How is it already December? There have been times that this year has felt like the slowest drip from a faucet and other times that it has sped past like a loud, unstoppable freight train. November brought me to a total of just under 100 books completed (99) in 2025 that I have now surpassed in December. I have to admit that surprised me as there were many times this year that I felt I was reading quite less than the past. But apparently I was wrong. I read eight books in November that I finished and there were also three others (not listed) that I DNFed. It will wind up being a year that I have a good number of books that I didn’t get off the TBR shelf that I really had hoped to. I get so distracted by shiny new things. I never published my official 2025 list of the 24 books I wanted to read, a goal list of sorts, but I do have it here on my desktop. Well, on my notes app to be exact. I’ll see next month how many I have finished. It will be a low number. In the meantime, here is what I read in November. Enjoy December and I will see you again as we close out the year!
Once There Were Wolves – Charlotte McConaghy
Once There Were Wolves was a winner for me. While many are sinking into Charlotte McConaghy’s latest release, I chose this backlist title for an in person bookclub. The author again brings us an environmental novel, this time mostly set in the Scottish Highlands where Inti and her twin sister Aggie have arrived for Inti to head up a wolf re-introduction program. As we learn, wolves are critical to the environment and the circle of all life around us and it is believed that their survival will turn around the entire dying area. We have some mystery involved as we jump in timelines between the girls’ childhood, Aggie’s courtship and marriage and more. I had moments of, “what is going on?”, but it all comes together. I found Once There Were Wolves perhaps a tad more darker and more enjoyable than Wild Dark Shore if that is even possible and look forward to diving into the author’s first book, Migrations. I can’t wait to see what this talented writer does next. There are definitely some trigger warnings here, so look into that if you prefer books without certain topics. I learned quite a lot about wolves and found the parallels to my own state’s wolf reintroduction program particularly interesting. As for my in-person bookclub, everyone loved Once There Were Wolves.
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107 Days – Kamala Harris
Open & honest recall of the campaign. Both hopeful & discouraging. Felt important to read to remind me of all of the BS that occurred during this time. I was elated to hear that my treasured Governerd book club hosted by Sharon McMahon of @sharonsayso will be reading 107 Days together in early 2026 and Vice President Kamala Harris will join us for a discussion in February. Can’t wait!
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Wreck – Catherine Newman
If you haven’t read Newman’s Sandwich yet, you must read that first. Wreck would probably stand fine on its own, but I believe it would be most enjoyed after reading the first book. While I did like Sandwich more, Wreck is a short follow up on how our characters have progressed. Everyone but Nick is facing some type of obstacle. Newman writes current, relatable characters that feel like they live nearby. She has a tongue in cheek humor that jumps off the page and often has me laughing. Like a few other of my favorite author’s, I just know we would get along famously if we lived nearby. If you are a parent of adult children, you will likely find things in common with this family.
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I’m Sorry I Cremated You – Michelle Jaclyn Smith
I selected this book after hearing about it in a support group for those caring for aging parents. The title interested me so I gave it a go. It is memoir-esque of the author’s time leading up to her father’s death and full of all types of emotions that go with this experience.
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The First Time I Saw Him – Laura Dave
This is a fast paced suspense sequel that follows The Last Thing He Told Me and contains most of the same characters. The author does a good job of refreshing our memories without being too detail oriented regarding the first book, which is a nice change of pace from many series books when so much is overly-rehashed. I did find the overall story very predictable with very little surprise. but even so I enjoyed it and was entertained. Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for an advanced digital copy. The First Time I Saw will be available on 1/6/26.
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Finders Keepers – Natalie Barelli
While Finders Keepers started off pretty good with an interesting, psycho main character, it never really progressed passed that, in fact became fairly uninteresting. It was incredibly predictable and didn’t really hold my attention past the 25% mark. Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an early release digital copy. Finders Keepers will be available on 2/24/26. With that said, I am pretty sure that date is a re-release of some sort as it appears it was originally released a few years ago, at least in audio format. I was able to check out the audio edition of Finders Keepers from my local library now to accompany by digital ARC.
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The Storm – Rachel Hawkins
I had this arc both in digital and audio. I feel the same about both editions. It was just ok. The parts that were lacking for me weren’t the actual story as much, but the amount of transitions in timeline and medium and the way they were done. It was incredibly difficult for the audio to follow what was going on, where we were in POV or time and the articles/journal entries were not announced in a meaningful way whatsoever. I thought flipping to the digital this would be better, but it was not. I missed Hawkins’ sassy characters of the past and if they were there, I never noticed because I was too busy trying to figure out what was going on. I hope for publication date they have figured this out and made some changes in this regards as to the transitions. Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for both a digital and audio early release. The Storm will be available on 1/6/26.
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The Fair Weather Friend – Jessie Garcia
I received both the digital copy & audio of The Fair Weather Friend. I loved Garcia’s last book, The Business Trip and was hoping for something equally clever and page-turning. Unfortunately The Fair Weather Friend fell short for me. In a nutshell, I just didn’t care about any of these characters. It was still somewhat entertaining but overall, Meh. Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for both a digital and audio early release. The Fair Weather Friend will be available on 1/20/26.
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