What I Read In December 2025
I read 10 books in December to finish out the year! I really enjoyed most of them, and liked a couple just fine. Let’s chat about it!
Some stand outs for me last month were Parable Of The Talents by Octavia E. Butler, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels and Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boyan. Two of these four books even ended up on my top reads of 2025 - what a phenomenal way to wrap up the year!
While I did like every book I read last month, a few I felt were just fine. These were The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller and The Biography of X by Catherine Lacey.. I enjoyed each of these to keep going to the end, but at times found the stories a little sleepy and slow. I’d still recommend them to the right person, so long as they know they are slower burns.
Check out my thoughts on each book from December below!
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This was a really interesting look at the justice system and its failings. Told from a deeply personal perspective, it follows Katharine Blake, who is in the process of becoming a lawyer, as she grapples with the case of her cousin, who experienced a mental break and killed a child. The entire book lives in the in between space of right and wrong, acknowledging that nothing is black and white, including justice and how it is served. I really appreciated the nuance, but felt Katharine could have explored how race plays heavily into the justice system and its many failings.
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This was a very cute rom com featuring a long distance relationship between the grumpiest of grumps and your stereotypical sunshine goofball. I loved the connection between the two main characters. I was most impressed with Ali Jimenez for NOT doing a third act break-up with this couple. With every conflict between the two I was certain that’s where we were heading, but Jimenez did a great job of using the tension of the long distance and some of the other personal things the characters were dealing with rather than taking the easy way out with a third act break up.
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This book retells the story of the Trojan War from the perspective of Patroclus, Achilles’ closest friend and lover. They spend years together before embarking on the adventure that is The Trojan War to save Helen from the Spartans. They know leaving for war means certain destruction for both of them, and spend the ensuing time they have left together torn between chasing glory and loving each other. The story was interesting enough to keep me reading, but I wouldn’t say this is my favorite book of the year and at times I felt a little bored by it. That said, I don’t think Greek mythology is my genre, which likely impacted my feelings on the book. I would recommend this to folks who like fantasy and Greek mythology.
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This book is the follow up to Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower. It follows the main character of Parable of the Sower, Olamina, right where the first book left off, but this sequel is in part told from the perspective of Olamina’s daughter, who is hyper critical of her mother and her ideals. The juxtaposition between Olamina’s journal entries and her daughter’s commentary really made me love this book. Octavia Butler is a master of her craft and this duology will absolutely end up on my favorite books of the year list.
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This book is the sequel to Quicksilver, a popular romantasy that I thought was fine. I feel the same about Brimstone. I actually enjoyed the sequel much more than Quicksilver. Kingfisher redeems himself more in this book and it was fast-paced and easy to move through, although as others have pointed out, there are some errors in the book and continuity issues. Overall this isn’t my favorite romantasy series, but I’ll continue reading and would recommend it to folks who do love romantasy.
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This was a fun, fast-paced thriller that explores the disappearances of two children about a decade apart. Set at a wealthy summer home that adjoins with a summer camp, the story is told from multiple points of view and jumps timeline between the first disappearance and the second one. Overall I really enjoyed the book, although I did find some decisions of the characters to be absurdly unrealistic. Still, if you’re looking for a pretty good popcorn thriller, this one might work for you!
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I went into this book blind, knowing only that it’s considered a classic for many and is well-beloved. It’s easy to see why, now. The story follows an unnamed man and his son as they travel through a barren, destroyed United States trying to survive after some undisclosed disaster has wreaked havoc on the land. It’s a dark yet poetic novel exploring devastation, hope and love. Cormac McCarthy’s prose allowed me to absolutely fly through this book, and the end left me crying some ugly tears.
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This was an interesting book, but I wouldn’t say it was one of my favorites of the year. The story follows a widowed woman after her wife, an eccentric and at times abusive artist, dies. She spends the book attempting to learn the truth of X’s history and uncovering secrets. One of the most interesting parts of the book is that it takes place in a divided United States where the North and South separated for a time, the North as a liberal, progressive haven and the south as a religious theocracy. Overall the book was interesting enough to keep me engaged through the end, but I also found myself a bit bored at times.
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I am absolutely thrilled I ended my year on a high note with this masterpiece of a book. The story follows Brian, a 24-year-old gay man who returns from New York City to his small, religious hometown in Ohio to die from AIDS. The story is told from the perspective of Brian’s mother and sister, who haven’t heard from him in 6 years, as well as Brian, who is documenting his life on video camera. I read this book in only 2 days - the writing is beautiful and each character is realistic, raw and beautiful. Strongly recommend this one.
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Let me tell you what, I really enjoy just about everything Jodi Picoult has written, and Mad Honey was no exception. A small town is rocked when a teen girl is found dead, and the suspect is her boyfriend. It’s told from the perspective of the boyfriend’s mother and the teen girl prior to her death, two timelines that move away from each other in a way that works so well and adds so much to the narrative. Each Jodi Picoult book explores a different societal issue and I can’t tell you this one without spoiling the twist that exposes that issue, so you’ll just have to trust me when I say Jennifer Finney Boyney and Jodi Picoult did a wonderful job and you should check this story out.
We have copies coming soon!
Need other recommendations? Ask me for some ideas!