What's on my stack: December 2022
Books being published in December 2022 I can't wait to read
December is the one month I am excited for winter: the twinkly lights, the music in stores, and the general feeling that most people might be a little nicer to their neighbors. I love it all!
But December is also a notoriously dry month in publishing, with many big new releases held off until January. There are still books I’m excited about, but not nearly as many as usual, so I’ve decided to devote this month to reading some of my own backlist books that have piled up. I’ve selected four new releases I’m excited about for the usual roundup and four books that I want to prioritize this December. There will even be a poll if you’d like to vote on a book you’d like to see me read and feature (if it’s good—I’ll never feature a bad review for a book I don’t like).
This month, I’m making my What’s on My Stack feature free for all readers, in the holiday spirit! But don’t forget you can upgrade to a paid subscription, which goes an incredibly long way to support my writing.
Once a month, I send out a roundup of what’s coming out that month that I’ve added to my TBR stack and am very excited about reading. There will be buy and preorder links (preorders help authors so much more than you can imagine), but all books featured will be published in the month I’m sending it out.
December books
A Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar: An all-women heist on the Titanic? I am all the way in on this one. Four women from different backgrounds come together to steal the Rubaiyat, a jewel-encrusted book onboard the ship with them. But of course, things don’t exactly go according to plan.
The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton: I’ve been into climate fiction lately about what happens if climate change passes the point of no return, and this book, which is getting compared to Station Eleven, has me very intrigued. A family gets split up during a hurricane in Florida, and it sounds like it’s going to be an emotional story about nature and family and their intersections.
Someone Had to Do It by Amber and Danielle Brown: I haven’t seen anyone talking about this book, and I’m not sure why, because it seems like the perfect ritzy lifestyle mystery book about dark secrets behind the glamour. Told from two perspectives—one from a girl who heard something she shouldn’t have and one from a girl who knows just how to avoid going down for something she’s about to do.
Witcha Gonna Do? by Avery Flynn: Just because it’s not October doesn’t mean my witchy reading has stopped! This enemies-to-lovers story about a non-witch in a magical family who’s clumsy and awkward sounds delightful and like the perfect break I’ll need between some darker reads this winter.
Backlist TBR
Here are the books I’ve pulled from my own collection that I’m hoping to prioritize this month. Read about them and then vote if you’d like to pick one to see in a future issue!
The Gifted School by Bruce Holsinger: Something about rich white people problems is incredibly compelling to me (in fiction—I stay faaaar away IRL), and books like these always satisfy my gossip-loving heart. When an exclusive school opens in town, parents go to extreme lengths to make sure their kids get in.
Elsewhere by Alexis Schaitkin: Set in a remote and isolated town, the story follows one community that, as women grow up and become mothers, has women vanish without a trace. Vera and her peers wonder, as they are on the verge of motherhood, who will be the first to vanish among them and where the missing women end up.
Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman: Library archives, vampires, and a quirky romance? Say no more! Okay, so not vampires, exactly. Sol has “vampirism,” which means he must stay out of the sunlight. But when he begins falling for Elsie, that becomes harder to do.
Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi: There’s a reason I pulled this for wintertime, as it’s about a family in London with an otherworldly and magical gingerbread recipe. I’m not sure of too much else about it, but it seems strange and whimsical and perfect for curling up next to the (TV version) fireplace with.
What books are you most looking forward to reading this month? What have you read recently that you loved and need to tell more people about?
More Books
Can’t get enough, or looking for more recommendations? Browse the archives, or check out some popular past recommendations:
Read about a lawyer fighting against an unfair justice system
Read a novel where teenagers spontaneously combust in math class
I also love hearing from readers! Let me know what kinds of books you’re looking for that you’d like to see featured, or send in your most recent five-star read (or two) and get a recommendation just for you. You might be featured in an upcoming newsletter! Reply to this email to get in touch!
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Well not sure which you will end up reviewing but I've added Gingerbread to my list!
Dead Collections is so good!!