Hello, 2023! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year! 

I took some time off from the holidays from blogging to spend time with the family, but I’m back and ready for action! I did a TON of reading in December (14 books to be exact) to help me hit my reading goal of the year, finishing up book 100 on New Year’s Eve. Hopefully, you hit all your bookish goals!

I will do a reading recap for 2022 sometime soon, as well as recap some of my favorite reads of the year so keep an eye out for that!

And now, let’s take a look at my last reads of the year.

December 2022 Reads

Lady Meets Earl by Christy Carlyle (Love on Holiday #2)

I really enjoyed this book! It was the perfect, low-angst historical romance with sizzling chemistry between the two leads. And it badly made me want to visit Scotland again!

Definitely check this out if you want a relatively light-hearted romance.

Check out my full review of Lady Meets Earl by Christy Carlyle .

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels (Dangerous Damsels #1) by India Holton

This book was delightfully bonkers, and I had such a BLAST while reading it. India Holton has such a distinct voice that I was shocked to see it was her debut novel! I’m planning to check out book two in the Dangerous Damsels series this month, as I had so much fun reading this one!

Check out my full review of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton.

The Art of Theft; Murder on Cold Street; & Miss Moriarty, I Presume? by Sherry Thomas (Lady Sherlock #4, #5, #6)

I went on a bit of a binge read of the last three books of the Lady Sherlock series in December! 

The Art of Theft and Murder on Cold Street were re-reads for me, which I did on audio. I highly recommend the audiobooks for this series – Kate Reading is a phenomenal narrator and does a great job bringing Charlotte & Co. to life. 

Miss Moriarty, I Presume? I read as an ebook (I like to read these in a physical format first as there are a lot of details to sort out and track). I totally forgot I preordered this book but I have been procrastinating on reading it. I enjoyed this entry in the Lady Sherlock series, but I’m not sure it was my absolute favorite. The mystery was engaging, but I also called some things towards the end, but I loved watching everything unravel. 

I cannot wait to see what Sherry Thomas has in store for the next book, A Tempest at Sea, to publish in spring 2023.

Midnight Duet by Jen Comfort

Oh my god – this book was campy goodness that made my musical theater nerd sing. I adored this gender-bent, modern spin on Phantom of the Opera so much. It felt fresh and new but familiar at the same time! Plus, it’s definitely sexy!

Check out my review of Midnight Duet by Jen Comfort! 

A Darker Shade of Magic & A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab 

I absolutely adore this series, and it’s been a while since I read it, so I decided to try it on audiobooks.

I do NOT recommend reading the first book, A Darker Shade of Magic, as an audiobook. The narrator of this book was not it. There were some weird choices made in terms of the character voices, and I did not like his portrayal of Lila Bard AT ALL. He missed all that makes Lila amazing. The book itself is fantastic, so pick this one up in print if you want to read it. 

However, I recommend picking up book two, A Gathering of Shadow as an audiobook. They changed audiobook narrators for book two and book three, and it was such an improvement. It’s dual narrators, but it works so well! Plus, the female narrator is Kate Reading, who I LOVE and she did a much better job with her portrayal of Lila, and Michael Kramer did a fantastic job with the male characters. 

I’m not planning to review these books, but I recommend them if you’re looking for a great fantasy series (with a hint of romance!).

Never Love a Cowboy (Rogues in Texas #2) by Lorraine Heath 

Unfortunately, this is another Avon/HarperCollins title, so I won’t be able to say too much about it. But suffice it to say, it’s from Lorraine Heath, and I’m a Lorraine Heath stan.

I’m hoping to review this whole series once the HarperCollins strike is over.

Once Upon a Winter’s Eve (Spindle Cove #1.5) by Tessa Dare

I somehow missed this novella back when I reread the Spindle Cove series last year. I needed some short books to hit my reading goal, so I picked this up.

I’ll be honest – I did not like this. The main male character was TERRIBLE, and I could not trust him. He actively enraged me at points.

I’ll have a full review posted at some point, but you can skip this if you’re reading the Spindle Cove series.

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care (Bright Falls #1) by Ashley Herring Blake

I have mixed feelings about this book. I didn’t love it, but I also didn’t hate it? I don’t know. I’m still sorting out my rating for it. 

This book did get returned to the library three times while reading it, so I think that shows you that this was a bit of a struggle. 

I read this as an audiobook, and I liked the narrator! I think my issues lie more with the story.

Check out my review for Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake.

A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi Matthews

I’ll fully admit – I read this after Christmas. I don’t know why but I don’t want to read holiday stories until after Christmas.

This was such a delightfully cute story! I loved the romance in it, and the characters were great! Mimi Matthews also does a great job with weaving in history; this novella was no exception.

Check out my review for A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi Matthews!

The Scandalous, Dissolute, No-Good Mr. Wright by Tessa Dare

This was a really fun and quick novella for Tessa Dare that gave off major Pride & Prejudice vibes. I loved how the relationship spanned many years and the two leads just couldn’t seem to avoid each other. If you, like me, have read all of Tessa Dare’s full length novels, this novella will hit the spot for you!

Check out my review of The Scandalous, Dissolute, No-Good Mr. Wright by Tessa Dare.

Merry Inkmas by Talia Hibbert 

Another Christmas novella I read AFTER Christmas! This was a cute novella that hit on some heavy topics (CW: domestic abuse; homelessness; intrusive thoughts; death of a parent). The romance was good, though the pacing at the end felt a little off.

Check out my full review of Merry Inkmas by Talia Hibbert!

December 2022 Reviews

I’ll be honest, December was not a great month for writing reviews. Work was crazy busy and it’s always a busy time for me with my birthday and the holidays. 

However, I did get 3 reviews posted this month, including:

• The Siren of Sussex (Belles of London #1) by Mimi Matthews
• A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall
• The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels (Dangerous Damsels #1) by India Holton

How many books did you read in December? What were your favorites? Let me know in the comments!