Monthly TBR - December 23'

Hello, fellow readers! I'm thrilled to share my TBR picks for the rest of the month, and to make this type of post a recurring thing here! Stay tuned for upcoming reviews and feel free to share your recommendations too. Happy reading!

CURRENTLY READING

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

╰ King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen #3)

    I am slowly making my way through this series, many years after everyone else did. At the time of this post, I am 25% through the audiobook. I will be uploading my review very very soon!

╰ Hate to Fake It to You by Amanda Sellet

    I'll officially be starting this later tonight, but this is a contemporary romance about a girl with a fake online persona and a wildlife photographer. The synopsis sounds SO good, and it has the cutest cover. I was invited to read this by the publisher, and it won't be out until next year, so definitely keep your eyes peeled for the review to see if you want to add this to your own TBR!

tbr

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

╰ Do Not Open by Kiersten Modglin

    This is an ARC of the audiobook which is expected to release on December 26, 2023. Do Not Open first hit the shelves on October 31, 2023. My goal is to have this read before the audiobook comes out, and it is also my first audio ARC from NetGalley. I have a couple other books written by Modglin on my TBR, so I'm really excited to get a taste of her writing! Author Mari Montgomery received an email with an offer too good to pass up, and at a time where she really needed it. When she comes face to face with her 'number one fan', it's clear things are not what they seem. To survive, Mari will have to use the strength of the heroines she's been writing about for years. But, this villain has spent years in her worlds too. Can she defeat an evil who has learned from the best?

╰ Dark Corners by Megan Goldin (Rachel Krall #2)

    I have read all of Goldin's novels with the exception of Dark Corners and The Girl in Kellers Way. I absolutely loved Night Swim, and as soon as I finished it, I added Dark Corners to my TBR. I cannot wait to get to this one and dive into the latest Rachel Krall novel. Dark Corners follows Rachel Krall, a true crime podcast host, through her search for a popular social media influencer who disappeared after visiting a suspected serial killer.

╰ The Wrong Patient by Rachel Hargrove

    This will be my first ARC with Hidden Gems, and in spite of the book being released on November 27th of this year, I am so excited to read and review this! I was just approved for this today, and between the synopsis and the reviews, I'm itching to start it. The Wrong Patient follows a Beverly Hill's dermatologist who botches a procedure and goes missing, and all eyes turn towards a former patient.

╰ How to Fake Date a Vampire by Linsey Hall (Charming Cove #2)

    This is the second book in the Charming Cove series, and I had the pleasure of reading an ARC copy of the first book in the series. I absolutely loved it, I could not put it down, and I am so excited to jump right back into this world. How to Fake Date a Vampire follows Emma, a witch desperate to secure her place in a local coven. She makes a deal with a vampire in order to use his gorgeous estate to host the Beltane Ball. Between the vampires, the witches, and how much I loved the first book, I am highly anticipating this one!

╰ How to Kill a Guy in Ten Ways by Eve Kellman

    How to Kill a Guy in Ten Ways follows our main character, Millie Masters, a woman who has had one too many terrifying encounters. Millie sets up a hotline for women who don't feel safe walking home alone at night called Message M. She quickly realizes that a warning isn't enough, the men just keep doing it again and again. After her sister gets assaulted on a night out, the urge to take justice into her own hands becomes too much to resist. This is marketed as a mystery/thriller/comedy, and I am so excited to be an ARC reader for this! I do believe this is Kellman's debut, and it sounds so good. It's set to come out in March of next year, so keep your eyes out for my review!

╰ All In by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (The Naturals #3) *possible slight spoiler for previous book?*

    It is taking everything in me to not skip everything else on my TBR and go right to this book. The last book in The Naturals series, Killer Instinct, was such a step up from the first novel. After finishing Killer Instinct, we learn that the naturals have finally been approved to work on active cases. Between the last case, the overall improvement of the writing, and knowing that? I am so ready to read this. All In follows the naturals as they investigate a string of brutal murders in Las Vegas, and Cassie as she deals with a much more painful mystery, there's finally been a break in her mother's case.

╰ Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings

    One of the first ARCs I was ever approved for was The Plus One by Eddings. I adored that novel, and ended up going back to read the other books from that series (A Brush with Love, if you haven't read it, go read it right now.). I then got approved for her YA debut, Tilly in Technicolor, which was just as good. I am so happy and thankful that St. Martin's press invited me to read Late Bloomer! One of our main characters, Opal, has just won the lottery and is drowning in people asking for money. Opal decides to invest in a failing flower farm to get away from all those people, only to be met with a very angry Pepper Smith. Pepper claims to be the owner of Thistle and Bloom, and isn't moving out. They agree to stay there together, but they can't agree on much else. Will they be able to rebuild Thistle and Bloom, or will their arguing (and growing attraction) burn the whole place down? I have no doubt that this will be another five star read for me. It's set to publish in April of 2024, so stay tuned for my review to see if you want to read it yourself!

My goal is to get all of these read by December 31, and I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to do it. I am most definitely prioritizing ARCs, but I'm so excited to read some of these novels. What's on your December (at least remaining) TBR?