The last round up of the year! I honestly don’t know if I will be able to maintain these monthly book reports going into the future! They take a surprising amount of my time which is why of the 27 blog posts I did in 2024, 13 of them were book review posts like this! Oh, this blog is ever changing! That is what happens when you have a slice of the the internet for nearly 15 years (this summer!) More changes may be coming here soon but that is for another post and also I might just do them without explaining them (could I even?!) lol.
Last year I wanted to read only Christmas books in December and so I tried to do the same this year as well! I did sneak in a Timeless book because I COULD NOT WAIT to read it January! I’m glad it was part of my December line up this month – very much worth it!
Little Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens & Joe Sutphin
5 Stars: Wonderful, magical, beautiful, and oh-so-Christmassy! We read this book aloud to the kids (ages 4 & 6) this month and it is absolutely incredible. I have never read A Christmas Carol (although I am VERY familiar with the story and have seen tons of movies and adaptations alike) and I was honestly blown away by reading the story. There is so much more of the story – even in this Children’s version which is very slightly edited to make the characters animals – that I’ve missed by not reading it! Scenes that are skipped over in nearly ever adaptation but add immensely to the story and the emotions! I cried several times while reading this story – it is honestly so moving especially as a parent. We all have more Scrooge in us than we would like to admit and we cannot help but rejoice when even an old man can turn from his evil ways and choose to live a new life!
PS: The illustrations are ABSOLUTELY INCRIDIBLE! I had to add more photos just to show off how lovely this book is!
Across the Ages by Gabrielle Meyer
5 Stars: Everything as enchanting as the books before but this time she has no one to teach her the rules of time crossing! Imagine being a time crosser literally all alone trying to make sense of your worlds?! It adds a whole new level of drama as you try to figure out who can help her and how she can stay in the right timeline! The first book is fantastic and everyone after has been just as so! This one may have wiggled it’s way into my favorite of the series but really it is so hard to pick one over the other. Do I have the next book preordered already? Why yes I do! Now is the time to get into this series if you have not already! (Read my reviews for book #1 & #2 and book #3)
Christmas in the Castle Library by Ann Swindell
5 Stars: I am happy to report that this book exceeded my expectations and doesn’t follow the typical Hallmark girl meets a prince and falls in love troupe! As someone who prefers historical fiction over more modern storylines, I really enjoyed the historical aspects of this book – grounding the storyline and helping to solve the mystery. The added bonus of Ellie’s much needed personal growth and a happy ending, are the icing on the cake. While I was personally a bit tired of Ellie’s negative self talk, I think that many will find it relatable and (thankfully) she grows in this area of her life throughout the book. This was a wonderful book to pick up during the quiet moments/ evenings of our Christmas season!
The Christmas Doll by Elvira Woodruff
5 Stars: I picked this book up secondhand as I saw it on a couple Christmas book lists. I read this Dickensian novel entirely one slow Advent Sunday! We follow two orphaned sisters who are in utter darkness (metaphorically & literally at times) and find light (or light finds them) in the middle of it – the ultimate Christmas story! My heart broke over the working conditions, poverty, and plight the downtrodden – specifically the children! As a mother I just wanted to scoop all these little children up and show them some love and light in such an unfeeling world. This book pairs well with The Christmas Carol as it is a similar time in history and shines light on the same injustices. Likewise, we also need a Christmas miracle and a happy ending to bring hope to the dark and dismal situation – which I am happy to report we get! I look forward to reading this again, this time aloud to my kids!
Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien
5 Stars: Well this was enchanting! This is a collection of letters and drawings from Father Christmas to J.R.R. Tolkien’s children over a couple decades! Each letter is dated and tells of the adventures of Father Christmas and The Great Polar Bear. Not only does Tolkien reply to his children’s letters to Santa but he makes a world come alive through his writings. What a gift of Christmas cheer and a Father’s love! Both the audiobook and the physical book are treasures!
Let Earth Receive Her King: Daily Readings for Advent by Alistair Begg
5 Stars: This was a wonderful advent reading. I loved the inclusion of Christmas poems and hymns at the end of each reading. It was a quick yet thoughtful daily read to set my heart and mind on the reality of the season (and not what the world is trying to sell me on.) I read this in addition to my daily Bible reading as this is not a Bible study but it is indeed Biblical with multiple verse references! The book itself is also lovely! I plan to reread it again Christmas futures!
Christmas at Carnton by Tamera Alexander
4 Stars: This is a cozy Civil War Era Christmas read where all the hard things find hope but in a way that still feels authentic. It is a romance but that isn’t necessarily thrown in your face – there are a lot of other characters, emotions, and events that impact our main character Aletta Prescott. It is bittersweet as you would expect taking place in the middle of a war and you can figure out the general storyline pretty quickly, but watching it unfold still is still enjoyable. Overall, I love a clean historical fiction novel and this book brings you straight into a Christmas in Tennessee during the Civil War!
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas by Andrew Wilson
3 Stars: I am not really sure what this book is supposed to be. It is very small and appears to be written to non-Christians. I assume it would be something mega churches would hand out at Christmas Eve services to help reach non-believers. There is nothing wrong with this per-say, and the book was well written/ the gospel presented truthfully and accurately, but it wasn’t what I was expecting or wanting in a Christmas read. It was much smaller than I expected and I finished it in one sitting – skimming bits here and there. It is a good book, I am just not the intended audience!
The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans
2 Stars: I got this book in a random lot of Christmas items from an estate sale (it is a great place to find Christmas decor at a wonderful price!) I had never read this book before but saw that many say it is a Christmas classic so I saved it to read during December. It was an okay story – NOT a classic. I enjoyed the main storyline of a young family moving into a Victorian mansion with an elderly lady and creating an unexpected friendship. However, the overall theology of this book is bad – ex. when you die on earth you turn into an angel. It is written by a Mormon and you can see bits of that worldview shine through. The old lady tries to tell the dad to spend more time with his daughter and less time working because kids are important. And then she dies but not before the dad has seen the light (I mean the angel!) Because of how it is written as a narrative story, I couldn’t figure out the time period (the 60s? The 90s?) or the timeline (was this all within 3 weeks or several years?) The writing quality was subpar( pretty basic) and fails to being the story to life. Overall, it begins and ends as you would expect a 90s era Mormon Hallmark movie to do so.
And (drumroll please….) according to my Goodreads 2024 Year in Books, I surpassed my goal of 75 books and read 87! I’ve so enjoyed reading more the last couple years! Being off Social Media has given me so much more free time and honestly probably made me a better person! HAHA. If you don’t already, follow me on Goodreads to see what I am reading, what I want to read, my favorite books, and every review I write! I also share all the books that I have rated 4 or 5 stars on my Amazon storefront where you can look for even more recommendations than just this monthly list! See you next year!
