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Ashley IN MEDIAS RES

• The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
• Pucking Wild (Jacksonville Rays #2) by Emily Rath
• Pillars of Wealth: How to Make, Save, and Invest Your Money to Achieve Financial Freedom by David Greene
• The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk*
• Think and Grow Rich for Women: Using Your Power to Create Success and Significance by Sharon L. Lechter * 

*Ashley’s still waiting for these two titles to come back off hold at the library…struggle bus.

Nikki IN MEDIAS RES

• The Silent Struggle: Taking Charge of ADHD in Adults by L. William Ross-Child M.L.C.
• The Lives we Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Ordinary Days by Kate Bowler
• Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope by Esau McCaulley
• Life Lessons from Psalms by Max Lucado

Ashley FIN

• Rewriting the Stars (Bailey Brothers #6) by Claire Kingsley
• There There by Tommy Orange
• The Healing Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to Positive Vibes by Amy Leigh Mercree
• I Didn’t Sign Up for This by Dr. Tracy Dalgleish
• The Sirens of Sussex (Belles of London #1) by Mimi Matthews
• The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

Nikki FIN

• The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
• Rewriting the Stars (Bailey Brothers #6) by Claire Kingsley
• Lucky by Heather Grace Stewart
• There There by Tommy Orange
• Beauty and the Billionaire by Lauren Landish
• The Footman and I by Valerie Bowman
• The Sirens of Sussex (Belles of London #1) by Mimi Matthews
• Never Marry Your Best Friend’s Brother by Lauren Landish
• The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
• Carnegie’s Maid by Marie Benedict

Dearest, Darlingest, Readers. I have been riding the struggle bus in my reading life. It has come to my attention that I am several books behind in reaching my 100 books for 2023 according to Goodreads and we know how that makes me feel as a solid Enneagram One who needs to meet goals. I think I have been struggling because I have needed more mood reading titles than I have been able to fit in lately and I just do not like that. Full stop. Reading for goals is important but so is knowing that enjoying your hobby is just as, if not more, important. I am really glad I read most of the books we choose on the blog – and to be fair, ones we have chosen for the blog and have not liked do not make it to having a published review. And I know I push to read more diverse authors and genres because it makes me a better human being. But, sometimes, as a reader you don’t want to ‘eat your vegetables,’ and sometimes I feel like I have been reading a lot of vegetables. So glad to have read them because they’re tasty and good for my mind and my life, but also not as enjoyable as cake.

I think for most of December I’m going to “Let Them Eat Cake.”

~Ashley

I am so very delighted that we’re reading cake in December!  I love cake, and comfort reads, and I’ve been reading a lot for comfort recently.  This definitely helps me achieve my reading goals, but I also tend to care less about hobby goals than your resident #EnneagramOne.  As next week is another week of calendar tetris, I definitely am feeling the need for more comfort in my life.  Here’s the deal with my comfort reads for November, which are almost everything we didn’t review (and a couple that we did, and one that we will soon) – romance is my comfort read.  I don’t need it to be literary, or any particular piece or trope of romance (although I do love enemies to lovers + one bed, and generally run from pregnancy).  I do need solid writing and good editing, but that’s about it.  I’m just here for warm fuzzies and probably my jam is if you take a hallmark movie, add some spice and snark, and repackage it in book form.  

If I had to pick a favorite that wasn’t reviewed or won’t be next time, it would be Rewriting the Stars.  Ashley and I have read all six Bailey brothers novels (the first two are a duet, please be warned there is no HEA at the end of #1, you have to wait until the end of #2, and boy is it worth it), and several other of Kingsley’s books and I adore her!  I do love a romance series that centers around a big family, so the five Bailey brothers were a great fit, as I’m sure their nemesis the Haven brothers will be.  As we got Kindle Unlimited again the weekend after Thanksgiving, there may be more of her work in our future, but there is also a need for Maas distraction, so it’ll be an interesting adventure to see what the future holds for us.

What makes a good comfort read for you?

~Nikki

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