The big week of December holidays has now come and gone. It was a hectic one for sure! There were a few days this week where I found it rather tricky to sit still long enough to get much reading done. There was a lot to do to prepare for all the family gatherings and festivities, but it was a truly wonderful time for us. I hope the same was true for all of you reading this. If not, I hope you at least get to recover with your nose in a good book or two!

1. The Foxglove King – Hannah Whitten

CW: Graphic Violence, Allegories for Addiction & Substance Abuse

To start off, here’s the update from the book I’d just started last week. While I wouldn’t say that I disliked this book, I wanted to like it more than I did in the end. It felt as though it could use another round or two of edits. There were a number of really intriguing concepts included (such as the magical system or the Revenants) that I would have loved to see more thoroughly explored, but the surface of the potential there was barely scratched. However, at the same time, the book felt significantly longer than it needed to be. The author could have easily cut 150 pages or more without losing anything from the story. A lot of characters had names and traits assigned, but they never contributed anything to the narrative.

I still plan to check the second book out from the library. I was hoping to enjoy this title so much that I would purchase both books, but the story hasn’t earned that level of investment from me yet, unfortunately. I’m hoping that the second book will dive deeper into some of what interested me. For example, Whitten created an incredibly visceral allegory for addiction and substance abuse, including how it relates to classism. I also want to learn a lot more about the magical system and the users thereof, but I’m worried those answers won’t be forthcoming. There were a few inconsistencies I noted there in the first book, which leads me to suspect that there are some holes the author may never patch.

More importantly, I’m wanting the second installment to have a more satisfying ending. I won’t spoil the closing of the first, but it didn’t feel resolved in a way that made sense. I want to believe that it’s because the story simply wasn’t over yet. We shall see, and I’ll let you all know when I get there.

2. The Legends of River Song – Edited by Albert DePetrillo

River Song from the TV series Doctor Who is a character that I hold very dear. I’ve obsessed over her episodes and storylines within the show, and so of course I had to add this book to my personal library. It’s a collection of short stories, all from different authors. So far, I can only comment on the first story, but it’s doing an absolutely fantastic job of capturing the spirit of the show and characters. I can hear their voices as clear as a bell through the dialogue, and the internal monologue is on point as well. If it keeps up this energy, it’s sure to be a fun romp all the way through. I’m looking forward to the rest of it.

December Holidays are Over – The Year Isn’t!

All the chaos of the December holidays has thankfully passed for the most part (although I know Hanukkah is still ongoing). Now we get to hunker down and prepare for the new year to come in just a couple of days. With The Foxglove King, I officially completed my #TenBeforeTheEnd challenge successfully with a few days left to spare. I actually managed to go above and beyond all my reading goals for this year! I’ll have to set more difficult ones for 2025. Tomorrow I’ll be releasing my compiled list of my top ten favorite reads from this year as well as my final tally of reads. I hope all of you have a wonderful new year!

As always, I want to hear from you! What have you been reading lately? Are you having fun with it? Have you read any of these titles, and if so, what did you think of them? Tell me everything, and follow along for more!