Hello Book Lovers!
Holy bookworms! Somehow I went on a reading (and listening) bonanza last month and ended up getting through a baker's dozen of books in December.
Most of these were audiobooks (eight, in total), listened to while making the worst batches of Xmas cookies I've ever baked (seriously, so bad) and walking/running off the cookie dough calories I'd consumed while baking my little horror shows.
In fact, I was whipping through so many books that my reviews for them nearly got chucked by the wayside like a stripped down, desiccated Christmas tree on the first trash day after the holidays*.
Eventually, I got to the reviews, and even managed to remember which three books I liked best... which wasn't difficult, since each of the books was in a series** and I was eagerly scrambling for the next tale about rapscallion relations, tea-soaked time-traveling historians, and a marvelously engaging mystery solver.
Anyway, if you're ready, keep scrolling for December's Top Three Reads!
Note: If you're interested in grabbing any of these books for yourself, a tap on that title link will take you to the book's page on Amazon, or you can always look for the book at your local library.
*If you're going to have a Xmas tree, by the way, you should compost it in your garden or put it in yard debris, not the trash. Or you could douse it in some kerosene and see if you can't make some new firefighter friends in 2024 (kidding, do NOT do this!).
**Just so you know, I'm referring to three different series, although a mash-up of those three things would be amazing, wouldn't it?
A "Wunder"ful Series Starter
Murder at the Mena House by Erica Ruth Neubauer
I can't believe how much I enjoyed this book, and I don't normally like historical cozy mysteries since so many of them feel like the same story/heroine/setting over and over. But not with Jane Wunderly on the case!
The basic premise is that Jane (widow) and her Aunt Millie are in Egypt in 1926 for a little getaway. And since it's a mystery, of course someone ends up dead to throw a real spanner in the vacation. When Jane becomes a suspect it's up to her and the dashing/mysterious Redvers to sort things out, with everyone falling under suspicion.
While the mystery in this is pretty good, it was mainly the character of Jane that kept pulling me along. She's a bit of a mess, but she doesn't let that stop her from digging in, snooping around, and having some witty banter with Redvers, who I kept picturing as Cary Grant.
Jane does seem to spend a lot of time describing every outfit she's wearing, and does seem to spend a lot of time napping and resting at the hotel, and that got a little mundane, but overall, this was an I-gotta-see-what-happens-next story... so much so that I picked up the second book immediately after reading this one.
Highly recommended if you want a light-hearted mystery, a touch of flirtation between the main characters, and a lot of fun.
A Wow-Inducing Tale of Madcap (and Tea-soaked) Time Travelers
A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor (audiobook)
Okay, I really liked the first book, and the second one as well, but this installment of The Chronicles of St Mary left me saying, "Wow!"
In a good way, obviously.
Basically, if you haven't met the St Mary's misfits yet, they consist of a team of historians who jump around in time to study (and NEVER, okay, almost never) interact with historic events. They also drink a lot of tea, blow things up, seem to suffer the most baffling injuries (according to the medical staff), and are an absolute delight to watch them get into and out of trouble.
This book has the team (including Max, the heroine/narrator of the books) stealing mirrors from Isaac Newton, enduring cheese-related mishaps, getting themselves knee-deep in the fall of Troy, and popping in at the Battle of Agincourt. As with the other books, the dry humor and snarky puns run throughout this one, but there's also a darker, more emotional side to it that really drives a stake right through the tea kettle.
Overall, an absolute must-read series if you love history, witty humor, and adventure!
A Whole Lotta Wily Relations
Lady Fortescue Steps Out by M.C. Beaton (audiobook)
If P.G. Wodehouse and Jane Austen got together to write a novel, it might turn out something along these lines. You've got the Regency setting and romance of Austen, but with the comically biting social commentary of Wodehouse all wrapped up in a purely fun tale.
The basic story centers around six people (oldsters and "old maids") whose families are well off, but who have somehow slipped through the cracks and become (gasp) poor. So poor, they might stela your candlesticks if you invited them over. Together, they come up with a scheme to start a hotel to embarrass their relations (because -- gasp again -- these are not the type of families who go into trade) so much that the relations will buy them out. Meanwhile, there's a nice little romance going on as a side story.
While this isn't an overly complex tale, it has a wonderful tongue-in-cheek and silly humor to it that keeps it rolling right along. Some of the characters blend into the background (they will have their own novels later in the series), but the ones who stand out are full of vim and vigor despite their age.
Overall, if you're looking for something simple and fun that will give you a chuckle, make you shake your head at societal norms, and even give your heart a little flutter, this would definitely do the trick.
Have you read any of these? What did you think? Did you anything great this past month, or anything horrible you might want to warn me away from? Be sure to drop a comment to let me know.
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