December 2025 Reading Wrap-Up
Hello! Welcome to my December 2025 Reading Wrap-Up. I finished reading 15 books in December, which is a bit higher than my average. That’s partly due to reading a few smaller books over Christmas, but also partly because we’re having renovations done, so I spent most of the month trying to disassociate in a quiet corner away from all the commotion. 😅
I’m ranking these from least favourite to favourite, because that’s always helpful for me to look back on later. The titles are links to each book’s page on Goodreads, if you want more information. And as always, if you’d like to purchase any of these books while also helping to support my blog, they’re all available on Bookshop.org, and any purchase made through any of my affiliate links will earn me a small commission at no extra expense to you. And Bookshop.org also does a great job of supporting independent bookstores, so you can truly feel guilt-free about your book-buying habit. 😁
Okay, enough of the lead-up. Here are the books!
The 2-star disappointment
I loved The Last Word by this author and was told that this one is even better, so I was excited to read it. A woman stuck in a snowstorm with a bunch of strangers, one of whom might be a child abductor? Sounded like a cool premise!
I’m so incredibly disappointed. I don’t understand why it’s so highly rated when it’s full of plot holes, implausible-yet-convenient decisions by every single character, and predictable twists. Plus, with all that adrenaline flowing in such freezing temperatures, why wasn’t anyone shivering with cold?? It’s like the snowstorm was an afterthought that was added in rewrites.
I was actually really frustrated and depressed at how little I enjoyed this book. I wanted to end my reading year on a high note. This was not it.
I gave it 2 stars for the setting and the vibes. It really SHOULD have been a great thriller based on those. Just… *sigh* No.
The 3-star “OK” reads
Another one I was excited for but a bit disappointed by. A woman tries to spruce up her childhood home before putting it on the market after her mother dies, but repressed childhood memories start to resurface and something sinister seems to be living in the house. That’s exactly the kind of premise that draws me in.
There were times when I was really enjoying this, and times when I really wasn’t. Loved the overall storyline, didn’t love all the decisions the characters made, not sure how I feel about the ending.
Ghosts at Christmas by Darren W. Ritson
I picked this up on Libby because I wanted a spooky Christmas read, and it mostly delivered. This is a collection of Christmas-related real-life ghost stories, and some of them are deliciously creepy. A large chunk of this short book, though, is dedicated to a ghost hunter’s journal, and I found that section really dull. I just skimmed through it. The shorter tales were better.
I picked this one up on Libby while looking for spooky Christmas books, too. This isn’t Christmas-related, per se, it’s just part of a collection of classic ghost stories that are published as the A Ghost Story for Christmas series. There wasn’t much to it, really, but I enjoyed the gothic vibes.
Some 4-stars
I Have a Love Story by Natalie MacMaster
I talked about this one a little in my Blogmas post about Natalie MacMaster, but basically this is a sweet, wholesome, family-oriented memoir from one of Canada’s top Celtic fiddle players. It’s mostly a love letter to her husband and children, but she does also talk about her childhood and her rise to fame in her teens and twenties. She also includes family recipes and sheet music for some of her tunes. And I love how it’s styled more as a coffee table book, with glossy pages and lots of pictures. It’s a really nice, quick read.
The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke
I got this beautiful little book in my Christmas stocking and immediately sat down to read it. The illustrations are lovely, and the story is like a fairy tale set in Susanna Clarke’s magical world (she also wrote Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and Piranesi). I’d already read reviews from people who were disappointed by it, so I knew not to expect more than that. I enjoyed it.
Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker
I love it when a horror novel has something to say about society, and this one certainly does. It’s set during the height of the COVID pandemic in New York City, and there seems to be a serial killer going after Chinese people.
I had a really good, gruesomely spooky time with this. Even though I related a little too much to Cora and her particular brand of germ phobia. 😅
I’m not sure how I feel about the ending… but I have a feeling that’s not the only thing about this book that will live rent-free in my head for while.
The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom by Shari Franke
If you’re unfamiliar with the story of the Franke family, they were YouTube sensations from 2015 to about 2022. Ruby Franke had a lifestyle channel where she posted videos of her and her husband and 6 kids doing just about everything. They were held up as a model family for years, until one of the kids appeared on a neighbour’s doorbell camera emaciated and begging for help. This memoir is written by Ruby Franke’s eldest daughter, who was kicked out of the family before the abuses came to light.
It’s a difficult read at times, but so important. The Franke family story proves that you can’t trust the image people present on social media of their lives. Always take it with a hefty helping of salt.
How to Kill a Witch: The Patriarchy’s Guide to Silencing Women by Zoe Venditozzi and Claire Mitchell
It’s hard to explain this book, but basically it’s a scathing account of Scotland’s witch trials masquerading as a satirical guide to killing witches. If that makes sense? Certainly an interesting read, at times entertaining, at other times enraging, but mostly just incredibly sad. The things humans do to other humans for no logical reason, you know?
Maybe 4.5 stars for these
Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
I read American Psycho earlier this year, so it was fresh in my mind going into this one. Victorian Psycho is basically American Psycho in the world of the Bronte sisters. Where Patrick Bateman’s obsessive thoughts are about murdering women and basically anyone who makes him feel inferior, Winifred Notty’s intrusive thoughts are about murdering the children and families she works for as governess. It’s dark and icky and not for the weak of stomach, but I dug it. I dug it a lot.
We Did Ok, Kid by Anthony Hopkins
I’ve always found Anthony Hopkins very interesting as a person. He’s an extremely creative person, and over the years he’s become very wise and self-reflective. So I was excited to read his memoir, and it didn’t disappoint. He hasn’t always been the nicest person, and he makes no excuses for himself there. But he does have compassion on his younger self, he shares the bad along with the good, and he tells us what he learned from his mistakes. Whether you’re a fan of his work or not, this is an excellent memoir that has a lot to say about life and finding where you fit in this world.
This is one of those “BookTube made me do it!” moments. 🤣 Emmie talked about this book in one of her videos, and it sounded interesting. An examination of today’s beauty culture, set in a future where a procedure called Aesthetica can undo every cosmetic surgery a person has had and restore their natural face. I randomly checked my library’s website to see if they had it. They did, so I immediately checked it out.
Wow. I feel like this should be mandatory reading for any teen who’s starting to show signs of getting sucked into the social media beauty cult. Cutting back and forth between young Anna’s delusion and older Anna’s disillusion is really jarring, in the best possible way. And I love that it’s very NOW while also being slightly dystopian. Really really well done.
5 stars, no notes
The Crown Derby Plate by Marjorie Bowen
This is another from the A Ghost Story for Christmas series, but this one is actually set at Christmas. A woman goes to an old house that she’s heard is soon to be sold, because she knows the missing plate from her prized collection is in there. It’s very short, so I can’t say more than that. I don’t know why, but I really really enjoyed it. It’s just the right length, the right atmosphere, the right amount of quirky and creepy, and I got a little shiver at the end.
100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist’s Guide to a Happy Life by Dick Van Dyke
I reviewed this book here. It’s lovely, and Dick Van Dyke is a delightful treasure of a human being. I can’t recommend this one highly enough. If you like joy and pleasantness, read this book!
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
I managed to squeeze this in as my last read of the year (which was supposed to be No Exit, but whatevs), and it ended up my #3 favourite read of 2025. I think I read 3 Grady Hendrix novels in 2025 as well as one or two short stories, and he hasn’t disappointed me yet. Definitely my favourite new-to-me author of 2025.
This one has a very similar premise to Play Nice – a brother and sister have to prepare their childhood home for sale when their parents die, and they discover that something else is living in the house. I love a good haunted house story, and this is a great one, imo. I love Hendrix’s signature blend of laughs and scares, his attention to detail, the depth of his historical research, and his insights into human nature and behaviours. And honestly, just the sibling dynamic in this book would have been compelling for me even without the horror elements. I loved it.