Kiwiria's December Reads
Jan. 1st, 2023 01:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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christianreaderThe last books of 2022. I'll do a stats/wrap-up post one of these days, but a total of 132 books and 30,895 pages isn't too shabby :-D
Class: Welcome to the Little School by the Sea - Jane Beaton, 3/5, 336 pages
This was sold to me as "Malory Towers, but for grown-ups", and while I can definitely see the similarities, unfortunately, it just didn't have the same charm, so I haven't quite decided if I want to continue on with the series or not.
I think my main problem was that though the book introduced several different points of view along the way, at the end of the day it was one of the teachers who came across as the main character - and apparently teaching at a boarding school isn't as much fun to read about, as actually attending one? That's my theory anyway. Especially since Maggie seriously let down some of her students, which got frustrating to read about.
At the end of the day, I think Fliss was my favourite. She started out as a brat, but was certainly the one who improved the most along the course of the book.
Whisked Away at Christmas - Mahi Cheshire, 3.5/5, Audiobook ~7hrs
This book came free with my Audible subscription, so I figured, why not. And why not indeed :) It was exactly as twee and predictable as I had expected, but with a setting of a cooking competition in Vienna I greatly enjoyed it all the same. I loved reading about the different heats and how they turned out (even if most of it was given ahead of time).
The "3rd act breakup" still annoyed me, as it could so easily have been avoided with better communication, but fortunately it was fixed a lot quicker than I had feared.
The Holiday Swap - Maggie Knox, 3.5/5, 351 pages
Slightly too twee for me in places, but as a whole, I really enjoyed it. I'm not generally a fan of plots involving mistaken identities, but since Cass and Charlie totally did it on purpose here, it bothered me less than it would usually.
I kept changing my mind on which story line I liked best, but think I would have to choose Charlie's - simply because Austin was too annoying for words, and karma was waaaaay too slow in coming his way.
Mostly I loved reading about all the baking that went on. I'm not a huge fan of baking myself, but apparently I love reading about it in my books... at least the Christmas ones.
I'd seen the ending coming from a mile away, and did occasionally roll my eyes at some of it, but all in all it was a cute story. Not quite as Christmassy as I had hoped -- but pretty close.
The Christmas Bookshop - Jenny Colgan, 4.5/5, 328 pages
A lovely Christmas story that hits all the right notes for me.
- Detailing Christmas preparations? Check.
- Cute nieblings? Check.
- Spending time with (found) family? Check.
- Christmas in a (book)shop? Check.
- Grumpy person being convinced to come out of their shell? Check.
And added to that is the gorgeous setting of Edinburgh - a place that I've recently visited myself and absolutely adore.
All in all, a totally charming book that I think will be a regular reread.
Something Wilder - Christina Lauren, 4/5, Audiobook ~9hrs
A fun read, even though it turned out to have much more of a western feel to it than I had expected. I enjoyed all the puzzles though, and was very gratified that I twice figured out the code that was being used before the characters did :-D
I did find it a lot less realistic than many of their other books, but still enjoyed it greatly. I'd originally feared it would be a bit like "The Roadtrip" in style, but fortunately that turned out not to be the case, with their past being quickly and easily talked about and explained. So kudos for that!
Total
Books Read: 132
Pages Read: 30,895
Class: Welcome to the Little School by the Sea - Jane Beaton, 3/5, 336 pages
This was sold to me as "Malory Towers, but for grown-ups", and while I can definitely see the similarities, unfortunately, it just didn't have the same charm, so I haven't quite decided if I want to continue on with the series or not.
I think my main problem was that though the book introduced several different points of view along the way, at the end of the day it was one of the teachers who came across as the main character - and apparently teaching at a boarding school isn't as much fun to read about, as actually attending one? That's my theory anyway. Especially since Maggie seriously let down some of her students, which got frustrating to read about.
At the end of the day, I think Fliss was my favourite. She started out as a brat, but was certainly the one who improved the most along the course of the book.
Whisked Away at Christmas - Mahi Cheshire, 3.5/5, Audiobook ~7hrs
This book came free with my Audible subscription, so I figured, why not. And why not indeed :) It was exactly as twee and predictable as I had expected, but with a setting of a cooking competition in Vienna I greatly enjoyed it all the same. I loved reading about the different heats and how they turned out (even if most of it was given ahead of time).
The "3rd act breakup" still annoyed me, as it could so easily have been avoided with better communication, but fortunately it was fixed a lot quicker than I had feared.
The Holiday Swap - Maggie Knox, 3.5/5, 351 pages
Slightly too twee for me in places, but as a whole, I really enjoyed it. I'm not generally a fan of plots involving mistaken identities, but since Cass and Charlie totally did it on purpose here, it bothered me less than it would usually.
I kept changing my mind on which story line I liked best, but think I would have to choose Charlie's - simply because Austin was too annoying for words, and karma was waaaaay too slow in coming his way.
Mostly I loved reading about all the baking that went on. I'm not a huge fan of baking myself, but apparently I love reading about it in my books... at least the Christmas ones.
I'd seen the ending coming from a mile away, and did occasionally roll my eyes at some of it, but all in all it was a cute story. Not quite as Christmassy as I had hoped -- but pretty close.
The Christmas Bookshop - Jenny Colgan, 4.5/5, 328 pages
A lovely Christmas story that hits all the right notes for me.
- Detailing Christmas preparations? Check.
- Cute nieblings? Check.
- Spending time with (found) family? Check.
- Christmas in a (book)shop? Check.
- Grumpy person being convinced to come out of their shell? Check.
And added to that is the gorgeous setting of Edinburgh - a place that I've recently visited myself and absolutely adore.
All in all, a totally charming book that I think will be a regular reread.
Something Wilder - Christina Lauren, 4/5, Audiobook ~9hrs
A fun read, even though it turned out to have much more of a western feel to it than I had expected. I enjoyed all the puzzles though, and was very gratified that I twice figured out the code that was being used before the characters did :-D
I did find it a lot less realistic than many of their other books, but still enjoyed it greatly. I'd originally feared it would be a bit like "The Roadtrip" in style, but fortunately that turned out not to be the case, with their past being quickly and easily talked about and explained. So kudos for that!
Total
Books Read: 132
Pages Read: 30,895
