Everything I Read in Winter 2024
This reading recap covers the last month of 2023 and first two months of 2024! I read four books in December 2023 and just barely met my 2023 reading goal of 45 books (I was okay with ending the year at 44 and then ended up reading a short story on December 31). I finished 11 books in January and February, including six more short stories! Of the 15 books, 12 were fiction and three were nonfiction—and six of the 15 were audiobooks.
My 2024 reading goal on StoryGraph is to read 45 books and 13,000 pages (same as last year). I’m already ahead of my goal thanks to all the short stories I read, ha. If you’re also a reader, be sure to join the app and add me as a friend: my username is cottoncashmerecathair! And share your favorite recent read(s) in the comments!
READ NEXT: Everything I Read in Fall 2023
Everything I Read in Winter 2024 (December—February)
Fiction
Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory
The fourth book in The Wedding Date series follows Maddie’s mom, Vivian, and their trip to the UK for one holiday season! As a reminder, Maddie’s story was the one we followed in book 3, The Wedding Party; she is Alexa’s best friend and stylist (Alexa being the main character in the first book).
In Royal Holiday, Maddie is hired by the British royal family to provide her styling services over the holiday season. Maddie invites her mother along, and after much deliberation, Vivian joins Maddie for her own English countryside vacation. While there, she meets the wonderful staff of the royal family, including Malcolm, the secretary to the queen, and Malcolm delights in spending time with Vivian and showing her around the property. They are drawn to each other…but is it worth it? Will it all come crashing down at the end of their trip? This was a fun one! I liked this book better than book 3, and it was a perfect holiday read.
Uncharted Waters by Sally Hepworth
(Buy via Amazon)
I read this short story on the last day of December and thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn’t notice this at the time, but this short story is a part of a collection available via Amazon Prime called Getaway. I read a different set of short stories (more on those below) and now need to go back and read the rest in this collection!
Ella boards a luxury wellness charter without her husband, her usual plus one. There, she meets Chloe, who is there getting over a broken heart, and they become fast friends. During their time on the charter, they realize they have more in common than they thought. I don’t read many psychological thrillers, and this one made me realize how much I love a non-scary thriller!
Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen
Ava appears to have the perfect life, one that her Chinese American family would be proud of. She’s a lawyer living in the Bay Area with her young son and surgeon husband. What everyone doesn’t know is that it feels like things are falling apart; she can’t handle her son’s constant tantrums, and her husband is spending a lot of time away from home for work. An old college roommate (and sudden dropout), Winnie, reenters Ava’s life, sporting luxury goods that Ava finds curious. Winnie seeks Ava’s help to run her business, which involves counterfeit luxury goods. But what happens when their business is threatened and Winnie disappears again?
The first half is told from Ava’s point of view and has no punctuation for the dialogue which made for an interesting reading experience. It’s a fun story, and the ending totally surprised me!
Audiobooks
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
Britney Spears shared her story and bared her soul in her memoir. I really hate how the media portrayed her through the years and how she was treated by her own family. I wonder how things may have been different for her if she had a better support system. Learning about her life through HER perspective and no one else’s is exactly what the world needed, and I’m so happy she is free from her conservatorship. I do wish she had narrated the book because I always feel like memoirs are more powerful coming straight from the author but I get why she didn’t (she explains her reasoning in the foreword).
The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan
I love indulging in a holiday-themed audiobook or two during the holiday season, and in December I listed to The Christmas Bookshop! It was the perfect holiday read; it’s set in Edinburgh, UK, and I absolutely loved immersing myself in this story because we are headed to Scotland this year! It’s a super cozy read. The narrator has a warm (and easily understandable) Scottish accent.
After losing her job, the last thing Carmen wants to do is move in with her perfect lawyer sister Sofia and her perfect family. But, when one of Sofia’s clients needs help revitalizing his bookshop in Edinburgh, Carmen takes the job and is charmed by the stories found within its walls (those of the book variety and of the man who called it home for years). Carmen is challenged by giving the shop a much-needed boost before the holidays, and what will conspire when a famous author becomes interested in the bookshop as well as with Carmen?
Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab
If you struggle with the idea of what boundaries are and setting boundaries and KEEPING boundaries, you should read this book! The author identifies the six main types of boundaries (physical, sexual, intellectual, emotional, material, and time) and discusses how to create and uphold our boundaries. She includes lots of examples of good boundaries and real-world advice on what to do when our boundaries are crossed. We can (and should) be setting boundaries in every aspect of our lives—romantic relationships and with our family, friends, work, etc. It’s like therapy in a book!
Pageboy by Elliot Page
I really enjoyed listening to Elliot Page’s memoir. I loved him in Juno and wanted to hear his story. Pageboy follows his life from childhood in Nova Scotia, Canada, to acting in LA and getting his big break in Juno to life after Juno when he was thrust into the spotlight (and forced to dress and act in a way that wasn’t true to him). As with most celebrity memoirs, there is a dark side to his life most of us probably didn’t know about (abuse, being taken advantage of, struggles with living his truth), but it’s different hearing about it all from Elliot’s perspective as a trans man. I think everyone should read or listen to Pageboy, especially if you’re not trans and aren’t familiar with their lived experiences.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
This book came highly recommended, especially the audio version because Meryl Streep narrates it, and I think it was the first Ann Patchett book I’ve read. This book is set at the start of COVID in spring 2020. Lara’s daughters return to the family orchard in Michigan, and the whole family has to help in the orchard because their usual help isn’t there. During that time, Lara shares the story of Peter Duke, an actor she met and had a romantic relationship with during their time acting at a small community theater called Tom Lake. Her daughters learn things about their mother they never knew. There were a couple of twists at the end. To be honest, this book didn’t suck me in as much as I was hoping it would. Meryl is a great narrator, but her voice is so soothing that she almost put me to sleep multiple times!
Princess Mia by Meg Cabot
This is book 9 of The Princess Diaries series! I have three left including the most recent release, whoop. (Warning: Spoilers ahead in case you want to read this series yourself.) Mia is depressed because her one true love Michael left for Japan and broke up with her. To get her out of her funk, her dad forces her to see a therapist. While she’s working through her Michael (and Lilly) problems, she becomes unlikely friends with Lana, her enemy, and learns that she has a new suitor! She also reads the journal of a previous Genovian princess and discovers a secret that will change the future of Genovia forever. Out of all of the books, this was one of my favorites. Mia was less whiny (lol) in this book compared to past books, and it had a better plotline.
The Improbable Meet-Cute Collection
As I mentioned at the start of the post, I also read a really cute series of six short stories available via Amazon Prime Reading. Each story was written by a different romance author, and each book is a standalone story, so you can read them in any order.
The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren
An accidental email on February 14th leads to an annual pen-pal relationship between a young man and young woman that lasts from high school to their college years. They share tidbits of their lives every Valentine’s Day but never anything too personal… and what if they decide to meet in person one day? Half of this story is told through emails, so I recommend the e-book version over the audio version. This was my favorite short story of the six because it felt like a full-fledged story and the ending gave me enough to be satisfied (even though I want more)! Ranked 1/6
Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez
Hospice nurse Holly is dealing with the impending death of her grandmother when a Valentine’s Day note ends up on her car windshield—only it wasn’t meant for her. This turns into sweet notes and acts of kindness between her and the stranger…but what happens when their paths stop crossing? This story was SO cute but ended too abruptly for my liking. Ranked 2/6
Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne
Rosie and her sister are spending Valentine’s Day at a spa, where of course with Rosie’s terrible luck, she ends up locked into a brand new flotation tank and needs rescuing by the local fire department. A young fireman is there to help with the rescue, and what if he’s the man of her dreams? Honestly, when I think about all the stories in this collection, I constantly forget about this one. This one felt a little too improbable for me. Ranked 5/6
Drop, Cover, and Hold On by Jasmine Guillory
It’s Valentine’s Day, and after much deliberation, Daisy decides to step inside her favorite local bakery to pick up some sweet treats. (She’s convinced the owner of the bakery hates her and had vowed to not go back.) She’s the only one in the store when a strong earthquake rattles the city and results in her taking cover (and seeking refuge) with the owner. Forced proximity makes them get to know each other a bit more… and does the owner REALLY hate her? Of all the stories, this felt the most rushed and the least probable. It is the steamiest of the bunch, though, if that’s your thing! Ranked 6/6
With Any Luck by Ashley Poston
Audrey is always the girl someone dates just before they find their soulmate. She’s convinced she’s cursed and won’t ever find love. Audrey runs into an old (terrible) fling at her best friend’s wedding—and the morning after the bachelor party, her best friend (the groom) is missing, and she is convinced she kissed him and ruined everything. Her old fling (a friend of the bride) helps her retrace her steps to see what really happened—and maybe help her find her own true love in the process. I enjoyed this story a lot but it wasn’t really a true meet-cute I don’t think since the characters all knew each other prior to the wedding. Ranked 4/6
Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson
Princess Ilaria wants just one fun weekend away from royal life and the paparazzi in Rome, so she trades places with her assistant and steps into the city in search of a photographer she noticed from her room. The photographer (met through unfortunate circumstances) ended up being a lovely Scottish man, and together they visited the sights of Rome and delighted in its history and architecture. What Ilaria doesn’t know is that he has a big secret of his own. Turns out I love a good royal story (I am re-reading The Princess Diaries, after all), and this one was super cute even if predictable and perhaps not entirely historically accurate. It also didn’t feel too rushed at the end! Ranked 3/6
