What I Read in November 2022
Mostly Misses
If you can’t tell… I’m a little behind. It’s almost Christmas and I’m just now sending my November reading wrap-up. A head cold has hit our house, I haven’t wrapped a single present, I’m trying to make it through the next couple of days of work, and generally just hanging on by a thread. Check-in on your mom friends! We are not okay!
Back to the books. My goal for November was to jump-start the holidays by diving head-first into my ever-growing stack of holiday-themed novels. (Does that sentence have enough hyphens for you?) I hate to admit it, but my first two Christmas romance selections of the season were a total bust. In my very humble opinion, nothing in this November 2022 wrap-up is a must-read, but I hope you’ll read my mini-reviews and judge for yourself!
All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox
Plot Summary: When Sadie and Max are selected as contestants on the famed reality singing show Starmaker, each thinks they've finally gotten their big Nashville break. But then they're paired up for duet week and stun the world with their romantic onstage chemistry. With fans going wild for #Saxie the network demands that they remain a duo on and offstage, or exit the competition. Faking a relationship until their final performance in the Starmaker holiday special shouldn't be too hard, except for one small problem--Sadie and Max can't stand each other.
But with their dreams just within reach, they agree to the ruse. Will their fake relationship be exposed before they can win? Or will an unexpected trip to Banff spark real feelings by the Christmas finale?
My Thoughts: If you love romance filled with miscommunication this is the book for you! Unfortunately, All I Want for Christmas didn't check off all the boxes on my Christmas wish list. I wasn't convinced by Sadie and Max's connection, the Nashville backdrop, or the Starmaker reality show setting. The jumps in the timeline were jarring. The book also barely mentions Christmas except for a song or two. The best part of the book was Patsy Canine, Max's dog. I'd love an entire spinoff from her POV. I'm really disappointed in this second book from the Maggie Knox duo after devouring The Holiday Swap last year.
The Cloisters by Katy Hayes
Plot Summary: When Ann Stilwell arrives in New York City, she expects to spend her summer working as a curatorial associate at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Instead, she finds herself assigned to The Cloisters, a gothic museum and garden renowned for its medieval art collection and its group of enigmatic researchers studying the history of divination.
Desperate to escape her painful past, Ann is happy to indulge the researchers’ more outlandish theories about the history of fortune telling. But what begins as academic curiosity quickly turns into obsession when Ann discovers a hidden 15th-century deck of tarot cards that might hold the key to predicting the future. When the dangerous game of power, seduction, and ambition at The Cloisters turns deadly, Ann becomes locked in a race for answers as the line between the arcane and the modern blurs.
My Thoughts: The Cloisters was just okay to me. The story had a lot of potential but I felt like the author tried to do too much and didn't flesh out any of the elements successfully. It was an extremely atmospheric book... one you read purely for the dark academia vibes. I enjoyed the world-building, especially as someone who has never visited The Cloisters in real life. Like a lot of thrillers I've read, it was a slow burn with not a lot of plot twists until after the first half. The twists were largely predictable and to be honest, the only real element of surprise comes in the last chapter of the book. I enjoyed the inclusion of the tarot cards to explore the concept of fate vs free will but I felt like the author could have done more with the fantasy element of it. This book was extremely well-researched with lots of tidbits about mythology, art, and Latin translations. Moody and lyrical, it was a decent debut. It worked for some readers so if you’re interested, give it a shot.
Have I Told You This Already? by Lauren Graham
Plot Summary: With her signature sense of humor and down-to-earth storytelling, Lauren Graham opens up about her years working in the entertainment business—from the sublime to the ridiculous—and shares personal stories about everything from family and friendship to the challenges of aging gracefully in Hollywood. In "RIP Barneys New York," she writes about an early job as a salesperson at the legendary department store -- and the time she inadvertently shoplifted; in "Ne Oublie" she warns us about the perils of coming from an extremely forgetful family; and in "Actor-y Factory" she recounts what a day in the life of an actor looks like (unless you’re Brad Pitt).
My Thoughts: What a fun book for fans of Lauren Graham! A must-listen on audiobook since it's narrated by the author. Tip: Don't listen to the whole book at one time. The stories stand on their own so if you listen in succession it could feel a bit disjointed. Lauren is bubbly and rambles a lot so reading Have I Told You This Already? feels like sitting down to catch up with an old friend. I was caught off guard by how deep and honest some of her stories are, like But I've Played One on TV. As a mom, it broke my heart. Sending virtual hugs to get through that chapter!
Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Jenny Bayliss
Plot Summary: Elinor Noel—Nory for short—is quite content running her secondhand bookshop in London. Forever torn between her working-class upbringing and her classmates’ extravagant lifestyles at the posh private school she attended on scholarship, Nory has finally figured out how to keep both at equal distance. So when two of her oldest friends invite their whole gang to spend the time leading up to their wedding together at the castle near their old school, Nory must prepare herself for an emotionally complicated few days.
The reunion brings back fond memories, but also requires Nory to dodge an ill-advised former fling. When she falls quite literally into the arms of Isaac, the castle’s head gardener, who has nothing but contempt for the “snobby prep school kids,” the attraction between them is undeniable. And as Nory spends more time with Isaac during the wedding festivities, she finds herself falling hard for the boy she used to consider an enemy. Nory and Isaac explore their common ground, but pressures mount on all sides, and Nory must decide what kind of life she wants to live and what sort of love is worth the risk.
My Thoughts: I really enjoyed Jenny Bayliss’ first two books, The Twelve Dates of Christmas and A Season for Second Chances so Meet Me Under the Mistletoe was one of my most anticipated holiday romance releases for 2022. I didn’t feel the same draw to the story that I felt in the other two books. There were plenty of cozy vibes but it didn’t feel very Christmasy. Just a warning that if you’re expecting a lighthearted Christmas romance, Bayliss’ stories always tackle heavier topics and her characters feel a bit raw and gritty as they navigate real-life problems. No fluff here! Nory felt a bit lost and I wasn’t convinced by the enemies-to-lovers trope with Isaac. The tension between the two seemed to come out of nowhere and the friend drama overshadowed the love story. Meet Me Under the Mistletoe is filled with hard-to-love characters, social commentary, and content warnings (racism, classism, suicide, cheating, alcoholism, depression).
Read if you like:
frustrating enemies to lovers romances
slow plot development
cozy British vibes (bookshops, gardens, and castles)
messy school friendships + class reunions
weddings/winter gatherings
very light spice
Make sure to subscribe so you’re the first to get updates about future reading wrap-ups!