abs
Sapphire
Posts: 4,024 Likes: 20,882 
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Post by abs on Dec 8, 2023 11:53:14 GMT -6
I just finished Iron Flame. Damn that was long. When does the next one come out? I want! Back to holiday books now, lol. We don’t know yet which is very rude. So probably in a year at which point I’ll have to re-read both. |
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abs
Sapphire
Posts: 4,024 Likes: 20,882
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Post by abs on Dec 8, 2023 11:53:59 GMT -6
I’m almost done with Holiday Romance. It’s okay but I liked Snowed In better.
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nelzie
Sapphire
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Post by nelzie on Dec 8, 2023 12:12:02 GMT -6
I got my recommendations as well and I'm also disappointed. I've read the first two books and they are both really popular books in the genre so I feel like most people who like these would have. The third had been on my list but I took it off for some reason, but maybe I'll give it a chance. Plus they only recommended romance and nothing about the other genres I included. I may submit another one. I didn't have great luck with these last year either though.
Based on your gift recipient’s interests in slow burn romance, enemies-to-lovers, and grumpy-sunshine I just have to recommend The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. It’s about two coworkers forced to share an office and compete for a promotion who slowly get to know each other and realize they might not hate each other after all. It has just the right amount of sweetness and spice and it’s one of my favorite romances.
Another great slow burn and enemies-to-lovers is Book Lovers by Emily Henry. Nora Stephens is a book agent who travels to the small town of Sunshine Falls to visit with her sister when she runs into her archnemesis from back in New York, Charlie Lastra, an editor. It’s the perfect book for book lovers, anyone interested in publishing or bookstores, and the city-girl-in-a-small-town trope. In a similar vein, The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberly and Austin Siegmund-Broka (a writing couple, how cute!) is about two ex co-writers who have to come together to finish one last book together despite their falling out.
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nelzie
Sapphire
Posts: 3,419
Likes: 9,939
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Post by nelzie on Dec 8, 2023 12:16:47 GMT -6
The goodreads Best Books of the Year results are in. Nothing I voted for won except for Fourth Wing. It feels like basically just an author popularity contest anyway.
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byjove
Ruby
Posts: 15,198 Likes: 74,116
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Post by byjove on Dec 8, 2023 12:26:46 GMT -6
I got my recommendations as well and I'm also disappointed. I've read the first two books and they are both really popular books in the genre so I feel like most people who like these would have. The third had been on my list but I took it off for some reason, but maybe I'll give it a chance. Plus they only recommended romance and nothing about the other genres I included. I may submit another one. I didn't have great luck with these last year either though.
Based on your gift recipient’s interests in slow burn romance, enemies-to-lovers, and grumpy-sunshine I just have to recommend The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. It’s about two coworkers forced to share an office and compete for a promotion who slowly get to know each other and realize they might not hate each other after all. It has just the right amount of sweetness and spice and it’s one of my favorite romances.
Another great slow burn and enemies-to-lovers is Book Lovers by Emily Henry. Nora Stephens is a book agent who travels to the small town of Sunshine Falls to visit with her sister when she runs into her archnemesis from back in New York, Charlie Lastra, an editor. It’s the perfect book for book lovers, anyone interested in publishing or bookstores, and the city-girl-in-a-small-town trope. In a similar vein, The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberly and Austin Siegmund-Broka (a writing couple, how cute!) is about two ex co-writers who have to come together to finish one last book together despite their falling out.
Oof, yeah. I'd have been really disappointed too. I've read all 3, and The Roughest Draft was probably my least favorite, but it wasn't bad. I actually like it 10x more now that I know it was written by a couple. I hadn't known that. It just got bogged down in a lot of we love words because we are writers (in the book). |
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adelbert
Amethyst
Posts: 6,990 Likes: 40,163
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Post by adelbert on Dec 8, 2023 12:54:08 GMT -6
My penguin hotline recs are SO good!! Honestly it depends so much on who you get but this time my person was perfect for me. I've already read the first suggestion and it's absolutely one of my very favorite books so I'm so excited to read the other two suggestions.
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Given your reader’s interest in horror, I think a good chance she’ll like The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins. To me, it almost felt like Neil Gaiman’s American Gods (also a good pick, if she hasn’t read), but more brutal (and weirder). It’s hard to classify without spoilers, but it follows a very sheltered girl who has been raised in a crumbling estate by a sadistic godlike being she calls “Father” – and how her quest to find him, after he goes missing, begins to teach her how much she doesn’t know about being human.
For a quirky yet thrilling book, similar to the work of Caimh McDonnell, I think there’s a good chance she’d enjoy The Rook by Daniel O’Malley. It follows a protagonist with amnesia who learns she works as an admin for a branch of the UK government that monitors supernatural threats. It has great world building alongside thrills and acerbic wit that I think your reader would like.
For something a bit more hard sci-fi similar to the work of Alastair Reynolds, I think she’d also enjoy Simon Jimenez’s The Vanished Birds. It spans thousands of years across Earth, other planets, and outer space, but it never feels too broad. It is both a sprawling sci-fi epic but also a beautiful study of human relationships, particularly that between a pilot-for-hire and the orphan she adopts, and a tech genius revolutionizing space travel and her ex-lover left behind on Earth. And additionally, if she hasn’t read Dan Simmons’ Hyperion, he really should -- it’s a modern epic sci-fi classic in the vein of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation; inspired by (if you can believe it) The Canterbury Tales.
Happy reading, and happy holidays!
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Post by angelashly on Dec 8, 2023 13:11:05 GMT -6
Here are mine:
For your Guest List fan, I think In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware might be just the ticket. You’ve got the psychological thriller aspect, the friendship aspect, and even the retreat part. Tailor made recommendation to keep your reader up all night in suspense!
Another friendship centered thriller I’d recommend to for your reader is May Cobb’s The Hunting Wives. Following a newcomer into a group of wealthy Texas moms, this novel is as thick with secrets as its Texas setting is with heat! May Cobb writes a page-turner like few others I’ve read, with such fierce and fascinating examinations of the relationships between women.
As you mentioned your reader is also a fan of romance, I thought we might see how she likes a thriller romance! Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano is the first in a series about a recently divorced mom and writer who is accidentally confused for a contract killer… Out of desperation she takes the gig and let the suspenseful (and surprisingly funny) high jinks ensue. (The romance is admittedly a smaller piece in this one, but nothing wrong with a little slow-burn sometimes!)
As your reader is a fan of Christina Lauren and Lucy Score, I think she might just enjoy From Lukov With Love by Mariana Zapata. Like Score, Zapata writes steamy, slow-burners with excellent banter, this one centering on rival figure skaters.
For your romance reader who also enjoys reality tv, I bring you my favorite rom-com, maybe ever. Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld is a modernization of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice set in Cincinnati and features a pseudo-The Bachelor-style television show. It is such a smart and grounded reimagining with well-developed characters, lots of wit (and even more family drama), interesting behind-the-scenes of the fictitious show, and some truly swoony romantic moments. (The main character is also a dedicated runner, so your exercise-loving reader may well relate there.)
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cnf
Ruby
Posts: 20,893 Likes: 100,835
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Post by cnf on Dec 8, 2023 13:19:08 GMT -6
I just finished Iron Flame. Damn that was long. When does the next one come out? I want! Back to holiday books now, lol. We don’t know yet which is very rude. So probably in a year at which point I’ll have to re-read both. I mean, when your books are fucking 800+ pages I imagine they take time write. But I agree, rude. I want more. |
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Post by icedcoffee on Dec 8, 2023 13:19:51 GMT -6
adelbert I'm stealing some of those recs!
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Post by icedcoffee on Dec 8, 2023 13:21:30 GMT -6
angelashly I've actually read the Hunting Wives and IIRC it was a fun book. I enjoyed it. So I second that recommendation
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emma
Ruby
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Likes: 86,464
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Post by emma on Dec 8, 2023 13:24:00 GMT -6
My recs sound really good too and honestly I didn’t give them much to go on this year. I’ve not read any of these but am definitely adding to my TBR for next year
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers is a lovely little sci-fi story. It follows a monk named Dex and a robot named Mosscap. In this world, robots became self-aware a long time ago, and they split from human society. They’ve been living in the wild ever since, while people live in towns and cities. But Dex longs for a different life and decides to venture into the wild. That’s when they meet Mosscap, a quirky robot on its own mission to learn more about humans. It’s a cute little philosophical sci-fi. Very cozy.
Because of your reader’s interesting in romantic fantasy, I’d recommend House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig. It’s about a girl named Annaleigh who lives in a grand manor by the sea with her father, stepmother, and twelve sisters. But four of her sisters have recently died mysteriously. Annaleigh starts seeing ghostly visions and follows her sisters to glittering balls with mysterious (and handsome) strangers. Annaleigh begins to think the deaths were no accidents.
Finally, your reader might enjoy this cute baking fantasy called A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher. It’s a little more Young Adult, but it’s a fun, light fantasy about a girl named Mona whose magical powers revolve around bread and baking. Her familiar is a sourdough started. This also has a mystery element to it, where Mona finds a dead body in the bakery one day. Magical people are being targeted by an assassin, and Mona is the next target.
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Post by icedcoffee on Dec 8, 2023 13:40:06 GMT -6
I finished The Only One Left by Riley Sager and it was good. Some of it was a little predictable but the last 3/4 threw out some surprises and I really liked the ending. The ending kind of made the whole book for me, TBH. I'm picky about and tend to dislike the way a lot of books end, so I was pleased
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DGM
Sapphire
Posts: 2,661 Likes: 5,633
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Post by DGM on Dec 8, 2023 16:50:21 GMT -6
angelashly recommended last month the Elin Hildebrand Winter Street series, and it's just what I needed. Thank you  On a fun coincidence, my kids and I are reading a picture book, Christmas USA, to learn holiday traditions in different regions of the country. Yesterday we read about Portsmouth, NH, and then last night in Winter Storms, one of the Nantucket residents talked about loving Portsmouth!
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Post by angelashly on Dec 8, 2023 16:51:05 GMT -6
angelashly recommended last month the Elin Hildebrand Winter Street series, and it's just what I needed. Thank you On a fun coincidence, my kids and I are reading a picture book, Christmas USA, to learn holiday traditions in different regions of the country. Yesterday we read about Portsmouth, NH, and then last night in Winter Storms, one of the Nantucket residents talked about loving Portsmouth! Yay! I’m so glad you liked them |
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Pizzaslut
Ruby
*it’s a joke. get some hobbies.
Posts: 22,727
Likes: 131,010
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Post by Pizzaslut on Dec 8, 2023 18:01:08 GMT -6
emma the wizard baking one sounds good, I’m adding it to my TBR. angelashly, In a dark, dark wood was the first Ruth Ware book I read. I remember liking it.
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Pizzaslut
Ruby
*it’s a joke. get some hobbies.
Posts: 22,727
Likes: 131,010
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Post by Pizzaslut on Dec 8, 2023 18:02:51 GMT -6
I had a lot going on in November so I did not get a lot of reading done. I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed all that I did read though.  |
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Pizzaslut
Ruby
*it’s a joke. get some hobbies.
Posts: 22,727
Likes: 131,010
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Post by Pizzaslut on Dec 8, 2023 18:05:30 GMT -6
So far in December, I’ve read 3 so I’m on my way to getting more finished this month.
I read Rogue Protocol (3rd Murderbot), Holiday Romance and Snowed In. I have them all 3.5/4 stars. I enjoyed Holiday Romance slightly more than Snowed In. I think she can do like 3 more books with Zoe, Aiden and maybe Hannah.
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wedding
Emerald
Posts: 14,195 Likes: 77,054
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Post by wedding on Dec 8, 2023 18:48:47 GMT -6
angelashly recommended last month the Elin Hildebrand Winter Street series, and it's just what I needed. Thank you On a fun coincidence, my kids and I are reading a picture book, Christmas USA, to learn holiday traditions in different regions of the country. Yesterday we read about Portsmouth, NH, and then last night in Winter Storms, one of the Nantucket residents talked about loving Portsmouth! I am curious what traditions are in Portsmouth since I’ve been there many times during the holidays. |
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cnf
Ruby
Posts: 20,893 Likes: 100,835
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Post by cnf on Dec 8, 2023 19:10:04 GMT -6
My recs sound really good too and honestly I didn’t give them much to go on this year. I’ve not read any of these but am definitely adding to my TBR for next year A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers is a lovely little sci-fi story. It follows a monk named Dex and a robot named Mosscap. In this world, robots became self-aware a long time ago, and they split from human society. They’ve been living in the wild ever since, while people live in towns and cities. But Dex longs for a different life and decides to venture into the wild. That’s when they meet Mosscap, a quirky robot on its own mission to learn more about humans. It’s a cute little philosophical sci-fi. Very cozy. Because of your reader’s interesting in romantic fantasy, I’d recommend House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig. It’s about a girl named Annaleigh who lives in a grand manor by the sea with her father, stepmother, and twelve sisters. But four of her sisters have recently died mysteriously. Annaleigh starts seeing ghostly visions and follows her sisters to glittering balls with mysterious (and handsome) strangers. Annaleigh begins to think the deaths were no accidents. Finally, your reader might enjoy this cute baking fantasy called A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher. It’s a little more Young Adult, but it’s a fun, light fantasy about a girl named Mona whose magical powers revolve around bread and baking. Her familiar is a sourdough started. This also has a mystery element to it, where Mona finds a dead body in the bakery one day. Magical people are being targeted by an assassin, and Mona is the next target. House Of Salt and Sorrow is really good! The sequel just came out a few months ago too and was also pretty good. |
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cnf
Ruby
Posts: 20,893 Likes: 100,835
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Post by cnf on Dec 8, 2023 19:13:34 GMT -6
I finally went back and finished Jingle Wars and it was not great. Even more so after coming off the high of reading Fourth Wing and Iron Flame back to back in basically a week.
I have my holds on So This Is Christmas and Twelve Slays of Christmas that I grabbed. I also have A Holly Jilly Christmas and He's Not My Type sitting in my Kindle, so I have some catching up to do there.
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DGM
Sapphire
Posts: 2,661 Likes: 5,633
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Post by DGM on Dec 8, 2023 21:27:29 GMT -6
angelashly recommended last month the Elin Hildebrand Winter Street series, and it's just what I needed. Thank you On a fun coincidence, my kids and I are reading a picture book, Christmas USA, to learn holiday traditions in different regions of the country. Yesterday we read about Portsmouth, NH, and then last night in Winter Storms, one of the Nantucket residents talked about loving Portsmouth! I am curious what traditions are in Portsmouth since I’ve been there many times during the holidays. The Christmas USA book said the town does a mid-1800's re-creation for the first two weekends of December. ETA: The author also talked about how Portsmouth used to be Strawbery Banke even though many other parts of the northeast were known for cranberries. |
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Post by angelashly on Dec 9, 2023 6:37:27 GMT -6
emma the wizard baking one sounds good, I’m adding it to my TBR. angelashly, In a dark, dark wood was the first Ruth Ware book I read. I remember liking it. I started it last night but didn’t get far so I’m hoping for some reading time today. |
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adelbert
Amethyst
Posts: 6,990 Likes: 40,163
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Post by adelbert on Dec 9, 2023 8:19:58 GMT -6
I just finished Maria Bamford's memoir "Sure, I'll Join Your Cult" and really enjoyed it. I've always had a soft spot for her and have enjoyed her material and also seen her live and it was pretty moving to read about her different struggles with mental health and how she has dealt with it all. Although often very depressing it was also funny and upbeat and enjoyable to read and I gave it 5 stars.
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byjove
Ruby
Posts: 15,198 Likes: 74,116
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Post by byjove on Dec 9, 2023 8:30:22 GMT -6
angelashly recommended last month the Elin Hildebrand Winter Street series, and it's just what I needed. Thank you On a fun coincidence, my kids and I are reading a picture book, Christmas USA, to learn holiday traditions in different regions of the country. Yesterday we read about Portsmouth, NH, and then last night in Winter Storms, one of the Nantucket residents talked about loving Portsmouth! I am curious what traditions are in Portsmouth since I’ve been there many times during the holidays. I grew up in an adjacent town and too was very curious. I was like really?? 🤔 |
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abs
Sapphire
Posts: 4,024 Likes: 20,882
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Post by abs on Dec 9, 2023 8:55:42 GMT -6
The goodreads Best Books of the Year results are in. Nothing I voted for won except for Fourth Wing. It feels like basically just an author popularity contest anyway. I just saw the list and yeah. Not great. The Housemaid’s Secret won for mystery? Really? I read it and it was entertaining but also in no way the best. |
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willow
Ruby
Posts: 19,607 Likes: 125,141
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Post by willow on Dec 9, 2023 10:57:28 GMT -6
How long did it take to get your penguin recs?
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nelzie
Sapphire
Posts: 3,419
Likes: 9,939
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Post by nelzie on Dec 9, 2023 11:24:54 GMT -6
How long did it take to get your penguin recs? Mine took 2 days |
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willow
Ruby
Posts: 19,607 Likes: 125,141
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Post by willow on Dec 9, 2023 12:00:48 GMT -6
How long did it take to get your penguin recs? Mine took 2 days Haha like 5 min after I posted it, I got my recs. Unfortunately my dad already has read all of them. 🙄🙄 This is why he’s impossible to buy for lol. Since he tends to read nonfiction and leans left, do you know if he has read A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan? This historical thriller by a Pulitzer and National Book Award-winning author tells the riveting story of the Klan's rise to power in the 1920s, the cunning con man who drove that rise, and the woman who stopped them. Personally, it is my favorite read of 2023, and it opened my eyes to a part of history that I was completely unaware of. Another title I recommend is Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America by Heather Cox Richardson. The book has topped bestseller lists for weeks and is by a historian and author of the popular daily newsletter "Letters from an American." It is a vital narrative that explains how America, once a beacon of democracy, now teeters on the brink of autocracy--and how we can turn back. Since your gift recipient is focused on healthy eating, he might be interested in Michael Pollan. The top of my list would be In Defense of Food. With In Defense of Food, Pollan proposes a new (and very old) answer to the question of what we should eat that comes down to seven simple but liberating words: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Pollan’s bracing and eloquent manifesto shows us how we can start making thoughtful food choices that will enrich our lives, enlarge our sense of what it means to be healthy, and bring pleasure back to eating. |
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wedding
Emerald
Posts: 14,195 Likes: 77,054
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Post by wedding on Dec 9, 2023 18:16:58 GMT -6
I’ve been making my way through some Amazon first reads and kindle unlimited books that have been on my kindle forever.
I read To Die For by Lisa Gray. It’s about a competition at an LA real estate agency. It was better than I expected and was a quick thriller. 4 stars
Then I read Bloodline by Jess Laurey. It was meh. When there’s too much time spent on paranoia with nothing really happening I get bored. I loved Quarry Girls by her, but haven’t liked anything else yet. 3 stars
The third was surprising and it was an old first read. Please Tell Me by Mike Omer. Some of the story line was predictable but I was surprised by where it went and enjoyed it. TW abound in that one. 4-4.5 stars
I also read Deadly Waters by Dot Hutchinson. I loved The Collector Series she wrote but this one wasn’t great. 3 stars
Lastly I finally read Who Is Maud Dixon. I wanted to shake the main character for being an idiot so many times but it was entertaining enough. I remember people loving this but I gave it 3 stars and that’s a stretch.
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nelzie
Sapphire
Posts: 3,419
Likes: 9,939
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Post by nelzie on Dec 9, 2023 18:42:43 GMT -6
I finished Hemlock by Kiersten Modglin. I've only read a handful of her books but this was my favorite, I really enjoyed it.
I listened to You Make It Feel Like Christmas and it wasn't really for me. I didn't really feel any spark between the characters and I disliked a lot of the side characters. 2.5 stars
I also listened to All Thing's Fair in Love and Christmas and this one was pretty good, 4 stars. I thought it was cute and as someone who has social anxiety I could relate to the main character (but I imagine some would be annoyed by her).
I'm starting The Quiet Tenant for my next audiobook and I'm reading Holly Ever After.
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