Belated Happy New Year! I just managed to reach my reading target on the 30th of December after a very stop-start reading year, and will share my yearly wrapup and favourites soon, but first here’s my December reading wrapup.

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

This is often recommended to people who enjoyed Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows but was a poor imitation for me, the two lead characters felt derivitive of Kaz and Inej with their drawn out angst-ridden romance, and my favourite character was actually Zophia, who was written with autistic characteristics, struggling to fit into the team and navigate social situations, whom I found much more interesting and sympathetic. The story is set in an alternative version of Paris, but with a merging of science and magic that gives some people the ability to forge items with special powers and uses. The Gilded Wolves had a few good twists, lots of mystery and puzzles to solve, and some good action scenes but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped and probably won’t read the sequel.

The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers

Perfect for Christmas, instead of a snowed in story, it focuses on five aliens stranded together on a pit-stop planet forging kindness, co-operation and even friendship across ideological and racial chasms. One of the aspects of this series that I’ve really appreciated is how well described the alien races are from their biology to culture, yet these stories offer such compelling explorations of humanity with this one covering colonisation, parenthood, reproductive choices and so much more. While other books in the quartet have brought tears to my eye, this one made me laugh out loud several times, and it was such an uplifting end to the series.

Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan

I loved The Christmas Bookshop and enjoyed returning to the story to find out what Carmen and everyone else was up to. This is a good sequel but the plot is a little contrived as misunderstandings drive Carmen and her Brazilian lover Oke apart, then another misunderstanding creates a wedge between Carmen and her sister. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the introduction of a new anti-hero, Jackson McClackerty, who owns a chain of tacky Tartan gift shops, which if you’ve ever been to Edinburgh you’ll know are everywhere, and loved getting to see more of the bookshop and the house above it.

The Vanishing of Aveline Jones by Phil Hickes

Set around the Winter Solstice, it seemed like a good choice to read over Christmas itself. The third book in the spooky children’s series follows Aveline and her friend Harold visiting her missing Uncle Rowan’s house as he has been gone long enough to be presumed dead. Aveline starts witnessing mysterious incidents almost immediately and decides to investigate. This has some genuinely chilling scenes as Aveline finds herself lured into a fairy barrow underground and trapped there by the cunning Fae. The plot does rest quite heavily on Aveline’s impulsiveness and foolishness, but it’s an enjoyable story of bravery and friendship with a few good scares.

The Christmas Bookclub by Sarah Morgan

I picked this up after thoroughly enjoying The Christmas Sisters. The story follows three friends who meet every year for a Bookclub holiday and the woman who runs the hotel that they stay at on this particular trip. I found parts of the story a little predictable but what I really like about Sarah Morgan’s stories are how relatable the main characters are and the strong, supportive female relationships between them as they navigate various personal dilemmas. This is an easy and uplifting read about friendship, change and new beginnings.