I can’t believe today marks the last month of 2025.I’m so excited that December is here – the holidays are magical, and I should have plenty of time to read, see some holiday stage performances, and relax. But before I get too excited for the end of 2025, here’s my reflection on the books I read in November.

It wasn’t the best reading month for me, but I did finish 6 books. To start off I read A Merry Little Lie by Sarah Morgan. I left a full review of this book earlier this month, as I did receive an ARC for it. Overall a cute Christmas fiction novel more about family dynamics with some light romance. 4/5 Stars

Next I listened to the audiobook of Anywhere with You by Ellie Palmer. I had also received an ARC of this, but was behind on publication dates so I caught up with a copy from the library. This one was a second chance romance for childhood friends. It’s so obvious they are meant to be together, that some of the conflict and will-they-won’t-they felt forced. There are sister dynamics in this, and also a FMC who is a bit in her head on planning for the future instead of living in the moment. It has road trip elements and some flashbacks to their earlier history together. Overall 3/5 Stars.

Staying Gold: The Oral History of the Outsiders is what kind of put me in a reading slump. Not really a slump per-say, but it did take me quite awhile to get through it. I enjoyed it overall, giving it 4/5 Stars, and if you want to read my full review, you can do so here.

I also listened to Spectacular Things by Beck Dorey-Stein. This was a Reese Witherspoon book club pick, and I had also gotten an ARC from NetGalley for it as well. I’m glad I listened to the audiobook though because this one was just fine. Again, more about the relationship between a mother and her two daughters, and ALL the soccer content. Sometimes I think Reese picks really unique stories, and other times I find them very average (as was this case with this one). If you like family dynamics and stories across multiple decades (and lots of soccer), you may enjoy this one. 3/5 Stars

I was so excited to get a copy of Persephone’s Curse by Katrina Leno from NetGalley too. This comes out tomorrow (December 2, 2025), and if you are looking for a magical realism story with heavy sister elements and lots of atmospheric wintery vibes, check this out! Four sisters have been told all their lives that they are descendants from Persephone, the goddess of the underworld. Winnie, one of the sisters, is our narrator, and she is trying to navigate how one of her other sisters has fallen in love with the ghost that lives in the attic. There is mental health mentioned in this book, as well as ALL the New York City vibes (at times this feels more like a love letter to NYC with a dose of magical realism), and lots of sister dynamics. I enjoyed this one overall, and felt it was pretty unique. Plus, Katrina Leno just seems like a super cool, down-to-earth human, and I was happy to read her newest novel. 4/5 Stars

I finished the month with Big Nick Energy, a very silly rom-com holiday book where the main character finds herself romantically intrigued by two Nick’s – Finance Nick (her ex-boyfriend from years ago) who is stable, fun, and great in bed, and Santa Nick, the grumpy guy who works on the local Christmas tree farm, but somehow always seems to show up at the right times, and is incredibly supportive of the FMC. There are some laugh out loud moments in this book, but also some very cringey parts. Overall it was fun, but it was not as Christmassy as I was hoping for it to be. 3/5 Stars

I have a lot of books I’m looking forward to reading in December – too many Book of the Month titles I want to catch up on, some more holiday ARCs, and maybe some backlist ARCs as well. Hoping to have a great rest of the year, and hit my 100 novels read goal too (I’m close – only 10 books away)!