Gaston Library discussion

It’s time for the next Monthly Reading Wrap Up! Also, the last of 2024! I met my reading goal just barely, but I made it. How’d you do with yours? This Month I Read…

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas- Alright now this series is really ramping up. This series has been hit or miss for me despite overall liking it. This one might be my favorite of the series so far though. The pacing felt a little better than most Maas books, although she still hits you at the end with 5 billion insane things. Haha. I loved getting a deeper look into more of the side characters as well, Lorcan, Elide, Manon, etc. I liked it but frankly that ending is rude when you are just gonna make us read another book that is timeline adjacent with other characters before we find out what happens next. I should have done the tandem read, lol.

A Winter Wish by Emily Stone- This was cute. It didn’t feel as much like a Christmas book as I anticipated since a majority of it didn’t take place during Christmas, but it was still a great story. The romance in this does enemies to lovers really well and was overall great. I also loved how it explored relationships in general with how Lexie’s father is viewed by other characters. The author did a good job at showing how people are complex and flawed and that there can be both good and bad without discounting others' experiences or feelings about that person. Overall a very good book.

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren- I listened to this one on audiobook. I was intrigued by the Groundhog Day-esqe plot but that ended up not being as big of a part of the story as she only reverses back 3 times (all three pretty quickly) before getting her full redo. Overall it was still a pretty cute story and romance. Although, for some reason I kept waiting for her to realize the brother she was pining after all along wasn’t her happy ending. Like I said, her and Andrew were cute, but the way it started made me suspect Theo would be the happy ending.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig- This was a really good book. I absolutely loved the writing. I was a little worried at first with the large overwhelming book of regrets Nora opens when she first reaches the library and how she starts to undo them with her lives she gets to try on. I’m personally not big on regrets or reading about others harping on theirs, so this is probably just me. However, as the book went on I realized I was way way off. Haig shows how life can be ordinary and extraordinary in so many ways at the same time and how all the good and bad and small and big things compound into a beautiful life worth living. Definitely would recommend.

What did you read this month? Be sure to share down below!

Happy Reading!