SO many 5-star reads!! December Mid-Month Wrap Up

[@sweeteliz]

my surprise this year was Ruth Reichl's The Paris Novel ... I have loved her NF and liked her fiction well enough but The Paris Novel was just such a delightful read and soooo much of what i needed at the time! Merry Christmas, Bethany -- and wishing you only great things in 2025 ❤🎄

[@heabooktubes]

The Queen’s Thief series really is one of the best rereads.

[@BeautifullyBookishBethany]

It really is. I’m enjoying going back through the books!

[@leahharlann]

Teller of Small Fortunes shot WAY up my tbr when the author's father came into our bookstore with a stack of postcards to gush about his daughter's authorial debut!! So glad to hear you liked it ❤

[@bethloubet4650]

My surprise this year was the memoir How to Say Babylon. Not my usual fare at all, but it's beautifully written and heart-scarring with its rawness and honesty.

[@bmvanloo]

My biggest surprise was the Dungeon Crawler Carl series! It's an indie-published LitRPG that has some of the most engrossing writing I've ever read (well, listened to, cause the audiobook is out of this world excellent).

[@BeautifullyBookishBethany]

Sounds interesting!

[@Stargazerlost]

It’s such a great series! I just started book 4, and it’s just continued to be a fun read.

[@bmvanloo]

@@Stargazerlost I just finished book 4! My husband binged all of them and is now caught up through book 6 🤣

[@Stargazerlost]

@@bmvanloo ugh, I’m so jealous. I didn’t think to order the indie-published book versions of 5 and 6, so now I have to wait until they come out in April and May. I just got my husband into the audiobooks, though.

[@bmvanloo]

@@Stargazerlost yeah, i looked today and am sad that I can't get the indie covers any more (i like them sooo much better than the new covers). Luckily, I (and my husband, since we share an Audible account) bought all the audiobooks earlier this year. But if they stop having Jeff Hayes narrate I may riot 😂

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

I loved mistress of lies so much

[@BeautifullyBookishBethany]

It’s so good!! I haven’t seen a lot of people talk about it

[@casuallybrady]

My biggest surprise recently has been the His Dark Materials series by Phillip Pullman. I’ve been trying to read the series for 20+ years and always dnf’d, but I felt like this was the year to have it not hanging over my head anymore. I wasn’t expecting much considering I’d never enjoyed it enough to continue before, but this time around I binged the series. I think I cried the entire last hour of the final audiobook lol

[@jessicastraw6593]

I'm looking forward to book club with Divine Rivals - I finished it this week and I really loved it actually

[@janenightreadsandwrites223]

I read one perfect couple this year also and I enjoyed it a lot. It was my second Ruth Ware. My first didnt realky work for me but this one was so fun

[@sandeesandwich2180]

I recently read A Teller of Small Fortunes and really enjoyed it, too. Also just listened to Sandwich by Catherine Newman and it has really stuck with me. The main character/narrator is somewhat annoying at first, but then as the book goes on, you see the push and pull of her contrary feelings. Speaking about her husband: "I love that about him. (long pause) And I hate that about him." Ended up being way more real life than I expected. 4.5 - 5 stars for me,

[@soda_fairy]

❄️❄️❄️☃️❄️❄️❄️☃️

[@iheartwalle]

Foul Days by Genoveva Dimova was my surprise. Debut author, barely heard anything about it, first chapter was meh. But i ended up loving the duology.

[@Tarasreadingnook]

Need to read The Thirteenth Child I also dont understand why no one said Devine Rivals is WWI fiction.. took mw back a second

[@Tarasreadingnook]

I'm continuing cause I need to know if they end up together & how they do if they do

[@Sad.Purple.unicorn]

I dnfed horror movie early on. Could not stand the writing