family’s centuries-old curse, solve her mother’s disappearance, and find love in this mesmerizing novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Spells for Forgetting.”

10. A WINTER IN NEW YORK by Josie Silver  –  “A young chef stumbles on a secret family recipe that might lead her to the love—and life—she’s been looking for in this stunning novel.”

 

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Question:  Have you read any of these or are you planning to read any of them?

Can’t Wait Wednesday – HUNT ON DARK WATERS by Katee Robert

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about.  It is a meme that I have  loved participating in since I first started blogging, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.

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My selection for this week is HUNT ON DARK WATERS by Katee Robert.  This one honestly wasn’t on my radar until I heard Katee talk about it at a recent fall preview event.  As soon as she described it as having pirates and witches, I was sold!

HUNT ON DARK WATERS by Katee Robert

by Berkley

Publication Date:  November 7, 2023

 

Goodreads:

Sail the magical high seas with this first book in a new sexy fantasy romance series from Katee Robert, the New York Times bestselling author of the TikTok smash-hit Neon Gods.

Evelyn is a witch with a perfect storm of impulses: terrible taste in bed partners, sticky fingers, and a lust for danger. After she steals from her vampire ex and falls through a portal to another realm, she’s fished out of the waters by a band of seafarers and their telekinetic captain. She’s immediately given a choice—join their group or die.

Bowen has no memory of his life before he became one of the Cŵn Annwn. He and his pirate crew are bound by vow to patrol through Threshold, the magical sea in between realms, keeping the portals to other worlds safe. When he rescues Evelyn, he doesn’t expect to be attracted to the unflappably brassy pickpocket. The longer he spends in her presence, the more he begins to question if his heart is the next thing she’ll steal.

But as tension heats up between Bowen and Evelyn, danger escalates as well. Because Evelyn has no intention of keeping her vows to the Cŵn Annwn, and if she betrays the crew, both she and Bowen will pay the ultimate price….

 

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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂

Top Ten Tuesday – Some of My Favorite Friendships in Books

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is Favorite Character Relationships (These can be platonic or not. Romantic relationships, parent/child, siblings, family bonds, friendships, found families, pet/human, etc.).  I decided it would be fun to share some of my favorite friendships in books that I’ve read.  I love friendships that feel like family and I think most of these fit that bill. They might tease and give each other hell, but when it comes down to it, they always have each other’s back.

 

Some of My Favorite Friendships in Books

 

THE BOYS FROM THE BROMANCE BOOK CLUB SERIES

FINLAY & VERO FROM THE FINLAY DONOVAN SERIES

RYLAND & ROCKY FROM PROJECT HAIL MARY

HARRY & RON FROM THE HARRY POTTER SERIES

STEPHANIE & LULA FROM THE STEPHANIE PLUM SERIES

KAZ BREKKER’S CREW IN THE SIX OF CROWS DUOLOGY

THE BAT BOYS FROM THE ACOTAR SERIES (ALSO, MOR & FEYRE)

ELOISE & PENELOPE FROM THE BRIDGERTON SERIES

THE REN FAIRE FAMILY FROM THE WELL MET SERIES

THE RAVEN BOYS FROM THE RAVEN CYCLE SERIES

 

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Have you read any of these?

Can’t Wait Wednesday – THE FRAGILE THREADS OF POWER by V.E. Schwab

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about.  It is a meme that I have  loved participating in since I first started blogging, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.

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My selection for this week is THE FRAGILE THREADS OF POWER by V.E. Schwab. Shades of Magic is one of my all time favorite fantasy series so I’m beyond excited that V.E. Schwab is taking us back to that world for another adventure and that we’ll be meeting a new Antari!

THE FRAGILE THREADS OF POWER by V.E. Schwab

by Tor Books

 

Goodreads:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and set in the world of A Darker Shade of Magic, V. E. Schwab opens a new door into perilous adventure and tangled schemes with The Fragile Threads of Power.

Once, there were four worlds, nestled like pages in a book, each pulsing with fantastical power, and connected by a single city: London. Until the magic grew too fast, and forced the worlds to seal the doors between them in a desperate gamble to protect their own. The few magicians who could still open the doors grew more rare as time passed and now, only three Antari are known in recent memory―Kell Maresh of Red London, Delilah Bard of Grey London, and Holland Vosijk, of White London.

But barely a glimpse of them have been seen in the last seven years―and a new Antari named Kosika has appeared in White London, taking the throne in Holland’s absence. The young queen is willing to feed her city with blood, including her own―but her growing religious fervor has the potential to drown them instead.

And back in Red London, King Rhy Maresh is threatened by a rising rebellion, one determined to correct the balance of power by razing the throne entirely.

Amidst this tapestry of old friends and new enemies, a girl with an unusual magical ability comes into possession of a device that could change the fate of all four worlds.

Her name is Tes, and she’s the only one who can bring them together―or unravel it all.

 

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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂

Top Ten Tuesday – Sea You Later: 10 Books with “Sea” in the Title

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is Water (This can be covers with water on them, books with bodies of water in them, titles with bodies of water in them, etc.).  I looked over at my shelves, saw a few books with Sea in the title and decided to go for it and see if I could think of ten titles.  Then after I found ten titles, I realized I had already done this topic before and so I started over again to see if I could find ten more I hadn’t already used, haha.  Below is what I came up with and you can click on the links below to read the synopsis of each of these books.

 

 

   

10 Books with “Sea” in the Title

 

THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA by TJ Klune

THE MAGIC OF SEA GLASS by Jenny Hale

COTTAGE BY THE SEA by Debbie Macomber

THE STARLESS SEA by Erin Morgenstern

SUNRISE BY THE SEA by Jenny Colgan

TO SLEEP IN A SEA OF STARS by Christopher Paolini

A LONG PETAL OF THE SEA by Isabel Allende

SEA SWEPT by Nora Roberts

SKIN OF THE SEA by Natasha Bowen

THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA by Ernest Hemingway

 

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Have you read any of these?

Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Holiday Books I’m Planning to Read This Year

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is Genre Freebie (Pick a genre and build a list around it.).  Since I recently shared my spooky season TBR, I thought it would be fun to go ahead and share my holiday TBR since I have already started looking ahead to see what books I want to read this holiday season.  If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I love a good holiday read, particularly if it gives off Hallmark Christmas movie vibes, so that’s mostly what you can expect here.  There are books from some of my favorites like Kerry Winfrey, Tessa Bailey, and Mary Kay Andrews, as well as some new-to-me authors I’m looking forward to trying like Ginny Baird and Zoe Allison.

You can click on the links below to read synopsis of each of these books.  Some of them also already have giveaways up on Goodreads, so be sure to enter those if any sound good to you. 🙂

 

 

10 Holiday Books I’m Planning to Read This Year

 

FAKING CHRISTMAS by Kerry Winfrey

BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CHRISTMAS by Mary Kay Andrews

LOVE, HOLLY by Emily Stone

THREE HOLIDAYS AND A WEDDING by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley

WRECK THE HALLS by Tessa Bailey

THE BOOK CLUB HOTEL by Sarah Morgan

A WINTER IN NEW YORK by Josie Silver

THE HOLIDAY MIX-UP by Ginny Baird

EMERGENCY CONTACT by Lauren Layne & Anthony Ledonne

THE EX-MAS HOLIDAYS by Zoe Allison

 

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Are you planning to read any of these?