It is officially the Christmas season! I love the sights, the sounds, and the smells. I’m also a sucker for a good Christmas story. I expect to see a lot of Christmas tree farms, Santa suits, baking competitions, and naughty Christmas spirits in my reading for the next few weeks. And since there is a Christmas Bingo board from The 52 Book Club, I get to play a game while reading. Let the fun of the seasonal reading get into full swing.
What I Finished This Week
The Mistletoe Kisser by Lucy Score. As soon as Thanksgiving is over, I begin to celebrate Christmas. I love the season and I love all of the cheesy Hallmark movies. So it should be no surprise that I also enjoy reading holiday romances. Sammy received her first kiss under the mistletoe at a holiday festival in her small town. Many years pass and her “mistletoe kisser” returns to help with a family emergency. There’s only one problem….the man who returned is not her Christmas fantasy. Sure, he shares his first name with his cousin — the real “mistletoe kisser” — but that is where the similarity ends. This Ryan is grumpy and a bit of a Scrooge. The book was a cute enemies-to-lovers tale set during the holidays. The spice level was relatively mild until one massive chapter in the middle of the book…..Reader, you have been warned! I’m using this as part of the December 2025 bingo challenge — a novel set in a small town. 3.5 stars.
The Girl from the Garden by Parnaz Foroutan. This was the first read for My Library Shelf and also represented a book with a leafy green cover for the “starter course” of the May 2025 mini challenge. Set alternately in Los Angeles and Iran, the novel focuses on the lives of the women in one wealthy Jewish-Iranian family. Women are meant to be silent and unobserved. Their only purpose is to bear children — and those children only have worth if they are sons. While the writing is sometimes stilted, the story is gripping and the plight of the women grabs your heart. This is a prime example of why I love reading my way through a library shelf; I never would have picked up this book on my own. I’m so glad that I did. 3 stars.
The Girl Who Saved Christmas by Matt Haig. Christmas is for children, so this seemed like the perfect time to dip my toe back into children’s literature. This 2016 novel is a really charming read about how Amelia, a young orphan girl in Victorian London, helped Father Christmas and saved the holiday. Complete with elves, trolls, a depressing children’s workhouse, and lots of magic, The Girl Who Saved Christmas was an outstanding read that will keep the attention of the most reluctant reader. With appearances from Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and Charles Dickens, the book is packed with adult humor that is creatively woven into the text — making this a perfect option for a family read-aloud as you head into Christmas. 4 stars.
What I’m Currently Reading
Good Elf Gone Wrong by Alina Jacobs (3:56 of 13:47). With a busy week of driving ahead, I wanted to get a start on an audiobook. Of course, I got pulled into the story and have kept dipping back in to see what will happen next! Gracie was checking on the Christmas cinnamon rolls the night before her Christmas Day wedding when she caught her fiance canoodling with her sister under the tree! A year later, Gracie is headed back home for the holidays….and the Christmas Day wedding of her sister and her cheating ex. Gracie is convinced that this wedding should not happen and enlists the help of Hudson, a mysterious bad boy she encountered on the bus, to rip the couple apart. How? Hudson will pose as Gracie’s boy toy…..and will flirt with her sister mercilessly. The story features some hysterical characters and outrageous scenes. However, it is not for the meek! Language and scenes are graphic.
Billionaire Secret Santa by Lena Michaels (p. 32 of 178). I picked up this holiday romance on a whim on Saturday night because I needed to take a break from the children’s story. The set up of the story is straight out of a cheesy holiday rom-com. At his office’s holiday party, Bruce DeVos poses as Santa so he can watch his employees without them realizing it. He is assisted by a woman dressed in an elf costume who goes by the name “Snowy.” Bruce is intrigued by her and cannot take his eyes off of her. The two share a kiss at the end of the night, but Snowy never shares her true identity. When Holly arrives in the office on Monday morning as a possible new employee, Bruce recognizes his mystery elf immediately and the sexual tension begins. This is not high literature, but it’s a fun, quick romance before I hit the road on Tuesday evening.
Christmas Bingo!
The December mini-challenge appeared early in the month and that gave me permission to start all of the Christmas reading. I’ve completed two prompts so far, putting me in a pretty good place with my Bingo board. Here’s how things are shaping up after a week of Christmas reading.
Upcoming Plans
With the driving and a holiday performance in Nashville on Friday evening, I’m not entirely sure how much reading I’ll actually get done this week. I expect to finish both of my current reads. Then I have a few more recent additions to my TBR calling my name.
- Holiday Ever After – Hannah Grace
- Good Spirits – B.K. Borison
- Where Angels Fear to Tread – E.M. Forster
- Iron Flame – Rebecca Yarros
I guess we will all just have to wait until next Monday to see what I actually dive into as I continue Reading for Me.
Dandy by Ame Dyckman is a funny story about a little girl who finds a flower in the middle of Daddy’s perfectly manicured lawn. Unfortunately, Daddy realizes that the intruder is no flower, but actually a WEED! Whenever Daddy attempts to remove the weed from the lawn, his daughter is always there to protect her prized possession. With lots of humor, Dyckman expresses the lengths a father will go to in order to see that his child is happy and treasured.
The Very Impatient Caterpillar by Ross Burach is a hysterical book for adults disguised as a children’s book. The young caterpillar cannot wait to become a butterfly, but lacks the patience required. Children will be mesmerized by the vivid images and the carefully crafted science lesson about the metamorphosis process. I suspect they will enjoy watching Mom and Dad laugh as they read the book, too! The little caterpillar’s constant questions throughout the process will strike home with anyone who has spent time with a toddler.
In keeping with the Easter celebration this month, I couldn’t pass up Too Many Carrots by Katy Hudson. Rabbit collects carrots and cannot bear to be separated from them. There’s a problem though — there’s no room in the house for Rabbit now because of all the carrots! Rabbit decides to take the problem to his friends….but the problem continues to grow. Too Many Carrots quickly becomes a charming lesson about friendship and sharing.
Ellie by Mike Wu is the story of a young elephant and her animal friends in a zoo that is about to close. In an effort to save their home, the animals all begin to pitch in to make things better. The only problem is that Ellie is not able to help because she is too short and not strong enough. Just as she becomes convinced that she is simply too small to help, Ellie finds herself with a paintbrush in her trunk…and she begins to contribute to the world through her art! (Can’t imagine WHY I think this is such an important message for children to hear, can you?)
This month’s second selection hooked me as soon as I saw the cover with its graphic images and enticing title. After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again by Dan Santat tells just that story. Humpty Dumpty has been completely repaired to his former glory — well, almost. Despite being a whole egg again, Humpty is now afraid of heights! He misses the view from high atop the wall. When he finally gets the courage to climb to the heights again, Humpty experiences an unexpected change and the answer is not given to the reader in the text. I love when a young reader has to look carefully at the pictures and deduce what happened to the hero. (If I’m honest, it took me a minute to figure it out in the bookstore today…..but when I got it, I GOT IT! The people sitting nearby might have thought I had lost my mind momentarily.) Make sure you don’t miss the image and statement on the back cover of the book either: “Life begins when you get back up!” Author Dan Santat is a Caldecott Medal winner for his 2015 book The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, so the pictures in this book are also incredible.
Normally, that’s where I end these posts, but this month I have to give a shout out to another wonderful picture book that I read today. I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll with illustrations by Howard McWilliam was an incredibly funny read. In brief, a young boy has gone to bed and realized that the monster that lives under his bed has gone on a fishing trip for a few days. The boy realizes that he will miss his monster and begins interviewing others to fill in as a replacement. The creatures are initially somewhat scary, but quickly reveal that they are hysterical. Probably better for an older child, I Need My Monster can be a welcome return to reading for the child that likes more mature themes with incredible visual stimulation.
Reading for Me 