Welcome to my December 2023 Favorite Books post! This monthly post is where I share the 5 star books I’ve read so far each month. I had a few 5 star reads this month that I am excited to share. There are still a few days left this month so it is possible I will have more 5 star reads. In that case, I will share them next week. You can see the first half of my December reading here and I will share the rest next week. The Amazon links to the books I’ve read are affiliate links and if you use them and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission.
Title: What Lies In The Woods
Author: Kate Alice Marshall
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Flatiron Books, 1/17/23
Source: Book of the Month (January)
Why I Read It: Was waiting on my shelf
My Rating: 5 Stars
I figured it was time to read What Lies In The Woods by Kate Alice Marshall when her upcoming release was added as a December BOTM – how was I to know whether to order her new book when I hadn’t read the one I ordered last year? I ended up loving this thriller about Naomi, who survived a stabbing attack in the woods as a child, and her two best friends. The three had identified a serial killer as the attacker and he went to prison, but now Naomi is questioning if he was actually the person who stabbed her.
“Naomi Shaw used to believe in magic. Twenty-two years ago, she and her two best friends, Cassidy and Olivia, spent the summer roaming the woods, imagining a world of ceremony and wonder. They called it the Goddess Game. The summer ended suddenly when Naomi was attacked. Miraculously, she survived her seventeen stab wounds and lived to identify the man who had hurt her. The girls’ testimony put away a serial killer, wanted for murdering six women. They were heroes. And they were liars. For decades, the friends have kept a secret worth killing for. But now Olivia wants to tell, and Naomi sets out to find out what really happened in the woods―no matter how dangerous the truth turns out to be.”
Returning to her small town, all kinds of twists and secrets are revealed. While some things felt predictable and reminded me of other thrillers I’ve read, I still enjoyed this quick and twisty read. Content warnings include references to suicide, assault, and mental health issues.
Title: The Last Love Note
Author: Emma Grey
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Zibby Books, 11/28/23
Source: Book of the Month (November)
Why I Read It: Heard it was good
My Rating: 5 Stars
The Last Love Note was another BOTM selection that I loved. While many will talk about the sad parts of this book, it also made me laugh a lot as Kate struggled through the loss of her husband and towards a second chance at love.
“Kate is a bit of a mess. Two years after losing her young husband Cameron, she’s grieving, solo parenting, working like mad at her university fundraising job, always dropping the ball―and yet clinging to her sense of humor. Lurching from one comedic crisis to the next, she also navigates an overbearing mom and a Tinder-obsessed best friend who’s determined to matchmake Kate with her hot new neighbor. When an in-flight problem leaves Kate and her boss, Hugh, stranded for a weekend on the east coast of Australia, she finally has a chance, away from her son, to really process her grief and see what’s right in front of her. Can she let go of the love of her life and risk her heart a second time? When it becomes clear that Hugh is hiding a secret, Kate turns to the trail of scribbled notes she once used to hold her life together. The first note captured her heart. Will the last note set it free?”
This book does contain a lot of content that can be difficult and hard to read. Still, I found it sweet, meaningful, and well written.
Title: Kissing Kosher
Author: Jean Meltzer
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Mira, 8/29/23
Source: Birthday Gift
Why I Read It: Heard it was good
My Rating: 5 Stars
I was so glad I had a Jewish book to read during Hanukkah! Kissing Kosher is about Avital, a kosher bakery owner who suffers from chronic pelvic pain. Her grandfather’s rival sends his grandson Ethan to steal a recipe from Best Babka, and of course the star crossed coworkers fall for one another. Avital doesn’t know who Ethan is, but she loves how he cares for her and helps her cope with her chronic pain.
“Avital Cohen isn’t wearing underpants—woefully, for unsexy reasons. Chronic pelvic pain has forced her to sideline her photography dreams and her love life. It’s all she can do to manage her family’s kosher bakery, Best Babka in Brooklyn, without collapsing. She needs hired help. And distractingly handsome Ethan Lippmann seems the perfect fit. Except Ethan isn’t there to work—he’s undercover, at the behest of his ironfisted grandfather. Though Lippmann’s is a household name when it comes to mass-produced kosher baked goods, they don’t have the charm of Avital’s bakery. Or her grandfather’s world-famous pumpkin spice babka recipe. As they bake side by side, Ethan soon finds himself more interested in Avital than in stealing family secrets, especially as he helps her find the chronic pain relief—and pleasure—she’s been missing. But perfecting the recipe for romance calls for leaving out the lies…even if coming clean means risking everything.”
I really enjoyed the fun side characters and funny metaphors in this book. Some of the Jewish references had me laughing out loud. The family rivalry was interesting and I enjoyed the sibling relationships a lot too. While it was a little longer than I prefer, overall this was a fun read and I would definitely visit Best Babka! This book contains chronic illness, medical marijuana, TBI, the loss of parents, suicidal ideation, and emotional abuse.
Title: Israel
Author: Noa Tishby
Genre: Non Fiction
Publisher: Simon Schuster Audio, 4/6/21
Source: Library Audio / Purchased Print Copy
Why I Read It: Wanting to learn more
My Rating: 5 Stars
While listening to Noa Tishby’s book Israel, I decided I needed it in print and ordered a copy as well. This book is a fairly explained and comprehensive history of Israel as told by a liberal, leftist, Jewish Israeli.
“Israel. The small strip of arid land is 5,700 miles away but remains a hot-button issue and a thorny topic of debate. But while everyone seems to have a strong opinion about Israel, how many people actually know the facts? Here to fill in the information gap is Israeli American Noa Tishby. But ‘this is not your Bubbie’s history book’ (Bill Maher, host of Real Time with Bill Maher). Instead, offering a fresh, 360-degree view, Tishby brings her ‘passion, humor, and deep intimacy’ (Yossi Klein Halevi, New York Times bestselling author of Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor) to the subject, creating an accessible and dynamic portrait of a tiny country of outsized relevance. Through bite-sized chunks of history and deeply personal stories, Tishby chronicles her homeland’s evolution, beginning in Biblical times and moving forward to cover everything from WWI to Israel’s creation to the disputes dividing the country today. Tackling popular misconceptions with an abundance of facts, Tishby provides critical context around headline-generating controversies and offers a clear, intimate account of the richly cultured country of Israel.”
This book was scary to read in light of what happened on 10/7. A lot of her points address how the world sees Israel and provide the necessary background to truly understand. For example: Zionism isn’t about having an exclusively Jewish state (there’s a reason Israel wasn’t named Judea, after the biblical land). There is a difference between the lives of Palestinians living in the West Bank, in Gaza, and in Israel itself. BDS and SJP have ties to Hamas and BDS is harmful to the people (see: Soda Stream). The Palestinians deserve a leadership that cares about their people rather than one solely focused on destroying their neighbors. I appreciated that she made an effort to understand religious ties to the land, but she did neglect to mention the Jewish holy sites that Jewish people aren’t allowed to visit. The one group she has no tolerance for is the ultra orthodox or haredi people who don’t prepare their children to be a part of secular society. The last chapter of the book was very impactful, asking why the whole world is obsessed with Israel specifically. This book is so important if you want to understand this question and why this piece of land is so disputed.
Title: Faking Christmas
Author: Kerry Winfrey
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Berkley, 9/26/23
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
I have enjoyed Kerry Winfrey’s books in the past so even though I don’t celebrate Christmas (and this is a Christmas book, not a “holiday” book) I still wanted to read this one. I really enjoyed it! This quick and funny book is about Laurel, whose twin sister Holly owns a farm. Laurel’s boss Gilbert thinks Laurel is the one that owns the farm and when he invites himself for Christmas Eve Eve, Laurel has to convince him she is the twin who is good at all the farming things – when she is very much not. Since Gilbert also thinks she is married, a fake marriage with Max has to be sold as well. And Laurel hates Max! Plus, he is a grump and seems to hate Christmas, which Laurel loves.
“Laurel Grant works as the social media manager for Buckeye State of Mind, an Ohio tourism magazine and website. She most definitely does not run a farm . . . but one tiny misunderstanding leads her boss, Gilbert, to think she owns her twin sister Holly’s farm just outside of Columbus. Laurel only handles the social media for the farm, but she’s happy to keep her little white lie going if it means not getting fired—she cannot be jobless again. And keep it going she must when Gilbert, recently dumped by his wife, invites himself over for the farm’s big Christmas Eve Eve dinner (as advertised on Meadow Rise Farm’s Instagram, thanks to Laurel herself). Laurel immediately goes into panic mode to figure out how she can trick Gilbert into thinking she’s basically the Martha Stewart of rural Ohio and keep her job in the process. Laurel and Holly come up with the perfect plan—all Laurel has to do is pretend to own the farm for one dinner. But Laurel shows up at the farm to find an unwelcome guest is waiting: Max Beckett, her nemesis since Holly’s wedding. The annoyingly attractive man she hates will be posing as Laurel’s husband just for the evening, but when a snowstorm traps them all for the entire weekend, Laurel is going to have to figure out how to survive with her job and dignity intact. Whatever the case, this promises to be the most eventful Christmas in ages. . . .”
So we have grumpy/sunshine, enemies to lovers, fake dating, and forced proximity all rolled into one big smile of a book. There were some plot issues like Holly’s twin children not calling Laurel mom, but Gilbert was almost fooled anyway.
Come back next week for the rest of my December reads!
Do you have a favorite book you’ve read this month?
