My Month is Booked: December 2025

Welcome to the last My Month is Booked linkup! :] Sorry for missing earlier this month — I’ve been mulling over changing it to the end of the month for a while now and figured me being busy/missing the first Monday provides the perfect excuse to do so.

Sooo…I’ll be posting this linkup on the last Monday of each month from now on!

(As a bookshop.org affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases if you click the link (at no cost to you).)

There are a whole lot more books this time around because it’s technically what I read in both November and December!

A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck, by Sophie Elmhirst – A true story about Maurice and Maralyn, a young couple who set sail in 1972 from England to New Zealand and, after being struck by a breaching whale, find themselves adrift for 118 days in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

This was a book I added to my TBR list because of Wendy + as she has such good taste, it was a really enjoyable read. Aside from the fact that it’s just a remarkable story in general, it made me ponder about who I could be stranded out in the middle of the nowhere with for that long + still survive, haha.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, by Brandon Sanderson – Yumi and Painter come from vastly different worlds — Yumi’s is a land of gardens, meditations, prayer, and calling the spirits, whereas Painter lives in a world of darkness, fighting off nightmares. When their lives suddenly become intertwined, the two are forced to work together to save each other’s worlds from ruin.

I read Tress of the Emerald Sea earlier this year and had added Brandon Sanderson to my TBR list–I figured I’d read the start with another one of the Secret Project books he released! I really enjoyed the fantastical elements and worldbuilding, and you really grow to care for the characters (+ I loved the narration). The fact that he drew inspiration from FFX was a win in my book as well! I listened to the audiobook for this, but will definitely need to check out the actual book so I can see the illustrations.

Darling Girls, by Sally Hepworth – Miss Fairchild takes in 3 young girls as a doting foster mother, giving them a second chance at a happy family life together…but things are not what they seem at the estate, and the three manage to break free. …Until a body is discovered underneath the home they grew up in, and the foster sisters are pulled into the fray as key witnesses. Or suspects?

This was more of a slow burn mystery, but it was an interesting read for sure. The story is told through the 3 foster sisters (past + present) and the twist at the end was a good one! :]

Spectacular Things, by Beck Dorey-Stein – Born to a young single mother, two gifted sisters, Mia and Cricket, navigate the world amidst a host of challenges as they grow up and into adulthood.

This one was on my radar because of Wendy + it was a thought-provoking read, exploring the ideas of family loyalty, love, and sacrifice.

The Full Moon Coffee Shop, by Mai Mochizuki – In Japan, cats are a symbol of good luck. In this world, if you’re kind to the right cat, you’ll find yourself invited to a coffee shop run by talking cats who offer wisdom + advise their chosen patrons on how to “unstuck” their lives.

In case you’re wondering why I’ve been reading so many books with cats in them, I’ve been missing Muffin, and I guess this is kinda a way of coping for me. Sadly, I didn’t enjoy this book too much (it just wasn’t what I was expecting). The cats consult astrological star charts with their patrons and everything that goes wrong with the people’s lives being based on that alone just wasn’t so appealing to me.

Rich AF: The Winning Money Mindset That Will Change Your Life, by Vivian Tu – I’m the first to admit that I know nothing about finance and my money mindset has always been to just save, which, in this economy, is not a great approach. My friend suggested this book to me and it was a really approachable/easy read! It’s geared toward women, POC, LGBTQ+, and marginalized communities, but I think most people could learn something from this. It breaks down actionable steps for you to budget/start investing.

Immaculate Conception, by Ling Ling Huang – Enka meets Mathilde in art school and is immediately drawn to her, but as Mathilde’s fame and success grow, the two start drifting apart and Enka becomes desperate to keep her. A new cutting-edge technology called “Scaffold” allows Enka to inhabit Mathilde’s mind to access not only her memories, but also her inspirations + what drives her creative artistry.

I’ve read Ling Ling Huang’s other book (her debut novel, Natural Beauty) and am perpetually intrigued by the unique concepts she comes up with in her books. This one felt like a commentary on AI in the art world, wealth inequality, and the fine line between obsession and the insecurities with struggling to succeed in a deeply competitive, cut-throat environment.

America the Beautiful? One Woman in a Borrowed Prius on the Road Most Traveled, by Blythe Roberson – Very succinctly, this book was about a woman doing a solo cross-country road trip to visit the U.S. National Parks…so obviously, I had to pick it up, because that’s what I did back in 2019!

She discusses her concern regarding climate change, stolen lands, and overcrowding of national parks (which is an ongoing issue because yes, we want them to be visited, but also would be super nice if things don’t get ruined in the process :( ) as well. There were parts of this book that I snickered/laughed out loud at and a lot of it was very relatable given that part of my route was super similar to hers. This helped me to relive pieces of my road trip and I miss traveling, so I’m all for it!

Divine Rivals, by Rebecca Ross – All 18-year-old Iris Winnow wants is to be able to keep her family together, but with her mother struggling with addiction after her brother leaves to fight for the war on behalf of the Gods, she has little she can do other than write. Then her letters fall into the hands of Roman Kitt, her rival at the paper she writes for, and an unlikely connection forms.

Book #1 of the “Letters of Enchantment” series — I really enjoyed it! A dual perspective third-person “enemies to lovers” (but slow burn)-type romantasy. I don’t feel like I read a whole lot of romance, but this was so beautifully written + with a such a captivating world. It made me want to curl up with a mug of hot tea to just savor the words. (This book does a great job with reminding you just how much words can matter. <3 ) I didn’t realize until just now that I’ve read another book that she’s written earlier this year (Sisters of Sword and Song).

Ruthless Vows, by Rebecca Ross – I don’t want to include spoilers, so let’s just say that this is book #2 of the Letters of Enchantment series and picks up about 2 weeks after the first book ends!

There was enough recap in this book that you might actually be able to get away with not reading the first one (but I would def not advise that — I enjoyed the first one more because their letters were what really drew me in). This wrapped up a lot of storylines and questions I had + also goes into more backstory on the gods + why they’re even at war to begin with.

“Write me a story where there is no ending.” <3 (This reminds me of a line from one of my favorite songs, “You are the song that I will never finish singing.”

Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee – In the early 1900’s, teenage Sunja falls for a mysterious stranger, who promises her everything. She gets pregnant, only to discover that he is already married. Refusing to be bought, she accepts an offer of marriage from a kind but sickly minister who is moving to Japan. Pachinko follows multiple generations of this Korean family trying to assimilate to life in Japan.

One of my friends was reading this and it’s been on my TBR for a while so that gave me the kick in the butt to finally start/finish it! This was a longer (~500 pages) and at times difficult (due to subject matter — sexism, racism/prejudice, war) read + I enjoyed the first half a lot more than the latter third, but definitely a good one.

The Bewitching, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – A horror/fantasy spanning multiple generations…Minerva grows up hearing her Nana Alba’s stoires of witches and witchcraft, and is now a graduate student focusing on the history of horror literature researching the life of Beatrice Tremblay, an obscure author. While assembling her thesis, she discovers information that reveals that Tremblay’s most famous novel is based on a true story about her roommate’s mysterious disappearance at the same school that Minerva is now studying at. She begins to suspect that whatever caused the disappearance may still be at large.

I wanted to like this more but it just wasn’t for me. The pacing was super slow to me on this one (+ for context, I listen to audiobooks at 1.5x speed) and I guessed the villains very early on. The recurrent thought that went through my mind is unfortunately a spoiler, so I will refrain.

Wild Life: Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World, by Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant – I went into this book thinking it’d be more about the author’s explorations/field work, and while she does write about that, it definitely delves a lot more into imposter syndrome and her very candid take on her life decisions + struggles in her personal journey to get to where she is today.

I kept forgetting to add books that I’d read and at this point, am too lazy to keep updating the graphic. :'(

• Do you participate in reading challenges? I typically just “track” how many books I read in a year, but am thinking of participating in more next year — we shall see!
• Are you on Goodreads or Fable? (If so, add me if you’d like! Goodreads | Fable [this will apparently give you a $5 credit?]) I started with Goodreads and feel like I have too much on it to migrate completely but recently discovered Fable and it’s been fun for the social aspect (virtual book clubs!) + the fun stats!
• How many books did you read this year? I was going to write a recap of my favorites from this year, but this post is already pretty long, so I guess I’ll be making a separate post!